And then he smiled at her. “Good night, Jenna.”
She pivoted and walked to her car, conscious of him standing there watching her. He waited, hands in his coat pockets while she got in and drove away.
Bastard. Her body was on fire from his kiss and she was going to have to take care of herself when she got home tonight.
She was never going to let him kiss her again.
TY WAITED UNTIL JENNA PULLED OUT OF THE PARKING lot and onto the street before he climbed into his car to head back to his place.
He had known Jenna for almost a year now, had met her through his agent, Elizabeth, and Jenna’s brother Gavin.
Jenna wasn’t at all his type. Oh, she was beautiful, all right, but she was skinny with small br**sts. He liked his women full and lush with big tits.
He liked his women with long hair he could run his fingers through. Jenna had short, spiky black hair that had weird purple tips at the end, which was kind of wild and funky.
Jenna had multiple piercings in her left ear and that tiny little diamond on her nose. It always made him wonder what other parts of her body were pierced. And those tattoos he’d only gotten glimpses of intrigued him. He wanted time to explore them, to study them, to strip her down and see where else she was tattooed.
But her eyes were what really drew him to her. They were an amazing sapphire blue that were so expressive and so vulnerable, even though she liked to play the tough chick.
Okay, so maybe she was a little different. And maybe he was drawn to how utterly different she was.
So he played with her, irritated her, and baited her because he knew he could get a rise out of her.
Not interested? Bullshit. That kiss had told him just how interested she really was. He’d bet if he’d gotten his hands into her panties she’d have been wet.
Just the thought of getting into her panties made his c**k throb. He could still taste her on his lips—peppermint and some kind of cherry-flavored lip gloss. He licked his lips, wanted more.
Yeah, he wanted a lot more of Jenna.
And just like in hockey, when the goal was in sight, he never gave up.
TWO
TY FLEW DOWN THE ICE, SKATING PAST THE DEFENDER. Victor Putinov slid the puck across to him and he took a shot.
Missed. He skirted around the net and fought the defender for the puck, slamming up against the boards, their sticks in combat for the prize. The shouts from the home crowd were deafening, spurring him on to scramble.
He lost the fight and skated his ass off after that black disc. When he was on the ice it was the only thing that mattered to him.
Eddie Wolkowski went after it, skidding to a halt against the center for Toronto. Ty wanted to beat these guys badly. He liked all the guys on his former team, but hey, business was business and it was time to get down to it.
Parker took a shot against Roger “Ice-man” Rantzen, the Ice’s goalie. Roger blocked it and Wolkowski took it and sent it shooting toward the center. The left wing picked it up and Ty took the charge across the line, skating in tandem with Toronto’s center. It was a race to see who could get there faster.
Ty was a damn good skater and had the stamina to beat his opponent. When the left wing passed the puck to Ty, he took it and passed it to Victor, who fought off the Toronto defenseman, giving Ty time to get into position.
Victor slanted the puck back to Ty. He saw the opening and took a hard shot.
Ty loved when the lamp lit up. The crowd was on its feet and the roar inside the arena never failed to give him chills. He lifted his stick in the air and pumped it up high, then went over to his teammates to celebrate.
They won the game three to one. It had been close. Toronto was a tough opponent.
After the game, he showered and dressed.
“How about a steak at Riley’s to celebrate?” Eddie asked.
Ty knew that Eddie had a major crush on Renee, one of the waitresses at Riley’s, and that’s why he kept suggesting they hit the bar.
And since he liked to irritate the hell out of Jenna, he was up for it. “Sure.”
Eddie grinned. At twenty-eight, Eddie was the Ice’s golden boy, with his dark blond hair and Nordic features. He was huge at six-five, nearly imposing, but had the freckled face and wide grin of a teenager. He was as good-natured as anyone Ty had ever known. A fierce killer on the ice, Eddie was as gentle as a kitten off it. He was a mix of contradictions, which made it hard for him to get women.
Except for Renee. She’d taken to Eddie right away, and Ty had the feeling Eddie’s crush was reciprocated—big time.
They went to the bar with a few of the other guys who said they wanted to unwind with some pool.
As soon as he walked in the door he caught Jenna’s eye. She frowned. He grinned.
Game time. Only this was a different kind of game than the one he’d played earlier on the ice.
SECOND VERSE, SAME AS THE FIRST. EVERY NIGHT RAN together until Jenna didn’t know what day it was. With hockey season going on and so many rabid fans in attendance at the bar, Jenna ran her legs off serving drinks, and her waitresses were just as busy filling orders.
The logical part of her knew business was good, and in this economy that was an awesome thing. The bar was packed, her customers were happy, and Riley’s was making money. She had no business being dissatisfied with her life. If this wasn’t what she wanted to do, too bad. She was helping out the family, they had a successful business, and it kept stress off her father, who had suffered a heart attack and subsequent surgery last year. On those rare occasions when he came to the bar he was happy and smiling, and all he had to do was enjoy his friends. She was relieved he was still around after last year’s scare.
No complaints, right? Even if Riley’s was still primarily her responsibility and the family counted on her to keep it running. It could be a whole lot worse.
“If the Ice keep winning, I’m going to lose ten pounds,” one of the witnesses said. “They keep packing in here. And it gets even more crowded when they show up after the home games.”
Sure enough, they were here again. More important, Ty was with them.
There were loads of bars near the arena, many that catered to hockey fans. Why did he have to choose hers?
Renee, one of her top waitresses, leaned against the bar and gave her a drink order.
Jenna would be lost without her. Renee was bubbly and pretty in that Barbie doll kind of way—curvy and blonde and petite and all the guys loved her. She had infectious laughter, but she never encouraged any of them, though Jenna was certain Renee had a thing for one of the Ice players. She hadn’t acted on it, but there was something about the looks she and Wolkowski exchanged.