Romance A Feel For The Ice

Anna tried not to think about Hayden and that amazing kiss in the days that followed. She tried to sleep, eat and go to work without wondering how far she would have let him go. Then of course, she tried to convince herself that she would have had enough presence of mind to tell him to stop.

So far, none of it was working.

Hayden was being the perfect guy, calling when he said he would and spending a lot of those phone calls talking to Riley, not Anna. She couldn't fault him for that; not when it put such a look of happiness on her young son's face. Still, she couldn't help being a little jealous that Riley got to spend so much time talking to Hayden.

"Mom!" Riley screamed down the hall from the kitchen one afternoon while she was doing laundry.

She was just coming out of the laundry room with a full basket of clean clothes and jumped when she heard her son's shrill voice. "Good heavens, Riley," she muttered as she set the basket down on the kitchen table. "Do you need to holler like that?"

He hardly looked repentant. "Mr. Zimmerman is on the phone and he wants me to ask you something," Riley said.

Anna's eyes went from her son's face to the phone in his hand and felt a blush steal over her cheeks. Sighing, she nodded and held her hand out towards Riley. He frowned at her and moved a step away.

"Mo-om," he whined. "I'm supposed to ask you."

Anna dropped her hand and crossed her arms over her chest while she rolled her eyes. "Fine. Ask."

"Mr. Zimmerman says he can get us in to watch a practice," Riley said. "It's this Thursday afternoon at two and we just need to give our names at the door."

"At two?" Anna echoed. "It's a school day!"

Riley winced as though he'd known exactly what her reaction was going to be. "He says he knows that but he wondered if there was any way we could get out early and come." This her son said with such an expression of hope that she didn't know what to do.

She suddenly disliked Hayden. "Give me the phone," she said.

Riley took another step back, holding the phone like it was a lifeline. "Mr. Zimmerman says he understands if you can't get out of work early but that he'd be willing to pick me up and drive me home after practice if you let me leave school."

Anna's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Of all the nerve! she thought. Here she'd been, not five minutes before, stewing over how she felt and how far she wanted to take things with the sexy hockey player and now he was manipulating her through her son.

"Riley," she said in a firm tone. "Give me the phone right now and go up to your room."

His lower lip jutted out and he hesitated before moving closer. "Mr. Zimmerman says I should do what you tell me," he muttered.

"Wise man," Anna said from behind clenched teeth, hand outstretched, waiting.

Riley handed the phone over and ran from the room without another word. Anna gripped the phone in one hand and shut her eyes, listening for Riley's bedroom door to close before she spoke.

"Mr. Zimmerman," she said. "I hope you know that you crossed a line just now."

"I am sensing that," he replied, his tone even. "I thought we were past the whole Mr. Zimmerman thing."

"We were until you tried to use my son to get something you want," Anna said. "What did you think you'd accomplish?"

"I thought I'd be making Riley happy and I thought you'd be all right with that," Hayden said and Anna had to give him credit for being honest.

"Well, in this house, education comes first and Riley is my son so I make the decisions," Anna told him. "I can't believe you think it's OK to pull him out of school early! And this after you've spent countless conversations telling him to study for his math test or work on his reading. Fine role model you've turned out to be." Anna paused to draw in a breath and saw red when she heard Hayden chuckle.

"Are you finished?" Hayden asked.

"With you? Just about," Anna snapped.

"No, Anna," Hayden said quickly and Anna was almost pleased to hear the note of fear in his voice. "I didn't mean... I'm sorry."

Anna's eyebrows shot up. Never had she heard a man apologize so quickly. Even Kevin could talk his way around a direct apology for hours and they'd been friends for years. She waited to hear the 'but' that usually accompanied the words.

"Anna?" Hayden's voice was hesitant.

"I'm still here," she said.

"Good. Listen, I never meant to upset you when I suggested it," Hayden said. "It's just that it's the last open practice for a while and I wanted Riley to see it, maybe meet some of the players."

"He's already met some of the players," Anna replied, even though she knew it was a weak retort.

"I know," Hayden agreed and exhaled noisily. "I'm doing this all wrong, aren't I?"

Anna smiled before she could stop herself. Sighing, she turned and pulled a chair out from under the kitchen table to sit down. She laid her chin in her upturned palm and agreed with Hayden.

"I don't want to hurt Riley's education," Hayden went on. "I just wanted to do something nice for him. And you too. I know it's probably too last minute for you especially to get out of work, so that's why I suggested driving."

"That's a nice thought, Hayden, but I'm the only one able to pick Riley up from school," Anna told him, which was the truth. The school was strict about who picked up which kids and that sort of thing. It was one of the reasons Anna had chosen the school for Riley, especially since she'd been a single mother while making the decision.

"What about Kevin?" Hayden asked.

"I can't ask Kevin to leave work early just to take Riley to a practice," Anna retorted with a short laugh. Wow. He is really grasping at straws, she thought.

"I don't mean for Kevin to pick him up," Hayden replied. "I meant, he's someone else who picks up Riley, right? Why can't you authorize me to pick him up?"

Anna opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out. She was halfway torn between indignation and feeling flattered. He's trying so hard, she thought as she chewed on her lower lip. He's thinking of every angle.

"Anna? Are you still there?" he asked.

"Hmm," she murmured. "I'm thinking."

"That's good." Then he fell silent, presumably to let her think.

"Oh Christ," she muttered and rubbed her eyes. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this."

"Really?" Hayden exclaimed, sounding almost as excited as she knew her son was going to be.

"Now you listen to me, Mr. Zimmerman," Anna said as she dropped her hand to the table hard enough to make a thumping noise. "If my son arrives home in anything less than pristine condition, there is no coach, trainer or teammate who will be able to protect you. I may be a schoolteacher but Riley is my son and I'm sure I could find a way to make your death extremely painful."

For a moment, Hayden didn't say anything. Then he gave a sort of nervous chuckle that had Anna bristling.

"You think I'm joking?" she demanded.

"Not even a little bit," Hayden assured her. "I'm sorry, Anna."

That surprised her. "For what?"

"For making you call me Mr. Zimmerman again," he said.

"Oh." She didn't know what she'd been expecting but that hadn't been it. "I don't... I mean, it's not like... you shouldn't..." she stammered and then sighed, giving up. "What time will you need to pick him up at?" she asked instead. She could at least focus on the details for Thursday.

"I should probably get him at one-thirty at the latest," Hayden replied.

"And how late will you bring him home?"

"Five probably, depending on traffic."

"Hmm," was all Anna said. "All right, Mr. Zimmerman. You can take him. I'll make the arrangements at the school so you can pick him up. Because it's the middle of the afternoon, you'll have to check in at the office and show photo ID."

"I can do that, no problem," Hayden assured her.

"Good," Anna said. "Is that all?"

"Yes," he replied.

"All right then."

"Anna?"

"Yes?"

"I can't stop thinking about you," Hayden said in a low tone that went straight to the sensitive places between her legs. "Or your amazing lips."

Anna's mouth opened and closed with no words coming out. Hayden seemed to take her silence as a sign of encouragement because he kept talking.

"I wanted to keep kissing you that night," he went on. "I wanted to open your jacket and unbutton your shirt and kiss you on your neck. I can still taste you on my tongue."

Oh jeez, she thought and squeezed her eyes shut as moisture bloomed between her thighs. Everything he was saying, she was reliving and with every new idea he presented her with, she was given a new fantasy. I'm not going to be able to sleep for a week.

"You were so warm in my arms," Hayden was still speaking, still mixing her brain into a fine paste. "I was so turned on by you, you have no idea. I wanted to put my hands up your skirt and pull your panties down, so slowly. I think if I ever get close to you again, I won't be able to help myself."

Me either, she thought and sucked in a sharp breath. "I should go... tell Riley about Thursday," she gasped out between inhalations. On the other end of the line, she heard Hayden breathing heavily and it was some small comfort to know that he was affecting himself with his words.

"All right," he agreed in a soft voice.

"Call me if anything changes," she added.

"I will."

"OK."

Anna held on to the phone, wondering if she would have the strength to say good-bye. "Thanks for thinking of Riley, Hayden," she added at last.

He chuckled. "Of course," he replied nonchalantly. "He's a great kid. And Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for calling me Hayden."

"Right. Well, I'll talk to you later." She hung up the phone before he could say something that would have her spontaneously combusting.

Hayden stared at the phone in his hand and wondered what had possessed him to say those things to Anna. With a groan, he tapped his closed fist to his forehead as he shut his eyes tight. With his other hand, he reached lower and pressed his palm to his erection. I have got to start wearing looser pants, he thought.

Later that week, he picked up Riley from his school as promised and drove him to Joe Louis Arena. There Riley sat on the bench and watched the Red Wings practice. Hayden had warned the guys about Riley's attendance so no one complained or was surprised to see the bright-eyed eight-year old sitting on the bench. Or standing with his mouth hanging open and his hands gripping the boards in front of him.

Several times Hayden looked over to see one teammate or another standing near the bench, chatting with Riley. Hayden couldn't tell half the time if Riley was responding to any of them, but some of the guys commented after that Riley was a bright kid.

"He even told me how to turn if I miss a pass," Nathan remarked after a brief conversation with Riley.

Hayden chuckled. "Yeah. After the last game he watched, he let me know how to aim for the five-hole."

Nathan laughed and leaned down to scoop a puck onto the end of his stick. He bounced it a couple times as his expression turned thoughtful. "You must really like this woman," he commented casually.

Hayden slanted a glance in his direction and shrugged, hoping he looked casual. "Riley's mother is nice," he said. "But Riley is a great kid and I just love to see that look on his face."

As one, they turned towards the bench where Riley was grinning like a madman as Pyotr Dashkov skated past the bench, executing a perfect spinning move before shooting the puck. Nathan turned back to Hayden with a scrutinizing look on his face.

"He is a good kid, I'm not arguing," he said. "But you've never brought a kid to a practice before."

"So?" Hayden replied. He pushed off and started to glide over the ice in a wide circle. He didn't know why exactly he was avoiding the topic with Nathan. Maybe it was just that he wanted to keep it private for now. It felt better that way, more intimate. It was so new for him that he didn't want anything to spoil it. Especially after how badly he'd ticked her off earlier in the week. They hadn't even spoken since then.

"So I think you need to be careful," Nathan replied.

"Careful? Why?"

"I know how you are with women and I saw how much it hurt when Ellie walked out on you," Nathan replied. "I just don't want that to happen again."

Hayden appreciated his friend's concern. "Anna's nothing like Ellie."

"That's for sure," Nathan agreed as they came to a stop behind the team gathered near the blue line. "Anna's a single mom and their priorities in life are different."

"Tell me about it," Hayden muttered. He knew that Anna loved her son like nothing else and he appreciated that about her. Then he'd really ticked her off during that phone conversation and she'd threatened him with bodily harm. Instead of being frightened, it had turned him on, which had led to him saying all those things to her afterward. Aside from his physical reaction though, he'd loved that she'd been so protective of her son. He loved knowing that Riley was the center of her universe and that she'd kill anyone who stood between them. It made Hayden feel almost protective of her; of both of them. It confused him, to say the least.

He pushed it out of his mind for now and focused on practice. He kept one eye on Riley when he could and every time he looked over, the kid looked content. Hayden told himself he'd have plenty of time to sort out his feelings for Anna later. Starting with that night when he drove Riley home.

He wasn't going to leave her house until something was decided between them, for better or for worse.

Anna tried to keep herself from pacing as she waited for Hayden to bring Riley home following the team practice. She busied herself with her homework when she first got home around four and then she looked through the cupboards in the kitchen, trying to decide on something to make for dinner. Realizing anything she attempted would end up burnt due to lack of attention, she considered ordering pizza when Riley arrived home. The decision was taken away from her when the phone rang at about twenty minutes past five.

"Hello?"

"Hi Mom!" Riley shouted into the phone in his most excited tone.

She winced, jerking the phone away from her ear and smiled. "Hello, sweetheart. Did you have a good time?"

"It was awesome!" he exclaimed.

"That's great. You're on your way home?" Anna cut him off before he could launch into one of his run-on speeches that could last for hours, if not days.

"Yeah," Riley replied. "Mr. Zimmerman says not to make dinner because we're going to bring something home."

"Oh, no," Anna said. "Tell Mr. Zimmerman he doesn't need to do that. I was going to order pizza."

"Cool! That's what we're stopping to pick up," Riley said and laughed. "We'll get your favorite, 'kay, Mom?"

Knowing she was defeated, Anna agreed and hung up in another minute. Another twenty minutes later, Riley burst through the front door and ran into the kitchen to see her. He was already going a mile a minute and Anna could only laugh and nod as she tried to keep up with his narrative. Behind Riley came Hayden at a much more sedate pace. He smiled shyly at her as he walked into the kitchen and set the boxes of pizza on the counter.

"Hi," she greeted him, shushing Riley so she could speak. "Riley, sweetie, go take your coat and boots off. Then wash your hands and come set the table." Too wound up to make any kind of argument, Riley rushed off to do as she asked.

Left alone with Hayden in the kitchen, Anna awkwardly crossed her arms over her chest and smiled at him.

"So..." she began and then flushed. "I guess you and Riley had a good time?"

Hayden nodded. "Oh yeah. Everyone loved him. He was a real hit with the guys."

"Really?" Anna replied, pleased for her son's sake. She was glad all the players had been nice to him. But then, they had all been great that night after the game.

"Yeah, he handed out a few pointers and the guys just took it in stride," Hayden told her with a grin.

She groaned and shook her head. "He can be very forward sometimes," she said.

"It was fine. Some of what he said made sense," Hayden replied and from his expression, Anna couldn't tell if he was teasing or not. "I think he'd make a great coach one day."

"Not a player?" Anna asked, knowing that it was her son's dream to make it to the NHL.

Hayden shrugged, his jacket rustling as he moved. "It's too early to tell that. Plus, I've never actually seen him play."

"You should go to one of his games," Anna said and walked forward. She helped him take off his jacket and walked out into the hallway to hang it up in the closet. "He'd be thrilled to have a real hockey player there to show off to all his friends."

"That'd be a lot of fun, I think," Hayden said from right behind her.

Startled, Anna turned from the closet to collide with his solid chest. His arms came up to close around her waist and Anna sucked in a breath, inhaling the warm, musky scent of him as she did. It was a heady mix and she leaned forward, drawn by the softness in his eyes. His lips hovered over hers and she thought he was going to kiss her, there in her front hallway with the closet door open behind her. Then a stomping eight-year old interrupted the moment.

"Mom, we got pepperoni and a Hawaiian pizza!" Riley exclaimed, racing through the hall and into the kitchen with barely a glance in their direction. He continued shouting from the kitchen as cupboards banged open and a chair was dragged across the floor for him to stand on to reach the higher shelves.

Anna and Hayden exchanged a look and Anna flushed at the unspoken passion she saw within Hayden's eyes. He leaned forward, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. "Later," he murmured before stepping back and releasing her.

The two of them joined Riley in the kitchen and they sat down to eat the pizza. Riley dominated much of the conversation, telling his mom all about what he'd seen at the arena and who he'd talked to. Anna and Hayden barely had a moment to get any response in. After dinner was done, they moved to the front room and Riley quieted down somewhat as they turned on the television to watch a holiday special that was showing on one channel.

Hayden and Anna sat on opposite ends of the couch with Riley sprawled in between them. Anna kept glancing over at Hayden but he was smiling and laughing along with Riley. He was even teasing him with light shoulders bumps and tickles to his sides. Anna couldn't help but smile at the way they interacted. It was obvious that Riley enjoyed having Hayden around. What Anna didn't know was how her son would react if he knew Hayden was dating Anna.

The subject had never come up before. Once it was just the two of them, Anna had focused on that. She wanted to be there for her son because she knew his father was never going to be. Seeing how happy Riley was right now with Hayden made her realize that she may have been neglecting him unconsciously.

Maybe he wants a man around, she thought and turned her gaze back to the cartoon on TV. Kevin is nice but he's not here everyday. Maybe Riley sees other families and wonders why there's no man in our house.

They were useless thoughts and only ended up making Anna feel guilty. So she sat on her end of the couch, chewing her bottom lip and frowning as she thought it over. It wasn't until Riley slumped against her, groaning out an enormous yawn that she switched her thoughts to the time.

"Oh wow," she muttered and sat up, nudging her son. "Riley, sweetheart. It's time for bed."

"OK," he agreed without a fight, a sure sign that he was exhausted.

Anna stood up and helped Riley to his feet. "Say good night to Mr. Zimmerman," she said.

"Good night, Mr. Zimmerman," Riley parroted.

Hayden grinned and sat forward on the couch. "You can call me Hayden, Riley," he told him. "We're buddies, right?"

Riley nodded, a happy smile on his face. Then he hurried over to Hayden and threw his arms around the hockey player. Surprised, Hayden's eyes shot to Anna's face. She smiled at him, feeling her heart tug at the sight of her son embracing the grown man.

"Good night, Hayden," Riley murmured as he hugged his hero. "Thanks for taking me to practice today."

"Thanks for being a good assistant coach," Hayden replied. "Have a good sleep, kiddo."

Riley nodded as he pulled away and smiled one last time before walking upstairs. Anna remained where she was standing for a moment. Hayden looked up at her before standing up as well.

"Should I go?" he asked quietly.

Anna met his eyes and shook her head, her heart skipping a beat when he grinned at her. Blushing, she turned to leave him in the living room while she put Riley to bed.

"You had a good time today, huh?" she asked her son as he climbed into bed.

"Yup," he nodded and yawned again. "It was totally cool."

"That's great, Riley," Anna said and perched on the edge of the bed after tucking the sheets around him.

"Thanks for letting me go, Mom," Riley said. "I'm glad you're friends with Mr. Zim - Hayden."

Anna blinked, wondering what had made him say that. "Well, he's your friend too, Riley. He talks to you on the phone almost every day."

"Yeah, but he told me today that he likes you," Riley told her and yawned, his eyes blinking heavily. "He says he made you mad and didn't mean to so that's why we stopped for pizza. Did it work?"

"Did what work?" Anna asked, her mind whirling. Hayden told Riley he likes me? She wondered. It was such a juvenile thought that she gave herself a mental shake and listened to her son instead.

"Are you still mad at Hayden?"

"No, Riley. I'm not mad."

"That's good 'cause I like him and I told him he should just say he's sorry," Riley said as he flopped onto his side, wriggling to get more comfortable under the covers. "I want him to stay."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked.

"I want him to stay and be our friend. I like him."

"I like him, too, Riley," Anna confessed and lifted a hand to brush her son's unruly dark locks from his face. She thought he might respond but he was out cold already. With a sigh, Anna leaned forward to press a kiss to his cheek and then she left him alone.

Downstairs, Hayden was sitting on the couch, remote control in hand but the channel was the same as when she'd left. She eyed the Christmas cartoon and lifted her eyebrows at him when he looked over at her.

"I like The Grinch," Hayden said and set the remote control down on the table in front of him.

"He's my favorite, too," Anna agreed, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

Hayden looked at her, his eyes going from her face down and back up again. "Are you sure you don't want me to go?" he asked.

Sighing, Anna shifted on her feet and held her hands out to either side. "I don't know, Hayden," she replied honestly. "I think we need to talk."

"Talk," he echoed, nodding thoughtfully. To Anna, he sounded disappointed, but maybe that was her own imagination. Hayden sat back on the couch and patted the cushion next to him. "So, come talk to me."

OK. Now she knew she wasn't imagining things. She heard the underlying invitation in his voice and the pull deep in her stomach demanded that she sit beside him. She knew what it would probably lead to and she'd be kidding herself if she said she didn't want that. But they did need to talk and whatever might happen between them on that couch, it wouldn't be talking.

"How about you join me in the kitchen?" she suggested and turned away without waiting for a response. "Help me clean up."

She walked into the kitchen and turned the light on. There wasn't a huge mess from dinner but a few dishes were still on the table and the counter. She started by carrying them all to the sink and then she started to package up the leftover pizza in plastic containers. Footsteps sounded behind her but she didn't turn to look. She was just snapping the lid on one container when Hayden came up behind her, placing his hands on the counter to either side of her.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked, his voice low and his breath warm on the back of her neck. After work, she'd tied her hair up in a haphazard ponytail, leaving her neck exposed to the elements. Hayden exhaled again as he waited for her response and Anna shuddered, his warm breath reaching to every part of her.

"Talk?" she repeated. She set her palms down over the tops of his hands. She felt him start at the touch and smiled to herself, glad that he wasn't just playing with her. If a slight touch did that to him, then maybe she wasn't imagining things.

"You said you... you wanted to talk?" Hayden asked, his breath coming out more quickly now, sending more delightful tingles to the space between her legs.

"I do," she replied with a sigh. She did and she thought they should do it now before she ended up offering herself to him. She turned around to face him, pressing her backside against the counter in a weak effort to put more distance between them.

Hayden was grinning at her, his soft brown eyes almost entirely swallowed up by the pupils. He was breathing heavily and now his exhalations brushed against her lips. He smelled of pizza and soda and everything masculine. Anna swallowed and leaned back as far as she could. Hayden let her, watching her with those dark eyes and making her feel things in places she'd forgotten existed.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"I think..." she began and shook her head, trying to sort through her thoughts. What did she want to say to him? So many things had been on her mind earlier but now she had a single thought: God, he feels so good against me.

"You think...?" Hayden prompted and Anna's eyes were drawn back to his face. He was still grinning at her and there was a glint in his eyes that told her he was teasing her. As if she needed teasing to completely forget what they were doing. To make matters even more difficult, one of his hands settled on the small of her back, urging her closer.

"Hayden, we need to... figure things out," she said, her voice sounding breathless. She supposed she was. She was hot and the counter was no longer pressing comfortingly into her butt.

Her words seemed to get through to him though and he moved his head back. She looked up at him, watched the change in his expression. His smile dimmed but didn't disappear entirely. "Figure things out," he echoed and Anna wondered if he was just going to repeat everything she said. "What things?"

She shrugged. What things, indeed.

"I'm sorry about asking Riley to practice without running it by you first," he said when she didn't answer. "I didn't mean to make you angry and I honestly didn't think about asking you first." His smile brightened for a moment. "I've never been in a relationship with an eight-year old before."

Anna giggled and clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle it. Hayden's eyes sparkled at her and his grin returned. Oh God, she thought. Now he knows he's got me. Out loud, she said, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, he's never been in a relationship with a hockey player."

"Good to know," he murmured. "I guess this is new for both of us, then."

Anna nodded. "New. Yes. I think... maybe he doesn't know the rules." Of course, they were no longer talking about Riley but for some reason, she felt more comfortable discussing it this way.

"Rules? There are rules?"

"Sure. I mean, we can't have you picking him up from school early for every practice, right?" Anna replied.

"Of course not," he agreed. "There are early morning practices though."

Anna cocked her eyebrow at him and he smiled sheepishly. "I just thought I'd throw it out there," he said.

"No early mornings, either," she said. "I like the time you spend with us and I don't want it to stop."

"That's good," he replied, his voice much lower. "I don't want to stop spending time with you both, either."

"Really?" she asked before she could stop. "I mean, with both of us? You don't mind?"

He drew back then, surprised by her question. "Of course not," he told her. "You're both amazing. I couldn't spend time with just Riley or just you. As much as I'd like for us to have some real time alone together, I don't ever want to neglect Riley."

He might as well have just offered her the moon. Her heart swelled at his words and she felt a familiar stinging at the back of her eyes. She dropped her head before Hayden could see her tears.

"Hey," he murmured, his hand sliding under her chin and lifting her face back up. "Anna, what's wrong?"

Anna could only shake her head, sniffling. Hayden looked worried and she felt bad for making him think he'd done something wrong. He'd done nothing wrong, nothing at all. Everything he'd just said to her had made her fall very hard and very fast. It was sudden, scary and very dangerous; she knew that.

"Anna, please," he whispered, leaning close to press a kiss to her cheek, close to her lips. He lingered there, his breath tingling against her mouth. "Please, tell me what I did wrong."

"You didn't do anything, Hayden," she managed to say.

"Then why are you crying?"

"I'm not," she muttered but she could feel the dampness on her cheeks.

Chuckling, Hayden reached up and brushed his thumbs through the tracks of her tears, wiping them away.

"OK, maybe a little," she replied and sniffed. "I just... no one's ever... said those things to me," she confessed, looking up at him. He seemed so large right now, so tall and broad before her. She'd never felt like a delicate woman but he made her feel tiny, a feeling she was not altogether unhappy with.

"What things? No one's told you they like to spend time with you and Riley?" he asked, sounding lost.

She nodded. "Yeah." No one ever had. Even her own ex-husband, Riley's father, had never expressed joy over being in their company. Kevin was around a lot, with and without his own kids, but they never spoke those sorts of words to each other.

"What about your ex-husband?" Hayden asked, as though reading her mind.

"No," she answered in a whisper. "He never said it, and anyway, it was pretty obvious that he didn't like us when he left."

Henrik clenched his jaw and the hand at her back pressed more firmly. She went with it this time, wanting to be closer to the man in front of her. Their bodies came together, knees to hips and Anna had to lift her hands to his chest to balance herself. Hayden's eyes flickered when she touched him and her breath caught at the sudden intensity in his face.

"I want to spend all my time with you," he said, his voice rough. Another hand joined the first at her back and warmth spread throughout her entire body. "My problem is I can't get enough."

He kissed her, his mouth hard on hers, his tongue slipping inside swiftly. Anna gasped, letting herself open up to him. She fisted her hands in his sweater, loving the shudder that rippled through him. The muscles beneath her hands tensed and she flattened her palms over them again to feel the movement. The hands on her back moved up, pressing between her shoulder blades until she was crushed against his chest. She felt a hardness against her stomach and gasped again when she realized what it was.

Hayden wrenched his mouth from hers and trailed hot kisses down her neck. He sucked on the angle of her throat just above her shoulder and Anna dug her fingertips into his chest, gathering the fabric of his sweater again. She needed something to hold on to. His tongue dancing and sliding sensuously across her skin had her seeing stars. She clenched her thighs together as the tingling reached a peak.

"Hayden," she murmured his name, letting her head fall back and her eyes close. God, he was making her feel so good and all he was doing was propping her up as he kissed her neck. She'd melt before he ever got under her clothes.

Then he was pushing a hand under the fabric of her blouse, lifting the hem and sliding hot fingers over the trembling skin of her stomach. He flattened a palm against her and slid up until he was cupping one bra-covered breast. She moaned, arching against him, her body responding as it had not in years.

"You're so beautiful, Anna," he murmured to her, lifting his head and planting kisses on her chin, cheek and closed eyelids. "So soft. So warm. And you taste so sweet."

She shook her head, thinking she was never going to have the power to speak again. Then Hayden's mouth was on hers again, his tongue dancing against hers. She rose to him, thrusting her tongue back at him and swallowing his groan. The hand under her shirt closed over her breast and she jerked against him, feeling again the hard length of his erection against her abdomen. His hand on her back slid down, pushing on her bottom and holding her against him. As he held her there, he pushed his hips forward and together they groaned.

"Oh my God," she breathed as he released her lips.

He pressed his forehead to hers, breathing rapidly. He pulled the hand from under her shirt and move the hand from her backside. For a moment, Anna was afraid he was going to stop this and she made a noise of protest, opening her eyes. He wasn't looking into her face though. His attention was on her chest where she realized he'd moved his hands. He worked the top button of her blouse free and then moved on to the next one.

Almost before she knew what was happening, Hayden had all the buttons undone and he was parting the sides of her blouse, inhaling sharply as he exposed her. Feeling self-conscious, Anna tried to close it, blushing.

"No," he growled at her, closing his bigger hands over hers and pulling them away. He bent her arms, holding them behind her back and leaving her helpless before him.

Their gaze met then and Anna shivered when she saw the heavy look of desire in his brown eyes. Keeping his eyes on hers, he lowered his head to taste her lips once more before moving lower. He sucked hard on one spot on her throat before licking it delicately. Dragging his tongue lower still, Anna held her breath as his soft exhalations brushed against her exposed chest. Her nipples hardened almost painfully inside her bra.

"Oh, Anna," Hayden murmured and she flushed, feeling that her lust for him must be so obvious.

He let one of her hands go, moving his around to her front and brushing the pad of his thumb over one erect nipple. His hand cupped her breast, squeezing gently as he stroked her again through the fabric of her bra. She sucked in a breath, remembering distantly that she needed to breathe. Her free hand went to his shoulder and she held on as Hayden blew a soft breath over her skin. Goosebumps rose on her skin and she trembled in his arms.

"Anna, you..." Hayden started to speak and Anna glanced down to see him shaking his head. He lifted his eyes to hers and she saw some unreadable expression in his eyes. It only served to arouse her further, as if she needed it. If he asked, she was more than ready for him. "You're so beautiful," he finished his thought.

"Stop saying that," she whispered on a laugh, feeling the heat flood her cheeks and spill down her throat.

"Never," he replied, a frown creasing his forehead. "I'll never stop telling you how beautiful you are or how much I want to be inside of you."

Anna gasped at his words and squeezed her eyes shut. She was almost afraid to look at him. The intensity of his gaze, the heat behind his words was confusing. She didn't ever remember someone saying words like this to her, even before she was married. She wasn't the beautiful one. She'd always been the frumpy girl in the background; the overweight one with acne and impossibly frizzy hair.

"Anna," Hayden whispered and she felt the warmth of his breath on her lips. He kissed her, sliding his tongue across her lips, dampening them and sending more electricity to the already overloaded part of her below the waist. "Anna," he breathed against her lips, licking the corners of her mouth. "Look at me, love. I want to look into your eyes."

She did as he asked, summoning the last of her courage to do it. Her eyes opened to find him smiling so sweetly at her, his eyes so dark with lust that her knees almost buckled. The arm around her back tightened and she realized then that he'd released her other hand. She braced the heel of her hand against the counter, still clinging to his shoulder with the other. Her entire body was engulfed by his; all she could feel was every hard inch of his body and all she could see was the warm brown of his eyes.

"Why?" she asked, not knowing what exactly she was asking.

He cocked his head at her and kissed her lips, licking teasingly before pulling away again. "Why what?" he asked but continued speaking without waiting for her to clarify. "Why am I here? Because you invited me to stay. Why do I like you and your son so much?" Here he paused and shrugged his shoulders. Anna swallowed as she felt the flexing of his muscles beneath her palm. "I can't help myself," he answered. "You're under my skin."

"Sorry," she breathed and he chuckled, kissing her on the mouth again.

"Don't be," he replied. "I'm not." He studied her face for a moment before speaking again. "Or maybe you just wanted to know why I wanted you to open your eyes."

"Yeah," she agreed, thinking that must have been it.

"It's because I wanted to watch you when I do this," he told her and pushed a hand down the front of her pants.

Her eyes widened when she felt the heat of his palm over her panties and she gasped as he pressed fingers to the damp spot between her legs. His mouth came down on hers again as he played with her, stroking her over her wet panties and soaking the fabric right through. All the while, his eyes were open, fixed on hers and Anna felt a whirling dizziness overcome her.

"Stop," she gasped, twisting her mouth out from under his. "Please, Hayden, I can't..." she shook her head, sucking in air like it was in sudden short supply. "Stop, please."

He did as she asked, drawing his hand out of her pants and placing it at her hip. With one last gentle squeeze, he released her breast and moved that hand to her other hip. He didn't move back though, didn't give her any space.

"What is it?" he asked, his mouth still hovering over hers. He looked so unapologetic and worried at the same time, that Anna felt her heart expand even more.

Breathing hard, Anna looked into his eyes and couldn't stop the giddy smile from spreading over her face. She lifted her hand from the counter behind her and cupped her palm over his cheek. The beard tickled the inside of her fingers and she liked it. "We just can't," she whispered around her rapid inhalations. "Not here, not tonight."

When he still looked expectant, she flicked her eyes up, toward the second floor and realization dawned on his face. Then he did look sorry.

"Don't worry," she assured him, pushing up onto her toes to kiss him before he drew away from her altogether. "It's not that I'm not... having fun."

He chuckled and slipped his arms around her back to hold her close. "That's a relief."

"I just... we can't tonight. I don't want to... be quiet," she explained lamely and blushed at her words. "I don't think I could be."

Hayden groaned and closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against hers. "God, Anna, you're killing me."

She giggled. "I don't mean to," she replied.

He opened his eyes and smiled. "All right," he said. "We'll stop here and figure something out for another time."

When she lifted her eyebrows at him, he winced. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded," he said. "I don't want you to think we need to get rid of Riley so we can make love."​