HE’D STARTLED HER with his admission. He’d seen it in Hayden’s eyes the moment he’d confessed to never having brought a woman home, but fortunately that flicker of wariness had faded. Her eyes now glimmered with passion, and he loved that she wasn’t complaining about the way he’d stripped her naked and carried her out to the gazebo.
Lord, she turned him on in the fiercest way. He’d sensed the untamed passion in her the moment they’d met, experienced it that first night when he’d made love to her on the hallway floor, reveled in it the night she’d tied him up to her bed and devoured his body. She was full of surprises, and he couldn’t get enough of her. He loved her sass and her intelligence and her dry humor, the way she challenged him and aroused him and made him feel like more than just a hockey player.
“So what does the fantasy involve?” she asked, resting her hands on her bare hips.
He swept his gaze over her curvy body, trying to put his needs into words. He had no idea how the fantasy played out, only that his hands tingled with the urge to fondle her full, perky breasts and slip between her shapely legs.
The night breeze grew stronger, snaking into the gazebo and making his cock swell and thicken as the warm air caressed it. The wind also succeeded in hardening Hayden’s small, pink nipples, which were now standing up as if demanding his attention.
But instead of reaching out to touch her, he cleared his throat and said, “Lie down on the love seat.”
There was no objection. Her heels clacked against the floor as she walked over to the small couch and draped herself over the cushions. When she reached for the clasp on her right shoe he held up his hand. “Leave them on,” he ordered.
“Why do men always get turned-on by a naked woman in high heels?”
“Because it’s damn hot,” he replied with a roll of his eyes.
“So are you just going to stand there and watch me, or do you plan to join me?”
“Eventually.”
They were the same words they’d spoken to each other the night she’d admitted her taste for bondage, only this time he was the one in charge. He leaned against the railing of the gazebo and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve gotta give me some incentive, babe.”
“Hmm. Like this kind of incentive?” She slid her hands to her breasts.
His breath hitched when she squeezed the lush mounds with her palms, the motion making her tits look bigger, fuller. With an impish smile, she stroked the underside of each breast, circling her nipples with her fingers and then dragging her thumbs over each hard bud.
He almost fell over backward at the sight of Hayden fondling her own breasts. His mouth was so dry he could barely swallow. He allowed her to play for a bit, then narrowed his eyes and muttered, “Spread your legs.”
She did, and his breath caught in his throat again. From where he stood he could see every tantalizing inch of her glistening sex. He wanted to lick those smooth pink folds, shove his tongue inside that sweet paradise and make Hayden scream with pleasure, but he held back. His erection throbbed as he curled his fingers over his shaft.
Making slow, lazy strokes to his cock, he gave her a heavy-lidded look and said, “Touch yourself.”
“Sure you don’t want to do that for me?” Her voice came out throaty, so full of unbridled lust he almost came on the spot.
“Humor me,” he squeezed out.
“It’s your fantasy.” She shrugged, grinned, and promptly lowered her hand between her legs.
Oh, man, this woman was incredible. His eyes nearly popped out of his head as she dragged her index finger down her slick folds and rubbed her swollen sex.
“That’s it,” he said hoarsely. “Get yourself nice and hot, Hayden.”
She replied with a soft whimper. Her cheeks grew flushed the more she kept stroking herself. The hazy look in her eyes told him she was close, but her fingers continued to avoid the one place he knew would drive her over the edge.
She lifted her hand. “Brody,” she murmured anxiously.
He chuckled. “Uh-uh. You won’t be getting any help from me.”
Agitation flickered in her eyes but still he remained on the other side of the gazebo. After a moment she gave a strangled groan and her hand returned between her thighs.
And then she came.
His hand froze over his erection. He was one dangerous stroke from a release he wasn’t ready for, but for the life of him he couldn’t tear his eyes from the gorgeous woman climaxing in front of him. Arching her back, Hayden cried out, moan after moan filling the warm night. Any neighbor by an open window could’ve heard her, but she didn’t seem to care, and neither did Brody. He was a professional hockey player; his neighbors probably expected female moans of ecstasy to drift out of his house.
He leaned back against the rail and relished every moment, from the contented sighs that slipped out of her throat to the way she’d spread her legs even wider, her heels still strapped to her feet.
When she finally grew still, he crooked his finger at her. Despite the sluggishly sated look in her eyes, she stumbled from the love seat and made her way over to him.
“Has anyone ever told you you’re the sexiest woman on the planet?” he murmured before dropping a kiss on her lips.
She responded with a lethargic smile. The remnants of orgasm he saw flashing across her delicate face only made him harder. Suddenly impatient, he bent down and grabbed a condom from the pocket of his jeans, then smoothed it over his throbbing shaft. Without giving her time to recover, he gripped her hips with both hands, maneuvered her around so her ass was pressed against his hard-on and drove his unbelievably stiff cock inside her damp sex.
She moaned, leaning forward and clutching at the railing with her hands. The move caused her bottom to raise, allowing him even better access. He withdrew slowly, rotated his hips the way he knew she liked, then plunged right back in to the hilt.
“This is going to be fast,” he warned, his voice sounding gruff and apologetic to his ears. He wanted to make it last for her, but the way his cock kept pulsating, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he toppled over that cliff into oblivion.
“I love everything you do to me. Fast, slow, hard, I don’t care. Just make love to me.”
The whispered reply brought a smile to his lips, but it was the phrase make love that caused his chest to tighten. It was the first time she’d referred to what they were doing as making love, and hearing the words brought a rush of pleasure so great his knees almost buckled.
He suddenly felt the primal need to claim this woman. Quickening his pace, he thrust into her, again and again, until his orgasm slithered down his spine, clutched at his balls, and the world in front of him fragmented in shards of light. He shuddered, palming a sweet breast with one hand while stroking the small of Hayden’s back with the other, wanting to hold on to her for as long as possible.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled her neck, inhaling the scent of her vanilla and lavender body lotion. She gave a breathy sigh and murmured, “Your fantasies are almost as good as mine.”
“Almost as good?” He laughed. “Wait until I tie you up. Then we’ll see who has the hottest fantasy.”
She disentangled herself from his embrace and turned to kiss him. Then she drifted to the entrance of the gazebo. “Think any of your neighbors will see me streaking through the yard?”
“Now you’re self-conscious?”
She offered a rueful look. “I guess you’re right. The whole neighborhood probably heard me, huh?”
“You are kinda loud…”
He bent down and grabbed his wool trousers, pulling them up his hips. Finding his shirt and jacket, he tucked them under his arm, walked over to Hayden and extended his arm. “Shall I walk the unclothed lady to the house?”
“You could at least let me wear your shirt.”
“Nope. I want to experience the splendor of your body during this evening stroll.”
“Screw strolling. I’m running.”
Before he could blink she bounded down the gazebo’s steps and tore across the yard, her firm ass pale in the moonlight. Laughing, he took off after her, hoping to keep her naked just a little bit longer, but she was already slipping her sweater over her head when he reached the deck.
“Spoilsport,” he grumbled.
She put on her panties and slacks, then gestured to the back door. “You still have to give me a tour of the upstairs,” she reminded him.
“Any room in particular you’d like to see?”
“Definitely one that features a bed. Or a removable showerhead.”
With a grin, he grabbed their wineglasses from the railing and followed her inside. “Do you want more wine?” he asked.
“No, thanks.”
She suddenly went quiet as he placed the glasses in the sink, and when he turned to look at her he saw her expression had grown somber.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.” She let out a breath. “I was thinking about my dad.”
Brody made a face. “We just had mind-blowing sex and you’re thinking about your dad?”
“It’s just…the wine.” She gestured to the bottle still sitting on the cedar counter. “It made me think about what Sheila told me today. You know, about my dad’s drinking…” Her voice trailed, the distress in her eyes unmistakable.
“Are you going to talk to him about it?”
“Yes. No.” She exhaled again. “I don’t want to confront him right now, not when he’s smack in the middle of this scandal.”
“We’re all in the middle of it now. We were told today that the investigation is under way. All the players are being interviewed this week.”
Her green eyes glimmered with distress. “What kind of questions will you be asked?”
Brody shrugged. “They’ll probably ask us what we know about the allegations, try to coax confessions out of us, quiz us about whether we know if another player was involved.”
“Are they going to ask about my dad?”
He nodded.
Resting her hands against the counter, she went silent for a moment, her pretty features shadowed by worry. He could tell she was upset by all of this, especially with everything she was learning about her father, and though he had no intention of making her feel worse, he unwittingly did so with his next statement.
“It was pretty much confirmed to me today that your dad fixed those games.”
Her gaze rose to meet his, her mouth forming a startled O. “You’re saying you know for sure that he did it?”
Damn. Maybe he shouldn’t have spit it out the way he had, but the confrontation with Wyatt had been troubling him all night and he’d been hoping to talk it through with Hayden before the league’s investigator interviewed him. He knew he’d have to tell the truth if asked, but he’d wanted her advice, wanted her to tell him how to handle the time bomb in his hands without looking like he was betraying his teammates or the team owner.
But he hadn’t realized confiding in Hayden meant confirming her doubts about her father. Up until now she’d only suspected Presley had fixed those games, but with that one sentence he’d turned those suspicions into reality, and the crestfallen look on her face tugged at his insides in the most powerful way.
He wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know how.
So he kept his distance, leaned against the counter and released a slow breath. “Yes, he did it. I’m ninety-nine-percent sure of it.”
“Ninety-nine percent,” she repeated. “Then there’s still a chance Dad wasn’t involved.”
“It’s unlikely.”
“But there’s still a chance.”
“Look, Hayden, I know you want to see the best in your father, but you’re going to need to accept that he’s probably guilty.”
Her eyes widened, the color in her cheeks fading fast. “Are you going to tell the investigator that? You’re going to say my dad is guilty?”
“I don’t know what I’m going to say yet.”
He could see her legs shaking as she walked across the tiled floor toward him. Eyes wild with panic, she placed one palm on his bare arm and tilted her head to look up at him. “You can’t do it, Brody. Please, don’t turn against my father.”
HAYDEN DIDN’T KNOW where the words were coming from but she seemed to have no control over her vocal cords. In the back of her head she knew what she was asking of him was wrong, that if Presley was truly guilty he deserved to pay for his crimes. But this was her father, the only parent she had, the only constant in her life.
“You want me to lie?” Brody said flatly.
She swallowed. “No, I…maybe if you just didn’t say anything…”
“Lying by omission is still lying, Hayden. And what if they straight out ask me if Presley bribed anyone? What do I do then?”
Desperation clawed up her throat. She knew she had no right asking him to do this for her, but she couldn’t watch her father’s entire life shatter before her eyes. “He’s my only family,” she said softly. “I just want to protect him.”
Compassion flickered in Brody’s eyes, but it quickly faded into annoyance. “What about me? Don’t I deserve to be protected, too?”
“Your career isn’t at stake,” she protested.
“Like hell it isn’t!” His eyes flashed. “My integrity and reputation are on the line here, Hayden. I won’t throw away my career by lying to protect the team owner, not even for you.”
She nearly stumbled backward, assaulted by the force of his words.
She suddenly felt so very stupid. What the hell had she been thinking, asking him to lie for her dad? Her only defense was that she hadn’t been thinking. For a split second there, the fear seizing her insides was so strong it had overpowered her ability to think logically. Suddenly she’d been the lonely little girl who’d grown up without a mother, who didn’t want to see her father carted off to jail even if it meant breaking the rules to keep him out of a cell.
What was the matter with her? She wasn’t the type of woman who broke rules. And she didn’t condone lies, either.
God, she couldn’t believe she’d just asked Brody to throw away his honesty and honor.
With shaky steps, she walked over to him and pressed her face against his chest. She could feel his heart thudding against her ear like a drum. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to lie. It was unfair of me to do that. I’m…” She choked on a sob. “I can’t believe I just did that.”
His warm hand caressed the small of her back. “It’s okay. I know you’re concerned about him, babe.” Brody pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“I just wish…Damn it, Brody, I want to help him.”
“I know,” he said gently. “But your dad is the one who got himself into this mess, and I hate to say it, but he’s the one who’ll have to get himself out of it.”
HAYDEN’S CELL PHONE woke her early the next morning, rousing her from a restless sleep and making her groan with displeasure. She was on her side, her back pressed against Brody’s big warm body, one of his long arms draped over her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the ringing to stop. A second of blessed silence, and then it rang again. And again. And again.
With a sigh, she disentangled herself from Brody’s arms and slid out from under the covers. The sight of the alarm clock on Brody’s nightstand made her grimace. Six o’clock. Who on earth was calling her this early?
“Come back to bed,” came Brody’s sleepy murmur.
“I will after I murder whoever keeps calling,” she grumbled, padding barefoot to the armchair under the window. Her clothes and purse were draped over the chair, and she rummaged around in the pile until she found her cell.
Looking at the display, she immediately recognized Darcy’s number. Uh-oh. This probably wasn’t good. Not if Darcy was giving up her own beauty sleep to make a call.
Hayden flipped open the phone and said, “What’s wrong?”
“Have you seen the morning paper?”
“That’s what you woke me up to ask?” Hayden edged to the door, not wanting to disturb Brody. She leaned against the wall in the hallway and added, “And what are you doing up early enough to read the morning paper? Do you even subscribe to the paper?”
“I never went to bed last night.” Hayden could practically see the grin on her best friend’s face. “And, no, I don’t get the paper. But Marco does. Marco, by the way, is my new personal trainer.”
“At the rate you’re going, you’ll never be able to find a permanent gym, Darce.” She let out a breath. “Now tell me what’s so important about today’s newspaper.”
“You.”
“Me?”
“You’re in it, hon. Front page of the sports section, with your hockey player’s tongue in your mouth and his hands on your ass.”
She nearly choked. “You’re making it up!”
“I’m afraid not.”
Horror lodged in her throat. Darcy sounded serious. And if Darcy couldn’t make a smart-ass remark about it, then it must be bad.
“I’ll call you back in a minute,” Hayden blurted, disconnecting the call.
The T-shirt Brody had given her to sleep in hung all the way down to her knees, but her arms were bare and goose bumps had risen on her skin. She wrapped her arms around her chest and hurried down the stairs two at a time. In the front hall, she unlocked the door and poked her head out, darting forward when she saw the rolled-up newspaper on the porch. The wooden floor was cool under her feet, making her shiver. Snatching up the newspaper, she headed back inside, pulling the paper from its protective plastic as she wandered into the living room.
She sank down on the couch, found the sports section, and gasped. Darcy was right. The first page boasted a large photograph of her and Brody in the Warrior arena parking lot. It must have been taken the moment she’d stood up on her toes to kiss him, and there was no mistaking it, his hands really were on her butt.
The caption read, “Warriors forward cozies up to team owner’s daughter.”
But it was the article beneath it that drained all the color from her face. She read it twice, not missing a single word, then set the paper on the cushion next to her and dropped her head into her hands.
“What happened?”
She jerked up at the sound of Brody’s drowsy voice, to see him standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a pair of navy-blue boxers and a concerned expression.
Without a word, Hayden pointed to the newspaper beside her. After a second of hesitation, Brody joined her on the couch and picked up the section.
She watched his face as he read the article, but he gave nothing away. Blinked a couple of times, frowned once, and finally rose slowly to his feet. “I need coffee,” he muttered before walking out of the room.
Hayden stared after him in bewilderment, then shot up and rushed into the kitchen. Brody was already turning on the coffeemaker, leaning against the counter with a look of utter disbelief in his gorgeous blue eyes.
“They’re saying I took a bribe,” he said softly.
She moved toward him and rested her hand on his strong bicep. “It’s just speculation, Brody. They don’t have any proof.”
“They have a source!” he burst out, his voice resonating with anger. “Someone actually told that reporter I took bribes from your father. This isn’t a tabloid, where the so-called reporters make up sources to suit their story. Greg Michaels is an award-winning sports journalist—and someone on the team told him I took a goddamn bribe!”
Hayden’s mouth went completely dry. She could barely keep up with the range of emotions flashing across Brody’s face. Anger and betrayal and dismay. Shock and disgust. Fear. She wanted desperately to hold him, but his posture was so tense, his shoulders stiff, his jaw tight, every aspect of his body language screaming back off!
“Someone is trying to ruin me,” he snapped. “Who the hell would do that? I know Wyatt is up to his ears in this mess, but I can’t see him casting suspicion on me. He told me to stay out of it.”
His eyes were suddenly on her, focused, sharp, as if realizing she was in the room with him. “They think you’re sleeping with me to shut me up about your father’s part in it.” He laughed humorlessly.
Sympathy welled up inside her, squeezing her heart like a vise. “It’s going to be okay, Brody. Everything will get cleared up when you meet with the interviewer.”
Another chuckle, this time laced with bitterness. “All it takes is one black mark on your name and teams look at you differently.”
The coffeemaker clicked, and Brody turned his attention to it. Grabbing a mug from the cabinet over the sink, he slammed it down on the counter, filled it to the brim with coffee and swallowed a gulp of the scalding liquid, not even wincing.
Hayden had no idea what to say. How to make this better for him. So instead she just stood there, waiting, watching his face, trying to anticipate the next outburst.
But she wasn’t ready for what he said next.
“I think maybe we should cool things off for a bit.”
Shock slammed into her. “What?”
Setting down his mug, Brody rubbed his forehead. “I can’t be dragged down along with your father,” he said, so quietly she barely heard him. “If you and I are seen together, the rumors and suspicions will only grow. My career…”
He let out a string of curses. “I’ve worked my ass off to get to where I am, Hayden. I grew up wearing secondhand clothes and watching my parents struggle to afford anything. And finally, finally, I’m in a position to support myself, to support them. I can’t lose that. I won’t lose it.”
“You’re breaking up with me?”
He dragged his fingers through his hair, his eyes tortured. “I’m saying maybe we should put…us…on hold. Until the investigation concludes and the scandal blows over.”
“You want to put us on hold,” she echoed dully.
“Yes.”
She turned away, resting her hands on the kitchen counter to steady herself. He was breaking up with her? Sorry, putting things on hold. Not that it made a difference. Regardless of the way he wanted to word it, Brody was pretty much telling her he didn’t want her around.
Everything he’d said last night about how good they were for each other, how well they fit…what had happened to all that, huh?
The memory of the words he’d spoken only yesterday caused the bitterness swimming through her body to grow stronger. It was like a current, forcing all reason from her mind and pushing her into an eddy of resentment she knew too well. How many times had her father chosen his hockey team over her? How many times had the men in her life let their careers take the front seat while she sat in the back begging to be noticed?
“All right. If that’s what you want,” she said, unable to stop her tone from sounding clipped and angry. “I guess you need to look out for yourself, after all.”
His eyes clouded. “Don’t make it sound like that, Hayden. Like I don’t give a damn about you. Because I do give a damn. You can’t fault me for also giving a damn about everything I’ve worked so hard for.”
She edged away from the counter, suddenly wanting to flee. Maybe it was for the best, ending it now. They’d already reached an impasse yesterday, when she’d told him his lifestyle didn’t fit what she wanted in a relationship. Maybe it was better to break things off now, before it got even harder.
But although it made sense in her head, her heart couldn’t stop weeping at the idea of not being with Brody.
Silence stretched between them, until Brody released a frustrated curse and raked his hands through his dark hair. “I care about you, Hayden. The last thing I want to do is end this.” He shook his head, looking determined. “And I don’t see it as an ending. I just want this mess to go away. I want my name cleared and my career unaffected. When it all dies down, we can pick up where we left off.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Because it’s that easy, right?” Her laughter died, replaced with a tired frown. “It would have ended anyway, Brody. Sooner or later.”
Anguish flooded his gaze. “Come on, don’t say that. This break doesn’t have to be permanent.”
“Maybe it should.” A sob wedged in her throat and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed to swallow it back. “We’re probably doing ourselves a favor by letting go now. Maybe it will end up saving us both a lot of heartache in the future.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but she didn’t give him the chance. Blinking back the tears stinging her eyelids, she headed back to the bedroom to find her clothes.