Seduced by the Game (23 page)

Now that turned him on,
and he’d lowered his guard twice, forgotten his mission, betrayed his former
coach and fans, and the charity he’d left behind. Hell, the whole Gainesville
community was mourning the loss of the Giants.

Izzy was a dangerous
woman. He’d never felt such instant physical chemistry. Never wanted to fuck a
woman as badly as he did her. If Lauren hadn’t pounded on that bathroom door,
who knows what they’d be doing about now.

He’d be fooling himself if
he thought she was done trying to manipulate him into doing her bidding.

Izzy walked toward him,
determination etched on her beautiful face. She wanted that dance. And if he
danced with her, his teammates would follow. Parker would win, and he’d have
betrayed the very city and fans who’d been so loyal to him over the years. Yet,
in the words of his take-no-prisoners agent, loyalty has no place in
professional sports. This was a business, plain and simple. A guy goes where
the money is, or in his case, where the team happened to be moved.

“There you are, honey.”
Izzy slid up next to him, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him soundly.
Several of the guys hooted and whistled. Cooper stood completely still, arms at
his sides, refusing to touch her, even though his fingers itched to stroke that
creamy skin. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed and then some. She
pulled him to her like the planets were pulled to the sun, and his body
definitely wanted to be in her orbit even as his head warned against the idea.

Push her away now. End
this stupid charade.
Hell, he could report her to management as a party crasher, and
they’d lock her up somewhere for the remainder of the cruise.

Cooper stared into her
chocolate brown eyes, soulful eyes, eyes that’d seen a lot, and continued to
fight. He liked that. He liked her, and he hated himself for liking her because
when he liked a woman, he wanted to please her. That was the way he rolled.

And he knew what this
woman wanted.

A piece of him. Not just
his body but something infinitely more dangerous. And he didn’t give that away,
not anymore.

Pulling away from her, he
headed outside for some air to the deck that circled the entire boat. It was a
chilly night, but the earlier misty rain had given way to stars. An almost full
moon cast a ray of light across the calm water. It was a beautiful night, and
he steeled himself against that beauty.

He heard Izzy’s heels
clicking on the deck behind him, and he walked faster, hoping she’d give up. 

“You owe me a dance,” she
called out to him. Her heels tapped louder until she grabbed his arm and spun
him around.

“I don’t owe you anything.
I believe I paid you quite nicely already. Seems you owe me something.” He
stared down at her, vacillating between running like hell and kissing her ruby
red lips until they both collapsed to the deck in a tangle of writhing bodies.

“Dance with me.” Her chin
jutted out stubbornly, and he had to chuckle. She was a fiery female, and he
loved women with spunk because that enthusiasm carried over nicely into bed.

“What do you care? You’re
a party crasher.”

She didn’t respond,
instead she leaned against the railing, shivering and hugging herself. Cooper
couldn’t staunch the wave of sympathy that rolled through him. He put an arm
around her waist, pulling her close, as he, too, stared out at the water.

“So how long have you and
your sisters been doing this?” He tried to sound casual, but her hip rubbing
against his caused his voice to drop to a husky rasp.

“Crashing parties?”

“Yeah.”

She sighed, as if the wind
had gone out of her sails. “Since we were kids and our parents would be gone
for weeks at a time, leaving us to fend for ourselves after the meager amount
of money they gave us ran out.”

He frowned, feeling
indignant for her and protective at the same time. “What the hell? Why weren’t
they reported?”

“We lived in a private
neighborhood, and we did everything we could to keep from being broken apart
into separate foster homes. Our parents aren’t bad people, but they should’ve
left the condoms on and not had kids.”

“Why did they leave you
guys alone? Where did they go?” He really wanted to know. The answer was
important to him for some unfathomable reason.

She tilted her head and
looked up at him, as if assessing his worthiness to hear the next bit of
information. “Ever heard of To the Max?”

“The rock group?”

“That’s the one. Rock and
Fawn Maxwell are our parents. They’ve spent their entire lives either chasing
the dream or trying to recover it.” Something flickered briefly in her eyes,
pain, sadness, vulnerability. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and promise
he’d always keep her safe and secure. Only he didn’t because he couldn’t care,
shouldn’t care. Yet a part of him did.

Izzy stared out at the
water, her beautiful face an expressionless mask, but Cooper had glimpsed the
truth behind the mask.

“They never recovered
their dream?” he asked.

“No, and they still
haven’t stopped trying, but at least we’re not under their roof anymore.”

“I’m sorry. That must have
been tough.”

“It was. Especially when
the house got foreclosed on, and we lived in a fifth wheel on their friend’s
five acres. But as our parents’ children, we could sing, dance, and entertain
like no one’s business.”

“So you took those talents
to parties?”

“Yes. One night when I was
sixteen, we were out and about, looking for a way to score some food, maybe a
generous stranger or a shopkeeper who’d hire us for a few hours under the
table. We stumbled upon an old house used for weddings and such. There was huge
reception going on, and the caterers were bringing in tray after tray of food.
We were starving, and the food smelled so good. We looked at each other and
decided to give it a shot. Weddings are great because usually one side doesn’t
know the other side’s guests and family. And we were relatively well-dressed in
Mom’s vintage designer clothes.”

“So you crashed the
party.”

“We didn’t just crash it,
we made it. It was the dullest party ever, and we walked in and got the party
started. Both the bride and groom thanked us profusely, even though I don’t
think they ever figured out who the hell we were. We snuck out with tons of
leftovers and ate off them for a week.”

“And so your career
started?”

She frowned for a moment.
“You could say that.”

“Why did you pick this
party to crash?”

“Hot hockey players and a
cruise on Elliott Bay. What party crasher could turn away from that?”

He smiled. “Your secret is
safe with me.”

“I appreciate it.”

Something seemed a little
off with her, as if she weren’t telling him the entire story, but he couldn’t
imagine what else there’d be to tell. She’d been open with him, so why hide
anything? Yet, something didn’t add up.

“So how about you? Why are
you being such a douche about this party? You seem like a nice guy.” She leaned
her head on his shoulder, and he pulled her closer to his side.

“I am a nice guy, but I
don’t want to be here. I want to be cut or traded, and I’ll take my chances
elsewhere.”

“Seattle isn’t such a bad
place. I’ve lived here all my life.”

“You’re used to the
incessant gloom.”

“You’ll be playing hockey
indoors during the gloomiest months, so what difference does it make?”

He stared into her eyes,
and forgot for a moment what difference it did make. “I, uh.” He shook his head
in an attempt to ward off this weird spell she’d put on him. “I’d been with the
team my entire career, loved the city, the weather, the fans, my coaches.”

“The fans here are great.
Just wait and see. Seattle is going to be an incredible hockey town.” Her eyes
lit up and the corners of her sexy mouth tipped up into an engaging smile. She
almost made him want to believe her.

“Are you a hockey fan?”

“I will be. That’s how
most Seattleites feel now that we have a team.”

He nodded, absorbing her
words, and even toying in his mind with the excitement of starting something
new and different in Seattle. But those were traitorous thoughts.

“You’re hurting yourself
and your teammates more than anyone else. You know that, don’t you?” She
glanced over her shoulder at the party going on inside, or at least attempting
to go on.

“I’m proving a point.”

“For what purpose? This
team isn’t moving back to Florida. This is Sockeye country now. Why don’t you
embrace it? Help us build something to be proud of, instead of tearing it down
and undermining it. You’re a leader. Lead. Make the best of this situation.
Your teammates need you to be that guy. To shuck off your grudges and move
forward.”

“I’m not holding grudges.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve
been reading a thing or two about this team. Mr. Parker fired your beloved
coach and his staff, only brought a few existing employees with him, including
his now fiancée, and he changed the team’s entire identity.”

“There was no reason to
fire our coach.”

“I don’t know Parker. I
don’t know his rationale. I did read he wanted a fresh start, and the old
coaching staff wasn’t going in the direction he wanted to go.”

“We were one goal away
from playing in the Finals. Parker doesn’t know a damn thing about hockey.”

“He’ll learn. He’s got the
money, the time, and the ambition. The team’s old owners were idiots. They bled
the team dry and wasted the money on gambling in Vegas. You know that.”

Cooper nodded. She’d done
her research, and he couldn’t deny the truth. He’d hated the old team’s ownership.
They’d been slimy assholes who’d used the team as their own private bank
account until they’d raided the coffers to the point that the team had fallen
deeply in debt.

“Mr. Parker is the richest
owner in the league. He’s committed to bringing a championship to Seattle and
putting the best team possible on the ice.”

Cooper couldn’t mount a
single, viable argument. The words escaped him.

“Have you ever won a the
Cup?”

“Uh, no.” Cooper hated
admitting it, but he’d never even played in the finals.

“Isn’t it a hockey
player’s dream to skate for a team committed to bringing one home?”

Cooper shrugged, starting
to feel like a stubborn, misguided idiot.

“Did you know that the
Seattle Metropolitans were the first US team to ever win the Cup?”

“Uh, yeah, I heard that
somewhere.”

“Give Seattle a chance,
Cooper. Quit shooting yourself and your team in the foot.”

“It’s a pretty big foot;
makes an easy target.” He grinned his lopsided grin, the one guaranteed to make
any woman forget her name but definitely not his.

Only her lecture wasn’t
over.

“You need to get over it.
You aren't going back to Florida. Build your career here or get traded or cut.
Is that what you really want?” She fingered the collar of his dress shirt and
tugged on his tie to pull his face closer to hers. “I don’t want to see you
go.”

“You don’t?” He stared at
her lips only a few inches away, wanting to kiss her, yet holding back.

“No, I don’t.” She planted
a wet kiss on his lips and drew back before he could recover. “Dance with me.”

“Why is it so important to
you?” His voice was raspy, husky with lust.

“Because it’s important to
you to move on and embrace your new home.”

How could a man say no to
a woman who put him first, a woman with beautiful eyes and a delectable body?

He nodded. He couldn’t
help himself. She’d decimated his resolve, not to mention his stubborn
vengeance. He hoped his guys forgave him, but she was right. Nothing he did
would move this team back to Florida, a team poised on the brink of success, a
team he’d watch grow over the past ten years. It might not be the same
location, but it was the same guys.

He was their captain. They
trusted him to lead them in the right direction, and he hadn’t lately, but
tonight would be a start.

* * * *

Izzy couldn’t believe
she’d worn him down that easily. A man like Cooper Black didn’t give up his
convictions without a fight unless he believed those convictions hadn’t been
correct in the first place. When she’d told him dancing was important for him,
not her, she’d meant it. To hell with the money dangling on the line for Party
Crashers, she wanted Cooper to embrace this city and give his team a fighting
chance. For that, she’d do just about anything, and for Cooper, she’d skate
into the great unknown or dance in the stars.

Holding her hand, Cooper
led her inside to the dance floor. She winked at her sisters over his shoulder
as he pulled her body to his. The club music pulsed around them in a sexy,
sultry beat, while lights flashed with dizzying speed.