Eight months earlier

Vlad got to the locker room in the nick of time, knowing he was almost late. He and Rachel had lost track of time in her hotel room, talking, laughing and making out. He’d nearly fallen off the couch when he’d realized how late it had gotten. Luckily, Rachel was pretty easygoing, grabbing her purse and immediately announcing she was ready. Even though her lipstick had smudged and her shirt was rumpled. He’d laughingly wiped her face before they hurried to the elevator.

Based on the way Brock was looking at him, he probably had a stupid grin on his face, but there didn’t seem to be anything he could do about it.

“What the hell happened to you the other night?” Brock was asking. “I got back to the room about six a.m. and you weren’t there.”

“Met someone.” He shrugged. “Went to her room.”

“Yeah?” Brock wiggled his eyebrows. “Hot?”

Vlad just smiled, starting to pull on his equipment.

Toli sank down beside him, searching his face. “So, what happened?” he asked in Russian, since no one else knew about Rachel.

“She’s great,” he replied in kind. “I really like her.”

“What about all the sexual tension?” his friend teased.

Vlad turned to him, his face serious. “We haven’t slept together. We’re going to wait.”

Toli’s mouth fell open and he snapped it shut before bursting out laughing.

Zakk Cloutier glanced over at them and scowled. “If it’s that funny, would you speak English already?”

The look of panic on Vlad’s face made Toli laugh harder, though he continued to speak in Russian. “So you really like her, eh?”

“Stop laughing!” Vlad looked so miserable Toli took pity on him.

“Look, I think it’s great—but why the hell are you waiting?”

Vlad sighed. “I don’t know. The words came out of my mouth like diarrhea and then I couldn’t stop talking and then she agreed and now I have to wait until we go to Anaheim.” He finished in a rush that had Toli laughing so hard he had to hold his stomach.

“How come we don’t get to know what’s funny?” Zakk grumbled.

“Asshole!” Vlad grunted at Toli in English. “I never tell you shit again.”

Toli put a hand on his friend’s arm, his eyes serious as he continued in Russian, though he was still chuckling. “If this is something that’s working for the two of you, so what if you wait two weeks for sex? It’s kind of romantic, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know anything about romance,” Vlad grumbled. “She started talking about the difference between making love and fucking—I have no idea what that means.”

Toli smiled. “That’s not something I can explain—you can only feel it. The first time you truly make love to a woman you’ll know.”

Vlad met his friend’s gaze. “Did you feel this the first time you slept with Tessa?”

“Not the first time,” Toli admitted. “I think it was our second trip together—not the second time we had sex, but our second time together as a couple since we had to do the long-distance thing for a little while.”

“That’s not helpful.” Vlad tried to focus on getting dressed.

“Don’t let her get in your head,” Toli said gently. “Everything will happen the way it’s supposed to. Is she here tonight?”

He nodded. “She would not sit with the others—she’s by herself. She’s wearing my jersey from the World Junior Championships when I was fifteen.”

Toli tried to hide his smile as he looked at his friend. “That’s really great. When will you see her after tonight? Anaheim?”

Vlad nodded.

“Finish getting dressed—it’s going to be okay.” Toli went to his own locker, leaving Vlad to his thoughts.

* * *

When Vlad put the third puck in the net that night, scoring the first hat trick of his career, he became acutely aware there was something special about the woman in the crowd who’d brought him luck. As his teammates piled on top of him on the ice, he felt a rush of pride and camaraderie. He managed to get back to his feet and looked in Rachel’s direction in the stands. She was standing on her seat jumping up and down, a huge smile on her face. For the first time in his life, Vlad thought he might be a little bit in love.

“Game isn’t over,” Toli whispered in Russian. “Stop looking at her!”

“She’s the reason I scored—I’ll look at her all I want,” Vlad snipped, though he was still grinning from ear to ear.

Toli shook his head. “You’re in so much trouble—this is going to be fun.”

Vlad almost stuck his tongue out at him but caught himself in time. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d known Rachel for two days and he was talking about his feelings with another guy, holding out on sex so that it would be more special and almost acting like a three-year-old on the ice. What the fuck? If this was love, he was going to need to find a way to stop the insanity.

“So that’s your new girlfriend?” Zakk nudged him as they skated back to the bench. “She’s kinda cute.”

“She is much more than cute,” Vlad countered.

“Rachel Kennedy,” Toli whispered in Zakk’s ear. Zakk’s mouth fell open, but Vlad was only half-listening as Coach Barnett spoke to him quietly.

“Are you kidding?” Zakk stage whispered to Toli.

Toli shrugged. “You know what’s cool? I think our slut puppy is falling hard and fast—this is going to be awesome!”

“Unless she breaks his heart.”

“Da.” Yes. Toli momentarily slipped into Russian. “But this is part of life. One way or another, he will experience it so it might as well happen when he’s got all of us to help him through it.”

Zakk shook his head. “You’re right—but it’s still going to be fun.”

“I heard that,” Vlad muttered, giving his friends a look.

* * *

Rachel woke up the following Sunday morning with a smile on her face. Vlad would be arriving in a few hours and though she wouldn’t see him until after the game, it was almost impossible to contain her excitement. She spent the afternoon working out and making sure she had everything she needed for the upcoming week. Sundays were usually her day to do nothing but knowing that Vlad would probably spend the night, she wanted to make sure she didn’t have to think about anything but him. They’d danced around the subject of having sex all week and she’d been careful not to push it. He was decidedly nervous about that aspect of their relationship, and she almost wished she hadn’t told him about her thoughts on lovemaking. She wanted their time together to be easy and uncomplicated, despite the realities of life with the kinds of jobs they had. She probably needed to express that but was afraid it would sound like she was jumping into a relationship.

Driving down to Anaheim, she got to the arena right when the doors opened and wandered down to the ice, sinking into her seat and watching as people started to arrive. She didn’t come to Anaheim much, preferring to see the Kings in L.A. if she went to a hockey game, but she’d been more than happy to come for Vlad. He was flying home in the morning and she had to be at work at seven tomorrow morning, but they were hoping for a few hours together before they had to separate. Luckily, the game was at three o’clock so there would be time before it got too late.

“Rachel?” A voice spoke behind her and Rachel turned in surprise.

“Hi there!” Molly Gianni, Dom’s wife, smiled at her. “I thought that was you. Dom said Vlad had gotten you a ticket, so I hope you’ll be sitting with us?”

“Thank you, I’d love to.” Rachel followed her and was relieved to see faces she recognized. Suze Armstrong, Kate Martensson, and Erin Riser were married to players that had been friends with Jamie, and they waved as Rachel and Molly approached. She sank down between them happily, eager to catch up even though she didn’t know what she was going to tell them about Vlad.

“Hey!” They all exchanged pleasantries.

“Do you come to a lot of games in Anaheim?” Suze asked her.

Rachel sighed. “Um, no. Actually, almost never.”

Kate cocked her head. “So there’s a reason you came today?”

“Are you dating someone else on the team?” Suze guessed, her eyes widening.

Rachel groaned. “God, I hate feeling like I’m doing something wrong! But I met him by accident—it’s not what it seems.”

“Who is it?” Kate asked curiously.

“Wait, let’s guess!” Suze grinned. “Brock Lassiter!”

“Oh! No.” Rachel giggled. “Too much facial hair for my liking!”

The girls all giggled too; Brock sported a full beard that hung down several inches from his chin. He was a complete Neanderthal sometimes, although women seemed to love him.

“Matt Forbes is single again,” Kate murmured.

“Nope.” Rachel shook her head. “Think younger.”

“Younger?” Molly frowned. “One of the rookies?”

Rachel couldn’t help but laugh. “Tall. Bedroom eyes. Russian.”

Suze’s mouth fell open. “Vlad?”

The women all stared at her.

“But he doesn’t date!” Kate protested. “He’s a total man-whore!”

“He’s very sweet,” Erin spoke up for the first time, her blue eyes twinkling. “He’s been on the fast track to screwing every unattached woman in Vegas under the age of thirty—he could probably use a little stability in his life.”

“I don’t know if I qualify for that.” Rachel laughed. “But he’s really, really sweet.”

“And hot.” Molly grinned at her.

“There is that,” Rachel agreed.

“Is he concerned about your history with Jamie?” Suze asked cautiously.

“I was the one worried about it when Vlad and I met, but the alternative would be not dating him at all, which is unfair. And anyway, he says it’s no big deal. We’re all friends and Jamie’s moved on.”

“Are you worried we’ll judge you for dating two different players?” Suze asked knowingly.

Rachel nodded.

“It might be a little weird if Jamie was still playing here,” Erin said. “But since he’s not, I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

“So you and Vlad,” Kate smirked, moving the conversation in a different direction. “That’s kind of cool. He’s young, but I’m guessing with all the sleeping around he’s done he’s not a disappointment in bed?”

Rachel felt her cheeks get red. “Um, well…”

“Well?” Molly prompted.

“We haven’t done that yet.”

Four pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. “Wait, how long has this been going on?” Kate demanded.

“Two weeks?”

“And you haven’t had sex?” Erin gaped at her.

“We decided to wait.” Rachel bit her lip. She couldn’t believe she was telling them this, but it seemed as though once you were part of the group, nothing was off-limits.

“For what?” Suze asked.

“I’m not sure. I think it has to do with me trying to explain the difference between making love and fucking.” She repeated the gist of their conversation.

“You know if you get serious there’s going to be talk?” Suze spoke gently. “And some of it might not be very flattering.”

“I know.” Rachel lowered her gaze. “But we haven’t done anything wrong. Vlad and I met at a casino by accident. Besides, I really like him, and I’m used to gossip. It’s par for the course in my line of work.”

“I think it’s great,” Kate said. “Our group, and the guys on the team, will be fine. But in your world, the media can be relentless.”

Rachel sighed. “It comes with the job.”

It seemed time to change the subject, so Erin said, “Now let me get this straight; you spent some time together, didn’t have sex, and you’re seeing each other tonight. Is tonight the night?”

“God, I hope so!” Rachel giggled. “It’s been almost four months for me!”

“That’s a long time,” Kate said sympathetically. “I’m pregnant with twins and we still have sex every day when he’s home!”

“Every day?” Rachel sighed dreamily. “I haven’t had sex on a regular basis in ages!”

“Hopefully you’ll get some tonight!” Molly grinned.

Rachel raised her cup of wine. “Amen to that!”