Page 10 of Here Be Dragons
"Can I come in?"
His voice was low and dark, and she couldn't help but give him a small nod and get out of his way. He pushed himself off the wall and walked past her into her room, giving her a nice view of his ass as she closed the door. Yep, those pants were definitely tailored and she quietly thanked whoever was his tailor for the fine work they had done.
It was quiet as he stared out her hotel room windows. Too quiet. It was the quiet that usually came right before someone got a stern lecture and she was pretty sure that was about to happen to her.
"So," she asked. "What's up?"
"You lied to me."
"Excuse me?"
Shane turned quickly, a few droplets of water flying off some stray curls in his hair.
"You lied to me," he growled.
"I never lied to you," she replied.
His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. "Are you kidding me? You didn't tell me that you were the enemy."
"That's not lying. I just didn't tell you every little detail," she said. "And by the way, I'm not the enemy."
"Really?" he asked incredulously. "You work for the Detroit Pirates, who are our biggest rivals, and you're a lawyer for the team owners, who aren't on our side either."
Ava squared her shoulders and put her hands forcefully on her hips. "I want to get this season started just as much as you do, which doesn't make me an enemy."
"You--" He balled his fists up and took a deep breath to calm himself. "You are so infuriating."
"You didn't seem to think that last night."
He stared at her, really stared at her, and she worried that she may have pushed him too far. But dammit, this was a stupid conversation. So what if he didn't know who she was? They had a good time and she left before he woke up. Isn't that the kind of night he wanted to have with her? Because it was the kind of night she wanted to have with him.
But Shane was still staring at her, looking as if his brain was working overtime to process what was going on. She could see the tension in his body as if he was trying to decide what to do with his limbs and how he was supposed to move in the space. There was a tension between them too that Ava couldn't really explain. It was a mix of frustration and passion and at that moment, she wasn't really sure which one she wanted to win out. Passion would be great, of course, but if he was frustrated with her, he just needed to say so and get it out of his system so they could move on.
He took two determined steps forward, his hands reaching for her face, and pulled her into a white-hot kiss. There was definite passion there, and Ava could feel her entire body heating up. She was stunned for a moment but then could feel herself responding. She wrapped her hands around his hard biceps, pulling him closer as she pushed back against his lips, his wet hair tickling her forehead. He tasted like toothpaste as if he had brushed right before he came over to see her. She was very appreciative. He pulled back for just a moment, his lips hovering teasingly close to hers as if he was taking a breath before diving back for more.
Then Shane's hands quickly fell away from her as he stepped back out of her grasp. He blinked a few times as if he was trying to regain his balance like he started to realize what he had done. Ava couldn't blame him. She felt a little light-headed too, and not in a bad way.
"Are you close to getting a deal done?"
His voice was rough and gravely, and for a moment, she didn't really understand what he was asking.
"A deal?"
"A deal with the players to end the lockout."
Oh. They were talking about hockey again.
"Closer than before, but we have some issues to work on," she said quietly.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "The sooner the better," he said. "For both of us."
Then Shane pushed his way past her, his broad shoulder brushing hers. He paused as he got to the door, his hand lingering on the handle as if he was trying to decide whether he was going to leave or not. He turned back, giving Ava one more glance over his shoulder, a determination returning to his eyes. The corner of his mouth turned up in a seductive sneer, then he forcefully grabbed the door handle and walked out.
Ava stood there for several moments, staring at the door, wondering what the hell just happened. There were very few times when she had no idea what was going on, when she couldn't research or predict or plan the next move in a negotiation. This was one of those times, and she wasn't exactly sure how to navigate negotiations withsomeone like Shane Taylor.
Chapter Five
It took Jack a week, but he had finally dug up information that Ava could use. There was something going on with Jason Stewart, owner of the Bay City Bears, something that could potentially make his lawyer stall negotiations with the players union for several more months. Ava's brother didn't want that and neither did some of the other owners he had talked to behind the scenes. The pressure was on Ava now. It wasn't just Jack who was counting on her breaking through the jam with the owners' lawyers -- or at least one owner's lawyer in particular.
