Chapter 20

“You should give him the benefit of the doubt,” Tish instructed as she laid back on the pillow, looking up at Mya who was reaching over to mop her brow with a cool cloth with one hand and reaching for the ice chips with the other.

“It’s not that he had to say something. I mean, that’s total bullshit but I get the why of that. It’s what he said that’s pissing me off,” Mya explained as she watched Tish close her eyes as the contraction eased. They were coming closer together and Mya was beginning to wonder where Jordan had got to. Tish had called him from the car as Mya drove at break neck speeds through the city and he’d sworn he’d be right behind them. She was beginning to worry that he had gotten into an accident and might be lying dead in the morgue or something, but she wasn’t about to share her concerns with the woman who was lying, sweating, in the hospital bed.

“He might not have been given a choice of what to say,” Tish sighed, her expression softening as the cool water from the cloth trickled down her face.

“I didn’t see a gun pointed at the back of his head,” Mya muttered, glancing hopefully towards the door. If Jordan would just get here to take over, she could maybe get some space and clear her head. It was entirely possible that she was overreacting, but she wouldn’t know that until she had some space and time to digest what she’d seen.

After all, she still hadn’t returned any of Sidney’s calls and he had called twice more since they’d arrived at the hospital, but then the nurse had asked her, none too politely, to turn off her phone while the fetal monitor was on. Mya listened to the crazy mix of heartbeats. It was sort of a soothing noise, she thought, right up until Tish squeezed her hand so hard that she could feel the bones of her fingers rubbing together.

“Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck me!” Tish howled, doubling over, her eyes shut tight, her teeth clenched. Mya rubbed at one of the bare spots between the ties on Tish’s back and tried to think of soothing things to say. “Where in the fuck is my husband?” Tish growled, her eyes glazed over with pain.

“Do you want me to go out and try and call him again?” Mya offered, reaching for Tish’s phone, which was lying on the tray beside the bed, set on vibrate. Hospital rules be damned as far as Tish was concerned, at least until her wayward husband showed up.

“No, stay, please,” Tish panted, sagging back onto the mattress, her face beaded with sweat, her hand still gripping tightly to Mya’s. “I don’t want to be myself,” she added, sounding a lot less fierce than she had a moment ago. Mya nodded, smiling. Maybe it was a good idea to have a distraction and a little time to help her to cool off. It wasn’t that she wanted to break up with Sidney exactly. Although the thought had certainly crossed her mind about a second and a half after she’d heard him say that he couldn’t respect what she was currently doing to pay her bills. She was just so damn disappointed that he’d sold her down the river like that, especially when she’d thought she’d gotten through to him. She had begun to think that he actually understood and that he had developed some respect for how hard it was and how well she did it.

Men.

“See, I told you that we hadn’t missed anything.”

Both Mya and Tish looked up to see Jordan’s smiling face bobbing towards them, closely followed by his younger brother Marc, who was in town with his team. Mya felt her hand being crushed as Tish let out a high pitched scream.

“What is he doing here?”

“I was picking him up at the airport. He always stays with me when he’s in town. How ya doin’ babes?” he asked, nonchalantly as he bent to kiss his wife, which Mya thought, considering the state of her own hand, was possibly a suicidal move. Tish grabbed a handful of his wheaten hair and yanked, pulling his eyes level with hers and let out a feral growl that sent chills down Mya’s spine. Talk about mama bear....

“I have my legs up in stirrups. My pussy is hanging out for everyone to see. Do I look like I want company to you?” Jordan shook his head, as best he could considering the vice like grip that his wife had on his hair. Mya did her best not to laugh. She really did not want to be drawing attention to herself at this very moment in time.

“I’ll just...walk him out to the lounge?” Jordan made it a question, or maybe it was just the extra twist Tish gave his cow lick before she let him go. In any case, he slipped out of the room, his ginger haired brother laughing behind him. Mya watched them go, shaking her head.

Men.

“Did someone order some drugs?”

The doctor emerged from behind Jordan and his brother, syringe in hand and Mya felt Tish relax as soon as the small dark man smiled towards them.

“If she doesn’t want it, I’ll take it. I think I’m going to need it when I get feeling back in my hand,” Mya chuckled, raising her mangled hand for him to see as Tish pushed herself up to a sitting position.

“I’ll send you down to ortho, as soon as our lovely lady here gets her epidural. Do you want to wait for your husband to come back?” he asked Tish, moving around behind her to undo the stays on her hospital gown.

“Fuck no,” Tish grumbled, leaning as far forward as her very large, active tummy would allow.

“Maybe if you hold her hands, it will help her to keep still,” the OB suggested, giving Mya a wink as he held up the huge syringe. Mya eyed that instrument of torture with wide eyes and decided that not being near the site of that thing going in was a better idea.

She was just taking Mya’s hands, holding them tightly in her own while Mya took a deep breath when Jordan came back, took one look at the size of the needle going into his wife’s back, and promptly passed out.

_____________________________________________________________________

So it was back to this, Sidney thought as he stared down at his phone, which still had not rung, not even vibrated to let him know she was at least acknowledging his text messages. Glancing up at the apartment building across the street, he could see that there was still no light on and he couldn’t help but imagine her sitting there in the dark, the phone unplugged and her cell turned off. He wondered if she was angry, or crying? Either way, he needed to talk to her, needed to explain.

But he couldn’t quite work up the courage to actually go inside and knock on her door. Not after he’d seen the press conference for himself on Television and the way they’d edited it. He hadn’t been thinking about that when he’d been in front of all those microphones, all those cameras. He hadn’t thought about the way the networks edit things down to sound bites and the way that would make him sound.

Which was like an ignorant, insensitive pig, or at least he was sure that was the way that Mya was going to see it. When he’d said that he didn’t have a lot of respect for the job, he’d also followed that up with the fact that he had a great deal of respect for the women that do the job and that he knew how difficult it was and that the circumstances of many of the women who undertake that type of work was equally difficult. Of course that wasn’t the sexy 30 second sound bite the networks went with.

Sidney slammed his hands against the steering wheel. It was so unfair. No one understood what it was like to live in the fucking fish bowl that is his life, he thought irritably. He didn’t want to be bland and boring, automaton Crosby, always saying and doing the right things. He wanted to be a carefree fuck up like Max. Max had so much more fun, doing whatever and whoever he wanted, whenever and wherever he wanted to.

What he wouldn’t give for that kind of freedom, Sidney thought, leaning his forehead against the wheel and cursing under his breath. The problem was, every time he did anything outside of the box it came back to bite him in the ass, big time.

She’d warned him that he shouldn’t get involved with someone like her, he thought with a sigh. Maybe he should have listened to her. It was much too late for that though, he knew unreservedly. He was in too deep. He was too invested. He was in love with the girl, for good or for ill.

And he couldn’t...no he wouldn’t give up on it. He was even more determined not to just give in to Troy or his Mario or anyone else that might stand in the way of his being with Mya. Not even Mya, he thought sardonically. Even if she decided that she didn’t want him, he wanted her and he was single-minded when it came to getting things he set his mind to.

He looked up again at her dark apartment and made up his mind to go up there and make her listen, right when a dark sports car pulled up in front of the building. A car he recognized.

Tanger’s car and Mya was getting out of it.

Sidney felt his blood pressure peak, his teeth grinding together as he watched her bend down to say something to the lone occupant. He couldn’t read her lips from across the road, especially in the dark, but he could clearly see that she was smiling and it made him sick to his stomach.

It had only been a few hours, he thought grimly, squeezing the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles went white. Could she really have gone back to him already, he asked himself as he watched her standing there, chatting animatedly with his teammate.

There was only one way to find out.

__________________________________________________________________

“I’m definitely seeing daddy’s eyes,” Mya said, grinning down at the tiny, squirming and yawning, bundle of joy she was holding in her arms.

“Yep, they definitely have Staalsy’s blue eyes,” Kris said, meeting Mya’s gaze across the bed where he was holding the other twin, Miranda, in his arms. “Luckily they don’t have that crazy chin of yours Jordy,” the young Frenchman added with a wink towards Mya, who laughed and shook her head.

“But do they have his hard head?” Tish asked affectionately, without looking up from the top of her husband’s head. She was busy counting the stitches the doctor’s had put there from when he’d passed out cold at the sight of the Epidural.

“Well not yet,” Mya replied, running her hand lightly over the strawberry blonde fuzz on the top Micah’s head, “but he smells better than his dad, I know that.”

“I agree,” Tish laughed, wrinkling up her nose at the antiseptic smell of the area around his stitches that seemed to be mixing with that bleach and ammonia smell that pervades hospitals in general. “Hand that little boy to me, My, I need to stick my nose in his hair.” Mya took one long last deep baby filled breath in and then reluctantly and gingerly placed the blue wrapped bundle back in his mother’s arms.

“If his head was a little harder he wouldn’t be looking at a week in the press box,” Kris grumbled, handing his own pink swathed bundle into Jordan’s outstretched arms.

“Well someone has to help me change diapers,” Tish chuckled, cooing at her little boy before turning an inquiring eye towards Mya.

“Don’t look at me like that. I am not coming over to do your midnight feeds,” she laughed, leaning over to press her lips to the new mother’s forehead. “Speaking of which, I am dead on my feet and this,” she held up her bruised and battered hand, “needs to go on ice. I’ll come see how you’re doing in the morning.”

“I can give you a ride home,” Kris offered, Mya thought a little too promptly.

“I just live like...literally down the street. I can walk, thanks,” she replied quietly, turning to head for the door. It had already been just a little too weird having Kris show up, alone, without any of his other teammates around not long after Tish had managed to squeeze Miranda out. It seemed a little too obvious. On the other hand, Mya did feel like he had an apology that was long overdue, and an explanation coming that she did owe him. She just didn’t feel like making it tonight.

“It’s cold and rainy. I don’t mind,” Kris said, falling into step with her. Mya shrugged and sort of nodded, half heartedly, before turning to give the new family unit a wave. Not that they noticed, and not that she blamed them. For only being a couple of hours old, those were two cute kids. “Besides, I have an admission to make,” Kris added as they strolled down the hall, past other expectant fathers pacing the halls on their cell phones, still pregnant women hanging off of the shoulders of loved ones, hoping to bring on imminent labour by walking.

“Well I’ll warn you, I don’t have any nun or priest costumes,” Mya giggled nervously, “so I can’t promise I’ll keep it between you and me.”

“If you tell Sidney...well I’d probably tell him myself if he was here,” Kris replied as if he didn’t get the joke, which Mya very much doubted. That only meant he was very serious about whatever heavy shit he was about to lay on her.

“Look if it was your idea to bring Sidney to the bar then I forgive you,” Mya began as they turned the corner towards the front door and Kris walked a little faster to get ahead, so he could hold open the door, like the good old fashioned sort of gentleman he was. She could feel the little weight in her stomach that was what was left of her feelings for him, getting heavier.

“No, it wasn’t,” Kris smiled, a sort of half smile that didn’t go up to his soft brown eyes. “But close.” He indicated with a quick point where his car was in the parking lot, and, pulling her leather jacket up over her head, Mya dashed behind him to the car, bouncing in place as she waited for him to slide in and unlock the door.

“Just tell me one thing,” Kris said as he started the car and Mya gave herself a dog like shake to shed as much of the icy water from her skin as she could. “Were you sleeping with Sidney when we were...going out?” Mya took a deep breath and stared at the rain running in rivulets down the windshield.

“Once or twice,” she replied quietly, deciding that honesty was called for, considering what she’d done to him. Glancing sideways at him, she saw him grip the wheel hard before he sighed and nodded, as if that was the answer he was expecting, and then, steeling himself, threw the car in reverse.
______________________________________________________________________


“If you’re really that pissed at me, why don’t you just fuck him right here and make me watch?” Sidney snarled as he slammed the door on the Land Rover behind him and strode towards where the driver’s side door of Kris’s dark coloured European sports car. He gave Kris a dark look before facing Mya over the roof of the car. She was looking surprised to see him. Well of course she was. She’d just been caught red handed, elbow deep in the cookie jar.

“I’m pissed at you alright Crosby, but not that desperate,” she replied coolly, bouncing her house keys thoughtfully in her hand. As if she was maybe thinking about tossing them at his head. “I was just saying good night to Kris. He was nice enough to drive me home from the hospital, where I’ve been being a very good WAG all night, holding Trish’s hand while she had twins. I noticed you haven’t visited,” she replied, an edge in her voice that told him that he was deep, deep in the dog house. Running her hand across her face, to brush the rain out of her eyes, left behind a dark smudge where her eyeliner and mascara were beginning to run.

“Tish and Jordy had the twins?” Sidney asked, feeling the flutter of butterfly wings in his chest.

“Micah and Miranda...named for you girlfriend I suspect?” Mya replied, the icy tone in her voice deepening. The only thing Sidney could do was nod, struck mute by the idea of a little girl named for Randi.... “They’re all doing fine, if you care,” she added, sarcasm creeping into her voice. “Although truth be told, Jordan’s a little worse for wear.”

“Jordan?” Sidney had to think for a moment who that was, his thought were... elsewhere.

“Yeah, hit his head, the big pussy. Now, I’d love to stay and chat out here all night but,” Mya ran her hand through her hair which was now slicked to her skull and dripping down her face, “but I’ve had this sort of long, shitty day and I’d rather not die of pneumonia so, I think Kris has something to say to you and then if you want to come up and apologize for being such a complete fucking asshole, I’ll think about whether or not I want to let you in.”

Sidney watched her turn on her heel and head into the apartment. He watched her until her dark clad form had disappeared from view before he looked down into the driver’s window, which had then rolled slowly down.

“Get in.”

______________________________________________________________

Mya grabbed a towel and draped it over her head before shucking her clothes and tossing them in a heap in the corner. She’d have to do laundry first thing in the morning before her clothes started to mould and smell, but right now, all she could think about was getting into a hot shower and trying to forget about this day.
Not the part where Tish gave birth to the twins. That part had been amazing. Tish had cried, she’d cried, Jordan had been too stoned on whatever they’d given him for his headache to cry but he’d grinned like an idiot.

What she wanted to forget about was the part where she’d seen the man she was falling in love with say that he didn’t respect her. That part she could still feel, like a roofing nail digging into her chest. That part still bled. That part, she hadn’t decided what she was going to do about it, but she’d promised Tish, on her brand new babies heads, that she’d give Sidney the opportunity to explain himself.
The other part she wanted to forget was that Kris had been the one to film her at work and hand it over to the press.

She could understand it. After the initial shock wore off, she realized that he was still angry and had every right to be. What he’d done was childish and he knew it. He didn’t feel very good about it and he knew that once the rest of the team found out, he’d probably be on the first bus to the minors, but he’d admitted it and he’d apologized and Mya believed he was really, truly sorry.

She still sort of hoped that Sidney would punch him in the mouth though, she realized, as she stepped beneath the hot water and turned her face up into the spray. It wasn’t just childish, it was mean spirited. Understandable, she decided, but petty. She’d thought more of him than that.

She’d felt bad about fucking Sidney behind his back but she didn’t anymore.

“I’m sorry.” She’d heard the door to the bathroom open and shut and smiled to herself. So he should be. “You don’t...there was more to it than what was shown on TV and I did try and call you,” he continued, sounding as tired and over this day as she felt. “I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to even say anything about it but I wasn’t given a choice,” he added, and Mya could hear him slumping against the wall, could hear him sliding down to the floor. She imagined him dropping his head into his hands, his dark hair made even darker by the rain, plastered to his head like he’d just finished a game, his pale skin all the more pale for the strain and the worry her not getting in touch with him had probably caused.

Mya let the hot water run over her face, and smiled. It felt good. It felt good to be warm. It also felt good to have a man grovelling to her but after what Kris had done...she decided that a little mercy was probably in order.

“Get in here,” she said, closing her eyes and listening to the silence that was quickly followed the sound of scrambling feet, quickly followed by the sound shoes being kicked off and his jeans hitting the floor.

Chapter 19

“Would you like to watch it again?” Erik Heasley, one of the media and communications staff asked, using that ‘you’re about to get sent to your room young man’ voice that made Sidney shift uncomfortably in the high backed leather chair across the boardroom table from where Shero and Mario sat, staring at him with frank disbelief.

“I don’t need to see it. I was there,” Sidney replied quietly but firmly, turning to face Mario across the table, meeting the older man’s icy and disappointed gaze.

“I’d expect something like this from Jordan or Max but you...,” Mario shook his head and turned his attention back to the monitor where the distorted video was paused at the point where Mya had climbed from the stage onto his lap. Sidney’s pulse sped, just a little, as his gaze roamed over her curvaceous backside and up the long straight line of her spine. He hadn’t been happy to be there but there was no denying how amazing she looked.

“I’m a guy. Aa young guy. It’s a strip club. No one’s doing anything illegal. I’m not even drinking,” Sidney pointed out softly, tearing his attention away from the video and back to the two older men sitting opposite him in their power suits. Sure he’d had a couple but there was no evidence of that in the video and it seemed to ease at least Mr. Shero who nodded and smiled back at him.

“And maybe if it had been Max or Jordy, this wouldn’t have made TMZ or any of the other internet sites legal has had to contact today,” Mario added impatiently, his blue eyes clearly showing the disappointment he was feeling towards his young protégé. Suddenly the edge of the table became very interesting to Sidney as he began to pick at a worn spot in the wood. “You know better. You know that you’re held to a higher standard,” Mario continued, running the video back and starting it again. This time, when Sidney managed to look up at it, he tried not to just focus on Mya, on those boots that he’d made her bring home, but on the way other people would see it but still....

“I’m just sitting there. I think it’s pretty obvious that it wasn’t my idea,” Sidney pointed out, still trying to steer the topic well away from who was in the video. He’d known as soon as Mario had called him out of practice and up to his office that he’d have to tell him, eventually. He just really didn’t want to get into it in front of half the communications staff.

“That isn’t the point Sid and I think you know that,” Mario sighed, shutting the video off at long last, for which Sidney was grateful. Seeing Mya like that made it really difficult to concentrate.

“It’s the image that we and your parents and the league have been very careful to cultivate and protect,” Erik said, taking a seat at the head of the table, tapping his pen against a copy of the letter that was sitting in front of Sidney, awaiting his signature. The one he was refusing to sign. “Your image is squeaky clean, and for the sake of your sponsors and the franchise, we’d like to keep it that way. This is one little bump, and believe me, it’s not entirely unexpected. As you say, you’re a young man and while I think we all recognize that generally speaking you definitely make our lives easy around here, we also all knew that this type of thing would come up eventually.”

“And it’s not just your sponsors. It’s those kids that look up to you, that idolize you. Don’t you think you owe their mothers an explanation? After all, they’re the ones that are going to decide if their little Johnny is going to wear your jersey or not,” Mario added bluntly, staring daggers at Sidney who was now back to squirming in his chair.

They were both making valid points, fair points, points that he couldn’t argue with. That didn’t mean that he didn’t want to argue with them, or that he agreed, and it certainly didn’t mean he was going to sign the letter they’d drafted for him to sign.

“There must be some other way you can say this that doesn’t make it sound quite so...condescending,” Sidney replied, pushing the letter away once more and looking over at Erik optimistically.

“Are you planning on going back there sometime soon or something?” Mario snapped, pushing his chair back so that he could go back to pacing, which is what he’d been doing when Sidney had finished his shower and arrived in his office. Generally speaking it wasn’t always a bad thing when he was called to Mario’s office. Often it was only to meet with some sponsor or a charity. It wasn’t that Mario had never brought him into his office to have a heart to heart but there had never been anything like this, at least not since he’d used Brett McLean’s face for a speed bag or that unfortunate incident with Valabik. Maybe the fact that he rarely had to face an unhappy Mario was what made this even more difficult.

“I’m just not happy saying that,” Sidney reiterated as he turned the letter towards Erik and pushed the paper further away from him. “That’s a job to those women. I’m not going to criticize them that way.” The letter said that he didn’t condone either the men who went to those types of establishments or the women that work in them. As soon as he’d read it, he could hear the argument he’d end up having with Mya, if she didn’t just refuse to ever speak with him again instead. Not that he’d blame her, which is why he wasn’t going to sign the letter the way it was written. “And who else is signing this, because I wasn’t the only one there.”

“You’re the only one we’re worried about here,” Shero said, finally speaking up. Sidney turned his attention to the GM and was relieved to see that he, at least, didn’t look like he was enjoying castigating that Sidney was taking. “I think Max can live without his car commercial...if they even care. I know you might not think this is fair, but I think you have to agree that it’s necessary.”

Sid didn’t, in fact, agree that it was necessary. He was actually willing to bet that just about every other professional male athlete had probably been to the rippers more than once without having to give a formal apology. In fact, the entire Steelers team had celebrated their Super Bowl win at Blush and he’d been invited. Plenty of his teammates had been there. He’d heard all about it and no one had said anything then. Of course he hadn’t seen any video of that particular celebration, although he’d heard it had gotten pretty out of hand.

Damn camera phones.

“I’m just not comfortable with that wording,” Sidney repeated, turning his attention back to Erik. “There has to be some other way to say this. I mean, can’t we just leave the part out about the dancers? Can’t I just say that I didn’t use very good judgement in my choice of establishments and that I’m sorry if I offended anyone?”
“If we thought we could get away with that, we would have just put that,” Mario grumbled, leaning over the table to turn the letter around and push it towards Sidney. “Just sign it.”

Sidney stared down at the document, the stark black and white letters swimming before his eyes. His chest felt tight. He felt hot. He could feel sweat trickling down the back of his neck. He hated to disappoint anyone, least of all Mario. The only way this could be worse was if Troy, his father, were here. Of course it was only a matter of time before Troy did get involved, Sidney knew, especially if he continued to refuse to sign the letter. It was probably only because Mario hadn’t expected such resistance that his father wasn’t standing across the table from him now with a face like thunder.

He felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest, like the fluttering wings of a frightened bird. He felt cornered and he hated it. It wasn’t fair. He hadn’t done anything wrong and he hadn’t even wanted to be there and most of all, he didn’t want to upset Mya.

“Sign it Sidney,” Mario growled, holding a pen out towards him like a knife, his blue eyes flashing like bolts of lightning.

Maybe he could call Mya and explain before the media got a hold of it.

“The reporters are getting restless,” a voice piped up behind him and Sidney turned, wide eyed to see the apologetic but still perky face of Jennifer, the media relations officer.

“Reporters?” he squeaked, his throat closing, his mouth going dry.

“You didn’t think it would just take a little letter did you?” Mario sighed, slumping into a chair and dropping his head into his hands, rubbing at his temples as he stared across the table. “Now sign it and go out there and read it and hope that they don’t ask too many questions.”

___________________________________________________________________

“Go where?” Mya turned to go back into her apartment, followed by the still very, very pregnant wife of Sidney’s teammate.

“Shopping. These two are going to shoot out of me any minute now and I still have things I need,” Tish said, making her way to the couch and lowering herself gently onto it. “I know, I know. You’d think, with Jordan’s cash this wouldn’t be hard. Get on the internet, order some shit, but there are still things you have to go get. I mean, for instance, bottles you can get but bottle liners? No, you can’t just order those, or at least nowhere I’ve found. And then I can’t decide between cloth and pampers. I mean, pampers if I’m changing them obviously,” Tish moaned, holding up her perfect French tips by way of explanation, “but I just know that Linda’s going to get here and she’s going to look down her nose at me for using them.”

Mya couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the down to earth defenseman’s parents being anything but completely sweet and helpful. If anyone was going to create a scene, it would likely be the obviously opinionated Tish, but she kept that thought to herself.

“Are you going to be okay to shop?” she called as she went into her small bedroom and tugged off her sweat pants.

“I’m comfortable sitting right now,” Tish called back, “but I won’t be for long. I can’t seem to get comfortable anymore, so I might as well spend money.” Mya grinned and shook her head. Tish obviously wasn’t one to mince words.

“You could just give me a list. I could go for you,” she offered, pulling on a pair of well worn jeans before diving into her closet to look for something half assed fashionable to wear on top. Tish might be eight and a half months pregnant but she looked like she could be walking on a catwalk in Paris, right down to her cute little kitten heels, which Mya was sure she probably wasn’t happy about. Of the few times she’d met Tish, she couldn’t remember ever seeing her in any heel below three inches.

“What fun would that be?” Tish called back. “Besides, once these skwaking pooping machines arrive, I probably won’t be allowed out of the house for a while. This might be my last chance to do anything fun.” That was a thought Mya couldn’t agree with. The pitter patter of little feet was something she looked forward to, even if it wasn’t something she was planning on now. She didn’t know too much about Jordan, but what she’d seen of him, she thought he’d be a great dad. Sidney would be, she thought to herself with a secretive sort of smile. Not that she should be thinking anything like that, she told herself. Although it was hard not too, and, she supposed, that was all part of the raw newness of the relationship, if that’s even what it was.

Deciding that she just couldn’t keep up with the fashionista in her living room, Mya settled on a black t-shirt she’d gotten at a Rasmus concert and headed out to the living room, dragging her leather jacket behind her. She tried to ignore Tish’s raised eyebrow and thankfully the mother-to-be kept her thoughts on Mya’s fashion sense to herself.

“Ready to go, mom?” Mya asked, taking Tish’s keys from her as she held her other hand out to pull the heavily pregnant woman to her feet.

“I’m always ready to spend my hubby’s money.”

_________________________________________________________________________

“I’m sorry buddy,” Max apologized, sliding his arm around Sidney’s shoulders as they slunk out of the arena. Sidney shrugged his friend’s arm off his shoulder but didn’t tell him to stick his apology where the sun doesn’t shine, although he did think about doing just that.

“We’re all sorry,” Jordan added, appearing from nowhere, along with Dupuis, Flower, and a few of the other guys who had been there the night before.

“Yeah, I wish I knew who’d taken that video. I’d have fucking fed him his phone, anally,” Talbot added, with a grin. Sidney wished he could make light of what had happened, but he was still reeling from Mario’s disappointment and having to make a public apology. It was embarrassing, humiliating and completely unfair. All of the men that were now standing around him had been there, had been whooping it up and having a good old time. He hadn’t even wanted to be there. He’d begged them not to go and somehow he was the only one that had ended up paying for their boy’s night out.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s over now,” Sid said quietly, shrugging as he looked up at Jordan, wondering if any of them could even come close to understanding what he’d just been through. Yes, he understood that people expected more from him, but it seemed unreasonable that he should be singled out when he was really the least guilty of them all. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow morning,” he added, digging his keys out of his pocket and moving towards the car park, wanting very much to just be alone.

“We all are really sorry,” Fleur whispered, falling into step beside Sidney as the guys started to disperse. Sidney just shrugged again. What more could he say. Maybe they were sorry, but he hadn’t seen any of them stepping up to the microphones to back him up in front of the cameras. “If it makes you feel better, Vero was vraiment pissé au loin. She hates when I go there.”

“So why do you?” Sidney asked, turning to his friend who took a step back and held his hands up defensively. “Why do you go there? You have a beautiful girlfriend, why do you go there to look at other women? I don’t get it. Explain it to me. Because, if you recall, I didn’t even want to be there and I sure as hell didn’t want to see Mya do that. I don’t want her doing that...in front of anyone, never mind you guys. So tell me, ‘cuz I’m fucking curious. Why?” Flower stood there staring at him, open mouthed and obviously shocked to have Sid go off on him like this. Of course Flower was almost never the aim of Sidney’s vehemence, but that didn’t mean the pale, outwardly frail youth was going to turn tail and run either.

“Vraiment, je ne sais pas. It’s just some beers with the guys, you know?” Fleur replied, raising his eyebrows hopefully towards his friend. “It’s not really about les filles. C’est une vue gentile, mais oui, but...it’s not about them...for me anyway.”

Sidney nodded. It was all he could do. Fleur was probably telling the truth. Even as beautiful as Vero was, it wasn’t about that for Fleur. She made him feel comfortable, like he had a part of home with him as long as he had her around. Not that he doubted that the goaltender loved his girlfriend, but he just didn’t see her as an object. Not even after the boob job and the nose job....

Marc-Andre patted his shoulder and turned to head towards his own car. Sidney stood in the middle of the parking lot and pulled out his cell. There was still no reply to either the text or the voice mail he’d left for Mya. The last thing he needed was for her to see the press conference with out his being able to explain what was going on and how he hadn’t wanted to say those things and he could only hope that the last minute change he’d made in front of the cameras would at least go some way to making his words sting a little less. The only thing he could do now was head to her apartment and hope she was still too busy trying to put together her article from the interview she was supposed to have after the Steeler’s game this evening.
They were supposed to go together anyway. He didn’t think she’d mind if he showed up early. Maybe they could swing by his place on the way so he could change. He didn’t even care if he went like he was now, as long as he talked to her first.

Stuffing his cell back in the pocket of his coat he climbed into the Land Rover and prayed that she didn’t listen to Sports Radio as part of her prep work.

____________________________________________________________

“Do they have baby stuff in the electronics department?” Mya asked as she pushed the overfull buggy behind Tish as she headed through the furniture section, past the washers, dryers and fridges and into sea of plasma and LCD screens.

“If I am going to be stuck at home for the foreseeable future, we need a new TV,” Tish stated, matter-of-factly as she paused by a particularly large projection model that had a price card on it that made Mya’s eyes go round. As far as she was concerned the price on that TV was a very sizeable down payment on a really nice house.

“I can’t believe Jordan wouldn’t have a huge TV,” Mya suggested, but Tish only waved her hand at her as if to say ‘what do you know’.

“In the games room for playing games on, yeah. In the living room? It’s only a forty-two,” Tish replied as if that were too small for anyone. Mya thought about her nineteen inch back home and rolled her eyes. It really was too small to watch football or hockey on. It made all the players look like ants, but she was hardly home to watch most of the games. Half of the time she was at Blush, and they had huge plasma screens.... “Hey, there’s Sidney,” she grinned, abandoning the cart in the aisle and moving closer to the screen to gaze on her boyfriend’s face.

He was clean shaven, but with one of those horrible grey knit caps of his pulled down to his eyebrows, covering the thick dark hair she loved to dig her fingers into when they kissed. He was wearing jeans and a dark sweatshirt, and he wasn’t looking very happy at all.

“I wonder if he got injured in practice or something,” Tish speculated out loud as she joined Mya in front of the big screen, glancing around for something that would turn the audio up. Mya dug into her jacket pocket for her phone and glanced down at it. He had phoned her earlier but they’d been at a cash register and she’d had her hands full and hadn’t been able to answer it. Her phone was flashing, telling her she had voice mail and several text messages.

Glacing back up at the screen, Mya saw a fuzzy image of Sidney looking up at something, looking very unhappy while Jordan and Max held him down. Her breath caught in her throat and unconsciously she reached out and felt Tish’s hand grip hers’. The camera panned and Mya found herself watching her own image flash up on the screen, suggestively sucking on the fake pistol, her other arm only just covering some of her breasts.

“Oh shit,” Mya hissed, glancing around to see all of the screens full of the same image, and other shoppers stopping to stare, as if it was O.J. in the white bronco. “Oh shit,” she repeated, squeezing Tish’s hand.

“I don’t condone the sort of behaviour I took part in,” Sidney was saying as his image reappeared on the screen and the sales clerk appeared near them with a remote in his hand, realizing that he had an audience and probably hoping for a sale from it. “I don’t condone my actions, and I am not a regular patron of this type of establishment. I do not condone those that do support this type of establishment and I definitely cannot condone the objectification of the women who work in them. It isn’t a profession I can respect.”

“He said fucking what?” Mya hissed, staring at the screen with her mouth hanging open, her eyes wide and her heart beating wildly in her chest. “He said...he so did not just say....” She turned to Tish and searched her gaze. “Is this why you brought me out? He didn’t want me to see this so you brought me out?” Tish was still staring at the screens around them, upon which that nebulously blurred video clip was playing again. Mya pulled on Tish’s arm, forcing her to face Mya as she stared at her. “Did you? Well did you?” Tish slowly shook her head, her own eyes wide as she stared back at Mya.

“I think my water just broke.”

Chapter 18

“Mon fichu dieu! Merde sainte!”

Sidney didn’t even turn around when he heard Max behind him. He knew exactly what the hirsute francophone was looking at, and, with a smile he could barely contain, he flexed his shoulder muscles to exaggerate the vivid claw marks on his back.

“Were you attacked by a puma mon ami?” Max asked breathlessly, obviously impressed as he surveyed Mya’s handiwork on Sidney’s back. A puma? Sidney thought, amused. That sounded about right. She definitely wasn’t old enough to be a cougar, and even though he didn’t know her exact age, considering she was already doing her masters, it didn’t take a very large leap of faith to assume she had a couple of years on him at least and if that made her a puma, so be it.

“That kitty doesn’t just scratch either,” Gronk pointed out, causing Sidney to wince as a wet towel came painfully in contact with his bare ass very near what was still a painful bruise that Sidney was sure would be an almost perfect impression of Mya’s upper and lower front teeth.

“Nice work,” Max added in a congratulatory fashion, patting Sidney on the shoulder before taking up his place at the next shower head, turning his face up into the hot spray. “I guess we don’t have to ask if you and the lovely Sugar Mellon have made up,” he added, causing a ripple of laughter around the room. Sidney felt his cheeks begin to burn at the thought of half the guys in the room being able to visualize his girlfriend naked right now.

Girlfriend…. Sidney grinned, jealous thoughts momentarily swept aside momentarily as he thought about her as part of his life. Girlfriend. He liked the sound of it, and he liked the idea of getting dressed and calling her, meeting her for dinner, talking to her for hours by flickering candlelight….

“Are you going to bring her to the Christmas do? Introduce her to the folks?” Cookie asked, turning off his shower and leaning, nonchalantly against the tiles, looking interested. Sidney opened his mouth to say yes, of course, because that was the first answer that came immediately to mind. Just like thinking of her as his girlfriend, it seemed right, natural. He liked being with her. Well that much was obvious, to everyone seemingly, and yet….

“I don’t know…I hadn’t really thought about it,” Sidney mumbled instead, thinking about the family event that the Pens management held every year right about this time, with the family skate at the arena, a catered dinner, Santa Claus, the whole thing. He’d always just sort of hung out with the other single guys. He’d never had anyone to bring but now….

“Probably a good plan,” Jordy snorted, toweling off his blonde hair before wrapping a towel around his mid section and reaching for another one, making Sidney flinch as he started to twirl it threateningly. “What would Nathalie say about the prince and the stripper? Hey, that sounds like a good porn movie name. Hey, did you hear that Max, Prince Sid and the Stripper,” Jordan chuckled at his own joke as he headed back towards the room.

“He has a point mon ami,” Flower agreed quietly. “Ce qui ton parents disent à ce sujet?” Sidney nodded. It was definitely a point. Not that it was strictly any of their business but…it was something they’d probably find out, or at the very least it was a subject they’d have to deal with sooner or later. Hopefully much later, he thought grimly as he shut off the shower and grabbed his own towel. Maybe by that time…no…absolutely by the time it came to telling his parents about his fledgling relationship with Mya, she would be doing something more…legit.

“She probably wouldn’t want to go anyway,” Sidney shrugged, rubbing his dark locks savagely with the towel before wrapping it around his waist.

“Who’s going where?” Max hollered from beneath the spray of his shower. “Are we going somewhere? I could eat!”

“You and your stomach,” Cookie laughed, whipping a towel in Max’s direction before walking out of the shower.

“I could eat,” Sidney thought about his grumbling stomach as he wrapped his watch back around his wrist, glancing at the time. It was only a little after eleven. Mya wouldn’t be off work until after the lunch hour she’d said. He grimaced at the thought of what she’d be doing but shook off the thought. It was definitely better not to think about it. “I’m not picking up Mya ‘til later. She’s…she’s working.”

“You know what we could do?” Max grinned in a way that made the small hairs on the back of Sidney’s neck stand up on end. Nothing good ever came from Max grinning that way. “We could go to Blush for wings, that way you’re right there. Saves gas. C’mon Creature, what do you say? Do your part for the planet?”

“Hell no, no way,” Sidney shook his head vehemently.

“What’s up mon capitain?” Tanger drawled suddenly from somewhere behind him. Sidney turned to see the long-haired defenseman watching him from beneath his overgrown bangs. “I thought you liked to share?” Sidney’s hands balled into fists and his teeth ground together as Tanger’s dark eyes gazed back at him, unblinking, a clear challenge in his sneer. Sidney badly wanted to knock that self satisfied look off of his face, but at the same time, Kris was his teammate and he had been dating Mya. So he uncurled his fists and took a deep breath before turning his back on him, literally turning the other cheek.

“Did someone say Blush?” Jordy yelled, suddenly reappearing around the corner, hopping on one leg as he got into his jeans.

“Will your baby mommy let you got out?” Max asked, sounding jazzed about the idea.

“Hey, no one is going to Blush. Blush is off limits,” Sidney called out, glaring around the room as all eyes turned to him.

“The cat’s already out of the bag on that one,” Max corrected him, draping his arm companionably around his shoulder. “We’ve already seen it. Besides, they have ten cent wings at lunch time.”

“I’ll fucking pay for lunch, anywhere you guys want to go as long as it’s not….”

“Blush it is!” Jordy yelled, a roar going up from around the room, drowning out Sidney’s loud groan of disagreement.

“Il vaut probablement mieux de ne pas le combattre,” Fleur suggested quietly, placing his hand gently on Sidney’s shoulder. “It’s probably better to be there than to imagine….”

“Yeah I get that,” Sidney snapped, hating the idea, but knowing that his soft spoken friend was probably right. Still, he felt sick to his stomach at the idea of her getting naked in front of strangers, but in front of his friends…just thinking about it made him want to punch someone in the face.

_____________________________________________________________

It covers a multitude of sins, or in your case, bite marks,” Cassidy remarked, stepping back to survey her handiwork, which largely consisted of Mya, strapped and poured into a new costume, an even sexier and far naughtier cop costume that consisted mostly of skin tight black latex.

“I can’t breathe,” Mya complained, turning slowly in front of the mirror and grinning at her reflection, “but it’s worth it.”

“That’s the thing about the lunch crowd I like,” Hannah chimed in from her chair in front of the mirror where she was slathering on the make up to go with her new costume, which for the most part seemed to consist mostly of body paint, “they don’t really care that you don’t get naked. They’re more interested in the wings than us, so if you’re hung over or, in your case, covered in love bites, they don’t really notice.”

None of the dancers really liked doing the noon hour. It meant getting up in the middle of the day, which a lot of the other dancers had a problem with, and it didn’t pay nearly as well as working the evening crowd. Normally the lunch time crowd was a job for newbies, or the girls that the management deemed ‘past it’, but with Christmas fast approaching, girls were asking for time off left and right and that left the girls who needed the extra cash, which was why Mya was sucking in her stomach as she stared at herself in the mirror.

There were only a few more payments to make against her Aunt’s hospital bill, and with construction slowing down with the fast approaching Holiday Season and the inclement weather, there was no choice but to take any shift offered. Besides, now, it seemed, she had another Christmas gift to buy.

“Maybe I should get one of these outfits to take home,” she mused out loud, turning to see the way the ‘skirt’ barely covered her ass cheeks. “I can wear it for Sid for Christmas.”

“Have I told you yet today how much I hate you for that?” Cassidy groaned, narrowing her eyes at Mya as she pulled on a pair of silver short shorts, part of her alien costume, complete with a green wig and matching lipstick.

“Well don’t hate me yet,” Mya warned with a smile. “Wait until Pens management find out where I work. Then we’ll see if I actually have him or not,” Mya added with a sigh as she reached for her gun belt, complete with matching realistic looking six shooters.

“Still hate you,” Cassidy sniffed, leaning over to pull on her giant silver metallic platform boots. “Every time I watch the Pens I’m going to hate you.”

“Wow, what is with all the hatin’ goin’ on back here? There’s a love in goin’ on out there.” Marti, one of the newer girls appeared amongst them, her ice cream bucket full and her g-string still stuffed with singles and fives. Mya stared at the pretty Latina, astonished. She hadn’t worked many lunch hours, but in the few she had, she’d never made that kind of haul.

“What did you do? Blow them for fives?” Cassidy asked, grabbing the bucket and dumping it out on the make-up table.

“No I fucking did not,” Marti snarled, reaching to grab at the pile of bills, even though none of the rest of the girls were making any moves towards her earnings. “A bunch of young guys just came in and they’re having a good time is all. Shit. Get out there and shake your own ass for it,” she suggested as she stepped out of her g-string and started picking bills up off of the floor.

“Huh, well I’m next, so they’re might not be any left for you Cass, sorry,” Mya grinned, blowing kisses as she marched up the stairs to her introduction and threw open the curtain.

________________________________________________________________________

Laughing, Max pushed Sidney towards the stools at the side of the catwalk part of the stage. It was bad enough being here, seeing a room full of men who were going to watch his girlfriend get naked. The last place he wanted to be was right up front where she could see how much he hated this. And he was going to hate it. There was no doubt in his mind about that. It didn’t matter to him that Max and Pascal and Flower had already seen her dance.

Well maybe it did.

“Relax mon ami,” Max hissed in his ear, pressing him forcefully down onto the stool. “Sure they’ll see her but she’ll go home with you, non?” Sidney had to accede to that point. All things being equal, Mya would certainly warm his bed and hopefully his body later, but that didn’t make him feel any easier about sharing her with all of these men.

Jordy pushed a beer in front of him and Sidney, not normally a beer drinker, chugged it down like he was taking a shot. He was going to need it and lots more besides. Dutch courage or being fall down drunk was going to be the only way he was going to get through this.

“How about a big hand to welcome to our stage, one of our crowd favourites, Sugar!”

It was only because Max stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out one of those loud, shrill blasts that Sidney even looked up to see Mya strutting down the runway to the beat of Nickelback’s S.E.X. She was coming towards them, swathed in black from head to toe. Thigh high black patent boots with impossibly high heels, fishnet stockings attached to garters that peeked out from beneath a black latex mini dress with a zipper at the front, which she’d already pulled down to reveal her ample cleavage. Elbow gloves and a straight black wig under a cop hat completed the outrageously sexy outfit.

Sidney’s mouth went dry, his heart hammered in his chest as she paced down to the end of the runway and paused in front of them, pulling a pair of realistic looking pistols from her belt, holding them high over her head while she wiggled her hips, causing the crowd to yell and whistle.

Not that he blamed them.

Fuck she looked hot, but that wasn’t the point. She was his. Hot or not, he didn’t want to share her, not with anyone.

“You are one lucky fucking bastard, you know that?” Jordy yelled in his ear over the general noise of the crowd as Mya stuck the pistols back in her belt and turned around, spreading her legs and doing one of those slow touch your toes kind of moves that made the dress both ride up and pull impossibly tight across her ass. Sidney clutched the edge of the stage. He felt like he was going to hyperventilate.

“Fuck you Gronk...go home to your wife,” he managed to croak, reaching over to grab Jordan by the collar, twisting his shirt in his fists until Jordan’s skin turned a dangerous hue of blue. The red haze had taken over, jealousy fuelling his rage. It was only the feel of cool steel under his chin that brought him back to himself. She lifted his chin with the barrel of one of her pistols and gazed into his eyes with a mischievous grin.

“Behave baby,” she whispered, pursing her lips like she might kiss him, before turning and strutting away from him, grabbing the brass pole with one hand, wrapping her leg around it and with a little hop, spinning down it, slowly, her eyes locked with his the entire time.

He let go of Jordan’s shirt. It was either that or kill him, which Mya obviously didn’t want him to do. Instead, he forced himself to sit on his hands. He wanted to stare at the floor, but kept seeing those shiny black patent boots, which led his eyes up to her fishnet wrapped thighs and every time he did that, the zipper on her dress was getting lower and that...well that was making him crazy.

His cock was throbbing in his pants, twitching, impatient to be inside of the object of his affection. This was worse than anything she’d done to him at home. H thought he’d seen her in some pretty sexy stuff but none of that lacy stuff she wore compared to this.

He felt like he was cheating and not in the way he felt about Randi when he was with Mya. He felt like he was looking at some other woman and wanting to do things to her that he’d never even contemplated before. Things that he could hardly admit he wanted to do.

Licking his lips, he watched her grind against the pole, sliding her back down it, one arm still holding the bar, the other spreading her knees, flashing a black satin g-string that barely coved the soft pink valley he craved. Sidney shut his eyes tight. He couldn’t watch any more. He had to leave or drag her off of the stage.

_____________________________________________________________

“Hold him down Max,” Mya called as she dropped to her knees, unzipping the black latex dress and tossing it behind her. The crowd howled, but she didn’t care about the rest of the crowd.

Max obliged. He and Jordy stood behind Sidney, their hands on his shoulders, forcing him to stay where he was and blocking his escape. They couldn’t make him watch though, short of forcing a pair of toothpicks into his eyelids.

She could hardly believe he was here and by the look on his face, neither could Sidney. What was even stranger than him sitting there at the end of the catwalk was the way it made her feel to see him there. She’d never felt like this out on this stage. She’d never been turned on by someone watching her strip but she was now. She was getting off on the need in his eyes, the longing that was almost pain.

For his part, Sidney was looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here and part of her felt bad for him. It was clear that this was killing him, knowing all these men were staring at her, were looking at her like she was some kind of centerfold to wack off to. But part of her was enjoying making him squirm. Mya opened her mouth to call his name as she went onto all fours. She wanted him to see this, and he accommodated without her having to ask.

Crawling towards him on all fours, she let all of her desire, all of her longing for him fill her eyes.

Normally, she would think about just about anything else besides the men watching her or what they might possibly be thinking. She’d do her shopping in her head rather than look out at the horny middle aged men gnawing on their chicken wings and drinking warm beer while they fondled themselves under the table. She didn’t really care about the crowd. Sure she wanted the tips, but she didn’t need them as bad as Hannah did so she wouldn’t normally spend that much time interacting with the guys lined up around the stage.

Tonight was different though. She wanted him to see that she was good at this. She wanted him to appreciate what she could do. Most of all, tonight she wanted to dance for him and she wanted him to like it.

She watched his pink tongue sweep his full lower lip and she wanted to bite it, and she let him know it, stopping in front of him, kneeling and licking her own lips and lifting her breasts out of the cups of her bra.

The crowd howled again.

She could have cared less. It was his pupils dilating that she wanted. It was his deep breath, the sweat breaking out on his forehead that told her that she was firmly in control. She had him on a leash. He was hers’.

She rolled her nipples between her thumb and forefinger, tugging, tweaking until they were hard. It didn’t take much. She was aching for him. She knew what it looked like, the black satin gloves against her pale skin. She knew how white her skin looked under these lights, and the dark gloves made her skin look like it was glowing. She loved how hiis gaze was riveted to her tits, his jaw slack with need. She knew exactly what he was thinking and she had to bite down on her cheek to stop from moaning out loud.

Even last night there had been times, fleeting moments, when she could see that other woman, his dead girlfriend, reflected back in his eyes. He’d thought of her, even when he was inside of her and she’d said nothing, telling herself that he’d been honest about that relationship and that he was still hurting. She knew it would take time for him to leave all of that behind him.

But now, now he was only looking at her and there was no one else in his eyes.

Normally, just about at this time in her act, in the evening at least, she’d slide her hand down into her g-string and feign masturbation but that seemed like too much now, like it would be too much for him. Like it would be just cruel considering it was obvious that he was suffering already. She could see the veins standing out in his temples, the thrust of his chin, the way he was gnawing on the corner of his lip.

So instead she took one of the guns out of its’ holster and licked the cool steel barrel. Slowly, deliberately, she dragged her tongue from the stock to the tip, circling the tip slowly before sliding the barrel into her mouth. He looked like he wanted to look away, like he was wishing he could close his eyes but didn’t dare. Mya imagined she could taste the slightly salty musk of him and closed her eyes, circling her nipples with the tip of the gun.

The crowd was going insane now and bills were raining down all around her but she didn’t care. It didn’t matter to her if all of the money on the stage would pay for her rent for the month. She didn’t care if it was enough to pay off her Aunt’s medical bill.

All she cared about was the look on his face as her eyes fluttered open and their gazes locked.
_______________________________________________________________

He wanted to fuck her, right now, right here in front of all of these people and he could barely make himself stay where he was. He wanted to drag her off of the stage and do unspeakable things to her. He wanted her to beg for it. He wanted her to tell him that she would never do this again.

Mostly he just wanted her to stop. This was unbearable. He could hear his teammates whistling and shouting and he hated it. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Tanger sitting off to the side, staring into his beer and wondered if he hated it too.

Even if he did, Sidney thought, he couldn’t possibly hate it as much as he did. She was gorgeous, beautiful. She didn’t need to do this. Of course she had a body that was made for sin. She looked the part but that didn’t mean she had to do this. There had to be something else, anything else that she could do apart from this. No matter how turned on he was by it, which he was a little ashamed of on top of it all.
He fucking loved her and he shouldn’t want to do the things that watching her stick the barrel of that gun down…oh god.

“Stop,” he croaked, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. He could not watch any more. He would not.

The crowd was clapping and chanting that strange name, her stripper name, Sugar, over and over and he would not open his eyes. Not even when he felt her gloved hand brushing his cheek. Not even when he heard her voice, warm like liquid honey in his ear, calling his name. He kept his eyes closed tight and shook his head. He would not look.

“Come with me,” she whispered, urging him to his feet, her hand curling around his.
“Is it over?” he hissed back, barely able to suck in enough air to make speech possible.

“That depends,” she replied, her lips brushing his cheek. “Do you want a private dance, Mr. Crosby?”

He stumbled after her, his brain racing ahead of his feet, contemplating all of the x-rated visuals his mind had already fashioned in his imagination while the other part of his brain told him to turn back, that this was a very bad idea. This was just the kind of situation that Mario, hell for that matter, the league warned players about. People always have cameras. These days, anyone with a cell phone had a camera. This was the kind of thing that went on youtube with a caption like Crosby Gets Creative with Stripper. This was all kinds of bad and yet, as soon as the door closed on the cramped private room, even knowing that didn’t stop him from pressing her up against the wall and fumbling urgently with his zipper and her g-string.

He shoved himself home with a groan, sheathing himself entirely within her. It was a relief. It was like he could finally breathe once his cock was deep inside of her.

Pressing his forehead against her shoulder, he dragged her legs up around him and felt her lock them behind his back. Inhaling the now familiar lavender scent from her neck, Sidney began the urgent thrusting that his brain demanded. The sound of their bodies meeting, of hers slamming against the wall, was like a mantra. It was like he was saying ‘mine, mine, mine’ every time their bodies met.

He barely heard her high pitched cry, scarcely took heed of her body shaking and clutching at his. The red haze didn’t care if she came or not. He only wanted to punish her and take his own pleasure. He wanted to teach her a lesson. He wanted to take back what all those men had polluted with their wolf whistles and foul mouthed comments. He was like a wolf marking its territory, an Alpha claiming his mate.

It was only when he finally spilled himself inside of her that he came back to himself, a little ashamed, a little confused but relieved as he captured her lips with his and felt her fingers digging into his hair, her tongue twining with his.

“I’m…I’m sorry,” he whispered breathlessly as he kissed his way down to her neck. “I just…I had to…after…oh Christ.”

“It’s okay,” she chuckled as he let her down, gently, to her feet. “I’m sorry I teased you but…oh fuck it. I loved making you want me Sidney. Me. Not your dead girlfriend. Me.”

“I do,” he promised, kissing her eyelids, the tip of her nose, her soft, sweet lips. “I want you. I fucking want you for myself. Always.”

Chapter 17

Is anyone out there? seems like everyone's coming down with some kind of flu these days so I want to put some warm thoughts out there for you...

“You’re still here,” he mumbled drowsily, his eyes still closed as his arm closed around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

“I don’t think I could walk out of here, even if I wanted to,” Mya chuckled as she traced imaginary patterns on the middle of his chest with the tip of her finger, raising gooseflesh wherever she touched him. Sidney smiled and let out a contented sigh, his hand sliding down her back, down and down until he had a good grip on her ass. She flinched, waiting for another slap but he only growled and pulled her closer. “Again? Don’t you ever get tired?” she whined, wondering if her exhausted and pleasantly aching body could take another round of his athletic and urgent love making.

“I’m out of practice. I’m just making up for lost time,” he yawned, pulling her body up and onto his. She felt him, hard and ready against her stomach and wondered if she had the will power to say no even if her body couldn’t, no, wouldn’t deny him.

“I don’t think you need practice,” she whispered, offering her lips instead, which he took without even opening his eyes, his tongue sweeping along hers’, making her shudder, making the walls of her pussy clench in anticipation. No, she thought dreamily as he kissed her languorously, she probably didn’t have enough willpower to deny him anything. Not after last night, she thought as he rolled her over and pinned her with his body, finally opening his hazel eyes and gazing down at her with that look on his face, the one that told her that there was nothing in the world he wanted to be looking at more than her. It made her heart beat triple. It made her throat close. It made her eyes well up.

“Are you trying to flatter me? Because if you are, you don’t need to,” he whispered, dropping soft, warm kisses onto her collarbone, the hollow of her throat.

“I think you know how much I want you,” she replied, her voice turning husky with desire as her body welcomed him, pulling him in slowly, her muscles working to accommodate his length and width. “I don’t think I need to tell you how good you make me feel,” she added, drawing a breath in sharply between her teeth as he began to move within her. Her body was tender and just a little more than sore from their multiple frantic joinings the night before.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, his voice almost a groan as he bit down on her earlobe, his hot breath causing a delightful prickling sensation over her ear and down her neck, making her squirm.

“Noooo,” she moaned, wrapping her legs around his thickly muscled thighs which reminded her of tree trunks, pulling him deeper. “Noo,” she repeated, wrapping her arms around his rib cage, dragging her fingernails up his back and then it was his turn to let out a breath in a long hiss as she raked her fingernails over the wounds she’d opened on his back the night before. He wasn’t the only one that could leave marks.

He was gentle and slow, nothing like the rough and tumble sweaty and urgent thrusting of the night before. Not that she’d been complaining. They seemed to fit so well together, and he seemed to know what she liked without her having to give him specific and explicit directions. Not that that had stopped her either, she thought as she stretched her neck, inviting his strong white teeth to graze upon her thin, pale skin.

He accommodated her request, just as he’d done with every other muttered or screamed out demand, biting down on the curve where shoulder meets neck, causing her to cry out and buck beneath him. Like a good Bronc rider, Sidney held on, the mass of his body holding hers’ down, controlling their movements, the depth and speed of his thrusts carefully controlled, as if to fend off the moment of climax for as long as possible. Where last night he had been like a speeding train, rushing towards the inevitability of a crash, now he was like a rocking horse, gentle and tame and oh...the look in his eyes....

She kissed him, pressing her lips up against his, shutting her eyes tight and focusing on all of the sensations, all of the sensuous and delicious messages her nerve endings were sending to her brain. Even the little ache in her hipbones, the exquisitely sharp pain in her neck, the pin prick of pain in the muscles clenched around him, all only served to heighten the overall experience. It was like being taken to a higher consciousness, like he was a drug and she was completely stoned.

If this is being stoned, Mya thought as she nipped at his chin as he let out a long, low growl, let me have this drug every day.
_______________________________________________________

He wanted to hold back, he fought it, but damn she felt too good, wrapped around him, holding on to him, her body moving in time with his. The soft press of her breasts against his chest, the almost painful way she dug her nails into his back and the way her hips rocked in time with his, the way she pulled him deeper, her breath catching in her throat as he bit down on her shoulder, tasting the saltiness of their mingled sweat on her skin.

She made him feel so damn free. He didn’t feel like he was going to break her, like something he was going to do would hurt her. He didn’t have to think, he could just feel, just react. Sort of like when he was out on the ice, when it was all about instinct, all about the feel of his stick, the sound of the other skaters on the ice. This was like that.

Every other time he’d been with a woman, either he hadn’t cared about how she felt or the opposite had been true, he’d cared too much. Oh he cared how Mya felt, but he was under no illusions as to the effects of what he was doing. She held nothing back. She knew what she wanted and was damn sure going to ask for it. Not that she had to ask.

He wanted to do all of those things to her, and then some.

There were things he wanted to do now...but they would have to wait for later he decided as her entire body shuddered around his and her eyes filled at once with tears. He would have been afraid of those tears once, but Randi had explained those tears to him. They were good tears, the kind of tears a woman couldn’t help when the orgasm was so strong.

He kissed them away, laying gentle kisses on her cheeks, her eyelids, holding her close, holding himself still while she trembled in his arms. He waited until she too became tranquil and relaxed before moving again, making long, slow strokes while he held her gaze, while he looked into her green eyes and fell, hook line and sinker. This woman had him now, whether he liked it or not, whether he was ready or not. She had a hold on him, like a death grip on his heart and as she offered her lips up to his, and just before he lost himself in his own orgasm, he whispered it against her lips.

“I love you,” he admitted in a whisper as she reached up to touch his cheek, her fingertips gently brushing along his hairline before she dug her fingers into his hair and pulled his lips down over hers’.

“You don’t have to say that,” she whispered back, holding him tight as he grunted, losing himself inside of her, burying his head in her neck as her body sucked at his.

He could argue, but it was better not to. Not now.

After all, maybe she was right. Maybe it was just the sex talking. Maybe it was too much too soon. Maybe it was better not repeated. So he let it go as he collapsed beside her, his arm thrown over her waist, his face buried in the pillow, his eyes shut tight against the black dots that swam in his vision.

He was going to need something to eat soon and he was going to have to suck back some water sooner than that. He was on the edge of dehydration and he was tired, so tired, but a good tired. A game seven kind of tired.

“I can’t believe I have to go to practice soon,” he muttered into the pillow as he felt her snuggle close to him, her fingers digging into his shoulders, easing the ache that had settled between his shoulder blades as he’d held himself over her. Not that it had been hard work. It had just been...well a few times anyway he thought with a private grin.

“What is with early morning practices?” she chuckled, crawling over him, straddling his lower back and really digging her hands into his aching muscles. “It’s not even light out yet.”

“Mmm, I guess you get used to it and it could be worse. In bantam, practice is like five in the morning,” He laughed when she made a derisive sound in her throat and stopped massaging him. Even though he felt like he could let her do that for hours, and wanted to ask for more, he rolled over beneath her and pulled her down on top of him. Her hair fell around his face in cascading waves as she grinned down at him and he reached up and brushed it back behind her ears. “You’re beautiful,” he breathed, running his fingers through her unruly hair.

“Are you kidding?” she made a face and wrinkling up her nose. “I’m all sweaty, my hair must be a complete fucking mess...,” she reached up to straighten and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand down to his lips and kissing it.

“You’re perfect the way you are,” he repeated, feeling his heart skip a beat in his chest as she rolled her eyes before pressing her lips down over his.

“When do you have to be at practice?” she asked at long last when she came up for breath. Sidney yawned and stretched and then settled back into running his fingers through her hair.

“Eight,” he sighed, thinking how much he’d rather stay in bed with her all day, even if they were both starting to smell a little on the funky side.

“And I have to be at class at nine thirty and then at work for the lunch crowd...,” she muttered, almost to herself as she rolled off of him, sitting at the edge of the bed, stretching her arms over her head. For a moment Sidney lay there, admiring the curve of her waist, the tone of her back and the dimples at the small of her back, but then something she said had him sitting bolt upright in bed.

“Work...you don’t mean at that...that bar?” he asked, tentatively. He watched her square her shoulders, watched her roll first one and then the other before she got up and grabbed one of his t-shirts and tugged it over her head.

“I do, and we’re not talking about that right now,” she replied quietly but firmly, wincing as she sat down on the floor to tug on her leggings.

“You can have a shower here,” he snapped, feeling impatient as he got up and went to stand over her, offering her a hand up, “and I thought we talked about this.”

“I’d rather wear my dirty clothes home, in a cab if you don’t mind, rather than wash and put them back on. And no, we didn’t talk about it. You said some stuff I wasn’t really listening to because you were kind of being an ass at the time,” she added, using that same stern but even tone as she pulled her leggings on the rest of the way before wrapping her dress and underwear up in a ball. Only then did she turn her attention back to him. “Are you going to call me a taxi or am I?”

“I can run you home,” he muttered, feeling his chest tighten as he thought about her dancing...for other men, as he thought about that body that he’d worshipped all night, that even now, in his t-shirt and a pair of simple leggings had him feeling like he could make love to her again and forego practice for once. “But we need to talk about this. I....” Her fingers pressed against his mouth and then she replaced them with her lips, kissing him softly.

“No, we’re not going to have an argument and ruin this. This is good. I’m a happy little bunny right now and you are not going to ruin this again,” she stated simply, smiling up at him. “Now you’re going to go have a shower. I’m going to go do my walk of triumphant shame out to a cab and then you’ll call me after practice and then maybe we’ll see if there’s enough left of you for me to jump when I get off work tonight. Agreed?”

Sidney didn’t like it. Not one little bit, but he nodded, mutely, letting her kiss him once more and then watching her sashay out of his bedroom. He even listened to her make the call to the taxi company while rummaging through his fridge before he forced himself to go into the bathroom and lean in to turn on the water.

He stood there on the bath mat, thinking about turning off the water and going out into the living room to argue with her, to tell her that she couldn’t go back to that bar, that if she cared even a little about him that she wouldn’t, but he didn’t.

Instead, as the steam filled the bathroom, he watched that little heart appear on the glass and felt his heart quicken in response.

Sidney reached up to wipe away the reminder of the other woman, his other love but his fingers stalled in mid air, hanging there, refusing to obey his mind’s command.
It was a reminder, not just of her but of what they had. It was as if she was telling him to have a little patience. It was as if, from the other side of the veil Randi was telling him that there was more to love than control and to remember there had to be give and take. To remember that sometimes love just hurt.

So Sidney kept his thoughts to himself as he turned and walked back out to the living room, finding Mya walking towards the door with a piece of bread in her mouth, tucking her cell phone into her purse. He pulled the bread out of her mouth and pressed his lips against her mouth in its place. He kissed her hard. He kissed her, and tasted the peanut butter on her tongue. He kissed her until he couldn’t breathe and then he kissed her cheek and patted her ass before turning and heading back to the shower, knowing full well she was watching him go with a mixture of surprise and lust on her face.

It was going to be hard, sure it was, but he wasn’t the type to give up and he was also learning not to just flip out at the first obstacle. He was actually pretty proud of himself as he climbed back into the shower. He wasn’t going to whistle like Max would but he gave the small heart drawn on the glass a wink and a smile, as if to say, thank you, before closing his eyes and sticking his head under the spray.

Chapter 16

Mya followed the usher down a narrow corridor and through a numbered door to one of the suites, a box really with lcd screens and plenty of munchies set out. He left her there without a word, standing in the middle of a room that was little more than a glorified kitchenette with more comfortable chairs than the rest of the paying public got to sit in.

And she wasn’t alone.

There was a group of women, young beautiful and well dressed women, sipping wine and leaning out of the box, as if they were watching the warm up, but Mya was almost sure that what they were doing was talking about her.

They’d seen her come in. Every head had swivelled towards the door when she walked in, but now they were all ignoring her. Not one of them was offering any kind of welcome at all.

Mya gazed out toward the ice and thought about Sidney looking up and not finding her watching him. Then she thought about Kris and wondered if he knew she was here and if he did, if he was looking up at the box and wishing she wasn’t. It was enough to make her want to pack up her sandbox toys and go home to her apartment and wait for him to come to her.

“They’ll get over it,” a familiar voice whispered in her ear and Mya felt herself smiling as she turned to see the very pregnant wife of Sidney’s teammate raiding one of the appetizer plates. “It’s just with you being the Captains girlfriend, you automatically become Queen of the WAGs and one or two of them have their surgically altered noses out of joint.”

“Queen of the...the what?” Mya hissed back at Tish who was munching thoughtfully on a breadstick.

“WAGs. Wives and girlfriends. A very secret society, akin to the wives of the god Amun back in Ancient Egypt I think,” Tish replied sardonically.

“I don’t want to be queen of anything. I haven’t even gone on a date with the guy,” Mya insisted, feeling a little panicked at the thought of being labelled his girlfriend already. It seemed like bad luck.

“I heard you’d been for coffee a few times,” Tish answered with a shrewd glance towards her that made Mya wish for a hole to open up into another dimension where things weren’t so complicated and everyone didn’t seem to know your business.

“Does everyone on this team have to know about this?” she asked, eyeing a plate of, so far, untouched desert squares. Right about now a plate of Nanaimo bars seemed very tempting.

“Not everyone, but Jordy and I talk...I mean a lot lately. I mean, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but right now, I’m the size of a small planet so we’re not having sex so we talk, a lot...it’s actually pretty annoying,” Tish explained , causing Mya to hide a grin behind her hand as she raised her eyebrows at the statuesque woman who was nonchalantly sharing details of her sex life. “Not that Sid is the kind of guy to share a lot of information mind you, but he mentioned that you two had been out for coffee a couple times and believe you me, that’s more of a date than Jordy and I had before we found ourselves in the family way,” she added, with a sigh as she reached for another bread sticks. “These two are carb whores I’m telling you.”

“Well coffee or not, we’re not exactly dating,” Mya said decisively, turning her attention back towards the ice. She could hear pucks ringing off of the glass even above the heavy techno beat filling the arena.

“Believe me, it doesn’t matter to them,” Tish explained quietly, shooting the gaggle of pretty girls a meaningful glance. “The fact that he put you up here is all they need to know. Plus...half of them probably ended up with the guy they’re with by trying to get to Sid anyway. Silly stick figures.” Mya felt her mouth drop open and quickly turned her back on the group to stare at Tish, wide eyed. “Oh c’mon, don’t look surprised. Your boy earns five times more than the next highest paid player on the team with all his endorsements and bonus contracts.” Tish eyed Mya speculatively for a moment and then tilted her head to one side and pursed her lips. “You seem like a smart girl to me and you don’t strike me as a gold digger, which is why I’m talking to you and not them,” she added, glancing towards the girls and then back at Mya. “A lot of the guys on this team are pretty fucking young, so they don’t really care as long as the chick is hot and has a nice pair of bombs and puts out. Believe me, they don’t take it personally. Sid, on the other hand, is a little...well he’s a lot more picky. He doesn’t fall for all that...pretty wrapping paper. According to Jordan, he’s practically been a monk apart from Randi.” Mya pulled a face and immediately turned her head away, trying to hide it from Tish, but it was too late. “It’s okay, I get it. I guess it probably is pretty fucking hard to compete with a dead person,” the woman laughed, before reaching for a carrot and steering Mya towards the seats, her head tilted so that what she had to say would remain unheard. “And that’s the other thing. Once that boy puts his mind to something...or in your case, someone, well, that’s it. He’s all in. He puts all his chips into one bet, which is why you need to give him a bit of a break.”

Mya let Tish lead her to the seats and allowed herself to be pressed down into one. She could feel the eyes of the other women on her, but she tried to ignore the way it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

“So...what is this...Queen thing?” she asked quietly, taking a carrot that Tish offered and chewing on it nervously.

“Ah that,” Tish grinned, putting her feet up on the wall in front of them and letting out a contented sigh as she crossed the ankles of her Steve McQueen hounds tooth stiletto ankle boots. “You’re basically in charge of all the charity functions, the sort of...,” Tish looked thoughtful for a moment and then brightened. “You’re the hostess with the most-est.”

“And if I don’t want to be?” she asked quietly, watching Sidney line up a slap shot that rang off the post.

“It comes with territory my dear,” Tish replied with a sigh. “It’s all part and parcel with dating the crown Prince of Pittsburgh.”

_____________________________________________________________

Tish had left her in the crowded hallway outside the dressing room while she went in search of her own significant other who had blocked a shot with part of his face and was in the trainer’s room getting stitched up. Mya pressed herself against the concrete wall and tried not to make eye contact with any of the media or the few lucky fans and puck groupies that had found their way down to the dressing room, hoping to catch a glimpse of a half naked Penguin.

Her inattention was likely the reason he was able to sneak up on her, causing her to squeak in surprise.

“Max said you were here. I thought I’d see for myself.” Kris stood in front of her, shirtless, a towel draped over his shoulder, sweat making his long dark hair fall into his eyes. He ran his fingers through it, slicking it back, while he eyed her with obvious impatience. Mya steeled herself and waited for whatever ugliness might be forthcoming. She didn’t begrudge him any negativity towards her. She wouldn’t even try to defend herself she decided as he stared her down. “So...just tell me one thing,” he began, dropping his dark gaze from hers’. “Just tell me you didn’t do this to get to him.” He glanced up at her through his damp hair and Mya felt her chest get tight.

“No...no...it wasn’t like that. I promise,” Mya stuttered, shocked that he would think her motives could have been that deceitful, but when she saw the sneer on his face, marring his handsome features, she thought of what Tish had told her about those other girls upstairs. “This...I met Sidney before I met you. I’m not like that.” His dark gaze searched hers’ and then he merely shrugged and ran his other hand through his damp hair as his expression softened.

“I hoped you’d say that,” he said quietly. “I don’t know if I believe it but...,” he shrugged his muscular shoulders again and gave her a lop sided smile.

“Believe it.” Sidney’s hand closed over Kris’s shoulder, but his eyes were all for Mya. She felt a shiver run down her spine as his caramel coloured gaze locked with hers’. His hair too was damp, but his skin glowed with a freshly scrubbed look, and the smile that reflected back at her made her feel like she’d just had a sip of whisky, warm and giddy, right down to her core. “Now, if you’re done, Mya and I have a date.” Kris bristled, sending Sidney a less than friendly look, but headed off in silence. Mya watched his retreating form, admiring the width of his back, but the cool fingers that wrapped themselves around her own quickly made her forget all about her little Frenchman. “Ready?” Sidney asked quietly, the corner of his full lips turned up slightly in question.

“No,” she answered honestly. “But I guess we can’t stay here can we?”

“Well we could,” Sidney smile was shy but sincere as he stepped into the spot absented by Kris. “But it’s kind of funky smelling down here and I don’t know about you but...I don’t really want any more interruptions.” Mya managed to nod and smile at him but could barely breathe as his other hand reached up and his thumb ran gently over her bottom lip. “You and Tish have a good time with that bucket of pop corn?”

“You could see that from all the down there?” she asked, amazed.

“You’re very...distracting,” he admitted quietly, his eyes glued to her lips as he licked his own before managing to drag his focus back to her eyes. “I want to kiss you,” he whispered, his voice thick and hoarse with need, “but I can’t here. Can we go?”

Mya nodded, biting down on her own lip as his hand gave hers’ a gentle squeeze before he turned and lead her through the crowded corridor filled with equipment, travel cases and warm bodies.
___________________________________________________________

Considering the imperfect memories they had already made at her apartment, Sidney had decided to bring her to his own. It was also a test. If he was ready, if he was truly ready to move on, then he would be able to get through this surrounded by his memories of Randi.

So far so good.

She sat cross legged on the end of his bed, a pillow clutched to her chest like a shield, her eyes watching him warily as she digested the story he’d told her. He hadn’t held anything back from her, even when it was hard to say out loud, even when he had to wipe away a tear or two. He’d emptied his soul, laid his heart bare at her feet and she sat there, silent, waiting.

“And then I met you and... from the very beginning....”

“Don’t go all 'August Rush' on me. I don’t believe in love at first sight and I don’t think, as pragmatic as you seem, that you really do either,” she said quietly, her gaze searching his face before returning to the tassel at the edge of the throw pillow. There were so many of those in this apartment.

“I’m not saying that,” Sidney corrected her, a smile finally tugging at the corners of his lips after what seemed like hours of cutting out his own heart with his own hands. “I guess I mean that I’ve just wanted you and maybe I wasn’t ready right away, maybe I didn’t want to be but I am now and it’s not just that I want you, it’s...more.” He searched her gaze, wondering if he was scaring her away. It wasn’t what he wanted but it was so hard to read her body language. She wasn’t like an opposing center facing him over the face-off circle. His best guess was she was doing her best to hide what she was thinking, which seemed a little unfair considering he was exposing his soul.

“I want to like you Sidney,” she said finally, picking at the corner of the pillow before setting it aside and looking up at him, facing him. “I just...I don’t know if I can trust you and I feel like there’s all this...stuff around you that’s so crazy that I’d have to trust you to let myself feel anything.” She bit her lip and her brow furrowed, like she hadn’t quite said what she’d meant to, but he understood, or thought he did.

“I know...my life is pretty...complicated and I haven’t given you any reason to believe in me at all but...if you could just give me one more chance...,” his voice trailed away as her full lips turned up at the corners. “Please Mya. I know I don’t fucking deserve it after what an ass I’ve been...,” he continued as she crawled on hands and knees towards him. She stopped, just short of her body touching his and knelt in front of where he was sitting up against the pillows at the head of the bed. It was kind of cocky to have brought her straight into the bedroom but he had piles of laundry on the couch that Nathalie had brought over a few days ago that he hadn’t put away yet and the kitchen just didn’t seem like the right place to have this conversation. Still, now that she was sort of looking down at him, as her hands ran through his hair and her lips brushed his, he couldn’t decide if it had been a good choice or not.

He wanted her, of course he did. Every time they were together it was better than the last time but he’d promised himself that he wouldn’t just have sex with her again. If he wanted her to trust him, and he did, there had to be more than just this animal hunger and yet, as her lips moved over his, as her tongue ran along the length of his bottom lip, he couldn’t deny that he wanted to ravage her.

Luckily he didn’t have to make that call. Just as his tongue reached to stroke along hers’, she withdrew. She looked down at him, her hands flat against his chest but a playful, if shy, smile on her face.

“Okay...we’ll try. Just...no more running away or I’ll slit your Achilles tendons,” she said, her emerald gaze searching his once more before placing another gentle kiss on his lips. Sidney, relieved, let out a breath in long sigh that had Mya giggling.

“It’s a deal,” he grinned, pinning her down to the bed, and laying a kiss on her neck, making her sigh but not in a relieved sort of way, but in a ‘do that again’ sort of way. It was more than tempting, god knows, but Sidney drew back, using all of his willpower, which was essential considering the way she looked lying on his sheets, her hair fanned around her, her dress having ridden up her thighs and fallen from her shoulder. “Hungry?” he asked, his voice catching in his throat as she ran her index finger slowly and deliberately down his chest.

“I could eat,” she replied, biting down on her bottom lip, looking appetizing in every way as she grinned, mischievously, up at him.

This was definitely not going to be easy he decided as he turned and forced himself to walk out of the bedroom towards the kitchen, and it seemed like she had no intention of making it any easier on him either.

___________________________________________________________________

Her body lay warm and relaxed, against his, fitting naturally into his arms. It had been his idea that she stay, after they’d talked for hours, before, during and after dinner. It was like when they’d first met, he just felt comfortable with her, like he could tell her anything.

She’d finally fallen asleep, curled up against him like a contented kitten.

For his part, Sidney couldn’t sleep. How could he with the curve of her ass pressed against his groin, not to mention that she’d stripped down to a pair of black lace boy shorts and matching black bra which she’d covered with one of his work out shirts before climbing under the covers with him. He’d already seen it all she’d said and maybe that was true but it didn’t mean he didn’t want to again. In fact, as he lay behind her, one arm draped over her waist, the other cradling her head, his hands itched to touch her, to roam over her body, to discover every inch of her.
Just a brush of skin on skin, the palm of his hand running gently over her hip and she made the smallest of noises, relaxing against him. He waited until her breathing returned to the slow even breaths of deep sleep before he slid his hand up over her hip, down the slope of her waist, up over her ribs until his hand came to rest beneath her breast, where skin met lace. She sighed, backing her shapely ass into him, and he had to clench his teeth or let the moan out at the feel of her pressed against an erection he couldn’t help, after all, he was only a red blooded male. He could hardly help it if he wanted her, especially with her in his bed wearing sexy lingerie. He wished he didn’t. He wanted to be good. He wanted to be respectful. He wanted to earn her trust. He wanted to build something meaningful. He also wanted to press her down into this bed and feel her body wrapped around his.

This wanting wasn’t the same as it had been with Randi either. In fact, she wasn’t really much like Randi at all when he thought about it. Sure she looked a little like her, but at the same time, she really didn’t. She was...stronger and not just physically, although that was clearly evident in the round of her hip and the breast that didn’t fit in his hand at all.

He stroked his thumb over her nipple, feeling it harden more with each light brush of his hand. She made a small sound, almost like purring, and he thought that she wasn’t so much like a kitten at all. She was like a big cat, a lioness, and though having lost Randi had broken his heart, he suddenly knew that Mya could rip out his heart and eat it and he’d gladly let her if only he could have her in his arms and in his bed, like this, all of the time.

Sliding his hand beneath the lace, he cupped her breast, massaging it gently, pressing his lips to her shoulder, the back of her neck until she moaned and reached back and grabbed a handful of his thigh and pulled him harder against her.

“Don’t be such a tease,” she sighed, grinding her ass against his erection until, to suppress a moan, he bit down into her shoulder, making her writhe against him.

“Teasing is about the last thing on my mind,” he promised, tugging on her nipple until she sucked in a sharp breath, his name escaping in a long, drawn out sigh.

It had been his intention that the next time he had her naked in his arms that he was going to do this the right way, the face to face, slow and sweet way. But now, with the taste of her skin on his tongue and the way she whimpered when he pushed his barely constrained erection against the lace of her panties, Sidney knew the time for nice, the time for sweet and romantic would have to be later.

Rolling her onto her stomach, he urged her onto her knees and tugged her panties down until they were at her knees, making it impossible for her to spread her thighs any wider. Not that he cared. He barely tugged his own boxer briefs down before he was sliding into her.

God she was tight, and hot and wet. He had to squeeze his eyes shut and take quick, sharp breaths to stop himself form cumming immediately. He stayed there, sheathed inside of her, his hands gripping her hips, until her muscles squeezed around him and she whimpered, pushing back against him.

No, he couldn’t be slow, couldn’t take his time, couldn’t be careful. He could only fuck her, mindlessly slamming into her until the headboard was banging against the wall hard enough that he thought he could hear the neighbor complain.

_____________________________________________________________

Mya wasn’t complaining though. She was begging for more. Words coming out of her mouth she didn’t think she’d ever said before. At least not out loud. She may have thought them, a time or two, in traffic probably. Never in bed, and never like this.

This was a good way to wake up, she decided as she made noises she thought the women in porn movies made, the ones she’d always thought were so fake. Now she was making them and she was grinning and very, very happy. She even liked it when he brought his hand back and spanked her, hard, turning her ass into stinging, tingling flesh and she really liked it, when he reached forward and wound her hair around his hand, tugging her hair back and used it like a Bronc rope, like he needed it to hold on.

No one had ever done that, but then he was as amazing in bed as he was on the ice. Every time it got better. Every time they fucked it was better than the last time, better than she remembered it and she had a very vivid imagination.

“Harder. Fuck me harder,” she begged, glancing over her shoulder at him, letting him see how wild he was driving her, how much she liked the way he filled her, how close to the edge he was taking her. His eyes were narrowed, his jaw was thrust forward and his lips pursed in grim determination. He was in control and he let her know it, raising his hand off of her ass and bringing it down with a resounding smack that had her bucking back against him as she whimpered and asked for more.

He looked amazing like that, his back arched, his six-pack tight, his biceps bulging, and the light filtered through the curtains from the street making his hair glow blue black. He looked like some kind of hero from a romance novel; the buff, domineering dark haired sex god straight off the cover of one of those bodice rippers that Hannah loved. She imagined she could see him as one of those turn of the century swash buckling pirates, swinging down off the yard arm to steal her from his rival, taking her down to the galley and having his wicked way with her, marking her as his.

And she liked to be marked. She wondered if she’d be able to see his hand print on her ass in the morning. There was no doubt she’d be able to take a dental-mould from his teeth marks in her shoulder and she didn’t mind one bit. It would make working tomorrow tricky but she was sure the girls could come up with something to cover the marks.

“On top,” he moaned, pulling out and dropping down beside her, on his back. Not needing to be asked twice, Mya straddled him, lowering herself over him, slowly, inch by delicious inch. She felt him fill her, felt his hands supporting her breasts, and then it was her turn to arch her back as he pushed up to meet her, his hips meeting hers’ as she ground against him.

She wasn’t entirely in control and she didn’t care. She closed her eyes and just let herself feel, let the waves of pleasure flow over and around her. She let him take her to the edge, let him push her over, not once but twice more until she was panting, until her entire body was tingling and cooling from the loss of blood.

Only then did he finally flip her over, and, pushing her thighs up and apart, thrust his way deep inside of her and let himself go, his eyes blazing as her name left his lips in a feral growl, leaving her in no doubt that he was all in.