Curvy Fake Wife for the Player

19. Alex

Chapter 19

Alex

“ I should have taken you to one of those seafood restaurants that hand out bibs.” Sasha’s cleavage was so fucking distracting that we’d been sitting at our table for fifteen minutes and I still hadn’t even picked up the menu.

Her lips spread into a gorgeous grin and her head fell back as she laughed. “Sorry?”

My lips pursed through my smile and I leaned forward, gaze fixed on hers. Finally. “Oh, I think you know what I mean.”

She kept laughing until her laughter faded. “I needed to look presentable in front of the cameras, like a woman you would be with.” She looked down nervously, and for the first time I understood what all of this must be like for Sasha. She was nothing like Tatiana who always dressed to be photographed because that was her goal in life, to be seen.

“Well you knocked it out of the park, because right now all I want is to be with you Sasha.” It wasn’t a line either, she’d been on my mind all day, through my training and practice sessions, and even the shower. Especially in the shower

Her smile dimmed and she pointed at me. “No. We talked about this.”

“Talked, yes. But we didn’t agree to anything.” In fact I was putting my thumb on the scale by making reservations at this romantic hotspot where we could be seen, but it also offered enough privacy for the romance portion of the evening.

She rolled her eyes at me but an affectionate smile stayed on her lush mouth. “How was the first day of practice?”

I stared at her like she was an alien, stunned by her question. When was the last time a woman had asked me about work? The answer was simple, never. Other than my mother, no woman ever asked. They want to know about my teammates, my endorsement deals and the things my lifestyle affords me, but never the thing that gave me that lifestyle.

Sasha’s brows knitted at my silence and sat back. “Sorry. Is that too personal?” Her shoulders slumped forward. “I thought we were getting to know…never mind. Forget I asked.”

“No,” I reached out and covered her hand with mine, swiping my back and forth across her wrist. “It’s not too personal at all, I’m just surprised at the question. I can’t remember the last time someone asked me about work.”

She nodded, easily accepting my answer. “Well?”

My lips curled up and I relaxed back into my seat. “It was good to be back. I’ve been training hard to get ready for the season and I’m glad for it, these new guys are dying to take my place on the roster.”

“You’re not even thirty yet.”

“And some of my teammates are barely twenty.” A fact that became more obvious with each passing day.

“Okay, so they’re younger. What do you have that makes you the best winger in the league?”

“Someone’s been doing her homework.”

“I have,” she admitted. “But not even Google can make me understand what your job actually is.”

“On offense, I find or create space to pass the puck, intercept passes from the other team and attack whoever has the puck.”

“So you’re a jack of all trades?”

“Kind of, yeah.” I was so excited talking to a beautiful woman about hockey that again, I forgot to look at the menu. Only this time it wasn’t her tits that had my attention, at least not all of it.

“Are we ready to order?”

I looked up at the server and suddenly I knew exactly what Sasha meant about starting to care because dammit, now I was starting to care about more than getting her in bed. “Um, yeah,” I replied and ordered the ravioli.

Sasha placed her order before she turned those sparkling blue eyes back to me. “So, jack of all trades on the ice?”

I nodded but now it felt different, too intimate to talk about the game I loved with her. “We should probably focus on wedding talk for a while.”

Confusion flashed but she concealed it quickly and sat back, putting physical as well as emotional distance between us. “Oh. Right. The wedding is why we’re here.” She shook off something and when her gaze met mine again, it was distant and wary. “I’ll invite some of my friends from the agency since I don’t keep in touch with my so-called friends from school.”

“And your parents?”

She shrugged. “I’d rather not invite them but doing that would only invite more questions than if they showed up so I guess put them on the list.” As if just realizing something, she pulled out her phone and tapped the screen a few times. “I’ve started the guest list and I’ll share it with you or Jack, and you can add to it as necessary.”

“Oh, um, yeah that sounds good.” The mood at the table had shifted abruptly and it was my fault. “This is weird.”

She shrugged and turned to her wine. “It’s happening,” she whispered and kept her gaze focused on the empty plate in front of her. “Maybe we should just take the food to go, let them think we couldn’t wait until after dinner to ravish each other.” There was no emotion, no fire in her words and I wanted to kick myself.

“Oh my god, Alex Witter!” A group of guys stopped at the table, all smiles and handshakes, as they asked for a selfie and told me how great I was. It never got old, that was for sure.

“This is my fiancé, Sasha.”

She smiled sweetly and four sets of eyes swung to her and widened. “Hey guys.”

“Damn, that’s her? Good for you, Alex.”

“What did you expect,” another guy asked. “A stick like Tatiana? Nah, Witter wants a real woman.”

“Uh, guys?”

“Oh sorry!” They apologized for the intrusion, thanked me and went on their way.

“You love it,” she said with an affectionate smile. And then, as if she remembered we weren’t being friendly, it faded and she went back to her wine.

“I do. Without the fans I wouldn’t be who I am. Sure, I’d still play and I would still be damn good but without the love, I wouldn’t make what I do or have the endorsements that fund my lifestyle.”

She nodded. “Then it’s good that you enjoy it.” That was it, her words bland and stilted.

The rest of dinner was excruciating and I wasn’t sure which I preferred, falling under her spell or having her ice me out completely.

By the time we made it back to the penthouse, I had my answer. I would much rather—a million times over—fall under Sasha’s spell than be the subject of her cold shoulder. She hadn’t said a word since she argued with me about paying half the dinner tab at the restaurant, which made for a torturous ride home.

“Where are you going?” She looked up at me as we made a left down the hall that led to her suite.

“I’m walking you to your door,” I told her. “Like a gentleman.”

Sasha sighed. “You don’t have to do this, Alex. We tried tonight and we failed, so let’s just chalk it up to giving it the old college try, okay?”

“I wouldn’t say we failed,” I began slowly and put my hand to her lower back, where I didn’t fail to miss the shiver that tore through her body. “There are learning curves to be expected.”

“Learning curves?” She laughed but there was a distinct lack of amusement in it. “I tried to get to know you and you shut me down. Message received.” She turned at the door and effectively blocked me from going any further. “Good night, Alex.”

Shit. This was not going the way I wanted it to go, and I hated it. This wasn’t me. Alex Witter didn’t swing his puck and miss, not ever. I always made the goal. Except tonight. I watched Sasha turn away with slumped shoulders and a defeated expression and knew I had to do something. “I finally understand now, what you were trying to tell me before.”

She stopped and turned to me, her dark brows raised in a question.

“The dangers of spending time together. The risk of catching inconvenient feelings.” I shook my head and scraped a hand over my face. “I felt it earlier and it shocked me, not because you’re not great but because, hell Sasha, you asked me about work. Do you know how fucking hot that is?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea Alex. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together over the next two and a half years, I thought it would be nice to get to know each other.”

“I want that too,” I insisted. “It just dawned on me during dinner what you meant and I could see how easily feelings could develop.”

“And you either hated it or got scared,” she guessed correctly.

“It scared me, Sasha. It scared the hell out of me.” My lips pulled into a lopsided grin but the minute it was over, I hated the way you pulled back. I hated it more than it scared me.”

“I get it, Alex. Now you understand why this is a bad deal.”

“I understand why you think it’s a bad idea,” I agreed and took a step forward. And then another. “But I disagree.” She got as far as a gasp before my mouth was on hers, tasting the white wine on her lips from dinner, the after dinner coffee on her tongue. I smiled against her mouth and she moaned when I slipped inside. She moaned again when I pulled her close to let her feel the impact she had on me.

Sasha and I were good together, really fucking good and this kiss proved it. All it took was one swipe of my tongue, one nibble on my bottom lip and we both blew up. It was explosive and there was no way in hell that we could spend the next two and a half years together without getting naked. Together.

In fact, if I didn’t stop now then I’d peel that blue dress off of her and make her scream my name now. Pull back now. After a few more seconds of devouring every inch of her mouth, I slowly pulled back with a teasing grin. “As much as I want to, and I really fucking want to, I don’t put out on the first date.”

She laughed. “Who’s offering?”

I laughed and leaned in, kissing the top of one breast and then the other. The kiss was silky smooth and she smelled like flowers and perfume. “Not yet, Sasha. But soon.”

Very fucking soon.

I stepped back until she was out of my reach and then I turned and walked away, and straight into a cold shower.