Page 11 of Stick Side
“You really are an angel.”
Melody’s eyes grew wide. Maybe hehadbeen using James Blunt’s lyrics to speak to her.
“Logan!” Someone, likely Alexei, shouted from the living room. “We need you to settle something!” Yes, definitely Alexei.
Ben brought his eyes back to hers. How was it he could make her feel like the only person in the world when they both knew others were waiting on his response? “Do you still need help?” His mesmerizing green-brown eyes probed hers.
“No,” she breathed out. Her eyes flicked in the direction of the living room. “I’ve got this. You go ahead.”
“I’ll be right there!” Ben shouted back to the guys without disengaging his eyes from hers.
He raised his hand and gently tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “Thanks for letting me help.”
“Thankyoufor helping.”
With a soft smile filled with attractive self-assurance, Ben exited the room to rejoin his teammates.
Melody released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The moments in the kitchen had felt so charged she wasn’t sure whether she should be thankful for Alexei’s interruption or not. Either way, one thing was for certain: Something was happening between her and Benjamin Logan. And it was just getting started.
Chapter 5
Ben
Benstrodeintotheliving room with a smile on his face. His pants were feeling a little more snug in certain areas than they had when he’d first walked into the kitchen, but there was a great deal more room for his lungs to expand within the confines of his chest. He might have just met Melody scant hours ago, but he was relieved she wasn’t romantically involved with his teammate.
It was probably a good thing he and Melody had been interrupted. As much as he’d been enjoying his alone time with her, he’d felt far too tempted to dip his head toward hers and sample her generous lips.
If he was reading her signals correctly, Melody was as attracted to him as he was to her. But that didn’t mean she would welcome a physical advance so early into their acquaintance. Sexual chemistry was one thing—and theirs seemed to sizzle—but anything more meaningful needed to be nurtured. And, unless Ben had missed his read on her, Melody was the type of woman who needed her romantic involvements to be treated with care. She wasn’t a casual one-and-done kind of girl. What’smore, if he was going to press his lips to hers for the first time and discover whether her lips were as full and soft as they looked, it would be nice not to have an audience waiting for them just around the corner.
Yes, it was a very good thing the guys had interrupted them. With that thought in mind, Ben focused his attention more keenly on the subject at hand.
“So, what is it you guys need me to settle?” Ben asked as he stepped into the living room. He hoped his voice didn’t reveal any of the lust he was still working to subdue.
“Cassidy and I are having a serious debate,” Volkov answered.
“What do you think . . .” Cassidy followed with an equal degree of seriousness “. . . is the bestStar Warstrilogy?”
Ben felt his eyebrows lift of their own accord. Given the somber expressions on their faces, he’d assumed the subject matter might be more grave than pop culture.
“This numbnuts thinks—” Cassidy continued.
“No!” Volkov interjected. “You cannot influence him!”
“Fine,” Cassidy relented. “So that you aren’t influenced by the insights of the wiser among us,” Cassidy said with a smile when Volkov snickered, “even though the answer is obvious, whichStar Warstrilogy do you think is the best?”
Not wanting to offend either of his surprisingly opinionated teammates, Ben took a moment to think about it. “Well,” he said with more caution than he ever thought this subject might merit, “episodes four, five, and six get big points for introducing us to theStar Warsuniverse.”
Cassidy’s smile was triumphant.Well, there’s one opinion discovered.
“But,” Ben continued before Cassidy started to gloat too hard, “I think there’s something really interesting about the backstory that we got to discover in episodes one, two, and three.”
Here, Volkov preened.Another opinion unearthed.
Ben hoped neither Cassidy nor Volkov liked to gamble because their poker faces were negligible.
“Still,” Ben mused, “I appreciate the resolution we saw take place in episodes seven, eight, and nine.”
Both men scowled at this. Ben fought to suppress a smile. No, there was definitely no professional poker career ahead for either of these two once they left the NHL.
