“Not yet. But I’m getting there.” He chuckled, but sounded strained, as if holding back were killing him, too.
“Take me to bed.” She begged without thinking. And once she’d spoken those words, she honestly couldn’t recall her reasons for not sleeping with him. Whatever her concerns had been, she didn’t care about them tonight.
“Fuck, yes,” he croaked, his voice breaking.
He picked her up, his mouth hungrily on hers as he carried her toward the entryway, which featured two sets of stairs, typical of a split-level. The master suite in this home was on the ground floor.
Izzy wrapped her arms around his strong neck and kissed him right back.
Just before the stairs, he pushed her against the wall, his breathing coming in short, desperate gasps. “I don’t think I’ll make it to the bedroom.”
“This wall seems like a good place.” She unwrapped her legs and slid her feet slowly along his thighs and calves until they were resting on the floor. Cooper’s eyes glowed in the dark light of a nearby lamp.
“Any place is a good place as long as you’re there.” He panted and ran his hands down her sides, stopping at her zipper. She milked his erection through his jeans.
With a tortured growl Cooper sank to the tiled entryway floor, taking her with him. Izzy didn’t care that it was hard and cold because Cooper’s body against hers blocked out any other sensations. He rolled her onto her back and tugged on her zipper, yanking her jeans and underwear down to her knees. A second later, he pulled down his own jeans and his big cock sprang free. Izzy licked her lips and smiled up at him.
“You are beautiful,” she said.
“That’s my line.” He winked at her, as he positioned himself between her spread legs. The head of his cock rubbed her wet pussy, and she whimpered, arching her back to take him inside.
One minutely sane part of her managed to speak. “Condom?”
“Oh, crap.”
He scrambled to his feet, tripped over his jeans, and sprawled on the floor. Izzy couldn’t help giggling. Muttering several creative obscenities, Cooper struggled to his feet, pulling his pants up and started downstairs.
“Is everything okay? I heard a crash,” Riley said from the top flight of stairs.
Izzy froze as did Cooper in mid-step. Holy crap. In their horny frenzy, they’d forgotten all about Riley. Izzy quickly crawled out of sight into an alcove under the stairwell and pulled up her jeans. She crouched on the floor and straightened her clothes in case Riley ventured down the stairs to see for himself.
“I’m fine. Just slipped on the tile. Someone must have spilt something. It’s a little wet,” she heard Cooper say.
That wasn’t all that was wet.
Despite being horrified that Riley almost caught them humping like animals on the entryway tile, she covered her hand with her mouth to muffle her giggle.
“Are you sure?” Riley said.
“I’m positive,” Cooper answered, his tone tense and distracted.
“Is Izzy gone?”
“Yes. Go back to bed.” Cooper’s voice sounded like a drill sergeant giving orders.
“Why can’t Izzy stay with me when you’re on road trips? I don’t like Mrs. McCullum.”
Cooper cleared his throat. “Izzy has her own career. Now. Go. To. Bed.”
Izzy heard footsteps then a door slamming. A few seconds later, a disheveled Cooper peeked around the corner.
“Izzy?”
“Over here,” she whispered, as she crawled to her feet. She held a finger to his lips and led him away from the stairs. “Do you know how close we came to—”
His look said it all. “Another good reason why I need to find that kid’s mother. I’m a single guy. Having a kid here isn’t working out for me.” He studied her pointedly. “Or you.”
Izzy didn’t want to be the reason Cooper kicked Riley out. She turned and grabbed her zip-up sweatshirt. “I need to go.”
“Are you sure?” Equal parts of frustration and disappointment were reflected in those blue eyes.
“You told him I was gone. Do you want him catching you in a lie? What kind of role model would that make you?” She headed for the door with Cooper hot on her heels.
“I’m a crappy role model anyway.”
Izzy turned and put her hands on his shoulders. “No, you’re not, but you could go a little easier on him. He has it pretty tough. His mother is missing. You’re making it clear you don’t want him here. He’s in a new school and trying to fit in.”
“Izzy, I—”
She cut off his protest, standing on tiptoes and brushing her lips across his, while resisting the urge to do a lot more than taste him. That’d almost gotten them into a load of trouble.
“I have to go.” She hesitated as Cooper’s intense gaze held hers.
“This isn’t finished. Not yet.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“I can do this. I can meet your challenge. I can change. Preseason starts tomorrow. How about a late dinner? I’ll have tickets waiting for you and the kid at will call tomorrow night.”
She should’ve said no but obviously she wasn’t that strong or that smart. With a nod, she ran out the door like a cat escaping a dog kennel. Cooper stood on the porch, watching as she drove down the driveway.
Chapter 7—Blindsided
One night later, Cooper stood before his team in the locker room of Seattle Arena, the Sockeyes temporary home. Not the best place to play hockey, but it’d do for now. The place had seen better days, despite the money Ethan had put into it earlier this summer. The building had been erected for the Seattle World’s Fair back in the early sixties, and it looked every bit that old.
Yet, Cooper didn’t care. Playing in Seattle didn’t dampen his enthusiasm one bit for the game itself. Ice was ice, and skating was his passion.