Page 28 of On Thin Ice (Calgary Mounties #1)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I'M AMAZED BY THE VIEW

Lincoln

When Adele opens her door, it takes all my willpower not to say, ‘screw my plans, let’s just spend the next four days here, having a ridiculous amount of sex’.

She’s dressed in skintight jeans that hug her curves perfectly, a white, tight knit sweater and almost no make-up.

She is, quite possibly, the most naturally beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I still can’t believe she’s mine.

Well, as mine as she can be without us having slapped a label on whatever the hell we’ve got going on.

“You look amazing,” I say, not bothering to hide the way I run my eyes over her body.

Her cheeks flush a little, and she gives me the cutest little smile. “Thank you.”

As I close the distance between our bodies, she tilts her face up towards mine.

“Hi,” I murmur, before lowering my lips to hers.

It was meant to be a quick kiss. Something to tide me over until we get to where we’re going. But I’m fast learning that I’m addicted to kissing this woman, and a quick peck is never going to be enough .

She sighs, leaning into my body when my arms come around her, pulling her flush against my chest while I deepen the kiss.

Running my fingers along the bare skin of her lower back where her sweater has ridden up a little, I feel her shiver slightly, and I chuckle against her lips.

She presses herself even closer in response, which I hadn’t thought possible.

A few beats later, I reluctantly pull away and take in her flushed cheeks and bright eyes.

“Hi yourself,” she replies, pushing her hair back behind her ear.

“You ready to go?” I nod towards the suitcase at her side.

“Yeah, just let me grab my handbag.” She turns back towards the couch, and my eyes drop to her perky, round ass.

It honestly should be illegal how good she looks in those jeans.

She turns after slinging her giant handbag over her shoulder and smirks when she notices the direction of my gaze. “Eyes up here, Romeo.”

I shrug, not even the slightest bit sorry. “You knew exactly where my eyes would be when you put those jeans on, Addie.”

The smirk morphs into a playful grin as she walks back towards me. “I may have worn these for you, yes.” She comes to a stop in front of me, the twinkle in her eye just adding to the allure.

Tugging her close again, I lower my head to let my lips hover above hers. “You’re evil.”

She nips my lower lip. “You love it.”

Groaning, I kiss her hard while she rises on to her tiptoes and winds her fingers through the hair at the back of my neck.

There’s a hunger between us that I’m sure, if I give in, would see us ripping each other’s clothes off right here in her doorway.

But we have a flight to catch, and plenty of time for the sexy parts once we arrive.

“Come on, temptress. Let’s get going before I give in and bend you over right here.” I step back to put space between us and get myself under control.

“That sounds pretty damn good to me, let’s do that,” she replies, her eyes glazed over a little.

I laugh and shake my head. “None of that now, Addie. Plenty of time for mindless fucking once we get to where we’re going.”

She pouts for a second, but it doesn’t last long. “So, where are we going?”

I shake my head. “Not telling yet. It’s a surprise. Although you’ll find out when we get to the airport, I suppose.”

I wish there was a way I can keep it a surprise until we get there, but sadly, there’s no getting around airport protocols, even for a millionaire hockey player.

And I don’t think they’d let me walk her through there in a blindfold…

Although I have to admit, the image of her wearing a blindfold is pretty damn hard to forget now… Especially if that’s all she’s wearing.

Might have to try that out later.

Taking the handle of her suitcase, I wheel it out into the hall while she locks the door behind her.

“Can’t you just tell me now then?” she asks, batting her eyelashes at me.

I shake my head. “No, Little Miss Impatient. You’ll just have to wait.” She lets out a dramatic sigh and I laugh, pulling her to my side to kiss her temple before ushering her ahead of me. “Come on, I want to watch that ass for a bit.”

She grins over her shoulder and wiggles her butt.

God, this woman.

“New York?! You’re taking me to New York?!” Adele bounces on the balls of her feet beside me in the line for check-in, reminding me of a child at a theme park.

I grin, pulling my passport out of my jacket pocket. “Sure am.”

She squeals, and a few people turn to look at us, curiosity morphing into recognition when they look at me. Thankfully, they leave us be, although I notice a few phones pointed in our direction. Guess this will be splashed all over social media soon.

“I can’t believe you’re just casually taking me on a trip to New York. Do you know how much I’ve wanted to go there?” Adele is oblivious to the attention we’re getting, and I decide to ignore it, allowing myself to get caught up in her excitement.

“I asked Kylie where you wanted to go most that was within a reasonable distance, and this was it. I’ve booked us in for a late dinner at one of my favourite French restaurants, and we’re staying nearby at one of the best hotels that had availability at short notice.

” She lets out another squeal, and I open my mouth to continue speaking, but the person in front of us moves and the desk clerk calls us forward.

Adele hands me her passport so that I can pass everything over together, and the clerk taps away at the computer, before looking up again with a smile.

“Thank you, Mr. O’Malley. We have you seated together in seats 1A and 1B.”

Adele inhales sharply beside me but keeps her latest squeal under control until after we’ve finished, but the second we step away, she pounces.

“First class tickets as well?! This must be costing you a fortune! Are you sure about this, Linc?” She bites her lip, her excitement giving way to uncertainty.

Taking her hand, I lead her out of the flow of the crowd before turning to face her.

“I live a pretty modest existence most of the time, but when I travel, I like to do it in luxurious surroundings. You can ask Seth and Kylie about that hotel I made him stay at in London. I travel first class because I’m too tall for economy and if I’m going to be paying those prices, I might as well skip business class and go straight for first class.

When you travel as much as I do for work, you want your downtime travel to be memorable.

And I want to spoil you. I want you to feel good and enjoy yourself.

Consider it my way of thanking you for going along with this whole insane plan in the first place.

So, trust me, I’m sure about this.” I push her long hair back over her shoulder while she looks up at me with those big, beautiful brown eyes.

“Will you let me treat you like a princess, Addie?”

She huffs out a laugh. “Okay, you’ve twisted my arm. I’m all yours, O’Malley. Do whatever you want with me.” The twinkle in her eye tells me she knows exactly the type of dirty thoughts my mind is conjuring up at those words, and she bites her lip again, her expression shifting to a sexy smolder.

I shake my head. “Jesus Christ, woman. You can’t say stuff like that to me when we’re in the middle of a busy airport and I can’t follow through on those words for at least seven hours.”

She brings her lips close to my ear. “Oh, don’t worry, O’Malley. I’m just getting started.”

And with those words of pure evil, she skips off towards security, leaving me watching her with my mouth hanging open and a million dirty thoughts racing through my mind.

The five-hour flight from Calgary to New York passes by quickly, with both of us falling asleep in our comfortable first-class pods for at least half of the trip.

The rest of the time is spent with her in my lap, whispering in my ear about exactly how she plans to repay me for this trip.

By the time we land, I’ve had several hard-ons and am cursing the fact that it’s well past dinnertime.

I need food before I can take her up on any of those sinful suggestions.

We swing by the hotel first to drop off our bags, and Adele gapes at everything with wide-eyed amazement while I talk to the concierge and get our room keys for when we come back later.

“This is so fancy,” she whispers once I return to her side.

She’s standing in the middle of the foyer, staring up at the chandelier above us.

“It’s not a library, you know? No need to whisper.” I grin when she smacks my chest with the back of her hand.

“Whatever. Just because you’re used to staying in places like this, doesn’t mean the rest of us plebs can’t be amazed by it all.”

“Oh, believe me, I’m amazed by the view.”

Her gaze meets mine, finding me staring at her. Her cheeks go pink, and it’s hard not to take her in my arms right here and kiss the crap out of her. But I’m hungry and likely to turn into a ravenous monster if I don’t put some food in my stomach soon.

We use the town car service to take us to the restaurant, and once I tip the driver generously, we head inside, where we are seated in record time.

Once our appetizers arrive and I’ve finally been able to take the edge off my hunger, I take her hand across the table and swirl my finger around the palm of her hand. “So, what do you want to do while we’re here?”

She shoots me a grin. “You mean, besides all the things I told you on the plane?”

I huff a laugh. “Yes, devil woman, besides all the things you said to make me embarrass myself by walking around with a raging hard-on.”

She thinks for a moment before answering.

“Well, there’s the obvious things like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and Rockefeller centre…

And I definitely wa nt to go for a walk through Central Park…

Other than that, I’m happy to just go wherever you think I’ll like.

I assume you’ve been here plenty of times, right? ”

I raise an eyebrow. “Did you forget I played here for a season?”

Her mouth forms a perfect little O shape. “I did, actually. Sorry. I kind of just think of you as a lifer with the Mounties.”

Her words should soothe me, but it just stirs up my fears about being traded once again when my contract is up at the end of the season.

Something in my expression must give away my unease, because she squeezes my hand and waits until I look at her again.

“You might have been on a few different teams before, but you’re a lifer now.

Everyone loves you, Linc. And the video hasn’t gotten out, so the team’s reputation has been kept safe. ”

I squeeze her hand back gently. “Well, I guess we’ll see after the conversation I had with management after we got back.”

Her eyes widen, and she leans forward. “You spoke to them about Alistair? What did they say?”

I sigh, leaning back in my seat. “Yeah, I spoke to Stevens, and he said to leave it with him. They are going to start an enquiry, but I’m not really sure how it’s going to be handled. I mean… He’s the general manager. He calls the shots.”

She studies me closely. “Are you okay?” Just another sign of how well she can read me.

I shrug. “Yeah, I guess. It sucked having to talk about my sex life with my boss, but it needed to happen. You were right. It was a conversation that was necessary. Stevens handled it well, and he already knew about the tape, obviously, although you could tell it was something he’s not had to navigate before. ”

She gives me a soft smile. “Well, I hope this is the end of it all for you now.”

Our meals arrive, and the conversation shifts to more palatable topics while we eat. As they clear our meals away, Adele’s foot begins to wander, and I arch an eyebrow as it moves slowly up my leg. She smirks when I trap it with my hand before it reaches my thigh.

Holding it in place, I run my thumb along her arch, watching her squirm when it tickles. “This is a dangerous game you’ve started, Addie.”

“I don’t know… I think I can handle it,” she murmurs, holding my gaze while I continue the lazy movements with my thumb.

“Yeah?” I slip my hand further up her foot.

She shivers. “Yeah.”

A few moments later, the waiter reappears with the bill, and I let her foot go to pull my wallet out of my pocket and hand over my credit card.

She lowers it back to the ground, and once they return with my card, we get to our feet.

At the door, I help her back into her coat before leading the way out into the cold night.

Once the town car arrives, I slide into the backseat beside her and place my hand on her thigh, keeping my eyes trained on her face while the car pulls away from the curb.

When she shifts closer, I smirk and hit a button on the door.

Her eyes light up when the privacy screen goes up behind the driver.

“What’d you do that for, Linc?” she murmurs, her breath hitching when I lean over and run my nose up her neck, guiding her to tilt her head to the side so I can kiss her soft skin.

“Staking my claim,” I reply, my lips pressed against her pulse point while she shivers.

She inhales sharply. “What are you claiming?”

Gripping her chin, I turn her face back to mine. “You. Every fucking inch of you.” Unable to hold myself back any longer, I kiss her hard.

She moans, surrendering to me while I take what’s mine.