Playing for Keeps/Body Check (Rules of the Game) (19 page)

Her heart yearned for him, her body ached for him.

If only her mind could release her of doubts, and she could allow herself to love again.

***

An exhausted Thunder team tied Buffalo, 4-4, and afterward, Quinn and Adam decided to have a late dinner in the hotel restaurant.

"I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Adam's cynical look matched his frown. "I thought you were going to go slow, give her time." Adam took a long drink of iced tea from a tall glass.

Quinn smiled. "We've known each other a long time and have been seeing each other seriously for weeks. I'm nuts about her, and I think I speak for her when I say she feels the same."

Quinn cut his prime rib, the scent of it making his mouth water. He relished the bite he slid off the fork, and was prepared for the short, but direct lecture from Adam.

Adam Piersson was a talented, tough jock but a pain in the ass when it came to the subject of commitment.

The man was a confirmed bachelor. A hockey veteran at the age of thirty six, he could still kick the ass of any nineteen year old rookie on any team.

The guy was strong, committed to staying fit, kept his nose clean and was a private man who said little, but always got his point across. When it came to his friends, he was like a dog with a bone.

"When are you going to ask her?"

Quinn, cut another piece of the tender steak, and looked up at his friend. "When we go home. We'll wait till the season is over, give her the ring, and plan a June wedding. I want her to have the whole church thing, a huge reception, the limos, the whole bit.
 
I –"

Adam held up a hand and frowned, which didn’t worry Quinn. Adam rarely smiled.

"I trust you discussed this with Mia first."

Quinn shrugged and put down his fork. "No, not yet, but Adam, when I give her the ring, I'll tell her my plans and I'm sure she'll agree."

Adam crossed his arms over his chest. "Aren't you taking this all for granted? I love Mia, she's a terrific woman, but do you remember what Andre put her through? Has she told you how she feels? And don’t tell me to mind my own business because I saw her after Goyette was shipped back to Canada."

It was the longest speech Quinn had ever heard Adam give.
 
"Look, I would never hurt her.
 
Goyette was an asshole, and if I ever got my hands on him, well, you know."

Adam lifted his glass to finish the last drop of tea, waved over a waiter and ordered another. "I'm just saying, take it slow. I know you won't hurt her, but don’t assume she is going to accept your ring just because you want to get married."

"You're wrong, Bro. You'll see. As soon as I get home, we'll start making plans."

Then Quinn slipped his hand into his suit breast pocket and brought out a black velvet box. He placed it on the table and opened it to show Adam the large solitaire diamond.

"Think she'll like it?"

Adam raised a single eyebrow. "I don't know. Does she like diamonds?"

"What woman doesn’t like diamonds?"

Adam shook his head. "That means you don't know."

Quinn put the ring back in his pocket, finished the rest of his beer, and waited for Adam to speak his opinion.

Silence.

"What, nothing to say?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but have you thought about the old man? He's going to blow his top when he sees Mia with another jock."

"That’s not my problem. Mia and I are adults. I know J. P. doesn’t like me, but I'm going to marry Mia, not him. He's going to have to learn to live with it."

"It's your funeral," Adam managed, again, saying a lot while saying so little.
 
When dinner was finished, Quinn waved to the waiter for the check.

Adam was wrong. Mia loved him as much as he loved her. Simple.

He'd give her the ring, they'd make love all night, and then plan the wedding of the year.

No worries.

So why did Adam's words haunt Quinn through the rest of dinner?

He had to talk Mia now, hear her voice, so he'd know he was doing the right thing, and not rushing her.

***

Once back in his hotel room, Quinn shrugged out of his coat and suit jacket, placed them on his bed then reached for his cell phone.

He knew it was late, but he just wanted to hear her voice.

Pressing in her number, he sat on the edge of the bed and waited, heart racing, blood rushing through his veins.

"Hello."

He'd roused her from sleep. Her sexy, drowsy voice made him hard as stone. Would she be up to playing with him?

"What are you wearing?"

A soft breathy laugh. "Who is this?"

"Very funny."

It had seemed like a good idea to call Mia, but hearing that slumber tossed voice of hers had him aching for her. Not a good thing when they were six hundred miles away from each other. Damn.

"Just wanted to hear your voice, sweetheart. I miss you like crazy. Go back to sleep, ok?"

"Mmm," she moaned, and Quinn grew hard as stone. "Ok, miss you."

He smiled. "Miss you too, baby. And by the way, what are you wearing?"

Quinn heard her intake of breath, then a whisper. "Body lotion."

The call disconnected, and Quinn sat quietly on the edge of the bed, aching, aroused and wanting to be with her more than he wanted to breathe.

He made his way to the shower, ducked under the icy cold water, and attempted to wish away the erotic vision of the gorgeous Mia in her bed, warm, naked, and without him.

CHAPTER TEN

The next morning, Quinn texted Mia from the bus, telling her he'd be home in half an hour and would she meet him at his apartment.

Since it was Sunday, Mia got dressed, left her building and hailed a cab. Mia couldn’t keep her thoughts on anything but Quinn.

A myriad of questions assailed her. Did she love him? Did she want to live without him?

He'd only been gone since Friday. She'd missed him. Couldn’t sleep, tossed and turned every night, craving his touch, missing his kiss, wanting him inside her.

The way he whispered in her ear when they made love. His husky cries of pleasure when he came.

"Quinn." Tears welled in her eyes as the cab driver reached their destination and she paid him.

Leaving the cab and nodding to the familiar doorman who tipped his hat, then held open the door with a friendly, "Miss Sinclair," Mia walked to an open elevator and pressed the button to the penthouse.

And all of a sudden, she realized how complete her life had been with Quinn a part of it.

The door to his penthouse apartment opened from the elevator and he was there, hands on his hips, legs apart, waiting for her.

Still in his suit and tie, he opened his arms to welcome her, wearing a wicked smile that melted Mia from her head to her toes.

He was her guy, and she loved him.

"Damn I missed you." He smiled as she raced into his arms.

"I missed you too." He picked her up effortlessly and kissed her hard, hot and full against her mouth.

"Oh God you feel so good," he murmured, tunneling his fingers through her hair, kissing her nose, eyes, cheeks. "I missed you like crazy."

"You already said that."

"Shut up and kiss me," he growled.

It was as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She giggled as they acted like hormone ridden teens, anxious to satisfy their primal urges.

Mia didn’t care about any of that. She just wanted him.

They laughed, kissed and he placed her down. They just stared at each other for long seconds. Then, she began undoing his striped silk tie, while he slid her jacket from her shoulders and threw it to join his tie and suit jacket on the floor.

Her gaze traveled from those bright blue eyes to his slight sexy stubble and long hair, and began to undo his belt. His erection was obvious as she slid his zipper down, then his slacks.

She was breathless. "You have the fastest hands in the league. You can do better than that."

She ripped open his shirt and threw it to the floor, while he lifted her sweater over her head and her jeans soon followed.

"Fast enough?" he asked when they were both naked and wanting.

"I'm not going to make it to the bedroom," he rasped, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her to the floor.

"No complaints here." She smiled

"Ahh," she threw her head back, reveling in the power of his body.

"Show me how much you missed me," she murmured, biting his ear as he gripped her hips and shoved into her waiting wet heat.

"Oh Mia, baby, missed you, missed you…"

His words trailed off as Mia felt his orgasm approach with the hard strokes back and forth. He was kissing her hard, his teeth clashing with hers, his lips bruising her mouth, his tongue swirling around hers, demanding, powerful and strong.

"Only you, Mia, there's only you," and then he threw his head back, his veins standing out on his neck as he roared with his release.

Mia met him on the way to oblivion, her climaxing to the edge and jumping off, with her, together.

Later, after Quinn had moved them to his bed, they lay in each other's arms, quiet for a time. Quinn rubbed his fingers around her back in a lazy swirling motion.

"What do you think of a June wedding?"

If Quinn had said, 'there's an alien on my sofa', Mia wouldn’t have been as shocked.

She turned to him with a frown that must have been a sorry looking thing, for Quinn was not smiling.

"You can't say you didn’t see this coming, honey. You know I'm nuts about you."

Mia rolled over and lay on his chest, her head on her hands. "I care about you too Quinn, very much, but you promised to go slow, give me time."

He placed his hands behind his head and sat up straighter on his pillow. "I take it you're not thrilled with my proposal?"

"I didn’t say that. I'm just a little surprised."

"Yeah you already said that."

Mia saw his haunches go up. "Quinn, we were going to take our relationship slow."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of anything," she croaked.

"Liar."

"I need time, Quinn."

"How much time, Mia? After the playoffs? The summer? Next season? When do you finally plan on trusting me?"

"I trust you, Quinn. I do."

Mia watched as he gently pushed her off his chest and rose from the bed. He threw on a pair of grey, well worn sweats that rode low on his hips. He was so beautiful she almost couldn’t believe he loved her.

"Please Quinn, just until the playoffs are over. Then," she swallowed and sat up, covering her nakedness with his sheet.

"I'm not waiting that long, Mia."

He walked to a pair of slacks on a nearby chair and pulled out a tiny black box. Mia inhaled deeply, knowing exactly what it contained.

Quinn tossed the box on the bed and nodded toward it. "You can have it. When you're ready to wear it, let me know."

And suddenly, Quinn was not the good natured, almost smiling, joking man she'd known for almost two years.

Mia picked up the box and closed her hand around it, tears choking her.

He stood at the foot of the bed and planted his hands on his hips. "You've never once told me you loved me, Mia. I guess that's the question now. Do you love me? Yes or no?"

He was her lover, and her lover wanted an answer. Did she love him enough to marry him, or was she too much of a coward to commit because of the past?

"So if I don’t marry you right now, you don’t want to see me anymore? Seriously?"

"I'm nearly thirty years old. My career isn’t going to last forever. I want a family.
 
I want to build a life with you, Mia. I want that now."

She saw and heard where this conversation was going, and her heart beat so hard and fast, she thought it would shoot out of her chest. "Are you giving me an ultimatum, Quinn?"