Hockey Holidays Read online

  “I don’t see it that way at all,” Gideon said in a tight voice. “Something like that should never happen to any woman. Was he drunk?”

  “Yes. I know why he did it too. His ex-wife was there with her new husband and she was rubbing it in his face the whole time.”

  “Hey, do not make excuses for that asshole. I don’t care if you’re having the worst fucking day in your life, you don’t force yourself on a woman. What did you do? I hope you decked him.”

  Her bottom lip quivered and he felt like a shit heel.

  “Bailey, shit, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head and gave him a tense smile. “No, it’s okay. I just…I wish I had decked him. I wish I had done one of a hundred things I’ve thought of since that night. But all I did was push him away and mumble ‘Stop it. I don’t want this.’ Which just made him laugh, toss an insult at me and leave.”

  “Did you at least—sorry. Scratch that. Not what I meant. Did you tell anyone?”

  She nodded. “I told my boss, but she didn’t do anything. The dad was paying for the wedding and she was afraid she’d get stiffed her fee and she told me she’d fire me if I made a fuss. So I quit.”

  “Damn right you quit,” he said, whacking the back of the sofa with his hand. “Good for you. I’m not sure who’s the bigger dick, the guy who assaulted you or your boss.”

  Instinctively, he raised his arm inviting her to come closer and she moved into the space beside him like she belonged there. She smelled of soap and flowers and vanilla.

  “Now you listen to me,” he said in a more soothing tone. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You are not to blame.”

  She smiled at him. “I know that. Believe me. But knowing I’m not at fault doesn’t really stop me from wishing it could have gone down differently. You know? Honestly, I’m fine. I’m a happy person most of the time. I really am. I don’t know why I suddenly confessed to you like you’re my priest or something. This is so embarrassing.”

  “Hey, I’m glad you did.” He palmed her cheek. “It might sound dumb, but I feel…honored that you shared that with me.”

  She glanced away for a moment but then made eye contact again and held it. He was stroking her cheek with his thumb and realizing how soft and smooth her skin was, so different from his own beard-covered one. Her lips were full and ripe and so perfectly shaped.

  They stared at each other for a long moment. Gideon felt an undeniable connection with her and he very much wanted to kiss her. She was looking up at him with the most arresting, vulnerable brown eyes.

  Then she whispered, “Are you…are you going to kiss me?”

  “Honestly? I was thinking about it, but—”

  His words were stopped by her mouth pressing against his, her body twisting to face him, her arms snaking around his neck. She really turned him the fuck on. Her tongue was sliding along the seam of his lips and he wanted more than anything to take control of the kiss and enclose her in the protective circle of his arms.

  Because he didn’t want to take advantage of her vulnerability, he drew back slightly and encountered her look of confusion and then red-faced embarrassment. She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her.

  “Oh God,” she said. “I— I’m sorry I threw myself at you. God, I feel like such an idiot. It’s just like what happened to me, except in reverse.”

  “No it’s not,” he said, still holding onto her. “Bailey stop squirming. It’s not the same thing at all. You didn’t want that guy to touch you. That’s what made it wrong. It’s different when…when both people want it.”

  Chapter Five

  Bailey wasn’t sure she heard him right. She couldn’t have. She thought he’d said…

  “I don’t understand,” she said.

  With deep-set dark eyes that held her in thrall, he gazed at her and said, “I’m glad you kissed me, Bailey. I want to kiss you some more. A lot more. The only reason I hesitated was because we had just been talking about that guy forcing himself on you and for me to make a move seemed…insensitive.”

  As understanding dawned, she relaxed slightly. “Oh, I thought you were, you know, repulsed.”

  He let out a soft laugh. “I, ah, am actually on the opposite end of that particular spectrum, if you know what I mean.” He gave her a rueful smile.

  She bit her lip. “You’re…turned on?”

  “I’m incredibly turned on right now,” he growled. “If you wanted to check out how much, I’d be fine with that.”

  Bailey’s heart rate was way too high to be healthy, but she’d never felt more alive than she did at this moment. She was in a romantic rooftop garden under a starry winter sky with Gideon Aguilar, the dreamy new defenseman for the San Francisco Dragons.

  Who had just asked her to touch his hard-on.

  This was opportunity pounding on the door with both hands. Was she going to answer?

  She had always disdained the puck bunnies who chased after hockey players because it had always seemed that those women were not only looking for a quick fuck; they needed validation of their existence. They wanted to feel wanted, not only by a man, but by the kind of bigger-than-life man who other people admired.

  And now, if she had rooftop sex with Gideon, would she be that woman?

  She didn’t think so. It wasn’t as if she’d been waiting for hours in the parking lot for him or haunting the players’ exit at the practice rink.

  But even if she did join the puck bunny ranks, was that really such a crime? Because if she didn’t see this all the way (no pun intended) to its conclusion, she’d regret it for the rest of her life. She knew that as surely as she knew a thousand people at Fisherman’s Wharf had clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl today.

  So if there were any consequences, she’d deal with them later. Tonight was for celebrating that she was young and alive.

  Filled with a new sense of purpose, she tried to put aside all thoughts about his celebrity and remember Gideon was just a man. He was a man who loved books and whiskey, who was shy at parties and had bad dreams about Oreos.

  He was also a man who listened to her with empathy when she shared a very private thing with him.

  Licking her lips nervously, she met his gaze, which was somehow tender and ardent at the same time. She jumped when his hand palmed the back of her neck and that made him smile.

  “Shh,” he said.

  God, his smile left her trembling with desire, but then he was kissing her again and sensation overwhelmed her. She felt lightheaded and electrified all at once. No one she’d ever kissed had made her feel like this. When he deepened the kiss, she pressed herself more firmly against him.

  Then he laid a hand on her breast and squeezed. A moan came from deep inside her chest as she broke the kiss to gasp for breath. A sexual fuse sparked to life and traveled in a sizzling path all the way to her core. Every nerve ending came alive and she felt a little out of control. Her body wanted to do things, was doing things without her permission. She found herself clutching at his head, exposing her throat to his open mouthed kisses, panting like she was in heat.

  It was like being drunk without having had any alcohol. She seemed to have no inhibitions. When he slipped his hand under her dress, she didn’t stop him. Nor did she stop him when he pushed so she was on her back on the couch and coaxed her legs apart so he could stroke her right over her damp underwear. This was insane and reckless and so completely out of character for her. This whole night was a detour into Crazy Town, but she wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

  She wouldn’t have any proof it happened afterward, which was okay. It wasn’t like she was going to brag about it to everyone like she would have the kiss. This was going to be between her and Gideon. If it even happened. This was a public area. They weren’t in a room with a door that could be locked. They were out in the open. Anyone across the street with good eyes could see them.

  And her excitement level escalated.

  Gideon was still doing incredible things