Underneath It All (Storm Series) (9 page)

As they kissed and she rubbed against him, his erection grew and he had no doubt she could
tell he was getting more excited every second. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to grind into the juncture of her legs, but no matter how hard it was, he was determined not to pressure Alaina into going farther than she was comfortable.

After skating
his lips down the slim column of her neck, Rob ran his tongue along her hot skin, putting his weight on one forearm while the other moved to her waist. Massaging the small patch of bare skin between her yoga pants and sweatshirt, he bit down gently near her collarbone, and Alaina’s breath caught.

“Touch me,” she begged.

“Where? Show me.” The woman being on board with everything had always been important to him; but now, after knowing what Sarah and Sebastian had both been through—she being raped by a co-worker and he nearly raped by some rabid fans—it was crucial to make absolutely sure the woman was comfortable.

Alaina
lifted her sweatshirt, displaying creamy breasts encased in a white bra with lace edging. “Not very exciting, I know.”

“You’re beautiful. That’s all I see.” Leaning down, he delved into the small valley between her breasts, nuzzling with his nose as he nibbled the sensitive skin.

She pushed him away and said, “Take your shirt off. I want to see all those big, hockey player muscles.”

Alaina’s tone was demanding, and w
ith a chuckle, Rob pulled back, divesting himself of the shirt and throwing the garment over the coffee table to who-cared-where. “Yours too.”

“I guess it’s only fair.”
She blushed, but sat up to wrestle off the offending apparel then sent the shirt in the same general direction as his. Reaching back, Alaina undid the clasp on her bra and drew the straps down her arms. Her breasts weren’t large, but they were high and firm.

“Oh God, look at you.”
He hadn’t asked her how old she was—his mom had taught him the folly of that—but he estimated they were around the same age, as she still had the taut body of a younger person. He was no man-slut, like some of the other guys who had one woman, or sometimes more, every night, but he’d seen many kinds, shapes, sizes, and ages while he’d played the field.

Rob circled her breast with his hand and took the nipple in his mouth, experimenting with different touches to see what
caused Alaina to lose her mind. All that mattered in this moment was pleasing this woman.

Her hands curled over his pecs, scraping her nails along the flat plane
s. He might have marks tomorrow, but he didn’t care. Let his teammates laugh at him.
This is soooo worth it.

Unable to stop himself, he pushed his hardness into her
, and Alaina’s legs circled his waist, increasing the contact. The woman was going to be the death of him, especially when those small hands stole to his back and pulled him even closer. When he looked up from his spot at her breast, her mouth was open, but her eyes were shut tight.

The devil on one shoulder
told him to take her, she would be receptive, and Rob thought that devil might be right. Then the angel on the other shoulder reminded him that he should take things slowly. Moving into a sexual relationship too quickly was not the way to build something long-standing, and if Rob had his way, this would be an ongoing thing.

He hadn’t felt any desire to get
seriously involved with someone since he and Christa had broken up, but even the thought of Alaina dating other people made him want to punch something; and despite his playing style, Rob was not a violent person by nature. They’d have to talk about their status, and soon. He wanted exclusivity, even if he wasn’t sleeping with her. If she refused, he’d lose his mind while the Storm was out of town, wondering if some other dude was cozying up to her.

Somehow he managed to keep things above the belt, and a few hours later
, fully dressed once more, they were seated at her small kitchen table, steaming bowls of chili topped with cheese in front of them. He took a tentative bite of the piping-hot concoction. “You might give Sarah a run for her money with cooking like this.”

Alaina shook her head
, but smiled. “I can make maybe a dozen things well. I doubt she has anything to worry about.”

“This is awesome.”

“I have a feeling you’re easy to please.”

“I’ll have you know I can be quite discerning.”

“Ohhhh, big word from the hockey player.”

He was irritated
she continued to hold onto some of the “dumb jock” mentality even though she’d gotten to know him, but remained silent. He didn’t want to fight with her, and it wasn’t like the perception was unusual. Changing the subject, he said, “I feel like an idiot asking this since we’ve only been seeing each other a short time, but hear me out.”

One thin eyebrow rose and he debated how to proceed. “Some of the guys on the team cheat on their girls, whether they’re married to them or dating
or whatever. I don’t like it, but I don’t say anything because what they do is really none of my business. I want you to know, though, I’ve never cheated and I never would. Hell, Sarah dated a guy last year and Sebastian kept going after her anyway even when he could’ve been considered ‘the other man.’ Obviously Seb’s a good guy. I guess situations are not always black and white.”

“Uh-huh…”

Judging by Alaina’s expression, she had no idea where he was going with this. Rob sighed. He wasn’t sure either. Rushing on before he lost his nerve, he continued, “Anyway, we haven’t known each other that long and we need to become more familiar before we make any declarations, but I’d like to move forward without interference from anyone else.”

“I’m sorry
; I’m not following.” Alaina’s eyebrows drew down as she stared at him.

Rob
was fumbling his words, clearly not able to express his desires. Now he finally understood how Seb must feel sometimes. It sucked. “I want to be exclusive. I don’t want you to date anyone else, and I won’t either. Obviously that includes sex, too.”

“Exclusive?”
Her tone suggested the word was foreign and she wasn’t quite sure how to pronounce it or what it meant.

Feeling
like a total moron, Rob kept talking, hoping to explain himself better. “I don’t want to be out of town and wondering if you’re making out with someone else on your couch, and I don’t want you back here in Buffalo thinking I might be banging some random puck bunny. I don’t think I’m overly possessive—I would never try to control you or anything—but I would feel better if you agreed to date only me. I know we’re still early in this relationship, but I think we might have something really special and I don’t want to feel like I’m constantly competing with some other guy.”

He stood
, nearly knocking over his chair in his haste to get away from the most awkward conversation he’d ever had, and took his bowl to the sink. Rob didn’t even remember eating, though the first few bites before he’d made an ass of himself had been delicious. After rinsing the bowl, he gripped the counter and stared into the sink.

You are a total dick to ask th
is of her after what, five days of semi-dating? You haven’t even taken the woman out on a proper date. How can you expect her to commit herself to you? What a bonehead move!

Out of the corner of his eye
, he saw Alaina coming up beside him before setting her own bowl on the counter. Gripping his shoulders and lightly rubbing, Alaina said, “If that will make you rest easier, sure, we can be exclusive. Me dating others would never be an issue anyway. Guys aren’t exactly knocking down the door to take out a kindergarten teacher with hands permanently stained from art projects and barely living over the poverty line.”

Rob spun to face her. “Guys are idiots. But
their loss is my gain.”

Nudging him aside,
Alaina tilted the bowl and scraped out the remainder of her chili into the nearby garbage. “If you say so.”

“I do.”
An immense sense of relief flooded him. He hadn’t completely screwed things up. This would be good.

They cleaned up together.
Despite how well Alaina had seemingly taken his ridiculous request, Rob needed to get out of her apartment. “Hon, I need to go. I’ve got a busy week.”

Alaina frowned.
“Will you be able to read? I can’t remember the schedule.”

“
We’re in Columbus on Tuesday and then New Jersey on Wednesday. We’ll be back early Thursday morning, so I’ll come right after practice on Thursday if that’s okay.”

“Perfectly fine. I do wish the kids could know you’re their benefactor
, but I certainly also understand why you want to keep it quiet.”

“I’ll be happy
just to see the looks on their faces. I don’t need more than that.” He stepped outside then pulled Alaina to him, kissing her thoroughly before setting her back inside her door. “I’ll call you, but I might not be able to see you until Thursday.”

“I
know. Behave.” Though she was smiling, there was a glimpse of insecurity in her eyes.

“I will.”
Now that I have a reason to.

~
* ~

Alaina didn’t have
much spare time to miss Rob in the next few days, though she still couldn’t prevent the feeling, as his image would appear to her late at night before she fell asleep. How he’d become such a huge part of her life in such a short time was beyond her. Most of her free moments were spent situating everything in the classroom.

On Monday,
Claudette had sent Kyle to help, and as they moved things around to Alaina’s liking, he kept up a steady stream of chatter. “I saw that hockey player here the other day when he read. You know, the way he looks at you…he wants to get in your pants. But you know how those guys are. A different woman every night.”

“Not all of them.” Alaina stopped and glared at him. Kyle didn’t even know Rob. And truthfully, Alaina didn’t know Kyle. He could be the hugest man-whore on the planet and she’d have no idea, so she decided to stay with her current assessment of Rob. He was a good, honest, decent man.

“Hey, hey. Don’t get upset. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“I appreciate that, but I don’t need anybody to look out for me.
I’ve been doing it for myself since I went to college. Let’s get the last of the stuff ready. I’m tired.” Alaina was lying about being beat, but she just wanted this done. She was tickled they had so much stuff she’d had to put the extra supplies in the storage closet down the hall, where they now shared space with the old, decrepit things they’d moved there the past weekend.

The kids were gaga over everything, constantly asking if they could do some thing or another that wouldn’t have even been a pipe dream before Rob had
arrived to save the day. On Tuesday, they did a march around the classroom and Alaina took a video, sending it to Rob before berating herself for disturbing him on a game day.

When her phone buzzed, she held her breath, hoping he wasn’t going to
chide her for distracting him.

Rob:
Kids are adorable. Thanks for doing that for me. Showed vid to Seb & Sarah too. Other than that nothing up but missing you.

Her hand crept over her heart.

Alaina:
I miss you too. Sorry for doing that on a game day. Should’ve held ‘til tomorrow.

She waited to see what he said.

Rob:
Don’t feel bad. I loved the video. Put a smile on my face that will be gone at game time, of course. Gotta go. Bus pulling up.

Alaina didn’t send a goodbye text, figuring if he was getting on a bus
, he must be heading to the arena. The last thing he needed was for her to intrude on his preparation.

After poring over the Internet and a bunch of scholastic catalogs, she began to place a huge order for books Tuesday night while Rob played.
She couldn’t bring herself to watch. Alaina knew little about hockey, but the game was sometimes pretty violent and if Rob was hurt…. She shook her head. He could take care of himself, but easing herself into this whole “exclusive girlfriend” thing was definitely a good idea.

Refocusing on her shopping baske
t, Alaina counted the books and, more importantly, made sure she could afford everything she’d picked out. As much as she would’ve liked to buy all “fun” books, she also got several readers and phonics books, plus a bunch of sets of math flashcards. She didn’t believe in pushing her students hard. After all, they were only in kindergarten—a time of exploration, a time to play. But if she didn’t develop these raw skills, the children would fall behind later, so she dutifully emphasized reading and math.

On Wedne
sday night, she sat down and actually watched an entire Storm game for the first time in her life. Over the past day of exchanging texts with Rob she’d decided she should support him no matter what his profession was. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t wince if he got hit. That was only natural.

Alaina
didn’t hate sports, but her family consisted of three women—herself, her younger sister, and her mom, with her dad being the lone male representative, and he wasn’t a sports fan. As a result, growing up, she hadn’t been exposed to sports. Not to say women couldn’t like sports of their own volition, but watching or following sports had never been a part of her family life.