OneManAdvantage (10 page)

After a brief hesitation, he stepped aside. She hurried out
of the dining room and down the hall to the guest room. Closing the door behind
her, she pressed her hands to hot cheeks. The attraction she felt to Logan
hadn’t diminished and only reinforced how extremely painful her date with Paul
had been. They just had nothing in common, and much as she wanted to expand her
horizons and have some kind of interests outside of hockey…he just wasn’t going
to do it.

She changed out of her jeans and sweater into the dress
she’d brought, a sleeveless black dress that was simple, but she liked the
shape of the neckline and how it fit her body. She brushed her hair and touched
up her mascara and lip gloss, then went out to greet the other guests who’d
started arriving.

Taylor started music, but the guys made her turn it off
until the football game was over. People filled the kitchen and great room,
talking and laughing, offering to help with food. Nicole stirred gravy while
Logan mashed potatoes and she had to fight to keep her eyes off his big,
flexing muscles as he held the pot and plunged the masher in and out. Ergh.

“So what are the other top ten reasons to date a hockey
player?” Taylor asked Logan.

He shot her a sexy smile. “Let’s see how many I can
remember. Um…they always wear protection.”

Nicole choked. And coughed.

“You okay, hon?” Taylor asked.

“Yes,” she wheezed. She could
not
look at Logan. Even
so, she sensed his grin.

“They have great hands,” he continued.

Oh yeah. Oh god, yeah.

“They have great stamina.”

She bit her lip. Their sex on the floor hadn’t required a
lot of stamina; they’d both been so hot for each other, it hadn’t lasted all
that long. But she had no doubt he had lots and lots of stamina. Actually, so
did she…

“Nic, you’re whipping the gravy into a froth,” Taylor said.
“I think it’s good.”

“Oh. Yeah. Okay.” She set down the whisk. And Taylor had to
go and talk about whipping. “It’s hot in here,” she said without thinking, and
then she caught Logan’s smirk and her face turned scorching. “I mean, I’ve been
standing over this hot stove…I need more wine.”

She grabbed her glass and downed the rest of the contents,
started to reach for the bottle, but Logan was there with it. He poured some
into her glass.

“Thanks,” she croaked. She met his knowing gaze, his brown
eyes gleaming.

With everyone helping, the food was carried into the dining
room and arranged on the glossy black sideboard. Now Taylor got her wish and
started some music on the sound system that had speakers in every room. With
much laughter and talking, people filled their plates with turkey and ham,
tourtière
and all the many side dishes. Some sat at the dining room table, others moved
into the great room and balanced their plates on their knees as they ate.

“No, no, you cannot sit there,” Fedor said as Nicole went to
take a chair at one corner of the dining room table.

She paused, glanced at Taylor, who shrugged. “Um. Why not?”

“Unmarried people should not sit at the corner of the
table,” he said. “Otherwise they will not marry. Is Russian superstition.”

She grinned at her friend’s husband. “I’m not
superstitious.”

“Sit here,” he said, and with a laugh she took the chair he
offered, which was next to him, with Logan on her other side. Taylor sat across
from her along with several other Caribou players and the wives of two of them.

“So what’s everyone thankful for?” Taylor asked, picking up
her fork.

“I’m thankful for all this food,” Logan said. They all
laughed. “Seriously, thanks to Taylor and Fedor for hosting this.”

Everyone agreed and lifted their glasses in a toast. Taylor
beamed.

“I’m also thankful for the great hockey fans here in
Minneapolis,” Logan added.

“You’re liking it here?” Danny asked.

“Yeah. It’s pretty good. Definitely more of a hockey city
than in California.”

Fedor snorted. “They barely know what hockey is in
California.”

“It’s different, for sure,” Logan said. He caught Nicole’s
eye. “In a good way,” he added. “

“I’m thankful for good snow tires in this blizzard,” Teppo
said.

“Blizzard?” Nicole looked out the window. In the dark,
snowflakes continued to fall from the sky, piling higher and higher on the
ground and trees and shrubs. “This isn’t a blizzard.”

“True that,” Logan added. “There’s no wind. It can’t be a
blizzard.”

“You Canadians are experts on that?” Danny said.

Logan and Nicole exchanged glances, which should have been
with harmless amusement. But no. The sizzle was still there. She looked back
down at her plate.

“Blizzards happen here too,” she said.

“I’m thankful for Veil,” Adam said.

Silence. “What?” Taylor asked, looking at him. “Vail?
Colorado?”

He grinned and his wife Manda gave him a punch in the
shoulder. “Shut up.”

“Oh no,” Logan said with a laugh. “What is it?”

“Veil,” Adam said again. He spelled it.

“Still clueless,” Nicole said, smiling and looking around at
the others at the table who seemed equally stumped.

“It’s a new product,” Adam said. “Manda ordered it on the
Internet. It’s a flavored strip that women put on their tongue when they’re,
uh…you know.”

Nicole blinked.

“When they’re what?” Taylor asked.

“Going down. Giving head. Giving a BJ.”

Nicole’s eyes went wide and she choked on a laugh, as did
everyone else after a few stunned seconds.

“Seriously,” Adam continued. “I’ve never been so happy in my
life since she got that stuff.”

His wife groaned and covered her face. “Thanks for sharing,
dude.”

“I don’t get it,” Nicole said. Once again she couldn’t help
but glance at Logan and heat swept over her body as their eyes met.

“You don’t know what a blow job is?” Logan asked her.

She gave him a disgusted look. “No,” she said disdainfully.
“I have
no
idea.”

“That’s too bad. Maybe I could—”

“So what is this again?” Taylor asked. Nicole shot her a
grateful look. “You put it in your mouth while you’re…doing it…why?”

“It’s flavored,” Manda answered. “It tastes good and
disguises the taste of semen.”

Taylor’s mouth dropped open and Nicole laughed.

“Oh. Well. Hmm.”

“So where did you say you get that stuff?” Fedor asked
casually. More laughter ensued and Taylor gave him a reproving look. “What?” he
asked. “More blow jobs cannot be bad.”

“Amen,” Logan said fervently. Nicole caught the wicked
sparkle in his eye.

“When I said I don’t get it, it’s not because I don’t know
what fellatio is,” she said. “It’s because I don’t understand the need to
disguise the taste.”

“Mmm,” he murmured. “My kind of woman.”

Chapter Ten

Nicole’s hot glare at him made him want to laugh.

“Stop it,” she hissed at him.

He leaned closer to her. The scent of her hair, that fresh
citrusy smell, rose to his nostrils. “Stop what?”

She just scowled at him again. Then Logan looked across the
table and saw Taylor watching them with a small smile. Oh-oh.

“What flavors does it come in?” Danny asked.

This whole topic was hilarious. And arousing. Especially
with Nicole there beside him, looking especially hot in that little black dress
and some pointy-toed black shoes. Not that he had a fetish or anything, but
shoes like that always turned him on, especially with her long legs, and now
thinking about her going down on her knees in front of him…hell. He was getting
stiff. He shifted in his chair.

“Mango, cherry, passion fruit.”

More laughter.

“Maybe we should try it,” Danny said, looking at his wife
hopefully.

She grinned. “Maybe we should.”

Okay, if they talked any more about blow jobs with Nicole
sitting right there beside him, Logan was going to be in serious pain.

But it was a fun day and evening with good people, a great
chance to get to know some of his new teammates better, including their wives,
and a great chance to just watch Nicole as she moved around the kitchen helping
Taylor, helping clear the dishes and put away food when they’d finished.
Gradually people started leaving and eventually it was just the four of them.
It was nearly midnight.

“Oh my god,” Taylor said, kicking off her shoes and throwing
herself down on the couch. “I’m exhausted.”

“It was fantastic,” Fedor said. “Thank you, sweetheart.” He
sat beside her and lifted her legs across his lap, then started massaging her
feet.

Nicole dropped into a chair too. Logan sat down on a chair
next to her, admiring her long legs stretched out in front of her, still
wearing those hot shoes.

“I’m tired too,” she said. “But you did more work than I
did. I guess I should get going too.”

“Oh stay a little longer. Have one more glass of wine and
relax for a few minutes before you leave.”

“We must finish the wine,” Fedor said. “Is Russian
tradition. If you have alcohol, it must all be drinked.”

“Drunk,” Taylor said with a grin.

“I am not drunk,” Fedor said, affronted.

They all laughed, including Fedor.

“I’ll get it for you,” Logan said and he rose and went to
the kitchen.

“Thank you.” She accepted the glass when he returned,
meeting his eyes only briefly.

The four of them got talking and the next time anyone looked
at the clock, it was nearly two in the morning.

“Oh man,” Nicole said, standing and stretching, which made
her short dress rise up on her thighs and stretch across her breasts. “I better
go.”

“I don’t think you should drive,” Taylor said. “You’ve had a
lot to drink.”

“Not that much,” Nicole said. “I had a few glasses of wine
earlier this afternoon and just two now.”

“But still. The roads are bad. In fact, I’m not sure you can
even get out right now.”

“It’s still snowing,” Logan said. He walked to the front
door and opened it. Snow swirled in on a frosty breeze. “Christ. You can barely
see your car.”

Nicole made a noise of distress behind him as she peered
around him. “Holy crap.”

“I could help you clear it off,” he said. “And we’ll have to
shovel the driveway. Jesus, I don’t know if
anyone
is going to get out
tomorrow.”

She bit her lip. They both knew how much work it was going
to be to shovel her out and she hated to put them to the trouble that late at
night.

“Just stay here,” Taylor said with a yawn. “We’ll shovel you
out in the morning.”

“This
is
a lot of snow,” Nicole said. “But Silvia is
all alone.”

“She’ll be okay for a while longer.”

Nicole sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll stay.”

Logan closed the door and turned around.

“Good,” Taylor said. “You can sleep in that spare room. I’m
going to bed, but I’ll get some pajamas for you and put them in there.” She
turned to her husband. “C’mon, hon.”

“Good night.”

Taylor and Fedor turned off some lights in the living room
and kitchen and disappeared down the hall, leaving Logan and Nicole alone in
the dimly lit great room, the fireplace glowing on one wall.

“Well,” Nicole said, avoiding his eyes. “I guess I’ll go to
bed too. Good night.”

“Nicole.”

She paused and flicked him a wary look. “What?”

“Come here.” He made his tone authoritative, because she
seemed to respond to that.

She looked at the floor, but didn’t move.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, wanting to move toward her, but
wanting her to respond to him. “You’re upset because of what happened at the
loft.”

She lifted big blue eyes to him and his chest went soft
inside when he saw the anguish in them.

“It’s not that bad,” he said softly. “Come here.”

She slowly blinked, then took two steps toward him. He set
his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. “Talk to me,” he said. “C’mon,
let’s sit down. Let’s just talk for a while.”

He read the doubt on her face, but led her toward the big
red leather couch facing the fireplace. When she sat down, he reached for a
fuzzy beige blanket draped over one arm and swept it over both of them as he
sat beside her. He tucked it around her and pulled her into his arms.

At first her body was tight and tense. Then she relaxed into
him and he exhaled with relief. Christ, he wanted her. It was crazy.

“Talk to me,” he said again. “What’s going on?”

“You know what’s going on,” she whispered, her face turned
away from him despite being pressed against his body. “You know what happened
with Cody. You know I can’t do this.”

Oh fuck.

“I’m not Cody,” he said, voice hard. “Not even fucking
close.”

She sighed. “I know you’re not. But…when he said that stuff
about me…about the…” Her voice caught and she paused for a moment. “The gang
bang…I know that’s what everyone was thinking about me.”

“Fuck no!”

“Yes.” She fingered the soft blanket. “He said that because
it’s true. I’ve gone out with a few hockey players. And I’m not going to do
that again. I’m not going to open myself up to being slammed like that again in
front of the whole world.”

Shit. Fucking hell. What a dipshit Cody Burrell was. If
Logan hadn’t been pissed at him enough before, he was now.

Logan wasn’t known as a fighter on the ice, but he’d never
backed down from one either. He was big and strong and knew how to throw a
punch, and at that moment, he wished Cody played for another team so he could
slam him into the boards, drop the gloves and punch his lights out.

“I’m not Cody,” he said again. Hell, he didn’t know what to
say.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, his hand
rubbing up and down her back. She relaxed a little more against him.

“I guess that was a shitty thing to go through,” he finally
said.

“Ya think?”

His lips quirked. “Okay, just call me Captain Obvious.”

He felt her smile against his shoulder. “It was
humiliating,” she said. “And mostly because I brought it on myself.”

“Jesus, Nicole. You didn’t do anything wrong. Other than get
mixed up with an asshole.”

“He wouldn’t have said that if I hadn’t dated other hockey
players. My dad was right. Women shouldn’t be involved in hockey.”

“Well forgive me, because god knows your dad is a helluva
hockey player, and he’s pretty smart when it comes to hockey, but he’s an idiot
when it comes to his daughter.”

She huffed out a little laugh. “Sure.”

“Seriously, Nicole. What father wouldn’t encourage his
daughter to follow her dreams?” He reached for her chin and tipped her head
back so he could see her face. “I mean, sometimes our dreams aren’t always
realistic. Yeah, if you wanted to make a living playing hockey, it’d be tough.
Not many women have played in the NHL.”

“Nobody really has. Manon Rhéaume played a couple of
preseason games. Hayley Wickenheiser played with the Finnish men’s league. Some
have played in North American minor leagues.”

“Even so,” he said. “You could’ve done that. You shouldn’t
have had to give it up if you loved it.”

She met his eyes and hers softened and warmed. “You really
believe that?”

“Of course.”

She gave a shaky smile. “Thanks.” She dropped her gaze. “I
think…maybe I was afraid to push it because I wasn’t really sure if I was good
enough to make it.”

His heart tightened. “I bet you were. You have good hockey
genes.”

One corner of her mouth kicked up.

“I guess I kind of had the same fears,” he said, snuggling
her back in against him. “Two older brothers who were instant superstars. All
my life I tried to live up to them and always came up short. When I was in
college I was terrified I wouldn’t get drafted, and terrified that I would. I
knew I wouldn’t be first-round pick like Tag, or even a fifth like Jase. Or if
I did get drafted, I’d never make it through training camp without being sent
back to the minors.”

“You’re just as good as they are,” she said.

He laughed.

“Seriously. I mean, you play different. All three of you are
really smart, but you use your body more. You’re a very dynamic player. You
have really good puck instincts and amazing hands. I love the way you play the
puck so close to your feet, for such a big guy that’s really amazing.”

Warmth filled his chest. “Thank you. I didn’t know you paid
that much attention to my game.”

“I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Okay, I do, but it’s part of my job. I like to know the
players and what their strengths and weaknesses are. I can’t believe you
worried about living up to your brothers.”

“And still do to this day.”

She looked up at him again. “What? Do your parents compare
you guys to each other? That’s not right.”

“No.” He shook his head. “Not like that. I just mean, Tag
and Jase are both settling down with girlfriends, like, serious get-married
girlfriends. Jase is having a baby in a couple of weeks and my mom’s so stoked
about it, it’s all she talks about. She’s going to be a grandma, like her best
friend Jenn MacIntosh. Whose daughter, by the way, is Tag’s girlfriend, so
Mom’s all thrilled because she loves Kyla and now she’ll be like the daughter
she never had or something—all thanks to Tag.”

“Ah.”

He wasn’t sure why he was telling her all this shit. All his
life he’d tried to be all happy and nonchalant about it all, pretending he
didn’t care, but the truth was…he did care. A lot. If he didn’t make it after
Tag and Jase had, he’d be a huge loser. When Nicole had confessed her own feelings
of not being good enough, he’d immediately felt an affinity. An understanding
that had prompted him to share his own stupid feelings. But nobody really
needed to know that he felt inadequate compared to his brothers. After being
traded away by the team he’d dedicated his career to, his self esteem had taken
another beating. He knew it wasn’t personal, that decisions like that came down
to dollars, but even so, it hadn’t exactly been ego-boosting to be given the
boot.

“Please don’t spread this all around,” he said.

She went still against him. “Like, to whom?”

“I don’t know. You probably talk to Taylor. Don’t tell her
I’m a big insecure loser.”

She drew back slowly. “Logan. You are hardly a loser.”

He made a face. “You know what I mean.”

And then she astonished him by lifting her hand to his face,
laying her palm on his cheek and smiling at him, a small, soft smile.

His body went instantly hard, his blood racing hot through
his veins. He pulled her against him and kissed her, hard and fast and urgent.
And she kissed him back.

Nicole wanted to jump on top of him and kiss him crazy. She
didn’t know why, but when he’d made that comment about being a loser, her heart
just melted and she lost it. God, he wasn’t a loser, he was a fiercely talented
NHL hockey player. His new teammates loved him. She’d seen how he was not only
fitting in, but taking control of things on the ice and in the dressing room.
Management was thrilled. Sure the team had a long way to go, but the mood was a
lot more upbeat than it had been a few weeks ago, and it was because of Logan.

He’d asked her not to tell anyone how he felt. For a few
seconds, she’d been offended, and then she remembered that she’d asked the same
thing of him. And suddenly she felt badly about that, about insulting him that
way, when she could see he wasn’t the kind of guy to run around bragging about
his sexual escapades.

So when he pulled her up against his big, hard body, she
went willingly, and surrendered her mouth to his as he kissed her, on and on,
his tongue sliding into her mouth, his hands anchored on her body. And that
aching lust swelled up inside her, so fast, so hot, her body pulsed with it and
she kissed him back, desperate, pressing her body against his.

“You’ve been driving me nuts all day,” he muttered against
her cheek, panting.

“Ha,” she choked out. “You’ve been making
me
crazy.
Talking about those reasons to date a hockey player. You did that on purpose,
didn’t you?”

“Hell yeah. There are more, you know.”

“I don’t want to know them,” she moaned as he opened his
mouth on her jaw.

“Hockey players have a long stick,” he said.

A laugh escaped her even as she let her head fall back so he
could drag his tongue over her neck.

“They know how to use their wood.”

“Stop.”

She felt his smile against her skin. “Here’s the one I think
you really like,” he said, his voice husky. She waited a couple of tingling
beats and then he continued. “They know when to play rough.”