Page 6 of How to Puck Your Boss (L.A. Hawks Hockey #3)

For a few endless seconds, Jack said nothing. Then, “You realize you’re becoming more mysterious by the second, right?”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I know. That’s just me.” It was always better to be mysterious than to have her private life plastered all over the internet.

Jack merely nodded before giving her a quick, questioning glance and pulling off the highway. Was he wondering if it had been a good idea to drive her home?

Silence settled over them like a soft blanket.

Penny inhaled deeply, trying to calm her heartbeat, but it was hopeless.

The car smelled of money, unspoken expectations, and man.

Everything about it made her nervous. So, she swallowed and looked around, searching for compelling clues about Jack’s life, but all she could find was a small stuffed hawk on the back seat that she knew all too well.

It was the mascot of the L.A. Hawks, the hockey team that would possibly soon be hers.

Her father had made no bones about it when he called, stating that he would disinherit her if she didn’t return.

“Are you a hockey fan?” she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Hmm, yes. You could say that,” Jack said.

Okay, that was obviously not a fruitful topic for conversation. Damn. At the airport, it was so easy for them to talk about everything under the sun. Now, however, in the confines of the car, with all these unspoken things between them, the heated air, and the knowledge of what could be…

The car stopped abruptly, and Penny glanced up in surprise.

According to the sat nav, they had reached their destination.

She peered out the window and opened her mouth, stunned.

A high iron gate shielded the view, but behind it, a few feet away, a tall white building was visible.

The entire thing looked like the entrance to a high-security prison.

Yep, Gareth would choose an apartment for her with this exact type of ambiance.

“Are you part of the Mexican mafia?” Jack casually asked, peering through the windshield at the various surveillance cameras.

Penny chuckled. “That belongs in the private column, sorry.”

An amused snort came as a reply. “Well then,” he said and stayed seated.

“Well then…” she replied slowly, looking at him thoughtfully. Should she just… Yes, she should! “Do you want to come upstairs? Have a drink? My brother probably bought me some whiskey.”

Jack looked at her. His gaze slid over her face and stopped at her lips…then he groaned softly, put a hand on his forehead, and shook his head. “I shouldn’t.”

Surprised, she raised her eyebrows. “No?” Because he didn’t sound certain.

“No.”

“Why not?”

Hesitantly, he scratched the back of his neck. “I have this rule…”

“What kind of rule?”

“Well, I…” He narrowed his eyes, then sighed briefly and waved it off.

“It doesn’t matter. I can at least carry your suitcase up for you.

That’s…the only polite thing to do.” He jerked open his door.

Her pulse immediately shot up, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, and she wiped her damp palms over her pants.

Oh God, she was crazy. She had come back to L.A.

to prove to her family that she was no longer the chaotic troublemaker she had been – and yet, here she was, with a near stranger…

No one had to know! No one would care what she did inside her own four walls – so what if she herself had never seen them before? What was wrong with that? She had often taken a man home with her only to never see him again.

However, never this man.

Heat worked its way up her neck and into her cheeks.

No, never this man. Never Jack. Who, she feared – as much as she hoped – knew exactly what he was doing.

She also feared he might be too much for her, that she might want more from him than this one night.

And she didn’t have the nerve for that. No time. No emotional space.

“Oh God,” she murmured, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out. What choice did she have but to dig for the key Gareth had left for her with Professor Gilly in New York and tackle the first door?

It had two locks, and it took Penny ages to open it.

Not her fault! She merely found it hard to focus with Jack standing directly behind her, feeling his breath on her neck.

Every nerve ending was on alert. When the door finally gave way to her pressure and Penny stepped into the courtyard, she was breathing twice as fast.

“No need to be nervous, Penny. I’m merely carrying the suitcase up for you,” Jack stated softly. Nevertheless, it sounded a bit like he was talking to himself rather than her – convincing himself, not her.

“Right,” she said quickly and strode across the crunchy gravel to a white, flat-roofed building with lots of overhanging balconies. “And we managed to be honest with each other for almost twelve hours…”

Jack didn’t reply as she opened the second door, stepped into the hallway, and paused. Gareth said her apartment was on the ground floor — this one here.

She turned and tilted her head back to see Jack’s face. The door closed behind him, her suitcase at his side…and he was silent. He looked at her. His gaze was intense and hot.

“So,” she said quietly. “That is my suitcase. Do you want to leave now?”

Jack didn’t move, didn’t say anything, just stood there staring at her. His gaze wandered down her body. Calmly. Leisurely. His pupils dilated. She could see his pulse quickening in his neck, until he swallowed.

“This is a stupid idea,” he finally muttered and shook his head almost imperceptibly.

“Because of your rule?” she asked, licking her lips.

Jack groaned softly and narrowed his eyes. “Yes.”

“Rules are meant to be broken.” She knew that better than anyone.

He exhaled deeply and when he opened his eyes again, there was so much heat in his eyes that Penny shuddered.

She wanted this. She would have to behave from tomorrow onward.

Have to justify herself to journalists — and even worse, her mother!

She would have to argue with her father, let Gareth put pressure on her, and convince a hockey team that she was competent even from afar. She had earned this!

But he had to take the next step. And he knew it because he was still staring at her, his chest rising and falling heavily, and then…

“Fuck it,” he growled, then pulled her up onto her tiptoes and took her mouth with his. He kissed her as if he were starving, as if he was throwing his principles overboard, and wanting it to be worth it.

She didn’t care what his reasons were as long as he didn’t stop. She buried her hands in his hair, opened her lips under his, and became lost. Jack tasted of whiskey and temptation, his touch rough and coarse, his kisses long and deep, and his muscles hard under her fingers.

It felt like they had been sexually charging for the last twelve hours only to now release all that energy.

Jack pressed her against the door, pushed one of his muscular thighs between hers, and ran the flat of his hands up her body over her small breasts, making her gasp.

His tongue hit hers, sending hot bolts surging through her center as she clung to his shoulders, rubbing his hard thigh to keep from collapsing on the floor in desire.

This was hot chaos. Hands everywhere. Biting, tongues, raw desire. It was so easy to let go – to do everything she would then deny herself for the next few weeks. And how the hell did Jack manage to get the door open without her noticing?

She didn’t know, but the next moment, she stumbled backward. She dropped the jute bag and bumped her hip against a shelf that shook menacingly before she heard loud clinking.

Breathing heavily, she paused and pulled away from Jack before peering into his eyes. It was dark, but light from a streetlamp filtered in from the next room. His pupils were huge, only heat and desire…because of her.

She swallowed, digging her fingers deeper into his shoulders.

“Statistically, the USA is number one in one-night stands,” she whispered. “With Germany and Cyprus following. Sixty-six percent of Americans have had one. So, this is nothing special at all, it…”

“It’s going to be special,” he interrupted, kicking her door shut and lowering his mouth to hers again.

Her heart fluttered. It was already special.

She hadn’t had sex in years. Hadn’t been touched like this in eons.

His kisses were greedy, making her dizzy.

Moisture gathered between her legs as he cupped her ass and pulled her pelvis against his rock-hard erection, which she could feel through his jeans.

Oh God, he felt big. It was amazing, just… Shit, how long had it been since she’d had sex? And he seemed so experienced, what if…

“Did we break something? Something tinkled over there, didn’t it?” she whispered, and Jack paused again.

He slowly pulled away. His breathing was shallow, and she could feel his heart pounding violently under her palm.

“Do you always talk when you’re making out?” he asked, sounding amused rather than annoyed.

She swallowed. “Only when I’m nervous.”

“Why are you nervous, Penny?” he asked gently, running his hands down her neck, stroking her rapidly pounding pulse with his index finger.

Everything inside her tightened sweetly. “I know it was practically my idea, but…it’s been a long time for me.”

He nodded. “Would you rather we stop? I…”

“No,” she interrupted, licking her lips, “that’s the last thing I want. I want you…to make me stop thinking. Touch me until my past and future are nothing but a gray mass and colors explode around me.”

Jack gave her a crooked smile and leaned down to her. He kissed her gently on the mouth and behind her ear before trailing moist streaks down her neck while his hands wandered up her hips and under her thin t-shirt.

“Let’s try this,” he whispered and traced her ribcage with his fingers. He slid up her back and down her sides again, slowly and tenderly as if she were something precious.

Penny was actually slim and flat. Everywhere.

But, with his hands on her body, she felt like the curviest, most beautiful woman in the whole world.

And when he cupped her bare breasts and pinched her nipples with his index finger and thumb, a moan escaped her lips that echoed off the ceiling in the strange apartment hallway.

“Fuck. You’re not wearing a bra,” he whispered against her lips.

She shook her head, stars in front of her eyes. “My breasts don’t really need one.”

A throaty gasp came from his mouth. “That wasn’t a criticism, merely an observation.”

He pulled the shirt over her head, tossed it carelessly on the floor, and kissed her neck, peppering little bites along her collarbone, running his hand back to her pants, under her waistband…and rubbing her roughly through her panties with his knuckles.

She whimpered and would have collapsed if he hadn’t held her upright with one leg between hers.

The heat between her thighs was unbearable and there was his thumb, now slipping under her panties, pressing against her clit, rubbing back and forth while Jack kissed her deeply, his tongue pushing against hers at the same moment he slowly slid a finger into her and bent it upward.

Her head fell back as desire swirled in a colorful mass in her abdomen.

More. She needed more.

“So? How’s thinking going?”

“What?” she gasped.

“Good,” he whispered, adding a second finger and thrusting it deep into her as he lowered his head and pulled one of her nipples between his lips.

It was too much. Much too much. The sensations overwhelmed her.

Jack added his teeth and the sweet ache from her breasts mixed with the whirlwind his fingers were still creating.

Heat was building inside her at an unprecedented rate and when he pressed his thumb hard against her wet center… she just gave in.

The orgasm washed over her, hot and violent, as she continued to ride his hand, biting his earlobe desperately…

“Shit. Did you just...come?” he asked in disbelief.

“You went…too fast!” she scolded, her voice faltering as the aftereffects continued to wash through her body.

Jack chuckled hoarsely. “Again, not criticism. This time, merely a question. So, should I stop, yes?” Innocently, he pulled his hand away. “You’re finished?”

Breathing heavily, she smiled, then reached for his belt and unbuckled it. “Ask me again in a few hours,” she whispered, reaching into his boxer briefs and wrapping her hand around his hard shaft.

She was right. He was big. Delightfully big. She couldn’t close her hand completely. And when he moaned hoarsely as she moved her hand slowly up and down, she grew even wetter. God, she needed him. Now.

“You have to stop,” he gasped. “It’s…”

“I know.”

“Good. I apologize that the rest of the foreplay will be rather short.”

“Are you kidding? The whole evening has been one long foreplay! And, by the way, I’m on the pill and haven’t had sex in ages.”

“Fantastic, me neither,” he said roughly, lifting her in his arms, using the wall behind her as an anchor…and lowering her onto his erection.

He gave her time. Inch by inch, she took him inside. Growing accustomed to his size. Until he was buried inside her up to the base.

Penny’s head fell against the wall. She couldn’t remember ever being filled so perfectly in her life…and that was before he moved. Withdrew from her, only to sink back into her not a second later.

She kissed him with open lips, not believing it possible as a second orgasm built up inside, her insides contracting again.

He sped up his rhythm. Sweat glistened on his forehead, but he held her firmly, seemingly effortlessly. Yes, he definitely owned a fitness empire!

“Jack,” she breathed and arched toward him, circling her hips as it became too much again.

This time for both of them.

With one last thrust, Jack poured himself into her, his lips pressed to her neck, his fingers clawing at her hips.

Wave after wave swept her away until she collapsed exhausted in Jack’s arms. She felt his heartbeat vibrating against her chest.

“And?” she whispered, smiling and kissing his jaw. “Finished?”

“I’ve only just begun,” he murmured, lifting his head and brushing her hair from her forehead. He looked her straight in the eyes for a few moments. “If I’m going to break my rule, I’m going to do it properly. So, where is the bedroom?”

She laughed. “I have no idea. I’ve never been here before, remember?”

He grinned and kissed her briefly. “Then we’d better find it.”

And they did.