Melting Away The Ice (THE ICE SERIES) (19 page)

Chapter 28 – Lucas

The week was perfect in every way. Sara and I spent every possible moment together. I was thankful that I was home this week for games. Max and Rachel were more open about their relationship as well. It was a little weird to see Max in love.

He could deny it all he wanted
, but he was. In all the years that I had known him, he’s never been in a serious relationship and now was totally committed to Rachel. They were quite a pair.

All four of us were at dinner before we left for a road trip. We were laughing and having a grand time when Max brought up the benefit dinner.

“Oh yeah I forgot about that,” I could not believe I had forgotten.

“What is it?” Sara asked.

“It’s a dinner that benefits the children’s hospital. You buy a ticket and the players serve you. On top of that, there is an awesome silent auction,” Max explained.

“Are there still tickets available?” Sara asked.

“I am sure we could come up with something,” I said as I kissed her hand.

“Count me in,” Rachel said and Sara nodded in agreement.

“How about a dance, beautiful?” I leaned in and whispered in her ear. She slightly blushed, bit her lip, and nodded. She was so beautiful tonight in her red dress. It hugged her in the right places and I couldn’t wait to rip it off of her.

Holding her in my arms and dancing with her
was one of the greatest feelings I have had in my life. She was my world and I didn’t want to go on the road, especially knowing
he
was still in the city. Rachel told me that he had not come around her at all since the restraining order took effect. Even though that gave me some relief, it still bothered me.

“Hey, penny for your thought
.” Sara touched my cheek and brought me back to reality.

“Just thinking about you.” I spun her around and continued dancing with her through four songs.
We headed back to the table where Rachel and Max were making out like teenagers. Sara and I rolled our eyes at our friends.

“Hey, Casanova, Sara and I are out of here
.” I patted him on the shoulder. Max came up for air and nodded. I was reaching for my wallet when Max said he got the bill already.

“See you in the morning, Sharp, on the plane.”
With that I grabbed Sara’s hand and we headed out. Sara was laughing all the way to the car as we almost ran to it. It was so cold and snow was everywhere on the ground. Luckily there was no ice or we both would have fallen.

Once we were safely in the car I reached over and gave her a kiss.
My pants became tighter as my hard-on became harder. Sara broke the kiss and arched her eyebrow at me, her eyes full of desire. Before I knew it she had climbed into my lap and was straddling me. Her tongue was driving me crazy and when she bit my lip, I lost it. I had to have her right now and was thankful that I had tinted my windows.

“Sara,” I breathed.

“Lucas, don’t you dare tell me to stop. I need you, right now.” She had never taken control like this before, but I liked it. She pulled down my zipper and began to stroke me. A loud moan escaped me and I laid my head back on the headrest. She was the only woman to ever drive me insane with her hands. I reached for the seat adjuster and I laid my seat down. Before I knew it I felt her guide me under her dress.

“Sara!” I exclaimed
when I realized that she was not wearing any underwear. She giggled and her body fully engulfed me. She began to pick up her pace moving up and down. All I could do was pant. I couldn’t even form a word at this point. She felt so good around me.

I could just die like this.
I gripped her hips tighter and guided her speed, not able to think of anything but being in her and feeling her.

“Lucas,” she pant
ed, then threw her head back as she exploded around me. She was trembling and I couldn’t help but follow her lead. We slowed down the pace as I went limp. We both couldn’t catch our breaths and the windows were completely fogged.

“Wow, I am glad you brought the SUV,” she said and giggled.

“Me too.” I kissed her. “I love you, Sara.” The words came out before I even knew it. I was a little taken aback on how easy and wonderful they felt.

“Lucas, I love you, too.” I could hear her voice cracking just a little bit
, but I knew that there was love in those words, love that gave me the greatest feeling ever. “But, honey, my leg is cramping up in this position.” We both busted out laughing as she rolled off of me. I tucked myself back into my pants while she straightened her dress.

“Let’s get out of here, beautiful.”

“Okay.” She smiled the brightest smile and my heart started beating faster, again.

“Sharp, I don’t know what has happened in the past week, but keep it up
,” Coach said as we headed into the locker room after practice.

“I know what is happening,” Marc said. I shot him a
look, but he only laughed at it.
He never takes anything seriously.

“Say one word and I will sho
ot a puck at your head,” I glared at him. Marc just laughed harder.

“Aw, leave the kid alone,” Max said as he came up next to me.
We all began to change from the long game. It was a hard game, but we pulled out the win at the end thanks to Max throwing himself over and blocking two shots. We all showered, changed into our suits, and headed out to the bus. Everyone was chatting, but it was quieter since we all were tired. Staying number one in the league was hard work.

Max jumped into the seat next to me.

“I talked to Amy and she got Rachel and Sara tickets to the dinner.”

“Oh good, I was worried that maybe it was sold out.” I really wanted to have Sara there. It was going to be right before the All-Star break and close to her court date.
I was very worried about being away from her, but knew that I couldn’t shelter her, no matter how badly I wanted to.

“Hey, you know Coach said I got picked to be on the All-Stars again,” I told Max. He nodded.

“Not surprised, but I am guessing this is the first year you don’t want to go.” Max knew me so well.

“Take my place. Just don’t tell Sara.”

Max shook his head. “I already promised Rachel I would be there for her during the hearing. Have Marc go? He would love it and the fans love him too.” Max nodded over to him.

“
That wouldn’t be a bad idea. I still don’t want Sara to know I am going, though.”

“Rachel
said that she would be upset if you came, but even Rachel thinks that you should be there. Rachel said it was going to be bad. Think he will go to jail?”

I
looked Max dead in the eyes. “I can promise you this, they either find him guilty or I am going to put him in the ground.” I was shaking with anger. I could not imagine anyone letting that monster go. I had asked Rachel already how strong the case was and she said that there would be no way that he would be found innocent.

“That is another reason I need to be there.
I have the bail money.” Max laughed and I smiled.

Chapter
29 – Sara

“What am I going to wear?” I threw my hands up in the air. “Rachel, why is it that you look stunning and I look like a garbage bag?” Rachel stood in my bathroom in a towel with perfect hair and makeup. We had shopped all week for dresses for the benefit. I ended up buying three dresses because I could not decide which one was the best.

“I told you, the purple one is perfect
,” Rachel said as she finished pinning her hair back. Rachel’s blonde hair was in a bun and she swept her bangs to the side. Her makeup looked like it was done by a Hollywood makeup artist.

“You know
, I do not like you right now.” I stared at her with my evil eye. She just flipped me off. “I need a second opinion.” I knew who to call. I grabbed my laptop and turned on Skype.

“Hey girl! Should you not be ready for the dinner?” Ava’s bright face came onto my laptop
screen. She was wearing thick black glasses and looked like she was getting ready for bed.

“Am I bothering you?” I asked. I had talked to Ava and Victoria almost every day since Lucas and I got back together. I thought they would be upset about what happened with Lucas and me, but it was opposite they were concerned about me. They really were the greatest people.

“Of course not! What’s up?” She had the same blue eyes as Lucas and the same, supermodel looks as Rachel.

“I need a second opinion on my outfit. Rachel likes the purple and here are the others.”

“Hi, Ava,” Rachel yelled.

“Hi, Rachel and I agree the purple is perfect.” Ava said.

“Okay, hang on.” I jumped over to my closet out of camera and Rachel’s view and changed into the dress. Once I was zipped I came back over to my laptop. “What do you think?” It was a deep purple. It stopped mid-thigh and flowed away from me. The top was tight and lower cut than I usually liked, but I knew everything was secured in place.

“Oh
, Lucas is going to rip that off of you later,” Ava laughed.

“See, I told you,” Rachel walked up behind me. “Ava she
didn’t believe me.”

“When did you two become best friends?” I asked. The truth was all three of us had been talking a lot
since they’d been working on calming me down. The trial was going to begin soon and it was still making me nervous.

Don’t think about it now. Tonight is just Lucas and you. Well,
and about two hundred other people, too.

“Hey, cousin, don’t be mean to my new BFF.” Ava pointed at me.
Rachel laughed. I rolled my eyes. Ava had been calling me her “cousin” for the last week and it felt awesome and strange when she did.

“Fine. Thank you
, Ava, but we have to go. Love you.”

“Love ya both and have fun
.” She waved and then disconnected.

I
looked over at Rachel after I shut my laptop and she took my breath away. She was wearing a royal blue strapless dress, knee length with a tight waist. She looked stunning.

“Rachel, you
look wonderful.”

“So do you.” I stopped in the bathroom to
look at myself again. I left my hair down and used a large curling iron so that my curls were somewhat tamed. My makeup was a little heavier than I usually wore, but still looked good.

“Let’s go
,” Rachel said. We grabbed our purses and headed out.

We stood in line with the others that were at the dinner
waiting to enter. The Royal Hotel was one of the oldest hotels in the city and it was stunning. As we checked in our coats, we took in our surroundings. The room was brightly lit and each table was set to perfection. There were bright white-and-gold plates with clear champagne glasses, and the silver on the silverware was polished to shine at every angle.

“Well, now I know why the tickets were so much
.” Rachel leaned over and whispered to me.

“Oh, don’t be so cheap. It is for a good cause.” I lightly pushed her shoulder.

“Holy shit,” I heard behind us and turned around. Max was dressed in a crisp black tux staring at Rachel. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were about to bug out. He walked up to her and just stared.

“Cat got your tongue, Max
?” I laughed as I said it because he had no clue I was even standing there.

“Oh, hi
, Sara,” Max finally acknowledged me. “Lucas is over there.” He pointed to his right and I looked over to see him with several women. I never worried about him cheating on me because he was not that kind of person. I knew that girls flocked to him.

I stood there and stared at him as he signed merchandise for them.
He looked up and saw me and I smiled. He did the same thing Max did: his mouth fell open and eyes bugged out. My stomach flipped as his blue eyes roamed my body. He excused himself from the group around him and came to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me. I knew that he wanted more, but this was a work function.

“Please tell me you are wearing underwear?”
he whispered in my ear.

I could
n’t help but tease him. “Maybe.”

“Don’t tease me
, beautiful, or I will take you to the closet or a dark corner and have my way with you.” His blue eyes were filled with desire. I just laughed at him and shrugged. “I have to go, but save me a dance.” He tugged on Max’s arm, which was wrapped around Rachel, and they headed off to work.

“I don’t
think either of our dresses will make it through tonight,” Rachel said as we walked to find our tables.

“I agree. Hey, let’s grab a drink before we go to our table.”

“Oh, good idea. I like the words ‘open’ and ‘bar’,” she replied. I just shook my head and turned toward the bar. There was a long line so we stood there looking around.

“I think the stuff for auction is in the other room
,” I told Rachel and pointed to the side door that I saw several other people go into. Rachel nodded as the line to the bar moved a little bit more. I was taking in the whole dining hall and people were everywhere, ladies in evening gowns and men in crisp black tuxes. It was nice to get all dressed up and enjoy the night. We finally made it up to the bar and ordered white wines. I dragged Rachel into the other room where there was the silent auction set up.

“I am not bidding on a single thing,” Rachel pouted.

“Be quiet and think of it as a tax write-off,” I gripped her arm as we went around the room. I knew that Rachel was kidding when she bid on three things. We continued around the room, commenting on items, when my world stopped. Not more than ten feet from me stood the last person I thought I would see.

J
ake Black.

“Hey, we better get to our table
,” Rachel said next to me. “Sara?” I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. In that very instant the whole world stopped and I didn’t know what to do. My mind was screaming ‘run’ but my legs would not move.

“Rachel,” my mouth was so dry
, I barely made a sound.

“What is it? What
’s wrong?” Rachel whispered back, full of concern.

“
Look.” I shifted my eyes to the right and Rachel followed my gaze.

“Oh my
God.” She grabbed my arm and led me away from where he was standing. He had been talking to a few people, so I didn’t think that he saw us. Rachel was talking to me, but I couldn’t hear anything other than the ringing in my ears. I thought I would pass out. Rachel led us down a long hallway and towards, what looked to be the kitchen. There stood Max, Lucas and Marc.

“Max,” Rachel yelled and all three turned. I saw Lucas rush toward me and wrap me in his arms.

“What the hell is going on?” Lucas’ voice was low and lethal. Max wrapped up Rachel and Marc was in between all of us. I still couldn’t focus.

“Lucas, he is here. He is over by the auction tables. She needs to leave now.” Rachel’s voice
sounded very calm, almost eerie.

“Show me, now
,” Lucas hissed and I felt all his muscles tighten. I snapped out of the trance I was in.

“No. I need to leave. Rachel, we need to leave.” It came out almost as a shout but we did need to leave.
Rachel nodded.

“Hey, go down the long hallway down by the bathrooms. This way you won’t have to go back into the big room,” Marc
directed.

“I will take the girls to the car.” Lucas grabbed my arm and was guiding me and reached for Rachel.

“Nope, I am going with you, in case you need me. Besides, I want to make sure that Rachel is okay.” Max said and pulled Rachel closer to him. Lucas nodded and squeezed me tighter. I felt safe in his arms.

All of us, including Marc, headed
down the hall. We rounded the corner when I gasped and I heard Rachel say, “Oh no.” There coming up the hall with a very young red-head on his arm, was Jake. I gripped Lucas’s arm so tightly I was afraid I drew blood.

“Is that him?” I heard Max say to Rachel and she nodded. Lucas’ body went tight, as Jake got closer.
He wasn’t paying attention and was laughing as though nothing in the world was wrong. He strutted down the hall like he wasn’t going to court next week for attempted murder charges. He finally looked up.

“Sara? Rachel? What the hell are you two doing here?” He
looked completely puzzled. He was less than a foot away and I realized that he looked older than the last time I saw him. His blonde hair was thinning and there were more defined lines around his eyes. I noticed the difference between Lucas and him. Lucas was at least four to five inches taller than him and much broader.

“Wishing you would die.” Leave it to Rachel to have some comeback.
Please Rachel don’t upset him. Not here and not in front of Lucas.
Jake just stared at her. He never liked Rachel because she was so much smarter than him.

“Well, Rachel
, always nice to hear your charming input,” Jake sneered at her.

“I suggest you shut up real quick talking to my girlfriend like that
.” Max’s brown eyes were almost black with anger. Rachel put her hand on Max’s chest and Marc put his hand on his shoulder.

“Jake, you know you can’t be within
one hundred feet of her. So, go away.” Rachel’s voice was still calm and all I wanted to do was crawl in a hole to get away from him. Lucas hadn’t said a thing but I could feel the anger radiating off of him.

“It was an honest mistake.
When did you start liking hockey anyway, Sara? Is it when you started spreading your legs open to everyone on the team?” He leered at me with his wicked eyes and everything happened at once.

I gasp
ed, Lucas lunged for Jake, and Max and Marc jumped in between them. Rachel leapt in front of me and pushed me against the wall. Jake, the coward that he was, actually pushed the red head in front of him.

“You say one word to her and I
will make sure you never speak again.” Lucas’ voice must have sounded fatal to Jake, because he looked terrified. Max started to say something to Lucas in French, but Lucas wasn’t listening. I walked around Rachel and touched Lucas’ shoulder. It was hard to the touch; he would not budge.

“Lucas, he is not worth it
,” I whispered to him. Max and Marc were using all their strength to keep Lucas in place. I knew that if he got close enough to Jake he would hurt him and that would be horrible for Lucas. He would lose everything that he worked so hard for and I couldn’t let that happen.