Cold as Ice

Buffalo Intimidators 2

CASSANDRA CARR

Copyright © 2012

Chapter One

“Oh, God, that feels
so
good,” Luc Fletcher said, letting out a long, low moan as sensation arrowed through him. “Yeah, right there. Oh, shit, yeah.” He shifted to give her better access. “You have great hands, babe, you know that? No one’s ever touched me the way you do.”

Eva Saunders chuckled. “It’s my job.”

“I know, but seriously, if we win the Cup this year I’m lobbying to have your name included. Jake and Carter will back me up.”

“I highly doubt the NHL would go for putting someone like me on the Stanley Cup.”

“I’ll make them. You complete me.”

Now she snorted. “Nice one, Jerry Maguire. You just want free services. I don’t give away stuff often, you know.”

“Your skills aren’t the only reason we love you, though.”

“Then why do you love me?” He could hear the laughter in her voice as she dug her elbow into a stubborn knot on his back.

“Because you’re not only the best massage therapist in all of Buffalo, you’re also the hottest.”

“I bet you say that to all the massage therapists.”

Luc twisted to face her. “There’s only you, babe. Well, other than the trainer, but he does sports massage, and he’s a dude. You do all that relaxation stuff. I’m putty in your hands. Besides, you don’t believe me?”

“Why would I believe you? You’re a flirt. Now lie back down so I can finish your back.”

Luc knew better than to argue with her and reclined again, thinking about how happy he was that he’d found Eva.

He’d first seen her two months ago when he’d gone into a salon looking for a last-minute haircut and had ended up staying for an hour massage from her.

He’d gone home and told his teammates and best friends, Jake and Carter, about Eva, and soon she had taken on all three of them as clients. She really was the best—he wasn’t blowing smoke up her ass about that. But it certainly didn’t hurt that she was also smokin’ hot.

All too soon his massage was finished and he had to suffer through a road trip before he was able to see her again. While they were on the road he’d decided to broach the subject of the 800-pound gorilla in the room and ask his friends if they were as attracted to her as he was.

The fact they’d shared women before made for an interesting situation with Eva. Could they convince her to give them a chance?

The three men were ensconced in a booth toward the back of a popular sports bar in Philadelphia. Luc had one eye on the game, where the Philadelphia Freedom was currently battling to tie up the score, and the other on his teammates.

Clearing his throat, he said, “I need to ask you guys something.”

Both Jake and Carter swiveled their heads in his direction. “Shoot, man,” Jake replied.

“I’m not sure how to put this.” Luc rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger as he tried to articulate what he wanted to say.

“Just come out with it, man,” Carter urged him. “Is it about the game last night in New York? I know we didn’t play well—”

“It’s not that. It’s about Eva.”

“What about her?”

“If I’m right about what I’ve been hearing, and I think I am, both of you are attracted to her. Seriously attracted.”

Jake and Carter glanced at each other and then back at Luc. Carter shrugged. “She’s hot, dude. You know that.”

“Yes, I do, but I think it’s more than that. Am I right?”

Jake piped up. “For me it is. I like talking to her. I keep thinking about asking her out, but then the fact that we go there for massages and she sees both of you made it seem like not such a hot idea.”

“I’ve thought about it, too,” Carter admitted.

“What would you say to all of us pursuing her? We’ve shared before.”

“But like this?” Jake asked. “Those were all one-night stands. I don’t want just a one-night stand with Eva. She’s too good for that.”

Luc nodded. “I agree.”

“So what do you suggest we do? Go after her all together for an actual relationship?”

“I don’t see any other way to do it. Do you?”

“No. How about you, Carter?”

“Eva’s a cool girl. If she’s willing to take us on, it sounds like fun, and if not, no harm, no foul.”

Luc shook his head at his younger teammate’s attitude. Carter still operated in the “I’m invincible, I’m gonna live forever” vein, whereas he and Jake were both starting to realize there was a finite amount of time left in their careers. Knowing that colored everything Luc did.

“Why don’t we continue to see Eva for our massages and feel her out? Maybe flirt a little more than usual to see how she reacts?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” Jake said, and Carter agreed. They clinked their beer bottles to seal the deal and went back to hoping Washington would defeat Philadelphia.

A few weeks later, Luc was on the massage table again. He and the other guys had been watching Eva and waiting for the right moment to bring up their plan. In a couple of subsequent conversations to the one they’d had in Philadelphia, they’d decided that once they’d laid their cards on the table they’d let Eva decide what she wanted to do without any arm-twisting on their part. As much as they all wanted her, they also wanted her to come to them without reservation or fear.

He’d just tucked the sheet around himself when Eva knocked on the door and entered.

She came over and glanced down at him as he lay face up on the table. “You look tired. You guys had a rough time of it.”

“Yeah, we did.”

“What hurts?”

Luc chuckled. “What doesn’t?”

“Okay. I guess I’ve got my work cut out for me then, huh?”

“You can handle it.”

“I’m glad you have so much faith in me,” she answered, smiling at him as she pushed her hands down over his shoulders to his chest. “You need to take better care of yourself, Luc.”

“Hockey’s a brutal game, you know that.”

“I do, and I worry about you guys.”

Luc smiled. “I knew we were your favorite clients.”

Eva grinned back. “Humblest, too.”

“Why be humble when you’re one of the favorites of the hottest massage therapist in Buffalo?”

“Right…” Eva answered with a shake of her head.

“Seriously, Eva. You’re hot. Surely you know that.”

“So you’ve said.” She continued to work and he let her, closing his eyes to allow her to knead all the soreness and tension out of his aching muscles. There was one aching muscle he was hoping she would give a different kind of relief to soon. That muscle was about to embarrass him when she lifted the sheet a little. “Turn over, please.” Too late. As soon as he heard her husky voice his hard-on became obvious, tenting the sheet.

Usually he didn’t comment on it, but now he made it a point to. “See what you do to me?”

“A good breeze would probably have the same effect.”

Luc grabbed her hand, and her gaze skittered to his. His eyes narrowed. Was that heat in the depths of her big, beautiful brown eyes? His gut told him yes, but there was one way to find out.

“It’s you, Eva.” Clearing his throat, he repeated, “It’s you. All you. We’ve been coming to you for a couple of months now and you’ve done all of us a world of good. But what we feel for you, it’s more than that. There are other places in Buffalo where we could get a massage, but you’ve got something special, baby.” He looked to see how she reacted to his use of the endearment. She didn’t slap him or step back, so he plowed on. “What would you say if I told you me and Jake and Carter share women?” He watched her face again closely as a blush crept up from her neck. The lust in her gaze didn’t diminish, though, and his cock twitched under the sheet. Was it really possible she was as interested as they were?

“Share?”

“Yeah. Can you imagine what it would feel like to have three men focused exclusively on you and your pleasure?” She made a squeaking noise and gave a weak attempt to pull out of his grip. He would never hurt a woman, and if she had really tried to get away he would’ve let her. Instead he ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

“Let’s just finish your massage.” She looked away, focusing on the mural in front of her, and he let her hand go. He’d planted the seed. Now it was up to his best friends and linemates to nurture it.

At the end of his massage Luc pulled five crisp twenties from a roll in his pocket, nearly twice as much as she charged for a massage, and all he could see was the three of them and Eva, her body writhing, back arching, shiny brown hair spread all over his pillow as her mouth opened in ecstasy.

Oh, God, what a picture. I want that.

“Carter said he was coming in later today.”

“That’s right. He’ll be here in a few hours. Jake, too.”

“Be good to Carter. He took a lot of abuse during the game last night. I think they were keying on that sore quad.”

Eva made a note on the paperwork in front of her. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“You be a good girl, now.” Luc put a large, heavy hand on her shoulder and squeezed, caressing the skin bared by the thin strap of her tank top briefly with the rough pad of his thumb before turning and opening the door of her room. “See ya.”

* * * *

Carter Roy met his linemates and best friends, Luc Fletcher and Jake Lofton, for lunch.

As soon as they were seated and had ordered, Luc turned to them. “Eva’s ready. We need to move.”

“I’m in,” Carter replied.

Luc regarded the third member of their line. “What about you, Jake?”

“I’m all for it, but I wanna make sure this is what she wants. I like Eva. I don’t want to do this if we’re gonna fuck her once and be done with her.”

“I don’t have any intention of this being a one-time thing. I know that’s our usual modus operandi, but there’s no way one night with Eva would be enough,” Luc replied.

“Being with her for more than one night works for me, too,” Carter said. When both Luc and Jake stared at him, he said, “What?”

Jake’s eyes narrowed. “You’re usually the one saying we shouldn’t get involved.”