“Maybe we’ll just cuddle,” he said.

“Now who’s the wuss?”

“Are you throwing down the gauntlet, Miss Preston?”

He could see the fire in her eyes from across the table. “Maybe.”

He pushed his chair back and came over to her, taking her hand in his. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, selected a song, then pressed Play.

Carolina looked up at him, a question in her eyes. “I can’t believe you even have ‘Unchained Melody’ by the Righteous Brothers in your playlist.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s . . . romantic, in an old-school kind of way. A classic love song.”

He pulled her into his arms and began to dance with her. “What? And I’m not romantic?”

“You just strike me as a hard-driving-beat kind of guy. It goes with the hockey mystique.”

“There’s a hockey mystique?”

“Yes. Fast skating, hard partying, fights breaking out. Soft and romantic music doesn’t fit.”

He pulled her closer, turning her in rhythm to the song. “Then maybe you need to learn a little more about me, Lina.”

She tilted her head back to look at him. He read the confusion on her face.

“You constantly surprise me.”

“Just because I play hockey doesn’t mean I listen to anger rock and go to the local bars looking for a fight. That’s PR and I leave the fighting to the ice. If you really get to know me, you might find I’m a really nice guy, that one night in college notwithstanding.”

“Okay, point taken. I might have had preconceived notions about you because of our past. And hockey does play up the bad-boy image.”

“They do. And we play on that for our fans. But I’m not an asshole. Or maybe I was one in the past. But I’d never hurt you. Not intentionally.”

He twirled her around, loving the feel of her in his arms. “Besides, I like this song. It’s sweet.”

She shook her head. “I would just never think of you as . . . sweet.”

“When have I not been sweet to you?” At her look, he added, “Besides that giant mistake I made when we were in college that for some reason hangs like a black cloud over my head.”

She didn’t answer right away. “You’re right. You’ve been very nice to me since we’ve rekindled our . . . whatever it is we’re having.”

He laughed and twirled her around. “I don’t think we need to define it, do you?”

She laid her head on his chest. He liked having it there.

“I don’t think we do, either. I like things the way they are, Drew. Right here, right now. Let’s not mess with a good thing.”

He didn’t know what to make of that. Was she afraid of having a relationship, or just having a relationship with him? He knew he’d hurt her before. And he didn’t know where he wanted things to go with them in the future.

Living for today always seemed like a good idea.

And that would have to do for now. For both of them.

The song ended, and Drew grabbed his phone to check the time.

“It’s getting close to midnight,” he said. “We should open up some champagne.”

“I have a better idea.” Carolina began to unbutton the front of her dress. She wasn’t wearing a bra, so the visual had his c**k twitching.

“I like where this is going.”

“I want you inside me at midnight, making love to me at the end of this year and the start of the next.” She grabbed his phone and backed inside, the swell of her br**sts visible as her dress gaped open.

Under her spell, he followed, then took her hand as she led him upstairs and into the bedroom. He pulled a condom out of his bag and followed her out onto the deck.

“I thought we’d do it outside, under the moonlight.” She dropped her dress to the ground.

Drew’s dick pounded as he pulled off his shorts and tugged his shirt over his head. Carolina wriggled out of her panties, then walked into his arms. He kissed her, inhaling her sweet fragrance as his mouth covered hers.

He wanted to do this right, to make it good for her as they brought in the new year. There was a cushioned chaise lounge on the deck and he laid her down on it.

“I don’t need foreplay,” she said, spreading her legs and splaying her fingers over her sex. “I’m already wet and ready for you, Drew.”

He sucked in a breath as he watched her touching herself. He took his c**k in his hand and stroked as he watched her slide her fingers between the swollen folds of her pussy.

“Do you know what that does to me, watching you touch yourself like that?”

She looked up at him, giving him a hot, wicked smile. “Makes you hard?”

“Yeah. Makes me want to lick your pu**y and make you scream.”

“The clock is ticking, Drew. And I’m going to come with you inside me.”

He pushed the button on his phone. “Five minutes until midnight.”

He set an alarm on his phone, put on the condom, and climbed onto the chaise, using his knee to spread her legs wider. The fit on the chaise was tight, so they rolled to their sides, facing each other. Carolina raised her leg and placed it over his hip. He eased inside her, watching her face as he entered her.

God, she was beautiful, the way her lips parted when he seated himself fully inside her. And then she gasped when he withdrew and thrust. He went slow and easy, taking his time, feeling her pu**y ripple as he made love to her with slow, gentle strokes.

She cupped his jaw, brought him forward to kiss her. He tasted wine on her lips, twined his tongue alongside hers, then brought it in deeper to suck even as he increased the thrusts of his cock. She moaned, and that sound gripped him, made his balls tighten.

He felt the pulses, knew she was close, and when the alarm sounded on his phone, he looked at her, saw the rapture on her face.

“Happy New Year, Lina.”

“Happy New Year, Drew. Now make me come.”

He ground against her, pulled out and thrust deep, and she shattered, letting go with a hoarse cry that splintered the quiet of the night. He groaned and released, going with her as they shuddered together, ringing in the new year in the best way he ever had.

He held her, stroked her back and kissed her.

“Can we sleep here tonight?” she asked.

“We could, but it might get cold.”

“I could never get cold when your arms are wrapped around me.”

He tightened his hold on her and stared up at the stars, listening to the sounds of the ocean waves.

A perfect night. A perfect woman.

Tomorrow, they’d go back to reality. But for now, it was the best night he’d ever had.

TWENTY-ONE

IT HAD BEEN MORE DIFFICULT TO GET BACK TO REALITY and the intense, frenetic pace of work than Carolina had thought it would be. The trip to Florida with Drew had been idyllic, a beautiful fantasy that had been equal parts relaxing and deeply disturbing.

She’d definitely had fun. She always had fun with Drew. And the sex, of course, had been phenomenal. But the underlying emotion of the day and night they’d spent together had been unexpected. She didn’t know what to make of it, and had tried her best to push it aside, to concentrate only on the hot and fun aspects of her relationship with him.

And now her deadline loomed even closer, and she had spent a week buried with her team, finalizing clothes and making subtle changes to a few of the designs.

Gray had stopped by for a fitting during the week, so she at least had his clothing figured out now. All of the models had received final fittings, so everything was being settled.

She wanted to do a test shoot with Drew for the ad campaign, and she’d gotten permission from the Garden to do that with him after one of his practices this week. She wouldn’t need the professional photographers until the day of the shoot. She just wanted to get positioning right, to make sure this idea in her head would actually work. That she could do with her own camera.

Drew had agreed to stay after practice and meet with her at the rink. She brought the clothes and met him outside the locker room after everyone had left. She hadn’t seen him in two weeks. He’d had a few road games, his schedule had been packed tight, and she’d been over her head with post-holiday catch-up.

Though they had talked on the phone and texted every day.

She’d finally had to admit to herself that, like it or not, this was a relationship. Surprisingly, the idea of it hadn’t panicked her as much as she thought it might.

She smiled as she saw him walking down the hallway to-

ward her.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, thoroughly, until she went limp, content to let him work his magic on her mouth.

When he pulled back, his eyes had gone dark with desire, and every nerve ending in her body was zinging.

“It’s been a long damn time since I held you in my arms. I missed you.”

She smiled and looped her arm in his as they headed down the hall. “I missed you, too. How did practice go today?”

“Practice went good. It always does. If only we could figure out how to transfer those kick-ass practices into winning games.”

“Your record isn’t that bad.”

“At home we’re awesome. It’s only on the road we’re having problems.”

“You’ll figure it out, Drew.”

“Yeah, we will.”

He led her into the locker room. “Okay, what’s the deal for this shoot?”

She laid her bag on the bench. “This is the underwear line I’ve created. I’d like to start with you in the briefs and T-shirt, and then just the briefs.”

“And you want me on the ice in these?”

“Yeah. I know it’s going to be uncomfortable, but I want you with your hockey stick in your hand, near the net. Did they leave the net up?”

“Yeah. I asked the crew to leave the net up. They’re going to come back later and take it down and lock up.”

“Okay, great.”

He kicked off his boots. “I can’t believe I’m going to freeze my ass off for you.”

“I really appreciate this.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He changed into the boxer briefs and T-shirt that Carolina had provided him.

“How do they feel?” she asked.

He looked down, then at her. “Like underwear.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Why? Do they have superpowers? Or will my dick grow an extra inch when I’m wearing them? Because if so, you’re going to make billions on these things.”

“Never mind.” She walked away.

He followed. “Babe. It’s underwear. Men aren’t picky about it. Besides, you’re really advertising this to women, aren’t you? Women buy a ton of underwear for their men, don’t they?”

She stopped and turned to face him. “Yes.”

“All right then. Let’s make women want some men’s underwear.” He grabbed his hockey stick, and Carolina laughed.

Sometimes, Drew could turn the most complicated thing into something simple.

They headed toward the ice, where James had set up a carpet leading from the step off onto the ice and toward the net.

He owed James a case of beer.

“I’m pumped and feeling energized in these briefs. Like I could maybe even fly.” He took a superhero stance.

She laughed. “Too late. Let’s get you into position and take the pictures.”

“Sounds good to me. I’m already cold.”

Excitement fueled her. “Okay. Let’s just do a few test shots of you standing next to the net.”

Drew stood there holding his stick.

“Um, boring. Could you kind of get into a sexy position?”

He cocked a brow. “Define ‘sexy position’.”

“I don’t know. Lean back.”

He leaned back. And looked ridiculous. She laughed.

And Drew frowned. “So we’re done now?”

“I’m sorry.” She wasn’t a professional photographer, the kind who could make a model feel sexy, who could draw out the vibes needed to get them in the mood.

But . . . she was a woman. And she knew what it took to get Drew in the mood.

She walked over to him. This visual had been in her head for so long, she just had to get it out, take the test shots, and see if this was even going to work.

“Put the stick in your left hand, then lean over this way, with your hand on the net. Yes. Just like that.” She made sure to touch his body, to caress him the way she would if they were alone together.

She focused the lens on him. “I love seeing you in my clothes. Of course I love seeing you without any clothes.”

His gaze hit hers, and she took the picture.

She smiled at him, then moved in closer, getting his face, the way he watched her whenever she touched him to realign his body.

“Spread your legs, just a little.” She made sure to touch his butt, his thighs, to take deep breaths when she was near him.

“Carolina.” His eyes looked dark and a little dangerous. Perfect.

She got the shot, and with every subsequent picture, she was certain she’d been right when she’d visualized this.

“Now, take off the shirt and let’s get you in just the briefs.”

He pulled the shirt off and she tossed it over her shoulder.

“Slide just the tips of your fingers inside the briefs, Drew. Let me see your hipbone.”

“You asking me to do a striptease for you?”

She smiled, but kept her focus through the lens. “Maybe.”

The look he gave her melted her. She clicked the camera, shot after shot, as he instinctively got into it. Now he knew what she wanted.