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Nik watched with admiration as she deftly charmed the players, until all of them were encouragingherto head up to their suite.
“What about you, Nik? You’ll come drown your sorrows over us beating up on your team tonight, right?” The team captain was trying not to gloat, unsuccessfully.
Nik gave a good-natured shrug. Toronto had played terribly tonight, and the Vancouver captain had scored a hat trick. He deserved to gloat.
“I need to change first. I’ll be back.” Nik turned to follow Jules toward the elevator. He stopped when he saw Sergei. “Don’t wait for me,” he whispered to his friend. “I’m not coming back.”
With a knowing grin, Sergei nodded and began to shepherd the rest of the team into the lounge.
Jules was waiting for him at the elevators. Without another word, Nik laced his fingers through hers and pushed the button for their floor.
His sense of urgency increased as the elevator rose higher, and he muffled the urge to run down the hall to the door of their suite. He wanted Jules more than he had wanted any other woman in a long time, and he didn’t want to waste another second. With a swipe of the key card the door swung open, and he led Jules inside.
Nik kicked the door closed behind them and pulled Jules into his arms. She was so tiny, so delicate, but her small stature hid a woman of incredible strength. His hands gripped her waist and he lifted her to meet his mouth.
He paused long enough to lock eyes with her. “Are you sure you want this?”
CHAPTER21
“I’ve never been more sure.”
Her pulse racing, Jules laced her fingers through Nik’s soft, silky hair and met his lips with her own. His hands were around her waist, holding her suspended in midair, and she wrapped her legs around him to steady herself.
With an impatient groan, Nik backed her up against the wall, then moved his hands up, over her ribs, across her belly. Jules wished she had worn one of the low-cut T-shirts the team had provided instead of her jersey. There was too much fabric between her body and Nik’s hands.
His lips were moving against hers, full and hot, devouring her. His tongue probed against her mouth and she opened to let him in, wanting to taste him. Everything about him overwhelmed her senses: his touch, his smell, his taste. Even after hours in an arena, he still smelled faintly of eucalyptus and cedar, scents she had come to associate exclusively with him.
Her nipples were hard against her camisole, aching to be touched. Nik shifted, pressing her more urgently against the wall, and the thick ridge of his erection made her sex clench. It had been so long since she’d been with any man. The fact her last lover had been Nik was not lost on her, and the memory of that night made her desire burn hotter.
They needed to discuss how changing their relationship would affect Ava, but that could come later. Now all she wanted was Nik.
Nik was fumbling to find the bottom of her jersey, trying to hike it up to give him access to her breasts. Giving up, he tore his mouth from hers, shifted her weight, and carried her into his bedroom.
He set her down gently, then dropped to his knees in front of her. Nik grasped one of her feet, and Jules took a step back. “I can do that.” She reached for the zipper on her ankle boots, halting when Nik wrapped his hand around hers.
“Let me.” He placed her hand on his shoulder, then lifted her foot and unzipped her boot, sliding it off her foot before tossing it aside. The boots had three-inch heels, leaving her off balance when the first boot came off and Nik set her foot back down. She gripped Nik’s shoulder and allowed him to repeat his actions on her other boot.
Once her boots were off, Nik slid his palms up her legs, tracing every curve outlined by her jeans. Heat followed everywhere he touched, stoking her excitement, making her impatient. Jules gripped Nik’s shoulders tighter, fighting the urge to rush.
His hands cupped her ass, his long fingers tracing the seam of her jeans, and moisture pooled between her thighs. It had been such a very long time, and Nik’s slow ministrations made her feel desirable like no one else ever had—except him. It should scare her that Nik had so much power over her, yet she felt safe with him. She only hoped that reality lived up to her memories.
Nik unfastened the button of her jeans and grasped the zipper, pulling it down with excruciating slowness, revealing her inch by inch. Peeling her jeans off was exquisite torture, as he trailed kisses over her skin, worshipping every inch as it appeared. His lips were hot, his tongue flicking over every curve. He stopped when he reached the purple butterfly tattoo on her outer right thigh.
“This is new.” He traced the ink with one finger.
Jules squashed the urge to apologize. Nik wasn’t Michael, who would have had a fit if she’d got tattooed while they were married. “I had it done after Ava was born.”
“It’s beautiful.” The appreciation in his eyes almost brought her to tears, and a tiny sliver of fear melted away. This man wantedher, not some perfect doll he could put on display.
With a groan, Nik finally had her jeans and socks off. Jules stood in front of him, still covered past midthigh by the Vancouver jersey. She was dying to pull the jersey over her head, to climb onto the bed and have Nik join her there, but she could be patient.
Nik slid his hands under the edge of the jersey, slowly easing it up. He paused to place a kiss on her belly, above the hem of her lacy panties. Jules groaned. Patience was one thing; this was torture. The best possible kind, but still torture.
No longer willing to wait, Jules gripped the hem of the jersey and pulled it over her head, leaving her standing in a lacy white camisole that matched her panties. Her skin was on fire, her sex throbbed, and if Nik kept teasing her, she might spontaneously combust on the spot. “I can’t take much more,” she pleaded.
“You can.” Nik rocked to his feet, standing over her, his hands moving to her shoulders. “I’m going to make this worth the wait.”
Nik pushed her back onto the bed, and Jules watched as he removed his own jersey and jeans, joining her, wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. The outline of his erection strained at the fabric. Her mouth grew dry as she was confronted with what seemed like acres of gorgeous man, his olive skin stretched across lean muscles. Not much had changed since the last time she’d seen him like this, his body still fit and athletic. Junior hockey may have been twenty years ago, but he’d stayed in shape. His chest was covered in the same curly black hair she remembered, and her fingers itched to touch him.
