“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.”