Page 26 of Playoff (Toronto Blaze #4)

Naked is sexy

Alek

I’d asked Jess to drive with me on impulse.

She’d looked sad, and I wanted to fix that.

Being near her reminded me of that night we spent together, and I was fond of those memories.

I hadn’t planned on spilling my guts to her.

Especially since her family had been victims of my parents’ crimes.

She wouldn’t be the first person to use me in order to learn about my family.

I already knew Jess and her family had ample reasons to try. So why was I risking this?

Jess looked trustworthy, every time I saw her.

Her clothing quiet and mostly modest, her makeup discreet.

She was nice and smiled kindly at people.

But she was totally different when she was in bed, which showed she could put up a front.

It would be stupid to think she wasn’t trying to gain my confidence to help her family, even though I wanted to trust her.

For some bizarre reason, I did.

A server came immediately to get our drink order. I stuck with water, and she did the same.

“Sure you don’t want wine? A cocktail?” I was driving, so she didn’t have to worry.

“Not a smart idea. Work tomorrow. I need a clear head.” My paranoia wondered if the clear head was also to interrogate me. My cock wanted it clear for other things.

I shoved those mixed emotions down. “What looks good?”

We had a brief conversation about the food, and the server came back with sparkling water as soon as our menus closed. I chose chicken, she went with fish. We passed on an appetizer. The server left, and it was just the two of us.

I didn’t want any more true confessions. Time to switch topics. “So, you said you went to England. Where else have you traveled?”

She narrowed her gaze, staring at the fire.

“My parents had the travel agency. So when we were young—well, school age so we were able to travel without needing too much caretaking—we went on trips with our parents for family vacations they wanted to promote. Disney cruises, some places in the Caribbean, and once an ‘immerse your kids in French’ one in a small town in France. Justin hated that. But we haven’t really gone anywhere but back to BC lately. ”

“How did you like the French immersion one?”

“It was okay. The woman was really strict and my French improved a lot. Justin hated staying in a classroom though when we were supposed to be on summer holidays.”

I wouldn’t have liked additional classroom time either. “I sympathize.”

She set her glass down. “What about you? Have you traveled?”

I stared at the table in front of me. “We didn’t travel much when I was a kid.

My sister is a lot younger, and by the time she could travel without constant supervision, I was going to hockey camps during school holidays.

” I didn’t learn till later that it helped my parents hide what they were doing when they didn’t take vacations of more than a few days.

“And now?”

I checked on our server but didn’t see him. Feeling on edge, my foot jiggled as I answered. “I travel with the team. Across North America over and over again.”

She tilted her head. “And in the offseason?”

“I stay in the US.”

“Not fond of traveling?”

I leaned back in my seat, owning my shit. “If I travel, someone, whether a law agency or people my parents stole from, is going to suspect I’m meeting up with them. So I don’t.” Travel had been a poor choice of distraction it turned out.

Jess rested her chin on her hand, watching me across the table. “That sucks. It’s probably time to steer the conversation in a direction that’s not going to lead back to our families. So, how about…favorite superhero movie.”

I appreciated the pivot. “You like superhero movies?”

The corner of her mouth tipped up. “I may have a teeny crush on Simu Liu.” She held her fingers half an inch apart.

“Really?”

Her cheeks turned pink. “He’s an attractive guy.”

That blush was intriguing. “Is it the face or the body that’s making you blush?” I watched her cheeks turn pinker. It was nice not being in the hot seat.

“You don’t have to tease me. I know it’s shallow. It’s not like he’d have any interest in me if I ever met him.”

“He’s got a girlfriend, so it would be better if he didn’t. But now I’m even sorrier that I cut my hair off.” This was going in a risky direction but making her cheeks flush like that was addicting.

She took a quick glance around the restaurant and then leaned forward to whisper. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”

The words warmed my blood, bringing back memories of the night we’d met, and what we’d done together. “That’s good to hear.”

Our server appeared with our food, breaking the connection, but now there was tension in the air between us and the food didn’t dispel it.

The meal was good, though I didn’t give it the attention it deserved. Instead, I caught Jess’s glances, when she’d look at me and I’d smile back at her, bringing that pink to her cheeks every time.

Then she got into it. When I caught her glance again, she licked her fork, slowly, her tongue caressing the tines. “This is really good.”

“Can I try it?”

She watched me for a minute, then put her fork into the fish and lifted it, stretching her arm across the table and holding it in front of my face for me to take a bite. I opened my mouth, and wrapping my hand around her wrist, pulled the fork toward me till I could close my lips around it.

“Mhhm,” I said, slowly letting her wrist slip away, my fingers brushing over her palm.

She drew in a long breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly. My cock was coming to life, letting me know it was interested in another session as soon as we could find a private place.

The waiter came to refill our glasses, giving us a break. Conversation lapsed as the tension simmered. I didn’t taste the rest of my meal, excellent as it was. My attention was all focused on the woman across the table. We set down our utensils when we were done, and the server returned.

“Would you like me to take your plates now?”

“Please.” I leaned back to give him room.

“And can I interest you in dessert?”

I wasn’t interested in anything that was on the menu. I looked at Jess and she shook her head. “Just the check please.”

He walked away. I leaned forward. “I want something else for dessert.”

Her eyes widened. “But we can’t. Justin will be home now, and Fitch…”

She didn’t say she didn’t want to. There were a lot of reasons to step back, but I liked playing risks. And somewhere inside, she did too. “We could get a hotel room here,” I suggested.

Her eyes became circles. “What?”

“Make use of it for an hour or so, and then go back to Toronto.”

She sat back as the waiter came over carrying the folder with the bill. I had my credit card ready and passed it to him. He pulled out the machine and quickly ran the card through.

Jess blinked. “Wait, I can pay for mine.”

The server shot a glance at her. I shook my head. We didn’t want to attract attention and have this man remember us. “You can get next time.”

Understanding crossed her face. “Oh, yeah. That works.”

I wasn’t sure I could take that as a promise for there to be a next time. I liked the sound of it anyway.

I stood and Jess followed, picking up her jacket and gloves. We left the restaurant and paused. “I’m parked around the corner. You okay to walk?”

She pulled her collar up. “Of course.” She shivered.

“Come here.” She shot me a wary look but came closer. I wrapped an arm around her. “That better?”

“Define better,” she muttered, but she stayed in my embrace.

We walked quickly to the Merc and I opened her door. The vehicle was already warming, the remote start a handy feature. By the time I was in the driver’s seat, she’d cranked her seat warmer all the way up.

I buckled my seat belt and put my hand on the shifter. When I glanced her way, she was looking at me. I couldn’t read her expression, and I didn’t want to force her. “We could go back to Toronto now.”

“Feel like you’ve got your test drive done?”

That wasn’t a yes. “Or we could take a detour. It’s only eight thirty. There’d probably be less traffic in a couple of hours, and I could get a better feel for the car.” The car wasn’t what I was really wanting to get a feel for. Or of.

She closed her eyes and drew in a breath. “We shouldn’t.”

Still not a no. “That’s not what I’m asking. But we’re here, where no one knows what we’re doing. I’m willing to take the risk.”

It was up to her. She wasn’t a risk-taker, but there was something under there that might just agree…

“I didn’t wear anything sexy.”

I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath till it whooshed out after those words. “Naked is sexy.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything when I looked up hotels on the GPS. Hotels with valet parking.

“Do we need a valet?” she asked as I punched in my choice.

“I don’t want to freeze my balls off.”

“I don’t want you to either.”

Five minutes later I pulled up in front of the closest hotel and a valet hopped out. I passed over my keys and a twenty, then grabbed Jess’s hand and pulled her inside with me.

She crossed over to look at one of the generic hotel-style paintings, studiously not watching as I booked a room. I claimed we’d lost our luggage. Pretty sure they didn’t believe me, but I didn’t care. I got the room key, and with it and Jess, I had all I needed.

The ride up the elevator seemed to take forever. Finally, I flashed the key at the door to our room and opened it when it turned green. I stood back so Jess could go first.

She walked past the bathroom and stood just inside the bedroom.

“Two beds?”

“It’s what they had. And I’m not planning to sleep.”

She dropped her coat and purse on the foot of the closest bed. “Dibs on this one.” Leaning a hand on it, she took off her boots.

I came up behind her and wrapped my hands around her waist. “I’m calling dibs on both of them. And everything else in here.” I pressed a kiss under her ear and she shivered.

Then she turned in my arms and slid her hands behind my neck. “I’m in here. What are you going to do about it, oh dibs master?”

I pulled her tightly against me. “This.” And I kissed her.