Breakaway

Chapter Eleven

She went very still. Her eyes closed, then opened.

“What happened to just fun and games?”

He moved his head slowly from side to side. “It’s more. Don’t get mad again. I know it is for you too. Isn’t it?” He moved his hips, his cock sliding in and out of her sweet pussy.

She blinked at him, her eye makeup smudged a bit, making her big eyes even bigger, hair tangled, lips swollen. She was so incredibly beautiful she made his heart stop.

“Yes,” she whispered. “It’s more. Ah, Jase. I love you too.”

He kissed her mouth softly. “Thank you.”

He thrust harder and she met him at each push, lifting her hips. He rose onto his knees, slid his hands under her knees and lifted them. He pushed her legs closed and she tightened around him, the friction intensifying as he thrust in and out. She gasped. Her eyes went dazed. Her lips parted, all shiny and wet and swollen.

He held her legs straight up with one hand around her ankles, lifting her ass right off the bed, and fucked her—long, hard thrusts, taking her, claiming her, owning her, until he tightened and a hard fiery wave of heat and pleasure swept over him, again, again, again.

He collapsed over her and then, mindful of his weight on her small body, rolled to the side, pulling her with him, chest heaving, lungs straining, heart thudding.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Long moments later, she said, “I don’t understand this. We hardly know each other.”

“I know. I don’t get it either. I’ve never really been in love before. I guess it just…hits you.”

She pulled back to look at him. “You’ve never been in love before?”

“Nope.”

“What about Brianne? You were with her for a long time.”

“Yeah. But I didn’t love her. Not like this.”

“Why did you break up?”

“I thought I told you. She wanted to get married. I didn’t.”

“You were afraid of commitment.”

“No.” He paused, struggling for words. “Okay, yeah. I was. I was terrified.” He squinted. “But I’m not anymore. Not with you.” He didn’t understand it, but it was the truth. Miraculously, fucking weirdly, he wasn’t afraid of a commitment—to Remi. He stroked a hand over her hair. “I’m more afraid of being without you.”

“Oh, Jase.” Her whispered words wrapped around his heart and squeezed.

After a long moment, he said, “What about you?”

“Hmm?”

Have you ever been in love before?”

“Yeah. Once.”

His gut seized up. “You were?”

“Yes. I thought we were pretty serious.” She laid her cheek back down on his chest and her hand slid up to his shoulder. “But he dumped me. Because I was…boring.”

He choked on a laugh. “You? Boring? Sweetheart, he didn’t know you very well.”

“I…I thought he did. I thought my life was boring. I gave up a lot for my brother and sister. We had to plan…uh…things for when they weren’t home. Which wasn’t often. Lots of times I couldn’t go out because I had to drive them to piano lessons or soccer games or parent-teacher meetings.”

“Oh, Remi.” He envisioned her life at age twenty-two—all the responsibility she’d had and how she’d just done it. “That’s not boring. That’s…you.”

He felt wetness on his chest and she sniffed. “I love you, Jase.”

“You know when I knew I loved you?” He rubbed the middle of her back.

“When?”

“Last week at school. When you were talking to Ryan in the hall. And you told him he was smart.”

“I…I don’t get it.”

He sighed and stroked a hand down her satiny back, over the firm curve of a buttock, lingering in the cleft there, making her squirm. “Ryan reminds me of me. I have ADHD too.”

Her head swung up so quickly she almost knocked his chin. “You do?”

“Yup. I had such a hard time as a kid. People didn’t understand it as much as they do now. I had some brutal teachers.”

“Oh, Jase. “ She cupped his cheek. “That’s why you don’t like teachers.”

“Well. Not all teachers.” He grinned, loving the feel of her small hand on his face. “But I sure didn’t like Ms Wong in eighth grade. I struggled with reading and writing. Didn’t do my homework. I was failing half my classes. She had no patience for me. Told me I was stupid and I’d never amount to anything in life.”

Her eyes filled with horror and her mouth opened. “Oh my god. Oh, Jase.” Her fingertips touched his mouth.

He smiled. “It’s okay. If it wasn’t for her telling me that, I might never have been so determined that I was going to amount to something. I was nothing if not stubborn.”

“I can’t believe a teacher would say that to a student.”

“I know you wouldn’t. And that’s why I love you. One reason I love you. Even though you’re a teacher.”

Her eyes got glossy and her smile trembled. “Is that what you meant…when you found out I was a teacher…?”

“Yeah.” He gave her a crooked smile. “I didn’t want anything to do with a teacher. That’s why sometimes I was such a jerk. But then I got to know you better.”

“You’re an amazing man, Jason.”

He smiled. “Nah. I’m just a big kid. I don’t even feel like I’m grown up sometimes. I play a game for a living. I can’t believe my life, either, you know. Sometimes it’s not real.”

“You’re talented and you work hard. It’s real.”

“Thank you. You don’t make me feel stupid.”

“Jase. You are not stupid. When I watch you on the ice, I don’t have a clue what’s going on, but you think so fast out there it amazes me. You have to be smart to play like that.”

He thought his heart might explode in his chest and swallowed hard, his eyes going foggy. She thought he was smart. “Next week, my parents are coming to Chicago. To watch the last home game.”

“Mmm. That’s nice.”

“They’re bringing my youngest brother. He’s done for the season. And my other brother Logan is flying in too, to watch the game, because my other brother…” She grinned. “Is who I’m playing against.”

“Oh!” Then she frowned. “Oh. This is your last game. This is do or die, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Who does he play for? Phoenix?”

“Yeah.”

“If they lose…”

“They’re out.”

“If you lose…you’re out.”

“Yeah. We both need this win.”

“Ooh. That’s tough.”

“I know.” He gave a wry smile. “My parents will be having a heart attack. But they’ll be cheering for me.”

She frowned and then realized he was teasing and laughed, giving his chest a smack. “That has to be hard for them. Watching you two play against each other?”

He hitched a shoulder. “It’s happened before. Anyway, we’re all going out for a late dinner after the game. To celebrate. One of us, anyway. The other one will drown his sorrow. The whole family will be together.”

“That’s so nice.”

“I want you to come.”

“Really? Maybe you and your family should just…”

“No. I want you to meet them. I want them to meet you.”

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.

“Damn,” Laura muttered. “I mean, oh great.”

Remi turned to her. “Tag just took a stupid penalty,” Laura said. “The Stars play a man short now, with him in the penalty box.” Her brow creased. “So for two minutes the Wolves have a power play—a man advantage.”

Remi nodded. “That’s good, though, right?”

“It’s a great chance for them to score.”

“Oh, hell,” Doug sad. “They’re gonna pull their goalie.”

He nodded to the bench where the Wolves’ goaltender had skated over to talk to the coach. The coach gestured wildly and the goalie nodded, squirted water into his mask, then skated back to the net.

“He’s going back,” Remi said.

“He’ll come out when they get the puck down in the Phoenix end.” Doug explained. “Goddammit, that’s risky. Why the hell is he doing that? They’ve already got a man advantage.”

They all sat forward to watch Jason take the face-off and, damn, this time he lost. The Stars got the puck and immediately headed toward the Wolves net, tossing it back and forth with neat passes, the puck cracking against their sticks. But the Wolves defense knocked the puck away from Jason as he crossed the blue line. He and a Star raced into the corner and fought for the puck along the boards and Remi cringed at the bashing and crashing that went on, a vision of Jason bleeding on the ice flashing through her memory. She shivered.

Finally the puck came loose, but a Star slashed at it and sent it spinning down the ice.

“Icing!” Remi cried.

“Uh…no.” Laura patted her hand. “They have a penalty so it’s not icing.”

Remi frowned. Jesus. She wasn’t used to feeling so stupid and uninformed. She wanted to slide under the seat. This game was more complicated than she’d realized. But then Jason swooped in and picked up the puck. The crowd screamed. Remi gripped her hands tightly together. Go, go, go, Jason! She sucked on her bottom lip as he deked around a defenseman, came to a fast stop in a shower of ice in front of another and slid around him too, and then he was on his own, racing toward the Detroit net.

“Go!” Remi screamed with the crowd, the noise in the arena so loud it hurt her ears. She surged to her feet along with everyone else. “Go, Jase!”

He lifted his stick, took a swing and blasted the puck at the net. Remi tensed, waiting for the red light—please, please—but the goalie snagged it in his glove and fell to the ice. The whistle blew and the play halted.

“Damn!” Remi realized she was clutching Laura’s arm and hastily released it. “Sorry.” She sagged and dropped into her seat.

“That’s okay!” Laura flashed her a smile. “That was so close!”

Jason skated off the ice and another player prepared to take the face-off.

Remi glanced at the clock. Only thirty-two seconds left in their power play. Only a minute and six seconds left in the game.

Do or die.

She so wanted this for Jase. She twisted her fingers together, gnawing her bottom lip again.

She looked down the ice. The goaltender was out of his net.

“He’s out,” she said to Doug and he nodded. “Why’d they do that? Isn’t that just asking for Phoenix to score a goal on them? How can they play with no goaltender?”

Doug grinned. “They put another player on in his place. That means they have a two-man advantage.”

“But an empty net!” That seemed crazy dangerous.

Her heart leaping, fingers clasped so tightly they hurt, she watched as the puck was dropped. Wolves got the puck. Lalonde circled behind the net and paused. And waited.

“What’s he waiting for?” Remi cried. She vibrated with tension.

“They’re getting set up. Look at the players on the blue line.”

Lalonde shot the puck from behind the net to one of his teammates, and the Wolves played with the puck like it was a pinball, passing it from one player to another, to another, and back again, back and forth, up and down, while the Stars whirled around in front of them, lunging with their sticks, trying desperately to get the puck.

“They need to shoot at the net!” Remi said, eyes darting back and forth to follow the puck.

“They will,” Doug said, patting her shoulder. “Just…wait…now!”

Finally, the opening they’d wanted and Daviduk didn’t even stop the puck, just slapped at it as it shot past him on the ice, directing it into the net.

“Yeah!”

The red light flashed, the horn blasted and the entire crowd in the Metro Center went wild. Remi pumped a fist in the air. She turned to Laura and they hugged, swaying back and forth.

Laura drew back, her smile wide and jubilant, and Remi collected herself. Dear God, she’d just hugged Jason’s mom and she didn’t even know her.

But the bubbly feeling inside her couldn’t be repressed. Amid the noise of the still-cheering crowd, Jason took the next face-off and won it and the Wolves toyed with the puck while the clock ticked down the last seconds of the game. Then the roof nearly rose off the Metro Center as the game ended—the Wolves in the playoffs.