Page 25 of How to Puck Your Boss (L.A. Hawks Hockey #3)

She snorted, her eyes sparkling with amusement, yet she was still a little taken aback. “I did need a cool down. Thanks. Then again, oh my God, are we in kindergarten?”

“You tell me. You just gave me a ‘ men are stupid’ speech.”

For a few moments, she just blinked at him, uncomprehending, while she made natatorial motions with her arms to keep from drowning. Then she said, perplexed, “Shit, I did, didn’t I? Oh man. I’m acting ridiculous. I had a tantrum. Completely justified! But still…”

Groaning, she pushed her hair out of her face before sliding to the edge to hold on.

Single drops had caught in her eyelashes and rested on her full lower lip. Penny’s whole face seemed to glitter and glow…and no one should look that pretty under fluorescent lights. Not to mention, her blouse was white and wet — and damn, completely see-through.

Suddenly, Jack found it much harder to swim than usual, so he held on to the edge of the pool with one hand right next to Penny’s shoulder.

He had expected her to pull herself out of the water, but Penny stayed where she was, her head tilted thoughtfully, as if she were considering her behavior. For his part, Jack was fairly certain she hadn’t done anything wrong that day.

“Is that lettuce on your blouse?” he asked – anything to distract him from staring at her bra.

Penny nodded. “I’m a vegetarian. I wanted to support the underappreciated vegetable.”

He smiled broadly. “Of course. So, why was your tantrum justified?”

Sighing, she rubbed her eyes. “Because I just had a meeting with management, and they wouldn’t even listen to me.”

“Management rarely does.”

“Yes, I know. But I’m in management at the moment, and they should have at least listened to my suggestion.”

“What suggestion?”

She bit her lower lip. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He chuckled softly and latched on to the edge of the pool with his other hand, wedging her between his arms. He enjoyed the way her pupils dilated when he did so.

Her knees brushed against his thighs. He couldn’t lie to himself.

It wasn’t the cold – he knew she was to blame for the telltale goosebumps spreading across his entire body.

“So, if you don’t want to talk and I don’t want to talk…” he said slowly, moving his hands closer together so that his thumbs ran over the wet fabric of her blouse.

He saw Penny swallow before she whispered, “What’s going to happen, Jack?”

He didn’t know himself. He just knew that he was tired of feeling bad about his father and Penny could make everything better.

“Well,” he said thoughtfully, “I was just wondering if you truly believe all men are stupid?”

The corners of her mouth twitched, and her gaze darted to his lips. Only for a tenth of a second, but he saw it. He felt it all over his body.

“You’re flirting with me again,” she whispered. Droplets ran down her cheek and fell into the water, forming small ripples.

“No,” he murmured and slid his right hand to her neck. He put his thumb under her chin to lift it. “What I’m doing is much more than flirting.”

She bit her lip again. Her chest rose and fell faster. “Jack, if you kiss me now, it’s only to distract yourself. To distract me .”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” he murmured roughly…and kissed her.

Because he didn’t want to talk anymore. Because he didn’t want to be angry anymore.

Because he wanted her to forget what was frustrating her so much.

Because they were alone, and they had an opportunity.

Because he hadn’t thought of anything else for weeks.

Because he didn’t care how many more reasons he could list – the fact that he wanted it would have been enough for him.

So, he closed his eyes, pressed his lips to hers, and turned his mind off.

He held the edge of the pool with one hand, stood on the small ledge along the side, his feet between hers, and took what he had wanted for weeks.

Gave her what she had wanted for weeks. Penelope sighed, hesitated for a second…

and then gave in to the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck while she pressed her upper body against his.

Jack felt the buttons of her blouse against his bare chest and her hard nipples fighting their way through the damp fabric.

He felt Penny. Tasted Penny. Thought of nothing but Penny… and how he had missed her.

It was ridiculous. It had only been one night, but it had also been one of the best he had ever had.

So, he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue against hers and getting hard immediately.

Penny’s moans were swallowed by another greedy kiss as she pressed her belly against his length and rubbed against him until he couldn’t think straight.

He kissed her jaw and neck, enjoying the way she shuddered at his every touch.

Her skin was so warm in contrast to the cold water.

He ran his thumb gently over her cheek before claiming her mouth again, wishing he could stay in this moment forever.

But moments always passed.

“Wait, wait,” Penny murmured breathlessly, pulling away from him. Her lips were swollen, her cheeks flushed, and her arms were still wrapped around his neck. All of this was in direct contrast to her next words: “We shouldn’t… We should act more grown up.”

He had to suppress a smile. Even when they were kissing, she was still conflicted. “I think making out is very grown-up.”

She laughed nervously. “Jack, you know what I mean. We’ve been at this exact point before. Jack…”

“I know my name.”

“Jack! We shouldn’t…”

“Screw what we shouldn’t do,” he interrupted, shaking his head and burying his hand deeper in her wet hair and pressing his pelvis against hers.

He did it just because he wanted to watch Penny’s eyes widen with desire.

“We tried to keep our distance. We failed. We can’t forget what happened, so let’s remember it, instead.

I want you, Penny. All the time.” He ran his hand down her neck, feeling her pounding pulse under his fingertips.

“When I’m in the shower or on the ice. When I’m alone or with a dozen hockey players.

I want you and I get hard just hearing your damn name.

I can’t think, I can’t sleep. I wake up and feel your hands on my body.

Smell and taste you as soon as I close my eyes — and nothing helps.

” He slid his hand lower, tracing her contours underwater.

He pulled her skirt up higher and pressed his thigh between her legs.

“So, I don’t care that it’s wrong. Because wrong never felt so right. ”

Penny licked her lips before wrapping her arms more tightly around his shoulders. She pressed her thighs together, pushed against him. Still, she said, “But…”

“There will always be a ‘but,’” he murmured, running his fingers over the soft skin just above the waistband of her skirt. “And let’s be honest, if we acted like adults, we would both have to tell the other why we’re in such a bad mood. And neither of us wants to talk about it, so…”

“Okay, I’ll talk about it,” she said quietly, even though her breathing was getting more ragged with each second. Even though she had dug her fingers into his shoulders.

God, she was a much better person than he was, even if she was the more nervous one, because her next words were quick and fluid.

“I suggested they use Leon Alvarez as a winger.”

Jack opened his mouth in surprise and blinked. For a moment, he forgot that he was still painfully hard.

“Yeah, I know,” she said, looking away and pulling back slightly.

She had obviously drawn her own conclusions by his expression.

“Nobody else would have thought of that. But I’ve studied his stats, Jack!

He’s a good defender, but he’s even better at assisting goals!

It never occurred to me, you know? I did research and watched him and…

they didn’t even look at all the graphs I made.

” She let out a gush of air in frustration.

He understood frustration – because, shit, he was frustrated right. Her pelvis was no longer pressing against his erection – but if Penny needed someone to listen right now, fine.

“Okay,” he said roughly, trying to concentrate. It was clear why Lyle and the coach had dismissed her idea as absurd. Leon had been a defender all his life. And he had never heard of a player switching positions mid-career like that.

“They looked at me like I was crazy – I’m used to it! – and then they made me understand that I had no say, and my ideas weren’t even worth listening to.”

She pressed her lips together and dug her nails into his neck. Apparently, she didn’t realize that this wasn’t helping him think more clearly. But he tried.

“Good. May I give you some advice?” he murmured, forcibly tearing his eyes away from her lips.

“Don’t take it personally. Lyle and the coach…

They will never let anyone interfere with their jobs.

Whether it’s you or Gareth. They’re too proud for that.

They won’t willingly admit that someone else has a brilliant idea.

That someone else sees something they don’t.

You have to force them to listen. Force them to implement your ideas. Force them to see that you’re smart.”

She opened her mouth, confused. “How?”

“Well, what can you do that they can’t?”

She snorted. “Obviously, I can deal with people and understand statistics!”

“Okay.” He nodded. “Then go with that.”

“How?” She looked up at him…her hard nipples sliding across his chest.

Good God. The press was right; he honestly was a damn saint.

Instead of moaning, he replied, “I have no idea. That’s your problem.

But then you’re rather smart, so you’ll find a way.

Honestly, just be persistent. Lyle, the coach, and your brother won’t give you anything for free, so don’t give them anything for free, either.

Ask for something in return – for anything you do that helps them. ”

“But…” She blinked. “That sounds manipulative. We need to work together. Shouldn’t there be some civility?

He chuckled softly and brushed a damp lock from her forehead. “Are they civil with you? Besides, the three of them don’t understand working together . What they do understand is intelligence and brilliance…and leverage.”

“But I don’t have leverage.”

“Then get some. Use your intelligence and brilliance. As for Leon…” He rocked his head from side to side. He found it hard to believe that the defender would make a great winger, but if Penny had studied it closely, evaluated his statistics…

“What about Leon?” she wanted to know, her voice sharper than before.

“Well, he’s used to his position as a defender, but you should probably look at the numbers. Ask Leon what he thinks. Ask him to try it out during practice. I mean it doesn’t cost anything to try it out, does it?”

He looked at Penny, who was staring back with her lips slightly parted.

For a few moments, she didn’t move, just stared at him with strangely shining eyes.

Then she pulled his head in and kissed him.