Dirty Score, A Rough Riders Hockey Novel (16 page)

Mia felt like she’d walked into a fairy tale.

“There she is.” The excited female voice drew Mia’s attention. Cynthia rushed over to her, arms outstretched, her dark face glowing with a gorgeous smile. “
Mia
.”

She wrapped Mia in her arms, and they hugged tight, rocking back and forth.

“Oh my God,” Mia said, “you got rid of your dreads.” She pulled back and looked at her friend again. Her black hair, once held in carefully tended dreadlocks to her shoulders, was now a frisky, cropped headful of tiny coils. “God, I
love
it. You look
beautiful
.”

She laughed. “So do you. It’s so good to see you. I’m so excited you’re here.” Releasing her, Cynthia slid her hand down Mia’s arm and tugged her forward. “Let me introduce you— Aaron,” she yelled across the patio filled with people. “Mia’s here.”

Mia swore every head turned. She experienced a millisecond of
oh shit
, until everyone smiled, raised whatever they were drinking, and shouted boisterous rounds of “
Mi
a!”

She was laughing when she reached for Rafe. He was standing back, hands in his pants pockets. And when she hooked her hand through his elbow and met his eyes, she found him smiling. His expression filled with a sweet, raw, real joy. Joy that she was the center of attention.

“Come on. Let me introduce you,” she said. “Cynthia, this is one of my best friends in the world, Rafe.”

Rafe offered his hand and a genuine greeting.

“Rafe,” Cynthia said, “you have good taste in friends.”

“And I have good taste in designers.” The man who came to Cynthia’s side was white, in his midthirties, good-looking, and gregariously friendly. He offered his hand to Mia first, then Rafe. “Aaron. So glad you could make it.”

The gate behind them opened, drawing Aaron’s and Cynthia’s gazes. Mia turned to a well-dressed older couple arriving to a cheering crowd.

“Wouldn’t you know it?” Aaron said to Cynthia, grinning. “Just like Tony and Martha to steal the limelight.” Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Mia and Rafe. “It’s the producer and his wife. Let me just give Tony the costume costs of this episode, and I’ll be right back with you.”

“Of course,” Mia said.

Aaron gripped her shoulders, gave her a little shake, and said, “So glad to have you, Mia.”

A laugh of surprise popped out of her, making Aaron smile. He released her, told them to help themselves to anything, mingle, and he’d find them again, then moved on.

Cynthia took over, sliding her arm through Mia’s and staying close by her side as she walked her through the patio, all while Rafe hung back. But every time she turned to look for him, he was right there with a reassuring smile.

Mia had lost count of how many people Cynthia introduced her to when she finally stopped and tugged on her friend’s arm. “Uncle. I’m never going to remember everyone’s name, let alone their faces and their positions. I’ve hit my threshold.”

Cynthia laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m just so excited. You’re going to
love
it here, Mia.”

She smiled and nodded, sure Cynthia would have been right if it hadn’t been for the man standing behind her. The man she reached back for now. The man who easily wrapped her hand in his like he’d done it a million times, threaded their fingers and gave her a squeeze of reassurance. If it weren’t for Rafe, Mia might have been able to be very happy here. And maybe, in time, she still would be.

“Well, it just so happens this is the perfect place to end our tour,” Cynthia said, wandering toward one of the most boisterous tables on the patio. There were four men sitting in chairs and four women either in chairs or on the men’s laps. One of the men and a couple of the women looked familiar, but the only one she could pin down was the golden-haired beauty closest to Mia. A woman who was either Giselle Diamond, the newest breakout country music mogul, or her twin. Cynthia put her hand on one of the men’s shoulders and grinned at Mia. “I call this the Los Angeles-is-for-beautiful-people table.”

While Mia agreed wholeheartedly, the group at the table erupted in guffaws and snark. Various items were thrown in Cynthia’s direction, making her squeal, and laughter erupted from everyone in a thirty-foot radius.

Rafe slipped his arms around Mia’s waist from behind, and his laugh vibrated into her back.

“This is our stunt team, the Renegades,” Cynthia said, still laughing. “They’re based here in LA, and they helped us finish up our episode today. Jax, Wes, Keaton, and Troy. And these are their beautiful ladies, Lexi, Rubi, Brooke, and Ellie. Renegades, this is Mia, a new addition to our costume team, and her boy Rafe.”

“Oh my God.” This came from the stunning—as in gorgeous beyond words—woman draped over Wes’s Lap. Fighting through the catalogue of names, Mia decided that would make the woman Rubi. “You’re in the costume department? Don’t you dare tell me you made that.” One long, red-tipped finger moved up and down Mia’s body. “But you’d better tell me where you bought it, because I have
got
to have it.” Without taking her eyes off Mia, she tipped her head and spoke to Wes. “Don’t you think that would look good on me, baby?”

Wes’s grin was pure kid-in-a-candy-store joy. “You look good in anything, and you look good in nothing. I will take you any way you come and any way I can get you.”

Rubi’s own smile beamed, and her attention veered from Mia’s outfit back to her boyfriend. “I sort of ask those things just to hear you say that.”

“I sort of already know that,” he said, “and I sort of never get sick of saying it.”

“Get a roooooooo—” Troy’s bitch was cut off by his girlfriend’s mouth as she kissed him, making the group laugh.

Then Rubi’s gaze returned to Mia, sharp and intent. “I’m totally serious. I’ll pay you a thousand dollars to make me what you’re wearing.” Mia didn’t even get a chance to inhale before Rubi said, “Okay, two thousand.”

“Um, I—” Mia started.

“Damn, you drive one hell of a hard bargain, girl. But if you’re workin’ for Aaron, I know you’re worth it. Five thousand, not a penny more.”

Lexi, the stunning blonde woman sitting on Jax’s lap, leaned over and wrapped her hand over Rubi’s mouth from behind. “Shut up, already. You’re outbidding yourself.”

Rubi slapped Lexi’s hand away, and Mia was laughing so hard, she leaned back against Rafe for support.

“We’re meeting you on our way out,” Jax said. “Our job on the episode just finished up.”

“You’ll be back,” Cynthia said.

“True.”

“What do you do, Rafe?” Wes asked.

“I play hockey.”

Mia fought the urge to say more, to pass the spotlight back over to Rafe as the NHL star. But there was so much more to him that got overlooked, so she stayed quiet.

“Professional hockey?” Jax asked. When Rafe nodded, Jax asked, “What team?”

“Rough Riders. We’re out of—”

“DC,” Rubi finished, then told Jax. “They’re here playing the Ducks for the Cup.”

For the first time, Keaton, spoke. “How do you know that?”

Rubi shot Keaton a superior grin, but didn’t have to say anything. The woman on his lap, Brooke, offered a teasing “Because Rubi knows everything. You should know that by now.”

“Plus it’s all over the news,” Rubi added with a smirk. “If you got your head out of your girl’s panties once in a while you’d know what’s going on in the world.”

That brought more laughter and another wave of snark between the Renegades. This group was obviously tight enough to finish each other’s thoughts. The way Mia had once been with Rafe and Tate and the rest of the team and their families. She would be losing all that when she moved here.

Mia glanced around at the others who worked on the
Wicked Dawn
set. They would be her new family. They were nice enough. And California was certainly as beautiful as everyone said. Yet she still couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for the move or the job or this new phase of her life. Not after experiencing this connection with Rafe.

“Sure,” Rafe was saying, pulling Mia back to the conversation too late to understand what they were talking about. “My schedule can get pretty hectic during the season. But we come out here to play several different teams, and I could just stay an extra day or two depending on my games.”

“Great,” Jax said. “It’s always good to have experts of every kind we can call on for a quick lesson. The movie industry is crazy, and we never know what we’ll get asked to do next.”

“You’re forgetting I know how to skate,” Troy told Jax.

“You call that sliding around the ice on your ass skating?” Jax shot back. “I remember it was a good thing that guy teaching you was in the off-season, because you needed a lot more than a few lessons. You sucked.”

“I got the hang of it eventually.” He turned heavy-lidded eyes on the woman sitting in his lap and tapped a gentle kiss to her lips. “And I didn’t suck when I was out on the ice with you.”

“No,” she admitted, scraping her fingers along his neck. “You were definitely two hundred percent Prince Charming when you asked me to marry you. I won’t ever forget that performance.”

Performance. That was enough to seal the woman’s identity for Mia. Hadn’t everyone told her Los Angeles glittered with stars? It really wasn’t all that different from New York, except in New York, Mia often saw “stars” like Robert Downey Jr. riding the subway or Katie Holmes grabbing Starbucks.

Troy tilted his head and kissed his smiling fiancée.

And from across the table, his buddy Wes treated him to a little payback with, “Get a roooooooo—” only to be cut off by a kiss from his girlfriend, Rubi.

And once again, laughter filled the air.

Mia laughed too. Rafe gave her a squeeze and murmured at her ear, “I think you’ll be really happy here.”

On impulse, she turned her head and kissed him. Just a press of lips against lips—their first public kiss. The act held more power than she realized. It pumped a thrill through her veins. She felt stronger. More powerful.

And when she pulled away, she looked him directly in the eye and said, “I just wish it was closer to you.”

When Aaron finished up with the producer, he and Mia drifted away from Rafe for longer conversations with several key people in costume. Over the course of the next two hours, she got a better idea of the industry, how television episodes were taped, and the impact of that schedule on costume.

She also clearly recognized how completely her world would revolve around this job. Not a clock, not sleep, not meals, certainly not friendships, relationships, or relaxation. Cynthia had, in essence, said the same thing. And Mia had lived the life in several different jobs. But something about the stoic intensity with which Aaron delivered that news now sat on Mia’s shoulders like lead, exhausting her before she’d even begun working.

Standing near the bar, she accepted her third glass of wine from the bartender and refocused on Aaron, who’d been explaining the company’s benefits package. She scanned the patio and found Rafe with yet another group of people, engaged in yet another conversation. He’d definitely gotten the better end of this deal tonight. Had been meeting and enjoying almost everyone here.

His gaze drifted through the crowd and halted on her. He seemed to assess her in seconds. Until now, she’d smiled, he’d smiled, and the night went on. Now, he tipped his head toward the exit.
Oh yes. Thank God
. Mia inclined her head.

Rafe spoke to the group, shook a few hands, and started her way.

“I know this may sound overwhelming at first,” Aaron was saying, “but we have a lot of fun at work, and we don’t put you on salary, so you’re compensated for every hour you work with overtime. Holidays are double-time. And there are all kinds of unexpected bonuses that vary season to season depending on the actors and directors and producers. They’re always throwing special parties and doling out great quarterly and yearly bonus checks.”

All great perks. If Mia wasn’t so seasoned, she’d see those for the glittery carrots they were meant to be. But she’d learned about two jobs back that no amount of money or parties or gifts could replace freedom or serenity or peace or love.

But she told Aaron, “That sounds fantastic.”

“Excuse me.” Rafe stopped next to Mia and offered Aaron a smile. “I hate to break in, but I should get back. Early practice tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Mia told Rafe.

While Rafe ordered an Uber driver, Mia gushed over Aaron’s hospitality and his time. Told him how excited she was to start the job. Then she found Cynthia, gave her a hug, and promised to call her in the morning so they could meet to see the apartment and get a tour around town.

When they finally stepped outside the ivy-covered wall and back into reality, an SUV was waiting. They climbed in, and Rafe told the driver where to go. Then he collected Mia in his arms, pulled her close, and murmured, “Put your head down and close your eyes, baby. I know you need to decompress from all that.”

Mia exhaled. Tears welled in her eyes. With no outlet, she did as he suggested, and with her cheek on his shoulder, his strong arms wrapped around her, his warmth and scent grounding her, the turbulence that party had whipped up inside her calmed for a moment. She couldn’t voice her fears. Couldn’t lament about wishing she could go back and change her mind over this job. She was afraid Rafe would validate her fears, and it was too late now.

Way too late.

“
M
aybe tomorrow
,” Rafe told Mia, “we can rent a car and drive along the coast. Stop in those little towns you love and walk around. Shop at the little stores. Pick up some new things for your apartment.” Remembering her budget, he added, “It’ll be my housewarming gift.”

Her lips curved, and she snuggled closer in the backseat of the car. The vise gripping his heart tightened a little more.

“We can have an early lunch at a beachside café, just hang out there, sipping sangria and soaking up the sun while we listen to the waves. When our butts go numb, we can take a long walk on the beach.”

She sighed, and her warm breath penetrated his shirt. He bent his head to kiss her temple and closed his eyes, pulling in a deep lungful of her scent. Damn, she smelled like heaven and heartbreak all rolled into one.

“What about practice?” she asked.

“Doesn’t start till three. That will give us time to stop at your apartment on the way back and see Cynthia. And after I spend an appropriate amount of time with the guys at dinner, I’ll sneak back to your room and spend the night with you.” Tangled up in the sheets, naked, making love to her every way he could think of to show her how passionately he felt about her.

“God,” Mia closed her eyes on a soft moan. “That sounds like heaven.”

They fell silent for the rest of the drive, but Rafe’s brain spun for a solution to the distance that would soon face them. He didn’t want to accept that there was no reasonable way for them to be together.

He could wait until June and the end of hockey season to talk to Tate and Joe about his feelings for Mia. But her new job was a real problem. He couldn’t live on the West Coast. She couldn’t live on the East Coast. And neither could ask the other to give up their dream. That wouldn’t be such a big problem if either of their jobs allowed time for leisure travel. But by the sounds of things at the party, Mia would have her nose to the grindstone. And Rafe would be either playing or practicing nearly every day for eight months of the year.

This was screwed, plain and simple.

The SUV stopped in front of the hotel, and reality rushed in. They only had days left together. Once they went their own ways again, everything would change. They’d be friends, but it would be different now. A thin layer of awkwardness would always exist between them. Neither would know exactly where their friendship boundary lay, so both of them would stand back a little further, in fear of stepping over.

Next time he saw her, maybe this summer, she’d be dating some new hot surfer dude, all buff and bronze. Rafe and Mia would pretend their time together never happened. They’d laugh and talk about how they’d been friends forever, how they knew each other inside and out, but they wouldn’t. Not anymore. Because this time together had already changed them both. Rafe would hug her when he left, like he always did. Smile and wave as if he were the carefree bachelor that fit the rumors. But inside, he’d be leaving the most important piece of himself behind.

“God.” She exhaled and covered her eyes. “I just wish time would stop.”

Instead, the car stopped, and they both had to get out and face reality.

Rafe thanked the driver, offered him a tip, and opened the door, offering his hand. He glanced toward the hotel as the wide glass doors opened and a gaggle of his teammates wandered out. Thankfully, Kilbourne wasn’t with them.

“Shit,” he muttered, dropping his hand before Mia had time to take it, then stepped back, putting space between himself and the car.

“Savage,” a few of the guys said in unison. Then Tierney asked, “Where you been, man?”

Before he could answer, Mia stepped out.

All five guys slowed, their gazes a mix of suspicion and you-dirty-dog. Then shared looks to confirm they all believed the same thing—that he and Mia were getting it on.

“Oh, hi, guys,” Mia said easily, as if she didn’t notice. “Where are you headed?”

“We’re going to meet Tate and a few other guys over at Sweet,” Hendrix said, a wicked smile growing on his face. “We’d ask you to join us, but it looks like you already have a private little party—”

“Ty,” Mia cut him off with a don’t-start attitude. “Knock it off or I’ll give Kimberly a call, and she’ll knock it off for you as soon as you get home.”

A couple of the other guys laughed and shoved Ty’s shoulder.

“Lighten up,” Isaac said. “I was just kidding.”

“No, you were being a prick,” Rafe told him. “And if you want to win the Cup, you won’t shoot your mouth off about something you know nothing about to Tate and fuck up the balance we’ve got going.”

That wiped the smile off everyone’s face.

The guys continued on their way, with Isaac offering, “Don’t stay up too late, kids.”

“And you guys stay out of trouble,” Mia said. “You know I’ll hear about it if you don’t. And you know all your wives and girlfriends like me better than they like any of you.”

That brought a little joviality back to the group, and Rafe followed Mia into the lobby. “You are so damn sassy.”

She shot a half smile over her shoulder. “They’ll be
so glad
when they find out I’m going to be across the country.”

At the elevator, Rafe stepped up close behind Mia and leaned forward to press the button, purposely brushing his body with hers. He slid his hands into his pants pockets but stayed so close at her back, their heat mingled. Their magnetic fields pushed and pulled.

“You know this whole team has the deepest respect for you, right?” he said, his voice low. “The way you call them on their shit. They may not like it, but they respect you for it.”

“Some do. Some don’t. Either way, I don’t care. They can say what they want when I’m not around, but no one’s going to pull that shit to my face. Ty’s a privileged young brat, born with talent. He’ll be a whole different person once he’s had an injury and faced his hockey mortality.”

She glanced up at him. “Besides, Kimberly really
does
love me, and she’s way too good for him. What do you want to bet he apologizes to me before the next game?”

The elevator doors opened, and Mia walked in. Rafe followed, keeping his back to the doors as he tapped the button for Mia’s floor. “I love wagers. But I can’t wait thirty-six hours for the outcome of a bet I want to win right now.”

The doors closed, and they were alone. He’d wanted to be alone with her for what felt like for-fucking-
ever
. He took one step to close the distance between them and pressed his hands to the bar running along the wall behind Mia. He bent his head until his mouth was millimeters from hers, and when her lips parted and her eyes sparked, a thrill coursed straight through his body. This woman could do so much to him with so little effort.

“Want to make another bet with me? One that we could resolve, say, in the next thirty to sixty seconds?”

“Depends. What kind of outcome were you hoping to get right now, Mr. Savage?”

“You,” he said without hesitation. “All you. All naked. All night.”

Her breath hitched, and another thrill shot straight through his cock.

“I love that I can make your breath catch like that. And the bet is that you’re dripping wet by the time we reach your door.”

“We’re almost to my floor. And you should be exhausted after the game you played tonight.”

“The thought of getting you naked gives me all kinds of energy.” He eased his lower body against hers, groaning at the delicious feel of counterpressure to his aching erection. “I want to be in your bed tonight, Mia. Deep inside you
all night
.”

Mia scraped in an audible breath and pushed out a lust-filled “Rafe…”

“Yes. I want you saying my name just like that. Over and over.” Fire flashed through his veins. “I want you to moan it. And scream it. And beg it.” He lowered his mouth as if he were going to kiss her, and used every ounce of restraint he had to let his lips hover over hers. “Are you wet for me, Mia? Because I am
so
hard for you.”

“Shit.” The word barely emerged audible. Her eyes darted to the numbers on the elevator.

“If you’re not wet yet, you’re going to be when I tell you what’s in my pocket.”

Her gaze lowered to his, her lids heavy. “What?”

He pressed his lips to her cheek. Her temple. Then whispered, “A tie. A crimson silk tie. If you tell me what you want to do to me with that smart, ripe, beautiful mouth of yours, I’ll let you have it.”

The sound that slipped from her throat almost sent Rafe over the edge. A tight, delicious whimper of desire.

“If I put my hand under your dress and touched your pussy, would you drip on my fingers like icing?”

“You are…” She panted in quick, shallow breaths. “So bad…”

The elevator stopped, and Rafe pivoted away. It would be just his luck for Tate to have come back to the hotel, check in on Mia, and be standing at the elevator doors when Rafe had his hand under her dress.

But the doors opened to an empty hallway. He put his foot in the door’s path, leaned forward, and glanced into the hall, looking both ways.

“Get your key out,” he told her.

“What?” she asked.

He glanced back. “Your key. Get it out so we can go right into your room.”

When she pulled it from her purse, he snapped it up, kissed her hard, and let her go with a little momentum toward her door across the hall.

He pushed the door to her room open and didn’t wait for it to close before gathering her close and kissing her again. She responded like she’d been waiting all night for this moment. Her passion acted like a catalyst for an explosion between them. He groaned into her mouth, pushed her against the wall, and kissed her the way he needed her—like he was drowning, and she was his air. He poured all his confusion, frustration, need, desire, want, and love for her into the kiss.

Mia pushed at his jacket until it fell off his shoulders, and he released her waist to let it slide off his arms. He wanted to slow down. Wanted to savor her. But that would have to come later, because this need was white-hot and wild. While she worked at his buttons, he worked on his belt. And by the time she spread his shirt, Rafe bent to slide his hands under her skirt and pull at her panties.

They were both breathing fast and hard when he lifted her and pinned her against the wall with his body. When she slid a hand between them to grasp his cock and position it right where it belonged. Rafe managed to pause a moment there. He moved hair off her face, then tightened his fingers in the strands.

“I’ve
never
wanted anyone the way I want you, Mia,” he confessed, his voice ragged. He dropped his forehead to hers. “This is…”

He didn’t have words to describe the depth of need and emotion inside him and just shook his head.

Her nails bit into his shoulders where she’d peeled his shirt back. “Shut up and fuck me, Rafe.”

A growl rolled through his throat, and his hips lunged forward, penetrating her in one long stroke. Her cry mingled with his. His brain went white with pleasure. And need took over. The need to drive and drive and drive the intense pleasure between them.

With Mia’s legs tight at his hips, her nails digging into his skin, Rafe slammed her against the wall with each thrust. Her cries for more, harder, deeper drove him until she broke, arching against the wall, head dropped back, mouth open.

The feel of her coming, squeezing his cock, her juice raining over him, pushed him to the edge of sanity. Pushed him to demand more. He fucked her until her hands slipped on his sweaty skin. He fucked her with the frenzy of a man who’d found the Holy Grail. With the desperation of a man who knew the prize would be taken from him at any moment. He fucked her until she begged for mercy. And when he came, Rafe’s world spiraled.

While they caught their breath, Rafe grappled with the realization that there was no way in hell he could let her go—Tate or no Tate. Joe or no Joe. Riders or no Riders. He needed Mia with him more than all three of those combined.