Free Icing the Puck (New York Empires Book 2) by Isabo Kelly, Stacey Agdern, Kenzie MacLir Page B

had gone really well that day, and despite his brutal hangover, he’d thoroughly enjoyed himself.
    He really shouldn’t have gotten involved in a drinking contest with his Nordic and Russian teammates. But they’d laid down a challenge, and some of the American and Canadian players had risen to the fight. He’d expected to do better—given his size he usually handled alcohol well—but the Russians brought out the vodka, and he’d been a goner. His only consolation was that he’d lasted longer than the Canadians.
    But even with a dodgy stomach and a fuzzy head, he’d had a fantastic time during the exhibition. Now he was very much looking forward to seeing Ann all dressed up for the party. He was wearing the requisite tux—one Connor had helped him get when he’d first moved to New York—now all he needed was the beautiful woman on his arm. And only one woman would do.
    When he finally spotted her, he felt his mouth drop open. Stunned was understating his reaction.
    She was gorgeous in her dark blue dress, the cut modest, but the silk material skimmed her curves in a sinful seduction. She’d pulled her hair up into a loose bun on top of her head, making her neck look long and incredibly kissable. And her mouth, that gorgeous, sexy mouth of hers… She smiled when she saw him and the look went right to his cock. He had to swallow to wet his suddenly dry throat.
    Had any woman ever looked so beautiful?
    He handed off his mostly full glass to a passing waiter and went to join her, meeting her halfway because she was like a magnet he couldn’t resist. For a long moment, he couldn’t even find words to greet her he was so overwhelmed by her.
    Finally, he blinked and made an effort to untie his tongue. “You look gorgeous,” he said.
    Her cheeks turned a charming shade of pink. “Thank you. You do too. You clean up well.”
    He straightened his lapels and made a show of preening at her compliment—only partly pretending at his pleasure.
    “How did the exhibition game go?”
    “It was great. Everyone enjoyed themselves. Thanks to my hangover, a kid half my size dropped me on my ass with a very clever check.”
    “Were you OK?” she asked through a grin.
    “Only hurt my pride. But he was so pleased with himself, it was worth it. He’ll be talking about that for years.”
    “You’re a good man, Brody Evans.”
    He barked out a laugh that made a clump of his teammates frown at him. He ignored them because he was too thrilled with Ann.
    “I wondered if you’d be hungover today,” she said.
    He winced as he led her across the room to get her a glass of wine. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”
    The challenge with his teammates had been a spontaneous thing and on a night when he and Ann hadn’t had any plans to talk. Which apparently hadn’t stopped him from drunk dialing her. Twice.
    She chuckled as he handed her a glass. “Do you have any idea what you said to me?”
    “No.” He cringed. “Do I want to know?”
    She laughed outright then. He loved the sound enough to face his own embarrassment.
    “You were very cute. Kept telling me how much you like me and how pretty I am. There was a lot of ribbing from other men going on in the background, from what I could hear.”
    He closed his eyes. “Damn.”
    “I didn’t mind. Even if you did wake me up at three in the morning with the second call.”
    “Ah, hell.” He scrubbed a hand over his face.
    “I would have preferred your teammates didn’t hear how much you like my ass, though.”
    His groaned. “I didn’t.”
    “You did.”
    “Fuck. That’ll teach me to go drinking with the Russians.”
    She laughed again, which made all the humiliation worthwhile.
    She rose on her toes, bracing one hand on his chest, and kissed his cheek. “It’s OK. I like that you like my ass.”
    His heart rate tripled. The feel of her warm palm against his chest was like a brand. Her scent filled his head. She’d added a very faint perfume to her already delicious spicy