Playing Hurt (Aces Hockey #6)

“Oh, good idea.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and took her carry-on bag to the bathroom. When she returned, my jaw dropped. She wore a skimpy little sundress, black with bright flowers that showed off bare shoulders, arms, and legs.

“Nice dress,” I managed to say.

“Thanks. I had to go shopping for this.” She tucked her bag away and took her seat. She slowly crossed her legs and smirked when my eyes dropped there. “All my summer clothes are still in L.A.”

“Oh shit. I never thought of that.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like I minded shopping.” She grinned.

The door to the cockpit was closed so I didn’t bother using the bathroom, just stripped off my sweater and jeans in the small cabin. Now it was Jordyn’s turn to go slack jawed. I smiled, giving her a show as I changed into a T-shirt and shorts, flexing my biceps, taking my time as I lowered the shirt over my abs. She blinked.

“I knew you looked good,” she said. “I saw those pictures of you in the Elite Sportswear ads.”

“You did, huh.” I zipped my fly and adjusted my junk.

Jordyn swallowed. “But you look even better in person.”

I gave her a smirk. “Good to know. You can see me up even closer in”—I glanced at my watch—“about an hour.”

“Oh boy.”

As we landed, we watched out the windows, taking in the turquoise waters and white beaches. When we stepped onto the tarmac at Queen Beatrix International Airport in Oranjestad, Jordyn said, “Oh my God, this is heaven.” She stretched her arms wide, turning her face to the sun, and did a graceful twirl.

The air was warm and sultry, a soft breeze teasing Jordyn’s pale hair back from her face. She looked gorgeous…skin glowing in the sun, hair gleaming, a smile on her pretty mouth. “Yeah,” I agreed. “Heaven.”

We took a taxi to the resort, Jordyn gazing raptly out the window as we drove.

“This place isn’t big,” I told her as we pulled up. “And it’s adults only.”

“Sounds fine to me. It looks beautiful.”

It was late afternoon local time. We checked in and were shown to our room, with clean, modern décor of pale walls and floors and dark wood furniture. My attention went to the king-size bed, my mind went to the gutter, and my body tightened in anticipation.

Jordyn poked around a bit, opened the glass door and stepped out onto the balcony to take in the ocean view. Modular wicker furniture on the balcony was in a seating arrangement. Then she stepped inside, padded across the bright patterned rug, and threw herself facedown sideways across the bed.

“Tired, babe?” I moved closer and rubbed her back.

“A little. Long flights are the devil. I do it all the time, from L.A. to New York or Chicago. But I still don’t like it.”

“Yeah, I know. Want to jump in the pool? Or the ocean?”

“Oh yeah.” She rolled onto her back and smiled up at me.

I held back from throwing myself on top of her. Christ, she looked like she was posing for a spread in Maxim magazine, with the tiny cups of the sundress barely covering her sweet tits, the skirt rumpled high on her thighs. I swallowed a groan. So inviting…but jumping her the minute we walked into the hotel room would be kind of a douche move.

Whichever was colder…the pool or the ocean…that was what I needed. Right fucking now.

I lifted her suitcase onto the luggage rack and unzipped it for her. Then I opened my much smaller one and found a pair of board shorts.

She modestly disappeared into the bathroom again to change, coming out wearing a loose, gauzy white cover-up. “I’m ready.”

I was already in my board shorts. I shoved a key card into a pocket that velcroed shut.

She rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out a bright beach bag. “Do we need money?”

“Nope. They don’t take cash here. It’s not an all-inclusive, but everything can be charged to the room.”

She gave me a look over her shoulder. “I hope you know I’m paying for half of this.”

“Oh no, you are not.” I crossed my arms. “This was my idea. My treat.”

Her face scrunched up. “That doesn’t feel right. This is an expensive date.”

“I can afford it.” I didn’t even like saying that in case it sounded like I was bragging.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“No, we won’t.”

She huffed, but stopped arguing.

“Here. Take a key card.” I handed her one.

She tucked it into her bag and slung the bag over her shoulder. “Let’s make like a baby.”

I barked out a surprised laugh. “Make like a banana and split.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That one’s not as good.”

I gave her butt a little tap. She squealed and jumped, but she was smiling.

I reached for the door to open it, and the twisting motion of my wrist had pain shooting through it. I winced before I could stop myself.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. Big tough hockey player. You can admit something hurts, you know.” She reached for my wrist and circled her small hand around it gently.

“It doesn’t hurt all the time. Just certain movements.”

“Have you gone to a doctor?”

“Yeah. They did an X-ray, but it didn’t show anything. I had an injection, but I guess it wore off.”

She made an exasperated sound. “Men. You should go back to the doctor.”

“Yeah, they’re sending me for an MRI and another shot. But it’ll be fine after a few days off. Luckily it doesn’t interfere with spanking the monkey.”

She choked on a laugh. “Well, that’s good to know.” She shot me a flirty glance as she walked past me into the hall. “I’ve been doing quite a bit of that myself lately.”

“No shit?” Intrigued, I shut the door and followed her down the hall. “Do you think about me?”

She tossed her hair back. “Hell yeah. Especially after I saw that ad. I may have saved it on my computer to look at…you know…”

My heart nearly exploded. “Jesus, Jordyn. Now I won’t be able to walk because my dick’s so hard.”

Her low, musical laughter went straight to my balls. I reached for her hand and lifted it to my mouth as we waited at the elevator. Our eyes met. My skin tingled everywhere, my dick half hard.

Yeah. This was going to happen. Tonight.

We explored the resort, finding the restaurant and then the beach bar, where we ordered margaritas that we carried around as we located the pool and the beach. It appeared a lot of people had already left the pool area, as we had no trouble finding empty chairs. We settled into a round wicker lounger big enough for two, legs stretched out in front of us, crossed at the ankles.

Jordyn rubbed one foot against mine. “I can’t believe this.”

“I know.” I sighed. “Hard to believe we left snow a few hours ago.”

“Doesn’t it boggle your mind when you travel? Like, you go up in the air and you come down in a completely different place.”

I chuckled. “I know what you mean.”

“And this place is always here, we just don’t know about it. These people are always here, living their lives while we live ours so far away.”

Her whimsy bemused me. “That is true. Come on.” I set my margarita down on a small table, took two steps, and jumped into the pool.

I surfaced facing Jordyn, and she wore a huge smile on her face. “You have your sunglasses on.”

I grinned. “Get in here.”

She stood, tossing her own sunglasses to the lounger, and pulled her cover-up over her head.

Aw, fuck. The pool wasn’t nearly cold enough to take care of the hard-on I just developed.

I could only stare in awe as she walked toward the side of the pool in a red bikini. Jesus. The top was a sort of athletic style but it was unpadded and her nipples were hard. The tiny bottom barely covered her ass, held together with bows on each hip. She was a crazy knockout—slender but curvy, pale gold skin, a diamond dangling from her navel, a little black tattoo of some music notes on her hip.

She paused at the side and dipped a toe in. “How’s the water?”

“Not cold enough,” I muttered. I reached up and circled her dainty ankle with my hand.

She jumped back, giggling. “Don’t you dare.”

Was she one of those people who took an hour to get in the water? I kicked my feet, treading water, watching her, and then she surprised me by diving into the pool.

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