Collide (Oh, Pioneers!) Read online

  “We have all the time in the world.”

  “What about your friends?” She glanced back over her shoulder at the two men he had come in with, however, they were too preoccupied to notice either her or Alexei. They were speaking with a couple of the scantily clad girls who had made her feel so miserable earlier. Now she felt proud; instead of going after them, Alexei had chosen to speak to and flirt with her.

  “They can take care of themselves.”

  “Right.” She bit her lip, wondering how much she should tell him. Most guys became intimidated and ditched her when they realized that she knew the game better than they did. Would he prove to be one of those?

  The puck dropped on the third period. “I am waiting.”

  “Okay . . . buy me another beer and then I’ll start talking.”

  “Deal.” He ordered another round and she began pointing out the players and their positions as they watched the third period begin. Just like she had done when she had watched hockey as a child with her father and Daryl, she found herself explaining what she would do if she was in the coach’s situation. Alexei stared at her, one eyebrow raised ever so slightly in surprise.

  Finally he held his hands up in defeat. “Uncle. Uncle.”

  “What?” She laughed in surprise.

  “I was wrong. You do know what you are talking about. I cry uncle.”

  “Okay, so what do I win?” Tori asked, the words slipped past her lips before she could stop them. She flushed and stared straight ahead, refusing to look at him.

  He chuckled, the sound making her stomach knot up with butterflies. “Win? I do not remember us making a bet.”

  “Right. Sorry.” She twirled a beer bottle with her fingertips, regretting how much she’d had. While she wasn’t drunk, she was definitely buzzed, feeling far more relaxed than she had all day. She knew that if she’d cut herself off earlier, she wouldn’t have dared to ask such a bold question.

  His hand covered hers, stilling her nervous movements. He leaned closer and she closed her eyes in anticipation. Lips, soft like satin, brushed against her ear as he whispered, “How about you buy me a round?”

  “Can I trade that prize for something else?” Tori asked before she could stop herself again, and she bit her lip. “Sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into me today . . . I should . . .” Her voice trailed off as she felt his other hand slide up her back and around her shoulders, pulling her against him. Her heart began to pound against her ribs.

  “What prize would you prefer for the bet we did not make?”

  “I . . . um . . .” She stammered, finally turning to look at him. The Russian gave her a slow smile that made her skin break out in goose bumps. He tilted his head and brought his face closer towards hers.

  Tori’s cell phone went off, the ring tone startling her so much that she nearly fell off the stool. She pulled it out of her purse, cursing when she saw the caller ID. “Excuse me, I’ve got to take this . . .”

  Alexei released her and leaned back on his stool. “Not a problem.”

  She could feel his eyes follow her as she left the room.

  Chapter 6

  Outside, the weather was cold and the cement was damp from mist. Tori shivered as she walked away from Mac’s a short distance. It had been so warm earlier that she had not thought to bring a jacket with her, and her sweater was clearly not heavy enough. Even though it had only been a few minutes she longed to go back inside where Alexei was. Surely he would help her warm up if she asked nicely enough. Instead she leaned against the wall, and hit the redial button on her cell phone, waiting patiently as the phone rang once, twice . . .

  Sybil Cavanagh, Tori’s mother, was quick, answering before her phone could ring a third time. “Why didn’t you answer my call earlier? I’ve been worried sick about you all day!”

  “I was in the bathroom.” Tori lied. It was amazing how she had been so desperate to speak to her mother earlier in the day, and now all she wanted to do was get her off the phone.

  She sounded mollified. “Oh. So, how was your first day?”

  “It was okay.”

  “Just okay?”

  “Well, they’re still moving in, so it’s kinda chaotic right now.”

  “Oh.”

  “Shouldn’t you be in bed, Mom?” If it was eleven where Tori was, then that meant it had to be two in the morning back home. “The doctors ordered you to rest.”

  “I was worried. You didn’t call like you were supposed to.”

  “I’m sorry, I forgot. Some of the other girls in the office invited me out after work, so . . .”

  “You’ve made friends? That’s good.”

  “Yeah.” There was a burst of noise from the bar entrance and Tori looked over to see Alexei exiting with his friends and two other girls in tow. The Russian stopped to look around while his friends flagged down a cab. She raised her hand to wave at him, but hesitated. What had she been thinking earlier flirting with him so boldly? She didn’t even know the guy! Yeah, he said he was a wrestler but he could be a mass murderer for all she knew! However, the slight movement was enough for him to spot her, and he began walking towards her. “Look, Mom, I’ve got to go. Can I call you back tomorrow?”

  “Of course, honey.”

  “How about eight?” She proposed, figuring she could talk to her while she was on her way into work.

  “That sounds good --”

  “Okay. Talk to you then. I love you. Bye.” She flipped the phone closed before her mother could reply, and promptly shut it off. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to call back and interrupt whatever might happen between her and Alexei . . . Not that she was fooling herself into thinking that this would turn into anything more -- he was just flirting with her. In fact, as a wrestler, he likely traveled a lot and, if rink rats were anything like puck bunnies, he had to have a decent amount of notches on his belt. An almost kiss probably meant nothing to him.

  The Russian stopped in front of her. “Everything okay?”

  “Just peachy.”

  “You left so quickly -- I thought I might have offended you.”

  She brushed a stray strand of hair behind one ear. “No, um, my family called, so I had to take it.”

  “Ah.” His eyebrows raised slightly. “Not your brothers I hope?”

  “No, not them.” She smiled. “You’re still safe.”

  “Good, good. My friends want to return to the hotel since it is getting crowded inside the bar.”

  “Oh.” She glanced around him, finally noticing the line that she had passed in her search to find a quiet spot to call her mother back.

  “Would you like to come with us?”

  Tori stared at him. She wasn’t a fool; she’d heard her brothers talking once or twice about girls they had invited back to their rooms while they were on the road with their travel teams. Even though they usually stopped talking as soon as they noticed her listening it wasn’t hard to figure out what they and the girls did based off of their smirks.

  She bit her lip, debating if she should go with him. On the one hand he was attractive and fun to talk to, but on the other hand, she had never had a one night stand before. She didn’t know if she wanted to be just a notch on the bedpost to him, like those girls her brothers had slept with.

  However, just because she went back to the hotel with them, didn’t mean that she would end up in his bed. She could always walk away if she changed her mind.

  “I am sorry.” He apologized after she took too long to respond. “Now I have offended you. I thought . . .”

  “Is there more booze involved?”

  “Maybe . . . You do owe me a beer.”

  “That I do,” Tori slipped her arm through his, “Lead on.”

  Chapter 7

  Despite her ease at being able to talk to Alexei earlier, Tori froze once they reached the hotel. Without the hockey game playing over head, she didn’t know what else she could talk about. The other girls smiled at Alexei’s friends, laughed at th
eir jokes, and discussed this thing or that. For women she had written off as being ditzes earlier, they were amazingly smart and knew more about politics, religion, and science than Tori thought possible. And if they didn’t, they were really good at faking like they knew!

  She had never been very good at flirting, and so she found herself watching what the other girls did and copying them. She leaned against his body when he draped his arm over her shoulders, she laughed at the things he and the others said. When she rested her hand on his thigh though, she felt him suddenly tense and looked up to find him staring at her with a frown on his face.

  “Sorry,” Tori murmured and quickly removed her hand from his leg. His body had gone tense against her side, and the arm over her shoulders felt more restrictive than reassuring. She stood on shaky legs. “Excuse me.”

  The others nodded and continued their conversation as she grabbed her purse and walked towards the bathrooms on the other side of the lobby. She wasn’t entirely sure how she made it -- the world kept spinning and tilting around her -- but soon she found herself within the safety of the women’s restroom. She leaned against a sink, turned on the faucet, and splashed water on her face not caring if she ruined her make up.

  What was she doing here? What had she been thinking? If her mother knew where she was . . . Tori sighed. All because a good looking guy had bought her a drink -- well, several drinks by now -- and had smiled at her. God, she was so stupid sometimes.

  Intending to sneak out and call a cab, she opened the bathroom door to find Alexei waiting for her. She bit her cheek to keep from yelping in surprise. “What are you doing?”

  He frowned at her. “I was about to ask the same of you.”

  “I’m heading home.”

  “Why? I thought we were having fun.”

  “I was, but . . .” She sighed, unsure of how to express what she was feeling verbally.

  “But suddenly we come here, and you . . . change. You are not laughing and smiling and talking.”

  “No, I was!”

  “Not like at Mac’s. Here, you are stiff. Why? Have I offended you?”

  “No, I just . . .” He stepped closer to her and Tori licked her lips nervously. “I’ve never done this before,” She finally admitted.

  “Done what?”

  “This,” She gestured at the lobby around them. When he continued to look confused, she elaborated. “I’ve never come back to a hotel with a guy I’ve just met only hours before.”

  “Ah.”

  “Heck, it’s been at least two years since I’ve even gone out on a date.” She confessed, much to her horror. Might as well get it out in the open.

  One of his eyebrows twitched at that, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards. “It is new to me as well.”

  Tori gaped at him in surprised. “What? You’ve never . . .”

  He shook his head. “No, I have been too busy working to bother with dating.”

  Interesting. She would have thought that women would be lining up for the opportunity to jump his bones. “I would think a wrestler would have a different girl--”

  Someone laughed behind them. “You told her what?”

  They turned to find that Alexei’s friends had left the bar and were standing a short distance away. Alexei glared at the one who had spoken, and rattled something off in Russian. The other man replied back in kind, but he continued to laugh -- the sound echoing through the empty lobby.

  Tori blinked and looked between the two. “What was that about?”

  Alexei shook his head. “Nothing important. Though he did say that the bar is closing.”

  “Oh.”

  “They are considering taking the party back to the rooms, if you are still interested. Apparently our fridges are well stocked, but if you do not want to, I would understand.”

  Tori nodded. She eyed the hotel exit, but found herself linking arms with Alexei once more. She licked her lips nervously again. “Let’s see how far this rabbit hole goes.”

  “Good, good.” He moved her hand so that their fingers were linked instead, and led her to the bank of elevators along the far wall of the lobby. However, when they and Alexei’s friends got into the elevator, it quickly became clear that the girls who had tagged along from Mac’s bar were more interested in doing other things . . . or least Tori assumed they were based off of how the girls’ hands were roaming all over the other men’s bodies.

  “I don’t think they’re interested in continuing the party.” She leaned up to whisper in Alexei’s ear.

  “Oh, they are interested in a party... I believe they would prefer one by themselves, though.” There was that mischievous look in his eyes again.

  “Well, maybe I should go home after all.”

  Alexei’s grip on her hand tightened. “No, stay. Please.”

  Tori stumbled as the elevator came to an abrupt stop. Alexei wrapped an arm around her, and pulled her into the hallway as soon as the doors opened. They closed behind them, cutting the others off from sight.

  “But your friends...”

  “Forget them.” He bent down and kissed her.

  Chapter 8

  Tori’s heart began to pound against her chest, and she could feel the butterflies in her stomach take flight. Alexei’s lips were so soft and smooth against hers, his hands were gentle where they rested on her hips. His cologne threatened to overwhelm her once again.

  She began to wonder why she had been so worried. Oh, sure there were dangers out there for single girls who weren’t paying attention, but it was clear that Alexei was not one of them. He had admitted that he was just as new to this one night stand business as she was. And he was being so gentle and kind -- giving her every opportunity to back out if she wanted to.

  The short kisses were nice at first, making her heart pound and leaving her breathless, but soon Tori wanted more. Feeling bold once again, she traced his bottom lip with her tongue and nipped at it lightly with her teeth. He moaned, deepening the kiss, forcing his tongue inside her mouth to taste her. He pressed against her until she stumbled back against a wall.

  “Well, that escalated quickly,” she murmured against his lips.

  “If it is . . .” He started to pull away, but she quickly reached up and pulled his head down to hers, silencing him. He was happy to comply with her unspoken demand, only breaking the string of kisses off when the elevator opened again. A very grumpy businessman emerged, saw them, and gave them a glare. “Maybe we should continue this somewhere more private.”

  Tori nodded, her hand wrapped tightly in his once more as she followed him down the hallway. He stopped in front of a door, slid his keycard in, opened it and then guided her in, pulling her close for another kiss as he kicked the door closed. “Shouldn’t you put out the ‘do not disturb’ sign?”

  “Later.” He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She gasped when she felt his hardness pressing against her through his jeans. Maybe she had bit off more than she could chew with this one. One of his hands tangled into her hair, angling her head just so, and his lips found a sensitive spot just behind and below her ear. She clung to his shoulders as his lips followed the line of her neck.

  It had been so long, well over a year, and if he kept it up, she might just explode before anything else could happen. “Bed. Now. Please.”

  “Good. We have the same idea.” Alexei laughed, and carried her over to the bed. Once there, he lowered her onto the mattress, covering her with his body as his mouth continued to work its magic along her neck and collarbone. She worked her hands underneath his shirt, running them over the smooth skin underneath. His own hands began to wander, and he pulled away with a frown when he encountered the fabric of her sweater. “You are wearing too many clothes.”

  “Yeah.” She agreed. She sat up, and pulled it over her head, tossing it away from her and kicking off her shoes. She started to pull off the tank top she wore underneath her sweater, but he pulled her hands away.

  “You were not ki
dding when you said you are a fan.”

  Tori blushed, remembering that it was a Maple Leafs tank top that clung to her slender frame. It had been the first thing sitting on the pile of clothes in her suitcase, and she had grabbed it without looking when she changed clothes earlier. “I wasn’t exactly planning on being seduced tonight.”

  “I do not mind.” He smiled and finally relieved her of her shirt. “You are different than other girls. A mystery . . . Like this . . . I never would expect this . . .” His fingers trailed over the tattoo she had along her side; a large piece of Celtic knotwork that flowed along the curves of her body.