Breakaway (18 page)

Her smile deepened. “Okay. I’d like to meet them too.”

* * * * *

The morning sex was pretty incredible too. After a decadent
breakfast in bed, they took a bath together in the huge jetted tub in the
marble bathroom, surrounded by drifting steam and steamy sighs.

They played and splashed and laughed, shared long kisses and
slippery, soapy caresses. Remi’s body felt incredible all slick and wet, and he
drew his hands down the curve of her waist, the flare of her hips, back up to
firm breasts with hard, little tips. When his soapy fingers slid around to her
ass, stroking between her cheeks, she daringly, boldly did the same to him,
holding his gaze as she slipped gliding fingers over his butt, between his
cheeks, making him clench and tremble with a forbidden pleasure.

She bit her lip, but didn’t stop, and his cock hardened
painfully against her as she played with his ass, teasing, tormenting, making
his body draw up hard and hot. Then her fingers slid lower and cupped his taut
balls. “I’m gonna come,” he rasped out, lifting her hips, preparing to thrust
inside her. But she shifted away from him.

Damn her, she was a tempting little wanton witch. Her
fingers slid back to tickle his ass again while her other hand grasped his cock
in a firm grip and pulled…once…twice…and then he erupted in her hand, hot semen
spilling over her fingers. A long groan tore from his throat as he pulsed,
spurted, again, and again, and again.

“Nice,” she murmured, watching him appreciatively. And then
she bent and licked him, her hot, velvety tongue stroking over the sensitive
head of his cock, making him twitch hard. “Mmmm.”

She blew his fucking mind, every time. It just got hotter
and more intense and now that he knew she loved him too, it meant even more. It
meant…everything. Everything that was right and beautiful and shining, like a
sheet of freshly Zambonied ice.

God, he was pathetic, comparing their feelings to ice. He
choked on a laugh as he hauled her petite frame up against him and hugged her
tight.

* * * * *

Somehow it turned into more than just dinner and Remi ended
up at the Metro Center seated between Jason’s mom and dad, whom she’d never
met, near the same seat she’d sat in last time, six rows right behind the
Wolves’ bench. The two empty seats to the left of Jason’s dad waited to be occupied
by Jason’s brothers Matt and Logan, who were somewhere in the arena.

Remi clasped her hands nervously in her lap as they watched
the warm-up. She breathed in the chilled air, that mingled scent of popcorn,
ice and sweat.

“So,” Laura Heller said. “How long have you and Jase known
each other?”

Oh, god. She was getting the maternal inquisition. Remi
turned to smile at Jason’s mom, tall and elegant, her dark hair cut into a
short, spiky style. “A few weeks.” It sure didn’t sound long, even though she
felt like she’d known him forever.

“How did you meet?”

“I picked him up in a bar.” Remi clapped a hand to her
mouth. “Oh, that sounds bad. It wasn’t exactly like that. Neither of us was
really interested in the other, but we both needed to pretend we were because…”
She closed her eyes. She should just stop now, before she blurted out that they’d
been so hot for each other they’d gone back to her place and then the cops had
showed up and… She swallowed. “And then we met again when Jason came to the
school I teach at, as part of the Stars for Reading program.”

“Oh, you’re a teacher?”

“Yes. I teach sixth grade. The kids really love having Jason
come and work with them.”

The horn sounded to end the warm-up and two hulking young
men appeared in the aisle.

“There you are,” Laura said, standing so they could squeeze
by her. “Where did you disappear to?”

“Reporter from the CBC spotted us and wanted an interview.”
The younger of the two men smiled, his broad grin just like Jason’s.

“Remi, this is Matt, Jason’s youngest brother.” Remi stood
too, and Matt shook her hand, the charm in his smile tugging at her. There was
a definite family resemblance between all the brothers, although she hadn’t met
Tag yet, still down on the ice.

“And I’m Logan,” the other said with an equally engaging
smile and a sparkle in his dark eyes. “The good-looking brother. Matt’s the
baby.”

Hardly a baby. Remi let Matt squeeze his big body past her
to his seat and Logan shook her hand, towering over her, giving her an up and
down look that made her feel warm and tingly. Those boys had good looks and
charm just pouring off them, and how unfair was that, along with their mega
athletic talent?

They settled into their seats.

“Does this feel weird for you?” Remi asked Jason’s mom. “Watching
your sons play against each other? Who do you cheer for?”

“It is hard, although it’s happened many times. I just want
them both to play well.”

From down the row, Remi heard a snort. “Tag’s too old and
decrepit to play well,” Logan said and Matt guffawed. Laura rolled her eyes.

“Do you enjoy hockey, Remi?” she asked.

“Sort of. I don’t know much about it. I’ve only ever been to
a few games.”

“Hmm.” Jason’s dad Doug spoke up. A big, quiet man, he’d
barely spoken since they’d arrived at the arena. “We’ll have to teach you a few
things about the game, then.”

“Don’t bore her,” Laura said, leaning forward to look at her
husband.

“No, please—I want to learn. The last game I came to with a
girlfriend and neither of us knew what was going on.”

“Trade places with me, Dad,” Logan demanded. “I want to sit
beside Remi. I can explain things to her.”

“You stay in your own seat,” Doug told him. Matt laughed.

Remi’s cheeks warmed and she caught Laura’s smile.

A sell-out crowd packed the arena tonight, the last home
game of the regular season for the Wolves, and it was do or die. If they didn’t
win tonight, the season was over. All the fans—including Remi and Jason’s
family—wore white, thanks to a huge media campaign. Five guys sitting behind
them had painted their faces like wolves and howled repeatedly. Remi found
herself bouncing in her seat, the excitement in the air electric, energetic,
galvanized.

The players skated back out onto the ice to thunderous
cheering, blasting music and a blinding light display. Remi stood with the
others and clapped until her hands throbbed. The crowd started whistling and
cheering again halfway through the national anthem. Remi couldn’t help but
laugh, exchanging smiles with both Jason’s parents at the exuberance of the
fans. Compared to the last game she’d been to, this was way more intense.

Jason moved to center ice and she leaned forward, her body
tense, as he prepared to take the face-off. “That’s Tag,” Laura said in Remi’s
ear. Oh dear lord. Jason was facing off against his brother. Nerves clutched at
her stomach.

The referee paused with the puck in the air as the two
centers appeared to exchange words. What were they saying to each other? Then
the crowd went wild when Jason won the face-off and one of his teammates took
off with the puck.

“They both play center,” Laura explained to Remi. “For a lot
of years Jason played right wing, I think because he didn’t want to try to
compete with Tag, but he’s so good at center.”

Remi nodded. Sibling rivalry was a difficult thing at the
best of times. She’d seen it with Jasmine and Kyle, despite her best efforts to
treat them equally. What on earth would it be like in an intensely competitive
environment like hockey?

She focused on the game, her eyes constantly seeking and
finding Jason. The Wolves played well, attacking and keeping the puck down in
the Phoenix zone, and it seemed like Jason was everywhere, all the time. And
yet the other team was right there with him, constantly hitting him and
knocking him around.

“Why are they doing that?” she demanded in frustration, when
once again he’d taken another brutal hit into the boards and lost the puck.

“Because he’s the best player on the team,” Jason’s dad said
dryly. “They gotta stay on him or they know he’ll score.”

Pride swelled in her, so big and warm she thought she might
burst. That was her man down there. He loved her. She loved him.

Then Jason was smashed into the boards in a
glass-shuddering, bone-jarring, head-shaking body check. Remi slid to the edge
of her seat, trying to see if he was okay, while her heart went into a brief
arrhythmia.

The crowd all yelled, demanding a penalty.

“That was a good check,” Doug said to her. “There shouldn’t
be a penalty.” Like hell there shouldn’t! Whoever had done that to Jason should
be kicked out of the game! But there was no penalty despite the crowd’s loud
protests. Jason skated off to the bench, straightening his helmet.

Remi pressed a hand to her stomach and saw Laura’s glance at
her. “Don’t worry,” Laura said. “He’s tough. That’s just part of the game.”

Remi turned to her. “How could you watch that when he was
little? You must have been so scared he’d get hurt.”

“Yes, I was. Terrified. Every single game.” Laura shook her
head, mouth still lifted into a smile, eyes on the game. “When they’re really
young, of course, there is no body checking. But then they get older and the
game gets a lot more physical. But there was no way I could stop any of the
boys from playing. They loved it so much. Jase especially needed to play
hockey.”

Remi absorbed that. Was that because of his ADHD? Sports
were a great way for kids to learn self-discipline and focus. Maybe it had been
especially important for him.

And then Phoenix scored.

Although they were in the midst of a Wolves crowd, Laura and
Doug cheered the goal because Tag had scored it.

Remi nibbled her lip as they announced the goal. “What does
that mean when they say assisted by?” she asked Doug.

“Carver passed it to Romanov, who passed it to Tag,” he
explained. “So they get credit for assisting with the goal.”

She’d seen all those stats—goals, assists and a whole lot
more she couldn’t figure out - GP, PIM, +/-, PP. ABCDEFG. Whatever.

The crowd was momentarily subdued by the goal, but the
Wolves came back strong and peppered the Stars goaltender with a series of
hard, fast shots that had everyone in the arena screaming and groaning in
unison.

“Damn!” Remi cried when another shot missed, her hands in
fists. Oops. She slanted a grimace at Laura. Laura just grinned. And then one
of the Stars got the puck and shot it all the way down the ice.

“Icing,” Laura announced.

““What does that mean?”

The whistle blew. “If a player shoots the puck all the way
down the ice and a player from the other team touches it first, it’s icing.”

Remi nodded. Okay.

The puck was brought back to the Stars end for another face-off.
Jason skated around on one foot, then the other, waiting for the ref to crouch
with the puck. Remi admired his grace on skates. She’d learned to skate as a
little girl, but had never been so confident or graceful as he was and she
could only admire the incredible skill it took to move that fast, stop that
quickly, turn that sharply on those two thin blades. Amazing.

The first period ended with the score one-nothing for Phoenix.
“Going to get beers,” Matt announced, standing up. “Remi, can I bring you one?”

“You’re not old enough to drink here,” Doug told his son,
pushing him back down into his seat.

Matt grinned sheepishly. “I could get away with it.”

He probably could. He certainly looked older than nineteen
with his massive size.

“I’ll bring her a drink,” Logan said, giving his brother a
punch as he passed by him. Matt punched him back. Remi had to laugh. “Wanna
come for a walk with me, Remi?”

The flirtatious gleam in his eye sizzled over her skin. “No
thanks,” she said with a smile and a shake of her head.

“Damn.”

“Logan, she’s Jason’s friend,” Laura scolded. He grinned and
kissed his mom’s forehead as he scooted past her and then bounded up the stairs
to the concourse two at a time with his long legs.

“I’ll go with him,” Matt said.

“No beer,” Doug said.

“Dad! I’m legal at home.”

Doug rolled his eyes as if he knew he didn’t have a hope of
controlling his son. “It’s true,” he said, shaking his head ruefully as he and
Remi and Laura sat down again.

Laura shifted in her seat so she could talk to both her
husband and Remi. “Jase is playing well,” she said. “He won every face-off.”

How had she noticed that?

“Yup,” Doug agreed. “Maybe Tag’s going easy on him.”

“He would never do that.”

Doug grinned. “Probably not.”

“But they’re going to have to do more forechecking,” Laura
said.

A little lost, Remi listened to them analyze the game. God,
Laura knew so much about the game, she sounded like a television commentator.
After watching four sons grow up playing hockey their whole lives, she supposed
Laura probably knew as much about it as they did. Remi sighed.

Jason scored a goal in the second period and the Wolves went
into the third period with the score tied one-all. But despite intense pressure
and a lot of end-to-end action, the Wolves could not put the puck in the net.
The crowd was up and down with each opportunity, cheering, groaning, booing
missed penalties.

“They need to change their lines up,” Doug muttered. “Put Jase
with Daviduk and Lalonde.”

There were only three minutes left in the game.

“What happens if it’s a tie?” Remi asked.

“They play five minutes of four-on-four overtime, and then
if it’s still tied, they have a shootout.”

“They have to win,” she murmured. Tension gripped her, every
muscle tight, her stomach in knots. She was getting a headache from biting her
lips, her hands ached from clapping and her throat was raw from cheering.

And then the Stars took a penalty. The crowd went crazy.