Edge (12 page)

My gaze stopped on the back of a woman with long, dark red waves down her back. A black dress molded to the curves of her lean body. She reminded me so fucking much of …

Dell. She turned to say something to the guy next to her and I saw that it was Dell. Her eyes were made up and her lips glistened pale pink. My breathing grew uneven as I studied at her. She was beautiful. Sexy, happy, relaxed … and standing next to Todd fucking Landis.

This was why she hadn’t texted me back? Because she was on a date with Landis? Fuck that. She and I weren’t a thing, but she could sure as hell do better than him.

Niko cleared his throat next to me. “Put your tongue back in your mouth, man.”

I glanced at him, confused.

“You’re staring at Dell.”

“What the fuck is she doing here with Landis?”

The bartender sat two drinks in front of me and I found my wallet and passed him a bill. I picked up the drinks and remembered Lila.

“Thanks,” she said, suddenly next to me. She swept the drink from my hand. I tipped the bottled beer to my lips, searching for Dell again. Before I found her, I saw someone else who made me squint with surprise.

“I have to go,” I mumbled to Lila. “Nice to meet you.”

I pushed my way through the crowd and Jean Naughton, the owner of my Chicago team, grinned as she saw me approaching.

“Hudson!” she boomed. “How the hell are you, boy?”

She reached for me in a hug, her grandmotherly bosom betraying the shrewd businesswoman she was.

“Man, is it good to see you,” I said, pulling back and looking down at her. “How are things in Chicago?”

“Good. How’s the knee?”

“Aren’t the doctors keeping you updated?” Panic spread through my chest. Was I already considered a has been?

She waved a hand and scowled. “I don’t trust those damned doctors. I’d rather hear it from you.”

“The knee’s good, actually. I’m still ironing out my game after the long break.”

“Butch Price’s girl is the trainer here, isn’t she?”

I nodded and glanced over at Dell.

“I’ve heard she’s good. Wouldn’t mind talking to her sometime, actually. She’s prettier than I’d like a female trainer to be, but that’s not her fault.”

I cleared my throat. “Dell’s very professional.”

“It’s not her I’m worried about. It’s you damn animals who make every decision based on the direction your cocks are pointed.”

I grinned at her. I’d missed our colorful owner as much as my teammates. But her mention of talking to Dell about a spot with our team was unsettling. Dell made me feel things – guilt, jealousy and possessiveness – that I didn’t need to drag around on a full-time basis.

“Let’s go say hello to her,” Jean said. Like me, she carried a bottled beer. Jean held her own in a male-dominated field. I hoped she’d want me on her team long-term.

Dell saw us approaching and her eyes met mine. I couldn’t decipher her expression, but it wasn’t happy.

“Dell, this is Jean Naughton, my team owner,” I said. “Jean, Dell Price.”

“Pleasure, Miss Price,” Jean said, shaking her hand. “I hear very good things.”

“Thank you,” Dell said, looking taken aback.

“Hey, Landis,” I said with a half-nod. A flicker of aggravation passed over his face.

“Mrs. Naughton, Dr. Todd Landis,” he said. She shook his hand but kept her attention on Dell.

“Has my boy been behaving?” Jean asked.

Dell’s cheeks betrayed us both, flushing a rosy pink that was so sexy my cock stirred.

“He’s …” She took a sip of champagne. “Of course, Luke’s a perfect gentleman.”

Jean laughed lightly. “Loyal to the players. I like that. I know you’re full of shit, of course. Luke’s one of the boys whose signed a tit or two after games.” She turned to me. “Didn’t a woman get your autograph and have it tattooed on her cooch?”

I cringed. “It was somewhere in that area, I think, yeah.”

“Bet your dad would like to have you for his team,” Jean said to Dell.

“The subject has come up,” Dell said. “But I’m very happy where I am.”

Landis put a hand on Dell’s lower back and leaned in to her ear. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Maybe some more champagne,” she said.

“Coming right up.” He winked at her and I clutched the bottle in my hand, imagining how good it would feel to break the fucking thing over his head.

“What’s this about?” I asked when he was out of earshot and Jean was saying hello to someone next to us.

“What?” Dell gave me an innocent look.

“You and Landis.”

“He just needed someone to fill in at the last minute, so I said I would.”

I shook my head with disgust. “Likely story. He wants in your pants.”

“And what, no one should?” She gave me a pointed glare.

“Excuse me,” Jean said diplomatically, turning to leave. “Great to meet you, Dell.”

“Thanks for embarrassing me in front of her,” Dell hissed when she was gone.

“What should embarrass you is having that dipshit pawing you. Why would you come as his date?”

“I had nothing else going on.”

“The way you look – he probably thinks you want to go home with him after.” I hadn’t meant to sound scolding, but it came out that way.

“The way I …?” Dell’s face closed off angrily. “What do you mean, the way I look?”

I gestured at her. “A sexy dress, makeup, your hair all loose and wavy like that. And those heels. You might as well have
fuck me
written across your chest.”

She laughed bitterly. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, Luke. Right now I wish I had
fuck you
written across my chest.”

“What, because I think Landis is a prick?”

Landis slid in next to her and handed her a glass.

“I heard that,” he said. “Dell’s here with me tonight, so leave us alone.”

“You think it bothers me that you heard it? You’re a prick who’s just trying to get Dell into bed. I know your type, man.”

Landis put a hand on Dell’s elbow to steer her away. “Let’s go get some air.”

“No, we weren’t done.” She handed him her glass, her eyes never leaving me. “Let’s go finish this.”

She moved through the ballroom purposefully and even though we were arguing, I couldn’t help but notice the way her hair swished behind her and admire the view of her tight ass. The things I wanted to do to that ass. Right now I felt like spanking it, which I’d never done to any woman.

Dell walked out to a large balcony, where a couple was leaning on the railing and talking. She led me to the other side and spun to face me. Her cheeks were pink and her emerald eyes were dark. I was seeing angry Dell for the first time.

“You’re so beautiful,” I said before she could get any words out. “Absolutely breathtaking. If I’m being an ass, it’s only because I’m so jealous of Landis. Every time he touches you I want to pound him.”

Her expression softened from anger into uncertainty.

“Where were you last night?” she asked, her tone soft.

“At a bar. I wanted you to meet up with me, remember?”

“After that. Where did you sleep last night?”

“At a hotel downtown.”

“Alone?” Her eyes held a mixture of hope and hurt. What the hell was this? She obviously had the wrong impression.

“No, but—”

She slapped me. Full and hard across the face, and the surprise stung more than the hit.

“Asshole!” she cried. “You’re an asshole, Luke, and you’ve got no right judging me for coming here with Landis. You led me on and I followed like an obedient puppy. God, why was I so stupid? Do you know how I feel about you? Do you care?”

“I—”

“I left my comfort zone for you, dammit!” She poked a finger against my chest. “You’ve seen me
naked
. And even though you’ve never touched me, I thought what we had was … intimate. You were special to me. And I thought I was special to you. Do have any idea how crushed I was when V told me you never came home last night? When I realized that after we texted, you found some cheap unknown woman to screw? I don’t do that, Luke. I’d never run out every time you asked me just so I could keep an eye on you. You’re not mine, but I thought … I didn’t think you were fucking other women. And I’m pissed, but I guess you can tell that. I’m pissed – and
hurt
that you made me want you enough to take chances, and I’m just a mindless distraction for you.”

“You are not a mindless distraction for me.”

The wind blew a strand of auburn hair across her face, and when she moved it I saw the trail a tear had left on her cheek. I’d never wanted to touch her as much as I wanted to right now. This wasn’t about desire, but something … else. Something
more
.

“Niko stayed at the hotel with me last night,” I said. “No one else. I got us a suite because V drives me fucking nuts and I wanted a good night of sleep. And Niko has some stripper after him, so he stayed too. Dinner, drinking and sleeping. That was my whole night, Dell.”

Her hurt expression transformed into a horrified one. A flush crept up her chest to her face, which she buried in her hands.

“Shit,” she muttered. “God, I’m so embarrassed. And sorry. I can’t believe I slapped you and you didn’t even deserve it.”

I smiled and glanced out at the night skyline. “Don’t worry about it. I take worse hits than that every day.”

She leaned on the balcony railing and stared at the city lights with me. “I’m so inept.”

“It turns me on when you use words like that,” I admitted. “Your intelligence is sexy. And you aren’t inept.”

“I never even go on dates. Ever. This is why. Well, it’s one of the reasons. I’m just … awkward with men.”

“If you’re awkward, I like awkward.”

She smiled and leaned her head against my shoulder for a second. I had to grip the railing to keep from pulling her against me. She smelled like the beach on a sunny day. And she looked … perfect. Her hair danced over the creamy, bare skin of her shoulders. The black dress she wore was fitted around her breasts, and I recalled watching water flow over them in the shower.

The night air was cold – it was winter, after all – and Dell wrapped her arms around herself.

“Sorry,” I said quickly, reaching for my jacket to take it off. “Take this.”

“I shouldn’t.” She looked up at me. “We shouldn’t even be out here.”

I nodded and sighed. It wasn’t a risk for me – Jean had my back, but it was for Dell. She and Kyler had a life here, and I didn’t want her risking her job for me.

“I’m actually gonna go,” I said. “I can’t be in that room and not stare at you all night.”

She smiled. “I don’t like Landis. Not even a little. And I’m sorry for—”

“Don’t be. You are most definitely special to me, Dell. In another time and place, I’d be first in line to sweep you off your feet. You’re amazing. But even when I get called back up, with our jobs—”

She cut me off. “I know. This is only while you’re here. And since you can’t touch me, well, we both know how this is gonna end.”

I nodded, regret washing over me. It wasn’t regret for something I’d lost, but for something I could never have.

“You should go in alone,” I said. “I’ll slip in and head out in a few minutes.”

She rubbed her hands over her arms to warm them. “Goodnight.”

“‘Night, Dell.”

She walked to the door and went back into the ballroom. The other couple had left, and I was alone. I rubbed my scruffy jaw and shook my head. Being alone had always been a good thing for me. I didn’t have anyone but myself to consider, keeping my life simple. I’d felt sorry for teammates with wives and kids and schedules to balance with hockey. I’d actually felt smug sometimes about being a bachelor. But right now I felt like shit.

I stared at the phone in my hand. I’d just gotten the call I’d been waiting for. So why wasn’t I happy about it?

I shoved my phone into my locker and went back to getting my pads on. I was just beginning to fall into place here. I liked the guys. I’d probably even like V if I didn’t have to live with his crazy habits.

Here, I played because I loved the game. The lights didn’t glare as brightly here as they did in Chicago. I wasn’t feeling constant pressure to play like a superstar so I could make the Olympic team.

And Dell. My other reasons for wanting to stay were just noise compared to her. The way I felt around her – pent up and content at the same time – I’d never experienced that before. She was the first person I looked for every morning when I came in the locker room.

But I’d been called back up to my team. Reality was knocking, and I should’ve been grateful, not disappointed. My rehab was complete and I could go back to the life London had yanked me away from for nearly three months.

I wanted to go lose myself in the pregame skate. Laps around the ice always gave me uninterrupted time to think. But first I needed to tell Dell I was leaving.

My trip down the concrete hallway was slow. I remembered my first walk into her office, when she’d turned and given me a once-over from beneath the brim of her baseball cap. I’d been drawn to those bright green eyes immediately, though I had no idea then how completely she’d end up mesmerizing me – without me ever touching her.

Chad Lennox was up on Dell’s table and she was rolling a tool over his thighs to loosen them. She glanced at me and I pointed at Lennox and then the doorway, telling her to get rid of him.

“I think you should go stretch and come back,” she said to him. “About ten minutes of stretching.”

He shrugged and slid down, and I waited until he’d left to go in. I leaned against the counter and Dell gave me a questioning look.

“I got called up,” I said.

She looked at the floor. “Oh.”

We stood in silence for a few seconds.

“That’s great, Luke,” she finally said. “I’m happy for you.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too.” She busied herself wiping down her table. “When are you leaving?”

“In the morning. I’m playing here tonight.”

She nodded. The silence stretched, and I rubbed the back of my neck, wishing I knew what to say.

“I just wanted to tell you first,” I said. “I need to finish dressing and skate.”

“Thanks. I’m glad I got to find out from you. This really is good news, Luke. You’ve worked hard for this. You belong with your team. I’m sure you’ll be happy to get back home. No more living with V or traveling by bus or—”