Figuring she’d be so caught up in his smile, he snuck around her, stealing the puck off her stick and then racing towards the net. Assuming he had plenty of time, he went backhand and took longer than usual to take the shot. He had this in the bag. She might be up one, but that’d change soon.
Out of nowhere, Kassie swooped in with her stick, poking the puck away and making a wide arc around him and towards the blue line. It took Luc a moment to realize what had happened, and by the time he raced after her, she had arced around at center ice and back towards the goal. She controlled the puck with precision and danced around him, making him look like a fool, before putting it in the back of the net.
“Boom!” She celebrated a little less enthusiastically than she had the first time.
Smiling, because it was hard not to around her, he shook his head in defeat. This girl had his number. “Go ahead and celebrate. Don’t be shy, princess.”
With his persuading, she skated back around the net, pumping her fist, and ended her celly with a loud, “BOOM!”
Even celebrating what may just be his defeat, she was adorable. Forgetting all about the code, about Kaden, and everything else that didn’t matter this moment, he tried his best for the next twenty minutes to play like the Renegades player that he was.
Somehow, he managed to get two by her, finally. It wasn’t easy. She was as good on offense as she was defensively.
They were tied, and he had her now. If he could just get the puck off her, he could touch up at center ice and get back to the net before she knew what hit her. Cornering her against the boards, he pressed his body against her back. It only took a second for the situation to go from competitive to hot as hell.
His biggest worry was making sure she didn’t realize how hot he really thought it was. That was a tough order. Downright hard. As long as she didn’t notice that’s exactly what he was.
“Um?” Her voice cut through his thoughts. “Luc?”
“Uh, yeah?” Backing off, he spun away from her, making sure to take the puck with him. His face was hot, and if he didn’t put his mind back on the game, things would go sideways quickly. Speeding up his stride towards the net, he called over his shoulder to her, “Sorry, got tangled up back there!”
Trying to put that awkwardness behind them, he focused on the game. He had her now. A clear path to the goal. Easily sliding the puck to the back of the net, he punched his fist high in the air. “BAM!”
“Nice shot, hockey boy.” She twirled around gracefully in almost a figure skater way. A playful smirk filled her face. “Hate to tell you, but I kinda let you have that one.”
“Yeah right. That was all talent, baby.” Of course it was. Wasn’t it?
“I didn’t even try to stop you. Figured your ego needed it.” She batted her eyes and twirled around in a circle, letting out a little giggle. It wasn’t a laugh, but a giggle, as though she was enjoying seeing him confused.
She had to be messing with him. It was the only explanation. He didn’t know why she was egging him on, but she might not like the kind of rise it got out of him. It certainly wasn’t making him mad, more like the complete opposite. He was used to the cat and mouse game, but he wasn’t used to being the mouse.
He had tried to be a gentleman last night, but he felt as if she was purposely playing him. The reality was, he liked it. And he liked her. A lot.
“Oh yeah?” Luc grabbed the biscuit and began to stick handle back and forth in front of him, showcasing his fancy moves and total puck control. He ignored her attempt to get a competitive upsurge out of him, but she did get a rise. His focus was on the ice in front of him as he spoke. “Now I’m up by one. You wanna call it now?”
“Now? No way!”
“You did say best of out five, and I won that.”
A glint of anger, or maybe jealousy flashed behind her big brown eyes. She shook her head. “No. No. First one to reach five wins.”
“Changing the rules, Kassie?” Poking the bear was proving fun. She was finally showing some irritation, even if she was fighting it.
“I’m a woman; changing my mind is my prerogative.” Her hand went to her hip again in protest.
“So, I just need two more to beat you, then we skate.”
“Unless I get three more and beat you. Then…”
“Then I have to do what?”
“I’m still working on that. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know as soon as you lose.” Her words had a slight amount of snark in them, but he liked it. She stole the puck and raced down the ice, touching up at center ice and hurrying towards the net.
Luc chased behind her, refusing to sit back and let her win. She’d have to work for this. It didn’t take him long to catch up to her, his strides larger and stronger than hers. As he closed in on her, she deked left, but the little glance she gave over her shoulder told him she was faking him out.
Luc paused before he went right. Kassie spun right to get around him, and they ended up face to face. Her breathing was hard. Her chest rose and fell at a quick pace. The puck sat in the corner.
The intensity of the moment was over before he could make a move. Kassie pushed off the ice and tried to skate around him. But he wasn’t going to make it that easy. Her eyes stayed on his as he mirrored all her moves and skated with her. His focus was with her, and his senses guided him around the rink. It was as if they were ice dancing, and it was hot as hell. I’ll never bag on figure skaters again.
“You’re a pretty good skater,” Kassie said, her voice low and her breath warm against his face.
“You’re not so bad yourself.” Luc made a mental note to thank his skating teacher for making him proficient in backwards skating. They moved together flawlessly, until she had his back against the glass.
Her glove-covered hand was at his waist, and her lips were inches from his. Stay cool. Luc repeated the words over and over in his head, hoping to keep his stiffie from grabbing her attention. Kassie’s eyes slid to his lips. Luc watched her mouth in eager anticipation, and when she licked at her lips, his heart pounded and his body heated even more.
Kassie whispered at a volume that took him a moment to register. “You’re going down.”
The words went in to his brain, taking on a whole other meaning, one he preferred. Then she tore off across the ice, taking graceful, large strides towards the puck. Luc was unable to move, and watched her take off towards the net and bury the puck, bringing the score even at three apiece.
But in the end, she had him beat. Physically and mentally. Maybe he was too busy watching her, or maybe she really was just that good. A better bet was that this girl had him where it counted. His heart was still pounding as he watched her skate around, celebrating her win. She could score on him all day long if it meant the chance to be up close and personal with her.
“You won. So, what’s your request, princess?” His mind wandered as he hoped her request was one of the many wild ideas he came up with, all requiring one-on-one attention and full contact.
“Dinner.”