Chapter 12

Blue

Sadie lets out a huge yawn as the team bus pulls in front of the hotel. The flight crew has the option to ride the same buses that the team takes from hotels to arenas as a perk of our job if we want or we can take an Uber. If we go with the team, this means we get to the arenas really early before a game which can be boring. But tonight we hopped the ride since the arena in Houston sits amid a huge retail and restaurant complex where we had no problem killing a few hours window shopping before the game.

For both trips, there and back, I sat with Sadie, even though Erik had beckoned to me when I got on. I just gave a slight shake of my head, not wanting to be so obvious about our relationship on game day. I feel like that’s sort of interfering so Sadie and I took a pair of seats near the front of the bus.

The game tonight against the Jam went into overtime and my throat was raw from cheering. The Vengeance pulled it out, though, and I’ve never seen a more determined group of players in my life. They’re gritty and inexhaustible when it comes to fighting down to the wire for a win. As always, Erik was a pleasure to watch on the ice and I have to admit, tonight was a bit different. Watching him out there, and knowing that we were actually a couple put a new spin on things. I had even more pride in how he played, and it was more nerve-racking to watch because a win would be more personal to me since it was personal to Erik.

I follow Sadie off the bus, hopping off the last step. “I’m going to wait for Erik,” I tell her.

She throws a hand over her shoulder in acknowledgment. “See you up in the room.”

I’m waiting for Erik because he had texted me on the ride from the arena to the hotel and asked me to do so. He sat near the back of the bus so it will take a few minutes for him to make it out. I’m sure he probably wants a good night kiss before we head to our respective rooms—me with Sadie and him with Legend—so I’m not going to say no to that.

Several players disembark as I wait. Legend and Dax who both wink at me. Tacker Hall, the captain, gets off next. Notoriously quiet and withdrawn, he gives me a soft, “G’night, Blue,” as he walks passed me.

I’m so surprised he said something, I start to answer, but then Erik is standing in front of me and Tacker in all his melancholic glory is forgotten. Damn the man looks good in a suit and he smells fantastic too.

I notice immediately that he’s empty-handed. “Where’s your duffel bag?”

“Legend’s taking it to the room for me,” he says and I can’t say that I noticed Legend carrying two bags when he walked by but that’s irrelevant. “Wanted to see if you’d like to go for a walk before we headed to bed.”

It was a beautiful night and the temperature was crisp. I’d worn a Vengeance sweatshirt to the game so I was more than comfortable. We looked very odd together, Erik in his designer suit of steel blue and me in jeans and a sweatshirt.

But I guess that really doesn’t matter. I hold my hand out to him and he takes it. “Where to?” I ask.

“Let’s just walk for a few blocks,” he suggests and we start away from the hotel at a leisurely pace. The hotel is smack in the middle of downtown and is surrounded by restaurants, upscale bars, and retail stores. Even closing in on midnight, the area is still well lit and bustling with pedestrian traffic.

“You played amazing tonight,” I tell him.

He squeezes my hand as he looks down at me. “We need to get you a Dalhbeck jersey.”

“I’ll get one this weekend,” I assure him.

“Let me correct myself,” he admonishes. “I need to get you a jersey. I’ll get Billy one too.”

“That’s way too much—”

“Blue,” Erik cuts in as he brings us both to a stop. He turns me to face him, oblivious to other pedestrians who have to walk around us. “I get what we have going on here is new and we’ve only been on two dates, with our third tomorrow, but what we do have is definitely not thin.”

“Not thin?” I repeat with confusion.

“We have substance. Put the insane sexual chemistry and attraction aside, we’re two people that have found out that we really like each other on a deeper level. We’re two people that weren’t right for each other five years ago, but we’re finding real joy in spending time together now. It’s certainly not too much to buy you and Billy a jersey.”

“But it’s a little weird for you to buy me things when you hardly know me,” I point out. “I mean…for Pete’s sake…you don’t even know my middle name.”

“I watched you ride my leg until you made yourself come,” he returns with a flash of teeth set in a wicked grin. “I know you well enough.”

“Fair point,” I concede with a dull ache forming between my legs at that wicked reminder, then incline my head. “Then by all means…I’ll take a medium and Billy probably a large.”

Erik throws his head back and laughs, but it only lasts a moment before he’s jerking me into him with his hands at my face. His mouth touches mine even as he’s still chuckling but when I slip my tongue inside to touch his, it’s not funny anymore. Erik wraps himself around me and deepens the kiss, right there in the middle of a Houston sidewalk as people walk by.

With a growl of frustration, Erik moves his mouth along my cheek to whisper in my ear. “You do know how much I want you, right, Blue?”

“Yeah,” I murmur back. Erik hugs me tighter to him and I can feel the ridge of his cock pressing into my stomach.

“Soon,” he promises and kisses me on my cheek. “Let’s head back.”

When we step inside, there’s a few of the younger players hanging out in the bar that sits just off the lobby. They beckon Erik and me in but we decline. I know other players probably hit up some of the bars around the area for a few hours of shenanigans. The plane doesn’t leave until 8:00 A.M. and they have a full day tomorrow to rest and recuperate outside of the practice skate which usually goes no longer than forty-five minutes. I had been shocked when I first started working for the team by how hard some of these men party after games and into the wee hours of the morning.

“What floor are you on?” Erik asks as we enter the elevator.

“Tenth,” I tell him, pulling my room key out of my purse.

Erik taps the appropriate button. “I’ll walk you to your room first. I’m on the fifteenth.”

There’s no stopping the dopey grin on my face as I realize, I’m experiencing real “boyfriend” stuff for the first time ever. I never dated in high school and my days in LA were filled with partying and meaningless relationships. When I returned to Phoenix to take care of Billy, I didn’t even have time to think about dating as I got him settled into the Cresson, moved into my new home, and started a new job.

But now I’ve got a handsome, successful man gallantly walking me to my room that sits five floors below his own and which it would be perfectly safe for me to go to on my own. A man that wants to bring my brother—wheelchair and all—to see a hockey game. A man that wants to walk a few blocks with me just so we can hang for a little bit.

A man who I feel like I could fall hard for.

I know I should have some reservations about letting myself get involved with Erik, who really did me wrong in the past, but as we exit off the elevator and our hands naturally find each others, I don’t have a single damn qualm.

“Want to catch an early breakfast with me tomorrow?” Erik asks as we approach my room.

“Sure. What time?”

“Bus is leaving at 7:30 so we should have plenty of time to eat if we meet down there at 7.”

“Sounds good,” I agree as we reach my door.

There’s a handwritten note stuck in between the door and the jamb. I put my key in the card slot, open the door slightly, and snag the piece of paper.

I open it up and see Sadie’s elegant penmanship. Erik looks over my shoulder at the note as we read it silently together.

Blue,

Valerie and Legend are hooking up and they’re in his room which means Erik has been kicked out. I’m going to go sleep with Lyla and thus you and Erik can have this room. Unless you want Erik to go sleep with Lyla?

No? Didn’t think so.

Have fun you two.

Sadie

“This is Legend’s doing,” Erik says with a grim smile as I twist my neck to look at him. “I’m sure he thought he was doing me a solid or something. I’ll go down there and tell him to send Valerie back to her room.”

I laugh. “No, it’s okay. We’re adults.”

I start to push the door open, wondering what it will be like to sleep in the same bed all night as Erik. His hand on my upper arm stops me and I turn to face him.

His eyes are dark and intense as they capture mine. “If I go in that room with you, you know I’m not going to be able to help myself. I’m going to touch you.”

A shiver runs straight up my spine over the ambiguity of his words. Touch me how? Where? To what end? He did say he was going to take things slowly but what does that even mean?

“I know that,” I reply without hesitation, choosing to go ahead and give him the all clear that he most certainly can touch me if he wants.

“And is that what you want?” His words are strained, his jaw locked tight with anticipation. “For me to touch you?”

My legs turn rubbery over the intensity of his stare and my panties dampen. “Yes.”

“Christ,” he mutters before pushing me through the door and backing me right into the room. His mouth hits mine only moments before my legs hit the edge of a bed and we both go tumbling onto it.

Erik’s hands are all over me. In my hair, on my breasts, in between my legs where he immediately cups me through the denim fabric.

I don’t hesitate to reciprocate. I’ve been dying to touch his body again. I remember every detail of it from our night five years ago. My hand goes right to his groin where I palm his erection, causing Erik to hiss into my mouth. He rears back from me, bolting off the bed. I watch as he tears at his clothes in a frenzy, all the while staring at me with so much heat in his eyes, a tiny trickle of fear slithers through me.

Not fear that I’ll get physically hurt but that I’ll be destroyed for anyone else.

Erik merely ditches his suit coat and tie, loosening the top two buttons of his shirt. His attention then comes to me and he mutters. “I need you naked, Blue.”

This I can do but he doesn’t even give me the opportunity. He hauls me off the bed as if I’m a rag doll and swiftly divests me of all of my clothing. He turns me this way and that until I’m in nothing but my bra and panties standing before him.

Erik goes still and lets his gaze roam down my body ever so slowly. His eyes stop on my pelvis and he traces the waistband of my panties with his finger. I shudder from the touch.

Stepping into me, Erik reaches behind my back and deftly undoes my bra. He lets it fall to the ground and presses his palms to my breasts. I can’t help but moan as he lifts and squeezes gently.

“Blue,” he murmurs and I realize my eyes had closed on their own volition. I open them up to find Erik staring at me with a fierceness that takes me slightly aback. “I’m glad I don’t remember much about our first night together.”

“Why?” I whisper, liking the way his deep voice makes the heat in my belly start to whirl with anticipation.

“Because obviously it didn’t mean much to me, and that disrespected you,” he says earnestly and I want nothing more than in this moment to just hug him even as I want to jump his bones. He pauses as if searching for the right words before he continues. “Tonight, though…this is what matters. This is really our first night together.”

Even though my throat is dry with both emotion and lust, I manage to reply, “That’s a beautiful thought, Erik. That means a lot.”

His return smile is so gorgeous, I’m awestruck. He gently pushes me to the bed and when I start to scoot up toward the headboard, he orders, “Just stay there.”

I go still as Erik drops to his knees at the end of the bed and brings his hands to my hips to pull my panties down. I have to brace my palms on the mattress and lift up slightly to assist him, but they slide easily down my legs and are forgotten the way my bra was.

My face flushes with slight embarrassment as Erik pushes my legs apart and stares at me.

“I remember this,” he rasps as he brings a finger to my mons which is completely waxed smooth. He grazes the tip along my skin and an exquisitely powerful jolt of lust hits me dead center. If he were to push his finger in, he’d know just how much I’m affected.

“Lie back on the bed,” Erik orders.

“Erik,” I breathe out, and I’m not sure if I’m begging him to hurry or warning him off from what he’s about to do. Am I ready for something so intimate?

“Lie back, Blue,” he orders me again and my body complies. I sink back onto the mattress, my gaze coasting to the ceiling above me because I don’t think I can bear to watch him. It would be too much.

Too powerful.

I feel Erik’s hands under my legs, lifting and spreading them. They come to rest on his shoulders and then I feel the heat of his breath on my pussy for just the briefest of moments.

Then his mouth is on me.

It’s warm and wet. All-encompassing. Totally devouring.

Erik’s hands slide under my ass and curl to grip my hips. He pulls hard on my body, forcing me deeper into his mouth so he can eat me.

“Oh God,” I cry out as he drives his tongue into me, pressing his face hard against my wet flesh. He growls in need, maybe satisfaction and the vibrations rumble through me. My hips surge up, needing more and Erik gives it to me.

He sucks and laps and even bites. He drives me steadily higher with the power of his mouth alone. He acts like a man starved and I’m the only nourishment that will suffice.

I feel the orgasm rushing toward me and I want it. I want it bad so I open up and let it have me. Erik sucks hard on my clit and I blow apart with a scream that I’m pretty sure could be heard in the adjoining rooms. Erik merely growls again—this time with supreme satisfaction—as he continues to lick and nuzzle at me, bringing me gently back down to earth again.

I manage to get my elbows to the mattress to lift myself up and I stare almost blearily at him. His chin rests on my pelvic bone and he grins like a Cheshire cat at me. His lips are shiny with my wetness and when his tongue comes out to lick at them, I have another bolt of lust strike me hard. I may have just come harder than ever before in my life, but I’m ten times hornier right now than I was just before my orgasm hit me.

“Get a condom out,” I order Erik.

I’m stunned to get a sad shake of Erik’s head as he comes to his feet. His cock is tenting the front of his dress pants. “Don’t have one.”

“What?” I practically shriek as I scramble from the mattress. “What kind of playboy professional hockey player doesn’t have a condom on him?”

“Wasn’t expecting this tonight, Blue.”

And it hits me. He really was taking things slow and this had not crossed his mind at all—that we would be together in an intimate position tonight.

Erik chuckles and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “I won’t make that mistake again, but that’s it for tonight.”

“Oh, hell no it isn’t,” I say with a snarl of challenge. My hands go to his dress shirt and I work quickly at the buttons.

“What are you doing, Blue?” Erik asks with an amused expression on his face.

“Going to give you exactly what you just gave me,” I tell him as I tug at the material. It gets stuck on his broad shoulders and I decide not to waste time on it. My hands drop to his belt and I easily work it open. Next the button, and then the zipper. Erik’s breath catches when I slip my fingers into the waistband of his boxers and push them down along with his pants. I get them down to mid-thigh, dropping to my knees before him at the same time.

Slowly, I look up his body. Strong, tanned legs with dark, crisp hair covering them. His cock which is erect and sticking upward with a slight curve to it. His heavy balls, completely smooth from the waxing he did just to get a date with me. I have to admit I like it this way, particularly around the base of his dick which makes it look infinitely larger.

My gaze goes farther upward and I see that Erik has the bottom of his T-shirt and dress shirt clutched in his hands and pulled halfway up his torso so he can look down to see what’s going on, his eyes dark and filled with need. His abs are contracted into sexy ridges with a line of dark hair going from the bottom of his belly button and stopping just short of his pelvis where the skin turns smooth and bare.

Putting my hands on the backs of Erik’s thighs, I lean in and tilt my head. I do nothing but draw the tip of my tongue along the front of his balls, marveling at how soft they are.

“Fuck,” Erik barks and his hips punch forward in surprise. “That feels…different.”

“No hair to lessen the sensation,” I murmur and kiss him there softly. I open my mouth and suck one of his balls into my mouth, rolling it gently with my tongue. One of Erik’s hands come to the back of my head and he holds me tightly to him for a moment, groaning over the way I work at him.

I let him fall free from my mouth and I take a moment to look up at Erik’s face. His jaw is clenched tight, the muscles in his neck straining. His face is red and his eyes are fevered. They beg me to finish him hard and fast.

Wrapping a hand around the base of his cock, I bring the tip to my mouth and don’t bother with any teasing play. I slide him all the way to the back of my throat, not able to take him in fully because of his length. I roll his balls with my other hand and start to move on him. I suck at him hard with long strokes so I can maximize his pleasure. Erik’s breathing immediately turns harsh and his hips start to pump. He drops the hold on his shirts, using both his hands on my head to hold me in place.

“I’m going to fuck your face, Blue,” Erik growls at me and then grunts with deep pleasure as he pushes into my throat. I swallow, letting him feel me contract on him. I sheath my teeth, flatten my tongue and I stay still while Erik pumps in and out of me; the only effort I put into it is a hard sucking motion when he pulls back.

“Blue,” Erik groans as if he’s deifying me. “I’m going to come.”

I answer by sliding my hands to his ass and helping him to move. I pull him hard to me, let him take my mouth and my throat, and I suck hard one more time.

“Fuck,” Erik barks as he lodges into my mouth, the tip of his cock unleashing on the back of my tongue. Warm, salty liquid hits me and I swallow it down with utter relish. I can feel Erik shuddering as my hands grip his ass hard and I suck again on him, pulling every last drop out.

“Oh, Blue…Jesus,” he murmurs as he pulls his sated cock out of my mouth with a satisfied groan.

I dab at the corners of my mouth as I look up at him, hoping that I did okay.

Erik bends over, puts his hands under my armpits and lifts me to my feet so we’re facing each other. He puts a hand under my chin and grips it. Dipping his head, he brushes his lips across mine, feather soft.

When he pulls back, his eyes are soft and sincere. “You are amazing. That was amazing.”

I smile back at him, relieved that, apparently, I have some good skills in that department. This is good, because Erik sure as hell has oral sex mastered and I want us to do that to each other frequently.