Seduced by the Game (19 page)

It took her over an hour
to get ready Saturday. She’d never spent so much time getting ready for
anything, ever. At Macy’s, she’d splurged on a slender, black velvet dress with
tiny rhinestones all over it and a snug bodice that ended in spaghetti straps.
With her heart in her throat, she’d also purchased a short, faux fur black
jacket to wear over it. Good thing Scott was going to be paying for the evening
because she’d spent a ton of money on her outfit.

When the doorbell rang and
she opened it to find Scott on the other side, Hannah decided it had all been
worth it at the look on his face. He simply stood there staring at her for
several seconds and then whispered, “My God, you’re beautiful.”

She found herself speechless
at his reaction to her all dressed up. “Thank you,” she managed to get out
eventually. He looked incredibly luscious too, with a long black dress coat and
a gray pinstripe suit showing between the lapels. She fought the urge to just
drag him inside and christen her own bedroom with him.

He cleared his throat.
“Are you ready to go?”

Hannah smiled. “Yep.” She
picked up her fur coat and Scott jumped in to hold it for her. Then he put his
arm around her shoulders and led her out. He put her into a big, black Lincoln
and joined her in the back. “I decided to use a car service so we don’t have to
worry about parking and all that.”

They had an incredible
dinner at Le Bernardin in midtown Manhattan, a place Hannah knew for a
fact had won several awards for best restaurant in the city. Even a quick look
at the prix fixe prices made her gasp. She knew Scott made a lot of money —
millions — but what he must’ve ended up paying, what with wine and dessert,
made her realize she was entering into an entirely different world than the one
she was used to. Of course, he didn’t let her anywhere near the bill, coolly
extracting an American Express Black card and handing it to the server after a
quick glance, seemingly unconcerned glance at the amount.

He helped her into her
coat again and said, “I’m glad you have this warm fur coat on, because your
surprise is outside.”

“Outside in the dark in
the middle of winter? And this is a good surprise?”

“You got it. But you’ll be
warm, I promise you.”

He led her out the front
door of the restaurant with his hand at the base of her spine, and she looked
up to see a horse and carriage in front of her. Stopping dead, she looked at
Scott. “We’re going on a carriage ride? How did you know that I’ve always,
always wanted to take a carriage ride in Manhattan?”

“Just lucky, I guess.”

The black carriage was
bedecked with red bunting and the horse had a red plume on her head. It looked
festive and romantic. She grabbed his head, pulling it down to kiss him
soundly. “Thank you! I love it!”

He grinned and helped her
into the carriage. The driver helped them surround themselves with fluffy, warm
fur blankets. Then he climbed back up on his perch and drove them away from Le
Bernardin.

“Would you like to drive
through Central Park?”

“Oh yes! That would be
lovely.”

“Good, because that’s
where we’re going.” Then he pulled her into him and lowered his head for a real
kiss. They clung together, their tongues searching and sucking, and he shucked
his leather gloves to hold her closer.

Pulling away a bit, he
looked at her intensely, appearing to be trying to get his breath back. “Oh,
hon, you don’t know how good that feels. I’ve missed the hell out of you.”

“Me, too.”

Then he went back in for
another mind-shattering kiss. They kissed back and forth as the carriage headed
into the park and then he let her go. “It’s incredible kissing you, all
snuggled up in these furs and all, but I want us to enjoy the ride too. We can
kiss later when we get back to my place.”

With a mock sigh, Hannah
nodded. “You’re right. This is too romantic to pass by. When I’ve pictured
going on a carriage ride, I’ve always envisioned sitting arm in arm with a sexy
hero. You fit that pretty well, so I want to see if reality lives up to my
fantasies.”

“I hope I do.”

“So far, you’ve exceeded
them. By a mile.”

They settled into the furs
and watched the park go sliding by, holding hands under the covers. Even
holding hands with him felt good and she realized they’d never done it. Several
miles later, the driver pulled up his horse and spoke to them from his seat.

“This is where you asked
me to drop you off, Mr. Richards. Do you and the missus still want to get out
here?”

Scott laughed. “We’re not
married. Not yet, anyway.” He turned to wrap his arm around her shoulders
again. “This is my girlfriend, Hannah.”

Girlfriend. Man, that
sounds good.
She let Scott hold her around her waist and help her down. “My
place is just past the trees. There’s a back entrance.”

She looked up at him with
a smirk. “Girlfriend, huh?”

He wrapped his arms around
her. “That’s what you are, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I’m your
girlfriend.” Raising one eyebrow, she asked, “And you said something about
marriage in the future?”

“Oops. Yeah, I guess I
did.” Scott didn’t look sorry at all.
Be still my heart.

They started toward the high-rise.
Strangely, the words “marriage” and “not yet” didn’t bring the panic she
thought she’d feel after only a few weeks of being together. When she’d
realized how she felt about Scott, Hannah had discovered that it was not the
hockey uniform she was involved with, but the man inside that uniform. And he
was worth it. For now, just being his girlfriend made her feel warm and happy.

She slanted a look at him.
“Come on. Let’s get to your apartment. I have plans for you.”

He stopped and watched her
for a second as she walked away, her head turned back to him. Then he grinned
and caught up with her. Yeah, this was just about perfect. For now.

About the Authors

Cynthia Racette, writing as Cindy Carr:

My hubby and I moved to
Buffalo, NY, to be with our daughters and grandchildren, so you can see that
family is very important to us. We spend as much time with our wee
grandchildren because we know what a short time they are little. I have written
since I was a teen and was, at various times, a reporter, an editor, and an
author. I joined RWA with my daughter Cassandra and we have each had great
success since then.

In our spare time, we like
to travel, especially to warmer climes in the middle of winter, swim in our
pool here at home, read and watch hockey. We're big fans of the Buffalo Sabres.
My hubby is a runner and I am a watcher—I watch him run. LOL I will read
anything, including a cereal box but I draw the line at phone books.

Friend me on Facebook at
facebook.com/cindy.racette

My available books:

Married to the Job

Windswept

Uncharted Fate

Cassandra Carr:

Cassandra Carr is a
romance writer whose work has been praised by many prominent publishing
industry media outlets such as 
Publisher's Weekly 
and 
Romantic
Times. 
Her books have won several "Best Of" awards. Her
novella Unexpected Top was nominated in the E-book Erotic Romance category of
RT's 2013 Reviewers' Choice Awards. When not writing she enjoys watching
hockey and hanging out online.

She thinks the best part
of being a writer is how she writes about love and sex while most others
struggle with daily commutes, micro-managing bosses and cranky co-workers. Her
inspiration comes from everywhere, but she'd particularly like to thank the
Buffalo Sabres, the hockey team near and dear to her heart.

To learn more about
Cassandra, check out her website at 
booksbycassandracarr.com
;
like her on Facebook at 
facebook.com/AuthorCassandraCarr
,
or follow her on Twitter at 
twitter.com/Cassandra_Carr
.

Other hockey romances by
Cassandra Carr (in order of publication date from newest to oldest):

Hiding In Plain Sight
(Safe Harbor 2)

Underneath It All (Storm
book 2)

Going All In

Moving Day (Storm book
1.5)
-
FREE
SHORT STORY


 

Should’ve Known Better
(Storm book 1)

See the Light (Safe Harbor
1)

Double Vision (Buffalo
Intimidators 3)

Cold As Ice (Buffalo
Intimidators 2)

Head Games (Buffalo
Intimidators 1)

Talk to Me

Crashing the Boards

Seattle
Sockeyes--1.5

© Jami
Davenport

Can a party crasher melt the icy heart of a reluctant party guest
or will she crash and burn along with her fledgling business?

Professional party crasher, Izzy Maxwell, has been hired to ensure
the Seattle Sockeyes team party is a rousing success, while team captain Cooper
Black is determined that it will be anything but. Armed with killer heels, a
provocative dress, and loads of confidence, Izzy is determined to win over the
ruggedly handsome hockey player and save the party and her business.

Seattle Sockeyes team captain Cooper Black can’t get beyond his
anger over the new owners moving his team to Seattle, the one place on earth he
swore he’d never live. Izzy hijacks Cooper, posing as his girlfriend, and his
best buddy plays along despite Cooper’s protests, but Izzy’s persuasive
talents, their undeniable chemistry, and a couple of intimate liaisons destroy
Cooper’s resistance.

But when Cooper finds out Izzy had been hired to crash the party,
and he’s been played a fool, the beginning of something special ends before it
starts. Can Izzy convince Cooper to take another chance on her or will they
both crash into the boards?

Chapter 1—Shutdown

Cooper Black skidded
across the ice on his ass and slammed into the boards behind the net, taking
the puck with him. The Boston defenseman was on the puck like Coop’s old tabby
cat attacking the neighbors’ chickenshit dog. Cooper scrambled to his feet, digging
the blades of his skates into the ice, trying to get his balance, only to fall
again. Stevich fought like a crazed man, gaining control of the puck, and
executing a perfect pass to his center.

If Cooper hadn’t been so
preoccupied with keeping one eye on the clock winding down and the other on the
puck, he might’ve seen the Russian coming on his blind side. He might have had
one more chance on goal, one last desperation shot for a tie to send game seven
of the semifinals into overtime.

Only he didn’t get that
chance.

The final buzzer sounded.

This wasn’t how it was
supposed to end with Boston celebrating on the Giants’ home ice. His
five-year-old nephew skated better than he had tonight. Struggling to his feet,
Cooper skated around the victors and headed for the locker room with his head
down. Boston moved on to the finals, and his team moved on to prepare for next
season. Always next season.

He couldn’t avoid the
press blocking his exit. Too weary to put up a good fight—he’d left all his
fight out on the ice—he patiently answered their inane questions.

How do you feel after
coming so close but coming up short?

“How do you think I feel?”

What are your plans for
the off-season?

“Take a few weeks off for
my body to heal and go back at it.”

How many more seasons do
you plan on skating?

“Heck if I know.”

And so it went, he’d just
managed to extricate himself from the bloodsuckers when the Giants’ PR guy
pulled him off to the side. “There’s a group of kids from Make-A-Wish anxious
to meet you for pics and autographs.”

Cooper almost said no. He
was that tired, but he never said no to kids, especially kids with
disabilities. He’d never forget his childhood hero walking right past Cooper
and his little brother as if they didn’t exist despite their pleas for an
autograph. They’d waited outside the visiting locker room shivering from the
cold for what seemed hours, and the jerk couldn’t take one minute to make two
small boys’ dreams come true, completely destroying Cooper’s image of the man.
Cooper would never be that guy. As long as a kid wanted a moment of his time,
he’d give it.

Several minutes later, he
put on his best team captain face and yanked open the locker room door. Despite
how miserable he might be inside, he’d never let the guys see him defeated or
discouraged. Cooper paused in the doorway and swung his gaze around the solemn
locker room. He’d attended funerals more cheerful than this.

“What the fuck is going
on? Who died?” Cooper faked a grin he didn’t feel and strode into the room, the
picture of upbeat confidence. There were too many young guys on this team to
let this setback get them down.

No one even looked up at
him.

“Hey, guys, we'll get ’em
next year. We were that close.” He held up his hand using his thumb and
forefinger to illustrate just how fucking damn close they'd been to winning
that last game and making it to the finals—the dream that had eluded him for
thirteen years.

Finally, Cedric, his best
buddy on the team, lifted up his head and rubbed his beefy, scarred hands over
his face. Heaving a deep sigh, he turned toward Cooper. Cedric’s stricken
expression struck fear deep in Cooper’s gut. “They fired Coach.”

“They? Who the fuck is
they?”

“Our new ownership.”

Cooper stared at his
friend, certain he’d heard wrong. “New ownership? I've been gone from the
locker room thirty minutes and we lost a coach and gained new owners? You guys
are playing me.”

Ced just stared at him.

“Right? You're
bullshitting me. Isn’t he, Crandall?”

Crandall glanced up and
then buried his head in his hands again. The young guys wouldn’t even look at
him.

A cold shiver sliced
through him. They weren’t shitting him.

“What new owners?” Sure,
there’d been all sorts of rumors, but there’d always been rumors. He’d been
with this organization since he’d come up from the minors, thirteen years ago.
And he’d heard every rumor known to man until he quit listening.

“The Puget Sound Hockey
Alliance.”

“That Seattle group that's
been stalking every team with a shaky fan base and money-starved owners?”

“The very one.”

“They do have deep
pockets, so that’s a good thing.” Cooper forced himself to remain positive. The
team’s now former owners had been douches that bled the team dry.

“Sure, if you like rain.”

Cooper sank onto the
bench. “No.”

“We’re moving to Seattle.”
Cedric confirmed his worst nightmare.

Cooper’s future turned as
dismal as a gray Seattle sky. He knew all about Seattle weather. As a kid, he’d
been forced to spend a few weeks there every summer with a crotchety old aunt.
He hated it there, swore it was one place on earth he’d never live.

He looked at all the down
faces in turn, and the truth was reflected in each one. “We’re going to
Seattle.” He said the words with such despair, a guy would think he’d been
sentenced to death row. In his mind, he was.

As captain of this team,
he should be singing Seattle’s praises, waxing poetic over the billionaire
owner, and convincing the team this was the best thing that had ever happened
to them.

He wasn't that noble. In
fact, he was fucking pissed.

Chapter 2—Attacking Zone

Party crashing was an
art—if done right.

Isabella Maxwell should
know. She’d been crashing parties for years, at first to get a decent meal and
later—much later—as a part-time profession with her three younger sisters.
She’d never crashed a party she didn’t take from dud to memorable in minutes.

Tonight she might have met
her match.

She’d done her research
and knew the obstacles and challenges, but nothing prepared her for the scene
awaiting her on the party deck of the Washington Queen, a local tour boat rented
by the Seattle Sockeyes hockey team for an evening dinner cruise around Elliott
Bay.

As security checked
invitations at the door, Izzy snuck past them and peeked in the doorway,
scoping out the scene inside—DJ in the corner, empty dance floor complete with
mirror ball and flashing lights, not a dancer anywhere. Hockey players were
slouched in chairs clumped around tables, reminding her of pimply faced
preteens at a junior high dance. Only these boys weren’t preteens or pimply
faced. They were a formidable wall of broad chests, muscular thighs, and
determined expressions. Each one mirroring the other, but she’d done her
research. There was one man she needed to win over to salvage this party, and
he hadn’t arrived yet.

Her sisters had already
boarded the boat, managing to sneak past security, every one of them dressed to
kill or at least to charm a professional hockey team, Bethany in her plunging
Vera Wang gown and deadly high heels. Emma and Avery, the youngest at
twenty-one and identical twins, looked every bit like giddy hockey groupies
who’d managed to snag an invite to the party. Standing near the buffet table,
they giggled and whispered as they stole glances at the players. Several
players stared right back. Nearby, Bethany engaged the team play-by-play
announcer in conversation, while he stared at her boobs, but men always stared
at Bethany’s boobs.

The stage was set.

Time to get this party
started. The Sockeyes were going to have the time of their lives if she had to
threaten bodily harm with their own hockey sticks. 

“Ma’am, I need to see your
invitation.” A security guard with a receding hairline, the waist of his
polyester pants pulled up to his armpits, and a determined set to his skinny
jaw, stepped in front of her before she could enter through the double doors.

“Oh, that.” Izzy made a
show of digging through her saddlebag of a purse, not exactly in keeping with
her little black sheath, but it served its purpose. “I know it’s in here
somewhere.”

The security guard wasn’t
the least bit impressed. He tapped his toe on the floor and took a ready stance
as if he expected her to run any moment. Just what she needed, a SWAT team
wannabe. She batted her eyes at him and continued to dig in her purse.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s
here somewhere.”

“Ma’am, you’ll need to
leave the boat until you can find it.”

She laughed and rubbed one
perfectly manicured finger across his name tag. “Now, Carl, you just hold on
one teensy bit. We’ll get this straightened out.” Izzy slipped into her fake
Southern drawl; it brought most men to their knees.

Not Carl. In fact, not one
hair quivered on his mustache. “My orders are strict. No one, not even the
governor, gets in without an invite.” He wrapped scrawny fingers around her arm
and pulled her none too gently from the doorway. He might look like a wimp but
the guy was surprisingly strong.

No matter. She’d switch to
Plan B.

“My boyfriend will be here
any moment. He must have the tickets.”

As if on cue, her target
for the night walked up the ramp and onto the boat.
Cooper Black
. The
captain of the newly christened Seattle Sockeyes, and the most outspoken man on
the team especially when it came to the team’s move and current situation,
which he hated—the very man Izzy needed to tame tonight for this situation to
turn around.

Judging by the stubborn
set of his jaw and those steely blue eyes, this wasn’t going to be easy.

* * * *

Cooper stalked onto the
boat hefting a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder.

No way in fucking hell
would he cooperate at this fucking party. Not after what the new ownership had
done to his team, his coaches, and the staff. It was bad enough they’d forced
him to attend, and no one forced him to do anything. Attend was one thing, play
nice was another. They’d find that out soon enough.

Oh, yeah, he was in a
mood. Not even his buddy Cedric could joke him out of it.

A line of people formed at
the head of the dock, waiting impatiently to board the boat. A gorgeous
brunette with legs longer than his hockey stick appeared to be holding up the
line. She kept digging in her purse and pleading with the rent-a-cop who
guarded the door with zealous intent. The guard didn’t look the least bit
sympathetic or amused. Instead he politely yet firmly pushed her out of the way
and began checking the invitations of the couple behind her.

She frowned and did a
quick survey of the area. Her big brown eyes landed on Cooper, and she headed
straight for him. Confidence oozed out of her, and he immediately pegged her as
a spoiled rich twenty-something who thought the world revolved around her. He’d
met plenty just like her in his thirty-two years.

She walked closer with the
security guard dogging her heels and turned the full-wattage of her gorgeous
smile on Cooper, as if she’d been expecting him. He’d never seen the woman in
his life.

Disinterested in whatever
game she might be playing, Cooper gazed over the heads of the people in front
of him, getting the lay of the land in the ballroom beyond. He caught sight of
the suits across the room, minority owners of the team, hanging out with the
big guys. Next to them stood the majority owner of the Sockeyes, Ethan Parker,
the thieving bastard, and the team’s director of personnel turned traitor,
Ethan’s beautiful fiancée, Lauren Schneider. Cooper frowned even harder. They were
the enemy.

Cedric elbowed him then
focused his blond, European charm on the woman striding toward them. Good, she
could latch on to Ced, and Cooper could get back to his grudge match with the
team’s new owner.

Only the gorgeous pair of
legs glided past Cedric with the grace of an Olympic figure skater, and the
woman looped her arm through Cooper’s, catching him off guard. Ced’s grin
turned to confusion and his eyes narrowed. He always got the women over Cooper.
Always.

“There you are, you bad
boy. Shame on you for being late. You know I hate waiting.” She tapped his
chest and smiled into his eyes. She was tall, but he was taller, and he wasn’t
buying any of what she was selling. Not tonight. Not ever.

Cooper frowned and
narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like being touched unless it was his idea. “I
don’t know you.”

“You’re such a joker,
isn’t he, Cedric?” She looked to Cedric for confirmation.

Cooper’s best buddy opened
his mouth to back him up, only no words were spoken. Instead, his confusion
turned to an evil grin, revenge lighting up his pale blue eyes. “Seriously,
Coop, You know how your princess gets when you play jokes on her.”