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A Feel For The Ice Ch. 01

By: MugsyB



Greetings!

This one is for a couple different people.

One, for michchick98, who has been harassing me for months to do a Red Wings 'Ice' story. So fine. Here it is. I hope you know how much this hurt to write, my friend! And hopefully it's enough to make you back off! ;)

Second, there was a nice comment and request sent to me a while back from "Leslie." I hope you read this and I hope it meets your expectations.

I also want to take a moment to again thank my friend PennLady for her kind words and encouragement.

For the rest of you, my fun, friendly fans, (you know who you are!) thank you again and again for reading and commenting.

Happy reading!

M. ;) 

***

With her head in her hands, Anna Willis wondered how in the hell she was going to get through this. She couldn't concentrate for the life of her. Her son Riley was crying from his room; night terrors. After another agonizing minute, she pushed away from the kitchen table and walked down the hall to look in on him.

He was lying on his side, sobbing with his mouth open and one fist curled up by his head. Anna's heart caught in her throat and she covered her mouth with one hand. She knew the best thing was to watch him and make sure he didn't hurt himself, but it was very difficult. Given her current state of mind, she didn't know if she'd be able to hold back. Every part of her was crying out to comfort him. If she woke him, that would only upset him further and take that much longer to settle him and get him to sleep again. She'd had far too much experience with this sort of thing in Riley's three years of life to worry too much.

It still hurt to just stand by and watch.

Even as the thought crossed her mind, his cries dimmed and his face relaxed. He made a few more muffled sounds of distress before relaxing back into a deep sleep. Anna let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and crept forward into his room. Crouching down by his bed, she brushed his floppy brown hair back and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. Tears gathered in her eyes and she bit her lip to keep from making any noise. Sucking in a deep breath, she rose and backed out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

She wandered back down the hall to the brightly lit kitchen and stared at the stack of paperwork before her. It had been a month since her parents had passed away and she didn't know what she was doing half the time these days. Between settling their affairs and trying to take care of Riley, she was completely exhausted.

Then a week ago, everything had gotten ten times worse; her husband of five years had left her. No explanations, no excuses. Just gone.

With a heavy sigh, Anna leaned over the kitchen table, moving the paperwork around. She'd been struggling with work and finding appropriate child care for what felt like ages. It had been six months since her husband demanded she get a job to pay for her frivolous expenses. She didn't consider children's clothing and food frivolous and maybe that should have been her first clue that something was going on.

Then came the accident, the loss of her parents and the staggering sadness that came with it.

With another sigh, she shoved the paperwork to the far side of the table and walked away. She flicked the light switch off, dumping the house into darkness and walked upstairs.

Sleep. Then maybe she'd find the energy to deal with her scattered life in the morning.

***

FIVE YEARS LATER

"...And here comes Zimmerman," the announcer cried. "He's winding up, there's a shot and he scores! Hayden Zimmerman scores for the Red Wings!"

"Riley, can you please turn that down?" Anna asked her eight-year old, hockey-loving son.

"But Mo-om! Zimmerman just scored and now the game's tied!" Riley protested in a whiny tone.

Anna hid her smile before looking up from the dining room table. She fixed her son with a firm look and he scowled as he lifted the remote to obey her order. Dropping her head to focus on her work, Anna smirked as she listened to her son's grumbling. Her vices included working at home, eating raw cookie dough and sleeping far too late on Sundays. Her son's were much simpler; he watched hockey.

Well, we do live in Hockey Town, Anne thought as she made a tick beside one student's error. God, I hate grading essays.

The sound of the game's announcer filtered back through her thoughts. "This brings Zimmerman up to ten goals for the season," he said and Anna looked up in time to see the cameras pan towards the Red Wings bench. They zoomed in on a bearded man with bright eyes and a perpetual smirk. Anna stifled a sigh and looked away before her usual fantasies could take over.

She loved hockey almost as much as her son; at least he came by it honestly. Since living in St. Clair Shores, just outside of Detroit, she'd come to know most of the Red Wings by name and face. They rarely made it to a game though, a fact for which Anna was truly sorry. Riley talked about going all the time but she couldn't afford decent seats. She couldn't afford a lot of things and before the guilt could eat her up tonight, she pushed away from the table, leaving the essays to be graded later.

"Who are they playing?" she asked as she settled on the couch next to her son.

Riley didn't even look at her as he answered. "St. Louis."

Anna nodded as she lifted her feet and tucked them underneath her. She tugged on the blanket covering her son until he let some of it go so she could snuggle under it. Her eyes scanned the screen and she saw the score was indeed 2-2 and it was near the end of the second period. "Oh jeez," she breathed and smiled when Riley glanced in her direction. "There's still a whole period left, sweetheart. It could go either way."

His eyes narrowed into what he must think was a fierce scowl but it made Anna smile. "They're going to win," he muttered. "I know it."

"All right," she conceded and settled in to watch the rest of the game.

She supposed she had no one else to blame but herself for getting her son hooked on the sport. Her ex-husband had hardly been a sports fan and in any case, he'd been gone long before Riley was old enough to form any obsessions. She didn't mind that Riley enjoyed it so much. It gave her an excuse to watch as well, when both of them would be better served by doing their homework.

At intermission, Anna went to the kitchen and returned with a cookie for Riley and a cup of hot tea for herself. They snuggled under the blanket and watched the rest of the game together. By the time the horn sounded, Riley was fighting to keep his eyes open. He managed a half-hearted fist pump when the Red Wings scored in the final seconds, bringing the score to 4-3.

"All right, Riley," she murmured and set her mug on the coffee table. "Time for bed, love."

"No," he protested weakly and yawned.

Laughing, Anna stood up and yanked the blanket off. He cringed at the rush of cool air and scowled at her.

"Mo-om!" he whined but she only laughed again.

"Get upstairs and brush your teeth," she ordered and reached down to lift him to his feet. "I'll be up in a minute to tuck you in."

With a heavy sigh, he did as she asked, pausing to glance at the screen as an interview was conducted with his favorite player; Hayden Zimmerman. She allowed Riley a minute before shooing him up the stairs. Then she came back and stood in front of the TV in much the same position, watching and listening as the Red Wings forward spoke with the reporter.

"...Must be proud of the team this season?" the reporter was asking.

"Yeah, of course," Hayden Zimmerman replied and wiped at his face, brushing his sweaty brown hair back from his eyes. "It's great that we're doing so well and I think the team this year is really coming together."

"You do seem to be playing well," the reporter commented. "Do you think there's a reason for the change? Is it one of the new guys on the roster who's brought a new dynamic to the team?"

Zimmerman shrugged and wiped more sweat from his face. "I don't think it's just one guy. Everyone on the team is doing their job and we're just getting it all right for now." His accent was hardly noticeable after so many years in the country but for some reason when he spoke directly following a game, the accent came through a little bit stronger.

"That's great to hear. Congratulations on your goal and two assists," the reporter said. "Thank you for taking the time to do this interview, Hayden."

"Thank you," the player replied with a smile before the reporter turned it back over to his counterparts in the studio.

Anna blinked as the screen switched to show the anchors behind the wide studio desk. Sighing, she shook her head and lifted the blanket from the couch to fold it up neatly. Her little crush on the player was ridiculous. It wasn't the reason she loved hockey but ever since Zimmerman had joined the Red Wings, it had only enhanced her enjoyment of the game. Something about his smile and the glint in his eye during interviews made Anna smile.

Ridiculous, she told herself, just as she had for years since he'd started playing with the Red Wings. In the beginning she'd laughed at herself for having a crush on a player. Then she'd almost longed to disappear into her fantasies when she felt her husband growing more distant. Now she still thought she was silly for fantasizing but fantasies were all she had. I haven't been on a date in years, she thought and stared blankly out the window. Not since before I got married. Yeesh. Shrugging it off, she smiled to herself as another thought occurred to her; at least we're the same age and I'm not fantasizing about any of the young hockey stars.

The doorbell rang, bringing her out of her silent musings. Frowning, she glanced at the clock before making her way down the hall to answer it. On her doorstep, clutching his jacket around his body to ward off the bitter chill in the air, was her neighbor Kevin Granger.

"Kevin!" she exclaimed in surprise and smiled. "Come in, it's freezing out there."

He gratefully came inside and Anna pushed the door shut behind him. "I'm sorry to barge in on you so late, Anna," he said and shivered. "I didn't wake Riley, did I?"

Anna shook her head. "No," she replied. "We just finished watching the game and he's getting ready for bed now."

Kevin grinned at her mention of the game. "Ah, right. I'd forgotten the Wings were playing tonight. Since I don't hear cranky stomping, I assume they won?"

Anna laughed and nodded. Kevin was a single father of two boys and a girl. Their mother had died when Kevin's youngest, Nick, was two. He was now Riley's age and the two of them spent almost all their free time together. Anna and Kevin also traded baby-sitting responsibilities and had a great schedule going between all the work, school, hockey practices, dance lessons and clarinet recitals. Anna had never thought she'd ever be so lucky as to find a friend like Kevin. He was kind, generous and fun to be around. Even his kids were great; well-behaved, smart and polite. More than once, Anna had found herself staring at Kevin, with his broad shoulders and thinning blond hair and wondered if she would ever find him attractive. After four years of being neighbors, they agreed it was just never going to happen. Anna was relieved most of the time; at this point in her life, friendship with Kevin was more than she could ever have asked for.

"What brings you by so late?" Anna asked.

"I just came to see if you and your offspring were free Friday night," he said.

"Yeah," Anna replied. "No plans so far."

"Great. I've got tickets to the Wings-Avalanche game and I was wondering if you and Riley wanted to go."

"Are you kidding?" Anna asked and laughed. "Of course!"

"Great!"

"How did you get tickets?"

"A guy at work couldn't go so he gave them to me."

"How many are there?"

"Four," Kevin replied and cringed. "I'll have to persuade Cassie to stay home and watch Bradley so Nick can come with us and then I'll have to explain to Bradley why he doesn't get to go this time." He was referring to his sixteen-year old daughter and his eleven-year old middle son.

Anna chuckled and smiled sympathetically. At least with one child, she didn't have to choose who to give certain gifts to. "Why don't you just take the three of them, Kevin?" she suggested. "It's very nice of you to think of us but it'd just be easier for you to take your own kids."

"Cass doesn't even like hockey and refuses to be seen with her father and brothers at this point in her life," Kevin replied and rolled his eyes. "Bradley might enjoy it but he's grounded at the moment, which is why you haven't seen him around much."

"Oh dear," Anna murmured. "What did he do this time?"

"Threw a snowball in Nick's face," Kevin replied and blew out a noisy breath. "I don't know what to do with Bradley these days."

"Well, being the middle child can be tough, Kevin," Anna said. "You should know that."

Kevin nodded ruefully as he met her gaze. He was the middle of three boys in his own family. For her part, Anna was mostly jealous of those with siblings. She'd grown up an only child and had spent years longing for a little brother or sister. When her parents had died, she'd felt the absence of a larger family even more.

"Well, if you're sure about taking us then," Anna said. "We'd love to go."

Kevin chuckled and rubbed his hands together. "Are you sure you don't want to run it by Riley first?"

Rolling her eyes, Anna shook her head. "No. And I won't tell him anything about it until after school on Friday. I don't think he needs anything to make him more excitable."

"Great. Well, we'll head down to the Arena after dinner on Friday. I think we should go a little early so the kids can watch them warm up."

"Sure," Anna agreed. "Sounds great."

"I should get going before Riley hears me," Kevin said.

"Thanks so much, Kevin," Anna said as she held the door open for him. "This is going to make Riley's month!"

Laughing, Kevin walked out the door and waved as he made his way across the yards to his own house. Anna shut the door and locked it before heading upstairs to make sure her little hockey fanatic was ready for bed. He was more than ready; he was passed out cold across his bed.

***

Ignoring the catcalls of his teammates, Hayden Zimmerman brought the puck along with him as he skated towards the net. The goalie, Carter Osbourne, waited in his customary position, pads large on his legs. He wiggled his glove hand and Hayden could picture the smirk behind the goalie's mask.

He angled his feet, cut to his right then back to his left, deftly keeping the puck in the same position in front of him. As he got even closer, and the jeers of his teammates behind him grew louder, Hayden dug his skates in, sending a shower of ice towards Carter as he darted left and shot the puck. He careened away from the net and the boards behind it as a resounding 'clang' echoed down the ice.

Looking back, Hayden grinned broadly when he saw Carter reach inside the net and toss the offending black disc away from him. An inch over and Hayden would have missed the net completely. Not this time though.

"How was that, huh?" Hayden demanded as he glided back towards his teammates.

Several of them clapped him on the shoulder or patted his helmet. He grinned at each of them and shoved his teammate and friend, Nathan Langston when he came to a stop beside him. The big defenseman shook his head.

"Was that all right, Captain?" Hayden asked, shoving him again.

"It might not work during a game," Nathan replied. "Try to aim for more net and less post next time." He sounded serious but Hayden could see the playful glint in his blue eyes.

Hayden scoffed and turned to watch as his sole remaining competitor sailed down the ice towards Carter. They were at the end of their game-day practice and it was down to Hayden and Derek Hart in the traditional shootout. Hayden was often one of the finalists in the team shootout and as Derek sent the puck soaring over Carter's head, Hayden became the victor. Laughing, he skated forward with the others to give Derek a hard time. He was a good kid though, all smiles as they all started to make their way off the ice.

"Good shot, Z," Carter said to Hayden as they fell in line.

"Thanks, man," Hayden replied. "Thanks for letting it in."

Carter mock-glared at him. "I don't ever let anything in."

Hayden laughed and followed the rest of his teammates to the locker room. They all went about their routines, changing out of their equipment and showering before heading home to nap before the game. Hayden took his time, walking out of Joe Louis Arena long after the others had gone. He was in no hurry to get back to his big house. He hadn't been in a hurry to get home for several months now since his fiance had ended things before the start of last season's playoff run.

As he climbed into his car, Hayden tried not to think of the condescending look on her face as she told him she'd found someone who didn't smother her. Hayden would never understand Ellie, not in a million years. Most women were glad when their husbands and boyfriends doted on them. Not Ellie though. Apparently his daily phone calls while on the road and his desire to cuddle on the couch on his nights off was too much for her.

"Better off without her," Hayden muttered to himself as he drove through Detroit towards his neighborhood. The words had been repeated to him by his friends and family several times since April and he figured eventually they'd start to mean something to him. For now though, he just wasn't eager to go home to his empty house.

***

Later as he laced up his skates in the locker room, Hayden wasn't thinking of Ellie at all. He was focused on the game and was thinking of ways to get around the Av's defense. Leaning back for a moment, he scratched his beard and pictured several plays that Coach had gone over with them in practice that morning. Usually he didn't let his beard grow out during the season but without Ellie around complaining that it scratched her, he let it go from time to time.

"Come on, Z," Derek said to him and tapped a stick against Hayden's shin pad. "Time to show them who's house they're in."

Grinning, Hayden nodded. He rose to his feet and pulled his jersey on over his head. The red sweater fit comfortably over his padding and he touched the big 'A' as he did before every game, for luck. Then he grabbed his stick and headed out on the ice to join warm-up.

The crowd so far in the arena was small but they cheered for the players as they circled their zone. Hayden picked up his feet and raced past a few of his teammates, laughing when Derek whizzed past him, shoving Hayden with one shoulder. The younger player was well known for his speed but then, so was Hayden. Neither of them were exceptionally large as far as hockey players went, so they'd each learned to compensate with speed and accuracy.

As the players went about their practice routine, either shooting pucks towards the open net or stretching near the boards, Hayden continued to circle. His eyes scanned the thin crowd and he grinned when he saw a sign with his name on it. He slowed as he approached that spot in the crowd. About ten rows up behind the penalty box were two boys, maybe eight or nine years old, each holding a corner of their obviously homemade sign.

"'Zimmerman is King!'" he read aloud to himself and grinned.

When he stopped in front of the glass below them, the two boys went crazy, jumping to their feet and waving maniacally. With a laugh, Hayden waved back. A movement beside the dark-haired boy on the right caught Hayden's attention and he felt his breath catch when he saw the woman.


A Feel For The Ice Ch. 01



She was grinning broadly and had one slender hand on the shoulder of the dark-haired boy. Her hair was dark brown like the boy's, and fell in large curls to her shoulders. From this angle and distance, Hayden couldn't see much beyond her wild hair and smile, but it was enough. He hadn't felt such a strong, immediate reaction to a woman since before he'd met Ellie.

"Z!" someone called out to him and he started at the sound.

Turning, Hayden looked over to see Nathan skating closer. "Aren't you going to warm up?" Nathan asked.

Hayden blinked, coming back to the present. Right, he thought and nodded at his captain. The game. Warm up.

He fought the urge to look up at the woman and two children again and skated away from the boards. Just as he moved away, he heard a shout; "You're the best, Zimmerman!" Glancing back, he saw the same two boys jumping up and down. Avoiding looking at the woman, who was presumably their mother, Hayden moved further away.

This was a game night and she was a complete stranger. Time to focus, Z, he told himself.

***

The game passed by in what felt like no time at all. Anna, Riley, Kevin and Nick were sitting in absolutely amazing seats behind the penalty box on the first level. From there they could see most of the action on the ice and they had a perfect view of the player's bench. By the time the third period rolled around, all four of them were hoarse from screaming and Anna was dreading the effort it would take to get Riley to bed that night.

As the horn sounded to announce the last minute before intermission was over, the players emerged from the tunnels. Five of them from each team, plus the goalies, skated out onto the ice and circled their respective zones. Anna found herself looking for the number 40 and her breath caught when she spotted him slowing near the boards right below them. He was facing away from them and lifted his stick over his head to stretch his upper body.

"Hey, that's Zimmerman!" Riley exclaimed, noticing the player for the first time. He leapt to his feet and screamed at the top of his lungs. "Zimmerman! You rock!"

Even though he probably couldn't hear Riley over the roar of the entire crowd, Zimmerman turned in place and looked up into their section. Anna sank back into her seat, blushing while Riley jumped up and down on the spot. Nick joined in a second later and Zimmerman grinned before moving away.

A minute later, he was at center ice, facing off with an Avalanche player in the beginning of the third period. It was a fast-paced period, each team working hard for the win. The Red Wings were leading by one goal and had been for most of the game. When it came down to the final minute, the Av's pulled their goalie and the players met in frantic scrambling near the Red Wings goal. Carter Osbourne was in top form tonight and Anna found herself gasping out loud several times as the Avalanche forwards peppered the Wings' goalie with shots.

Then the play shifted. Number 15 on the Avalanche fumbled the puck and Derek Hart scooped it out from under him before he could recover. Suddenly the Red Wings were pushing the Avalanche back into the neutral zone and one red jersey broke away from the rest. Anna and the boys were on their feet with the rest of the crowd as Zimmerman accepted the pass from Hart and maneuvered around an opponent. Someone collided with Zimmerman and he stumbled to one side, off-balance. He snapped his wrists, flicking the end of his stick and sending the puck down the ice as he fell. The puck was beyond everyone's reach by then and slid unimpeded into the empty Av's net, sending the crowd inside Joe Louis Arena into a frenzy.

"Ah!" Riley screeched from Anna's side and she felt his arms clamp around her middle a second later. "Did you see that Mom?" he screamed. "Did you see it?"

Laughing, Anna nodded, one hand around her son's shoulders and the other in the air in celebration. Down on the ice, Zimmerman was being pummeled by his teammates as he got to his feet. The grin on his face was noticeable even across the distance and Anna couldn't stop smiling and laughing as he and his line-mates headed towards the team bench.

A minute later it was all over. There was a late scramble by Colorado but Detroit was leading by two goals so it didn't matter. The horn sounded and the crowd cheered outrageously for their team.

A short while later, Anna and the boys rose to follow Kevin as they joined the throng of people climbing the stairs from their section. As they paused near the top row, someone called Kevin's name. He turned and looked over to see a man leaning over the row of seats in front of him.

"Gerry?" Kevin said and laughed. "Hey, man! How are you?"

"I'm great, Kevin and how are you doing?" Gerry replied.

Kevin made his way across the steps to the row Gerry was in and Anna pulled the boys aside, out of everyone else's way while they waited for him. Anna could hear bits of the conversation from where they stood but not enough to know what they were talking about.

"No! You're kidding me!" Kevin exclaimed and laughed. "Holy crap, I am definitely in!" He spun around and met Anna's eye. Waving one hand, he beckoned them closer.

Since the crowd had thinned even more in their section, Anna moved the boys across the aisle and up the steps to Kevin and his friend.

"Anna, this is an old college buddy of mine, Gerry Anderson," Kevin introduced them. "This is my neighbor, Anna and her son, Riley. And this is my youngest, Nick."

"Nice to meet you," Gerry said with a wide grin.

"Gerry just offered to take us to meet some of the players," Kevin announced.

Nick and Riley's mouths dropped open and both of them stared disbelievingly at Kevin. Laughing, Kevin reached out and ruffled their hair.

"No fooling?" Nick breathed.

"No fooling," Gerry answered with absolute seriousness.

Riley and Nick looked at each other before screaming at the top of their lungs. Anna laughed as she moved forward to shush them.

"You need to calm down if you want to meet them," she ordered. "And promise not to hurt them."

Kevin and Gerry laughed while the boys jumped up and down on the spot, unable to contain their giggles of excitement. Gerry and Kevin chatted for a few more minutes before Gerry disappeared at the top of the stairs.

"How can he get us to meet them?" Anna asked as the four of them sat down in the now empty seats of the row they were standing in.

"He works on the staff apparently," Kevin said. "He can take us 'backstage' after the press corps has left."

"Won't the players be gone by then?" Anna asked, assuming none of them would stick around for very long after a game.

"Some might be gone but Gerry says some of them don't leave right away after a game," Kevin replied and grinned. "Especially after a game like that. I bet Zimmerman will be held up for hours with that goal he scored at the end."

Overhearing the adults, Riley piped up and began chattering about the empty net goal Hayden Zimmerman had made. Nick joined in and Anna could only watch with a bemused expression as the two of them jumped up to reenact the whole thing. Gerry reappeared at the end of the row a short while later and Anna and Kevin gathered their hyper sons to follow him.

Down below the main concourse, Gerry led them through a few tunnels and hallways until they emerged in the hall containing entrances to all the locker and equipment rooms. Quite a few people were gathered in spots; family members and staff mostly. Then Riley spotted one of the players and pointed while his mouth opened and closed in excited silence.

"Come on, kids," Gerry said and took them by their hands. "Come meet Nathan Langston."

Anna and Kevin stuck close, grinning and laughing alternately as the boys met the captain of the Red Wings. The players gradually filed out of the locker room, all damp and fresh from showers and most of them were gracious enough to stop by Gerry and the kids. Anna could see how impressed Riley was with everyone and his face was positively glowing. It pleased her to no end to see her son so happy and she was beyond grateful to Kevin for making this entire night happen. She could see Riley's eyes wandering often to the locker room door and she knew he was still waiting for his hero.

"I can't thank you enough, Kevin," Anna said as she watched Riley watching the locker room. "This has been an unbelievable night."

"All I did was take some tickets from a friend," Kevin replied with an easy smile. "And meeting Gerry here was a complete fluke. We haven't spoken in years!"

"That's crazy," Anna said and shook her head. "But I'm so glad this has worked out."

"Me too. Have you ever seen the two of them like this?" He nodded his chin towards their eight-year old sons and grinned.

Anna shook her head again, unable to call any memory to mind where she'd seen her son so ecstatic. Then he took it to another level as his hero at last emerged from the team locker room.

"Zimmerman," Riley breathed and the hockey player paused by Gerry.

"I didn't know you had kids, Gerry," Hayden commented with a smile.

Gerry laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, right. These are friends of mine and they're big fans. Right, guys?"

Both boys bobbed their heads in agreement and gazed up at Hayden Zimmerman with equally awestruck expressions. Hayden leaned close and spoke to them quietly. Anna couldn't hear what he was saying but the boys were both listening with an intensity she didn't know they had. Satisfied that her son's dreams had all just come true, Anna let her gaze wander over the man speaking to him.

He was even more impressive in person. His longish brown hair was swept back from his face and was still damp from his shower. In his plain clothes and without padding or skates, he looked smaller but he was still an imposing figure. Standing close to six feet tall, he was broad through the shoulders and chest and his muscled legs strained the dark jeans he had on. His jacket hung open in the front, revealing a snug maroon sweater underneath that showed just a hint of muscular contour beneath. He had a few day's growth of beard on his face but Anna didn't mind. She was a sucker for a man with facial hair. There was something so innately masculine about it that she couldn't help her physical reaction.

Shifting her stance and clearing her throat, Anna tried to halt the flow of blood and moisture to the middle of her body but it wasn't something she could control. When Hayden lifted his head and his dark eyes met hers, she thought she might be imagining the sexy grin that immediately split his handsome face.

"Is that your mom and dad?" he asked the boys in front of him, nodding his head in Anna and Kevin's direction.

"That's my mom," Riley said.

"And that's my dad," Nick added with a pointed finger.

Hayden nodded, his eyes flicking briefly to Kevin before settling back on Anna. She flushed to the roots of her hair but couldn't look away from him.

"I'm Hayden Zimmerman," he said and stepped close with his hand held out.

"Kevin Granger," Kevin introduced himself and shook his hand. "Very nice to meet you, sir."

Hayden smiled and inclined his head towards him. His eyes went to Anna and he moved his hand to her. "Hi there," he said. His voice was deeper than it sounded on television and she felt herself leaning forward ever so slightly.

"Anna Willis," she said. "You played great tonight." She wanted to smack her head for such a lame comment. 'You played great?' she thought as his warm fingers closed around hers. That's the best I can come up with? Then his fingers tightened around hers and she sucked in a breath at the sensation.

"Mom, have you got a pen?" Riley spoke up from Hayden's side.

Tearing her gaze away from the hockey player before her, she glanced down at her son. "What? A pen?"

"Yeah," Riley said with a nod. "I want Mr. Zimmerman to sign my shirt."

She winced when she heard that; he was wearing a brand new grey T-shirt with the Red Wings logo on the front. Still, she wasn't about to ruin the evening for her son. "Sure," she said and dug around in her purse until she found the black marker she carried.

"Thanks," Hayden murmured and took the marker out of her hand.

The contact of his hand on her skin again was warm and as he crouched down to sign Riley's shirt, she took a very deliberate step back. Glancing up, she saw Kevin giving her a strange look. Then he grinned and winked at her, drawing yet another blush to her cheeks. She looked away, wishing she wasn't so transparent.

"Dad, can he sign mine, too?" Nick asked.

Kevin nodded and Nick excitedly hopped on the spot until Hayden turned to him. When he was done, Hayden straightened and held the marker out towards Anna, that playful grin on his face again. At the last second, he pulled his hand holding the marker back. "Don't you have anything you want me to sign?" he asked and glanced at Kevin. "What about you?"

"I'm not into clothing signatures, thanks," Kevin replied with a laugh. "And I've got nothing else."

"Me either," Anna said, unconsciously pulling the ends of her open jacket together even though the thought of Hayden's hand sliding over her body as he signed her shirt was more than appealing.

"What about your ticket, Mom?" Riley piped up.

Blinking, Anna's hand went to the back pocket of her jeans where she'd stuffed the strip of paper after arriving at the arena. "Uh, sure," she said and drew it out. "I guess you could sign this."

Hayden took it from her and turned to the wall to write on the ticket. Anna flushed when Kevin winked at her again and she narrowed her eyes at him in warning. She knew without asking that he was going to tease her relentlessly for this, possibly for weeks. Hayden finished a few seconds later and handed the marker and ticket back to Anna.

"It was very nice to meet you all," he said and crouched down in front of the boys again. "You two behave yourselves, all right?"

Riley and Nick nodded, matching expressions of adoration in their eyes.

"Be on time for school and always try your best at hockey, all right?" he added and pointed to each of them in turn, ensuring they were listening to him.

Again, the boys nodded, still in awe over meeting their idol. Hayden rose and shook hands with them all again, adding a clap on the shoulder for Gerry before heading away down the hall.

"Well!" Kevin exclaimed a moment later, startling all of them. "I can't thank you enough, Gerry. This was amazing."

"Anytime, man," Gerry replied as they shook hands. "Here's my card. Give me a call. We should meet up for lunch. You can meet my wife."

"Sounds great," Kevin agreed as he accepted the business card from his friend.

"To get out to the main parking lot, you just head up those stairs," Gerry said and pointed the way before leaving them as well.

Anna and Kevin herded the star-struck eight-year olds up the stairs and outside. As soon as the boys were put in their sleeping bags on Riley's bedroom floor, Kevin sat down at Anna's kitchen table with an expectant expression on his handsome face.

"What?" Anna demanded as she put water on to boil.

"You know what," Kevin replied in a playful tone. "There were some serious sparks bouncing around back there."

Anna fixed him with what she hoped was a serious look but she couldn't be sure because Kevin chuckled.

"Nothing happened," Anna muttered and turned away, unsure why she was even defending herself. Nothing had happened apart from being introduced to her and Riley's favorite player.

"I didn't say anything did," Kevin replied mildly and Anna glanced over to see him casually leaning back in her kitchen chair. "But there was certainly the desire for something."

Anna's face flamed and she pulled open the refrigerator door to both hide herself, and cool her steaming head. Kevin laughed and she could have died of embarrassment. Thankfully, he didn't say another word about it all night. They chatted for almost an hour while sipping their tea and Kevin went home shortly after midnight.

Anna dragged her tired ass upstairs and checked on the boys before heading to her own room for the night. She yawned as she pulled her shirt off. Her hands mindlessly searched the pockets of her jeans a minute later before she pulled them off and for a second, she wasn't sure what she'd tucked in her back pocket. Then it all came back in a rush and she pulled the signed ticket out with a grin on her face.

Instead of finding just his signature, she was greeted by the sight of a short little note. Her blush returned full force as she read it and she clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giddy laughter.

"'Boyfriend? Or husband?'" she read aloud in a whisper. "'Call me and let me know my odds. Hayden Zimmerman.'" The signature was completed with a telephone number.

Staring in wonder at the ticket in her hands, Anna couldn't believe her eyes. She read it repeatedly, running the pads of her thumbs across his signature so many times she was surprised it didn't rub right off. With a sigh, Anna placed the ticket on her dresser and walked to her bed. She buried herself beneath her cool sheets, still half-dressed. Her mind was gone though; unable to perform even the most basic duties.

***

As the landscape of Phoenix rolled by beyond the bus, Hayden stared blankly out his window. He was thinking about her again, for probably the thousandth time in two weeks. When he'd walked out of the locker room after the Avalanche game at home, he hadn't noticed her at first. He'd seen Gerry with a couple of starry-eyed kids and gone over to talk to them. It was later when he'd asked who they belonged to, that he'd noticed the brunette standing nearby.

Even then, he hadn't recognized her from the crowd. She'd blushed under his gaze and he'd been completely smitten. His teammates had accused him in the past of always liking the models, the tight bodies and the carefully made-up faces. Sure, he found those types of women attractive but he'd be lying if he said no one else turned his crank. One look at Riley's mom, Anna, and he'd wanted to get to know her better.

She was short, probably five-two, maybe five-three and her hair was as unruly as he remembered seeing when she'd been sitting in the stands. Her smile was lopsided and the tiny glimpse of her teeth that he'd seen when she'd smiled had revealed uneven teeth along the bottom. Her face bore a few recognizable scars, probably from teenage acne, and she was wider around the middle and in her arms than Ellie had been. Not surprising, considering the fact that she was a mom. All together though, Hayden found her incredibly attractive. Throw in those sparkling hazel-grey eyes and he was sold.

But she hadn't called him.

In two weeks, she hadn't once even tried. He kept track of all his phone calls. The only calls he'd had since that night that he didn't recognize were from a pay phone when Derek had called for a ride one evening, and another from someone trying to reach 'Jimbo.' He was beginning to think she might never call.

God, what was I thinking? he wondered, scowling at his reflection in the window. She must think I'm crazy for giving my number to a strange woman.

Either that or she thought he did it all the time. Maybe she just hadn't been attracted to him.

Maybe I imagined the entire thing, he thought, and cast his mind back to that evening. He remembered the pink glow in her face when he'd approached and he'd more than felt the weight of her gaze as he spoke with her son. His mind conjured up the image of the man who'd stood beside her and he frowned again. Maybe she's married to that guy and thinks I'm a jerk for hitting on her in front of him.

"What's up, Z?" Carter asked as he plunked himself down in the seat beside Hayden.




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 01



Hayden looked over and shook his head, managing a small smile for his teammate. "Nothing, Oz," he replied, using the goalie's nickname. "Just tired."

"Yeah, that was a rough game last night," Carter said with a nod. "I'm glad Coach is starting Jamie tomorrow night. I could sure use the night off."

Hayden nodded in agreement. He'd love to have a back-up around so he could sit out the occasional game. A moment later he shook his head and gave himself a mental slap upside the head. He loved to play hockey; he had all his life. For now, that's what he could focus on; the game. He was good at the game and he knew where to put the puck without giving it any thought. He didn't need a woman to know all of that. Nodding to himself, he leaned his head back against his seat and half-turned to look out the window.

Just as he was starting to drift off to sleep, the phone in his pocket vibrated, startling him back to alertness. Beside him, Carter chuckled before moving back to his own seat. Hayden glared at his retreating back as he reached into his pocket for his phone. He didn't recognize the number but answered anyway, figuring it might be one of his friends back home.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Zimmerman?" a child's voice greeted him.

"Yes?"

"Hi, Mr. Zimmerman," he said. "My name is Riley Willis. I met you after the Colorado game."

Hayden sat up straight as he realized who it was calling him. It wasn't Anna but it was damn close. "Hey, kiddo."

"Do you remember me?" Riley asked, his voice hopeful.

"Of course. How could I forget you and that sign you'd made for me?" Hayden replied.

Riley made some sort of squealing noise and there was soft laughter in the background. Hayden's stomach clenched and he strained to hear more, hoping it was Anna.

"I watched the game last night, too," Riley said, his voice still hovering somewhere light years beyond excited. "You were awesome."

"Thanks, kiddo," Hayden replied. "I'm sorry we lost for you, though." He was sorry he lost for himself and the team. Even though everyone kept telling him he wasn't at fault, he sure felt like he was.

"It's OK," Riley told him. "You're still my favorite player."

Ah, from the mouths of babes. Hayden sat back in his seat with a ridiculously pleased smile spreading across his face. It did no end of good to know that some fans never lost faith in him. All his stress from the previous night and early morning just lifted away.

"I really liked when you knocked that one guy against the side and he fell and you skated off and almost scored but then they gave you the penalty and that was stupid because it's not like you hit him all that hard," Riley said, scarcely drawing breath between words.

"Oh, well, you know, refs have to do their jobs, Riley," Hayden said. "I probably shouldn't have hit that guy and I hope you don't go around hitting your opponents either."

"I don't," Riley replied and sounded terribly upset over that fact. "Mom says I shouldn't and anyway, we're not allowed in my level because we're too little and they don't teach you to hit until later when you're bigger."

"Well, that's good," Hayden said and grinned at Riley's conversation. For an eight-year old, he was remarkably verbose. "How is your team doing? Are you playing a lot?"

"Yeah!" Riley exclaimed. "My team is called the Flaming Dragons and we played last Saturday and I won the game. Well, my mom says I won because I scored like fifty goals and she says I'm the best player out there but I don't know because my friend Taylor, he's bigger than me and sometimes he's faster so he gets to the puck before me but I think that's just because his legs are so long..."

On it went for several minutes. Every so often, Hayden interjected with a comment but for the most part, Riley was content to ramble on about his team, and about his friends Nick, Taylor and Jimmy. Hayden didn't stop smiling the entire time. He had several young cousins back home in Sweden and many of the guys on the team had young kids so he had a bit of experience. Of course, being on the Red Wings meant they were involved in community events with different children's groups, schools and that sort of thing. For some reason, Riley struck him as such a good-natured kid that Hayden didn't mind listening as he talked about his birthday party that he was apparently already planning; even though his birthday wasn't until January 26th.

"Hey, you know who else's birthday is on that day?" Hayden asked when Riley paused to draw a breath.

"It's not yours," Riley answered.

Chuckling, Hayden nodded. "That's true. No, you've got the same birthday as Wayne Gretzky."

"That's what my mom told me," Riley said, his bored tone implying that it was old news to be linked to that player.

"Wayne Gretzky used to be my favorite player," Hayden confessed, wondering if the Great One would ever have held on through a conversation like this. From what he knew of Gretzky, Hayden figured he probably would have. He seemed like that kind of guy.

"My mom says she liked him too when she was a kid," Riley said.

"Oh yeah?" Hayden put one more mark in his mental 'pro' column. "Is your mom there with you now?"

"Yup," Riley replied. "She gave me your number and said I should call you to tell you about my game last Saturday."

Which he had. At great length. Hayden chuckled as he recalled Riley's account of his brilliant spinning goal. "Oh, she did, did she?" he said.

"Yeah and now she's telling me I have to get off the phone," Riley replied, sounding sulky.

"I don't mind talking with you, kiddo," Hayden replied and he meant it.

"See, Mom!" Riley cried. "Mr. Zimmerman wants to talk to me!"

Hayden listened for a response but heard only a muffled feminine tone, nothing clear.

"But Mo-om..." Riley whined, apparently unhappy with her response.

"Now, Riley," there was her voice, much louder this time and Hayden swallowed as he heard it.

"OK," the boy grumbled. "Thanks for talking to me, Mr. Zimmerman. Can I call you tomorrow?"

"Well, I'll be sort of busy with practice and the game but how about I call you the day after that?" Hayden suggested and could have laughed at his inspired idea.

"OK," Riley replied. "I've gotta go now. Bye!"

"Bye, Riley," Hayden said and waited as the phone was passed on. Hayden half-expected Anna to hang up without saying anything but his stomach clenched when he heard her soft voice come over the line.

"Hi, Mr. Zimmerman," she said.

"Hello," he replied with a grin. "Anna, right?"

"You remember?" she asked incredulously.

"Of course," he said. "You and Riley were hard to forget."

She laughed, a breathless sound and Hayden shifted as his jeans suddenly got a whole lot tighter. "I'm sorry that he took up so much of your time," she said. "I didn't think he'd keep you on the phone for..." she paused and then gasped. "Thirty minutes! I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about it," Hayden assured her. "I had a great time talking to Riley. He's a good kid and holds a conversation better than a lot of men my own age."

Again she laughed and Hayden bit back a groan at the effect her laughter had on him. Thank God Carter had moved away before Anna had come on the phone.

"You're very sweet to say that, Mr. Zimmerman," she replied.

"Hayden, please," he urged her. "And I meant it. He's great."

"Thanks," she said, the note of pride obvious in her tone. "Hayden," she added a second later.

Oh Christ, he thought as all the blood left his head in a hurry. Say something before she hangs up! "Uh, I don't know if your... if Riley mentioned that he... uh... wanted to talk to me again?" he said.

"I heard him say that and if you don't want him to call, that's totally fine," Anna said. "I'll explain to him that you're very busy and he can't keep harassing you."

"No, I don't mind," Hayden replied quickly. "But I said I'd call him the day after tomorrow."

"Oh."

Hayden held his breath as he waited for more of a response. He was almost afraid she'd hung up on him when he heard her soft exhalation.

"So, I guess... you'll need... our number?" she asked.

Hayden let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and nodded. Then he spoke out loud with a mental shake when he figured out she couldn't see him. "That would be great. If you don't mind, of course."

"No, not at all," she replied. "Why would I mind? I mean, you already gave us your number so it's no big deal if I give you ours, right?"

Hayden wasn't sure if she was looking for a response to that but he figured he had nothing to lose at this point. "I think so," he said. "I promise not to call in the middle of the night."

"Oh? You're not a drunk dialer?" she asked, surprising him. She giggled before he responded and then he couldn't gather his wits fast enough to respond. "I'm just kidding, Mr. Zimmerman. Uh, Hayden."

"I figured," he said, his voice coming out thick. He shifted his seat again. His jeans were very snug. "Not a drunk dialer. Not a drunk!"

She laughed again and he smiled, closing his eyes as he savored the sound.

"That's good. Can't be seen about town with a drunken Swede," Anna said. "Oh Christ," she muttered a second later. "I'm... I'm s-sorry. That sounded... Oh jeez."

He chuckled at her stammer and pictured the blush covering her cheeks. It had only been one night two weeks ago but her face was stamped on his mind. "Aside from the drunken part, that all sounds like something I was thinking anyway," he confessed.

There was no response for a moment and he was really afraid this time that she'd hung up. After double checking, he spoke again. "Anna?"

"Yeah?" Her voice was breathless.

"Was that too forward?" he asked.

"Was...? Uh, no. Not really. Unexpected."

"Unwelcome?" he hedged, sucking in a breath as he waited for a response.

"N-no," she stuttered.

Grinning, Hayden opened his eyes to look out the window. "So can I have your number?"

"Sure," she replied and told it to him.

"So," he said after tucking the piece of paper with her phone number on it into his pocket. "What are you up to?"

She laughed. "God, I don't even know. I was grading papers when Riley first called you but I don't even remember what grade I teach at the moment."

"That's probably the nicest thing a woman has ever said to me," Hayden said.

"Oh, please," Anna replied and laughed again. "What a line! You use that on all the single mothers you meet?"

"Ah, so you are a single mother."

"Oh, I... uh... yeah, I thought... you knew," she said, stammering again.

"No," he replied honestly. "I remember you were with some guy at the game. I thought he might be a boyfriend or something."

"God, no!" she exclaimed, to Hayden's immense relief. "That was Kevin, our neighbor. He got tickets for the game and asked us to go with him. He's not my boyfriend."

"Good to know," Hayden murmured.

"Yeah," Anna added on a soft exhalation.

For a moment, they both fell silent. A minute later, the bus driver announced they were approaching their destination.

"Listen, Anna, I have to go for right now," Hayden said, truly regretting having to hang up the phone, especially when they were just getting started. "But we're just about to check into our hotel. Can I call you later?"

"I thought you were going to call Riley the day after tomorrow?" Anna replied in a confused tone.

"I will," Hayden agreed with a smile. "But I'd like to call you tonight."

"Oh. Oh! Uh, OK," she stuttered.

"Great. Tell Riley to be good and I'll talk to you later," he said.

"OK," she replied.

"Bye, Anna."

"Bye, Mr. Zim- uh, Hayden."

Chuckling, Hayden hung up the phone and dropped it into his jacket pocket. He began to hum a tune under his breath as the bus unloaded. The loss the night before was now a distant memory and all he could hear was the breathless laugh of Anna Willis.

***

Anna wasn't sure how she managed to get dinner prepared that night. After that, she wasn't sure if she even put soap in the sink when she did the dishes. She was sitting at the dining room table staring into space when Riley's voice broke through her tumbling thoughts.

"Can I go to bed now, Mom?" he asked.

Blinking, Anna turned her head and focused on her son. He was staring at her with sleepy eyes and yawned as she looked at him.

"Of course, sweetheart," she replied. "Go on up and I'll come in a minute to tuck you in."

Riley nodded and walked out of the room, heading for the stairs. Anna watched him go and replayed Riley's half of the telephone conversation in her head. He'd been so thrilled to phone his favorite player that he'd scarcely drawn breath between stories of school and hockey. Anna wasn't sure how Hayden had managed to keep up but when she'd spoken to the hockey star, he'd sounded genuinely pleased to speak to Riley.

And to me, she added silently, heat creeping up her neck as she recalled their conversation.

"I'd like to call you tonight," he'd said and it gave her goosebumps now to think of it.

Of course, he could have been trying to get her off the phone in a polite way. Not that she recalled any conversation with any man ever ending like that. The only one who called when he said he would was Kevin and even he was unreliable at times.

Sighing, Anna set her red pen down on the table and walked upstairs to tuck Riley in. A short while later she found herself wandering aimlessly through the house. She tidied the already tidy kitchen and she folded the blanket from the couch that Riley had tossed on the floor earlier. Lastly, she organized her homework into a neat stack and went upstairs.

There's no use in trying to work anymore tonight, she thought, telling herself that she wasn't getting ready for his phone call. She fully expected him not to call, no matter how much she was hoping he would.

She got ready for bed, changing to her long-sleeved, nearly worn through pink flannel pajamas. She brushed her hair and teeth and washed her face with cold water, hoping that would erase some of her whirling thoughts. After that was done, she reclined against her pillows and cracked open her most recent bargain book find. The words swam before her eyes and she gave up after rereading the same page five times. Just as she was about to turn her light off, the phone on her nightstand rang.

She froze, her hand hovering in midair near the switch for her bedside lamp. Staring down at the phone, she wondered if she should ignore it. After all, she hadn't allowed Riley to call Hayden Zimmerman just because she'd wanted to talk to him. Then she had and he'd been so charming and sweet. Had it all actually happened?

Answer the phone, you moron! she ordered herself, scooping the receiver up before it stopped ringing.

"Hello?"

"Anna," Hayden said from across several state lines. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't pick up."

Me too, she replied silently and bit her lip before responding out loud. "I was just... getting out of the tub." The tub?!? What the...? Stupid, stupid! she silently berated herself.

On the other end of the line, Hayden chuckled; a deep, warm sound that had her relaxing into her pillows again. "All right," he said. "I didn't think we'd reached that point yet, but I'm not complaining."

"Point?" she echoed. "What point?"

"The point where you tell me when you're naked," he replied casually.

She gasped and covered her face with one hand. "I'm not naked!"

"But you just said you were getting out of the tub!" he said and laughed. "Do you bathe in a swimsuit?"

"No!" she exclaimed. "I'm not... I wasn't... oh, to hell with it. I'm moving to Canada."

Hayden's laugh turned full-bodied and Anna wished she could bury herself in a hole. "I'm pretty sure they still have telephones and bathtubs there."

"Yeah, you're probably right. And hockey players," she added.

"Oh, God, yeah," Hayden agreed. "The place is wall-to-wall with hockey players. And coaches and fans and fanatics."

Anna smiled. "So you think I'd fit right in?"

"Well, your son certainly would. He seems to know everything there is to know about the sport."

"Sometimes I think he does," Anna confessed, more than a little impressed with her son. "I used to be the one explaining things to him and now he's the one telling me why you've just been sent to the penalty box."

"Oh, ouch," Hayden breathed. "That was low."

Anna giggled. "Well, that was for making fun of how I bathe."

"I'd never make fun of that," he countered. "I'd at least need to see it firsthand before passing judgment."

A blush spread across Anna's face and she squeezed her eyes shut. "I..." she started to speak but couldn't form an entire sentence.

Hayden's warm chuckle filled her ear and did wonderfully strange things to her inner workings. "It's all right," he said. "I'll let you bathe yourself. For now."

"So... uh, how was the game?" she asked, desperate to change the subject while she was still capable. She'd never been one to engage in phone sex, so she couldn't even be certain if that was where the conversation had been headed, but she knew she wasn't ready to find out.

"Which game? Last night's?" Hayden asked.

"Sure."

With another chuckle, Hayden told her about it. He sounded upset over the loss and Anna got the feeling he was shouldering most of the responsibility for it.

"You're not the only player on the team, Hayden," she said when he paused.

"I know. I was the only one to get the penalty that allowed the other team to score though."
"Oh, please," Anna scoffed and rolled onto her side, no longer uncomfortable with the conversation. "I watched the game, Hayden, and two of your teammates received penalties before you did. One of those power plays resulted in a goal for the other guys, too."

"But my penalty was during overtime," Hayden groused. "It was stupid."

"Fine. It was stupid. Now don't ever make the same mistake again."

Silence greeted her comment and she wondered if she'd gone too far. "Hayden?"

"I'm here," he said in a low voice.

"I'm so sorry," she breathed. "I shouldn't have said that."

"It just caught me by surprise since that's exactly what my coach and my captain said to me," he told her.

She smiled. "Are you saying I could be a coach?"

"Or my captain," he added.

"Sounds like a fantastic job," she mused. "Bossing a bunch of over-grown adolescents around and smacking them in the ankles with hockey sticks when they get out of line."

"I can picture it now," Hayden replied with a hearty laugh.

Anna grinned, picturing it as well. Although when it came time to take a swing at #40, she aimed higher; more in the cute butt area.

"Is Riley still up?" Hayden asked after another moment.

"No. He asked to go to sleep about an hour and a half ago," Anna replied.

"He asked to go to sleep?" Hayden repeated in surprise. "Wow. I didn't think kids did that."

"Most probably don't but occasionally, Riley will," Anna explained. "Usually when he's had a big day."

"Today was a big day? What happened?"

"Well, he went to school, passed a spelling test, came home and got to phone his hero," Anna said.

"His hero? Who the hell is that?"

Anna giggled and pressed her warm cheek to the cool pillow under her head. "I'm not sure. There was this weird guy with a beard who was just giving his phone number out at a hockey game we went to. I think Riley recognized him, but I'm not sure."

"Huh, weird guy," Hayden repeated. "You think I'm some weird guy who gives his phone number out to everyone?"

"Well, no, obviously not," she replied. "But there was this other guy with no teeth behind you and of course I couldn't turn him down when he asked me out..." Anna let her voice trail off when she realized they were getting back into flirtatious territory. By the sound of Hayden's answering laughter, she thought she might be too late.




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 01



"Is this your way of asking me out?" he asked.

"No," Anna whispered.

"So... you don't want to go out with me?"

"I didn't say that," she replied quickly and blushed when Hayden laughed. "Are you laughing at me?" she demanded in mock anger. "Don't make me drive over there and beat you with a hockey stick."

"Wow, I've got a whole new fantasy now," Hayden stated

"Fantasy!" Anna squeaked, sitting upright in her bed.

"Oh, yeah," Hayden replied in a low voice. "I can picture you now, in skates, on the ice, stick in the air, coming after me with that look in your eyes..."

Anna rolled her eyes and pressed a hand to her fluttering stomach. It just would not calm down. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"A little," Hayden replied. "So will you go out with me?" he asked, throwing Anna for a loop.

"I... what?"

"You will! Great," Hayden said and laughed when she sputtered in response. "I'll call you when I get back to town and we'll hook up."

Anna's face turned beet red at the words 'hook up' and she still struggled to find the words to respond.

"Anna?" Hayden spoke her name slowly, his accent rolling the two syllables out far more sensuously than should be legal. "I want to see you again."

"Are you sure?" she managed after a moment. She exhaled gradually and drew in another deep breath. "I mean, you've got this whole fantasy of me in skates chasing you with a stick. I wouldn't want to ruin that."

"You couldn't," he protested with a light laugh.

"Well, a mind can play tricks on people," Anna said. "You might remember me as this sexy coach-lady you fantasized about and then you'll see me again. It'll totally burst your bubble."

"I doubt that," Hayden replied.

"Hmm," was all Anna could add.

Hayden sighed on the other end and Anna blushed as her stomach turned over yet again. "Well, I suppose I should let you get to sleep," he said. "You've probably got a class first thing in the morning."

"Probably," Anna echoed.

Hayden chuckled. "Good night, Anna."

"Good night, Hayden," she replied.

***

Hayden kept his promise and called Riley the day after his game. After enduring another eight-year old conversation, Hayden agreed to call Riley when he was back in town the next day. He called again the following day as promised, but this time a strange man answered the phone at Riley and Anna's house.

"Uh, hi, is Riley in?" Hayden asked when he answered.

"Sure thing," the man replied. "Riley, buddy! Phone call for you!"

After a few seconds, Hayden could hear thumping and then a scuffling as the phone changed hands.

"Hello?" Riley's voice came across the line.

"Hi, Riley," Hayden said. "It's Hayden."

"Hi!"

"Riley, where's your mom?" that strange man called from the background.

"She's upstairs in her room!" Riley shouted back at the top of his lungs. "She said she's waiting for you to come up!"

Hayden frowned at Riley's words and wondered what the hell was going on.

"Sorry, Mr. Zimmerman," Riley said into the phone.

"Who was that who answered the phone, kiddo?" Hayden asked, striving to sound casual. Although he wasn't certain a child could understand all the nuances of adult tones.

"That's Kevin," Riley said. "He's our next-door neighbor."

"Oh. Is he over a lot, then?" Hayden asked, cringing as he spoke the words. He hated that he was pumping a child for information.

"Sure," Riley replied. "He came today to get me so Mom could go to her parents and teachers Show-and-Tell and Mom can't decide what to wear and she says Kevin always knows what looks best so she said when Kevin comes over that he needs to go upstairs right away."

"Oh," Hayden said, at a loss for words. Riley's mix-up of parent-teacher interviews made him smile but the fact that Anna sought Kevin's opinion on wardrobe made him feel... strange. He brushed it off, telling himself he was being silly. Not only did he have no claim over the woman, but asking for clothing advice from a guy wasn't something a woman did if she liked a guy. Right?

"I watched the game last night, Mr. Zimmerman and I saw you score two goals," Riley went on when Hayden said nothing more. "It was so awesome and I liked how you skated faster than that Karl Jonsson and he like, totally fell into the boards when you pushed him and then he got a penalty for holding so you got to score on the power play and it was so cool how you guys won the game and I was cheering so loud!"

Hayden laughed at Riley's enthusiasm, glad his young friend had enjoyed the show. It had been rather satisfying to sink two goals past Baddano, the Blue Jackets' goalie. In the end, he'd helped the team win and it certainly went a long way towards making up for his loss two nights before that.

As Hayden listened, Riley went on and on about his own hockey game the night before and his most recent math test at school. Hayden barely had to say anything before Riley was off and running on a new topic. Hayden idly flipped through television channels as he listened, adding a comment here and there.

Man, the kid really knows how to chat, he thought with a grin. He didn't mind. It was almost refreshing after the endless locker room chat he dealt with on the road. Plus, if it scored him points in Anna's eyes, it was an added bonus.

"Oh, I think my Mom's calling me," Riley said, breaking himself off mid-sentence when a female voice sounded in the background.

Hayden smiled and then he heard Anna's voice again, much louder this time.

"Let poor Mr. Zimmerman off the phone, Riley," she admonished. "He's had a long trip and is probably tired."

"I'm not tired," Hayden said to his little buddy.

"Mo-om," Riley whined. "He can hear you, you know."

Hayden had to laugh at that.

"Say good-bye and give me the phone, Riley," Anna ordered firmly.

With a great and terrible sigh, Riley did as his mother asked. "Bye, Mr. Zimmerman. Have a good night."

"You too, kiddo," Hayden replied. "Let me know how your next reading test goes, OK?"

"OK."

There was a shuffling sound and then Anna's voice came on the line.

"Hi, Anna," Hayden said.

"Hello," she replied. "I'm sorry Riley kept you so long again. You must be exhausted from your trip."

"It's not bad," he said with a shrug. "We don't have practice until tomorrow afternoon so I have lot's of time to sleep in."

"I envy you," she breathed. "I've got parent-teacher interviews tonight until nine and then I'm up and back to school before eight tomorrow."

"You must love it," Hayden said. He could hear the weariness in her tone, but stronger than that was the note of pride.

"I do," she agreed and then laughed. "Most days."

"What grade do you teach? Or can you even remember yet?"

"I can now," she replied tartly and Hayden chuckled. "Grade nine. Fourteen-year olds mostly."

"Oh, wow," Hayden whistled through his teeth. "You're a better man than I, Anna."

She laughed, the sound going right to his groin. He gritted his teeth and told himself to behave. "That's nice, Hayden. I haven't had a compliment like that in weeks."

"I can give you one every day if you want," he replied quickly.

She laughed again, pleasing Hayden to no end. "I wouldn't want you to strain yourself."

"Anna, I'm taking Riley now," Kevin's voice came over the line in the background.

"Thanks, Kevin!" she called and Hayden thought he could hear the sound of a door closing. "I should probably go. Lot's of interviews and some will probably not go so well."

Hayden smiled as she sighed. "How late will you be there?" he asked before he let her hang up.

"The last one I have starts at eight forty-five," she answered. "But it might go longer than fifteen minutes. Why?"

"Well, I was thinking I could come meet you after," he said. "We could go for coffee."

"But... it'll be late. After nine," she protested.

"I don't mind staying up after nine," he replied with a grin.

She sighed. "I realize that made me sound like an old woman but I meant that I won't be able to leave until nine at least," she explained.

"I don't mind," he repeated. "I'd like to see you."

She didn't answer right away but Hayden waited patiently.

"I'd have to be home by midnight," she replied at length.

"Is that your curfew, Cinderella?" he teased.

"You could call it that," she replied. "I can't leave Riley at Kevin's for the entire night."

Hayden's eyebrows shot up and he grinned, letting his blood go where it would. Her words had just lifted him past uncertainty and right into the most immense success he'd felt in weeks. "Well, it's nice to know where your mind is but I think I can manage to get you home on time," he said, his voice low.

He heard her sharp intake of breath and pictured the color filling her round cheeks. He couldn't wait to see it in the flesh again. He hoped she was as playful in person as she had been over the phone.

"OK," Anna replied. "Let me give you the location of the school."

As she listed the address of the school in her neighborhood of St. Clair Shores, Hayden calculated the time it would take to get there. They said good-bye and Hayden hurried to shower and dress before leaving his house.

***

Later Anna wished she'd never spoken to Hayden. She'd meant to get Riley off the phone so he could leave with Kevin; she'd never meant to chat with him again or to suggest he keep her out all night long. Even with a set of parents in front of her, color filled her face as she recalled their words to each other. Even worse was the pooling of moisture between her legs when she recalled the sound of his deep voice.

"Ms. Willis?" the father in front of her drew her out of her silent contemplation.

Shaking her head, she apologized and ordered herself to focus. Later, after several more interviews, she felt completely drained. Then she heard a low murmur spread across the room where she was conducting her interviews with three other teachers. A few parents were left in the room along with her and the teachers, but every head was turned towards the door. Anna's eyes followed their gaze and her body ignited when she saw Hayden Zimmerman standing in the doorway. His dark eyes swept over the small crowd and he smiled at everyone before his eyes lit on Anna. Then his teeth peeked through his full lips and he started walking towards her.

"Hi, Anna," he murmured.

Blushing, Anna rose to her feet. "Hi," she said, more than aware of the curious gazes on them both.

"I'm a little early," he said in a sheepish voice, his eyes flicking to the clock on the wall.

"It's all right," she assured him. "My last interview cancelled so I can leave anytime."

His face relaxed and he grinned at her. She thought her knees might give way. God, she wished she'd chosen something less frumpy to wear. Kevin had assured her that her long brown skirt and floral blouse was perfectly suitable for parent-teacher interviews. She'd agreed, then not even considered that she'd be wearing it out with Hayden after. She plucked self-consciously at the sleeve of her blouse as she smiled up at Hayden.

"So you can leave now?" he asked politely.

"Yes," she breathed. "Let me just tidy up and sign out."

He nodded and waited patiently by the doorway as she took care of everything she needed to. She glanced over a couple of times to see a couple parents talking to him. Hayden was smiling at them and shook their hands. One woman produced a day-timer from her purse and Hayden nodded before taking it and a pen from her to sign an autograph. Smiling to herself, Anna quickly finished her tasks and grabbed her purse and jacket from the rack in the corner before joining him at the door.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Zimmerman," the woman he'd signed the autograph for gushed. "My son will be so pleased to get this."

"I'm glad," Hayden said with a smile. "Tell him to keep watching the Wings."

"Oh, I'm sure he will," she agreed before following her husband out the door.

Hayden turned to face Anna and his smile turned to a full-fledged grin. "You're ready?"

"Yes," she said with a nod and pulled her jacket on. "Are you finished with your rabid fans?"

Shaking his head, he reached over to help her adjust her heavy winter coat on her shoulders. She shivered at his fingers brushed the nape of her neck. She'd managed to wrangle her unruly brown waves into something resembling a bun before coming to the school tonight so her neck was bare. She almost wanted to pull her jacket off and put it on again, just so she could feel the touch of his fingers on her skin again.

"Shall we?" he asked and gestured for her to go out the door ahead of him. "Where would you like to go?"

"There's a coffee shop just a couple blocks from my house," Anna suggested.

"Perfect," he agreed and they walked across the parking lot.

When they began to veer away towards their own cars, they glanced at each other and laughed, their breath forming small clouds before their faces.

"How about we go in my car and I'll bring you back here after?" Hayden suggested.

Anna agreed and he led her to his where he was parked. She directed him to the coffee shop she'd mentioned but other than that, they didn't say much. Anna chewed the inside of her lip and wondered for the thousandth time why Hayden was here. She stifled a sigh after a moment and decided she should stop questioning it. Even if he only wanted her friendship, and Riley's, she would be glad for that.

Inside the coffee shop, Hayden bought their drinks and they sat down together at a table in the corner with the window on her right.

"How did your interviews go?" Hayden asked as he tested the heat of his coffee.

She shrugged and twisted the warmer around her own coffee cup. "The same as always," she replied. "Some parents are very pleased with how their child is doing and others are wondering why they struggle."

"Fourteen-year olds must be a good mix of good and bad kids," Hayden commented.

"That's for sure," Anna agreed with a laugh. "I shouldn't complain. My classes are pretty good overall and there are just a few troublesome kids."

They chatted for a while. Hayden asked questions about her work and smiled as she relayed stories of her years at the school. She hesitated before telling him about how she'd ended up in this neighborhood and he seemed to have noticed because the next thing out of his mouth was more direct.

"Do you mind if I ask a question about Riley's father?" he asked, watching Anna's face as he spoke.

She grimaced involuntarily and offered him a weak smile.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want," he added. "I won't pry and it's none of my business."

"It's all right," she murmured, dropping her eyes to the now frayed cardboard warmer around her cup. "I figured you'd want to know eventually."

"Anna," Hayden said her voice in a low tone. He reached across the table and laid his hand over hers, stilling her nervous motion. "You don't have to tell me."

She looked up to met his soft brown eyes and melted. He was smiling at her and his face was so understanding that she couldn't resist. Damn him, she thought as a blush swept over her cheeks. He'll probably never speak to me again after I tell him.

Still, she drew a deep breath and began to tell him. She told him the sequence of events, starting with her parents' sudden death in an auto accident right after Riley's third birthday. She described how her husband was already growing distant by that time and when her parents passed, Loren was hardly there for her at all. He attended the funeral and shook hands with family members but that was about it. Less than a month later she'd come from picking up Riley at daycare and found half the house emptied of Loren's belongings. No note. No messages on the machine. Not even a sign that he'd been a resident of their house for the past five years. Eventually divorce papers had arrived in the mail and that was the last contact - if one even wanted to label it as such - she'd ever had with him. He didn't even bother to call their son or send birthday cards. For that alone, Anna hated him like she'd never thought she'd be capable of.

After her long-winded tale, Anna shyly lifted her eyes to Hayden's face and saw a strange expression there. She frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head, a muscle working in his jaw. Anna watched it, feeling her body grow warm from the inside out.

"He never explained why he left you and Riley?" Hayden responded at length.

Anna blinked, pulled out of her silent contemplation of his wide mouth and fine, dark beard. She'd just noticed it was shot through with strands of golden brown. "I... no, I never heard from him again, except for the divorce papers."

His scowl deepened and Anna couldn't figure it out. "I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable," she murmured, dropping her eyes. "If you want to leave, it's fine."

"Why would I want to go?" he asked, sounding surprised.

Shrugging, Anna avoided looking into his face. Then she felt his warm fingers close over hers, gently tugging them off her coffee cup. She looked up, meeting his gaze and feeling her stomach jump inside of her. She swallowed and waited for him to say something.

"I don't have anywhere else to be," he said. "I would stay here all night if you asked me to."

Anna smiled at his words and shook her head. He turned her hand within his and rubbed his thumb over the skin of her palm. She shivered and blushed when she realized he'd probably felt that. She tried to tug her hand out of his but he wouldn't let her go.

OK, she thought, feeling her heart kick up several beats per minute. Say something. Anything. The weather...

"Uh, you know..." she started and stopped. "You... I don't know about you."

His eyebrows moved up on his forehead and his teeth showed as he grinned at her. With his thumb sweeping over her palm again, he tilted his head to one side before responding. "What would you like to know?"

Anna smiled, charmed yet again by his easy smile and his soft brown eyes. "Where do I begin?" she replied with a laugh.

They spent another hour at least in that coffee shop. Hayden was open and friendly, answering all her questions about his youth in Sweden and the summers he still spends there. His entire face lit up as he spoke about his hockey career. Clearly it was the love of his life and it pleased Anna to know that he so loved his job. She had her moments when she wished she'd chosen a different career path for herself, though they were few and far between, but it was impressive to know that Hayden never seemed to have any of those doubts. She envied him that.

After a long while, she couldn't hide the sleepy droop of her eyes any longer and she no longer bothered to hide her yawns behind her free hand; in all that time, Hayden refused to surrender his hold. With a grin, he stood up and helped her with her jacket before they left the coffee shop. They didn't say much on the drive back to the school and her car. Hayden even got out of his warm car and started hers for her, ordering her to stay sitting in his. She gratefully turned her keys over and rested her head back against the seat.

"Oh, man. I don't want to ruin your mood, but it's cold out there now," Hayden said as he climbed back into the driver's seat.

"Did my car start?" Anna asked, worried that her thirteen-year old sedan might have given him grief.

"Yeah, it started no problem." He cupped his hands in front of his face and blew on his fingers.

Glancing over, Anna noticed the tips of his fingers were bright pink. She shook her head and turned in her seat towards him. "Don't you have gloves?" she asked.

Hayden shook his head, continuing to blow on his fingers. Anna sighed and reached for his hands, grasping one of his in both of hers. She slid her hands back and forth on either side of his hand and shook her head again when she felt the chill against her skin.




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 01



"I always tell Riley that he has to wear mittens before going outside in weather like this," she said, rubbing more vigorously for a moment. "I wouldn't have thought a grown man would need a reminder like that." As she spoke, she lifted her eyes to Hayden's face and blinked when she met his eyes.

He looked so serious and in the dim light from the street lamp on the corner, his eyes were nearly black. Suddenly very aware of what she was doing, Anna released his hand and moved to sit back. Or tried to, but Hayden's hands shot out and closed around her arms. Even through the layers of her winter coat and blouse, the heat from his hands seared her.

"My... car's probably warm now," Anna muttered, still leaning away from him.

"I think it needs more time," Hayden replied and leaned closer, pulling on her arms. "I think it needs... a while..." He let his sentence trail off, still tugging her closer until she could feel his breath on her cheek.

Anna was caught by the darkness of his eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, to break the spell but he bent his head down, capturing her lips with his. With her lips already parted to speak, his tongue touched her bottom lip before sliding inside and stroking hers. It was such a soft touch and so deliciously warm that Anna's eyes drifted shut and she relaxed under his hand.

Oh, heaven help her, she'd forgotten how good it felt to have a man kiss her. Hayden's hands were so strong, so sure as they circled her shoulders and drew her closer. She sank against him and went willingly as he cradled her against the seat. He shifted, lifting his mouth from hers briefly. In that moment, her eyes fluttered open to find him gazing down at her. He smiled and she lifted a weak hand to touch his bearded chin. Then he was lowering his lips again and she closed her eyes, sighing as his mouth closed over hers.

Her body relaxed in his arms and she tipped her chin up, silently encouraging him to take the kiss deeper. His hands pressed more firmly into her back and she moved closer to him, at least, as close as she could. Their jackets were too bulky and the car was too small. The heat was rising and Anna felt her face heating up exponentially. Hayden slanted his lips over hers and licked the corners of her mouth.

Anna groaned and lifted her hands to his shoulders. He pressed against her lips harder and the kiss turned very intense, very fast. Hayden's lips were soft but so hot. His tongue was slick against hers and she felt her chest getting tighter the longer he kept their mouths fused together. When she thought she might burst, Hayden ripped his lips away. They sat there not speaking, gasping for air and Anna's eyes blinked open to see Hayden looking away from her.

She watched his profile in the dim light of the car and saw his eyes were closed. His jaw was clenched and he swallowed once before turning to face her. His eyes were still dark with lust and Anna felt her heart stutter when she recognized that look. For some reason though, he looked upset.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice coming out husky. She cleared her throat and offered him a weak smile.

Hayden's eyes dropped to her lips and he swallowed again. Anna was held immobile as he parted his lips and drew one hand up to slide a thumb across her mouth. Her lips parted on a sigh and her heart skipped over several beats again before settling.

"Hayden?" she murmured his name, not entirely sure if she'd even spoken out loud.

"I think it's time for you to go home," Hayden whispered, his voice husky.

Anna shivered at his tone and the continued stroke of his thumb over her lips. "W-why?" she stammered.

"Because I don't want to do this in a car," he told her, his eyes lifting to meet her surprised gaze. His mouth softened into a smile and he stopped his thumb just at the corner of her lips. "And I don't want to rush because we need to get you home to your son."

For a moment, Anna forgot to breathe altogether. Hayden's smile widened into a wicked grin and his thumb slid over her lips again before he dropped his hand. He lifted one of her hands and brought her fingers to his lips, pressing a hot, moist kiss to her knuckles. Anna's breath caught and she inhaled deeply.

"All right," she murmured when she regained enough air to speak.

Hayden released her, pulling his arms from around her and moving back to his seat. Anna shifted back in her own and fiddled with her gloves, trying to remember how to put them on. She got herself together and turned her face back to Hayden to say goodnight.

"I had a great time," she told him and meant it. She might forget how to get home but for now, she was almost euphoric.

"I did, too," he said and smiled. "May I call you tomorrow?"

"I'd like that," she agreed.

"Good. I'll figure out something for us to do on a real date," he added.

Anna blinked, thinking she must have misheard him. Dating hadn't really crossed her mind at this point but she supposed it was what people their age did. Riley's smiling and open face crossed her mind and she frowned.

"I should go," she murmured and turned to open the door. "Good night, Hayden. Drive safely."

"You too, Anna," he replied and she climbed out of the car.

She rushed over to her vehicle and got in, somewhat surprised at how warm it was. Locking her seatbelt in place, she glanced over at Hayden in his car one more time before putting the car in gear and driving home.

***

Hayden sat in his car, in that school parking lot, for nearly ten minutes before he felt he could safely drive home. It took rolling down his window and turning off the heat altogether before he'd managed to get his body under control again. When he was over the worst of the physical ache, he rolled the window up and drove home. Along the way, he kept seeing Anna's eyes falling shut as he kissed her and all he could smell was her fresh scent.

God, all he'd wanted to do was push her into the back seat and bury himself inside of her. Her mouth had been so warm and inviting that he had problems focusing on anything else. It had taken every ounce of self-control to pull away and tell her to go. What he'd said to her had been true; he didn't want to take her in a car in the middle of a school parking lot. He wanted to savor her, make it last through the night until they both couldn't see straight.

Things were made more complicated by the fact that she had a son. Hayden wasn't about to suggest they get rid of him for a night just so they could get busy. He liked Riley and Riley was Anna's entire world. Hayden could never get in the way of that, nor did he want to. He wanted to make sure that they could make this work, all three of them. It would never work out with just two.

Sighing, Hayden shook his head to clear it of the heavy thoughts and focused on the remainder of his drive home.

Plenty of time to sort it all out, he thought. He was already friends with Riley, which made things easier. He would just have to continue to devote all his time to both Anna and her son. Eventually, they would find time to be together as he longed to be.

A grin split his face as he recalled Anna's reaction to his kiss. Hayden was certain she longed for the same thing as he did.

Oh, the anticipation is going to kill me, he thought and chuckled to himself. Or make it that much better when I finally have her naked underneath me.



A Feel For The Ice Ch. 02



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.




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 02



"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."




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 02



Make love, Anna repeated in her head, her heart stuttering. "I know," she replied.

"I just meant, we'll have a proper date one of these days," Hayden said. "Not just coffee after work or a pizza apology."

"Riley told me that's why you brought pizza home," Anna said with a smile, remembering her son imploring her not to be angry with Hayden. Well, she certainly wasn't angry anymore.

"I am sorry, Anna," Hayden said.

"Oh, stop," she murmured and kissed him again. "It's fine. I'm not angry. We've discussed the rules and it won't happen again, right?"

"No," he agreed. "That was the last afternoon practice for a while, anyway. I leave town after the game tomorrow night for a ten day road trip."

Anna's breath caught. "Oh," she managed to say out loud. "I guess we won't see you at all for a while then."

His arms tightened around her and she shivered at the sensation.

"I'll call every day," he promised. "And I'll see you as soon as we get back to town."

Anna smiled. "It's all right, Hayden. You don't have to call every day and we'll see each other whenever you can after you get home." When it looked like he was going to protest again, she covered his lips with hers for a moment. "We're not going anywhere."

"You'd better not," he replied and kissed her hard, his tongue slipping into her mouth to twist around hers.

After a long, hot, drugged minute, Hayden pulled away. His dark gaze swept down her body and she remembered that she was standing there with her shirt wide open. Blushing, she reached to close it but Hayden brushed her hands aside.

"Such a pity," he murmured, lowering his head and kissing a path across the swell of her breasts.

While he paid such lusty attention to her chest, he began to button her blouse together. Before closing the fabric over her breasts, he kissed her again, his tongue flicking out to sneak beneath the edge of her bra. Anna moaned, her fingers digging into his shoulders and he chuckled as he finished the last button. He cupped the back of her head and kissed her, softly this time and only for a second. At last he stepped back and smiled at Anna. She smiled back, rubbing self-consciously at her cheek.

"I should go," Hayden muttered, his voice hoarse.

"OK," she agreed and walked him to the door.

He kissed her one last time as she held the door open for him and then he was gone, his breath streaming in a white cloud behind him.

***

The first couple days on the road trip passed by in a blur. Hayden spent his time with the team practicing, eating meals and playing games. He wasn't certain how he managed it, and the guys teased him about it, but he managed to call Riley and Anna every day, at least once. Even if it was just a two minute conversation - usually Anna in those cases - they stayed in touch. It allowed Hayden to get to sleep every night. He wasn't sure when it had happened, or why, but if he tried to sleep without first hearing both Anna and Riley's voices, it just wouldn't happen.

After a particularly grueling loss in Denver, Hayden returned to the hotel, opting out of going to a restaurant with the guys. He let himself into his empty hotel room and fell across his bed, not bothering with undressing. As he struggled to pull the bedspread over himself, he hit speed dial 1 on his phone and waited as it rang all the way back in Detroit.

"Hello?" someone who sounded very sleepy and very young answered.

"Hey, kiddo," Hayden said as an easy smile spread across his tired face.

"Hi, Hayden," Riley replied and yawned. "You were great tonight."

"Your mom let you stay up and watch?" Hayden asked incredulously.

"Yeah, but only because it's a half-day tomorrow."

"Oh, how did you manage to score that?"

"I don't know," Riley answered and Hayden could almost picture the eight-year old giving him the classic eye roll and shrug. "The school gives us half-days all the time."

"Wow. Do you think they'd let me come to school with you?" Hayden asked and closed his eyes. "I could use a half-day or two."

"Well, if you had two, it'd just be a full day so what's the point?" Riley asked.

Frowning, Hayden thought about that and then had to laugh. Riley was a sharp kid and definitely thought outside the box. "You're right about that, kiddo. So you thought I was great even though we lost?"

"Yeah," Riley said and blew out a breath. "You only lost by one goal."

"One goal is all it takes sometimes." One goal that had to be reviewed for five minutes and Hayden still thought it was bogus. That was the nature of the game though.

"I think you did good," Riley told him. "You scored and you didn't get any penalties. My mom says that means you were trying real hard."

Hayden's face softened into a smile again at the mention of Anna. Other significant parts of his anatomy stirred to life as he pictured her sparkling hazel-grey eyes and broad smile. He wondered if she sounded as sleepy as her son. Stifling a groan, Hayden put those and other thoughts on the back-burner while he continued to speak to Riley. They chatted for a few more minutes and when Hayden could no longer understand what Riley was saying around his yawning, he ordered the child to go to bed.

"OK," Riley replied with no argument. "Good night, Hayden."

"Good night, kiddo. Have a good sleep. Dream of winning the Stanley Cup," Hayden told him.

"OK," Riley said one last time before passing the phone to his mom.

"Go upstairs and I'll come tuck you in, sweetie," Hayden heard Anna tell her son before she spoke to Hayden. "Hello, Hayden. How are you holding up?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, how are you? That was a tough loss and you're only five days into your road trip. I don't think I'd be in the finest of moods if I was in your place."

Hayden grinned as several thoughts crossed his mind. "If you were in my place, I'd be there too and we'd both be in a better mood."

Anna's soft laughter filled his ear and it did wondrous things to his body and mind. Everything about Anna made Hayden feel better. His muscles relaxed, the tension behind his eyes eased and of course, he was hard as a rock.

"You're really something, Hayden," she murmured. "You know that?"

"I do," he agreed. "But you don't know. Not yet."

"Hmm, I like the sound of that."

Hayden groaned and threw an arm up over his eyes. "Don't talk like that now."

"Why not?" Anna asked with another laugh that effectively drained his body of blood except for one important organ.

"Because I'm in Denver and you're in Detroit," Hayden told her, knowing he sounded like a whiny kid and not caring.

"Haven't you ever heard of phone sex?" Anna asked.

Once he found the phone after dropping it, Hayden lifted it to his ear to hear Anna calling his name.

"Hayden? Hayden, are you there? Did the call get dropped? Hayden?"

Clearing his throat, Hayden replied. "I'm here, Anna. Sorry, I dropped the phone."

"Oh, all right," she said, completely unaware that she'd been the cause. "You must be exhausted. I should let you go so you can sleep."

"I'm fine," he assured her.

"Don't you have an early morning flight to L.A.?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I still want to talk to you."

"OK," she said. "Let me tuck Riley in and I'll call you back in a few minutes."

"All right," Hayden agreed and they hung up.

Those next few minutes were pure torture for Hayden. He used the time to undress himself since his clothes were all too hot and restricting now. When the phone rang again, he was just about ready to call her back himself.

"Hi," he murmured into the phone and relaxed back against his pillows.

"Hi," she replied and he heard a rustling and creaking noise.

"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to picture her moving through her house.

"Just getting into bed," she replied and this time Hayden heard the breathless catch in her voice. "I'm so tired."

"Are you? Why?" he asked, swallowing and trying hard not to imagine himself naked in bed with her, running his hands all over her body.

"We had an early start this morning and then Riley had a hockey practice after school. Dinner was late because of that, and then he insisted on staying up to watch your game," Anna replied and then sighed. "It feels so good to get off my feet."

"Ditto," he agreed, still bombarded with feverish images of them wrapped around each other. Wow, he thought. What kind of hound am I that I can't even hold a conversation without thinking of making love to her?

"I knew you were tired," she said with a soft little laugh that turned Hayden's brain to sawdust. "Why don't you just go to sleep? I don't mind. It's already past twelve here."

Oh yeah, the time difference, Hayden thought. "I can't believe you let Riley stay up to watch me play."

"Like I said, he insisted. Every time I tried to argue, he just gave me this puppy-dog look and I was done."

"I'm flattered that he wants to watch me play so much," Hayden said with a smile. He was flattered and it made him feel good to know that talking to Riley was a part of his daily routine.

"You should be flattered," Anna agreed. "You're all he talks about. I don't know what I'll do if you ever-" she stopped short and fell silent.

Frowning, Hayden sat up in bed. "Anna?"

"I'm here," she whispered.

"What were you going to say?" Though he could pretty much guess.

"It doesn't matter," she replied, still whispering.

"It does to me," he argued. "I want to know what you're thinking."

"Hayden, it-"

"Anna, please," he interrupted. "Tell me what it was."

She blew out a noisy breath and relented. "Fine. I was just saying that I don't know what will happen if you... ever stop calling. Or visiting. Riley's pretty attached to you now and I don't know... I'm just scared of how he'd react."

"Then I'll just have to keep calling and coming around to your house," Hayden replied, his chest feeling tight. It had never occurred to him that Anna might be having these sorts of doubts.

"Come on, Hayden," Anna said, her voice sounding tense now. "We're both adults and we know how these things can go. Christ, I'm divorced! I definitely know what happens when a man gets tired of the woman he's with. Riley was too young last time to understand but this time..." She let her sentence trail off but Hayden knew what she would have said.

This time Riley would know. He'd see that Hayden wasn't calling and he'd miss his presence in their house. And Anna would have to somehow deal with that.

The feeling in his chest got much tighter as Hayden realized just what kind of relationship he'd got himself into. Terrifying didn't even begin to cover it. But he couldn't, he just couldn't put the phone down. He wanted to reassure Anna and he wanted more than anything to be in the house with her so he could look in on Riley while he slept. The feeling was so strong and so unexpected that Hayden felt short of breath.

"I don't know what to say, Anna," Hayden said at last and it was the truth.

"I figured as much," she replied and sighed. "Hayden, we should talk when it's not so late and when we're not both so tired."

"No," Hayden said, more sharply than he'd intended. "I'm sorry, Anna, but I want to talk about this now. I don't know what to say and that's the truth so forgive me if this takes a few minutes to get out." Silence greeted his announcement but he could hear her breathing so he went on.

"I don't want to stop calling you," he said. "Or Riley. I never thought I'd be so... so... connected to someone that I couldn't stop myself from calling every day. If I was in town like a normal man, I'd never stop coming to your house either. It's so hard not being near you guys every day, you have no idea. I know it's only been a couple weeks and I understand that this is scary for you too but I think we have to try. I can't walk away without at least giving it my best shot."

Anna laughed then, a breathless little sound and Hayden relaxed somewhat, sinking back into his pillows. Everything he'd just said was true, if somewhat less than eloquent. "So?" he spoke when she still didn't respond to him.

"You know, your accent gets thicker when you're upset," she murmured.

"Does it?" he replied. He'd been in the states so long that he hardly thought about the language difference anymore. He spoke Swedish with several of his teammates but not everyone on the team spoke the language so unless he was alone with Nathan or one of the other Swedes, they all spoke English. "Could you understand what I was saying?"

Another laugh came through the phone, across the distance and set Hayden's blood on fire. "Every word," she told him. "You're right, Hayden. I am frightened. Not just for me, but Riley as well. I still don't know how this will all go-"

"Neither do I!" Hayden interjected quickly.

"-But I'm willing to try," she went on, ignoring his interruption.

"I'm so glad, Anna," he said and exhaled slowly. "You have no idea."

"I'm beginning to get the idea," she replied. "So..."

"So?"

"Are you still pretty tired?" she asked.

"I guess," he answered with a shrug of one shoulder. "Aren't you? Do you want me to let you go?"

"Mmm, not really," she replied. "Did you hear my earlier suggestion?"

Hayden's mouth went dry and his boxers tented boldly before his eyes. "I sure did," he replied, his voice hoarse. "Why do you think I dropped my phone?"

Anna giggled and Hayden had to squeeze his eyes shut, picturing icebergs and fat men on the beach to keep from shooting his load into his boxers. How is she doing this to me? he wondered.

"I guess you must be too tired for that?" she asked and Hayden could hear the nervousness in her tone.

"Never," he muttered and cleared his throat to speak more clearly. "I will never be too tired to do anything with you, Anna."

"All right. Why do I get the feeling that you're letting me down easy?"

Hayden exhaled and pressed his palm to his erection, willing his body to calm down. "I would love nothing more than to stay on the phone and tell you everything I want to do to you, Anna," he said. "But I'm not in a single room and my roommate could be back any minute."

"I understand," Anna replied around a sigh. "I guess you don't even want to stay up to talk to me."

"Can you stay up?" Hayden asked with a chuckle. "You just told me five minutes ago how exhausted you are."

"That's true," she answered and added a yawn for emphasis.

Chuckling again, Hayden told her to go to sleep. "I'll be home in another five days and we can talk then."

"Talk?"

"Or whatever you want," he added, his voice husky as he thought of all the possibilities.

"All right," she agreed. "Good night, Hayden."

"Good night, Anna."

***

"Do you know what you're doing?" Kevin asked on Sunday afternoon.

Anna paused near the coffee maker and looked over her shoulder at him. He was seated at her kitchen table and somewhere in the house, their two eight-year olds were screaming and having a great time, as usual. Anna had invited Kevin in for coffee when he dropped Riley off following hockey.

"No, what am I doing?" Anna asked with a smile.

"You were humming," Kevin told her, his smirk wide.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I was not." She never hummed. Being born tone deaf and then relentlessly teased for years about it by her friends had left her unable to sing or whistle or do anything musical unless when she was alone.

"You were, too," Kevin replied.

Anna paused with her hand on the coffee scoop and stared at the wall before her. "What was I humming?" she asked. She didn't even recall having a tune in her head. She'd been imagining what she'd say to Hayden when he called that night.

"Damned if I know," Kevin said. "You can't carry a tune to save your life."

Scowling, Anna whirled around and chucked the little plastic scoop at his head. He laughed and swatted it away. Anna turned back to the coffee, pulling out a spoon to use instead. Chuckling, Kevin bent down to pick up the plastic scoop she'd thrown. He tossed it onto the counter and leaned one hip against it, turning to face her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"So what's the deal?" he asked. "What's got you humming a lousy tune in the middle of a Sunday afternoon?" A moment later he winced. "I didn't mean to make that rhyme."

Laughing, Anna finished with the coffee maker and pressed the 'start' button. She turned to her friend and mirrored his pose, looking up a good ten inches into his open face. "Nothing's going on," she replied. "I'm just in a good mood."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. Don't give me that. I've seen Zimmerman coming and going and Riley talks about his 'good friend Hayden' enough for me to know the conversations front and back. You know this already, but man, your kid just doesn't stop!"

"I know," Anna agreed with another laugh. She moved to the kitchen table to sit down, trying to ignore the heat in her face. She could only hope that Kevin wouldn't say anything to make it worse.

"Come on, Anna," Kevin implored, sitting down across from her and leaning his forearms on the table. "Tell me what's going on. Are you dating Hayden Zimmerman?"

Anna blushed and covered her face with her hands.

"Anna, there's no need to be embarrassed," Kevin chided. "Look at me."

She lowered her hands to see him smiling at her, no longer smirking or laughing. "Yes, I'm dating Hayden. Sort of."

Kevin's eyebrows went up. "What's 'sort of?'" he asked.

"Well, we talk on the phone a lot," Anna said. "And he and Riley talk on the phone even more. Hayden took me for coffee after the parent-teacher interviews a few weeks ago and he came over for dinner one night before he left on this last road trip." She paused and looked up at her friend. "Does that count as dating someone?"

"Like I'd know?" Kevin replied with a laugh. "I've dated as often as you have, you know that."

"Yeah," Anna agreed and blew her breath out.

"Listen, Anna, if these phone calls and whatever else you're doing makes you hum like you just were, I'd say it counts."

"Thanks, Kevin," Anna said. "You're a good guy to lie like that."

"I'm not lying!" he protested with mock indignation.

"Honestly, we've talked about it a bit and if you want to know, we are dating."

"I'm glad," Kevin said. "Really. You're too good a person to spend the rest of your life alone."

"I'd hardly be alone. I've got another ten years at least with that... creature in the other room!" This she said with a great deal of warmth so no one could think she was serious.

"I mean it, Anna. I think it's great that someone else has noticed what you've got to offer," Kevin replied, ignoring her joke.

"What do you mean, 'someone else?'" she asked after processing Kevin's words.

He met her curious gaze and flushed before averting his eyes. Anna felt very uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Kevin, you don't-" she began to say but he cut her off.

"It's fine," he said. "I missed my chance and that's all right. I can live with that."

Anna studied his face as he spoke. He wouldn't look at her and the color was still very apparent in his cheeks. His fair skin made the color appear that much deeper. "Kevin, I had no idea you felt... that way. About me," Anna said quietly.

Kevin did glance in her direction then and smiled sheepishly. "Don't feel sorry for me, Anna. I wasn't over the moon or anything but I would be lying if I said it had never crossed my mind."

"Kevin..."

"Anna," Kevin stopped her again and held a hand up. He looked at her and smiled, the flush fading from his face. "I'm fine. I'm happy for you."

Blushing, Anna smiled at her friend and neighbor and thanked God again that she'd been so lucky to find him. She stood up and circled the table to give him a hug and kiss on the cheek. Then she asked if he wanted cream and sugar in his coffee.




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 02



"Do you even have to ask?" he scoffed.

Later that evening, Anna sat in front of the television with her son, waiting for the hockey game on the West coast to come on. The Red Wings were in San Jose that night and Anna had agreed to allow her son to stay up for the first period. He was currently pouting, but as soon as the game came on, Anna knew he'd forget all about it. During a commercial break, the phone rang and Anna answered without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Anna," Hayden's deep voice greeted her.

"Hey," she said and wrapped her free arm around her middle as warmth seeped all through her body. This is ridiculous, she thought. I have to learn to control my reactions or I'm going to hurt him when I see him next time. That thought made her smile in spite of herself. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the game?" As she asked, she glanced at the clock; the puck was due to drop in less than an hour.

"I am ready," he replied. "I wanted to talk to you guys before the game though since it's going to be so late by the time it ends."

"Well, that's very sweet of you, Hayden," Anna said. "I'll let you talk to Riley." She passed the phone to her son.

"Hi, Hayden," Riley chirped, his demeanor friendly now that his 'good friend Hayden Zimmerman' was on the phone. "I'm watching the game."

Anna chuckled as she listened to her son's side of the conversation. He didn't stop smiling the entire time, although his eyes did get very wide at one point.

"I will," he assured Hayden at that moment. "I promise. I won't fail the test. Math is my favorite." A pause. "Well, hockey is my favorite but they don't teach it in school even though I asked the principal, Mr. Lambert why they don't and he told me it's because they don't have to teach sports but I think he was just mad because he didn't play good..." and he was off and running.

Anna pulled their shared blanket higher up her body, listening to her son talk. He was an unstoppable force once he got going. Hayden would probably have to hang up on him just so he could go change for the game. It surprised her when Riley handed the phone over to her after only another five minutes.

"Are you done talking to Hayden?" she asked as she took the phone from his hand.

"Yup," he said with a smile. "He said he wanted to talk to you."

"Oh. Hello again."

"Hi," Hayden said. "Listen, I told Riley I have a surprise for him before the game starts, so make sure you have the channel changed in time."

Anna laughed. She couldn't imagine what Hayden had planned but she couldn't wait to see. From the way her son was fidgeting on his side of the couch, she figured he was equally as excited.

"I hope this is OK," Hayden went on. "I told Riley I'd bring him something from Disneyland if he passes his math test this week."

Anna scoffed at that. "Riley always passes his math tests. He can probably balance my checkbook faster than I can."

Hayden's deep laughter filled her ear and she shivered, clenching her fist on the blanket around her middle. "I know, that's why I made the deal."

"You're just a big softie, aren't you?" Anna commented, amazed that this man knew enough about her son after a few weeks to make a deal like that; a deal Riley could easily handle.

"What do you mean?" Hayden asked.

"I mean, you play hockey and you hit other guys into the boards," Anna said. "You shoot the puck faster than I can see most times and you probably curse like a sailor in the locker room." Hayden laughed again and Anna paused a moment to savor the sound. "But under all that, you're just a big, soft... softie."

"Don't tell anyone else, all right?" Hayden asked.

"Too late," Anna replied. "Riley heard the whole thing."

Riley was giving her a look and when she glanced up, she was treated to the classic eye roll. She nudged him with one foot and he giggled, inching away from her.

"I can't wait to get home," Hayden said after a moment. "I'm tired of hotel rooms."

"I should think it would be nothing at all for you to go away," Anna replied. "Haven't you been in the NHL for ten years or something?"

"Ouch. You don't even know my stats?"

"Mo-om!" Riley added from right in front of her. "Hayden's been in the NHL since the '02-'03 season."

"Sorry, sorry," she apologized and laughed. "I'm not as well-versed as Riley."

"I'll forgive you this time," Hayden said. "But you'll have to make it up to me."

"Hmm, sounds interesting," Anna replied.

"You have no idea how interesting," Hayden countered, his voice dangerously low.

"I don't think you should say anything right now," she managed to say, much faster than she thought she'd been capable of.

He chuckled and Anna leaned her head back, squeezing her eyes shut. "I'll let you off the hook but only because I know Riley is sitting right there," he said.

"Thanks," she breathed.

"I'll call you guys tomorrow," he promised. "Have a good night and don't forget to turn to the game early."

"Will do," she agreed and they hung up.

After another half hour, she changed the channel, just as Hayden had asked and they sat back to watch the pre-game interviews. Riley was practically vibrating on his side and Anna resisted the urge to pull him back from the edge of the couch.

"We're here tonight to watch the Red Wings take on the San Jose Sharks on their home ice," the reporter on screen said. He was standing next to the bench at ice level and the players were all circling the rink in the background. Anna recognized him as the reporter who usually covered Red Wings games, either at home or away. "I'm standing down here to get the inside scoop on what's happening with the players. With me is Hayden Zimmerman." The camera panned out to show #40 standing on the ice beside him.

"Welcome, Hayden, and thanks for taking the time to do this interview tonight," the reporter said.

"Thanks for having me," Hayden replied with a smile at the camera.

"Now you guys are coming into this game with a pretty good record," the reporter said. "But your last game wasn't as successful as you'd have liked. Taking into account the fact that this is also one of your longer road trips, how do you think it will affect your game?"

Hayden gave a casual shrug and straightened up, towering over the reporter. Anna felt her stomach clench at the sight of him looking so impressive. It was one thing to see him in person or to see him play from the bleachers, but when he was wearing his gear and skates, standing next to someone in plain clothes, he looked very large.

"I think our chances are as good as any other time," Hayden answered. "Most of the guys had a couple good nights and we had a great practice this morning."

The reporter went on to ask a few more questions about this western conference road trip and about Hayden's point standings so far in the season. He also asked about the schedule since the holiday season was just around the corner. Finally, the reporter grinned at the camera and asked one final question.

"I was told before I got down here that you had something special you wanted to say to someone back home," the reporter said, turning his wide grin on Hayden.

Hayden nodded and faced the camera with a devilish smile. It seemed to Anna as though he was looking straight through the wires and across the miles right into her eyes. "I want to say 'hi' to my good friend Riley. I wanted to tell him to make sure he gets lost of sleep tonight and kicks butt at his next hockey game."

"How old is Riley?" the reporter asked.

"He'll be nine next month and he'd better kick butt in school between now and then or he won't get his present from Disneyland," Hayden replied and winked at the camera.

Beside her, Riley sucked in his breath and then began to bounce up and down on the couch. He shoved his hands against his mouth to contain his screams of delight and Anna laughed at him. On screen, the reporter let Hayden join his teammates at warming up and then a commercial started.

"Calm down, Riley!" Anna ordered with a laugh but Riley was beyond listening.

Eventually he settled down. The excitement must have proved to be too much for him because he was leaning on Anna and yawning before the first period was even half over. As the players skated off the ice, the game was scoreless and Anna told Riley to get ready for bed.

"But Mo-om," he whined, sitting up and facing her. "I want to stay up and watch Hayden score!"

"I don't think so, Riley," Anna said as she glanced at the clock over the television. "It's way past your bedtime already and Hayden told you himself that you had to get lot's of sleep tonight."

At the mention of Hayden and what he'd said on camera before millions of people, Riley perked up. He hugged his mom and ran from the room, thumping up the stairs to do as she'd asked. Left alone on the couch, Anna's eyes went to the television screen where the network was showing highlights from the first period. She winced when they showed a particularly hard hit one of the Sharks had delivered to Hayden. He got up afterward, though it was very slow.

Shaking her head, Anna slid off the couch to go check on her son. It was no use worrying about Hayden now. He was too far away and far too busy for her to fuss over.

I can save all my fussing for when he gets back, she told herself, smiling as she climbed the stairs.

***

It was late on Thursday night when the team returned to Detroit. All the players went their separate ways, heading for their homes in various parts of the city and Hayden wearily drove himself to his own house. He thought of calling Anna but it was already past midnight and he didn't want to wake her or Riley. Besides, he'd spoken to them earlier in the day before his final road trip game in Anaheim.

I'll call tomorrow, he thought and then frowned as he let himself into his house. Shoot, they'll both be in school.

He went around his house, throwing his belongings down here and there and turning the heat on. In the living room, he flopped onto the couch and turned the TV on, leaving the room in darkness. He knew from experience that even though he was so tired, he wouldn't fall asleep right away tonight. In the past, he'd always turned the TV on and fallen asleep on the couch. They had no early morning practice so he could afford to sleep as late as he wanted.

As he flipped through the channels, he thought about Anna and Riley. He'd enjoyed talking to them every day while on the road but listening to Anna's voice at times had left him so aroused he'd been unable to sleep. Of course he'd taken matters into his own hands, so to speak, but it was hardly a suitable substitute for the real thing.

Hmm, I know what I can do tomorrow, he thought, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth. I'll go to their house and surprise them with dinner tomorrow night.

It would be Friday night so there would be no rush to get Riley to sleep, nor would there necessarily be the need to be quiet even when he did. Hayden shook his head at his meandering thoughts.

It really has been too long for me if I'm thinking about seducing a woman while her eight-year old son is in another room, he thought ruefully.

The next day, Hayden took it easy, waking up late and lounging around the house for hours. He showered and dressed before heading out into the cold to drive to Anna and Riley's house. He saw the lights on in the kitchen as he rolled to a stop on the street and wondered if they were already sitting down to dinner.

Damn, he cursed silently as he got out of the car. I'm too late.

Still, he hurried up the front walk and rang the doorbell, eager to see them both after what felt like months. Anna opened the door and grinned when she saw him standing there. Seeing her, even heavily bundled against the chill in a dull grey sweater that hung to below her hips, made Hayden feel warm. He grinned at her and stepped inside as she moved back to let him in. Before he even took his coat off, he swept her into an embrace, laughing when she protested.

"You're freezing!" she yelped, trying to get away from him.

He just held her tighter and turned his face to bury his nose against her neck. Her hair was loose tonight and the ends tickled his nose but he didn't care. He breathed her in and squeezed her, feeling every inch of her against his body and allowing her warmth to seep into his bones.

"I'm sorry," he murmured at last, long after she'd stopped struggling.

"I forgive you," she replied, her voice just as soft.

Hayden pulled back to look into her face and smiled when he saw the flush high in her cheeks. He lifted one hand to cup her cheek, leaning close to kiss her on the mouth. She sighed and he felt his groin tingle in response. Reluctantly, he released her and moved away so he could take his jacket off. She led the way into the kitchen where she was cleaning up and asked if Hayden wanted some coffee or tea.

"What about dinner?" she asked as she reached into an upper cupboard to put some dishes away. "Have you eaten?"

"I'm all right, thanks," he replied and leaned one hip against the counter beside her. "It's awfully quiet here. Is Riley playing next door or something?" he asked, looking around.

"No. A couple of the hockey parents are hosting a sleepover tonight for all the boys on the team," she said and shook her head. "Brave, brave people," she added in a mock-somber tone.

Chuckling, Hayden turned so his backside was resting against the counter and he dropped his hands to hold himself up. "I can't believe someone would volunteer for that."

"I couldn't either," Anna agreed, moving around him to put more dishes away. "Apparently there are three families and they all live on the same street, one or two houses apart from each other. They divided the boys between the three of them so at least it's not twenty eight-year olds crammed into one house for the night."

"That's good," Hayden agreed and then his eyes went wide. "Wait a minute."

"What?" Anna asked, looking at him as she folded the towel in her hands and tucked one end through the handle on the front of the oven.

"Riley's gone for the entire night?" Hayden asked, barely able to hear his own words over the sudden roaring of his blood.

Anna nodded, still smiling at him. Then she seemed to realize what he was trying to get at and color flooded her entire face, spilling onto her neck. Hayden bit back a groan at the sight, wanting nothing more than to bury his face against her skin and lick her everywhere. Something must have shown in his face because Anna's breath caught and she turned away from him.

"Are you s-sure... you don't want... some c-coffee?" she stammered, moving away from him.

Hayden followed, moving to stand directly behind her as she fiddled with the coffee maker on the counter. She started when he pressed himself to her back and Hayden lifted his hands to hold her waist.

"I'm sure I don't want coffee," he murmured, bending low to press his nose to her hair. He nuzzled her and brushed aside her hair until his nose connected with the outer rim of her ear. She shivered and he grinned.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice very faint.

Gently, Hayden applied pressure to her hips and turned her to face him. He lifted his hands to cup her face and he kissed her. It started as a soft brushing of lips and Hayden held himself back from ruthlessly taking all he wanted from her. He didn't want to frighten her, not when she was so obviously nervous. If he had to guess, he'd say she hadn't been with a man since her divorce.

That she was willing, even though she was nervous, made Hayden feel more like a man than he ever had before.

He sucked her lower lip into his mouth for a moment before lifting his lips and smiling at her bewildered expression. "I think you know what I want," he told her.

She blinked at him and then smiled. "Phone sex?" she asked, feigning innocence. "Seems kind of a waste now that you're here anyway. I mean, you'd have to go all the way back home, call me and by then I could be asle-"

Hayden cut her off with another kiss. She parted her lips and he felt the tentative stroke of her tongue against his all the way down in his groin. He slanted his mouth over hers and cupped the back of her head as he took the kiss deeper. Her body melted against him, her arms circling his shoulders where she clung tightly to him. Hayden dropped one of his hands to cup her backside, hauling her right up against his body so she could feel exactly what she was doing to him.

At her gasp, he pulled his mouth from hers and grinned. She was still flushed and her eyes were shut. Hayden lifted his lips to kiss her closed eyelids and her exhalation brushed against his throat, making his cock twitch.

"Where's your bedroom?" he whispered, moving his lips to her ear.

She shivered as he licked the edge of her ear and he moved back to look into her face. "Upstairs," she replied weakly, gesturing with one hand.

Before she could say anything, Hayden bent and swept her into his arms. She squeaked and pressed her palms against his shoulders. It had little effect on his grasp around her waist and under her thighs.

"What are you doing?" she demanded breathlessly. "Put me down before you hurt yourself!"

He frowned down at her, pausing in the kitchen doorway to plant a kiss on her lips. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm too heavy," she told him, averting her gaze as she spoke. "You can't carry me upstairs."

"Why not?" he demanded, continuing on his way. He didn't understand what she was talking about. To him, she was lighter than air. Maybe he was just so eager to have her naked and writhing beneath him that he didn't feel her weight. It didn't matter. In a minute, they were on the second floor and he was glancing in each room before locating the master bedroom.

"Hayden, put me down, please," Anna whispered at him.

For a moment, he refused. He stood just inside her bedroom and looked down at her. Red-faced, Anna turned her nose to his neck and tried to hide herself from him. Chuckling, he kissed her cheek and squeezed her waist and legs where he held her.

"I'll put you down when I'm good and ready, Anna," he told her.

She exhaled, her warm breath sliding over his skin and he swallowed, feeling his groin tighten even more. He moved across the room and stood over her bed.

"Anna," he murmured. "Look at me."

She hesitated a moment before lifting her head to smile shyly at him. He bent his head and kissed her, his tongue sliding between her lips and into her mouth. He slid it over and around her tongue, urging her to join him. With a sigh against his lips, she returned the kiss, her arms tightening around his neck. Her little fingers slid into the hair at the nape of his neck, raising goosebumps all over his body.

Still cradling her close, he bent one knee onto the bed and laid her down. He followed with his body, covering her as he continued to explore her mouth with his tongue. Her arms stayed around his neck, holding him close as he kissed her and he was so glad she wasn't pushing him off. Her body was so soft, sinking into her bedcovers and Hayden wanted to rub his body all over hers.

Moving his hands, he tried to pull her shirt up. Instead, he encountered her heavy, shapeless grey sweater and growled in frustration. Lifting his head, he looked down between them and glanced into her shining hazel-grey eyes as she giggled.

"What's so funny?" he demanded, moving over her to kiss her deeply before she had a chance to reply.

Her fingers tightened against the back of his neck and he slid one arm beneath her waist, sweater and all. He moved one leg over her, pressing his body down and swallowed her moan when she felt all his hard length against her stomach. He gently bit down on her lower lip before lifting his head again.




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 02



"Still funny?" he asked with a grin.

Her gaze was cloudy and her lips already swollen red from his kisses. She shook her head at his question and he nodded in satisfaction. Shifting, he moved enough so that he could push her sweater off. She wriggled, half-sitting up to take it off altogether. Underneath, he noticed for the first time that she was wearing dark jeans and a short-sleeved lavender blouse that wasn't tucked into her pants.

Hayden flicked his eyes to her face before sliding his hands up underneath the hem of her shirt. She sucked in a breath, her eyes going dark in an instant. She began to tremble as his fingertips danced over the skin of her abdomen. Her flesh dipped beneath the gentle pressure of his hands and he loved the feeling of her body giving way under his touch. Still looking into her face, he pulled one hand out to tug at the buttons down the front of her shirt.

When he reached the fourth button, Anna's hand dropped to his, stilling the motion. Curious, Hayden stopped at her silent plea and waited calmly as her throat worked. He could tell she wanted to say something but was having trouble. He could be patient; he had all night.

"I don't want... you to... be disappointed," she said, hesitating over her words.

"Have you forgotten that I've already seen you without your shirt?" he asked playfully.

She laughed and nodded. "I remember," she assured him. "I just... we didn't do... anything else that night. You don't know... how I look. How I... how the rest of me looks."

"Anna," he murmured, dropping another kiss on her ruby-red lips before continuing. "Anna, you're gorgeous."

"Please, Hayden," she replied as she rolled her eyes and tried to twist out from under him. He refused to let her, resting more of his weight on her and removing his other hand from her shirt to cup her face.

"Anna, I mean it," he said. "To me, you are beautiful. I wish you could see what I see. I wish you knew what you do to me."

She blushed a deeper red and he smiled, kissing her heated cheeks. "All week I've been sleeping terribly because I can't stop thinking about you," he confessed. "I probably should have had twice as many points in those games but I just... wasn't sleeping."

Anna grinned, her eyes sparkling in the dim light of her room. It was then that Hayden noticed the only light coming into the room was from the street light outside. "Sorry about that," she whispered to him.

"Don't be sorry," he replied and grinned wickedly. "Unless you feel the need to make up for it?"

She giggled and Hayden lowered himself again to kiss her and feel her against every part of his body.

"All right," she murmured when he lifted his head. "I'll make up for all your lost sleep."

"Thank God," he groaned and lowered his head to press kisses to her throat.

Her laughter quickly turned to moans as he licked the warm skin along her neck. He lapped at the pulse points, ecstatic that he was the one making her heart pound so frantically. It was the least he could do since a simple look or a single laugh from her was enough to make him hard.

He moved his hand to her shirt to continue to undress her and this time she helped him. Their fingers tangled together and he nipped at her throat before ordering her to let him do it. She laughed and continued to interfere. At last, he managed to get the buttons undone and eagerly pushed the blouse down her arms. She arched against him, pulling and pushing to help him take the shirt off. Sitting up, she reached behind her to unclasp her bra. Hayden paused and watched hungrily as she pulled the garment down her arms and dropped it over the side of the bed.

"What?" she asked in a timid voice.

Hayden dragged his eyes up to her face and smiled when he saw her nervously gnawing on her bottom lip. He cupped the back of her head with one hand and kissed her, sucking her lip into his mouth and licking the spot she'd been chewing. With his other hand, he smoothed his palm up her side, over her ribcage and stopped when he felt the plush weight of her breast. He lapped at the corners of her mouth when she made a noise and he cupped her breast in his hand, squeezing the delightful globe. While she clung to his shoulders, her fingers wrinkling the shirt he was wearing, he began to rotate his thumb in tiny circles over the skin of her breast. He circled closer and closer to the taut nipple, stopping just short of the tip.

"Hayden," Anna moaned and wrenched her mouth away from his. Her head fell back and he watched in fascination as the muscles in her throat worked. His eyes went to the fluttering pulse point under her chin and he leaned forward to suck on it. She gasped, her hands sliding over his shoulders to his back and she arched against him.

He stroked his thumb over her nipple then, holding her as she jumped in his arms at the contact. He did it again, gliding his tongue over her throat as he did. She jerked against him and with a groan, he lowered her to the bed. Before she could move, he moved his other hand down to hold her other breast. He watched his own hands move over her skin, grinning when he saw the nipples pearl into hard little nubs. Then he lowered his mouth and sucked one delightful tip into his mouth.

Her gasp was loud in the dark room and Hayden felt her hands move from his back to the back of his head. Her fingers tangled in his hair and she pressed him closer, lifting her body in silent supplication.

"Oh God, Hayden," she breathed. "That feels..."

Hayden was torn between looking up into her face and continuing with his attentions to her perky nipples. He reminded himself again that he had all night and lifted his head. As he met her wide-eyed gaze, he moved his hands to cover each breast and rotated the pads of his thumbs over her nipples. Her eyelids fluttered as he watched her face and he lifted his thumbs so he was just barely touching the very tips.

"It feels... what?" he asked, stroking again.

She bit her lower lip and squeezed her eyes shut as he continued to play with her. Her breath was coming quickly now and she was trembling all over.

"Anna?" he prompted, pausing to pinch her nipples between thumbs and fingers. "What does it feel like?"

"Oh God," she hissed and arched under his touch. "It feels... good. So... good."

Hayden chuckled at her simple description but he was elated that it was all she could manage. With one more quick glance at her tortured expression, he moved his hands and lowered his head to suckle at her nipples again. While he sucked on one, he played with the other between his fingers. She was breathing hard, rising to his touch and squirming underneath him. When her thighs continuously brushed against his rigid cock, he groaned and moved away.

"What?" she gasped out and lifted her head to stare at him with dazed eyes.

"You're killing me," he growled.

"I'm killing you?" she asked and laughed, dropping her head back to her pillows.

Hayden ignored her question and continued to stroke her body. He cupped her breasts and rubbed his thumbs around the taut peaks before sliding one hand lower. Laying his palm flat against her rib cage, he slid his hand down to her hip then slowly back up again. He moved inward then, just tickling the underside of her breast before smoothing down the center of her belly. He stopped with his hand over her belly button and looked up into her face.

She was flushed and had one hand pressed to her cheek, as though she could draw down her temperature with the touch. Grinning, Hayden lowered his head to blow hot breath against her stomach. She jerked beneath his touch and his lips brushed her skin. Moving down, he trailed kisses from the underside of her breasts to the spot just under her belly button. He parted his hands and slid them around her waist to cup the swell of her bottom over her jeans.

"Hayden..." she said his name with a touch of nervousness in her voice.

"It's all right, Anna," he murmured. "I'll go slow."

She laughed, though it sounded somewhat strained to Hayden. Chuckling, he continued to kiss and tease the skin of her lower abdomen with his tongue. He slipped inside her belly button, moving his hands again to press his thumbs into the soft flesh. Her body dipped and slid under the gentle pressure he applied and he grinned against her skin, loving the sensation.

While laving her stomach with his tongue, he slipped one hand lower, tucking a single finger under the waist of her jeans. She shivered at the touch but didn't say anything. Hayden looked up at her face and chuckled again when he saw her throw an arm over her eyes.

"Anna," he murmured, moving up and bracing himself on his arms while he looked down into her face. "Anna, open your eyes."

"Why?"

"Because I want to look into your eyes," he replied and pressed a kiss to her lips, tracing her upper lip with the tip of his tongue. "I want to see your beautiful eyes."

A breathless laugh escaped her but she moved her arm, sliding it over her head and blinking at him. He kissed her again, keeping his gaze on hers as he did.

"Why are you hiding from me?" he asked.

"I'm not hiding," she replied.

"Yes, you are," he countered. "You're beautiful. I already told you."

She blushed and Hayden felt the heat spread all across her skin. "I think I believe you."

"Then what's wrong?" he asked, wanting to know what was still bothering her.

Sighing, she shrugged one shoulder. She put her hands on his arms and squeezed his biceps. "It's just... it's been a long time," she told him. "Since I've been with a man."

"I know," he murmured and kissed her cheek, sliding his lips across her skin to tug on her ear lobe.

Giving another sigh, she dug her fingertips into his arms and turned her head to give him full access to her. "I've never been with a man," she whispered. "Other than my ex-husband."

Drawing back, Hayden looked into her eyes, seeing the apprehension there. She was absently chewing on her bottom lip again and Hayden lifted a finger to trace her mouth. Under his touch, she relaxed and smiled.

"So?" he asked.

"So... I don't want to... disappoint you," she confessed.

"Oh, Anna," he murmured and slipped his arms around her back to bring their bodies close together again. "You could never disappoint me." Pausing, he swept her half-naked form with his eyes before meeting her gaze again. "You've already far exceeded my expectations."

"Really?" She sounded truly amazed.

"Really," he agreed.

She smiled and circled his shoulders with her arms, drawing him closer for a hug. He went with her, letting some of his weight rest against her body and he turned his head to her hair, inhaling. She nuzzled her nose against his neck and pressed a kiss to the underside of his chin.

"Thank you, Hayden," she said.

"You don't have to thank me," he replied and meant it.

"I want to," she told him. "You make me feel so amazing."

"You are amazing." He lifted his head and grinned at her. "So can I finish undressing you now?"

Her eyes dancing, she bit her lower lip as she nodded her head. Hayden could have shouted his relief to the heavens but instead he merely brought their lips together, devouring her with one slow stroke of his tongue at a time.



A Feel For The Ice Ch. 03



I don't deserve this, Anna thought as Hayden kissed her. I don't deserve a man like this, speaking these words to me and setting my body on fire.

A moan escaped her lips as he slipped one hand between them to squeeze her breast. She twisted under the weight of his body, so hot and wanting to feel more of him. She ran her palms down his back and clutched his shirt in both hands. With a sharp yank, she pulled his shirt from his pants so that she could get her hands underneath. When she touched the hot skin sliding over his taut muscles, she moaned again.

"Anna," Hayden hissed her name as she slid one hand around to his front. "I'm supposed to be undressing you."

She giggled, feeling like a carefree teenager again. Hayden made her feel young and beautiful, something she'd never really felt in her entire life. "So undress me," she replied playfully and shivered when his dark eyes narrowed.

He pushed himself onto his hands and knees and Anna gazed up at him, both her hands on his hips now. He raked her half-naked body with his eyes and Anna swallowed at the lust burning in his gaze. One of his hands slid down her side and around to her stomach. She caught her breath as he pressed his thumb into her belly button. Before she knew what was happening, he flicked open the button on her jeans and separated the zipper with ease.

Oh shit, she thought, her mind whirling.

With a wicked, wicked grin, Hayden shifted to her side and ran his palm along her stomach, below her belly button and just above the line of her jeans and panties. On the second pass, he slipped his pinkie finger beneath the clothing and she felt the warmth of his touch deep inside. He continued to run his hand back and forth over her belly, teasing her with his lower two fingers. Then he leaned over her, capturing one erect nipple in his mouth as he slid his hand into her jeans, inside her panties and down to cup her where she felt him the most.

Her mouth opened on a silent cry as he separated her moist folds and stroked her. Her body jumped under his touch and her pulse began to race with renewed energy. The blood pounded in her ears and he stroked her again. His breath was hot as he moved to her other breast, his body pressing into her side and his arm flexing as he pushed further between her legs. One finger teased her opening and she moaned.

His mouth disappeared from her breast and she felt his breath tickling her ribs before moving lower. He moved his hand from her clothes and grasped her jeans and panties at her hips. She knew what was coming and her body reacted instinctively, her hips coming up off the bed as he slid the pants over her legs. His hands singed a path down her legs and she shivered as the cool air touched her everywhere. Hayden knelt near her feet and pulled off her socks, the last of her clothing.

With her naked before him, he lifted her leg and planted a kiss to the inside of her left ankle. She raised her head to watch him as he repeated the caress on her right leg. He moved between her legs as he kissed higher up on her calf. He inched up her body, leaving hot, moist kisses on the skin of her legs, his fingers caressing the backs of her knees and lifting goosebumps over every inch of her body.

His breath was higher between her legs in the next moment and she bit down hard on her lower lip to keep from making any embarrassing noises. His hands were gentle and she concentrated on breathing as his fingers brushed through her damp curls. Then he parted her lips and dragged one finger through the moisture there. She shuddered, unconsciously squeezing her legs together.

"Anna," Hayden's voice was soft and rolled through her like a wave. His hand was still between her thighs, his fingers still sliding between her folds. "Anna, love, I promise not to hurt you."

His words made her open her eyes to stare at him. She thought he must mean he wasn't going to hurt her in bed. It was a tiny concern in the back of her mind when compared with all the others; that he might physically cause discomfort just because it had been so long for her. But as she looked into his dark eyes, and saw the gentle smile on his handsome face, she realized he meant more than that.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak and felt her insides turn to liquid fire when his smile turned devilish. He lowered himself quickly then, her thighs relaxing on either side of him and Anna felt his hot breath a moment before his tongue slid up inside of her.

She gasped and bucked up off the bed. His hands clamped down on her hips, holding her in place and she worked her fingers around her bedspread, clutching frantically at it. A long-forgotten tingle started in her toes and rushed through her body in the next second. She trembled as Hayden shifted, moving his hands to hold her open to his lips and tongue. His breath was so hot on her, seeping deep inside her body. He rubbed his thumb over that one spot, then again, then a third time as he dragged his tongue through her wetness.

"Oh God," she moaned and arched off the bed, the tingling spreading. 

She moved one hand up to slide her fingers through his dark hair, unaware of what she was doing. Her eyes may have been open but she couldn't be sure if the stars she was seeing were real or imagined. All the while, Hayden's lips and tongue and fingers didn't stop moving. He stroked and teased her, delved inside and lapped at her. She gasped and moaned, wondering if the noises in the room were all coming from her.

Then Hayden slid his tongue inside her again as he pressed his fingers down on just the right spot and Anna felt her body explode. She cried out, her fingers tightening on his head and her thighs tensing around him. He held her, unrelenting in his exploration, tonguing her while she sailed through her orgasm. He didn't even let her come down before moving his mouth and sliding two fingers inside of her.

"Hayden," she moaned his name and threw her arms wide on either side of her, gathering the bedspread in her hands again. "Oh God, Hayden, please!"

He chuckled, the warm reverberation sending more shock-waves through her body. At last he released her, pulling her thighs together and kneeling beside her. She stared up at him, breathing hard and smiled when he ran the back of his hand down her cheek. Her eyes slid down his body and she reached for his arms, pulling herself up.

"You're still dressed," she complained and pulled at the front of his shirt.

Chuckling, he held his arms up as she commanded and she lifted his shirt over his head, throwing the garment to the floor. Greeted by the site of his broad chest, covered with a light layer of coarse brown hair, Anna couldn't help the giddy grin that spread across her face. She splayed her hands out on his chest, sliding her palms over the firm muscles and groaning inwardly when he flexed for her.

"Better?" he asked and she was glad that his voice came out sounding strained.

"Not quite," she replied and winked at him. She didn't know what had come over her but she suspected it had something to do with what he'd just made her feel.

Anna moved her hands lower, dragging her fingers over his nipples and across his firm abs. Clutching the waist of his pants, she released the button and pushed her hand inside, cupping him over his underwear. He groaned and his hands closed around her upper arms. Smiling innocently, Anna looked up into his face, gratified to see the tension in his jaw. She squeezed him, delighting in the heavy warmth against her palm.

"Anna, please," he ground out from behind clenched teeth.

She scoffed at him and gave him another light squeeze. He grabbed her wrist and tugged her hand out of his pants. "You got to play with me," she whined playfully.

"I know," he agreed and rolled so he could push his pants and underwear off, along with his socks.

Anna rolled over on top of him, loving the feeling of his body naked alongside hers. She reached up and touched his face, running her fingertips along the contours of his eyebrows, cheek and nose. Pausing at his lips, she parted her own and slid her tongue along her bottom lip. Hayden made a low noise in his throat before drawing her close and kissing her. Anna draped herself over his chest and kissed him back, eagerly thrusting her tongue against his.

His kisses made her feel intoxicated. She would gladly give up her job to trail around after Hayden, if he would allow her to continue with this; sliding her lips over his and stroking his tongue with hers. His hand swept her hair up from her neck and he held it in a messy bundle at the back of her head as he wrenched his lips from hers. She stared down at him, her vision a little blurry around the edges.

"Anna," he murmured her name, his accent thick and drawing out the two syllables of her name like a caress.

He pressed her down and licked the skin just under her ear. Anna sighed, turning her head and giving him all the access he desired. He sucked on her ear lobe for a second before moving down, dragging his lips over her flushed skin. His tongue dipped into the hollow at the front of her throat and she sighed, her hands fisting in the bedcovers by his head.

Quicker than she could process, Hayden rolled them over, tucking her under his body. One of his thighs slid between hers and she groaned at the broad, muscled feel of his leg. He shifted again and she felt another muscle press against her skin, something hotter and more demanding.

"Anna," he breathed her name again, his mouth close to her ear.

She shivered and arched off the bed as his hand slid down her ribs and around to her backside. He cupped her bottom in one hand and squeezed as he sucked on the pulse point just under her chin. Shifting, she jerked when his tongue flicked out to graze her sensitive skin in a single, hot stroke. He groaned when her movement squeezed his erection between them. She did it again, this time fully aware of her affect on him.

His mouth lifted from her skin and he inhaled rapidly for a few moments, his hands stilling on her body. Anna moved again, wanting desperately to feel him touching her again. She wanted to see him lose control like he'd done to her. From the way his breath was rushing out, she guessed he was close.

"Hayden," she murmured and turned her head to lick the sweaty skin of his throat. She wriggled, shoving a hand between them, seeking. A moment later she found what she wanted and closed her fingers around his generous size.

His hand on her bottom squeezed again before sliding lower, under her thigh and in. His fingers brushed against her molten center before he hooked his hand around her leg and lifted. As he did that, his thigh nudged hers further apart and she found herself spread open before him.

Both her hands went to his arms, holding on tight as he moved until he was nestled between her legs, his cock brushing against her wet core. Her eyes widened when she felt the head slide between her lips. Hayden lifted one hand to brush the hair from her face as his body continued to move almost imperceptibly over hers.

"Anna," he whispered her name before pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. "Anna."

Over and over he whispered her name, his hips thrusting against hers, but he wasn't pushing into her. His voice broke one moment before he dissolved into a language she didn't understand. All she knew was that he was breathing hard and every so often, her name slipped from his lips.

"Hayden," she whispered, pressing the tips of her fingers into his muscled arms. "Hayden, please. I want you. I need you... inside of me."

His eyes narrowed and he kissed her hungrily, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth as his solid length split her open. Her breath caught in her throat at the sudden, unexpected discomfort. Hayden must have heard it in her breathing or felt her tense up beneath him because he froze. His kiss turned gentle and his eyes were soft as he gazed into her face.

"Anna," he rasped out. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," she managed to gasp. "I'm fine. I just... it just caught me by surprise."

He nodded, keeping still over her, though Anna could feel him start to tremble with the force of holding back. That he cared enough to worry more about her than his own pleasure brought tears to her eyes. She blinked them back, breathing deeply. She realized then that she cared more for this man than she'd suspected. Biting her lip, she looked into his eyes and lifted her hips, forcing more of him inside of her.

He groaned, shaking more noticeably now. His muscles vibrated beneath her hands and he dropped his forehead to rest against hers, his eyes shut tight. "Anna, please," he pleaded and added something in Swedish that sounded like a similar entreaty.

"Hayden," she replied, lifting her hips again until they both moaned. "Make love to me."

His eyes flew open to look into hers.

"Please," she added, barely above a whisper.

Exhaling, Hayden lifted his head as he moved his body, burying himself deep inside of her. They groaned together at the sensation of him filling her so completely. The discomfort she'd felt faded to the background and all Anna was left with was exquisite heat. It swept her up and blanked her mind. She forgot about how it felt to worry that her body wasn't good enough or that her life was too complicated. She felt only Hayden's body around her, inside of her and his heart pounding against her chest.

"Anna," he groaned her name as he moved inside of her.

His movements were slow and deliberate. He drew out of her almost all the way and pushed slowly back in. Anna clawed at his shoulders as he tortured her with a deep kiss and repeated the motion of his hips again and again. He tangled his tongue around hers and thrust again, moving faster at one moment and then slower the next. He was killing her, one hot minute at a time.

Then she felt the shift in him, like a dam breaking. He lifted his mouth from hers and dropped his forehead to her collarbone as his movements became more erratic. His breathing was harsh and warm against her skin. She sucked in a breath as he licked her skin, coupling it with a firm squeeze of her thigh, where he hadn't moved his hand from since entering her body. Lifting her hips, she tried to meet his pounding thrusts but something coiled deep in her belly and she cried out, seeing those stars again.

With a growl, Hayden lifted himself over her, staring into her eyes as he thrust into her over and over. Anna looked into his face and shivered through her climax, feeling ripped open by the desire in his eyes. Another wave wracked her body and she arched under him, wailing and clutching at his shoulders.

"Hayden!" she cried his name and felt his body tense around her.

With a groan, he pushed into her for a few more seconds and then relaxed, covering her body with his. Anna held him close, weak and overheated. Hayden turned his head to press a kiss to her neck, a sensitive spot that Anna suspected would bear a dark mark come morning.

With a sigh, she decided it was a small price to pay for what Hayden had done to her, for the reawakening he'd given her.

***

When Hayden stirred sometime during the night, the room was dark and he was warm beneath the covers with Anna. He rolled over and curled his body around hers, smiling when she shimmied her body back to settle closer to him. It didn't take long for the rest of his body to wake up and she stirred, murmuring something in a husky voice as she woke.

Hayden didn't say anything. Instead, he ran his hand up her side, from her naked hip to the underside of her breast. He felt her shiver and press more firmly against him and that was all the encouragement he needed. Shifting, he hooked his arms around her and rolled her underneath him. She turned her face towards him and sighed as his lips brushed against hers.

"It's not morning already, is it?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

Chuckling, he dropped another kiss on her lips, teasing the corner of her mouth with the tip of his tongue. "No, it's not," he replied. "But I can't wait until morning before having you again."

With that, he sealed their lips together, plunging his tongue into her mouth. Her hands came up to his shoulders, holding on weakly as he ran his hands all over her body. She rose to his touch, sighing into his mouth and when he stroked between her legs, she was already damp with desire. Growling low in his throat, Hayden continued to plunder her mouth while drawing delightful noises from her as he slid his fingers all through her silken heat.

This time was different. Hours before he'd been practically out of his mind with wanting her. It amazed him that he'd been able to hold back for so long, committing himself to her pleasure first. Then he'd driven himself inside of her, making her cry out in pain. That sound had cut right through him. He'd never wanted to hurt her, not for anything. She'd gradually adjusted to him and their love-making had ended on a wildly satisfied note.

Now, Hayden wanted to ensure there was no pain, no discomfort. From the way she was whimpering and rising under his hands, he thought they were already well on their way to that end. So he pushed his fingers up inside of her and grinned against her lips when she groaned.

He worked her into a frenzy, delighting in all the sounds she made and the way she pleaded with him. When he moved between her thighs to slide his aching erection inside of her, he kissed her face all over and murmured her name. He moved inside without hurry, watching her face and waiting for any sign that it wasn't complete pleasure for her. Her mouth hung open and her eyes widened but she smiled as her hands slid down his sides until she was cupping his ass.

Grinning in return, Hayden pushed further in, swallowing hard as he felt all her tight heat surrounding him. He kept his movements slow for a minute, wanting to draw it out for both of them. With a wink, he reached between their bodies and rubbed her just above where they were joined. She gasped and arched under him, pressing her naked breasts against his chest. Shifting his gaze, Hayden lowered his head and covered one nipple with his mouth. He tasted her sweet flavor, a musky lingering scent of sweat and sleep, and he sucked hard on her for a moment. She gasped again, higher this time and close to his ear. His name dropped from her lips in the next second and he felt her tighten all around him. Her fingers pressed harder into his ass cheeks and her back came right off the bed as she came.

Pleased that she could let go with him, Hayden lifted his head to kiss her mouth. Her tongue traced his lips and he slipped his inside, teasing her and playing with her as his movements went faster. He couldn't hold back for much longer. It was a miracle that he'd even lasted this long. At her first touch, he'd been ready to blow and now that he felt the continuing pulse of her orgasm from deep inside, he couldn't stand it any longer.

Raising himself over her and resting his hands on either side of her face, he pushed his hips against her faster, sliding deeper with each thrust. Her legs bent around his sides and she held him close, her breathing ragged. Their eyes met as he pushed again, burying himself as deep as he could. In the inky black of the room, Hayden couldn't see the shimmering grey of her eyes but she smiled at him, her eyelids sweeping low and he lost it.

Thrusting hard and fast, he rode the crest of his climax, grunting with the force of letting go. She held him close, pressing moist kisses to his throat as he came and settled into his embrace as he moved himself beside her. He kissed her temple, sniffing when her wild hair tickled his nose.

Giggling, Anna lifted her head and ran a hand between them, sweeping her hair out of his face. She settled back against him, her flushed cheek warm against his bare chest. His heartbeat was still out of control and he smiled as she ran her fingers through the curls on his chest.




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 03



"Sorry," he murmured and kissed her forehead.

"For what?"

"For waking you," he replied and yawned, sinking back towards sleep.

"Hayden, if you wake me for that, there's nothing to be sorry for," she told him and turned her face to kiss his chest.

He shivered at the feeling and gathered her close, inhaling her womanly scent. Together they drifted back to sleep.

***

When Hayden woke up the next time, he was alone in bed. He sat up and looked around, blinking blearily as he came awake. He thought he heard water running but it stopped almost as soon as he heard it. Throwing the covers back, he reached for his discarded pants and pulled them on before walking out into the hall. He located the washroom first and after taking care of nature's urges, he crept down the hallway towards the stairs.

He was cautious, not sure if Riley would be home already. At the top of the staircase, he stopped, listening for the familiar sound of Riley's chatter or stomping feet. Hayden heard what sounded like a pot banging and slippered feet shuffling across the floor. Satisfied that he was still alone in the house with Anna, Hayden moved downstairs and into the kitchen, smiling when he found Anna cooking breakfast in her bathrobe and slippers. She was humming and hadn't noticed him yet.

"Good morning, Anna," he said and moved across the kitchen towards her.

She whirled around, a butter knife in hand and blushed when she saw him shirtless in front of her. Her gaze flicked to his bare chest before moving back to his face and he grinned when her hazel-grey eyes darkened. Moving closer, he slipped his arms around her waist and bent his head to kiss her.

"How did you sleep?" he asked, pulling back just far enough so that all he could see were her beautiful eyes.

"Pretty good," she replied and smiled. "You?"

"Best sleep I've had in weeks," he said.

Her blush deepened but she giggled like a young girl before kissing him again. He released her and stood aside as she continued to make a breakfast of toast and some sort of egg scramble with green onions, tomatoes and colorful bell peppers.

"Wow, that smells amazing," he said, inhaling the sharp scents with a smile.

"Hopefully it tastes amazing as well," she replied with a sideways glance at him. "Are you just going to stand there and watch or are you going to help?"

At her playful tone, he lifted his eyebrows, stepping close to her side. She jumped as he put his arms around her and buried his face in her neck; she'd pulled her unruly locks into a ponytail and Hayden took the opportunity to savor her. She sighed and let him, something that made Hayden grin. He planted one more kiss to her soft, warm skin and stepped back.

"What would you like me to do?" he asked.

She directed him towards the dishes in the cupboard and had him get the juice out of the fridge. A few minutes later they were both sitting at the table, munching on breakfast. Hayden downed his quickly and went back for seconds, making Anna laugh.

"I'm a growing boy," was his simple reply.

They chatted about their time apart. Hayden filled Anna in on their road trip out west, telling her about his roommate and his trip to Disneyland with a few of the guys. It had been a short trip, only a few hours, but Hayden assured Anna that he'd picked up something he was sure Riley would like.

"When is Riley coming home?" Hayden asked after he stopped stuffing food in his mouth. He swallowed the last of his juice and relaxed back in his chair as Anna finished her breakfast.

"I have to go pick him up around noon," Anna answered.

"Can I come along?"

Anna's eyebrows went up and she took a sip of her juice before responding. "Don't you have practice today?"

Hayden's mind ran through his schedule and he recalled that yes, he did have practice later in the afternoon. The team's next game wasn't until the following evening. "I don't have practice until later," he told Anna. "I'd like to come with you to see Riley."

"Really?"

"Of course," he replied and smiled as he thought of his little friend. "I missed him over the past ten days as well. Plus, I need to make sure he's keeping up in school and hockey."

Laughing, Anna stood up from the table and carried her dishes to the sink. "I'm sure he'd love to see you, too," she told him. "He would probably love the opportunity to show you off to his friends." She glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled. "Are you sure you're up for that? Twenty-some eight and nine-year olds, plus their parents, gawking and asking for autographs?"

"I can handle it," Hayden replied with a dismissive wave.

"Well, I can't wait to see you try," Anna said with a playful smirk.

Grinning, Hayden jumped up from his chair and pinned her against the counter. She spun around in his arms, giving a little squeak of surprise. Before she could utter another sound, he covered her mouth with his. She sighed into his mouth and he felt his groin tighten. Pulling back, he grinned down at her, taking in her flushed cheeks and bright eyes.

"So... when do we have to leave to get Riley?" he asked.

"We don't have to leave until eleven or so," she replied, blinking in confusion.

Hayden's eyes took in the current time over the stove and he was elated to find that they had two more hours. With a growl, he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to her bedroom to make the most of that time.

***

Anna wasn't sure how Riley might react when he saw both his mother and Hayden Zimmerman. She chewed on her bottom lip as she drove to pick up her son later that morning. Her body was still lit up from Hayden's attentions following breakfast. It brought a blush to her cheeks as she recalled all that had passed between them in the last twelve hours. She heard a low chuckle from the passenger seat and glanced sideways at the very man who'd turned her on so repeatedly.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm just wondering what you're smiling about," he replied and gave her a wink that told her he knew exactly what she was smiling about.

"Don't make me hurt you," she muttered non-threateningly at him. He chuckled again and faced forward.

They didn't say much on the rest of the drive. In another few minutes, Anna was pulling up in front of the house where Riley had spent the night. The front yard of the house was crawling with members of the hockey team. They were rolling around in the snow and chucking snowballs at each other. A few parents stood by watching and making sure no one got hurt.

Anna didn't open her door right away. Instead she glanced over at Hayden and started chewing on her bottom lip again. He met her gaze and smiled, reaching over to take her hand in his.

"Don't worry," he said. Then he leaned across the space between them and kissed her on the lips before she could protest. "Riley will be all right."

Nodding, and flushed from his kiss, Anna turned to get out of the car. She walked across the sidewalk and smiled a greeting at James Gallagher, one of the host fathers. He grinned at her and then pointed out her son, covered at the moment with a mountain of snow. Riley was sputtering with laughter as another teammate dumped a handful of snow over his dark head.

"Oh wow," Anna breathed and laughed. "Looks like they're having a good time."

"They are," James agreed and sipped at his steaming mug of coffee. "Have been all night, too."

Anna grinned at him and jumped when she felt Hayden slip his hand around her fingers. She noticed James' eyes move to Hayden along with the gazes of the other parents gathered around. Half-turning to Hayden, she returned his smile and introduced him to everyone. "This is Hayden Zimmerman," she said.

For a moment, no one said anything or moved. Then Riley noticed his 'good friend' had arrived and shoved his friends away so he could get up.

"Hayden!" he cried and flew at Hayden, hugging the hockey star around the waist. He turned his flushed face up and blinked snowflakes out of his eyes. "I'm so excited you're here!"

"Wow, thanks, kiddo," Hayden replied, clearly pleased by the eight-year old's greeting. He bent over and detached Riley's arms from around him. "I'm glad to see you, too."

"How was your road trip?" Riley asked as he stared up at his hero. "I watched some of your games and I saw you scoring lots on some nights but not on others and I was scared that you hurt yourself that one game but then you called so I knew it was OK and my mom told me you were probably OK so that's good-"

"Riley, give Hayden a second to breath," Anna scolded but she was grinning as she said it. She loved listening to her son's rapid-fire speech and enjoyed watching Hayden try to absorb it all. To the man's credit, he did his best to nod and respond whenever Riley drew a breath, which wasn't often.

"Oh gosh, you have to meet my friends!" Riley exclaimed and grabbed Hayden's hand as he began to jump up and down. "Can you come meet them?"

Anna glanced around to see most of the parents and kids were pretty much standing and staring at them anyway. She smiled sheepishly at the grown-ups as Riley tugged Hayden's hand, leading him across the snowy lawn to meet his teammates. As the kids crowded around, Hayden crouched down to speak to them all at eye level. Anna's heart warmed at the sight. He had such patience, not only with her own hyperactive child, but with all the kids.

"Anna," someone's voice spoke at her elbow and she turned to see Elaine, James' wife. She was smiling but her eyes were on Hayden and the kids. "How on earth did you meet Hayden Zimmerman?"

Laughing, Anna gave her the short version and left out the romance. "He's kept in touch with Riley for weeks now and they're good pals," Anna concluded. "When Hayden came over, he insisted on coming with me to pick up Riley.

Elaine lifted her eyebrows at Anna's words and her expression had Anna blushing. "He sure seems to like the boys," Elaine commented, her eyes going back to the scene on the lawn. "Though I've never known an NHL player to go to all this trouble for some random kid."

Anna's immediate instinct was to say that Riley was not just 'some random kid' but as she opened her mouth to speak, she realized what that would mean. She met Elaine's curious gaze and shrugged, unsure at this point how she wanted to classify her relationship with Hayden. She decided that at the very least, it was no one's business what went on between the three of them anyway.

"Well, Hayden's a nice guy and I know Riley sure likes spending time with him," Anna replied, going for something at least vaguely honest.

"Hmm," was all the response Elaine gave her.

Sighing, Anna turned back to Riley and Hayden, still surrounded by the other children. "Come on, Riley," she called. "It's time to go. Say good-bye to everyone and thank Mr. Gallagher for having you."

Riley nodded and pulled Hayden along behind him as they walked towards the adults on the sidewalk. "Thanks, Mr. Gallagher," Riley said as he looked up at James.

"No problem, sport," James replied with a grin. "And it was nice to meet you, Hayden." He held his hand out towards Hayden, who shook it with a smile of his own. "You make sure you remember to keep your head up next time, Riley."

Riley nodded enthusiastically before reaching for his mother's hand and turning with her towards their waiting vehicle. Riley chattered non-stop on the drive back to their house and Hayden did his best to answer when he was required, throwing Anna smiling eye-rolls every so often. When they pulled up in front of their house, Anna helped Riley down and then went around to the trunk to grab his bags. Hayden followed Riley up towards the house, the boy still talking a mile a minute.

"...And then the puck hit the post and I was so mad that it missed and did you know that it makes that sound like a doorbell that's kind of broken but you hear it anyway?" Riley was saying as Anna trudged up the walk and handed the house key over to Hayden to unlock the door.

"Yeah, I know the sound," Hayden agreed as he opened the door and turned to take the bags from Anna.

"Well, it made that sound and I knew I'd missed but it was OK because I had another chance in the next period and-"

"Riley, sweetie," Anna interrupted her son with a firm voice. "Give Hayden a minute to rest! Take your coat off and go wash your hands. I'll start making lunch."

"OK!" Riley agreed and rushed off to do as she asked, dumping his jacket on the hall floor.

Laughing, Anna bent over to pick it up. A second later, Riley reappeared and hurried to his mom's side, grabbing her hand in both of his. "Is Hayden staying for lunch?" Riley asked, his bright eyes flicking back and forth between the two adults.

"I think Hayden might have to get to a practice, Riley," Anna replied, glancing over at Hayden as she spoke.

"Aw!" Riley whined and whirled around to face Hayden. "But you just got here!"

Anna and Hayden's eyes met over Riley's head and Hayden grinned as Anna turned to hang up their coats while trying to hide her blush.

"I wish I could stay, kiddo," Hayden saved her by saying. "But your mom's right. I've got to get to practice."

"Do you have to?" he asked, dropping Anna's hand and turning to Hayden.

"Yup," Hayden replied. "You're never late for your practices, right?"

Riley shook his head solemnly.

"Well, there you go," Hayden said. "I can't be late either."

"OK," Riley agreed, though he sounded terribly put out by it.

"Listen, why don't I come by tonight after practice?" Hayden suggested, meeting Anna's gaze again and smiling when she nodded in agreement. "Then we can all watch a movie together and you can make popcorn."

"Yes!" Riley agreed excitedly, throwing his arms around Hayden's waist in a hug.

Laughing, Hayden bent down to hug the little boy in return. He pulled away after a moment and told Riley to do what his mom told him. Riley nodded, calling his 'good-bye' over his shoulder as he ran down the hall.

"Thank you, Hayden," Anna said in a soft voice when she was left alone with him. "I appreciate how much time you spend with him."

Grinning, Hayden stepped close to her and drew her into his arms. He held her around the waist and stared into her eyes. His were such a deep, soft brown that she felt her body melting in his embrace, memories of the previous night washing over her. He must have felt the rush of heat through her, or he might have heard the stutter in her breathing; either way, his eyes darkened and he bent his head to kiss her.

"I can't wait until tonight," Hayden murmured against her lips and she shivered, hearing the promise in his words.

"Me either," she replied and smiled when he leaned back far enough to hold her cheek with one big hand.

"I'll call when I'm on my way," he said and released her. "Should I bring pizza again?"

Anna laughed and shook her head. "Not unless you want me to go up another dress size."

He scowled and pulled her close again, devouring her with another gut-wrenching kiss. She was dazed and breathing heavily when he released her this time.

"You're gorgeous, Anna," he told her, his voice rough and low. "Don't you ever forget it."

"I'll try," she breathed in reply and smiled as he kissed her once more.

Stepping away, he opened the front door and waved as he walked out. Anna shut the door behind him and leaned one shoulder against the cold metal, wishing her core temperature would stop rising.

"Mom!" Riley cried her name seconds before barreling into the hallway.

She jumped, startled by his abrupt arrival. She turned in time to see Riley skid to a stop in front of her. He cocked his head at her and smiled. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied and pushed away from the door. Reaching down, she scooped her son into her arms and carried him into the kitchen. The entire time, he protested, squirming in her embrace until she was forced to put him down.

He's getting way too big for me to do that, she thought with a gasp.

"What movie can we watch when Hayden comes back later?" Riley asked as he pulled a chair out from the table and clambered onto it.

"He said you could pick whatever you wanted," Anna replied as she pulled out dishes and opened the refrigerator to start making lunch for the two of them.

"Cool," Riley breathed and Anna glanced over to see him kneeling on his chair with his chin propped in his upturned hands. "Is Hayden going to stay late tonight?"

Anna dropped a butter knife and swore under her breath. "I... don't know, sweetheart. You'll have to ask him when he comes back."

"I wish he could spend more time here," Riley said with a sigh.

Smiling, Anna turned around to face him, dollop of mustard on the knife. "I know, sweetie." A thought occurred to her and she wondered if she ought to talk to Riley about Hayden; about the possibility of him spending a lot more time around their house. As she eyed her son, she thought she probably should. Riley was a smart kid; if she didn't speak to him up front about it, he might get suspicious and possibly even upset.

She finished up their sandwiches as she mulled over the possible conversation. Turning with two plates, she walked over to the table and set lunch before her son. After grabbing two glasses and a jug of milk from the fridge, she sat down across from Riley, who was already digging into his sandwich.

"Riley, I need to ask you something and you need to be perfectly honest with me," she began, picking at the crust of her own sandwich.

Riley looked up at her and he moved the chunk of sandwich around in his mouth until he could speak; sort of. "What's perfectly honest?" he asked, except it sounded more like, "mutsh furfeshly momisht?"

Anna hid her smile behind her glass of milk before responding. "It means you have to tell me what you think, no matter what. OK?"

He nodded, still working the giant bite of food in his mouth.

"If Hayden were to start coming over here a lot more, would that be all right?"

Riley nodded again, his eyes growing wider.

"What if it was to... spend more time... with me?" she asked and quickly added, "I mean, he'd still want to see you but what if sometimes he came just to see me?"

Riley's brow knitted in a tiny frown and he swallowed that bite of sandwich. Anna studied his face, wondering what was going through his head.

"Why would he want to see you?" Riley asked. "You don't play hockey."

Anna laughed before she could stop it from escaping her. She smiled apologetically at her son, knowing he'd asked it in all seriousness. "That's true," she agreed. "I don't. But Hayden and I are friends anyway. He's a very nice man and I like talking to him as much as you do."

Riley nodded though his face showed her he was still confused.

"We've never talked about this, Riley," Anna went on, her voice dropping. She looked down for a moment and sighed. "About me... and men. About... dating."

"Dating? You mean like a boyfriend and a girlfriend?" Riley asked, his eyes snapping open wide again.

"Yes, like that," Anna said, meeting her son's gaze. She didn't know why, but she was feeling more anxiety over this conversation than she had over the prospect of spending a night alone with Hayden. She supposed that she wanted Riley to understand and to not be upset with her. Not just because she liked Hayden but because she didn't want it to affect her relationship with her son. Or her son's relationship with Hayden.

"Are you and Hayden... boyfriend and girlfriend?" Riley's tone as he asked this was a mixture of awe and incredulity.

Anna couldn't help but smile at the nature of their relationship being broken down so simply by an eight-year old. Would that everything in my life were this easy? She thought and sipped at her milk. "Yes, Riley. I suppose we are."




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 03



"So that's why he'll be coming over more?"

"That's right."

"But he'd want to see you more than me?" At this question, Riley's amazement dimmed somewhat, the tiny frown returning.

"Riley, sweetie, Hayden will still want to see you as much as me," Anna assured him, reaching across the table to pat his hand. "He cares about you a great deal and that will never change." Her stomach clenched at the words. However much she wished they were true, she shouldn't make any such claim without having spoken to Hayden first. Even as she worried about it, something told her Hayden wouldn't be the kind of guy to ditch a child even if their relationship didn't work out.

"Will he?" Riley asked, sounding doubtful.

"Absolutely," Anna replied and gave his hand a squeeze. "Don't worry about that, sweetheart." Riley nodded, looking satisfied by her words. "Sometimes though, Hayden and I might go out together, just the two of us. You'd probably be hanging out with Nick and Kevin those times. Would that be all right?"

"Sure," Riley replied and smiled before taking another enormous bite of his sandwich. "I don't know why you want to be boyfriend-girlfriend anyway. Some girls at school say they want boyfriends but they're all ugly and gross."

At that, Anna laughed outright, patting her son's hand before sitting back in her chair and lifting her sandwich. "You might not always think so, Riley," she told him and laughed again when he gave her a disgusted look.

"Does this mean Hayden will sleep over?" Riley asked a moment later, almost making Anna choke on her food.

Eyes watering, she chugged half her glass of milk before looking at her son. "Uh, no, not necessarily."

"Why not?"

"Well, because... we don't... it's not..." Anna shook her head as she stammered. "Not on school nights," she concluded after a second.

"Oh," Riley sounded disappointed.

"Why do you ask?" Anna asked, terrified that her son was going to tell her about some adult gossip he'd heard and didn't understand.

Riley shrugged, downing more of his sandwich; he'd probably be ready for a second soon. "It would be cool if he was around some mornings to take me to practice or my games, that's all."

Anna blinked, not expecting that answer at all. "Well, Riley, why don't we ask him when he comes tonight?"

Riley perked up at her words, his smile returning.

"Don't forget that he has a very busy schedule too, sweetie," Anna cautioned. "He won't always be free to drive you to hockey."

"I know," Riley replied. "Even once would be awesome!"

Anna laughed and agreed with him. Yes, having Hayden around for some mornings would be awesome.

***

Over the next couple weeks, the three of them settled into an easy routine. Hayden spent all of his free evenings at Riley and Anna's house. As Anna had explained to Riley, Hayden only slept over on weekends, not school nights. When he went on his road trips, Hayden kept up his daily phone calls and felt his affection for the mother and son growing with each passing day. Riley had even requested that Hayden be the one to tuck him in once or twice when he was over at their house. Since Anna hadn't seemed to mind, Hayden took great pleasure in speaking with Riley as the boy got into bed and then tucking the covers around him. As always, Riley surprised Hayden with his insight and hockey knowledge and as the days passed, Hayden looked forward to those evenings when they could all spend time together.

The days were growing very short when Hayden found himself standing on a busy street, trying to shop for Anna's Christmas present. He stood in front of a shop window and scowled at the merchandise within. None of it looked right. It had been three solid days of hockey and Christmas shopping and he was no further ahead than when he'd started. Huffing out an annoyed sigh, he shoved his hands in his coat pockets and turned away from the shop. He faced the busy street and looked around for his companion on this shopping trip, his team captain, Nathan. Spotting the other man leaving a store just two doors up, Hayden hurried along the sidewalk to catch up with him.

"Where are your bags?" Nathan asked as he adjusted the plastic bags in his hands. He eyed Hayden's empty arms and lifted an eyebrow at him. "You still can't decide?"

"No," Hayden replied in a grumpy tone. "I had no idea shopping for her would be so hard."

"Just Anna? What about Riley? Did you already get him something?"

"Oh yeah, he was easy," Hayden said and smiled. He was pretty proud of his gift for Riley; tickets for him and three friends to every Friday and Saturday night game at Joe Louis until the end of the regular season.

"You just can't figure something out for his mother," Nathan stated.

"No," Hayden sighed, his smile disappearing. "What did you get your wife?"

Nathan's eyebrows shot up again and he grinned. "I got her diamond earrings and a matching bracelet. I also got her a cashmere scarf. Oh, and a couple books she was asking for and a gift certificate to a spa."

"All that?"

"Well, she's my wife."

"You're no help at all."

"Why don't you buy Anna some nice earrings?" Nathan asked as they moved along the busy sidewalk. It was midday on one of their days off, a week and a half before Christmas.

"I'm not sure what she'd like," Hayden replied honestly. As he thought about it, he couldn't remember ever seeing her wear earrings. He didn't even know if she had her ears pierced, which made him feel like an idiot for not knowing such a simple thing about her. It had been over two months since they'd first met and he didn't even know what her favorite color was. It was beyond frustrating, which was why he hadn't been able to pick out a gift for Anna. Not one single gift.

"Women always like diamonds," Nathan said with a chuckle.

Hayden glanced sideways at his friend and nodded. He supposed that was true but maybe he would skip the earrings and get her a diamond necklace instead. Then he wondered if she'd be offended by a more expensive gift. She was definitely the independent type and Hayden worried that she might see a lavish gift as an insult.

"There's a jewelry store just around the corner that I've been to before," Nathan suggested when Hayden didn't shoot his idea down. "Why don't we go in and you can just look around?"

"All right," Hayden agreed, his warm exhalation misting the air in front of his face. "I guess I've got nothing to lose at this point."

Nathan nodded in agreement and led the way around the corner.

A few days later, Hayden hummed along with the radio as he drove to Anna and Riley's house. He had a game that night but he wanted to see them and drop their presents off to place under their Christmas tree.

He hurried up the front walk, shivering from the brisk cold and knocked on the front door. It wasn't Anna who answered the door and for a moment, Hayden frowned, wondering what in the hell Kevin was doing in the house.

"Hi, Hayden," Kevin greeted him warmly and stepped back to let him into the house. "Wow, it's freezing out there. Come in quick!"

Hayden did and turned to smile at the other man as he took his jacket off, carefully holding on to the gifts for Anna and Riley.

"How's it going?" Kevin asked, still smiling at Hayden. "Are you all set for your game later?"

"Yeah, I think we're ready," Hayden replied and hung his jacket up in the closet. He wasn't sure how he felt about Kevin being here, acting like a host in this house. "Where are Anna and Riley?" he asked.

"Anna just ran upstairs for something and my daughter is watching Riley and Nick over at our house," Kevin replied. "Come on in. There's coffee on, if you're drinking it today."

"No, I'll pass. I'm going to be heading home for a nap later before the game," Hayden replied.

Kevin threw a grin over his shoulder at Hayden as he walked into the kitchen. "Man, I wish I had your job."

Hayden smiled. It was a common reaction from fans and friends. Most people worked nine-to-five jobs and didn't have the option of napping each afternoon. "Yeah, but you probably wouldn't want to spend your evenings getting tossed around on the ice."

"You have a point there," Kevin replied with a laugh. He sat down at the kitchen table and picked up a half-full mug of coffee, sipping it. "Have a seat."

"I'm good, thanks," Hayden replied, preferring to stand against the counter. He eyed Kevin and watched him shuffle some papers around on the tabletop. Hayden wondered if he'd have to keep making small talk with this guy. He was saved by Anna's appearance in the kitchen a few seconds later.

"Hayden!" she exclaimed and a brilliant smile broke across her face, making Hayden feel like a rock star. "I thought I heard someone knocking on the door."

Hayden nodded, stepping forward to take her into his arms. She turned her cheek up for his kiss before he could plant one on her lips, which is what he really wanted. She was flushed under his lips and he didn't know if it was because she was happy to see him, or embarrassed to be embracing him in front of her next-door neighbor. So he released her, keeping one hand on her waist as she moved away, still smiling.

"I didn't think we'd see you today," she said. "We were all going to watch your game on TV later."

"Oh yeah?" Hayden replied, glancing at Kevin who nodded with a grin. What the hell is this guy's problem? Hayden wondered unkindly. Does he have to stare at us like a voyeur? "I hadn't planned on coming over but I wanted to give you these." As he spoke, he pulled the two small packages out from behind his back and handed them to Anna.

"Oh, Hayden, how nice!" she gushed as she took the festively wrapped packages. "You didn't have to get anything for us."

"I wanted to," he replied and smiled as her blush turned a darker shade of red. "I wanted Riley to see his under the tree before Christmas."

"That's very thoughtful, Hayden," Anna replied and leaned toward him on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. He gave her waist a squeeze and grinned when he felt the shudder run through her body.

Take that, neighbor-man, Hayden thought, glancing over at Kevin.

"We were actually just talking about our Christmas plans," Anna said as she stepped back.

"Your... plans?" Hayden echoed, looking back and forth between Anna and Kevin.

Anna moved over to the table and set the two small, slim presents on top. "Sit, Hayden," she said, patting the seat between her and Kevin. "Yeah. We always do something together with all the kids. I have no other family besides Riley and I know how boring it is for him without someone else around to share his toys and games with."

Her tone was sad even as she smiled at Hayden and he sat down in the offered chair. He'd forgotten about her parents being gone and felt like kicking himself for being so insensitive.

"I think it was two Christmases ago that we decided to spend Christmas morning together," Kevin added and downed more of his coffee. "It's sort of become a tradition. We gather at one of our houses, let the kids go wild, then have a nice brunch."

"Then Kevin takes his kids to his parents' place for dinner later," Anna finished, turning her smile towards Kevin. "This year's a little different though."

Hayden smiled, thinking she was talking about his part in her life now. His heart slammed hard against his ribs when Kevin responded though, making Hayden feel as though he'd been blindsided by a six-foot-five, two hundred-fifty pound defenseman.

"My parents are on a cruise for the holidays, so it's just me and the kids," Kevin explained, his smile lighting up his eyes as he turned his gaze from Hayden to Anna. "Anna and I decided that we should spend the whole day together. Even cook dinner!"

Anna laughed and nodded. "I've never cooked a turkey before..."

"But I have and I already told you, you don't need to worry about that," Kevin said. "You just worry about the potatoes and dessert and I'll take care of the rest."

"Kevin, come on!" Anna laughed and suddenly Hayden felt like he was intruding on their conversation.

It was not a pleasant feeling.

When Anna glanced in his direction, her smile faded and she reached for his hand. "Is something wrong, Hayden?" she asked.

Hayden's eyes flashed to Kevin's face and the other man blinked in surprise. Anna followed Hayden's gaze and her lips turned down at the corners.

"Listen, Anna," Kevin said, glancing back and forth between her and Hayden. "I think I'll go check on the kids. We can figure out a schedule later."

"Sounds good, Kevin, thanks," Anna replied, standing up to see him out.

Hayden listened to them chatting in the hallway and his scowl deepened with each light laugh and murmured word that he couldn't quite hear. By the time Anna walked back into the kitchen, he was downright miserable.

"What's wrong?" she demanded, a hard edge to her voice as she walked past him.

"Nothing," he replied sullenly, more than aware of how childish he sounded. He didn't know why this bothered him so much, but it did.

"Don't give me that," Anna scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I have an eight-year old and right now you're acting more like him than a grown man."

Hayden didn't say anything.

"I don't know why you thought it was all right to be so rude to Kevin," Anna went on when he didn't respond. "He's my friend and I'd appreciate it if you could treat him as such."

"He's just a friend?" Hayden asked, the words out before he could think them through. When he looked over at Anna, he felt like a world-class heel. It was painfully obvious that he'd just hurt her deeply with his words.

"Of course he is," she snapped in reply, her voice strained. "What kind of woman do you think I am?"

Hayden swore under his breath and stood up to face her. "I'm sorry, Anna. I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what did you mean?" she demanded, taking a step away even as he moved closer.

That hurt, too. He'd never wanted to drive her away. "I don't know," he mumbled, feeling worse with each passing second. "I just saw you two sitting in here, planning Christmas like I wasn't even in the room and I was..."

"You were what?"

"I don't know," he replied, frowning at her. "I felt... left out."

Anna studied his face silently for a moment, her lips pursed and her body still tense. "I'm not going to apologize for being friends with Kevin and making plans with him."

"I'm not asking you to," Hayden replied.

"Then what do you want me to say? Why are you acting like a child?"

"I'm not acting like a child!" he burst out and strode towards her, capturing her in his arms before she could move away. "I just walked in to find my girlfriend making plans with another man for Christmas and it bothered me. Forgive me if I'm not handling it well but I've never had to deal with something like this before."

"Deal with what?" Anna asked, twisting in his arms and trying to get free. "A woman whose only friend is a man?"

"He's not your only friend," Hayden replied, staring down at her hazel-grey eyes and feeling his groin stir at the snapping fire he saw within them.

"Yes, he is," Anna replied and jerked her body free of his arms. "I've got no family, Hayden, except Riley, and Kevin has been my closest, my best friend for years. I'm not going to change my plans for Christmas because you're jealous of him."

"I am not jealous of Kevin," Hayden protested, insulted by the very thought. Aren't you? A little voice in his head retorted and he scowled.

Anna seemed to agree with the voice in his head. She faced him and rolled her eyes. "Please, that's exactly what you are. You know, I thought you were a better man than that."

"I guess I'm not strong enough to enjoy the sight of my woman being so friendly with another man," Hayden grumbled and winced when he saw Anna's mouth set in a straight line. Whatever she'd been before, now he'd royally pissed her off.

"If you knew your woman even a little bit, you'd know there was nothing to be jealous of," Anna snapped coldly, her emphasis on the words 'your woman' telling Hayden exactly where he'd gone wrong. "Obviously you don't know me at all."

"I do know you, Anna," Hayden replied with a sigh, trying to take hold of her again. She refused, stepping out of his reach and stalking from the room.

"You can let yourself out," she called over her shoulder, leaving Hayden standing in the middle of her kitchen like a fool. A few seconds later, her bedroom door slammed and Hayden cringed at the sound.

With a heavy sigh, he gathered his coat and left, as she'd asked.

***

The game that night was terrible. Hayden wanted to believe that he wasn't the only guy on the team who was distracted but he knew that he wasn't helping matters by allowing his fight with Anna to interfere. All he could think about was Anna sitting at home with Kevin and their kids, watching the game and laughing at his ridiculous antics. The penalty box became a second home that night and Hayden knew the fire spitting from his coach's eyes would not pass him by.

Much later, at home in his bed, Hayden found that he couldn't sleep. He didn't have another game until the day after Christmas so he had nothing but time to figure out how to make it up to Anna. Almost the moment he'd left the house, he'd known he'd been in the wrong. It didn't matter that Anna's best friend was a guy; Hayden should have trusted her enough to know that she would never betray him that way. Hayden felt like a complete jerk for even considering that Anna would do something like that.

Hearing her say he didn't know her at all hurt most of all. What made it worse was that those very doubts had been swimming through his head for a week as he tried to shop for her. Instead of talking to her and spending more time with her, he'd freaked out like... like an eight-year old, he concluded in his head.

I should have kept my stupid jealousy to myself, Hayden thought and squeezed his eyes shut. Kevin is just a friend or sometime in the last several years, they would have become something more. Anna chose me instead.

Hayden sighed and opened his eyes, turning his head towards his window. It was just barely outlined from the street lights outside, casting a bluish-grey glow across the room. He knew he had to find a way to make things right with Anna. He couldn't live without her. Even if it had only been a few months, Anna and Riley had wriggled inside his chest and taken over his heart. He'd be a fool if he allowed her to get away from him.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, he thought and chewed on his lip as he tried to think of a plan. Then he shook his head, realizing that no regular 'plan' would work. He needed to go over to her house and beg for forgiveness. Nothing more, nothing less. If she smiled at him, if her soft eyelashes lowered over her magnificent hazel-grey eyes, he'd be all right. He could survive if he knew she would be with him.

***

The day after her argument with Hayden, Christmas Eve, Anna took Riley to a local outdoor skating rink, their own tradition for the past several years, ever since Riley could skate. She tied on her own skates and tugged her son around the ice, laughing when he turned around to do the same thing to her. Later, they snuggled together under a warm blanket near the fire pit with several other families and sipped their hot cocoa. All through the smiles and laughter though, Anna couldn't shake the sad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She didn't think she'd been in the wrong yesterday when Hayden had stood in her kitchen, all but accusing her of cheating on him but she couldn't erase the image of his wounded eyes. It hurt her more than she cared to admit that he'd even thought her capable of something like that. It also made her feel a touch guilty, knowing now that Kevin had cared for her as more than a friend.




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 03



That's not my fault though, Anna told herself, her eyes staring into the orange and red flames of the fire. I didn't ask for Kevin to confess his crush to me.

"Mom," Riley murmured from beside her, his chocolaty breath filling her nostrils. "I'm getting cold. Can we go?"

"Sure, sweetheart," she agreed. "Go grab your skates."

He scampered off, throwing the blanket on Anna and she smiled as she watched him hurry around the fire to pick up his skates from where he'd left them. Standing up, Anna folded the blanket, wished those around the fire a Merry Christmas and took her son's hand in hers.

They were both quiet on the drive back home and Anna knew Riley was tired from the exciting day outside. Riley and Anna would spend that night at Kevin's house and in the morning, that's where the presents would be opened. They'd decided to do dinner at Anna's house though, since she had the bigger dining room table.

That thought brought a smile to her face and she thought back over the years, amazed that she'd even kept the big table. It was just her and Riley in the house, after all, but for some reason, she'd loved the table and hadn't wanted to part with it. She supposed that some small part of her still wished for a big family, with too many hyperactive, hockey-loving kids and a man who wasn't going to run away from her. After five years, she wondered if she should give up the dream.

Now that I've probably driven Hayden away for good, she added silently and sighed.

Once they got home, Anna told Riley to pack his overnight bag and went to the Christmas tree to start putting all the gifts into bags. She had everything stacked by the front door and was about to go upstairs to pack her own things when the doorbell rang. Startled, she turned and opened the door, smiling when she saw Kevin on the other side.

"Are you guys all set?" he asked, his breath a white cloud in front of his face.

"Just about," Anna said. "Grab a few of these bags," she added and handed some of the gifts to him. Kevin took them and hurried back across their yards to his own house. After three trips, they were done and Riley was bouncing in the front hall, newly energized at the prospect of a Christmas sleepover.

"Go on over, buddy," Kevin told him. "Nick has your sleeping bag all set up in his room."

"Cool!" Riley cried and bolted through the snow to Kevin's house.

Laughing, Anna stepped back so Kevin could come inside. "I still have to pack my things," she told him. "You can come upstairs if you want."

"All right," Kevin agreed and followed her upstairs.

"How are Bradley and Cassie? Excited?" Anna asked as Kevin sat on the end of her bed and watched her pick a few clothes off hangers in her closet.

"I think so," Kevin replied. "Cassie is trying to remain cool about it all, of course, seeing as how she doesn't believe in Santa."

Anna chuckled and nodded. "I remember being sixteen. I think I might have still believed in Santa even then!"

"Well, she pretends to be aloof but I think she's pretty excited," Kevin replied and smiled as he thought of his daughter. "She's been baking with the boys all week and I think they've all been having a really good time together."

"That's great, Kevin," Anna told him and meant it. She'd always been jealous of families with more than one child. Growing up an only child had been lonely at times but her parents had always done their best to make up for it. She couldn't blame them; it's not like they hadn't tried to give her a little brother or sister. It just hadn't been in the stars for them.

After a few more minutes of light chatter as she packed, Anna zipped up her bag and they walked downstairs.

"So have you spoken to Hayden today?" Kevin asked as Anna set her bag down on the floor.

"No," Anna replied, unable to hide her disappointment from Kevin. "He hasn't called."

"Have you tried calling him?"

Anna's head snapped up and she narrowed her eyes at Kevin. "I'm not the one who needs to be apologizing," she replied.

Kevin smiled and held his hands up towards her in a defensive pose, palms out. "I know that," he replied.

"Then why should I be the one calling him?"

"Calm down, Anna," Kevin said with a chuckle. "I ask because it's very obvious how much you two care about each other. I'd hate for one little fight to come between you. Especially if it was about me." That last he added with an impish smile that Anna couldn't help responding to.

"It wasn't about you," she muttered. "Well, not exactly. Hayden was just acting like a... jerk and I said some things..." she let her voice trail off, shaking her head. She remembered what she'd said and the look on his face.

The guilt that had been gnawing at her all day surged again and she thought about the fact that she'd overlooked him when it came to planning the holiday. She'd only assumed he'd have his own plans already, since he'd spent all his previous Christmas holidays away from his family in Sweden. Still, the guilt inside her told her she could have handled their argument better. After he'd accused her of being more than friends with Kevin, she hadn't really been thinking straight, and it was only later, after she'd calmed down that she'd realized her mistake.

"Anna, like I said, don't let one fight ruin things," he told her and shrugged his jacket on. "I know how much time he spends here and I've seen the way you look at each other."

Anna blushed and held a palm to her cheek. "The way we look...?" she echoed.

"Yes," Kevin said with a firm nod. "As though there's no one else in the room." He grinned and nudged her arm with his elbow. "As though you can't wait to tear each other's clothes off."

"K-Kevin!" she sputtered and smacked his arm with an open palm.

He laughed and drew her close for a hug after she'd dragged her heavy winter coat on. "Don't be embarrassed, Anna," he told her. "I already told you before and I meant it; I'm glad you've found someone who makes you so happy."

"Thanks, Kevin," she murmured and reached for the door handle, letting cold air wash over them as she pulled the door open.

"No problem," he replied and glanced sideways at her as he stepped out, dropping his arm from her shoulder to reach down for her bag. "So maybe you should cut Hayden a little slack, huh? Give him a chance to apologize, even if it means you're the one to call him."

Anna sighed and turned to draw the door shut, her key in hand. "I will," she agreed and meant it. She straightened after locking the door and turned to see Kevin staring out at the street. "What?" she asked, following his gaze and sucking in a sharp breath when she saw Hayden leaning back against his car where it was parked on the street.

"Uh... I'll let you two talk," Kevin murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

Anna glanced up at him and smiled weakly before he walked down the step and across their yards to his front door. He waved at Hayden before disappearing inside and Hayden waved back before pushing himself up from his car. Anna watched Hayden approach and fiddled with the keys in her hands, ordering herself to breathe; just breathe.

"Hi," Hayden whispered to her as he stopped at the bottom of the steps.

"Hi," she replied.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

Anna nodded and turned to unlock her front door again. She wasn't sure if letting him into her now empty house was such a good idea but it sure beat standing outside in the frigid winter air. Hayden followed her in and neither of them spoke as they removed their coats and moved into the living room. Anna bent over to turn on a lamp and glanced at Hayden before sitting down on the couch. He sat down beside her, giving her some space but not enough that she couldn't feel the warmth from his body rolling towards her.

"Anna, I'm sorry," he said, getting right to it.

He sounded like he meant it but Anna drew in a deep, fortifying breath. He was going to have to do better. "Sorry for what?"

"Sorry that I assumed you and Kevin were... you know," he hesitated over his words and Anna smiled, turning her face away so he couldn't see it.

Damn him, she thought and forced the breath out of her lungs. Damn him for making me feel this way. She couldn't seem to help herself around him. A dozen or so words and she was more than ready to crawl into his lap and rub against him like a cat.

"It was stupid and you were right, I never should have assumed you'd do that," Hayden was still speaking, elaborating on his apology. Anna turned back to face him, looking into his soft brown eyes as he spoke. She noticed that his accent was more distinctive and that made her want to smile again. "You said that if I knew you, I'd know you'd never do that," he went on. "You were right about that too, but not about knowing you. I do know you, more than a little bit and I want to keep getting to know more about you."

"Really?" she asked, feeling shy and hot all over.

"Yes," he breathed and moved closer, lifting one of her hands from her lap. He brought it to his lips, his eyelashes dropping as he gazed at her fingers. "I don't ever want to stop knowing you, Anna."

"What about Kevin?" she asked, willing her body to not react as his lips and bristly beard brushed over her knuckles. Too late, she thought, feeling a shudder grip her body at the contact.

Hayden's head jerked up at her question though and he stared at her. "What about Kevin?"

"Yeah," she replied, pulling her hand from his. "I can't be with you knowing that every time I mention Kevin you're going to get upset. And I'm not going to stop making plans with him, for holidays or any other time of year."

"I don't expect you to," Hayden said.

"Good, because Kevin is a very big part of my life," Anna went on, watching his face to gauge his reaction. Her heart was beating hard within her chest and she still wanted to kiss him but she needed to get everything out before she lost all rational thought. "He's my best friend and he's been there for me when no one else was. Our kids are friends and that's something that's never going to change."

"I know," Hayden agreed with a nod, his wide lips curling up in a smile.

Anna's heart skipped a beat before slamming hard into her ribs again. She swallowed, watching as Hayden moved even closer on the couch. "Do you? Do you understand that I'm not going to stop being Kevin's friend?"

"I understand and I want you to know that I think it's great," Hayden said.

Anna looked back and forth between his soft brown eyes, looking for any sign of tension or any sign that he was lying. All she saw was chocolate warmth and it made her blood sing.

"Hayden, I..." she started to speak but Hayden stopped her with a finger against her lips.

"Anna, you don't have to explain anything to me," he told her. "I was the jerk and I am the one begging for your forgiveness here. I'd be lucky if you still wanted me around, not Kevin. He's earned your love and trust and I'm still working on it."

At the word 'love,' Anna felt her stomach clench. She remained silent, listening as Hayden continued to speak.

"I can only hope that one day you and I are the one making plans in the kitchen while Kevin stops by for a cup of coffee," Hayden said and grinned. "I know that sounds silly but I mean it. I know that Kevin will always be in your life, and his kids, and I think it's great. I really do."

"Can you... can we... stop... talking about Kevin?" Anna whispered, wanting so much to hear his sweet voice speak of love to her again.

"Definitely," Hayden replied, his voice dropping an octave. It sent a shiver coursing through Anna and she knew she'd already forgiven him, even if she hadn't said the words. Hayden moved closer still and put his arms around her. She leaned back, blinking up at his handsome face and falling in love with him right then and there.

"Anna, I'm so sorry for how I acted and for making you feel anything less than beautiful and loved," he whispered, his lips so close to her face that she felt the tickle of his beard on her cheek.

"I forgive you," she whispered, her eyes dropping to his soft lips.

"I'm so glad," he replied and kissed her. It was a gentle kiss, slow and warming Anna right down to her toes.

She pressed her hands to his shoulders after a moment and gently pushed him away. Her apology needed to be said before they went any further. "I'm sorry, Hayden. I shouldn't have excluded you from my holiday plans."

He looked for a moment like he was going to say something but Anna stopped him laying her fingers over his lips. "I've never had a man in my life like you and I didn't really think about how we would spend time together over the holidays. It was terribly selfish of me and I shouldn't have said those things to you yesterday." She smiled and leaned close to him, warming even more under his intense gaze. "You shouldn't have said those things either, though!"

With a grin, he squeezed her sides, tickling her and she gasped with laughter, struggling to push him away. He relented and kissed her cheek and the corner of her mouth before letting her speak again.

"I am sorry, Hayden," she murmured when he pulled back. "I guess I didn't want to assume that you'd spend Christmas with me and Riley. I didn't... I didn't want to hope for too much."

Hayden's gaze softened and he brushed her hair back from her forehead. "I can't imagine being anywhere else, Anna. If I have to spend the rest of our lives proving it, I will."

"So you forgive me?"

"You never needed my forgiveness."

She shook her head and swatted him lightly on the arm. "Just tell me that I'm forgiven."

Chuckling, he moved his head closer and exhaled warmly against the skin of her throat. "You're forgiven." Then he kissed her, his lips moving over hers and stealing her breath away.

Bracing her hands against his chest, she pulled back, lifting her eyes to his. "Tell me that I'm loved," she whispered, her face flaming. She couldn't take the words back now though, even if she wanted to.

Hayden's grin warmed her all over again, but in a different way. She squirmed in his arms, shifting closer until she felt the hard muscles of his thighs beneath hers. He held her close, moving back and cradling her in his arms as she lifted herself against his chest.

"Hayden," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Please, tell me." She never thought she'd beg for any man to say he loved her but she wasn't the same woman anymore. She'd changed the moment Hayden had come into her life.

"Anna," he whispered, lifting his hands to cup her face. He tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her away from his mouth so he could look into her eyes. "Anna, you are my heart. I love you more than you can ever know."

Anna felt her eyes sting and she choked back a sob. Hayden's eyes softened and he pulled her close, wrapping his strong arms around her. He held her close as she cried into his shoulder, clinging to him like he was her last anchor on earth.

"Anna, love," he murmured, his lips moving against her hair. His hands were stroking her back in a slow, seductive rhythm, slowing Anna's tears until they stopped. "Anna..."

Anna pulled back and kissed him, skipping the gentleness he'd shown her a minute before. She moaned and slid her tongue against his lips, delving inside when he opened his mouth under hers. His arms stopped their slow caress on her back and he clutched her, his hands fisting in her sweater and pulling it taut across her chest. Her hands roamed over his shoulders and chest before settling at the back of his head, sliding through his silky hair.

"Anna," he murmured, easing out of the kiss and Anna sat back, breathing hard.

"What?" she asked, staring at him in a daze.

"Where's your gift?" he asked. "The one I brought for you."

Blinking, Anna looked around and glanced under the tree. "Oh, it's probably next door. I packed all the gifts up to take over there. Why?"

"I was just going to tell you to open it now," he said with a smile, brushing her hair back over her shoulder and pressing his lips to her exposed neck. "It doesn't matter though."

"Oh, wait!" she exclaimed and scrambled off his lap. "I might still have it," she called over her shoulder as she hurried into the kitchen. Sure enough, pushed out of the way on one side of the kitchen counter were the two wrapped gifts that Hayden had brought over the day before. Scooping them up, she went back into the living room where Hayden was still sitting on the couch, one arm slung across the back.

"You do still have them," Hayden said with a grin, sitting forward and taking them from her hands. "Good. I want you to open yours." He set Riley's gift on the table beside him and handed the other one back to her.

Anna sat down beside him as she took it and pulled the ribbon free. She peeled the shiny paper back slowly, grinning when Hayden made an impatient noise. "I shouldn't even be doing this right now," she chided. "It's not Christmas and there's no one else-"

Leaning forward, Hayden silenced her with a kiss. She leaned into him, sighing when his tongue teased her lips open and retreated before she could respond in kind. She scowled playfully at him but resumed with unwrapping her present. Inside the paper was a long, dark velvet jeweler's box. Her breath caught and her fingers froze.

"It's all right, Anna," Hayden whispered, reaching over to cup her cheek in his palm. "I wanted to get you something as beautiful as you are and when I couldn't find anything, this was the next best thing."

Anna's cheeks flooded with warmth at his words and more tears stung the back of her throat. Swallowing, she pressed her thumbs to the split in the box and opened it. The sparkle was muted in the dim light of the living room but Anna knew right away that he'd bought her diamonds.

"Hayden..." she breathed, her fingers trembling as she lifted one hand to touch the elegant necklace. It was a long, delicate white gold chain and at the bottom a pendant the size of her fingernail glittered with a cluster of diamonds. The shape was a teardrop and each diamond was tiny, all their combined strength making the entire piece sparkle like nothing she'd ever seen before.

"Do you like it?" he asked, sounding nervous.

Anna had never heard him sound nervous before and lifted her face to his. He was smiling and the corners of his eyes were wrinkled as he looked back at her but she could see the apprehension in his expression.

"You shouldn't have done this," she murmured. "It's too much."

"Nothing is ever enough," he replied and shook his head. "I want to give you so much more."

"You do," she told him and moved forward until she was resting against him, his arms warm and strong around her. "I love you, Hayden."

She heard his heart beating hard under her cheek and smiled when she felt him suck in a breath.

"Anna, you have no idea how happy you've just made me," he told her, his accent very thick as he spoke now.

Grinning, Anna carefully extricated the necklace from the box and held it up before them.

"So you like it?" Hayden asked.

"I love it," she replied and meant it. No one else in her life had ever given her something so beautiful. Even her engagement ring from her marriage had been a Walmart special. At the time, she hadn't cared; she'd been too happy to have something to proclaim to the world that she was getting married. Even now, she didn't care that Hayden had spent money on diamonds for her, or that this might be the most expensive thing she'd ever owned. All she cared about was the fact that he'd thought of her and spent time picking something out.

"Thank God," he breathed and she laughed, glancing up at his face. "You have no idea how long it took me to decide on what to get you."

"Really? How long?"




A Feel For The Ice Ch. 03



"Weeks!" he confessed and laughed. "I even thought this would be too cliched a gift but Nathan told me it was a good idea."

"It's lovely, Hayden," Anna assured him and placed a palm on his chest so she could lift herself up to his face. "You didn't need to get me anything, you know."

"I know," he replied and kissed her. "But I wanted to."

"I feel bad though," she said and lowered her lashes, still playing with the light in the diamonds. "I didn't get you anything."

"Anna, you being here, forgiving me and telling me you love me is more than I could have asked for," Hayden said.

"Hmm," she pondered and sat up away from him. "I think I can do better than that."

He chuckled and watched her with hooded eyes as she rose from the couch. "What can you possibly do to make this night better?"

Anna grinned at him and lifted the necklace to her throat, fastening the clasp. She glanced down and frowned. "Doesn't look right, does it?"

"It looks perfect," Hayden assured her, sitting up.

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "Something's not right. This sweater clashes with it."

"Anna, don't be silly," Hayden laughed. "Diamonds look good with-" he stopped short as Anna grasped the bottom of her sweater, yanking it over her head. "-Everything," he concluded breathlessly.

Grinning again, Anna looked at him and giggled when she saw his eyes go wide. Seeing his reaction to her body never got old. Every time she undressed for him, she felt like a goddess. "How about now?" she asked, waving her hand at the hanging pendant.

"Looks great," Hayden replied, his voice sounding strained.

Smothering another laugh, Anna shook her head. "No!" she exclaimed and turned around. "It's still not right. I don't like how it looks with these pants." She undid her pants and pushed them over her hips, bending at the waist and peeking over her shoulder at Hayden as she moved. Without hurrying, she straightened and twisted partially around to look at him. "What do you think?"

"Anna," he growled, standing up from the couch. "You're-"

"I know, it still doesn't look right!" she said as she straightened and lifted her arms to undo the clasp at the back of her bra. She struggled with it for a moment, snapping one side down on her back before she felt Hayden's warm touch on her skin. Shivering, she dropped her hands and let him undo the clasp for her.

Sliding his warm palms over her skin, he pushed the straps of her bra down her arms. After discarding it on the floor, he brought his hands back up her body, pressing them up her stomach until he was cupping her breasts. Leaning back, Anna closed her eyes, sighing as his hands caressed her.

"You're right," Hayden murmured close to her ear, his fingers finding and squeezing her hardening nipples. "That necklace looks much better with no clothes on."

"You mean, without my clothes on or yours?" Anna asked, running her hands up the outsides of his thighs.

"Hmm," Hayden considered, his lips teasing the outer edge of her ear. "I guess we'll just have to try both ways and see."

Anna giggled and then sighed as his lips closed on her ear lobe, sucking it. "But I'm not naked," she whispered.

"Not yet," Hayden growled and swept her into his arms.

Laughing, Anna threw her arms around his neck and kissed him as he carried her upstairs to her bedroom. He placed her in the middle of her bed and moved down her body, grasping the elastic waist of her panties and pulling them off. He trailed kisses behind them, exhaling warmly against her skin.

When he moved up to kiss her on the mouth, his hands sliding between her legs and parting her thighs, Anna stopped him with a giggle. "No," she protested and sucked in a breath as he cupped her slick heat. "You have to get naked, too."

Hayden sat back and raised an eyebrow at her. She gave him a look in return and he sighed, pulling his shirt off and shucking out of his pants so quickly, Anna had to laugh. She wrapped her arms around him when he settled over her and groaned into his mouth when his hand slid up her thigh to cup her again. She let her legs fall open, shivering as he stroked her and drew his knee up against her leg.

Their kissing intensified, his tongue ruthless inside her mouth and Anna tangled her tongue around his. She lifted her hips with a moan as he slid two fingers inside of her, stroking her very close to the edge. Then he moved, pulling his fingers away and pressing his hands on the insides of her knees.

"Anna," he murmured, lifting his head and staring into her eyes as he spoke. "Tell me I am loved."

Her heart lifted at his words, a repetition of her own and smiled. "You're loved," she assured him. "And you always will be."

With a groan, he sank inside of her. She gasped as he drove himself all the way in with one move. Their hips met in a satisfied thump and she arched off the bed, pressing her breasts to his chest. His hands slid around and up her legs until he was cupping her bottom, lifting her body to meet his next thrust, and the next.

It wasn't long before both their movements grew frantic and unsteady. Hayden left one of his hands on her butt and moved so he was resting his weight on his other arm beside her. Anna clung to him, breathing hard and sliding her tongue between his lips as he moved over her.

"Hayden," she gasped his name, hardly aware she was speaking. "Oh, please, Hayden!" she cried and came in the next instant. Hayden rushed after her, groaning and pumping hard into her for a long moment.

After a while, they rested together, sweaty and elated. Hayden's arms kept Anna resting close to his body and she sighed with her face pressed against his chest. Hayden lightly ran his fingers up and down her side, drawing goosebumps to the surface of her skin with each stroke. He stopped as he reached her throat, brushing his knuckles against the diamond pendant that dangled from her neck.

"You're right," he murmured, his lips moving against her forehead.

"About what?"

"This looks better when you're wearing nothing at all," he told her and Anna laughed, raising herself up to kiss him.

That set off a reaction in his body and before they knew it, they were slick and hot and moving together again.

***

They snuck into Kevin's house sometime before dawn on Christmas morning and did their best not to disturb anyone. Kevin had taped a note to the front door that urged them to take the guest room at the end of the hallway.

"How did he know we'd come over?" Hayden asked as they crept hand-in-hand through the silent house.

"Kevin's good that way," Anna replied with a smile, making a mental note to thank her friend in the morning. After making love for most of the night, Anna had told Hayden she wanted to be in Kevin's house when Riley woke up. When Hayden offered to go home, she'd shaken her head and said they weren't going to sneak around.

They found the guest room bed made up for them and fell into each other's arms, too exhausted to do more than cuddle. Morning came far too early, but they rose with the children and gratefully sipped coffee with Kevin, who smiled knowingly at them.

Hayden was very surprised when Riley handed him a gift around midmorning. The tag read, 'From Anna and Riley.'

"I thought you said you didn't get me anything?" he said with a smile for Anna, as Riley hopped impatiently from foot to foot in front of him.

She grinned at him through the steam rising from her coffee mug. He watched the blush color her cheeks and looked away when heat rose in his own face. Their smiles matched as they recalled her words about gifts the previous night. Plenty of time to relive the moment later.

"Open it!" Riley ordered and Hayden obeyed, grinning when he saw the blue and yellow scarf inside. "I picked it out," Riley exclaimed, beaming as Hayden immediately wrapped the gift around his neck.

"I love it," Hayden assured him with a hug.

Later, they all gathered around Anna's big dining room table and 'oohed' and 'aahed' over the fantastic Christmas feast.

As she looked down the table at the many faces gathered, Anna realized she'd gotten her wish. Except it wasn't one family; it was two. It wasn't a husband, but a dear lover, as well as a close friend. It wasn't a stereotypical family but it was hers and she felt a lump in her throat when she thought of how lucky she was.

"Mo-om!" Riley's voice broke into her thoughts. "Hayden wants the stuffing!"

Laughing, Anna picked up the dish and handed it to Hayden, blushing when he winked at her.

It may not have always felt like it, but life had been good to her.