Break Away (The Baltimore Banners Book 5) (19 page)

JP propped both elbows on the bar and stared into the glass in front of him. He barely had two sips of it in the hour he was here, and couldn’t remember why he had even ordered it.

Oh, wait. He hadn’t ordered it.

"So are you going to talk, or just sit there and brood some more?"

"Hm?"

"Oh for shit’s sake. Give me that." Randy reached in front of him and grabbed the glass, pulling it toward him.

"Hey. If he’s not going to drink it, I will." Mat leaned across JP, reaching for the glass. JP shoved, pushing Mat back onto his stool before the beer ended up in his lap. And wouldn’t that be the perfect ending to this night?

"Here, take it. I’m not going to argue over warm beer, especially not when I can just go around the bar and pour a fresh one."

"Dude, isn’t that like drinking the profits or something? You shouldn’t be doing that."

"For fuck’s sake, Herron. Stop with the ‘dude’. Dude this, dude that. You sound like an idiot."

"What the hell?"

"Would you two knock it the fuck off? I don’t even know why I came here." JP pushed away from the bar, ready to slide off his stool and leave. Coming here had been a stupid idea. He didn’t want to be here, not when he could just as easily meet Emily had her hotel.

That stupid, damn hotel. He still didn’t understand why she insisted on staying there, not when she could be staying with him. At least she had agreed to hold-off on the apartment hunting. For now. But even JP knew that was only temporary, because hotels cost money. Each night. Why should Emily spend that kind of money when she could be in her own apartment?

Or living with him.

Randy grabbed his arm, holding him in place before he could slide from the stool. "So what is wrong with you, Larocque?"

"Emily moved out of her sister’s place because of me."

Randy shifted, his glance sliding to Mat before resting on JP again. "Okay, yeah. You kind of figured that out already though, right? Because you said as much last night."

"Yeah. Maybe. I guess. I didn’t know for sure until tonight, though. I went to see her sister."

Mat let loose a low whistle, a sound that only succeeded in grating on JP’s already stretched nerves. "Dude—sorry. I mean, why did you do that?"

"Because Emily is miserable and misses her sister and her niece and I thought, well, I thought it would help if I talked to her."

"Yeah? How’d that work out?"

JP looked over at Randy and wanted to smack the disbelieving look off his smug face. He grabbed the glass of beer instead and took a long swallow, grimacing at the bitterness of the room temperature brew.

"She hates me. She thinks I’m going to break Emily’s heart. Again."

"So that sucks." Mat pulled the bowl of mixed nuts closer to him and reached in, grabbing a handful. JP knocked his hand away, scattering the nuts across the bar. "What was that for?"

"For being a
connard
, eh?"

"Christ. Like it’s my fault she doesn’t like you?"

"Mat, just shut up." Randy tossed a few napkins at him then turned back to JP. "So what’d you do?"

"I told her I wasn’t like her ex and that I loved Emily."

"Dude, you actually told her that? That you loved her sister?"

Randy reached around JP and smacked Mat upside the head with the palm of his hand. He didn’t wait for Mat to respond, just turned back to JP and studied him, his gaze hooded, cautious. "What does the ex have to do with anything?"

"Her sister thinks all men are like her ex. And—" JP took a deep breath, paused, downed another swallow of the beer. "I think he used to hit her."

"What the fuck?" The twin expressions of disbelief echoed around him in stereo, muttered by both men at the same time. JP nodded and looked down at the glass in his hand, remembering the brief expression of horror and fear that had crossed Monica’s face when he grabbed her arm. His hand tightened around the glass, imagining it was the throat of the nameless, faceless ex.

All three of them were quiet for several long minutes, not knowing what to say. There was no doubt in JP’s mind that his two teammates were thinking the same thing he was, though. As rough as they could get on the ice, as rough as they could joke around, you didn’t hit a woman. Period.

"I take it he hasn’t been around for a while?"

JP drained the glass and shook his head. "At least a couple of years, from what I understand. I don’t know much about the whole situation and didn’t think it was a good time to ask."

"A good thing, then."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So did you get anything settled with her sister?"

"No. Pretty sure she still hates me."

"That sucks."

JP looked over at Mat, his brows raised in surprise at the stupidity of the comment. "You think?"

"So now what?"

"So now…I’m having a party on Christmas Eve."

"What?" Mat’s confusion was clear in both his voice and his expression. Randy didn’t do much better in hiding his own confusion.

"And the party at my place is now—?"

"Uh, cancelled. I guess."

"Hey, no problem. Less work for me. I just don’t understand how moving the party to your place is going to help with anything."

"I kind of invited Emily’s sister. You know, holidays and families and all that shit. I thought she might agree to come if it was at my place."

"Did she?"

"Well, no. But that doesn’t mean she won’t."

"Doesn’t mean she will. Do yourself a favor: don’t tell Emily. You don’t want to disappoint her in case she doesn’t show."

"I know." JP ran both hands through his hair then hung his head. Had he only succeeded in making things worse by going to see Emily’s sister? Not that they could really be worse. But what if he had? "Shit. What the hell did I just do?"

"What do you mean?" The question came from Mat, who was again reaching for the bowl of mixed nuts.

"If I’m having everything at my place, I need to decorate."

"Seriously? You haven’t decorated for Christmas yet?"

"No. I never do. Why bother, when it’s just me? Wait, let me guess. You do."

Mat looked up, his gaze drifting between JP and Randy. He tossed a handful of nuts into his mouth and chewed, then shrugged. "Of course I do. It’s Christmas. You have to decorate at Christmas."

JP opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t think of a retort strong enough so he just shook his head. Again. He slid off the stool and looked at Randy. "Can you let everyone know about the change?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"And you need to tell the single guys who are coming: no bimbos, no puck bunnies. They need to bring respectable dates or come solo."

Randy laughed and pointed at Mat. "Guess that means you’re coming solo, huh?"

"What? I can find a respectable date."

"Yeah, sure you can."

"Hey, what’s the supposed to mean?"

Randy ignored him and looked over at JP. "Where are you off to?"

"To go see Emily, see if I can convince her to move out of that damn hotel."

Numbers blurred together on the screen, columns and rows repeating one after the other, morphing into one giant mess until Emily couldn’t even tell what she was looking at.

Not a good thing, considering she was the one who had created the report.

She tossed the pen onto her notebook and pushed both to the edge of the desk before closing the laptop lid. The chair squeaked when she moved—which meant it squeaked a lot. This wasn’t her desk, her chair, her home office. And she missed the large monitor of her desktop computer. Her laptop was a newer and larger model, but still didn’t compare to her desktop, not when she was working with all the different reports and spreadsheets she needed.

Which probably explained the headache building behind her eyes.

Emily sighed and pushed away from the desk, wincing at the chair’s squeak when she stood. She walked the three feet to the tiny kitchenette and leaned down to open the small refrigerator. Water, water, and more water. And a pint of half-and-half for her morning coffee. Yeah, all the comforts of home.

She pulled out a bottle of water and twisted off the cap, leaning against the small counter as she drank. What was she doing here? It was after ten o’clock on a Thursday night. Normally, she’d just be settling in after getting home from Taylor’s hockey practice.

Sadness flowed through her. She hadn’t seen her niece in over a week, hadn’t talked to her sister in that same time. Emily missed the routine. Missed her niece, missed the normally uneventful flow of her life. Instead of being home, she was here, in a generic, sterile hotel room.

Except home wasn’t home. Not anymore. Maybe not for a long time. She couldn’t go back. Yes, she knew she could talk to Monica, reach something resembling a truce. But she couldn't be comfortable there, not any longer, not when she knew it was only a matter of time before there was another argument with her sister.

If not about JP, then about something else. Emily hadn’t wanted to admit that before. She didn’t have any choice but to admit it now, not when the rift between the two of them was so wide.

That didn’t stop her from missing Monica, from missing the relationship she used to have with her sister. When had things changed? When JP came back into the picture? No, before that. Long before that. They had drifted apart, lost touch as sisters despite living together. Emily was wrapped up in work and taking care of Taylor, making sure her niece was happy and secure. And Monica was too wrapped up in her own work, worried about the future while fighting the demons of her own past.

Would it help if Emily called her? Not yet. It was too soon, for both of them. Maybe in a few weeks.

She couldn’t go home. Not yet, maybe not ever. And she certainly couldn’t stay here, not for much longer. An extended-stay hotel might be a little cheaper than a regular hotel, but it still added up. Which meant she needed to look for an apartment, not something she especially looked forward to with the holidays coming up.

And there was another cheery thought. Christmas was in two weeks. The way things were going, Emily would probably be alone, without her family, for the holiday.

She blew out a deep breath then capped the water bottle and put it back in the mini-fridge. Brooding wasn’t helping anything, especially not her mood. It would be better to lose herself in work for right now, get her mind off everything else that seemed to be pulling her in a hundred different directions.

The soft knock at the door startled her, but only for a second. She walked over and looked through the small peephole, knowing beforehand who she would see. Despite her somber mood, a small smile came to her face when she opened the door and saw JP standing in the hall, his leather jacket open over a soft thermal Henley the color of charcoal, his hands shoved into the back pockets of his faded jeans.

Would she ever get used to the heat in his eyes when he looked at her? God, she hoped not. She loved him. Despite everything that had happened between them—or maybe because of it—she loved him.

"Hey."

"Hey." His gaze traveled over the length of her body, igniting sparks of excitement and tingles of awareness everywhere he looked. His eyes darkened, the brown turning warm, smoky, when he finally met her gaze. "Are you going to make me stand out here all night?"

Emily leaned against the doorframe and looked up, her lips pursed as if she was thinking. "I don’t know. Maybe—"

JP grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him, claiming her mouth in a hot kiss that melted her inside and out. Her hands closed over his shoulders, her fingers digging into the soft leather that still held some of the chill of the dark night outside. His tongue swept into her mouth, teasing, possessing, and a soft little groan escaped from her on a sigh as she leaned into him.

Somewhere in the distance she heard the ding of the elevator, the hushed voices and muted laughter of other guests as they walked along the carpeted hallway. JP pulled away with a groan, heat flaring in his eyes as he guided her into the room and closed the door behind them.

He ran one hand through her hair, his fingers spreading the strands, rubbing them, before he tucked them behind her ear. "You drive me crazy."

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah." His voice was rough, needy, further igniting the desire that had flared to life as soon as she saw him standing outside. But instead of leading her back to the bedroom, like she expected, he stepped back and removed his jacket, looking around the room with a frown.

"Don’t say it."

He turned to look at her, his brows raised in question. "Say what?"

Emily rolled her eyes and moved to the sofa, shifting against the hard cushions as she tucked her legs under her, trying to get comfortable. "You know what. I told you, it’s too soon."

"I wasn’t going to ask again. Well, not really. I was thinking more of a compromise."

"A compromise?"

"Yeah." He sat next to her and draped his arm around her shoulder, his thigh pressed against hers. "Stay with me through the holidays. No, don’t interrupt. Just through the holidays. Then, after the first of the year, if you still want, I’ll help you look for an apartment."

"JP—" She stopped, taking a deep breath. She knew exactly what he was doing. Or at least, trying to do. It was clear in his expression of feigned innocence, in the spark that lit his dark eyes and the slight smile that teased the corners of his full mouth. "It’s not going to work. I know what you’re trying to do."

"And what’s that?"

"You think if I stay there, I’ll change my mind about getting an apartment."

"Well, I can certainly hope, eh? But no. If you still want to, I’ll help you."

"What difference do you think a couple of weeks is going to make?"

A shadow crossed his face, there and gone before she could say anything about it. He shrugged and ran his hand down her arm, his fingers threading through hers as he moved closer. "I don’t want you to be alone. I’m selfish, eh? I want you to be with me for Christmas."

Emily swallowed back her sigh. It would be so easy to say yes, so easy to just give in. She looked down at their clasped hands, hers so much smaller compared to his powerful ones. She didn’t want to spend Christmas in this sterile impersonal hotel but she was afraid to say yes, afraid because she knew she wouldn’t want to leave if she did. She had to say no and opened her mouth to do just that when he squeezed her hand, stopping her.

"What if I told you I needed your help?"

"My help."

"Yes. I’m having Christmas Eve dinner at my house and I need help decorating. And organizing. And—" JP paused, frowning, then waved one hand around. "And whatever else you do for that kind of thing."

"You’re having the party? Not Randy and his girlfriend?"

"Uh, yeah. Something changed."

"I see. And now you need my help."

"Exactly."

"You want me to decorate your house?"

"No. No, of course not. I’m going to hire someone to do that. But we have another road trip coming up and I won’t be there, so I need someone to take charge."

"You’re hiring someone to decorate?"

JP shifted, his sudden discomfort obvious. "Uh, yeah. I don’t usually decorate. I, uh, don’t even have any. Decorations."

Emily couldn’t stop her laughter, and not just at JP’s obvious embarrassment and discomfort. "That’s actually kind of—"

"Sad?"

"Pathetic."

"Then you’ll say yes because you feel sorry for me?"

Emily leaned her head against the back of the sofa, feeling the warmth of his arm around her shoulders, her neck. She tilted her head to the side and watched him. A lock of brown hair fell across his forehead, giving him an innocent almost-boyish look. But there was nothing innocent or boyish in the simmering heat of his eyes, in the devilish tilt of his smile as he leaned closer to her.

Dangerous. He had always been dangerous, more now than ever before. And she loved him, whether it was smart or not. She should say no. If she was smart, she’d tell him no.

She reached out and brushed back the fallen lock of hair with the tips of her fingers, not stopping as she ran her hand through his hair. Its softness still surprised her. No man should have hair so soft. No man should have lashes so thick and dark or a mouth so full and sensual. But JP did. And she was as helpless against his pull now as she had been five years ago.

"It’s a bad idea, JP." The words came out in a hesitant whisper as he leaned closer, his mouth only inches from hers, heat swirling in the depths of his eyes.

"Why?"

She shook her head, unable to put her fears into words, unable to voice her hopes. And then his mouth was on hers and it didn’t matter. Nothing else mattered as he kissed her, deep slow wet kisses that burned, consumed.

He trailed his hand along the side of her face, his touch gentle, warm. The tips of his fingers grazed her neck, dipped inside the collar of her shirt, trailing fire everywhere he touched. His hands were slow, his touch steady as he cupped her breasts, his thumbs teasing the nipples into hard points. She lifted her arms and draped them around his neck, pushing herself closer, giving herself over to each touch, each caress.

JP dragged his mouth from hers, down along her jaw, her neck, back to her ear. His voice was husky, a hoarse whisper in his ear. "I need you, my
Emilie
. Now. Always."

She couldn't speak, could barely breathe. She nodded, unable to do more. JP groaned and shifted his weight, pulling her to her feet before bending over and picking her up. His eyes held hers, captivating, never looking away as he carried her back to the bedroom and gently placed her in the middle of the bed. Their clothes disappeared, landing in a haphazard pile. Then JP sheathed himself with a condom and stretched out on top of her, the heavy weight of his erection pressed against her, teasing her.

"
J'ai besoin de toi, mon amour
." Emily didn’t understand the words, didn’t need to because she could see the need in his eyes, feel it in the tenderness of each touch, each stroke of his hand against her skin.

Then his mouth crashed against hers, urgent, demanding, as he plunged into her. Breath rushed from her and her back arched, her fingers digging into his shoulders as heat seared her from the inside.

Each touch of his hands, each kiss, each whispered word became urgent, demanding, as he pushed into her. Out. Again. Harder, faster. Her hips met each of his thrusts, taking and giving. Over and over until they melded into one.

"Jean-Pierre." She breathed his name, her head tilted back, her eyes closed as he pushed her to the edge. His hands closed on her hips, holding her still as his hips pumped. Hard, fast. Over and over.

"
Emilie
. I need you. Always. Please."

Her eyes flew open at the desperation in his voice. He was looking at her, watching her, the expression in his eyes pushing her over the edge with an intensity that shattered her. Sensation exploded, sending her flying, soaring.

JP plunged into her again, once more, his head thrown back and his jaw clenched as he climaxed. And still he drove into her, over and over until he collapsed on top of her, sweaty, breathless.

Emily tightened her arms around him and dropped kisses along his neck, his shoulder. His flesh was warm, alive, under her touch. He shivered and turned his head, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth as he watched her.

"Only you, my
Emilie
. Only you." He shifted, moving off her, out of her. She gave a whimper of protest at his loss, then pinched him when he chuckled. He rolled out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom, returning a minute later. He climbed back in and settled next to her, smiling as he spread the sheet and blanket over both of them. Then he pulled her into his arms and held her close, his whispered words following her into her dreams.