Romance Keeping Ice On The Wound

She giggled and turned in his arms, trying to give him a fierce look. "I'm no one's prey," she replied.

He merely grinned and kissed her, his tongue and lips drawing such a sigh from her that she ended limp in his arms.

"Whether you know it or not," he murmured, brushing kisses along her cheek. "You've already fallen."

And so it went for the next few days.

Hilary, when she wasn't working, would pack a few essential items in her purse and head over to Mark's house. Sometimes they'd get through an entire movie or game before jumping each other. Other times he'd be falling over his crutches trying to get to her.

Hilary would be lying if she didn't say she was enjoying this time with him. She was spending very little time at home and Lena was being nice enough to not comment on it. Other than the few brief chats they'd have in between work and passing mugs of coffee, they hadn't been together much.

One evening though, Lena was home when Hilary rushed in from the cold, anxious to get changed before heading over to Mark's again. She'd been held up at work and was already late.

"Hey Lena!" she called as she raced down the hall to her room.

"Hil, slow down!" Lena replied with a laugh. "You have a message on the machine."

Hilary laughed and peeked her head back out of her room, looking down the hall to where Lena stood near the kitchen entrance. "Leave it on there," she said. "I'll check it when I get home later."

"Uh, you should probably check it now," Lena replied as Hilary ducked back into her room.

Something in Lena's tone made Hilary pause in her frantic search for her 'sexy' black lace panties. She dropped the sweater she'd picked up and walked back out and down the hall. She watched Lena's face as she approached and hated the sympathetic look in her eyes.

"Who called?" she asked, her finger hovering over the 'play' button on the machine.

"Mark," Lena answered and continued speaking before Hilary had a chance to respond. "But don't read too much in to it. I'm sure he means exactly what he says and-"

Hilary cut her off with a sharp hand gesture, her heart already sinking into her stomach. She hit 'play' and listened as Mark's deep voice spoke to her.

"Hey Hilary, it's me. Listen, I know we were planning to see each other tonight but the guys are back from the road trip and a bunch of them are hanging out here now. I don't think you'd like to be here with them here as well. So why don't we get together tomorrow? Coach wants me at practice even though I can't skate but we can hook up after that. Call me when you get in."

Hilary punched the 'erase' button and spun away from the machine without a word.

"Hilary, stop," Lena spoke up, following her down the hallway to her bedroom. "He's telling the truth. The players are all back and they're not leaving him alone. Anatoli told me as much when I talked to him earlier."

Laughing mirthlessly, Hilary turned to face her roommate. "It's fine, Lena," she assured her. "I never expected this... this... whatever this is between us to last forever. It's just a fling."

"If it was just a fling, he wouldn't have called to reschedule," Lena replied, a frown marring her face.

Sighing, Hilary walked over to her desk chair and sat down. "So he still wants to get some action. Big deal. It just has to wait for a more convenient time."

"God, Hil, don't do this," Lena said as she began to pace the floor in front of her. "You can't just assume he's the same sort of jackass as that guy from college or Scott or Hugh. Maybe he really likes you and wants to see more of you."

"Then he could have just let me come over and I guess I would have had to deal with meeting his friends," Hilary replied, still reeling from his message. She didn't want to admit how much it hurt. This was easier; telling herself that she just didn't care.

"Would you have?" Lena asked.

"Would I what?"

"Have dealt with meeting his friends? All his friends and teammates all at once?"

Hilary hesitated before answering. She supposed it did sound rather daunting. "Didn't you?"

"I didn't meet them all at once, are you kidding?" Lena laughed and plopped down on Hilary's bed. "Anatoli introduced me to a few at a time. Most of them knew who I was before I met them, which helped but he would never spring them all on me at once. That's exactly what Mark is doing too."

Shrugging, Hilary shifted on her chair, uncomfortable with the entire conversation. It had barely been a week since she'd met Mark and she was already tangled up more than she'd wanted to be.

"Please, just don't shut him out, Hilary," Lena spoke again and Hilary looked over at her. "He's nice guy and I still think he was telling the truth on the phone. He just didn't want you to get freaked out by going over there and seeing them all."

Hilary had to admit it sounded reasonable. If the situation were reversed, she was certain Mark would nervous to meet every friend of hers.

"You'd better call him back," Lena said and stood up. "Since you're so late getting home, he's probably in a panic that you might still show up there."

Hilary had to smile at the image. She might not know him so well yet but he didn't strike her as the type to panic. She followed Lena out to the front room to retrieve the cordless phone before heading back to her bedroom to call Mark.

"Hello?" someone strange answered the phone and for a second, Hilary was thrown. "Hello?" the man on the other end tried again and Hilary could hear a lot of noise in the background; a television, deep laughter and shouts.

"Uh, hi," she said finally, clearing her throat when it came out a little hoarse. "Hi. Is Mark there?"

"Yeah," the man replied. "Hey, is this his lady?" he asked before passing the phone.

Hilary blushed, which she knew was stupid since no one was in the room with her. "I guess so," she replied.

The man hooted with laughter before shouting for Mark. "Awesome," the man said to her. "I was hoping you'd call. I wanted to tell you about him."

Hilary laughed. She wondered just what this guy would tell her about Mark. "Who are you, anyway?" she asked instead.

He laughed again before telling her. "I'm Drew Stamenski. I play with Mark on the team."

"I know who you are," Hilary replied, picturing his face as she spoke. "I follow hockey a little bit."

"Cool," Drew said and shouted for Mark again. In the background, Hilary heard a few other guys take up the call, some of them adding in kissing noises when Drew said it was his girlfriend. She decided to ignore the moniker for now, telling herself it didn't mean he'd given her the label.

Finally the phone was passed with some muffled cursing and more boisterous laughter. "Hello?" Mark's voice came over the line, instantly making Hilary relax.

"Hi," she replied shyly.

"Hilary!" he exclaimed and sighed. "I'm so glad you called."

"Are you?" she asked, striving for playful.

"Of course-" he started to reply but someone shouted from nearby, something that sounded like "I can't believe you think he's hot!"

Hilary laughed and shook her head. It was a small relief to know that his teammates sounded like typical guys.

"Ignore that," Mark grumbled into the phone. "So you got my message?"

"Yeah, I just got home a few minutes ago," Hilary said. "Sorry I'm so late."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm just sorry I had to cancel."

You didn't have to cancel, she thought unkindly but didn't say it out loud. "It's all right. I'm kind of beat anyway. It was a long day."

There was a pause before Mark replied. "I was really looking forward to seeing you," he said in a lower tone. "I could have helped you unwind."

The low tone of voice mingled with the noise in his apartment made Hilary smile. She could almost picture some of the guys trying to eavesdrop on his conversation, which would explain his low voice. "I can unwind without worrying about you falling over every other second," she replied.

He laughed, the sound sending a shiver down Hilary's back. She squeezed the phone and closed her eyes, willing her body to calm the hell down. There was a good chance she'd never see Mark again. His team was back and if she recalled the schedule correctly, they were in town for nearly two weeks straight. She also remembered Lena being especially excited about that.

"Are you working tomorrow?" Mark asked.

"I'm not on the schedule," she replied honestly.

"You want to come over around four then?" he suggested. "I'll make dinner and we can watch a movie. Your choice."

"Dinner and a movie? Wow, I feel so privileged." Hilary winced even as she spoke the words. They sounded terribly sarcastic to her.

"You should," he agreed, obviously not hearing the same thing she had in her tone. Someone else shouted in the background and there was more laughter. "Oh crap," Mark breathed. "I should go."

"Yeah, you should!" someone shouted close enough to the phone that Hilary recognized his voice.

"Tell Obie to back off and leave you alone or I'll sic Lena on him," Hilary suggested.

Mark paused before answering. "Uh, you sure?"

Hilary recalled then that they hadn't discussed telling others about them. She'd told Lena obviously and her friend would never gossip about her, even with Anatoli. Hilary had not considered what it would mean if Mark told everyone on the team about her. She suspected he didn't want to deal with the good-natured ribbing.

Or he doesn't want anyone to know he's sleeping with me, she added silently and cringed at how negative that sounded. Mark was still waiting for a response. "Uh, you can if you want," she replied feebly. "I have to go."

"All right," Mark agreed but sounded surprised. "I'll call you tomorrow when I get home from practice."

"OK. Bye," Hilary replied and hung up before they said anything else. She stared at the phone in her hand, feeling strange about the conversation, about the entire situation.

You knew what you were getting yourself into when you went home from the bar with him, she admonished herself. It's just plain stupid to have any expectations now.

With a sigh, she threw the phone down on her bed and walked out to join Lena in the living room.

Mark felt like a world-class heel when he got home from practice the following day. Not only was he not going to be able to keep his promise of dinner and a movie to Hilary but he wasn't even going to be able to see her. This was going on two days without seeing each other and Mark was beginning to feel like he was missing some vital part of his anatomy. It was ridiculous considering that they'd only met a few days ago but it was how he felt.

"You really don't have to stay with me, Brody," Mark said to his teammate, Brody Lang, as the other man helped him into his apartment. "I can manage on my own, have been all week."

Brody just laughed at him and swung the door inward. "I live in the same building," he said. "It's not like I have far to go. Plus I think Drew and Tolya are coming over in a bit too. Oh and Chris said he'd come by as well."

Mark barely managed to stifle his groan of frustration. He knew his teammates meant well and were feeling guilty about his injury. They shouldn't and he'd told them several times but they still wouldn't leave him alone, even when he'd told them he wanted to have his 'lady' friend over. He'd hesitated at labeling her as his girlfriend, especially since he didn't even know how she felt about him.

God, he thought with a rueful shake of his head. I sound like a female, wondering about our relationship status and whether or not she really likes me. Even so, he smiled at the thought. Thinking of Hilary always brought a smile to his lips. She was just so fun and sexy and he couldn't get enough of her. He only hoped he could maintain whatever sort of relationship they had once he was recovered from his injury and playing full time again.

Brody followed him into the apartment, immediately making himself comfortable on Mark's plush couch. The TV came on and Brody changed the channel to the cooking network. The man had a weird obsession with all things culinary. Not that Mark complained much; they'd even been roommates at one time and Brody had made every meal spectacular.

"I just need to make a phone call," Mark said to Brody and picked up the cordless receiver as he hobbled through his apartment.

"Sure, sure," Brody called back as Mark disappeared into his bedroom. "You know, you're going to have to let us meet her sometime!"

Mark responded by slamming his bedroom door. He dialed the number he knew by heart now as he tossed his crutches beside the bed and sat down. Lena answered the phone.

"Hi Mark," she greeted him in a friendly voice. "How was practice?"

"Haven't you talked to Obie about it already?" Mark replied. Practice had been difficult, to say the least. Not because he'd worked hard but because he'd been forced to sit there and watch, weighed down with envy as his buddies skated around and shot pucks at the nets.

Lena laughed. "I did but he just said you were sulking all morning," she told him.

"Oh great," Mark muttered and rubbed his eyes. "You mind keeping that to yourself?"

"Of course. You want to talk to Hilary?"

"Please."

A minute later, Hilary's sweet voice filled his ear and Mark shifted his position as his groin tingled in response. "Hey there," he said.

"Hi, how was practice?" she asked. In the background he heard her shut a door and then there was some rustling, like she was sitting down.

"It sucked, but that's OK," he replied honestly.

"Oh," was all Hilary said and she waited patiently for him to elaborate.

Heaving out a deep breath, Mark flopped back on his bed and began to tell her why it sucked. "I hate having to just watch things. I wanted to be down on the ice so bad it hurt. Coach and everyone thought it would be good for me to observe and stay sharp but I really just wanted to throw something at them because I was so miserable."

"Oh Mark, I'm so sorry." Hilary's voice was sympathetic and he was so grateful for understanding. "That would be hard, not being able to do what you love."

"Yeah, it was," he agreed wholeheartedly. "But enough about me. How was your day?"

"Pretty uneventful. Lena had to work this morning so it was just me. I cleaned the kitchen, did some laundry and watched TV."

"Sounds great," Mark said.

"Liar," Hilary replied with a laugh that had more blood surging to his groin. "So what time do you want me to come over?" she asked.

"I have some more bad news, Hil," he answered and glared at the wall separating him from his teammate. "The guys are hanging out here again tonight so we'll have to reschedule."

"Again?" she asked softly and Mark couldn't quite make out her tone. He didn't know if she was ticked off, hurt or indifferent.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "I promise to make it up to you."

"Sure," she said and this time Mark heard the tension in her voice. "I should go. You have a good night with the guys."

"Hilary?" he spoke her name, hoping he'd get her before she hung up on him.

"Yeah?"

"I will make it up to you, I swear. I'll call you tomorrow morning."

"I have to work," she replied shortly.

"OK, then you can call me when you get home."

She agreed but Mark wasn't sure if she even meant it. So they hung up and Mark lay there in his dim bedroom until Brody pounded on the wall and told him to get his ass out there.

Hilary called him the next day but there was no answer so she left a message on his machine. Then she waited for him to call back. He didn't that night, nor did he call her the next day. She wasn't about to call him again and make herself into one of those needy, clingy women who called a man five times a day. So she went to work, chatted with her friends and tried not to think about him.

Lena coaxed her into watching a couple of the Caps' games on television but she couldn't get into it. She kept hearing Mark's voice over and over, telling her how much he hated to sit on the bench while his team skated without him. She also didn't want to catch sight of him on camera with some sexy centerfold arm-piece who was his public girlfriend. It was completely crazy but she couldn't help herself or stop the thoughts from entering her mind.

Finally one night after the second home game since she'd last seen Mark, he called her. Lena was out for a late, late dinner with Anatoli and Hilary was home alone with the trashiest romance novel she had been able to find in the store. She was so lost in the descriptions of Susannah and Jack's wild lovemaking that when the phone rang, she didn't bother to check the caller ID before answering.

"Hello?"

"Hilary, it's me," Mark said and she dropped her book. "I'm so glad you're still awake."

"Oh, hi," Hilary replied, leaning down to scoop her book back up.

"Hi," Mark said with a laugh. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, Jack was just about done," Hilary replied absent-mindedly as she flipped through the pages to find her lost spot.

"Who the hell is Jack?" Mark demanded and this time it was Hilary who laughed.

"No one," she replied, going for mysterious. "What's up?"

Mark didn't say anything for a second and Hilary wondered if he'd hung up on her. "Mark?"

"I'm just wondering if you wanted to come over," he said.

"Tonight? It's already after ten," Hilary replied with a quick glance at the clock over the stove. "And I realize that made me sound like an eighty year old but I have an early morning shift."

"You can go to work from here," Mark suggested. "Just bring a change of clothes."

"I'd love to, Mark, but I really need to rest," she lied. She didn't need rest. She badly needed to put some distance between her and this injured hockey player so she wouldn't end up falling in love and nursing a broken heart in another month.

"Oh come on, Hil," he scoffed at her, not buying her weak excuse. "If you don't come over here, I'll just come to your place."

"You don't even know where I live," Hilary replied.

"I can just get a ride with Obie," Mark told her. "I know he's seeing Lena tonight so I'll get him to drop me off when he picks her up."

"Nice try, genius, but he's already been to pick her up," Hilary said. "They've been gone for twenty minutes."

"Shit," Mark swore and Hilary couldn't help but laugh at his tone. "I really want to see you, Hilary."

Her body reacted to his deep voice and she cursed herself for it. "I don't think we... need to do this anymore."

"Do what? What are you talking about?"

"Mark, come on. We both know this wasn't going anywhere. I had fun with you and it was great but you don't want to be in a relationship with me."

"Interesting. Would you mind telling me why I wouldn't?" His voice was no longer warm and inviting. Instead he sounded colder and if Hilary didn't know better, she'd say he sounded hurt.

"Mark, don't do this. We're both adults and we had a fling. Like I said, it was great but we need to get real."

"What is real?" he demanded and she heard him exhale. "And I don't mean that in a philosophical way. I want to know what you're talking about. I want to see you. I've always wanted to see you. I've never thought of this as a fling."

"Yeah, right," Hilary replied sarcastically before she could stop herself. She bit her lip when she heard Mark's muttered oath.

"Why don't you believe me?"

"Because you're a hockey player!" Hilary burst out, unable to hide from her prejudices any longer. "If you weren't injured, you wouldn't have given someone like me a second look. You travel with the team and meet women from all over the country. Why would you ever want to be with someone like me?"

"Is that what you really think, Hilary?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Like I said, Mark, don't make this harder than it needs to be," she said, trying to calm her breathing. "I knew what I was doing when I went home with you that night."

"Would you mind filling me in on what that was?"

"You really want me to say it?"

"Yes, I really do. I want to hear you say that none of our time together has meant anything to you."

Hilary opened her mouth to do just that but found that the words weren't so easy in coming out this time. It should be easy; she should have no trouble telling him that she had only been looking for a one night stand. But the way he was speaking to her now and hearing him say that he didn't think of her as a fling made her unable to do it.

"I didn't think you could," he said from the other end of the line when she said nothing. "I knew you had to at least feel something. This wasn't just a fling. If it was, I never would have called you the next day."

"Even if you hadn't been injured and stuck at home alone for a week?" she asked.

"What?"

"Oh come on, Mark. You stopped calling me and asking me to come over when your buddies got back to town. You didn't need me to keep you company anymore."

"That's not why-" he started to protest but she cut him off.

"It doesn't even matter anyway because you're wrong," she snapped. "I didn't feel anything with you and I only ever wanted... sex." The second she spoke the words, she wanted to suck them back in. She wanted to apologize and beg for forgiveness but she knew it was too late. So instead of saying anything else, she simply hung up the phone.

For what felt like hours, Mark stewed in his dark, silent apartment. He replayed his conversation with Hilary over and over in his mind until none of it made sense anymore. More than anything, he wished he could just pace across his living room. It was beyond frustrating at this point that he couldn't even do that.

Only the sound of someone knocking on his door brought him out of his funk. He lifted his crutches and made his way over to look through the peephole. It was Brody; no surprise there. Mark was considering pretending he wasn't around when Brody spoke to him.

"I know you're in there, gimp," he called through the door. "Let me in."

"I'm not in the mood for company," Mark replied, still not opening the door.

"I don't care," Brody replied.

Sighing heavily, Mark unlocked the deadbolt and made his way back to the living room. Brody waited a moment before testing the door and then he let himself in.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked as he walked into the apartment, tossing his jacket on the kitchen island. "Did your girlfriend break up with you?"

Mark didn't answer and when Brody saw the stormy look on his face, he realized.

"Oh shit," Brody breathed and laughed shortly. "Oh man, I was kidding. She really dumped you?"

"I wouldn't label it as that," Mark snapped. "Especially considering we weren't really dating."

"But she did?"

"Shut up."

"Oh man! I never thought that you'd be the one to get dumped!"

"Shut up!" Mark repeated but to little avail. Brody dropped onto the couch beside him, chuckling in amusement. "I'm so glad you're happy about this."

"Come on, Gaines," Brody said and punched him in the shoulder. "You just said it yourself; you weren't even really dating. So what's the big deal? Did you really like her or something?"

Brody's words had Mark's mind whirring. Was it that big a deal? Did he really like her? The answer didn't require much thought. It was a big, fat yes.

"Can you drive me somewhere?" Mark asked, hauling himself to his feet.

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Dude, what are you going to do? Just show up on her doorstep and beg for forgiveness?" Brody asked as he trailed along behind Mark.

"Something like that," Mark muttered as he balanced himself on one foot to shrug his jacket on.

"Awesome," Brody exclaimed and grabbed his own coat. "I love the drama!"

Mark managed a thin smile at that before they were striding down the hall and outside to Brody's car.

"So where to?" Brody asked when they were rolling away from the apartment building.

Mark blinked and glanced over at his teammate.

"You don't even know where she lives?" Brody demanded.

"I... we... she always came to my place," Mark stammered and flushed when he thought of how that sounded.

Brody laughed and banged an open palm on his steering wheel. "Well, do you at least know her last name? We could call the FBI or something."

Mark rolled his eyes as he fished around in his jacket pocket for his cell phone. He quickly dialed a number and waited impatiently until Anatoli answered.

"Obie, let me talk to Lena," Mark said, skipping all the niceties.

"Who the hell is this?" the Russian demanded.

Chuckling, Mark told him and then asked again to speak to Lena.

"Why the hell do you want to talk to my girlfriend, Gaines?"

"It's not what you think, Obie," Mark replied. "It's about Hilary."

"Hilary? Lena's roommate?" Anatoli sounded completely lost.

Mark heard Lena's voice in the background and listened to them banter with a smile on his face.

"Give me the phone, Anatoli," Lena said.

"Why do you want to talk to Mark?" was Anatoli's wounded response.

"I don't want to talk to him but he obviously needs to talk to me about Hilary."

"I don't get it."

Lena sighed and Mark stifled his laughter. "I'll explain it to you after. Now please, just hand me the phone."

Anatoli grumbled as he did so and Mark chuckled as Lena's voice came over the line.

"Hi, Mark."

"Hey, Lena," he said. "I need a huge favor."

She groaned. "Don't tell me."

"What?"

"She's trying to drive you away, isn't she?" Lena asked.

Is that what she's doing? Mark wondered to himself. Why? "I... don't know. Maybe."

"Listen, don't let her bully you, Mark," Lena said. "She's great but she's been hurt so many times in the past that she doesn't know when a guy is really nice."

What Hilary had said to him before was slowly starting to make sense. "Thanks for the info, Lena, but that wasn't why I called."

"Oh, OK. What can I do then?"

"I just need to know your address," he said.

"Oh, Mark, why don't you just call her first?"

"I don't want to give her the chance to hang up on me," Mark replied. "And I want her to be able to see it in my face when I tell her that she can't get rid of me so easily."

"Yeah!" Brody chimed in with a fist pump in the air.

Mark jerked his head around to stare at his friend and laughed when he saw Brody's excited expression.

"Who was that?" Lena asked with a laugh of her own.

"Brody Lang," Mark replied. "So can I have your address?"

She gave it to him and wished him luck. He thanked her and was about to hang up the phone when another thought occurred to him. "Oh, Lena?" he called.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"You can go ahead and tell Obie about me and Hil," he said. "And he can tell whoever he wants to."

"All right," Lena said and she sounded happy at the prospect.

"OK. Thanks again. Have a good night!"

"You too, Mark. Tell Hilary I said she has to listen to you."

Mark hung up the phone with a laugh.

Hilary was feigning sleep but wasn't sure who she was trying to fake it for. There was no one in the apartment with her, let alone in her room and she wasn't sure why she was even bothering. Her mind was still turning over the conversation she'd had with Mark over the phone. She felt like a horse's ass for saying what she had to him. She'd be lucky if he'd ever acknowledge her again.

Not that we'll ever cross paths again, she thought and groaned. She lifted a pillow to her face and groaned louder.

Suddenly she heard loud pounding on her front door and sat up straight in bed. Her heart was beating so hard she had to put a hand on her chest to keep it from choking her. The knocking continued and it was accompanied by a loud male voice. Hilary stood up and crept down the hall towards the front door, listening in fear to the noise. Then she recognized the voice and frowned.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, whipping the door open to find Mark and a stranger standing on the other side.

The stranger grinned at her and lifted a hand in a careless wave. She barely spared him a glance before turning her attention back to the man on crutches before her.

"I came to talk to you," Mark replied.

"A phone call would have sufficed," Hilary replied and flushed as he scowled at her.

"I didn't want to give you another chance to hang up on me," he snapped.

"I didn't-" she protested but he cut her off.

"You did and you did it before I had a chance to tell you my side," he said. "I meant it when I said I wasn't in this just for a good time." He paused as thought listening to his own words. Flushing, he waved a hand dismissively. "That came out wrong. I mean, I have had a good time with you - a great time, in fact - but that wasn't all I wanted. I like you, Hilary. I liked you before you offered to come home with me."

Hilary's face flamed at his words and she crossed her arms over her chest, painfully aware that she was dressed only in a ratty tank top and thin, flannel pajama pants. The stranger with Mark only grinned at her and shifted on his feet.

"I never wanted this to just be a one night stand," Mark said and leaned forward until their faces were closer together. He teetered ominously on his crutches but maintained his footing. "I want more from you, Hilary, and I'm prepared to fight you every step of the way."

Her eyebrows went up at that and she smirked. "You're prepared to fight me into a relationship?"

He shrugged. "If that's what it takes. Look at me. Don't I look serious enough for you?"

He did. In fact, she'd never seen him look so serious before. In all the time they'd spent together, he'd been smiling or laughing. Even when they'd been intimate, his expression had been one of wonder, of intense satisfaction. As though reading her mind, the corners of his sensual mouth lifted and Hilary couldn't help but smile back.

"I know you may not believe me yet," Mark said, his voice lower this time. "But I don't want to hurt you. Ever. I didn't want you to come over this week because I was being babysat by the guys on the team and we wouldn't have had any time alone together. It wasn't because I was ashamed of you, or not serious about you."

Hilary blushed deeper and glanced at the tall man beside him briefly before looking away again.

"Nice to meet you finally, Hilary," the man with Mark said.

"Finally?" Hilary echoed in surprise, her gaze drawn back to the stranger.

"Oh yeah," he said with a nod. He jerked his chin in Mark's direction, the impish grin never leaving his face. "This guy couldn't stop talking about you the first night we got in. He didn't tell us your name but I think that's because he didn't want to jinx himself or something."

Hilary's eyes went back to Mark's face and she giggled when she saw the embarrassed look on his face.

"You can stop now, Brody," he muttered. "Hilary, meet Brody Lang, one of my teammates."

"Nice to meet you," she said and shook his outstretched hand.

"Brody, this is my girlfriend, Hilary Winsome." He turned slightly to toss his friend a dirty look. "See? I knew her last name."

Brody laughed as he shook her hand and clapped a hand on Mark's shoulder. "You told me, all right. You need me here anymore?"

"No," Mark replied, looking back into Hilary's eyes. "I just wanted you to meet her. I wanted her to know that I'm not afraid to introduce her as my girlfriend. I want everyone to know that she's mine."

Thinking briefly that she should perhaps be offended by his masculine claim over her, Hilary couldn't stop trembling now. She wrapped her arms around her body and tried to keep herself from turning inside out. She'd never expected this in a million years. That it was Mark and that she was confused as hell over her own feelings only intensified the situation.

"It was nice to meet you, Hilary," Brody said, breaking the silence. "Go easy on him. We want him back in the line up as soon as humanly possible."

Hilary smothered a giddy laugh with her hand, never taking her eyes off of Mark's. "Bye, Brody. It was nice to meet you too," she managed to call out as he walked away down the hall. "You want to come in?" she asked Mark.

He breathed out a sigh of relief and hopped inside as she stood back to hold the door open. "I thought you'd never ask."

Hilary turned to shut and lock the door but couldn't move when she felt Mark's entire body press into her from behind. His head dipped low and she felt his warm breath stirring the hair at her neck a moment before he pressed a hot kiss to her already fevered skin.

"I meant every word, Hilary," he whispered and kissed her again.

"I'm starting to believe you," she replied breathlessly and shuddered when she felt his tongue slide along her throat.

He growled inarticulately at her response and she felt one of his hands settle on her hip. He moved closer, pushing his midsection against her and she felt his desire pressing into her behind. "You will," he assured her. Then he made another sound, this one of annoyance.

"What?" she asked, still too afraid to turn around.

"I wish I could pick you up and carry you to bed," he said.

Laughing, she did turn around and looped her arms around his neck. She stood on her toes to kiss his mouth and sighed happily when his tongue drove inside hers. They kissed for a long moment and Hilary savored the taste of him inside her mouth. Finally she pulled back and smiled up at him.

"Can you settle for chasing me into my room instead?" she asked and before waiting for a response, she jerked out of his arms to dash down the hallway.

"Dammit!" he cried and she heard a thump as he maneuvered around to follow.

Giggling helplessly, she ran into her room and jumped under her covers. He was close behind her, in spite of his impediment and when he saw her ducking out of sight, he chuckled darkly.

"You're going to pay for that," he said and kicked her bedroom door shut.

"I'd like to see you try," she taunted, poking her head out to stick her tongue out at him. Then she shrieked as he tossed his crutches aside and practically belly flopped onto the bed with her.

Together they laughed and rolled beneath the sheets and got gloriously naked together. Hilary rose to his touch, hungry for his kisses and teasing strokes after what felt like an eternity apart. Mark responded, dragging his tongue over every surface he could reach until they were both breathless with desire. Their bodies fit as they should and they rocked together as it felt so right. Much, much later, they slept together, fitting perfectly into each other's arms.​