The Playmaker (Fire on Ice) (3 page)

“Of course,” Mrs. Thompson said. When she gave another half-hearted smile I knew it was going to take a lot more than just making it into the NHL to win favor with Taylor’s parents. It was obvious they still hated me.

Taylor grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the kitchen. She didn’t stop pulling me until we were outside.

“That was tense,” she said as we stood next to the piece-of-shit rental car.

“Maybe just a little,” I teased.

She closed the space between us and wrapped herself around me. I pulled her in even tighter and she nestled into my chest. “Can’t we just stay her like this,” she asked dreamily.

“If I could stop time and we could stay wrapped in each ot
her’s arms for eternity, I wouldn’t hesitate.”

Taylor laughed then patted my chest. “Let’s get your stuff inside, big guy.”

I grabbed my small suitcase out of the trunk. When I turned back to Taylor, she was eying me. “What?” I asked.

She grinned. “You look really nice, by the way. New clothes?”

“Maybe I needed some wardrobe adjustments that were fit for a princess. I can’t be a frog forever.”

“I thought you turned into a prince the first time I kissed you.” Taylor’s eyes were dancing with amusement. I loved seeing her carefree and happy. I hoped it was at least in part because of me.

I dropped my suitcase and pulled her close, her small body against mine, where she belonged. I placed my lips on hers and gave her a soft kiss. “Did it work?” I whispered. “Am I a prince yet?”

She looked up at me with her beautiful brown eyes that never failed to make me melt a little inside. “You’re getting closer. I think we need to keep kissing for the full effect.”

“Every princess deserves a prince,” I said.

She placed a soft kiss on my cheek and whispered, “I deserve someone who loves me unconditionally just like you do.”

I may never be the prince that Taylor deserved but I did love her. With everything I had. Completely and totally. I was just glad she thought that was enough.

Taylor’s bedroom was
a strange mix of little girl and grown woman. I was used to seeing her own space, her studio apartment near the university campus. This room was obviously one that her family created for her, a small sanctuary for their little girl who wasn’t a little girl anymore.

I placed my suitcase next to the Cinderella canopy bed. “I’m glad you were able to talk your parents into letting me sleep in your bedroom with you. I don’t think I would have gotten much sleep knowing that you were in another room and I couldn’t be with you.”

“I threatened them with staying in a hotel. I think they would have died rather than have their daughter staying in a hotel.”

“There are advantages to a hotel,” I said as I took her hands in mine. “We could make as much noise as we wanted.”

She closed the gap between us. “I guess we’ll just have to be quiet. My parents’ bedroom is downstairs by the way.”

   I couldn’t keep my hands off of her sexy little ass any lon
ger, nor did I want to. I grabbed her and pulled her into my growing erection. I wanted her to feel how much I wanted her. How badly I needed to be inside her.

This time, when our lips met, our kisses were deep and hu
ngry. I craved Taylor more than I craved air. “God, I want you so bad, it hurts.”

“I know,”
she replied breathlessly. “Me, too.”

“How long until dinner?”

She shrugged. “Maybe thirty to forty minutes.”

“Plenty of time.” I leaned back down and kissed her
. This this time our tongues tangled and our hands we all over each other, reacquainting ourselves with each other’s bodies. A month was a really long time for me to go without sex. I hadn’t done it since I was a teenager. But Taylor was worth the wait.

The way Taylor was looking at me, with a lusty glint in her eye, was almost too much for me. I felt like I had to get inside her or I would explode. Without taking my eyes from hers, I reached down and slowly unbuttoned her little pink blouse. She let the garment fall from her shoulders and stood before me in her white lace bra and jeans. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She looked so vulnerable and hot-as-hell at the same time.

I reached for the button of her jeans and undid it, then unzipped them. I began to pull them down and then she took over and stepped out of them. Neither one of us took our eyes off of each other through the process.

I wondered if Taylor had any idea how amazing she looked. Obviously, if she did, she wouldn’t settle for a frog like me. She’d want a prince who was worthy of her beauty and charm. Som
eone who was just as smart and courageous and driven as she was.

Maybe her parents were right and she really was settling for me.

“What’s wrong?” she asked concern in her voice.

I shook my head. “Nothing.” I tried to remind myself that I was standing here because she loved me and one day I would be worthy of that gift.

“You have entirely too much clothing on,” Taylor said as she reached for the top button of my dress shirt. I sucked in a breath as she unbuttoned each button. When she was done, I wriggled out of the shirt and tossed it to the floor. Before I knew it, she was already working on unbuttoning my pants.

“Do you need to lock your door?” I asked as I imagined her mom walking in on us.

“No lock,” she said. “My parents are college professors. I think they’re smart enough to figure out they shouldn’t disturb us for a while.”

I stepped out of my pants and kicked them aside. When Ta
ylor licked her lips I was sure it was due to the massive hard-on she could no doubt see through my boxer briefs.

“See something you want?” I teased.

She nodded as her thumbs grabbed the sides of my underwear and she pulled them down. I quickly kicked them aside and was shocked to see Taylor was on her knees in front of me. “What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” She had that lusty glimmer in her eyes again.

I shook my head as I grabbed her elbows and pulled her up. “Better save that for later. I’m not sure how long I’m going to last and I want to be inside you, making love to you, when I come.”

“Okay,” she said but she sounded a little disappointed. “I wanted to do something special for you.”

I kissed her. “I want us both to feel good,” I said but I really wanted her to feel good.

As she nodded, I pulled each of her bra straps down, u
nsnapped it and tossed it with her other clothes. Then I took her hand and pulled her on to the bed with me. I teased each of her nipples with my tongue and sucked on them until she let out a soft moan. I let my fingers roam her body with the lightest of touches until I made her shiver in response. Then I removed her underwear and quickly put my head between her thighs before she could protest.

“I though
t you wanted us both to feel good,” she muttered.

“Making you feel good makes me feel good.”

“Not fair,” she replied but her protest was half-hearted at best.

I placed my tongue in her folds and licked and sucked her clit until I could feel her squirming beneath me. I knew she was ready for me.

Just as I was about to reach down into my pants’ pocket for a condom, she grabbed my arm. “I’m still on the pill.”

My thoughts flashed for an instant to Runt and the wedding ring on his finger. I hesitated for a split second and the look on Taylor’s face changed before my eyes. In an instant she went from more-than-willing to less-that-anxious. I had to know what she was thinking. I moved up the bed and lay down next to her. I placed my hand on her cheek and asked her what was wrong.

When she averted my gaze, panic surged through my body. “Look at me, Taylor. What’s wrong?”

When she finally looked at me, I could see her eyes were wet. What had I done?

“Please tell me what’s wrong?” Her sad eyes were piercing my heart.

“Have you been with someone else?” she asked.

I felt like she slapped me. Is that why she thought I wanted to use a condom. Fuck. My words were stuck in my throat. I shook my head as I cupped her face in my hands. “Look at me Taylor. This is important.”

When her eyes met mine, I said, “There is no one else. There will never been anyone else. Ever. Do you understand that? You are the only one for me. Now and always.”

Her breath caught as she tried to speak. Then she swiped at a lone tear that had escaped down her face.

I took in a deep breath and said, “I panicked because Runt got Shawna pregnant. She told him she was on the pill but I guess she forgot to take it.”

Taylor’s eyes went wide and she blinked a few times like she was trying to sort out what I had just said. Taylor and Shawna were never on friendly terms because they had a few run-ins when Taylor and I first got together. Shawna was under the mistaken impression that she and I were together.

“They got married in Vegas,” I added.

“Wow, that’s not what I thought you were going to say.”

“Yeah, I really didn’t think you and Shawna had become buddies while I was gone.”

“Do you think she trapped him?” Taylor still looked shocked.

I shrugged. “Probably. But Runt doesn’t do anything unless he wants to. I didn’t get the impression he
minded being trapped all that much.”

“You know I would never do anything like that.” There was nothing similar about Taylor and Shawna. Taylor had a lot she wanted to do before even thinking about kids.

“I know.” I placed a soft kiss on her lips.

“I’m sorry I doubted you. It’s just—I know how women are—especially women who go after professional athletes.”

I knew how they were, too. I had been with my share of them but those days were in my past. “You don’t have to worry. I would rather die than do anything to hurt you.”

“I know.” When I saw a little bit of that sexy glimmer return to her eyes, I seized my opportunity. “Now where were we?”

I crashed my lips into hers and did my best to reignite the fire that had been burning between us. Luckily, it didn’t take much to rouse the flames again.

Our mouths and hands were all over each other and I was so turned on, I felt like I could detonate at any moment.

I looked into Taylor’s eyes. “Do you want me?”

She nodded. “I want you, Kian.”

This time I didn’t hesitate. I put my lips to hers in an effort to quiet her moans as I pushed inside her. Even though we had a lot of sex when we first got together, it had been over a month so she was really tight.

“Are you okay?” I whispered in her ear. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt her. Even though I wanted to be inside her more than I wanted to breathe, I would have stopped in a heartbeat if I was hurting her.

“You feel good,” she said. “Just keep going.”

I did as I was told. I pushed a little harder and she moaned again. “Keep going,” she pleaded. “Don’t stop.”

I kept thrusting until I couldn’t stop. I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead and back as I continued to pump. I had forgotten how good Taylor felt. How perfectly she fit on my cock. Being inside her was like pure heaven.

Taylor’s eyes were closed but I carefully watched her expre
ssion and tried to hold off the impending explosion as long as I could because I wanted her to come with me. I meant it when I said I wanted to make her feel good. I lived for it.

When I saw her mouth creep open and she took in a sharp breath, I knew it was go time. I went harder and faster until I lost control and I let my body completely take over. Taylor put her arms around my neck and we both went over the cliff together.

Once I stopped shuddering, I scooped Taylor into my arms and held her. I wanted to prolong the moment for as long as I could.

After a few seconds of bliss, Taylor said, “Maybe we’d better get cleaned up or it might get messy.”

I knew she was right but I also didn’t want to let her go. I placed a soft kiss on her forehead as I withdrew.

She hopped out of bed and grabbed a tissue box from her dresser. “You might need these.”

After we both got cleaned up and dressed for dinner, I was nervous again. The thought of spending the next few hours with her parents eating dinner and having to engage in conversation terrified me.

I think Taylor could read the fear in my eyes because her e
xpression turned soft and she said, “It’s going to be okay. Really.”

***

Taylor and I sat at the dining table and I was grateful when Taylor’s mom brought a bottle of wine to the table. I wasn’t much of a wine drinker, I usually had only a beer or two at the bar, but tonight I was willing to make an exception.

Mr. Thompson joined us at the table
. I had a brief moment of panic when Taylor rose to help her mom in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be alone with Taylor’s dad. The last time we saw each other, at Thanksgiving, things had not gone well and Taylor and I ended up leaving before dinner was served. I was glad she had patched things up with her parents but I still felt like a steaming pile of shit in their presence.