“We all make mistakes, even after a decade, while earning ten million. For one thing, we’re all human, but for another, this is a high-profile, high-stress job. Yeah, we make a lot of money, but we earn every penny. The sacrifices in your personal life, the physical impact even without injuries, and the mental stress. Hearing people heckling you every time you’re in a different arena is hard, but hearing your own fans yelling insults? That sucks. You get used to it, and we all learn to deal with it, but it’s never fun.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll yell at Calgary’s players then—that’s right, Hovisk, go sit in the box and think about what you did!”
Noelle was definitely an equal opportunity chirper.
* * *
Vancouver pulled out a win in overtime and Noelle talked about the game nonstop on the way to the hotel. I loved seeing her so excited, her eyes glittering as she talked about the game-winning goal and how the team had battled back. I’d never dated a woman who loved hockey as much as I did, and it was fun seeing it from the perspective of a fan who wasn’t gushing over my skills or history on the ice. In fact, my life as a hockey player had never come up other than when she’d asked if I got nervous before games, and that was yet another thing I liked about her.
If I was honest, I liked everything about her, and even though emails and texts that needed my attention were piling up, I wasn’t focused on anything but the beautiful blond who’d just undressed for me.
I unbuttoned my shirt and let it fall off my shoulders, noting how she watched me, her eyes moving down my torso hungrily.
“At first it was your eyes,” she murmured, crawling onto the bed and leaning back against the pillows. “So golden and soulful, as if you can see right through me.”
She ran her hands over her breasts, squeezing them lightly. “Then it was that damn V,” she continued, focusing on my abdomen. “Because what woman doesn’t love the V?”
She spread her legs and bent her knees, one hand traveling to the apex between her legs. “But now I’m pretty sure it’s just you. Because watching you stand there in your jeans has me so wet, I’m about to start without you.” Her eyes met mine and she slowly licked her lips.
I pulled off my jeans and boxers in two seconds flat, before sliding onto the bed and positioning myself between her legs.
“Do I get to watch?” I asked in a low voice.
“Sure.” She touched herself with gentle precision but the temptation was too much for me. Watching was fun but participating was better, and before I could help myself, I moved her hand away and replaced it with my mouth. Her hips came up off the bed and she moaned, her legs shaking as I pulled her knees over my shoulders.
I took my time, using my tongue, lips, and hands to explore every inch of her. I’d been inside of her several times already, but we hadn’t done this yet. She was all woman too, soft and warm and wet, with a musky scent and a sweet, tangy flavor. When I pushed a finger inside of her, she clenched around me, her thighs tightening on the sides of my head.
“You taste like heaven,” I whispered, diving back in for more.
“Then someone should kill me,” she panted.
I chuckled, suckling the tender skin of her folds, using the tip of my tongue to tease her. I circled her clit until she was whimpering with need, her body covered in a light sheen of sweat and her voice getting raspier each time she cried out.
“More?” I asked, lifting my head to look at her.
“God, yes!”
I pushed my tongue inside of her and pinched her clit with my thumb and forefinger. Her shriek bounced off the walls as she came, her body erupting in pleasure as she bucked against me.
It was fucking beautiful too.
Watching a woman come was always one of my favorite things about sex; watching Noelle come was one of my favorite things in life. I’d never known how much I enjoyed it until now because I didn’t even care about getting myself off. Pleasing her was the only thing on my mind, and I’d give up my own orgasms to watch her have more. Luckily, I didn’t have to, but in that moment I would have.
“I hope you brought a lot of condoms,” she said, reaching for me.
I covered her body with mine and kissed her. “Two whole boxes.”
I was up early and let Noelle sleep as I pulled out my laptop, signed in with the hotel’s Wi-Fi and checked emails. I really needed to be in Fort Lauderdale, but with Christmas so close and my family in Vancouver, I’d made the decision to stay. I’d be in Garland Grove until the twentieth and head to Florida on the twenty-sixth.
Well, that was the plan, but as I gazed over at the beautiful woman sleeping beside me, I realized I didn’t want to leave her. Not when everything was going so well and we were having so much fun. I didn’t have time for a relationship, but after a week with her, I wanted her more than I’d wanted a woman in ages. Maybe ever. The problem was that I had to leave and she had to stay.
Or did she?
I looked over at her and contemplated asking her to come to Fort Lauderdale with me for a while. She didn’t like me giving her money or buying her things, but I was willing to bet she’d never taken a paid vacation from the rink, and I could make that happen. According to the accountant I’d hired, the books were a mess. Taxes and bills were paid, but beyond that, there was no one in charge, no one keeping an eye on things on a day-to-day basis, and no rhyme or reason to the way things operated. I’d been considering offering Noelle the job of manager of the whole arena, but if I did that, how could she come visit me regularly in Florida?
It was way too soon to be thinking about a relationship, but there was no reason we couldn’t continue what we’d started once I headed to Florida. I could afford to fly her back and forth, and maybe if things were still going well, we could reassess in a few months.
“Are you working?” she murmured sleepily, her face still half buried in the pillow.
“Did I wake you?” I asked, putting a hand on her bare shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She turned over and stretched, giving me an unimpeded view of her beautiful breasts. “What time are we heading back to Garland Grove?”
“Whenever we feel like it. I was going to work for a while and then order breakfast. We don’t have to check out until noon.”
“I could eat,” she said, smiling lazily, her eyes fluttering closed again.
“You look like you could sleep longer,” I said.
“I could, but I like it better when you’re under the covers with me instead of sitting up working.”
Suddenly, work didn’t seem that important. I closed my laptop, put it on the floor next to the bed, and slid beneath the covers, pulling her against my chest.
“Like this?”
“Mmhm.” She nestled against me and within a few minutes her breathing evened out and I knew she was asleep.
I watched her for a little while, but I must have drifted off too, because the next time I opened my eyes it was after ten and I heard her in the bathroom. I ordered breakfast and then joined her in the shower. We made love, ate, packed up our things, and got back on the road, even though I would have liked to stay in Vancouver longer. I’d already started to crave having her beside me at night, and I didn’t want to go back to the bed and breakfast where she felt uncomfortable staying with me.