Sticks and Stones (35 page)

            “Well,
if that’s the case,” Grace tsked and pulled away.

            “No!
Doncha be goin’ anywhere!” he laughed, tugging her hand. “C’mere.” He led her
to the stereo system and grabbed the remote. Van Morrison’s
Into the Mystic
played softly through the speakers.

            Grace
nodded, approvingly. “That’s a good start.”

            “Aye,”
he murmured, kissing her neck.

            She
reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head, casting it
to the floor.

            Justice
ran his hands under her shirt and up her back. He gazed lustily into her eyes.
“Are you sure aboot this?”

            “Aye,”
she whispered against his lips.

            So
filled with want and need for her, Justice trembled slightly.

            Grace
lifted her arms over her head and shot him a wink. Getting the message, he
grabbed the bottom of her shirt and slowly pulled it up, throwing it aside. He wrapped
an arm around her waist, pulling her against him, while his other hand cradled
her head.

            She
closed the gap by gently circling his lips with her tongue, causing him to moan
softly into her mouth. He caught her tongue with his lips and sucked gently.

            Grace
gripped his hips then ran her hands over his ass. Her touch awoke every nerve
in his body. And when she unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them carefully down,
he groaned deep in his chest.

            “Ya
gonna be okay, Flynn?” she teased as he stepped out of his jeans.

            “Ya
think this is funny, do ya?’ he laughed, sweeping her off her feet and carrying
her into the bedroom. He gently placed her feet on the floor near the bed. Not
taking his eyes off her, he slowly slid her skirt down, until it pooled at her feet.

            His
intense gaze raked over so slowly that it made her heart beat a little faster.

            “I
love black lace,” he mumbled. “’Tis a pity I won’t get to see it on you for
long.” Skillfully, he removed her bra and ran his palms over her breasts,
kneading them gently, before taking a nipple into his mouth. She dug her hands
into his thick hair, pulling him closer.

            He
gripped her breasts with both hands and licked and suckled until she squealed.
He stopped and laughed. “Too much for ya?”

            “Or
not enough,” she teased.

            “We’ll
see aboot that,” he whispered against her lips. His hands glided over her
slowly, leaving her skin ultra-sensitive. His lips and tongue traveled down to
the hollow of her neck while his hands pushed her black lace panties down to
her knees. Unable to move, he sat her on the edge of the bed so he could remove
her panties.

            Justice
got on his knees in front of her and pulled her knees apart. “Rest your legs on
me shoulders,” he commanded, softly. Grace nearly exploded just by his words.

            Gently
parting her soft folds, his tongue gently swirled and sucked, causing her back
to arch. She gripped the bed cover when his tongue thrusted inside her.

            He
licked and swirled his tongue over her clit until she shuddered violently
against the bed. He continued to stroke his tongue against her until she begged
him to stop.

            Justice
lifted his head. “Really? Ya want me to stop?’

            She
ran a hand through his hair. “For now, yes, please.”

            He
cocked an eyebrow. “Too much for ya, gel?”

            “Aye,
now come here,” she replied, breathless, crawling into the center of the bed.

            Justice
grabbed a packet from the night stand drawer and crawled on the bed next to
her.

            Grace
moved over him, running kisses from his neck down to his chest. Straddling him,
she looked down and gazed at him lustily.

            “What’s
with the sexy grin?” he smiled.

            Grace
winked. “You’ll see.” Slowly she began planting moist kisses all over his
stomach and further still.

            Justice
gripped her hair gently and released a deep, satisfied sigh, when she ran her
tongue up and down the length of him. Slowly, she took him into her mouth.
Then, she began to pick up speed, only to stop suddenly and move slowly again.

            “Feck!
Grace, stop gel! Stop!”

            “What?
Too much for ya?” she giggled.

            Sweat
beads formed on his forehead. “I was thinkin’ aboot nuns and priests, but it
wasna workin’!”

            “Nuns
and priests?’ she frowned.

            “Aye,
to prolong me pleasure, but damn, gel. What you were doin’ was too mighty!”

            “I’ll
take that as a compliment,” she replied snuggling next to him.

            “Doncha
be gettin’ comfy. C’mon, up on your knees.”

            “Huh?”
she squeaked.

            “Doncha
trust me?’ he frowned.

            “Well,
yeah, but…”

            “Not
your butt. I’m no’ that kind o’ guy,” he laughed, rolling the condom on. “Dog
style, is that agreeable?” She nodded and got onto her knees.

            He
eased into her gently, kissing her back and shoulders. She moved against him,
urging him on. He reached around and rolled her clit between his fingers,
feeling it swell against the pads of his finger tips. Her breathing became
quicker and he felt her insides tighten just before he reached climax.

            He
pulled her into a kneeling position and moved her hair to the side to kiss her
cheek and neck. She reached up and ran her hand through his hair, moving to
kiss him.

            “Me
knees are wobbly,” he rasped, lowering her to the bed.

            She
snuggled next to him and ran her hands down his torso. Her eyebrows knitted
together as she felt his stomach. She quickly sat up and gazed at him.

            “Something
wrong?” he mumbled, happily sated.

            She
reached for the light on the night stand and turned it on. Stifling a gasp, she
gaped at his stomach. He didn’t have the washboard stomach like the guy in her
dreams!

*          *          *

            After
Chase left, Rick poured himself a cup of coffee and began to read the
newspaper. He glanced at the full page ad of the action and turned the page. He
began reading
The Talk of Chicago
section by Chip Sanders and choked on
his coffee.

            He
turned back to the full page ad and stared at the words,
Grace Ryan of
Bewitching Designs.
He checked the date of the auction, then his calendar
on the wall.

            He
grabbed his cell phone and punched in the phone number indicated on the ad.

*          *          *

            Justice
smirked at her. “Something wrong?”

            She
shook her head. “Nope, not a thing,” she lied. “Why don’t we start talking
about how you’d like your living room designed.”

            He
pulled her on top of him. “Let’s cuddle first, aye?”

            She
rested her head on his chest and bit her lip. What if she made a mistake? What
if he wasn’t the man from her dream?
Damn my luck
, she thought gloomily.

*          *          *

            “Yes,
I understand this is highly unusual, but my anonymity is extremely important.
And, if my secrecy remains intact, I’ll donate an additional five thousand dollars
to your cause,” Rick stated into the phone.

*          *          *

            Grace
quickly dressed while Justice used the washroom. She grabbed her shirt from the
floor and picked up the newspaper, frowning at the ad. Once she had her shirt
on she sat at the dining room table and read the
Talk of Chicago
section
and gritted her teeth when she read about Rick and Taylor.

           
Never
without a lady on his arm, defenseman for the Chicago Wind, Rick O’Shea, was
seen last night leaving Murphy’s with a hot little number, who this reporter
later found out was his college sweetheart, Taylor Quinn, who just happens to
be the team photographer. Could it be things are heating up both on and off the
ice for O’Shea?

            Grace
scowled at the picture of them and cast the paper to the side. Maybe she could
cast a spell for Taylor to suddenly grow facial hair. She sniggered loudly,
causing Justice to laugh when he entered the room.

            “That
laugh sounded sinister. What’s so funny?”

            She
straightened in the chair, wiping the grin from her face. “Just how funny it’ll
be when Becky doesn’t raise the money she’s hoping to by auctioning me off.”
She shook her head. “She’d done better by auctioning my designing business.”

            Justice
palmed her cheek. “I highly doubt that. I know of at least one guy who’ll bid on
you.”

            She
looked up at him. “Who?”

            “Me!
Ya think I’m goona allow some arsehole to win me girlfriend?”

            “Justice,
don’t be ridiculous. It’s just dinner and dancing. Completely harmless.”

            “I’ll
be expectin’ more when I win,” he replied, sexily.

*          *          *

            Rick
tossed his suitcase on the bed and walked towards the closet. He stepped on
something gooey on the floor and muttered, “What the fuck?” when he lifted his
foot. A look of relief filled his face when he pulled a used pecker poncho from
the sole of his foot. “Well, at least I did one thing right last night.”

*          *          *

            The
following day at work, Grace looked through paint samples, trying to find the
right color for Justice’s living room. It had to be blue, for a calming effect,
since he had a high-stress job. She chose three different blues ranging from
Lucerne, Storms End and Capri Grotto. All three would look amazing and give him
the serenity needed after a long day.

            She
found him to be extremely stubborn when it came to furniture choices and he was
dead set on keeping the blue over-stuffed chair as well as the blue couch. She
replayed the spat from the day before in her head.

            “Justice,
having too much of one color in the room would ruin the flow I’m trying to
create.”

            “I
like me flow the way it is,” Justice grumbled, crossing his arms over his
chest.

            Grace
rolled her eyes. “Then why did you hire me?”

            He
sauntered to her and ran his fingertips down her cheek. “I thought ‘twas obvious
love.”

            “Men!”
she huffed, tossing the paint chips to the side of her desk.

            “Girl!
You have that right!” Zee mumbled from the doorway. “Can’t live with ‘em, can’t
live without ‘em.”

            “I
don’t know. I think I did fairly well after Ben and I broke up. I didn’t have
the drama to deal with.” Grace rested her pencil eraser against her bottom lip.
“In fact, my life was a hell of a lot easier.”

            Zee
sat across from her. “But you weren’t happy.”

            “I’m
not happy now,” Grace frowned.

            “What’s
wrong, baby?”

            Grace
covered her face. “Gah! I saw an article about Rick with Taylor and I got
jealous! I wanted to cast a spell for her to grow facial hair!”

            Zee
giggled, “So did you?”

            “No,”
Grace pouted. “I couldn’t find one.” She shifted in her chair. “You’re missing
the point here. I’m with Justice now and had fabulous sex with him last night
and then afterwards I got jealous about Rick!”

            “I
told you the spell I cast on you wouldn’t last,” Zee tsked. “You can lie about
what’s in your head, but not what’s in your heart.”

*          *          *

            Rick
arrived at the arena and strode to the bus that’d take him and his teammates to
the airport. He stopped when he saw Dmitri and Zee.

            “Hey,
Zee. How are you?”

            She
pulled her lips away from Dmitri and smiled sadly at him. “I’m good baby. How
are you?”

            Rick
shrugged, “As well as can be expected, I guess.” He tucked his hand into his
jeans pocket and glanced around. “How is she?”

            “She’s
getting by.”

            “What
does that mean?” he snorted.

            Zee
shifted on her feet.

            Rick
gripped her forearm. “Just tell me…is she sleeping with him?”

            Dmitri
intervened. “Rick, it’s not fair to put Zee in this position.”

            “Here,
baby,” Zee muttered, pulling a glass vial from her purse. “Drink this. It’ll
help to get over her.”

            Rick’s
voice shook as he stared at the vial. “So, it’s really over for her?”

*          *          *

            Seth
Brice joined the team on the plane ride to Vancouver and settled next to Rick.

            “Brice!”
Rick chirped. “Ya playing?”

            “Nah,
the doc hasn’t given the green light yet, but soon. Ya know, if I was a chick,
I’d be pouting right now because I haven’t heard from you in over a week.”

            Rick
laughed, “Sorry, bro. Been busy kicking ass.”

            “I’ve
noticed,” Brice grinned. “Congrats on the hatties.”

            “Yeah,”
Rick shrugged.

            “Since
you’re such a hotshot lately, I have to think you and your lady are doing
well.”

            Rick’s
jaw clenched. “Nah. It didn’t work out. She preferred someone else.”