Jack had one rule during the season: no dating. He didn’t sleep with women. He didn’t start a relationship. He didn’t allow anything to distract him from the game.
And when he opened his eyes and a broad strip of sunlight streamed down over Penny’s bare back, casting shadows on her face and her slightly parted lips, he wondered if it was the stupidest rule he’d ever made. He’d definitely broken it last night, and it had been fantastic! No, fantastic didn’t even come close to describing the last twelve hours. It had beenmore.
Who would have thought he could go almost an entire day without talking about hockey? Certainly not him or his entire team. It had been easy, though. Everything had beeneasy.
He didn’t know what had made it so incredibly good. Maybe it was the fact that they’d flirted with each other for so long, that they’d built up anticipation for so long. Maybe it was because Penny likedhim, not the professional hockey player or the man whose account had received four million dollars last year. Only him.
He gazed at Penny’s peaceful face: her bare eyelashes, which nevertheless lay dark against her skin, and the freckles on her nose. With his index finger, he brushed one of the short, darkstrands of hair from her forehead and gently traced the contours of her face with his thumb, down her cheek to her lips. God, she was beautiful. In the most understated, modest way. And he was fairly certain Penny would laugh if he told her that. He might not know what her job was or her full name, but one thing had become clear to him quickly: Penny was neither superficial nor interested in money.
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Yes, maybe it would still go over well, if he told her he was a professional athlete and hit pucks for a lot of money. Maybe that wouldn’t change anything. Maybe they shouldn’t let this one-night stand remain a one-night stand. But before he tackled that problem, he needed coffee.
Reluctantly, he released Penny’s hand, rubbed his face, and swung his legs out of bed. It took him a while to find his boxers. He had seen out of the corner of his eye last night that the large living room had a wide front window, and he didn’t want to scare the neighbors. Barefoot, he walked past the bathroom door and peeked into the living room.
Frowning, he looked around and wondered how well Penny’s brother knew his sister. Nothing about the apartment looked like her jam. When he thought about it, it looked more like Jack’s own apartment: Clean lines, bare surfaces, lots of chrome and black, and not a single picture. His sister Anna had claimed a few weeks ago that his apartment reminded her of one of the operating rooms in the hospital where she worked. Secretly, he agreed with her, but he had never been good at making a place feel like home.
Other than that, the apartment smelled of money. A lot of money. And he knew what he was talking about. The custom kitchen was new, and the countertops were marble. The lamp was definitely not from Ikea and the TV opposite the couch was bigger than Dax’s ego. And that was saying something. Granted,Dax was also one of the best people he knew — but one did not preclude the other.
Shaking his head, Jack folded his arms in front of his chest. Obviously, Penny’s brother was rich. Or Penny was rich. Someone had to be.
He yawned and was relieved to see that there was a coffee machine on the counter. He pushed aside Penny’s suitcase, which he had carelessly kicked into the apartment last night and, in doing so, knocked over the jute bag that Penny had just as carelessly dropped. The bag slid into the kitchen and spilled its contents across the tiled floor. Files flew open and a torrent of paper flooded Jack’s feet.
Shit. He frowned and bent down to push them back together and stuff them back into the bag. His eyes darted over the papers. It wasn’t intentional. It was more like an automatic response that he didn’t… He stopped abruptly.
Wait.
He opened his mouth in disbelief.Whywas his brother’s face smiling at him?
His shoulders tensed as he picked up the pile of papers and looked nervously at the next page, which had a picture of their defenseman, Leon Alvarez. Below it was his name, his current stats — hell, even his blood type was listed! The next sheet showed their team captain, Austin Fox, and behind him was their goalie Lucas Moreau, forward Matthew Payne…
“What the hell?” he exclaimed, his fingers tightening around the paper so that it crumpled. Anger pumped through his veins. The entire L.A. Hawks team seemed to have made it into this file! All except…him. Why? Because Penny carried his damn profile in her purse?
His jaw clicked and his stomach rumbled, making him sick. What kind of game was she playing? Why was she pretending not to know him when she was obviously a fanatic Hawks fan?
Fuck, she was one of those groupies that all players wanted to have, right? And he was her latest conquest. He groaned and ran his hand through his hair, a bitter taste flooding his mouth. Hell, how could he have fallen for that? How could he have…
“Coffee. I need coffee.”
Jack whipped around and saw Penny standing in the doorway. She was wearing nothing but his t-shirt, which barely reached her thighs. Her hair was tousled, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bleary, and her still-swollen lips slightly parted.
He was hard instantly. She looked so damn sexy, he would have been worried if it had been otherwise. At the same time, it made him furious. She was a fuckinggroupie!
Shit. This was just great! His body didn’t seem to care that she had screwed him over from start to finish, but his head did.
“What the hell is this?” he asked sharply, gritting his teeth as he lifted the stack of papers.
Penny blinked several times, pushed her hair back from her forehead, and walked toward him as the blush left her cheeks and her face slowly changed to the color of the wall behind her. “Oh, crap. You’re not supposed to see that. That’s all confidential.”
A dry laugh made its way out of his throat. “Oh yeah?” he mocked. “You don’t say! God, I’m such an idiot!” He shook his head, pressed his lips together, and pushed the papers into her arms.
Penny blinked again and frowned. “What are you talking about? Why are you an idiot?”
“Because I let myself be led around by the nose from the beginning!” he replied harshly, his voice dangerously calm. Of course, he didn’t raise it. He just didn’t. Not ever.
“What?” Penny tilted her head, visibly irritated, and then bent down, picking up the empty folder and putting the papers back into it. “I don’t understand. I’m the idiot for leavingthings lying around. These files aren’t meant for strangers to see. They’re…” She paused and looked up. “Wait, did you knock the bag over by accident or intentionally?” The next moment, her eyes narrowed. “Were you rummaging through my things because you suddenly wanted to find out who I am and what I do?”
He snorted. God, she was an excellent actress, he had to give her that.
“Cut the crap, Penny!”
