Wicked Games (Denver Rebels) (3 page)

“Get a quote from Reid.”

Her brother frowned. “What part of ‘He doesn’t talk to reporters’ did you not understand?”

“Oh, I understood perfectly,” Nadia countered. “But I’ve never known you to back down from a challenge, Nels. If getting Reid Holden to talk to you will give your career a boost, you have to at least try. What do you have to lose? All he can do is ignore you, right? I mean, you don’t normally cover the Rebels, so it’s not like you have to worry about getting yanked from the hockey beat for pissing the guy off.”

“That’s true,” Nelson conceded, looking thoughtful.

“So go for it,” Nadia urged. “Be fearless. Ask him a question. You might catch a lucky break.”

Nelson nodded slowly, the arena lights glinting off his eyeglasses as he stared off toward the rink. “Maybe I will.”

When practice was
over, the players skated off the ice and headed down the tunnel to the locker room.

Nadia and Nelson waited until most of the crowd had dispersed before they followed after the team. Nadia expected to be stopped by security and redirected to the lobby to wait for Nelson. But no one barred her from entering the restricted area with her brother. She figured security would be tighter once the regular season started.

There were several reporters waiting to go inside the locker room to interview the players. When one of the team’s assistant coaches opened the door and gestured to the group, Nelson flashed a crooked grin at Nadia.

“Wish me luck.”

She winked. “You got this.”

“We’ll see.” Nelson turned and followed the other reporters inside the noisy locker room.

Left alone in the hallway, Nadia wandered to the other side and leaned back against the wall, settling in to wait for her brother. When her phone buzzed, she pulled it out of her front pocket and glanced at the screen. She smiled when she saw that her parents had sent photos from their annual ten-day Caribbean cruise. She scrolled through pictures of them snorkeling, water skiing and exploring some tropical cave.

Looks like you guys are having a blast
, she texted.

We are
, her mother wrote back.
It’s always good to get away and recharge the batteries.
How are you and Nelson? Staying out of trouble?

Of course
, Nadia responded with an angel emoji.

She could picture her mother laughing before she wrote back:
I’d better not run up my roaming charges.
See you and your brother in a week!

Nadia was still grinning when her phone buzzed with another incoming text. This one was from Jessilyn, her bestie and coworker who was at the downtown bar with their other friends.

Any chance u guys r on ur way yet???

Not yet
, Nadia texted back.
Practice just ended. Nelson’s talking to the players now.

In the locker room?

Nadia grinned.
Yes.

Ooh! Lucky him!

Nadia shook her head as she texted back:
Nelson doesn’t care about seeing a bunch of sweaty jocks naked.

I know
, Jess replied.
U should have snuck in there with him.

Nadia chuckled.
No thanks.

U don’t want to see buff, naked hockey players???

Nadia paused, her mind flashing on an image of Reid Holden. Okay, so maybe she wouldn’t mind seeing
him
naked. With a face like that, his body
had
to be hot as hell.

Licking her lips at the thought, she typed:
U guys will probably be gone by the time we leave here.

Probably. I need to get home and study for my theory test, and the others have early meetings tomorrow.

Nadia sighed.
I understand. Sorry we had to bail tonite. Rain check for Friday?

Sounds good
, Jess texted back.
Tell Nelson to sneak u into the locker room. It’s the least he can do for making u miss happy hour.

Girl, bye
, Nadia retorted with a laugh. After sending the text, she switched over to her email program so she could finish catching up on her work emails while she waited for Nelson.

She’d just sent off a message when the locker room door opened. She glanced up, surprised to see her brother coming out.

“Done already? That didn’t take—” She broke off as one of the Rebels players appeared behind Nelson.

But not just any player.

Reid Holden.

When those piercing blue eyes met Nadia’s, a shiver ran through her body.

She straightened quickly from the wall, her gaze darting to Nelson. His eyes were gleaming with excitement, and he had the biggest grin on his face.

As he approached with Reid, Nadia couldn’t help staring at the handsome hockey superstar. His thick dark hair was unruly, falling over his forehead in damp locks. He’d changed into a ribbed gray shirt that stretched across his wide shoulders and clung to every muscle of his broad chest and powerful biceps. His dark jeans hugged him in all the right places. As he came toward Nadia, the play of muscles in his strong thighs made her mouth water.

“Nadia,” her brother said with that ridiculous shit-eating grin, “there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Why?
Nadia wondered, feeling like a deer in headlights as Reid Holden came to a stop directly in front of her. He was wearing a pair of heavy black boots. Even without his skates on, he was tall enough to tower over her.

“Nadia, this is Reid Holden,” Nelson introduced them. “Reid, this is my sister, Nadia.”

Ignoring her racing pulse, Nadia smiled and extended her hand. “Hi.” Her voice was little more than breath. “Nice to meet you.”

Reid stared down at her as he took her hand, his large, callused palm curling around hers and swallowing it in a firm grip. The contact sent a rush of arousal from her fingertips to her swelling clit.

“The pleasure’s mine, Nadia.” His voice was much deeper than she’d expected. It slid over her, spreading heat through her veins and making her insides go all tingly. 

She quickly withdrew her hand and stepped back, needing to put some distance between herself and the sexy-as-sin jock.

Nelson was still grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Reid saw you during practice and wanted an introduction.”

“Oh?” Trying to mask her surprise, Nadia looked from her brother to Reid. “Did you at least give him a quote for his column first?”

Reid’s eyes glinted. “Only on the condition that he introduce me to you.”

“I see.” Nadia bit her lip, contemplating him.

A small white scar ran above his left eye, and there was a crook in his nose where it had been broken before. Instead of detracting from his good looks, the imperfections only amplified his rugged masculinity. Reid Holden was a badass, a tough guy who gave as good as he got and had the battle scars to show for it.

Suddenly Nadia realized that he was staring back at her, returning her appraisal. As those intense blue eyes slowly traced her features, her palms moistened and her heart began beating a little faster.

Okay, a lot faster.

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself as she racked her brain for something clever to say. Something to defuse the awareness sizzling between them like high-voltage electric currents.

“So, Mr. Holden—”

“Reid.”

She faltered, blinking. “What?”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “Mr. Holden’s my old man. Call me Reid.”

“Um…” She swallowed. “Okay.”

His eyes glinted. With amusement or approval, she couldn’t tell. “Mind if I call you Nadia?”

When she shook her head, he smiled. And damn if her knees didn’t go weak. She couldn’t help it. Between his gorgeous face, ripped body and insanely sexy voice, the man was a walking wet dream.

“Beautiful name, by the way.”

Nadia licked her dry lips. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, his gaze lowering to her mouth.

She could feel the heat coming off his big body, feel her skin tingling and her scalp prickling with awareness. He smelled positively delicious, like soap and hard-working man. When he shifted a little closer, her belly clenched, and for a moment it was hard to breathe.

Although she was no stranger to sexual attraction, she’d never experienced anything like this before. It was…hell, it was scary as fuck.

“Now what were you saying?”

Nadia stared up at Reid, her thoughts scattered. “Saying…?”

“A moment ago. I think you were about to ask me something.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip. “I don’t remember.”

He nodded, watching her intently. “Are you coming to our season opener on Thursday?”

The question caught her off guard. “Um…well…I hadn’t really planned—”

“Nadia’s not much of a hockey fan,” Nelson interjected apologetically. Until that moment, Nadia had completely forgotten he was there. “But I’ll be at the game.”

Reid nodded, but he didn’t look satisfied. Lowering his eyes, he stared at Nadia beneath his dark lashes.

Heat rose in her cheeks. Suddenly the ground beneath her felt as slippery as if she were standing on ice.

What does he want from me?
she wondered.

Just then the locker room door opened, and the Rebels’ head coach stuck his head out and called to Reid, “Holden. Got a minute?”

Reid cast a lazy glance over his shoulder. “Be there in a sec.”

The coach nodded and ducked back through the door.

As Reid returned his attention to Nadia, Nelson piped up, “Any chance I could interview you for the
Dispatch
?”

Without taking his eyes off Nadia’s face, Reid murmured, “I don’t give interviews.”

Nelson was undeterred. “I know you don’t. But since you’ve already broken your silence by giving me a quote, I was hoping you’d be open to answering more questions.”

Reid stared at Nadia another moment, then shifted his gaze to Nelson. “I don’t give interviews,” he repeated.

Nelson grinned sheepishly. “Sure you won’t reconsider?”

Reid gave him a long look, his eyes narrowed.

Oh, shit,
Nadia thought. Nelson must have pushed him too hard.

The same thought apparently occurred to her brother, because he visibly swallowed. But before he could start squirming, Reid chuckled and began backing across the hallway.

Determined to press his luck, Nelson called out, “So is that a definite n—”

Reid pointed to Nadia. “Bring her to the game.”

Before Nadia could sputter out a protest, Nelson promised, “She’ll be there.”

Reid nodded, a satisfied smile quirking his lips before he turned and disappeared inside the locker room.

Nadia watched him go, then swung around to stare at Nelson in stunned disbelief. “What the hell was that?”

Nelson laughed, cupped her face between his hands and planted a smacking kiss on her forehead. “
That
, dear sister, was my lucky break!”

2

N
adia blinked at
Nelson, then narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the lucky break I just caught. The one
you
made happen.”

“Me?”

“Yes,
you!
” Nelson laughed. “The only reason Reid spoke to me was because of you. When I walked up to him in the locker room, the first words out of his mouth were, ‘Who was that babe you were sitting with?’”

Nadia gaped at her brother. Reid Holden called her a
babe
? “Really?”

“Yes, really.” Nelson couldn’t have looked more pleased. “Dude is totally feelin’ you, Nadia. And judging by the way you were acting, you’re feelin’ him too.”

Her cheeks flamed with heat. She darted a nervous glance toward the locker room door, then grabbed her brother’s hand and muttered, “Let’s get out of here before he comes back out.”

They left the arena and climbed into Nelson’s old Mazda. As he backed out of the parking space, Nadia punched him on the arm.

“Ow!” he protested. “What was that for?”

“For telling Reid that I’d come to the game on Thursday,” she said accusingly. “Why the hell did you do that?”

Nelson had the grace to look sheepish. “I didn’t mean to. It just slipped out.”

“Yeah, right,” Nadia scoffed.

“It did, I swear!”

“Give me a break, Nelson.” Nadia shook her head in disgust. “I can’t believe my own brother’s trying to pimp me out to some hockey player.”

Nelson choked out a laugh. “Who says I’m trying to pimp you out?”

“You are!”

“No, I’m—
Ouch!
” he howled when she punched his arm again. “Dammit, Nadia, will you stop hitting me? I’m trying to drive here.”

She jabbed a finger at his face. “I’m not going to the game, so find someone else to be your puck bunny.”

Nelson laughed. “
Puck bunny?
”

“Isn’t that what they call hockey groupies?”

“Yeah. I’m just surprised you knew the term.” Nelson gave her an amused sidelong glance. “Trust me, no one would ever mistake you for a puck bunny. Not dressed like that anyway.”

“Good,” Nadia retorted, mutinously folding her arms across her chest and slouching in her seat. “I’m still not going to the game.”

Her brother groaned. “Aw, c’mon, Nadia. Don’t be like that.”

“Like what?”

“Look, aren’t you the one who told me to get a quote from Reid?” Nelson challenged.

“Not by using
me
as bait,” she shot back.

“Hey, it’s not my fault the guy took one look at you and fell into insta-love.”

Nadia snorted, ignoring the way her stomach fluttered at Nelson’s words. “He doesn’t even know me.”

“Doesn’t matter. He liked what he saw enough to want—hell,
demand
—an introduction.” Nelson flashed her a lopsided grin. “Aren’t you flattered to know that a famous hockey player has the hots for you?”

“No.” Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. She was always flattered to receive attention from a hot guy. When said guy was Reid Holden,
flattered
didn’t begin to describe how she felt. Reid could have any woman he wanted. The fact that he seemed to want
her
was a serious mind fuck.

It wasn’t that she thought she was ugly or anything. She knew she was attractive, even pretty. She had good skin, big brown eyes and full lips that she considered her best feature. She was average height, not too short or too tall. While she’d been blessed with a nice round ass, her small boobs could barely fill a teacup. When it came to her looks, she had no illusions about what she was working with. She knew she would always be the girl-next-door type, never to be mistaken for a runway model or a busty bombshell—aka, the types Reid went for.

Slowing to a red light, Nelson drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, then heaved a deep breath. “Look, Nadia, I know how you feel about jocks, and I know you don’t give a shit about hockey. But this is really important to me. Scoring an interview with Reid Holden could really take my career to the next level. I could get a job at the
Post
or somewhere even better. You know it’s always been a dream of mine to work for
Sports Illustrated
or ESPN.”

“Yeah, I know,” Nadia muttered. It was all he ever talked about.

“I wouldn’t ask you to come to the game if there wasn’t so much at stake.”

She sighed. “I know.”

Nelson smiled as if he sensed her caving. “If I got a better paying job, I’d be willing to go sixty-forty on our rent.”

Nadia snorted, giving him the side-eye. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Land the interview first.”

He laughed. “That’s what I’m trying to do. But I need your help.” He steered through the green light. “So what do you say? Will you come to the game on Thursday?”

Nadia frowned, gnawing her bottom lip. “I don’t know.”

“C’mon, Nadi. Do this for me.” He paused. “I’d do it for you.”

She scowled. “Dammit, Nelson. You fight dirty.”

He laughed. “By any means necessary.”

Nadia shook her head in exasperation. “Let’s say I agree to attend the game. Then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what happens after the game? What if…well, what if Reid expects more?”

Nelson looked at her. Before he could respond, his phone went off. He plucked the device from the cup holder and checked the display screen.

“It’s Corrigan,” he said. “Hold that thought.”

Nadia waved a dismissive hand.

As Nelson answered his phone, she turned to stare out the window at the glittering lights of downtown Denver. Corporate logos glowed from the tops of modern skyscrapers. Beyond the tall buildings, the sprawling shoulders of the Rocky Mountains stretched across the landscape.

Nadia and Nelson had been born and raised in Denver. They left home for the first time to attend college in the Midwest. Although they’d enjoyed getting out from under their parents’ thumb, neither of them expected to feel so homesick. They’d missed Colorado’s perennial sunshine, the mountains, skiing, the Broncos, kickass Mexican food—the whole enchilada. So after graduation they’d hightailed it back home. Fortunately, they were lucky enough to land jobs in their chosen professions.

As Nadia gazed out the window, her mind drifted back to the encounter with Reid. She could still feel the strength of his hand wrapped around hers, feel the roughness of the calluses on his palm. She found herself wondering how his hands would feel against her sensitive skin, sliding up the inside of her thighs as he slowly parted them and—

“Sorry about that.”

Jolted out of her thoughts, Nadia gave a guilty start and turned from the window to stare at Nelson, who’d just gotten off the phone with his editor. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. He just had a few questions about an article I turned in yesterday.”

Nadia nodded. Because she hadn’t heard a word of his conversation, she asked, “Did you tell him that you got a quote from Reid Holden?”

“Not yet.” Nelson grinned. “I want him to be shocked shitless when he reads my column. Speaking of which, I need to get home and work on it so I can turn it in by midnight.” He threw Nadia an apologetic glance. “Mind if we just pick up a pizza on the way home?”

She sighed. The night was officially a bust.

“Sure. Why not?”

Nadia and her
brother lived in a 1920s brick building in lower downtown, also known as LoDo. As Denver’s hip epicenter, LoDo was filled with trendy restaurants, bars, brewpubs and high-rises housed in historic renovated buildings. On most nights and weekends, the neighborhood was hopping as crowds flocked to the area in search of booze, good food and exciting nightlife. Between the drunk frat boys and the rowdy baseball fans streaming out of Coors Field, LoDo could get pretty noisy and hectic. But that was part of its appeal. After being raised in suburbia, Nadia and Nelson welcomed the frenetic energy of city life.

Carrying a large pizza box from Two-Fisted Mario’s, Nelson got off the elevator on the third floor and followed Nadia down the hallway to their loft. She unlocked the front door, stepped inside and flipped on the foyer light, then held the door open for her brother. As he moved past her, the fragrant aroma of hot pepperoni and cheese wafted up her nose and made her stomach growl.

Nelson laughed. “I heard that.”

“Shut up.” Grinning, Nadia closed the door behind him and turned the dead bolt.

Dropping her purse on the sideboard table by the door, she headed into the living room to switch on the floor lamp. It didn’t take many steps to reach it since the loft was so small, barely eight hundred square feet. But what it lacked in size it made up for in character with exposed-pipe ceilings, tall windows, exposed-brick walls and hardwood floors.

The living room was modestly furnished with a glass coffee table and a chocolate leather sofa and loveseat—hand-me-downs scavenged from their parents’ basement. With the money they saved on buying furniture, they’d splurged on a large flatscreen television, which was mounted on the brick wall above the fireplace. The loft also had a galley kitchen, two bedrooms and one bathroom.

“Beer or wine?”

Nadia followed the sound of Nelson’s voice to the kitchen. “Beer’s good,” she answered, crossing to the counter where he’d put two slices of pizza on two paper plates.

He grabbed a couple of cold beers from the fridge, twisted the caps off and handed her a bottle.

“Thanks.” She took a long sip of beer, then picked up a slice of pizza and bit into it, savoring the gooey cheese, spicy pepperoni and garlic-flavored tomato sauce. “Mmm. That’ll work,” she mumbled around a mouthful.

Nelson gave her a sheepish look. “Sorry about tonight. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“Damn right you will,” she grumbled, taking another swig of beer.

Nelson folded a slice of pizza and lifted it to his mouth. “Maybe after the game on Thursday…”

Nadia narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t push your luck.”

“C’mon, Nadia,” he cajoled. “Just come to the game.”

“Why? So you can dangle me in front of Reid like a piece of raw meat? Do you really think that’s the only way to get an interview with him?”

Nelson looked bemused. “Well…yeah.”

Nadia made a sound of disgust and shook her head. “Unbelievable.”

“What? I’m just saying—”

“Clock’s ticking. You’d better get to work.” She picked up her plate and left the kitchen before Nelson could harass her some more.

When she reached her bedroom, she shut the door behind her and crossed to the nightstand to set down her plate and beer. Grabbing the remote, she turned on the small plasma television she’d had since college. It was Tuesday, so none of her favorite shows were on tonight. Not that she was in the mood to watch anything. She just needed noise, something to distract her from thoughts of sexy hockey players with strong hands and panty-wetting smiles.

After channel surfing for a few minutes, she settled on an old black-and-white movie on TCM. It was
His Girl Friday
starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell.

Nadia kicked off her pumps and shimmied out of her slacks, then crawled into bed and grabbed her plate of food. She scarfed down her pizza while watching Cary and Rosalind trade clever quips and zingers. The screwball comedy was one of her favorites and always made her laugh. But tonight, for the first time, the snappy repartee between the charismatic actors couldn’t hold her attention as her thoughts returned to Reid.

She still couldn’t believe he’d insisted on meeting her. She’d thought it was a fluke when they made eye contact during practice. She’d told herself that she’d only imagined the pull between them. But she was wrong.

Because he’d felt it too.

The thought made her shiver as heat pooled between her legs.

Frowning, she gave herself a hard mental shake.

It didn’t matter that she and Reid were attracted to each other. It didn’t matter how unbelievably hot he was, or how guilty she’d feel for not helping Nelson advance his career.

The only thing that mattered was her need for self-preservation. She had no desire to get hurt by another jock.

Been there, done that, burned the damn T-shirt.