Tackling Her Heart (3 page)

The Iceman needed fire—someone who
would heat his blood.

Someone like—

“
Man, I don’t know if a
thank you is still in order or not,” Jennings said in a low voice,
pulling Marc from wherever he was drifting.

You were thinking
about
her
. Don’t
be coy with yourself
. “No, no thank yous.
Brian was being a dick and needed to be taught a
lesson.”

“
Are you going to get
fined, though?” Jennings asked.

“
Like I said on the field.
It’ll be worth every penny. Just the look on his face was enough to
brighten my mood. After what he put Maggie through, he deserves
about twenty more hard tackles like that.”

“
Well, I know not to piss
you off,” Jennings said with a chuckle.

Marc lifted his coffee cup to his lips
and took a sip. “Don’t hurt my sister and you won’t.”

“
I don’t plan to,”
Jennings answered, his stare unsure.

Marc often had that effect on people.
He didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve and his father had taught
him how to hide his emotions, both on and off the field. “Good to
know,” Marc said before glancing at his watch. He stood and looked
across the table. “It’s been an enjoyable evening, but I have
somewhere I need to be.”

“
You’re leaving already?”
Marc’s mother asked, her frown one she used to help guilt him into
doing what she wanted. “Your father and I are only in town until
tomorrow evening.”

“
It’s unavoidable—an
interview I agreed to. I’ll see you at breakfast,” Marc answered,
walking over to press a kiss to his mother’s forehead. He followed
suit with a kiss to his sister’s cheek and two handshakes for his
father and Jennings. “Enjoy your coffee.”

He approached Kelsie, who lifted her
cheek slightly, almost begging for his kiss. Instead, he took her
hand and shook it, not needing to add fuel to her fire. Marc saw
the disappointment in her gaze, but tried to ignore it. He didn’t
want to hurt the girl, but he simply didn’t have those same
feelings.

Marc headed out of the dining room and
turned into the hotel lounge. Sofia sat at the bar, her long,
shapely legs crossed and getting the attention of every man in the
room. Including Marc’s. He stifled the little thrill at seeing her,
and reminded himself she was the enemy. Marc still wasn’t sure why
he’d asked her here and had no clue what he was going to do to get
her off the story. She’d wreaked enough havoc with his
family.

But she sure looked good while doing
it.

He approached her, climbing into the
empty seat to her right. Sofia’s attention was on the man to her
left, so it appeared she didn’t know Marc had arrived.

“
Come on baby, let me buy
you a drink,” the man begged. “A woman as beautiful as you
shouldn’t be alone.”

“
No, thank you. I’m
meeting someone.”

“
Come on,” the man said,
putting his arm around Sofia’s shoulder and stepping closer. “Just
one drink, baby.”

Sofia pulled the man’s arm off her. “I
said no. And I mean it. Please stop.”

The guy was handsy, moving the removed
hand to her hip. “You know it’s rude to refuse a drink,
baby.”

Marc had had enough. “She’s not your
baby. The lady said to leave her alone.”

Both Sofia’s and the man’s heads
swiveled to look his way. Sofia’s wide gaze looked almost thankful
to see him. She wouldn’t be thankful soon. Not after what he was
considering doing.

Marc’s gaze drifted to the guy. His
bloodshot eyes and wobbly demeanor told Marc this might not be as
easy as he’d thought.

“
I didn’t ask you, now did
I? Beat it,” the guy said, tossing a thumb toward the
door.

Marc stood to his full six foot five
inch height and glowered at the man. The drunk’s expression changed
completely. Even intoxicated, he seemed to know he’d bitten off
more than he could chew, which was good. The last thing Marc needed
was for the guy to have a false sense of bravado and put him into
two fights in one night. The drunk lifted his palms in mock
surrender. “Sorry, man.” He gathered his drink and wandered down to
the other end of the bar and on to another unwilling
victim.

Sofia watched the guy go, then turned
to Marc. “I could’ve handled that, you know.”

“
Yeah, it looked like you
were handling it just fine,” Marc said with a snicker.

“
I didn’t need you to ride
in like a white knight.”

Marc eyed her, and her lifted chin.
The woman needed a little humility, that was for sure. Was he the
one to give it to her? He damn well hoped so. “A simple ‘thank you’
will suffice.”

Her jaw clenched and she stared for a
moment. “Thank you,” she finally said, so low he could barely hear
it.

“
What was that? I couldn’t
hear you.”

Sofia’s eyes narrowed. “Thank
you.”

He felt his lips stretching into a
smile at her acquiescence. “So why don’t you let me buy you that
drink?”

She opened her lips, as if she would
deny him, but he ignored her and lifted his hand to get the
bartender’s attention.

The bartender walked over quickly, a
wide smile plastered over his face. “What can I get for you, Mr.
Anders?”

“
What will you have?” he
asked, his gaze going to the glass already in her grip. Water? He
looked at her, curious.

Sofia glanced down at her half empty
glass. “I don’t drink. Plus I’m working.”

Working? This wasn’t working; she just
didn’t know it yet. “Ever?”

“
I’ve had wine on a rare
occasion.”

“
Sweet or dry?” Marc asked
her.

Sofia licked her lips. It wasn’t
something she’d consciously done, but he hadn’t been able to take
his stare off her swiping her tongue over her full bottom lip. He
suddenly wondered what she’d taste like. “Sweet, I
guess.”

Yes. She’d taste sweet. “Give the lady
a glass of Moscato. I’ll have a Scotch and soda.”

The bartender left them for a moment,
and Marc gazed at her. She didn’t look at him, her normal locker
room bravado gone. Sofia was nervous. Or was the bravado all an
act?

“
So, why did you ask me
here?” she asked in a small voice. “Why couldn’t we do this at the
stadium?”

“
Do you have a problem
being here with me?” Marc asked.

Sofia finally turned to look at him.
“No.” Her chin turned back up and he saw a glimmer of her daring
return. “I don’t have a problem being here. Just curious what kind
of game you’re playing.”

He smiled. The bartender approached,
so Marc kept his lips closed until after he’d taken his first sip.
The amber liquid warmed his belly, making a contented sigh nearly
come from his lips. What he wouldn’t do to go home and sink into
his hot tub to relax his body. A stiff drink would have to be the
second best thing. “You wanted answers. I can give you answers. For
a price.”

Her eyebrow rose. “What
price?”

Marc took another sip. “I have a room
upstairs where we can talk privately.”

Sofia looked around the bar. “There’s
almost no one here. This is private enough.”

“
No. If you want the
information, you’ve got to come upstairs.” Marc was willing to go
to extremes to shut the woman up, but even tonight’s plan made him
edgy.

Her gaze caught his and she seemed to
be searching him, from the inside out. It was apparent she didn’t
trust him, and she shouldn’t. He was pushing the borders of
appropriate behavior. Oh, who was he kidding? He was rushing past
those borders and breaking all the rules of decency.

Sofia drained her wine glass in one
long gulp, and her chin lifted. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Had it really been that easy to tempt
her to a room? A smile twisted his lips. Sofia wasn’t going to know
what hit her.

Chapter Four

Sofia rode up the elevator in near
silence. The anxiety in the air between then was thick enough to
squelch any conversation. Yet conversation was the reason she was
there and her mind was drawing a complete blank. Her mind kept
replaying that locker room scene with him brazenly naked and
letting her gaze roam over him.

When she looked at him now, she
couldn’t get a read on Marc. He was playing at something, what she
wasn’t sure. There was no reason to go to a hotel room with him,
other than her own morbid fascination with the man and the tiny
glimmer of hope he’d touch her.

He wouldn’t. He was The
Iceman.

There was no way he’d try to seduce
her after what she did to Maddox, even if it was a mistake on her
part—one she’d apologized for. Okay, so maybe the apology wasn’t to
Maddox’s face, but she’d written the retraction and apology and her
bosses had printed it. And that fact was the only reason she’d
ultimately agreed to go up with him.

No matter how much she wanted him to
touch her, it would be inappropriate.

That fact didn’t stop her nipples from
hardening. Her panties were slick with her cream, and a steady
throb pulsed between her legs. The thought of being in a room alone
with Marc Anders made her feel like a teenager on prom night. She
was the belle of the ball and on the arm of the hottest jock in
school, instead of the awkward wallflower she’d been the first time
around.

And was he hot. His huge, muscular
body made her feel petite. Being a hair over six foot, she didn’t
often feel small next to anyone. That’s one thing she loved about
her job. No one gawked at her for being a gangly legged giant when
she was surrounded by giants. She felt slightly normal in their
world—except for the not having a penis part. The guy’s club was
still tight and didn’t like women invading their turf.

It still smarted that Marc didn’t
think women belonged in her profession. Yet she was still attracted
to him, much to her chagrin. But then, if he truly believed that
…

“
If you think women don’t
belong in sports reporting, then why offer me this
interview?”

The elevator came to a halt, and the
doors opened with a chime. Marc motioned for her to exit, but she
stood there a moment longer, like a petulant child. Any second and
she’d feel the need to stomp her foot and cross her arms over her
chest to add to her current ridiculousness. He hadn’t answered her
question and from the look on his face, he wasn’t going to. She
finally gave up and exited the car, catching the doors just as they
started to close.

Marc held the door open before
climbing out himself and then stared down at her. “I never said
women don’t belong. You put words in my mouth and made
assumptions.”

“
But …” She thought back
to the conversation and reviewed what he’d said to her mentally.
“You said I didn’t belong.”

“
The locker room doesn’t
open until ten minutes after the game. You were early. You didn’t
belong in there
then
.”

Sofia’s eyes grew wide as she realized
she’d accused him unfairly.

“
But then, that’s what
you’re good at, isn’t it? Laying blame where there is none?” Marc
said quietly.

She sucked in a breath. The comment
stung. “Will that ever stop hanging over my head when it comes to
you?”

“
Maddox can’t seem to
escape it. Every interviewer asks him about it, even though you
printed your little apology. So why should you have it any
easier?”

Maddox still suffered? She felt bad
for that, as she’d never want an innocent man to struggle because
of her. Maybe he was due that apology, face to face. The next time
she was reporting close-by she’d have to see if she could make it
happen. After the article, though, her editors seemed to give her
and Maddox a wide berth. “I never meant for him to be hurt like
that. I thought the information was valid. And in all the cases,
but his, it was.”

Marc dug into his pocket and pulled
out a key card. “I brought you up for privacy. I’m not going to
argue in the hall.” He spun and walked away from her.

What was there left to argue about?
Sofia watched him retreat, wondering why the hell she’d agreed to
come up to his room. His bullshit tale about finding a private
place for the interview was as transparent as the nighties she used
to model. After a deep breath, she followed him, knowing she’d do
it for the story.

She headed to the end of the hall
where he stood beside the door, staring at her, impatiently waiting
for her to join him. One foot in front of the other, she padded
down the thickly carpeted hallway, the normal clicking of her heels
swallowed up. It was if she wasn’t there at all, the volume turned
down so low all she could hear was the beating of her own heart and
the sound of the air rushing in and out of her lungs.

When she arrived, he silently opened
the door and stood back to let her in. She turned and entered, the
room black. He crossed the threshold behind her, the thick door
closing with a heavy click that made her jump. Enclosed in the
darkened space with him, the hairs on the back of her neck rose and
she wondered what he’d do next. Her body thrummed, goose bumps
skittering over her skin as she anticipated a stroke of his hand,
the brush of his lips.