“Perfect time to find out.”
I take the glass and bring it up to my lips. The smell is overwhelming but when the liquid spills onto my tongue it isn’t quite as bad as I expected.
“It’s sweeter than I thought it would be.” Swallowing and handing the glass back, I quickly take a drink of my water.
“It has notes of caramel and vanilla,” he says in a tone of sophistication and snobbery that is so not him it makes me laugh.
“How do you know that?”
He leans closer to me like he’s telling me a secret and places one hand on the back of the couch above my head. He smells like he did that night in Vegas, whiskey and cologne. I remember exactly how he tasted that night too. Liquor and mint. An image of us kissing flits through my mind. We’re on the Vegas strip. The street is busy with people walking and lights flashing around us, but we’re still. His hands are tight around my waist, lifting me off the ground and clutching me to him, and my hands are draped around his shoulders. I don’t know if it’s memory or fantasy but my body flushes. Does he remember pieces of that night too, and is he thinking about it like I am?
“It was on the menu,” he says in a loud whisper.
I hear him but the words don’t penetrate. I’m still in Vegas with his mouth covering mine. His tongue sweeps in, hot and demanding, and he groans a deep guttural sound of pleasure that vibrates through me.
“The menu describes all the different whiskeys.” He picks up the rectangular drink menu with the hand not behind me as if to further clarify, and I manage to force images of us kissing out of my head.
“Right.” I look away from him, face on fire, and take another long drink of my cool water.
I feel Travis’s stare linger until Conrad asks, “What the hell is Victor Aven doing here a week before we play Houston?”
Travis sits tall but leaves his left arm resting behind me. “I have no fucking idea.”
“Who’s Victor Aven?” If my voice were being analyzed like whiskey, they might say it has notes of desire and denial. I glance around but there are too many people to pick out the object of their attention.
“He plays for Houston,” Travis says.
“Hockey?”
Travis smiles at me in a charmed sort ofas my wife you should probably know thisgrin. Oops.
“Yes.” His happy expression dissolves as his focus returns to the guy I can now pick out as Victor.
For one, he’s tall and built in a way that makes him stand out as an athlete. And two, he’s looking this way.
Travis’s arm behind me drops to my shoulders and he scoots closer on the couch as Victor approaches.
“Bennett. Shepard. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Us?” Conrad asks. “You’re the one who’s obviously lost. Did you read the schedule wrong? Our game isn’t for days.”
Before Victor can answer, Travis jumps in. “I hadn’t seen the news. I’m sorry.” Travis’s tone is full of fake sympathy.
Aven’s scowl intensifies. “What the hell are you yapping about, Bennett?”
“I assume since you’re here before the rest of your team, Houston finally got tired of your shit and let you go. But our roster is set, man. Especially for guys whose talent is disproportionate to their ego. I hear Moonshot has a competitive beer league though.” Travis is all smiles, but I feel the animosity for Victor in the way his body has tensed next to me.
“No.” Conrad wears his contempt more openly. His sharp features take on a dark edge I didn’t expect from him. “They deserve way better than you. They love hockey. They respect thegame and the people they play with. Something you can’t seem to fathom.”
Aven rolls his eyes in a way that tells me this hatred among them must be well established. “Trust me, I don’t enjoy being in this fucking shit state any more than absolutely necessary, but my sister lives here.”
“You have a sister? And she tolerates you?” Travis asks him. “Does she know you’re the world’s biggest asshole?”
“I don’t know.” Victor’s smile falls into a sneer as his gaze slides to me. “Does your pretty new wife know you’re the league’s highest paid joke? Or is that something you two have in common?”
Travis stands, but not before Conrad jumps between them.
“Get the fuck out of here, Aven. You’re full of shit and you know it.” Conrad stays blocking Travis from Victor. My heart is racing with a mixture of fear that they might start fighting and hope that they do. What an asshole. God, no wonder they hate him.
