Rookie Move

  That was a ridiculously optimistic way of looking at it, considering how all the sadness at the end had killed off their special bond. But Georgia didn’t want to argue the point. She stretched an arm across his broad chest and sighed.

  “Why are you upset, Gigi?” he asked. “Tell me so I can make it better.”

  You make me ache. She didn’t say it out loud, though. Because Leo would ask why, and it wasn’t really his fault. She didn’t feel like admitting that she hadn’t recovered quite as thoroughly as she’d thought. “I’m overwhelmed,” she said instead.

  “Mmh. Okay.” His big hand slid down to her back, its heel pressing reassuringly between her shoulder blades. “Just try to relax.”

  A kiss landed on the top of her head. Georgia took a slow breath and let it out again. His heartbeat beneath hers was slow and steady. Leo Trevi was the source of all her stress at the moment. How odd that he could also be a source of comfort, too. She closed her eyes and let herself drift.

  While she flirted with drowsiness, his fingertips continued to stroke her back. Her mind began to revisit the rink, with its crowds and lights. The white oval of ice danced in her sleepy mind. Just as she fell asleep, it almost sounded as if someone whispered, “Come back to me, Georgia.”

  SEVENTEEN

  FEBRUARY 10

  19 DAYS BEFORE THE NHL TRADE DEADLINE

  PHOENIX, ARIZONA

  TOP TEAM HEADLINES:

  “Brooklyn Beats Arizona on the Road. Can They Make It To the Play-offs for the First Time since the Franchise Was Reborn?”

  —The Post

  Leo woke up to the pleasant sound of someone else padding around his hotel room. In his sleepy cloud, he didn’t think too much about it. He knew that it was someone he loved. And that the room was still mostly dark and quiet. The soft footsteps retreated to the other room, where they mingled with the sound of water running. The muffled flush of a toilet. The sound of a toothbrush in use.

  Georgia.

  Her name in his conscious mind woke him up. He opened his eyes, finding only gray predawn light filtering under the hotel curtains. He’d slept well all night, occasionally reaching out to place one lucky hand on the warm, sleepy body on the other side of the bed.

  Having her next to him had been perfect, though he wished he’d woken up in time to appreciate it.

  Leo got up, too, and spent a few moments in his own hotel bathroom. He felt stumbly and half-awake, and unwilling to entirely let go of last night.

  Still in his boxers, Leo went to stand in the open doorway between their two rooms. The bathroom door opened, revealing Georgia in a towel, her hair clipped to the top of her head the way she sometimes had it when taking a shower. Random memories of waiting for her to get ready to go out with him hit like a punch to the gut. How’re these jeans? she might ask him, turning in a circle to show him the full effect. Perfect, he’d answer.

  They always were, as long as she was wearing them.

  Now she stood across the room, blinking at him, looking unsure.

  “Come here,” he said, his voice thick with sleep. She obeyed, and he opened his arms to pull her in. Her chin landed on his shoulder. “You sleep okay?” he asked. Not the most creative inquiry, but he just wanted to hear her say something. To tell him that she wasn’t going to run away again.

  “Yeah,” she breathed, wrapping her arms around him.

  Leo’s heart skipped a beat at the feel of her warm body aligned with his. This right here was exactly what he needed. He tilted his chin and dropped a gentle kiss on her bare neck. And Georgia shivered in his arms.

  Jesus. His awareness of her was dialed up to eleven. Slowly, he traced her jaw with his lips. Her skin was velvety and damp from the shower.

  In the stark silence, he heard her breath catch. That little sound was all it took to get him going. His desire for her would forever be waiting on the bench, geared up, ready to leap into action. Even now, his cock began to feel nice and heavy.

  Down, boy. He needed Georgia to know that she was his, but it didn’t have to be about sex. “It’s early,” he said, his voice pure gravel. “Let me hold you a little longer.”

  He expected to be shot down. In the cool light of day, Georgia might go back to keeping her distance.

  But she did not, in fact, pull away. Another moment ticked by while he hugged her in the doorway. Then he took her hand and led her back to his bed. He slid onto his back in the still-warm sheets. When Georgia curled up beside him, her head on his shoulder, he thought he might burst from happiness.

  She was wearing only a towel, and his body wasn’t about to forget it. So he tucked her against his side, where it wouldn’t be so obvious that barely touching her had left him raring to go. He smoothed his hand down the silk of her hair and sighed. “It’s been too long, Gigi,” he whispered. “I like having you beside me.”

  Georgia didn’t say anything, but she spread her fingers across his stomach. The weight of her hand was delicious. They’d always been one of those couples who’d had to touch each other. All that clinginess had driven their high school friends nutty, but that’s just how they were. He’d had several girlfriends in college, and never felt this way about any of them. It had never made him feel such bone-deep satisfaction to lie quietly beside anyone except for Georgia.

  And why was that? His irritating brother probably had a theory or two. Leo pushed that out of his mind and concentrated once again on the way Georgia’s soft hair tickled his jaw. He kissed the top of her head again, just because he could.

  Georgia’s smooth fingers played with the hem of his T-shirt, which had ridden up. Then her hand slipped beneath the fabric, meeting his skin.

  Leo held his breath. He’d take her touch any way he could get it. But the thumb which had slowly begun to stroke his abs was pure, sweet torture. “Mmm,” he hummed.

  “Mmm,” echoed a soft voice. And then a pair of soft lips arched to meet his neck, kissing sweetly in the sensitive place just beneath his chin. And the magic of her touch began to seep through his consciousness, heating his skin, lighting every nerve ending in its wake.

  Leo bit the inside of his cheek to keep from moaning. Georgia curled in even closer to him, nuzzling his jaw. Meanwhile, he was hard and getting harder.

  There had been so many times he’d wished for this—waking up beside Georgia in bed. It’s something they’d never managed as teenagers. It was strictly against everyone’s rules. So he was living out a fantasy right now. Part of one, anyway.

  Georgia slid her hand farther up his chest to tease his nipple. Then she began to suck on his neck.

  Leo gave in and groaned. “I love that, baby. But you’re giving me big ideas.” Then, unbelievably, her naughty hand skimmed down his chest again, then over the waistband of his boxers where her fingertips grazed his aching dick. “Ungh,” he grunted, shocked.

  Georgia had always been able to reduce him to a throbbing heap of need with a single hot glance. That obviously hadn’t changed. Although one thing had. He turned his head and cupped her chin so he could see her better. Temporarily blocking out the awesome feeling of her hand on his dick, he asked her a question. “Are you sure?” he asked. If this encounter ended up with another text telling him it was all a mistake, he’d be crushed.

  Her gorgeous blue eyes blinked back at him. The whisper was so low he was almost lip-reading. But the words were unmistakable. “I need you, Leo.”

  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, she was going to kill him. “I’m yours anytime you need me,” he whispered. He turned onto his side, his finger tracing a slow line across the upper swells of her breasts, just over the edge of her towel. “But is it okay? I mean . . .” He cleared his throat, his head muzzy with desire. “Can you . . . ?”

  She reached up and tugged at the corner of the towel, and her breasts broke free of their confines, spilling out to meet his palm.

  He groan
ed, rising up on one elbow. Then he dipped his head to kiss first one breast and then the other, lapping at the nipple, then sucking gently on it. The first time he’d done that they’d been sixteen and at a drive-in movie. Now as then, she arched beneath his hungry mouth and gasped.

  His groin tightened with longing as he lifted his chin to take in her flushed face. He didn’t want to rush—the moment was too important. But tell that to his overeager body.

  Georgia reached for him, tugging him close, finding his mouth with hers. The kiss went molten immediately, their faces slanting for a more perfect connection, their tongues tangling. He repositioned himself over her body, propped onto both elbows. He sank his hips toward hers, his aching dick cradled between her thighs. Heaven.

  But then she made a desperate noise so he pushed off her body, breaking their kiss. “You okay?” he asked immediately.

  Two hands grabbed the waistband of his boxers and shoved them down. “I’m fine,” she insisted. “Don’t you dare stop.”

  Well then. He kicked off the shorts, then sank down again. They were skin on skin, and everything was heat and friction. They might as well have been eighteen again, with their eager hands and ravenous kisses. Before this morning, Leo had believed a few years of maturity had made him more patient in bed. But now he knew that was wrong. Georgia still made him crazy. Her soft skin and firm body stripped him of his ability to slow down and think.

  Maybe that was the reason he’d put his foot in his mouth so many times these last two weeks. Georgia was his Kryptonite. Nobody else made him feel so alive. He never wanted it to end.

  But it was going to, and all too soon if he wasn’t careful. Kissing her and touching her was almost too much.

  Leo wrapped his arms around Georgia and rolled onto his back. The change in position told his body to slow the fuck down. And the view was pretty spectacular, too. He looked up at a flushed and beautiful woman, her breasts heaving, her eyes burning up for him.

  She was amazing. And she was going to be his again. He just knew it.

  EIGHTEEN

  Georgia stared down at Leo, her heart dancing the jitterbug. He was smiling up at her, his big brown eyes sparkling. Confident as ever.

  Meanwhile, she was practically quaking. Who knew that it was possible to be absurdly turned on, and also incredibly nervous? Note to self: Six years was too long to wait to do this again.

  Leo pulled her into another doozie of a kiss, the kind that made her forget her own name. Her nerves weren’t quite so distracting with his tongue in her mouth and a pair of big hands running lovingly up her back. The throaty, approving moans Leo made vibrated in her chest.

  She knew she could slow this down, and he’d understand. He would hold her all day if that’s what she’d needed. But Georgia was sick of counting up all the things she missed about her old life with him. This had once been their currency, too. When it had disappeared, she’d been crushed.

  But Leo was here right now in all his naked glory. And he wanted her. The evidence was obvious and also torturing her. She slid her body slowly along his shaft, just testing the idea for soundness.

  The result? Both of them moaned.

  Leo’s hips jumped with excitement as she did it again. “Fuck,” he murmured into her mouth. “You feel so fucking good.”

  But she knew it could be even better. And—just as in skydiving—hesitating wouldn’t make the plunge any easier.

  Georgia lifted her hips, lined him up and sank down on Leo’s cock, filling herself in one glorious motion.

  He gasped, bucking his hips a single time, flinging his big arms out to either side. “Holy . . .” he panted, canting his head back, too. “Fuck, don’t move for a second.”

  But she couldn’t have, anyway. Gripping Leo with her knees, Georgia buried her face in his neck and held on tight, the sensations overwhelming. Happy tears rimmed her eyes. If she could, she’d hold on to this moment forever. She was so very alive right now. And she was making love to the one person she’d always wanted.

  Leo groaned, slowly lifting his arms and wrapping them around her back again. “Whew. Okay. Carry on.” Strong fingers traced her spine. “Sorry.” He chuckled, kissing her ear. “It’s been a long time for me.”

  You have no idea. Georgia turned her head and pressed her lips to his cheek. She dropped kisses across his face, threading her fingers into his thick hair. When she thought she was ready, she rose up and kissed him again. He moaned immediately, shifting his hips beneath her.

  Georgia took the hint. She pressed her elbows into the bed and began to move slowly.

  “Oh, Gigi.” He grabbed her hips, encouraging her. “Ride-me-oh-hell-yes.” His voice was smoky and desperate, and the sound of it was so achingly familiar. He rolled his pelvis to meet her again and again, his big brown gaze taking her in. And his expression was full of love and something else. Joy. It shone so brightly that Georgia felt its heat each time he moved. She heard it in every whispered encouragement, and in the little groan he made when she picked up the pace.

  Such a simple little word, “joy.” And so hard to come by.

  But not at the moment. Georgia took a deep breath and ground down on Leo. He raised his hands to her breasts, stroking his thumbs across her sensitized nipples. “So fucking good,” he said, and she shivered. He’d always been a talker in bed. Sexiest thing ever. “Now give me that mouth.”

  Georgia would have done anything that voice commanded her to. She leaned down and kissed him again. Her jitters were long gone, burned away by sweet friction and heat. Her brain clicked off, and she let herself fall into the easy groove they’d always shared. The steady beat of Leo’s heart and the way his strong arms braced her body were all she needed to know.

  Time slipped. There was no more worry. There was only pleasure and the pleasant sound of heavy breathing, punctuated with the occasional quiet click of their teeth as they kissed.

  “Mmm,” he ground out, and she loved the sound of strain in his voice. “Missed you, baby. So much.”

  That did her in—the words and his reverent hands and six years of pent-up sexual frustration. Georgia felt all her senses gather together. She took one more deep breath and then gasped, tipping over the edge, bearing down on him, letting the pleasure sweep her under. She heard herself utter something nonsensical. It didn’t matter what.

  Leo pulled her down onto his chest, kissing her and thrusting with abandon, all that muscle pumping under her while she held on tight. Then, with a deep gasp he grabbed her hips one more time and slammed their bodies together. He shuddered and moaned and it was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard.

  It was quiet after that, except for the sound of their ragged breathing. Big, clumsy hands swept the hair off her sweaty neck while he slowly kissed her.

  After a moment, Georgia tucked her cheek against his chest and smiled. She may have just greatly complicated her life. But now was not the moment to worry about it. She was too busy feeling lucky.

  She lay on his chest a long time, with Leo playing with her hair. No words were spoken, but eventually Leo gave a chuckle.

  “What?” she asked, her voice hoarse from disuse.

  “Just occurred to me to wonder if you still have that IUD you got in high school.”

  She lifted her head and looked into eyes so ridiculously attractive that she almost forgot the question. “Absolutely.” She put her head on his shoulder again. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

  His arms tightened around her back and he sighed. “I know. And, anyway . . .” The sentence died.

  “What?”

  “Eh. You won’t want to hear it.”

  She picked her head up again. “What?”

  He gave her a slow grin. “The idea of making babies with you always made me hot.”

  “Really? Geez.” Now there was a crazy idea. “Bite your tongue. We were babies ourselves.”
/>
  “Maybe so.” His smile widened, but he looked up at the ceiling. “I used to think about it, though. Still like the idea.”

  Her heart wobbled. “This is not the right time for that discussion.”

  Leo gave her a squeeze. “Knew you’d say that.”

  “Seriously. We can’t just pick up where we left off. Pretend like six years didn’t happen.”

  He gave her ass a friendly slap. “My dick is inside you right now. Seems like we picked up just fine.”

  Well, damn. Georgia felt a happy throb between her legs which made it hard to argue the point. She lifted her body a few inches, separating them, and Leo gave a sexy groan that made her toes curl again.

  She needed to get out of this bed and put some distance between herself and Leo. But he pulled her onto his chest again, and she instinctively relaxed against him. They’d been champion cuddlers back in the day. And—as with all sports—muscle memory wasn’t so quickly lost. Their bodies still knew exactly how they were supposed to fit together, with her head tucked under his chin, and their legs intertwined.

  Seriously. If cuddling after sex was a medal sport, they’d own that podium. And why did this not feel strange? It ought to, she reasoned. I’m lying naked on Leo Trevi, she thought, trying to shock herself.

  Nothing.

  Weird.

  But even if sex with her high school boyfriend wasn’t scary in and of itself, missing the jet to Dallas was. And dawn was already lighting the edges of the hotel curtains. “We have to get up,” she said, still boneless and splayed all over Leo.

  “Uh-huh,” he said, not moving a muscle.

  “We can’t be the last people stumbling onto the bus, together and with sex hair.”

  His chest wobbled beneath her ear as he chuckled. “If you say so.”