Hooked On Her: Ice Kings, #3 Read online

  Yes! No! It’s the fact I can’t seem to even know what I want right now that makes this such a bad idea. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  His head dips down and I’m forced to meet his gaze. His eyes are narrowed, inspecting, beautiful and full of emotion and every terrifying possible thing. “No?”

  The tremble of my body and the hitch in my breath belies my words, but I press on. If he knows me as well as he claims to, it’s obvious to him.

  “Will—” I say on a ragged breath. I’m trying to think clearly to explain, but every part of my body is pulsing. It’s the same reaction I’ve always had to Jason, even back before I truly understood it. I only knew he made me feel good. But now, it’s not good I’m feeling…

  “Will’s a dick.”

  “Yeah, well, I love him and stayed with him for way longer than I should have, so what does that say about me?”

  “It makes you loyal,” he says and then he moves closer until his mouth is near my ear. My breath stalls and stops and stutters as I feel his warm breath skate across my cheek, my jaw. “It makes you someone who hopes for the best in others, who doesn’t give up. It makes you a woman who will fight for what she believes in and all of that, Tessa, all of that is sexy as hell.”

  “Jason—”

  “You need time, I can give that to you, but I want to give you that time while you’re staying with me so we can explore this possibility without the fear of Sawyer at every second.”

  I need space. He can hypnotize me with his eyes and the masculine scent of his cologne so easily my mouth seems to be opening to agree with him. There isn’t a single part of him that isn’t dangerous to look at and I swear those eyes are magic, luring me in to do his will.

  “I’m not moving in with you.” I know the risk if I do. I’ll forget the fact I’m trying to rebuild my life and I’ll jump into bed with Jason, let him have his wicked way with me, show me all those fantasies he mentioned earlier and then I’ll screw it all up because I’m still messed in the head over a douchey ex.

  “So, you want to stay here, listening to Sawyer and Debbie go at it all the time while watching her puke? Don’t you think they should have this time alone?”

  I scowl at him. It’s possible a growl leaves my lips too. “No, I do not enjoy hearing any of that. But on the plus side, I’m getting lots of running in.”

  “Yeah.” His gaze drops to my stomach, my hips, and my legs. “I noticed that. Your legs, Tessa… I can’t wait to have them wrapped around me.”

  I cough and sputter. I need more alcohol. Perhaps I’ve had too much and I’m hallucinating this whole thing. I’ll wake in the morning with a killer headache and the memory of these wild, crazy dreams.

  “You’re evil.”

  His eyes pin me to my spot. Gone is the teasing, gone is the fun-loving guy with his cocky smirks and salacious grins I want to lick right off his face. “I’m honest, get used to it. So, my place. You can stay there. Figure out your life and what you want to do next, and I swear to you, if what is best for you is heading back to Toronto, we can have a conversation about what that will look like if you want me in your life when you do. I don’t want to pressure you, Tessa… I just want the opportunity to know if the reality of you is as good as I’ve already imagined it.”

  “Again, you make this sound so easy.”

  “I think it only has to be complicated if we make it that, but it doesn’t mean it’ll be easy. It might take work, but I already know you’re worth the effort.”

  “Jason.” Tears bubble in my eyes and burn. I’m not so sure he’s right about that.

  “Don’t cry. Let me show you how confident I am in us, even if I have to prove it to you.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tessa

  * * *

  I’m armed with my duffel bag and my work laptop bag as I step off the elevator in Jason’s building, key to his penthouse condo in my hand. He gave it to Sawyer at their practice today and said I was welcome to move in whenever I wanted.

  Which really means I’ve spent the evening debating on whether or not I was going to do this. And why am I doing this? So why am I hesitating? Why am I shuffling outside his door like a toddler who needs to pee and needs to pee now?

  On one hand, this is Jason we’re talking about. The guy I’ve loved since I can remember and now there’s an actual chance we could become something more.

  On the other hand… what if it doesn’t work? What if we don’t work? Then I’ll have to suffer a loss of a dream and a hope that I’ve always wanted. This has the potential to crush me worse than anything Will could have done to me.

  Come on, Tessa. This is Jason freaking Taylor. And he’s made it clear he wants you. All you have to do is knock on the door or use the key. Everything you’ve always wanted is on the other side of the door. Literally. Me. Living with Jason Taylor. The guy I’ve loved for as long as I can remember who has recently hinted at having these same feelings for me.

  Granted, he hasn’t used that dreaded “L” word, and for that, I’m thankful. I’m pretty sure it’d make my head explode and all that would be left of me is brain matter splattered all over his walls and floor.

  The keys jingle in my hand but before I can use it, the door unlocks from the other side and opens.

  And here he is. In all his beautiful, freshly showered and looking so lickable in a pair of sweat shorts that hang past his knees and a black T-shirt.

  “Hey.”

  Jason reaches out and I freeze. He smirks, casually taking my suitcase handle from my hand into his and lifts it across the threshold. “How long were you planning on standing here, debating on whether or not you wanted to do this?”

  I hate that he knows me so well. “I wasn’t debating.”

  “I’ve known you were at the door for five minutes. Doorman said you were on the way up.”

  “There were lots of people on the elevator. It took a while.”

  “This elevator only goes to two floors.”

  Right. I knew that. His floor and the one above because he has one of the only two penthouse condos in the entire building. It was a fast elevator ride. Also, the elevator was totally empty. Still, Jason knowing I’m nervous about this isn’t exactly something I want to have happen, so I’m willing to lie through my teeth and I won’t back down.

  My suitcase is now placed in his entryway, sitting on his gorgeous dark wood floor. Jason himself, all that dark hair swept to the side with his cleanly shaven jaw is still at the door, holding it open, giving me plenty of room to enter.

  One foot in front of the other. It’s all I have to do. One simple step and then I’m in his place. It’s not like I’ve never been here. He’s lived here for years. He’s thrown parties here when I’ve visited. But we both know this is different.

  Still, my feet are stuck. Rubber flip-flops firmly implanted into the navy blue carpet of the hall at my feet.

  “I’m not going to attack you the moment you step inside, Tess.”

  I roll my eyes. “I know that.” Flinging back my shoulders, I enter his place and then a quiet breath leaves me. Like I was holding my breath out of fear a bomb would go off as soon as I stepped foot inside. Instead, nothing.

  The massive television is on with a movie or show I don’t recognize and its volume is low enough I can’t hear it. Surrounding the television large enough to fit inside a movie theater, are soft brush dark brown leather that looks more suede and oh so comfortable. His entire condo has been decorated, professionally, because I remember six years ago him bitching about how the woman wasn’t listening to a damn thing he wanted.

  I also overheard him tell Sawyer she became much more cooperative once he slept with her.

  The door behind me closes and then Jason’s next to me, hand at my shoulder, lifting and tugging my laptop bag’s strap off my shoulder and placing it on my suitcase. “What just pissed you off?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Then why is your face all scrunched up?”
>
  Ugh. “It was nothing.”

  I move to step around him but his arm shoots out, palm pressing to my stomach stopping me. I don’t react. Honestly. His hand on me doesn’t send a shiver through my entire body making it entirely obvious what a simple touch from him does to me.

  “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not.” My teeth grit together. Okay, so he knows me well. Does he have to keep shoving it in my face?

  “You are. Talk to me.”

  “If I don’t, will you decide this is a horrible idea and send me back to Sawyer’s?”

  “No.” He leans down, dark brown eyes alight with something that sends a rush of heat somewhere south of my stomach. “But I have ways of making you talk, if you think you’re ready for that.”

  I am most absolutely NOT ready for that.

  “Right. Because your kisses make women who won’t listen to you suddenly malleable, right? Or maybe that’s your dick.”

  “What the fuck?” His hand falls from my stomach but he moves forward instead of away from me. I’ve gone too far. I know this. I need to learn how to censor my thoughts around him, but this is who we’ve always been. We’ve sparred like I’m the annoying little sister and this whole time, he’s been shoving his dick in other women and I simply am not prepared to explain why this makes me so furious.

  “You know what? This was a mistake. I should never have agreed to this. To any of it.” I’m barely inside his place and we’re already fighting. There’s no way this will ever work and it’s safer to cut my losses. I go to reach for my bags but Jason blocks them, kicking backward with one foot and sending my suitcase wheels sliding farther away from me.

  “Don’t even think about it,” he says and I swear he’s getting growly. Instead of turning me on though, this time it makes me mad. “What in the hell was that for?”

  “What? The reminder of how you get women to do what you want them to?”

  It’s fear making me act like a lunatic. Maybe a side of jealousy.

  “Jesus, Tess. What in the hell are you talking about?”

  My teeth are snapped together so harshly my jaw aches from the pain. I don’t even have time to answer, not that I’m planning on it, before his hand is wrapped around my arm and he’s yanking me forward into his place. I trip over one of my flip-flops and stumble as he drags me into his living room and it’s not until I can see the full expanse of his wide open living and kitchen and dining space that my anger boils over. Someone else decorated this place. Someone else chose every single stupid, impersonal knickknack and color scheme. Someone else chose that stupid jersey that’s hanging on his wall with the gorgeous freaking frame and the highlight articles surrounding it, artfully arranged so it’s eye-catching and not some stupid cocky show of how awesome he is.

  And that someone has slept with him. She carries around the knowledge of what he feels like moving inside of her.

  And I’m me… stupid, naive Tessa who gets screwed over by every guy she’s ever dated.

  “Talk.”

  “No.” I’m throwing a tantrum. To top it off, I throw my arms across my chest. He can’t make me talk if I don’t want to.

  “Tessa—”

  “You slept with her!” The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them and my eyes grow so big I fear they might fly out next.

  “What?” He jolts back like I’ve slapped him and his anger melts away. It’s impressive, really, to watch him go from irritated to surprised… to… I don’t know what this new look is. “What are you talking about?”

  I throw an arm out. “Your designer. The woman who made this place look so nice.” And God, I remember overhearing that conversation like I remember the very first time I met him. “Woman wouldn’t listen to a single thing I said. Kept shoving black and red down my throat even when I said I hated it. Finally, she got my dick in her mouth and she started listening a whole lot better after that.”

  It’s humiliating. I remember every single word I heard and the only part that was gag-worthy about any of that was hearing Sawyer slap him on the shoulder and say, “Way to go, man. Gotta do what you gotta do.”

  They’d laughed.

  I slunked away from my parents’ basement where they’d build an indoor skating lane for Sawyer to practice. Then I’d gone to my room and cried and avoided Jason the rest of his visit.

  Now, he’s in front of me again, black brows pulled together and he’s chewing on the inside of his cheek. “That was years ago.”

  I can’t even look at him. Shrugging, I hug myself. I’m standing here revealing way too much. “I know.”

  “You can’t still be pissed about that, Tess. That was, what… six years ago?”

  Seven. But who’s counting. Not the loser and fool I am. I stay quiet and press my tongue to the top of my mouth. It should stave off the tears that are building. This was stupid. So stupid.

  He dips down until he’s directly in my line of sight and when I slide my gaze toward his kitchen, his hand comes up, cups the side of my neck and guides me back to him so I have nowhere else to look except his beautiful face with his flushed cheeks and hard jaw and raised cheekbones.

  It’s criminal how pretty he is.

  “Every time Will touched you, I wanted to rip off whatever finger he had on you and break them, one by one, in multiple places. You were engaged, Tessa, and you think that didn’t piss me off? I could tell how big of a loser he was and I had to sit there, doing nothing, and watch that play out and you’re throwing a fit over some designer I fucked once or twice years ago?”

  It’s not like I don’t realize how stupid I’m behaving. I shrug in response.

  Jason smiles.

  The jerk.

  “Why are you smiling?”

  “Because as insane as this entire stupid conversation is, you’re jealous, which means you care. And frankly, it’s fucking hot.”

  “I’m not—”

  “Lie to me again and I’ll kiss you.”

  My jaw snaps shut. He grins again and waves his hand in the air.

  “Throw all the shit away. Burn it for all I care. Now, should I show you to where you’ll be sleeping?” My brain spins as much as my body when he brushes by me, heads toward the hallway and barely glances back. “You coming?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jason

  * * *

  I’m feeling pretty damn happy with myself as I grab Tessa’s suitcase and carry it down the hallway. There’s no way she’d lash out with such jealousy if she didn’t want me as much as I want her. Seeing it in action though, is something I never thought I’d see. It confirms we’re doing the right thing here.

  We need this time and as much as I want to keep walking, take her suitcase to my room and my closet and unpack her meager belongings right next to my clothes and move in together, I know that’s about five hundred steps further along than where we are.

  Hell, I can barely get her to admit to liking me or stepping foot into my home.

  Throwing her things in my closet and then Tessa herself onto my bed might be pushing it a bit too far.

  I’ll wait for her to be ready but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to play dirty to get her there, either.

  Her footsteps catch up, and I grin at the floor, knowing it took her awhile to follow me. I stop outside one of the three guest rooms I have. My parents usually use this room because it has its own private bathroom unlike the other two rooms that share the bathroom in the hallway. My brothers usually stay with Jude since he has the largest house so one of those guest rooms is set up like an office. The other room has my gym equipment in it for when I don’t feel like putting in a full day’s workout at the practice facility or in the building’s gym.

  My decorator, whose name I don’t even remember, didn’t touch this room, but my mom added her own personal touches over the years like photos of her and my dad, some of us four boys when we were all little kids wearing hockey helmets that made our heads look three sizes too large for our bodies.<
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  When I asked her why she did all this stupid crap in my house, my mom shrugged, and went back to dusting her own space. “We travel a lot. Between the four of you boys all over the country and spending so much time traveling with your dad, I like these rooms to feel like mine.”

  Now I’m wondering what fit Tessa will throw when she’s sleeping in the bed my parents sleep on, falling asleep with a pic of me at ten holding my first State Championship trophy propped up on her nightstand.

  Scratch that. No one needs to see that. I grab the photo and tuck it face down in the bottom drawer before Tessa makes it into the room.

  I’ve already settled her suitcase on the bed and I hear her quick hitch of a breath when she reaches the doorway. It’s not like Tessa’s never been here before. She’s come for parties and get-togethers, mainly ones I plan when she’s in town so I can spend time with her in my space, but I’m not sure she’s ever ventured into the bedrooms.

  “This is beautiful,” she says, eyes scanning the white bedding, the pale blue walls. It has an ocean feel with the light wood and thick white carpeting. I think it’s way too girlie.

  Mom loves it. It’s not a surprise Tessa does, too. It’s feminine and a far cry from all the dark browns and blues out in my main living room.

  “Mom’s done most of it.” She’s added faux green plants over the years and some brass colored decor things like balls sitting on a platter, a metal globe. Some weird arrows she hung on the wall.

  I long ago stopped asking her why. When my mom comes to visit, she takes over.

  We love her for it. She’s been married to a former NHL player for forty years, has birthed and raised four of her own boys who have all gone on to the NHL even if my oldest brother is now retired and living with his wife and kids in New York. Frankly, with all the work she’s put into my own success over my lifetime, she could hang a life-size cutout of David Hasselhoff and I wouldn’t say anything.