The Enforcer (6 page)

Obviously Zoe knew about Lacey’s trust issues, but her reaction to Jody was over the top. Who wouldn’t like it when a man appreciated the way she looked? Lacey acted like they’d already dated and he’d cheated on her. “So, if he asks, don’t go out with him if he freaks you out that bad. But I’m telling you right now Lacey, you need to find a way to trust again. The only one hurting you now, is you.”

Lacey knew that any way she responded to Zoe’s words, Zoe would tell her how great hockey players were, blah, blah, blah. In the end she decided to answer with bald honesty, because she didn’t know what to do. “Zoe, I have never in my life had such a reaction to someone. But I don’t want him. Well, I don’t
want
to want him. I’m not going to get into that type of relationship again. You can’t trust men when they come home every night, let alone when they travel. I hope I was wrong about the way I think he looked at me.”

Oh, she wasn’t wrong. Zoe walked over and sat down next to Lacey. Slinging an arm around her, she said, “Lace, how will you know unless you give someone else a chance? For your own sake, you have to try to let the past go. Not all men are like Steven. I know he broke your heart, but don’t let him dictate the rest of your life. You’re missing out, and you’re letting that asshole win.”

Since the whole Steven debacle, Lacey hadn’t had one date. Working was her savior. She didn’t want Steven to win, but she was jaded now. Taking a chance on another relationship was a daunting thought.

“I know you’re right Zoe, and I’m ready for something casual, but not with a player – especially one as hot as Jody. What are the chances that he’d ever be faithful? Look at him. I guarantee you that girls throw themselves at him left and right. I’d never trust him.”

Lacey sighed, “I don’t know. What I’d really like right now is to be more like you for a while. Loose and fancy free. Not loose – I mean you’re not … you know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do,” Zoe said. “You need to get laid is what you mean. Well, get in the shower girlfriend, ‘cause we’re going out. If you’re just looking for a fling for now, and you find that you like Jody too much for that, pick another one of the guys. They won’t care. They love to have some fun without the ties. Come on, get in the shower.”

“Well, I’m here to start a new life, right? Let’s do it. Where are we going?”

“Jody reminded me that tonight is the Scorpions’ meet and greet. They have it at this pub that’s right on the beach. It’s something they do every year. It’s not just the players; some of office staff goes, too. I think we should go. It would be a good opportunity for you to meet some people.” Even though Lacey still seemed a little unsure, she got up like a champ, grabbed her robe and headed to the shower.

“I’ll go, but can you please get me some food? I’m at that stage of the hangover. I want to eat everything in sight.” With that said, Lacey turned and walked into the bathroom to wash off last night’s drinking binge.

Lacey opened the vanity door to get her soap for the evening. Strawberries were too girly if she was on a man hunt (was she?) and Coconut Citrus just didn’t say ‘seduction.’ Sea Island Cotton. Yes, that had a clean, fresh scent. That was exactly what she needed tonight. She even had shampoo and conditioner in that same scent. Maybe she really did spend too much time and money on bath soap.

When Lacey got under the hot water, she moaned at how good it felt. Sleeping on the floor was not as fun at thirty-one as it was when she was having sleepovers as a kid. Thank God her furniture would be coming on Monday.

While Lacey soaped up her body, she couldn’t help but think about Jody doing that for her.
Whoa … Didn’t I JUST decide that I wouldn’t go there with him? Well, maybe just for a minute.
She imagined him standing behind her, soaping up his hands and running them down her back. Then he would slide his hands around to her front and slowly trace circles on her belly. She imagined she could feel his cock riding along the seam of her ass as he rocked up against her. As his hands drifted lower, Lacey realized that she was doing to herself what she imagined he would. She slipped her fingers lower still and moaned at the contact. She moved her fingers quicker until she found the release she was looking for.
Oh yeah, I can just ignore Jody, no problem. Maybe I do just need to get laid
.

Jody was in trouble … again.
Oh come on. Not tonight,
he thought. He was sitting at the bar, beer in hand waiting for the others to show up when he saw her – the puck bunny from hell. She had 80s style bleached blonde hair that screamed, “Look at me!” Her makeup was done in what Jody could only describe as clown style. But by far, the best part of her outfit was the pair of leather pants she wore. It was August in San Diego, and she was wearing leather. Who does that?

He tried to get up and head to the private room in the back they used for their meetings, but he wasn’t quick enough. He did the next best thing he could think of. Jody grabbed his phone and sent a quick text off to Vlad.

Jody: What’s your eta? That puck bunny is here. SOS

Vlad: We’re already here buddy, just enjoying the scene.

Jody: You prick! Send help.

Jody hoped like hell someone would come help him out. He didn’t want to be rude, but this was not the first time this chick had come up to him. She got grabby, too. A couple more seconds, and she would be right in front of him.
Fuck!

“Hi Jody,” she said with a giggle. As she sat on the bar stool next to him, she tried to put her hand on his thigh. He could tell she was already drunk. To avoid her touch, Jody stood up and reached into his pocket with the pretense of digging out his money (even though he’d already paid for his beer). He knew she wouldn’t give up that easily, but he genuinely didn’t want her getting her paws on him again. She had come on to him in the past; too many times to count. She just didn’t take ‘no thank you’ for an answer.

“You all alone tonight?” she said drunkenly. “You know you don’t have to be. I’m up for anything and everything, if you know what I mean.” After she slurred that out, she moved closer and put her hand on Jody’s abs.
Great.
He tried to move away, but since he was all the way at the end of the bar, she pretty much had him cornered. Jody supposed he was going to have to resort to being rude to get rid of her. Just as he was about to tell her to get lost, he saw Lace coming towards him. She had on a perfectly fitted pair of plain blue jeans, a snug baby blue tank top and red flip flops. Her toenails matched the flip flops. What was it about painted toenails that made girls so damn sexy? One thing was for certain: Lacey Benoit cleaned up well. Maybe the night wouldn’t be a total bust after all.

The bar was just starting to come alive when Zoe and Lacey walked in. The band was setting up in the corner, but since they weren’t playing yet, someone had fed the old jukebox. Lynryd Skynrd was singing about how sweet Alabama was. To the right of the stage, a couple of guys were playing darts while their girlfriends pretended they
weren’t
flirting with the other guys around them to see if they could get free drinks.

To the left of the stage, pool tables took up most of the room. That’s where Zoe saw a bunch of the guys from the team hanging out. She and Lacey headed over that way, and after Zoe made introductions, she asked them what they were up to. Vlad laughed and pointed across the bar. “We’re just watching Chief sweat. His stalker is here.”

“Who’s Chief?” Lacey asked. Vlad pointed to Jody. Chief had been his nickname since he was a kid because of his partially Cree Indian heritage. “Oh. Aren’t any of you going to help him? It doesn’t look like he’s enjoying her company too much.”

“No way. Don’t feel bad for him. Chief’s the king of the pranksters. Believe me, if it was one of us, he’d be laughing his ass off. This is great. I just wish we had popcorn to enjoy the show. It’s good for him anyway; he lives like a monk.” That came from Ian, one of the assistant coaches.

“Well she shouldn’t be touching him. That’s just rude.” After Lacey said that, Zoe heard her mutter, “Not that I care.” Zoe shot Lacey a challenging look and said, “Why don’t you go help him out then? Pretend to be his girl. Vlad, send Jody a text telling him help is on the way.”

“Fine,” Lacey said, “I will.”

Lacey walked over to where Jody and Puck Bunny were with an extra sway in her hips. When she reached them, she laced her fingers with Jody’s and said, “Hey Baby, who’s your friend?”

Jody looked down at their hands entwined and gave Lacey a wink. He leaned over to her (which gave him a
great
view of her rack) and whispered, “Thank you.”

“Lace, this is, um, a fan. I’m sorry; I never caught your name.”

She responded, “My name’s whatever you want it to be.”

Lacey looked at Jody and then back at the girl and said, “Are you serious? I’m standing right here. I think it’s pretty obvious that Jody’s taken. Feel free to remove your hand now.” When she didn’t take her hand away, Lacey did it for her. Since it didn’t look like the girl was going to leave, Lacey gave her a little more incentive. She turned to Jody, ran her hands up his chest to wrap them around his neck and tilted her head up. Now the ball was in his court. His eyes widened a bit, but then he gave her a sly smile. He slipped his hands down and cupped Lacey’s ass, then lowered his head and licked her lips.

Whoa,
Lacey thought,
that was way more than I bargained for.
Involuntarily, Lacey moaned against Jody’s lips. She could feel her whole body tighten at his touch. Heat pooled between her legs, and she parted her lips. It was all the invitation he needed. One hand squeezed her ass while the other traveled up so that he could hook his thumb in the waistband of her jeans. He deepened the kiss and sucked on Lacey’s tongue. It was the most erotic kiss she’d ever had. Knowing that people were watching them together actually added to her excitement. There was something just a little bit naughty about that.

Jody could not believe his luck. He hadn’t even started planning his seduction of Lacey, and here she was in his arms. Part of him was braced for her to shove him away or even slap him. He hadn’t meant to grab her ass like that, but it was just so tempting. Truth be told, when he thought about Lacey, those thoughts tended to lean toward Neanderthal territory. He wanted to grab her and have his way with her.

When Lacey regained her wits, she backed away a couple of inches and noticed that Ms. Puck Bunny was gone. “Well you’re safe now Jody. The big, scary girl is gone.”

Jody laughed and said, “I know; she left as soon as you turned to me.” That would be
before
he grabbed her ass and kissed her like that. Lacey just gaped up at him with raised eyebrows. Jody gave her one of those crooked smiles that made her tummy flutter and said, “Close your mouth Lace-unless that’s an invitation.” While she was still staring at him in amazement, he leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Thanks again, Lace”. With a wink, he gently swatted her bottom and walked over to his buddies to thank them for the intervention.

Jody had shocked her. Lacey stood there and watched him walk away, heartily enjoying the view. His teammates called him a monk? One kiss almost brought her to her knees, and they called him a monk? There’s got to be more to
that
story. And as for her, she was a bit disgusted with herself. How could she let him affect her like that? She had already decided that he would not do for her fling. And why did he do it? He had to be playing games with her. He was Jody LaGrange. He could have anyone he wanted.