Pairing Off (Red Hot Russians #1)
Read Pairing Off (Red Hot Russians #1) Online
Authors: Elizabeth Harmon
Pairing Off
By Elizabeth Harmon
American figure skater Carrie Parker’s Winter Games dreams were dashed when her philandering partner caused one of the greatest scandals in skating history. Blacklisted from competing in the United States, her career is over…until she receives a mysterious invitation and is paired with the most infuriating, talented—and handsome—skater she’s ever met.
Russian champion Anton Belikov knows sacrifice. He gave up a normal life and any hope of a meaningful relationship to pursue his dream. And he’s come close—with a silver medal already under his belt, the next stop is the gold. All he needs is a partner. While he’s never forgotten the young American skater he seduced one long-ago night in Amsterdam, he never expected to be confronted with their past…never mind share the ice with her.
When what starts as a publicity stunt grows into something real, Carrie and Anton’s partnership will test their loyalties to family, country and each other. With only a few months to train for the competition of a lifetime, can they master technique and their emotions, or will they lose their footing and fall victim to the heartaches of their pasts?
96,000 words
Dear Reader,
Hi, my name is Angela and I am an unapologetic reader of romance. I love a happy ending and I’m happy to ignore the people who say that requiring a happy ending makes my reading predictable, boring, silly, embarrassing or whatever other adjective they use. The people who think that are the people who’ve never actually read all of the amazing romances available. This month, we have eight diverse, non-boring, fantastic romances to offer all of you who are unapologetically #TeamRomance along with me!
For those who are extra unapologetically happy to have their romances on the erotic side,
Game Play
is the exciting first book in Lynda Aicher’s new erotic romance series. When hockey golden child Samantha Yates is called in to help Minnesota Glaciers defenseman Dylan Rylie get his game back on track, it doesn’t take long before their on-ice competitiveness turns into rough, aggressive off-ice sex. The kind Sam likes but Dylan wants to change.
Also delivering a sexy erotic romance this month is Solace Ames’s
The Companion Contract
. When Amy’s offered an unusual contract—sexual companion to an eccentric legendary rock star—she accepts. She falls into an easy rhythm of control and submission—but it’s not her client who keeps her up at night and soon the price of submission might be too high…
Eleri Stone offers up an erotic romance in the fantasy genre. In
The Shape of Temptation
, an artistically gifted mage forced to play the pawn in her mentor’s bid for power comes to crave the sensual, hard-bodied—but lowborn—soldier she spends her days sculpting. Revisit this world in
Threads of Desire.
Also in fantasy comes this alternate history mystery from April Taylor. Luke Ballard, now Henry IX’s Privy Inquirer and a Dominus Elemancer, falls victim to the seductive charms of a darkly mysterious beauty in
Mantle of Malice
.
You might like
All for You
by Christi Barth if contemporary romance is what you crave. When a straight-laced park ranger falls in love with a sexy professor hell-bent on exposing her darkest secret, she’s torn between a future with him or a past that must stay hidden.
This month, we welcome Alyssa Cole to Carina Press with her new adult post-apocalyptic romance
Radio Silence
. Arden Highmore doesn’t know if the world is really ending, but one thing’s certain: she’s falling for her best friend’s brother as they struggle to survive.
On behalf of the Carina Press team, I’m pleased to introduce two debut authors who have their first releases in February. First, in contemporary romance is Elizabeth Harmon’s
Pairing Off
. A scandal-plagued American figure skater’s last chance at gold means pairing up with Russia’s sexiest male skater…who happens to be the first man she ever loved.
Caitlin Sinead debuts with a new adult mystery romance,
Heartsick
, in which a terrifying plague sweeps across a small liberal arts school and the surrounding community, bringing town/gown relations to a head and forcing an artsy undergrad to team up with an older, secretive detective.
Coming in March 2015: HelenKay Dimon returns to Carina Press with a dirty-talking ex–Special Ops Marine, a prostitute and a street fighter find love in Victorian London, and we begin our love affair with a new space opera male/male series.
Here’s wishing you a wonderful month of books you love, remember and recommend. And a lifetime of enjoying romance without apology.
Happy reading!
~Angela James
Executive Editor, Carina Press
Dedication
Dedicated with love to my wonderful husband, Tom,
my boys, Arlo and Gabe, and my mom, Judy,
for your encouragement and support.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to my fabulous CPs Cheryl O’Donovan, Susanne Lord, Tory Ferrera and Nasreen Neumeyer, members of RWA-Chicago North, and to betas Caryl, Jane, Tom, Mary, Maxine, Ginny, Karla, Mo, Kathleen, Michele and Susan for their awesome feedback. To Anton and Anastasia, for translations and answering dozens of questions about life in Moscow,
spasibo
! To Rockne Brubaker for his expertise as a pairs guy, to skaters Jennifer MK, Cindy Clay Crouse, Roseanne, Susan, Jan, Caryn, Melissa, Teagan and her mom, Michelle, and everyone at the Crystal Ice House who answered questions and cheered me on; to Barb, Dori, Jenny, Liz, Sheila and my other Phi Sig sisters, LITP! To my awesome agent, Louise Fury, and the rest of Team Fury for their hard work, to Carina editor Kerri Buckley who loved my book and made it shine, and to God, who always brings the words.
Contents
Prologue
They spilled out of the Mellow Yellow, loud and laughing. People turned to stare and Anton stared back, rather proud. It wasn’t easy to draw attention in Amsterdam. Nikolai fired up the joint Anton had just paid for. “Hey, give me that,” he said.
Nikolai laughed. “You mean you actually want to smoke it? I thought you were just buying for your good friends!” He took a deep drag of Amnesia Haze and passed the smoldering joint to one of his hockey teammates, a guy from Perm named Ruslan. Ruslan toked and passed it to Anton.
He pinched it carefully, as they had done, trying not to burn his fingers. There was probably some rule about not smoking on the street, and if anyone spotted him, his coach would hear all about it. But why did he care? This was the final night of his final competition. The past five years had been all about figure skating and more figure skating. Now it was over, and time to have some fun. If Galina didn’t like it, too damn bad.
He took a deep drag, inhaling the searing smoke into his lungs. His chest ached as he held back a cough, not wanting the others to see what a lightweight he was.
Nikolai saw anyway and elbowed his teammate. “Anton is such a good boy. Doesn’t drink. Doesn’t smoke. Always does what his coach says. Dresses up in pretty costumes and skates with girls. And what does he have to show for it?”
Anton blew out smoke and grinned. “What do I have? A gold medal and all my classes at university paid for. What do you have?”
Nikolai took the joint. “I always have a very good time.”
As usual, Nikolai knew where to find the party. This one was in an apartment on the top floor of an ancient building overlooking a canal. A musky haze hung over rooms crowded with students, musicians and athletes Anton recognized from the just-concluded European Youth Winter Games. Close by, a girl spoke English with an American accent. Anton’s pulse quickened, and he paused, straining to hear over the music. It was almost too much to hope for, but he eagerly scanned the crowd.
They were in the corner. A group of dark-haired girls, all wearing sunglasses like movie stars incognito. Anticipation rose, then fell. The one he’d hoped to see wasn’t with them.
“Hey, there!”
The sound of a girl’s voice grabbed his attention and when he turned, there she was. Tiny and black-haired, with shaded eyes and a big bright smile. She was part of an American synchronized skating team that had performed an exhibition before the pairs competition. He’d stood at the boards with a couple of other pair guys, watching them skate to a Michael Jackson song, and argued over which girl was the hottest. This girl had skated on the end, and he’d loved her high kicks and perfect little body. She had to look great naked.
“Anton I am called and meeting you is very well,” he said, feeling stupid and wishing he’d paid more attention in his English-language class. She said something that he hoped was her name, but his head was buzzing and his tongue felt thick. “
Chto
,” he asked.
What?
Her furrowed brow said she had no clue what he meant. She turned her head toward a corner, where couples swayed together to a slow, droning song. She smiled and grabbed his hand, leading him toward the dancers.
She spoke no Russian but her touch and her smile said she wanted him. He could hardly believe his luck. They danced, then he held her close as they watched some Austrian skiers play a drinking game. The flowery scent of her perfume was more intoxicating than the pervasive smell of marijuana. He kissed her and she filled his senses like rich, warm honey.
“With me, you must come,” he said.
Her laugh sounded like little bells.
In an empty bedroom, he undressed her, starting with her sunglasses, though it was too dark to see her face. But his other senses took over. A peppermint-flavored kiss, smooth skin, a tiny waist he could span with his hands. Silky long hair. He fumbled to free her small breasts, then cupped them, stroking his thumbs over the tips.
He was rock hard, pressing against the fabric of his boxers and when she touched him there, he thought he would explode. Quickly, he shed the last of his clothes, then stripped away her lacy panties. They fell onto the bed, pushing aside strangers’ coats, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him, pulling him down. Lost in her taste, her scent, his only coherent thought was to retrieve the condom from the back pocket of his jeans. The moment he’d sheathed himself, he plunged into her hot, sweet body.
“Oh!” she cried out, and dug her nails into his shoulders. He paused, suddenly horrified. But the promise of sweet release swept the thought away.
In the aftermath, he lay with heart pounding, not wanting to look at her. Everything had happened so fast. Had she really wanted this, or had he mistaken his raging need for desire on her part? The pot had made his senses fuzzy. Maybe it had messed with his judgment too. Ready for the worst, he lifted up on his elbows and shifted his gaze from the window to her pretty face, dreading the pain and remorse he would find there. “Did I make you hurt?”
A spot of moonlight caught her face and she smiled, radiant and glorious. She shook her head, then pulled him down for a long, deep kiss.
With that, she claimed him, heart and soul. He longed to talk with her, laugh with her, be with her. He wanted to know her favorite foods, her favorite bands. What was her life in America like? Was she rich? Did she go to the mall with her friends?
Most of all, he never wanted to let her go.
He was her first. She was...well, almost his first. His skating partner Olga had been with lots of guys and didn’t mind teaching him. Sex with Olga was fun, but nothing like this. Was it some weird cosmic connection? Destiny? Too much of Amsterdam’s finest? He sure as hell didn’t know. But this American girl made him very, very happy and more than anything, he wanted to make her happy too.
They lay together in the dark, speaking without words, communicating through touches, kisses and heartbeats. Music and laughter from the party bled through the walls; then someone pounded on the door and shouted. His girl bolted up, shouted back, and scrambled from the bed. In the dark, he reached for her hand and missed. “
Ne uhodi
.”
She smiled sadly. “I have to.”
The sadness in her voice made his chest ache
.
He didn’t realize until later that they’d understood each other perfectly.