Page 1 of Stick Play

1

Gina

NHL Summer Break:

* * *

I stare at the big man crouched on the floor before me. A man the puck bunnies called Ash-hole—a playful combination of his name, Ash, and alpha-hole. His fellow hockey players, however, call him Mountain because of his size and the fact that he comes from Colorado. But as I stare at him, only one word comes to mind.

“Hot.”

“What?” He lifts his head, and the second his astute, almost translucent blue eyes meet mine, I realize my mistake.

Oh God, did I say that out loud?

Acting quickly to cover my blunder, I wave my hand in front of my face. “It’s so hot in here.” Fortunately, it’s not just my commercial fridge that’s on the fritz today. My air conditioning decided to go on hiatus during Boston’s worst heat wave as well, forcing me to close the café for the day and call in help. Really, it was my friends Dani and Conner who called their friend Ash Wheeler in to help, and can I really consider a broken air conditioner fortunate? Then again, when it helps cover the fact that I’d been staring at and drooling at the world’s hottest hockey player, I guess I can.

Truthfully though, I really need to stop blurting things out—which I only ever seem to do around Ash—and I also really need to stop staring at the hot hunk of man on his knees before me, his mouth right freaking there. If I moved my hips just an inch…

Cut it out, girl!

He turns his attention back to the fridge, and once he gets it working again, I’m sure I’m going to have to climb inside to cool myself down. “I can look at your air conditioning for you too, if you’d like.”

The deep tenor of his voice trickles down the length of my body, strumming certain parts like a fine-tuned instrument. “I don’t want to ask too much of you.”

If I did want to ask too much of him, I wouldn’t waste his talents on my air conditioner. No, I’d ask him to take off his shirt, so I could admire his upper torso as he works. Eventually, probably, definitely most likely, I’d also ask him to take off the rest of his clothes too, so I can climb over his body and…tell him what tool you need.

My lord, what is happening to me?

Actually, I think I know. After Ash arrived with his toolbox, my friends Dani and Conner packed up my daughter Zoe for a fun sleepover at their place, but just before they left, Dani whispered those very playful and naughty words in my ear.

Tell him what tool you need.

Gawd.

“Gina?”

“Yeah.”

“Screw.” He holds his hand out and I stare at it for a moment. I suck in a breath as my mind goes in a direction I really shouldn’t allow it to go, regardless of how much my body likes the visuals involved.

“I need to put the panel back in place,” he explains, his words breaking the strange spell he seems to have over me.

“Screw. Right.” I hold my hand out to present the screw in my palm. Judging by the indentation in my flesh, I must have been squeezing it hard.

Don’t think about hard.

Dammit, I’m thinking about hard…

“Are you okay?” Intense blue eyes narrow in on me. “You seem out of sorts.”

I wave my hand again. “The heat is really getting to me.”

“Maybe you should go take a cold shower.”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

He picks up the screw from my palm and the rough pads of his fingers scrape over my soft flesh. I try not to react, I really do. The last thing I want is for this man to know what his presence, his touch does to my body.

---