I'm so excited about the release of Teamwork at Ellora's Cave today. This is the fourth book in my Hot Ice series - though they don't need to be read in order - and I can't wait for Todd, Fiona and Raven to be unleashed on the world.
Blurb
What I know about hockey could fit on the back of a stamp. So my latest patient may be one of the NHL’s hottest defensemen, but I’m not exactly blown away by his stardom. Add in the fact that he’s a surly, growling grump, and I’m more than happy to work my magic on his battered body and then hot-foot to my date with his teammate, Todd “Pretty” Carty.
Todd is sex on a stick, a slice of man heaven and I want a bit of the action, preferably of the bedroom variety. But when Raven emerges from his bad mood and throws his energy into blowing my mind with just one kiss, I find my head spinning and my libido raging.
What I didn’t bargain on is these hard-training, hard-playing hockey players working as efficiently off the ice as on it when it comes to getting results. But who am I to complain when satisfaction is their ultimate goal?
Reader Advisory: Contains m/f/m. Go on, you know you want to indulge!
Excerpt
I slept fitfully, my head full of dreams of the two men who’d kissed me the night before. When I awoke, I was hot and naked, my fingers fragrant from fretting my clit. Masturbating hadn’t served me well. Several short, sharp orgasms had done nothing to take the edge off the lust Raven’s kiss had ignited or dampen the desire at the thought of being in bed with Todd.
What the hell was I doing? I’d never been attracted to two men before. I was a one-man girl.
But there was something about both of them that had set a fire in my belly that refused to be dulled, even in the light of day. And as I set about having a shower and washing my hair, applying a little makeup, I had no damn idea what I was going to do about it.
The small kitchen that was part of my area was out of coffee, so I headed downstairs in my underwear and robe. Raven had a stash of the good stuff in his cupboard.
After putting the coffee on, I stared out of the window. It was another sunny, blue-skied day in Orlando. Not a wisp of cloud to be seen. I thought of my parents in rainy Wales. I ought to give them a call later and check on how they were.
The house was quiet despite it being nearly ten. I guessed Raven was sleeping in after the late night. I wondered if he’d relieved himself the way I had, and if so, had it been any more fulfilling? The thought of him touching himself, jerking off with images of me in his head did something strange to my stomach.
What was it about this intriguing man that had my libido so riled? His Native American history, his steely determination and brooding manner had clearly clicked some switch in my Welsh genetic makeup. He couldn’t be any more different to me, physically and emotionally. The way he preferred to fold in on himself was so opposed to my love of talking through problems.
It was the age-old conundrum of opposites attracting, good girl goes for bad boy, not to mention the thrill of knowing someone wanted me enough to back me up against a wall and kiss me until I couldn’t breathe. There was no doubt about it, that had been the hottest kiss of my life.
I sighed and thought of lovely, perfect, polite Todd. He would be here in a couple of hours. I was looking forward to spending the day with him. Perhaps I’d get to see his place tonight and if so, bed action with him might shake this ridiculous attraction I felt for Raven. And it would hardly be a chore, jumping into Todd’s bed. The guy was a slice of man heaven just waiting to be devoured, or was that let him devour me?
A noise behind me jolted me from my sexy daydream.
Turning, my breath caught and my head went fuzzy. Standing just inside the doorway of the kitchen were Todd and Raven.
Their shoulders were almost touching, each as tall as the other, but that was were any similarity ended.
Todd looked suave and sophisticated. His blond hair was carefully tousled, he wore smart navy pants, a white shirt and pale-blue tie. He held a pink gift bag decorated with an enormous bow and he was grinning broadly.
Raven once again wore just his sweats. His skin, the color of a perfect, just-baked loaf, appeared shower damp and his hair was scraped back. He topped off his look with the usual scowl and drawn-down brows.
Todd walked over to the table, his shiny leather shoes clacking on the floor, and set down the gift. “Morning, sugar, how did you sleep?”
“Well, I…not too good actually.”
“I’m sorry about that.” He stepped up to me, slotted his hand into my hair and gave me a soft kiss, right in the center of my lips.
I couldn’t help but melt, and had to curl my hand around his forearm to keep my balance. Damn it, he was good. He smelled and felt marvelous, his cologne a combination of lemon and green apples, and his just-shaved chin as smooth as silk against mine. If I hadn’t been holding on, I would have pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
“Sorry, I’m early. I guess I was just looking forward to seeing you,” he said quietly against my mouth.
“That’s fine, but I’m not quite ready and I just need to…” I glanced around his shoulder at Raven. “I just need to do ten minutes of acupuncture on Raven before we go.”
“Ah, the silent acupuncture treatment.” Todd dropped his hand from my hair and turned to face Raven.
Raven’s fists clenched and his shoulders lifted toward his ears. Somewhere in my subconscious I took that as a good sign, but I was more worried about the stormy expression flitting across his face—the tight set of his jaw and the way his lips had thinned —none of it boded well.
He hasn’t calmed down from last night then.
“I’ve heard all about your arrangement,” Todd said to Raven with a laugh. “How you two can’t bear to speak to one another. You’re a fool. I keep telling you, lighten up.”
Raven’s nose twitched and he took several ground-eating paces across the kitchen until he was face-to-face with Todd.
“Fiona and I communicate just fine,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “You’d do well to remember that.”
Todd raised his eyebrows. Amusement sparkled in the depths of his blue irises. He didn’t seem in the slightest bit bothered by the murderous intent oozing from Raven.
Hell, I am.
If they were going to kick off I had no intention of getting in the middle of all that brawn. And if Todd kept smirking at Raven then fireworks were really going to explode. Spectacularly.
I stepped away but a sudden arm around my waist stopped me moving far.
“Hey,” I gasped, staring up at Raven. “Let me—”
Suddenly he was kissing me with the same extreme passion he had the night before. I murmured a weak, pitiful complaint and, to my shame, allowed him to take total possession. I was helpless, too far gone. Raven’s particular brand of kissing was addictive and completely irresistible.
His tongue probed deep and he tipped me backward, dipping me to the floor at the same time as pulling me up against his warm skin and holding me secure in his arms.
As suddenly as it started the kiss stopped. He pulled me up and looked deep into my eyes. I was breathless, breathless and turned-on and about to become a quivering mass of helpless need on the kitchen tiles.
Jesus, what girl wouldn’t be?
My robe had slipped open and I could feel the cool air-conditioning blowing down on my cleavage, my belly and the tops of my thighs. I welcomed it, I was feverish.
“You see, Todd, no problem,” Raven said, gently pulling me completely upright but doing nothing about my exposed body. “Communication is not an issue at all. We’ve got a great system.”
A seed of sense returned and hurriedly I covered myself—words, apologies, excuses tripping through my brain. “Todd, I-I’m sorry, he… I…”
Todd tipped back his head and laughed. A great big guffaw. “Don’t worry about it.” He held his palms up to Raven. “I’m just glad you haven’t completely ducked out of the land of the living, buddy. I was worried about you there.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Todd pulled in a deep breath, looked at me then back to Raven. His face fell serious. “Only thing is, you’ve just kissed my date.” He lifted his eyebrows. “And I’m not sure what to do about that.”
Raven folded his arms. “Your date?”
“Yeah, its Phoenix and Brooke’s little one’s christening. You did get an invite. I saw it on your desk.” He paused. “But Fiona is coming with me.”
Raven grunted.
Todd reached out and traced the chenille collar of my robe. “If you still want to, that is?”
“Yes, yes of course.” More than anything I didn’t want to ruin my chances with Todd, but it was also clear I was as trustworthy as an ice cube in the desert when it came to Raven.
I glanced at Raven and he pressed his palm to my cheek, as though absorbing the blush burning there. “It’s okay,” he said in as soft a voice as I’d ever heard him use. “Don’t worry about it. Go with Todd.”
My heart swelled. I didn’t want to leave him out or hurt him. “Why don’t you come too? With us.”
“He will,” Todd said quickly. “He can catch up with everyone. Show them all he’s still alive and kicking.”
“Will you?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He leaned forward. “If you want me to.”
His breath breezed across my cheek, or was it Todd’s? He was right next to me too, stroking down my neck, across to my shoulder. His aftershave was mixing with the raw, male smell of Raven—black pepper, soap and sex.
A white-hot shiver ran through my body. They were both so close, circling me, surrounding me. Far from fireworks of the fisticuff type, there seemed to be sparks of arousal flashing all over the place. And it wasn’t just me.
Raven’s mouth was by my ear now, his tongue just touching my lobe, his stubbled cheek against mine.
“Well, since we both want you,” Todd said, brushing his lips over my mouth, “why don’t we both have you?”
If you fancy checking out the other books I've written that star those deliciously bad boys of the ice, click on the covers below. And if you want to feast on some eye candy then hit the sexy hockey player groupie button and enjoy my Pinterest page featuring the real thing!! Oh, la, la...
Coming soon
M/M
