Playing To Win. Taryn Leigh Taylor

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СКАЧАТЬ to bet on themselves, but it would get you banned for life from the sport, and that was on top of whatever criminal prosecution was handed down. And to risk all that on point-shaving? It was dicey at best, because no one player had full control over a hockey game. And yet, if you were favored to win anyway, there were subtle things you could do to make the game a little closer than it needed to be. Someone could have gotten cocky.

      The Storm had already weathered a scandal earlier in the season, when the not-so-secret affair between captain Chris Powell and GM Ron Lougheed’s trophy wife had become front page fodder. Lougheed and his soon-to-be-ex were currently fighting a pretty nasty custody battle in the courts—and in the media. This was the last thing the organization needed on its résumé, tainting its inaugural play-off run. But for Holly, it was perfect.

      This was the windfall she’d been waiting for. Because breaking a story like this was the key to making herself the front-runner, not just for Corey Baniuk’s position, but an on-air sports position at almost any station in the country. It was a first-class ticket to reporter legitimacy. All she had to do was figure out who the guilty party was.

      She liberated her phone from her bra—she’d had to stow it there earlier because skirt suits like this one didn’t come with pockets—and snapped a photo of the questionable list so she could inspect it more closely when she got home.

      The key to a good investigation, her mother had told her once, was to let the action go on around you. If you disturbed things too early, you’d never get the answers you were looking for. To that end, she refolded the paper and placed it back where she’d found it.

      It was the first time during this entire sham that Holly felt she might have made her mother proud.

      Her head whipped around at the sound of a door swinging closed. Getting caught now would ruin everything.

      She hurried back into the bathroom stall as quietly as her heels would allow. Was it her perp returning to the scene of the crime? Had he realized he’d dropped his list? Maybe this time she could catch a glimpse of whoever was striding into the bathroom.

      She’d just pulled the stall door shut and was about to navigate her way up onto the toilet—no easy feat since there was only a toilet seat and no lid—when an indecipherable noise made her stop. There was a beat of dead silence, and then, “Holly, I know you’re in there. I can see your shoes.”

      Busted.

      She unlatched the door and did her best to appear sheepish. “Luke. Hey. I didn’t hear you come in. You look nice. When did you get a chance to change? I thought you were filming puck tricks with Jay.”

      The surge of adrenaline at getting caught morphed into a surge of something else as she took in the sight of Luke Maguire looking big and handsome and powerful in the most beautifully tailored charcoal suit she’d ever seen. His silk tie was a deep plum and his blue eyes were flashing. “We finished up a while ago. I’ve already changed and done a pregame interview. Things move fast on game day. That’s why I thought you were gone.” He put particular stress on the last word.

      Geez. How long had she been staring in that mirror? No wonder Paige was always late.

      “Now maybe you can explain what the hell you’re doing in here?”

      She shot him a look that was all smart-ass. “It’s a bathroom, Luke. Do I have to spell it out for you?”

      He frowned at the joke, and she resisted the sudden urge to smooth his brow. Why was he so serious all the time?

      “You need to get out of here, right now. Only the team can use the bathroom on game day.” If she wasn’t mistaken, he looked a little embarrassed when he explained. “It’s a good luck thing.”

      “It’s a stupid thing,” she countered. “I’ll never understand why elite athletes aren’t more enlightened than medieval man.”

      “Well, you don’t have to understand it. You just have to respect it. And keep your voice down! Guys are in and out of the dressing room this close to game time.” He ran a hand through his close-cropped hair. “Jesus. Not even the cleaners are allowed in today. We’ve got to get you out of here before someone sees you. Come on.” He reached out to cup her elbow, an old-fashioned gesture that took her by surprise. Holly was dismayed at the way her skin thrilled at the warmth of his fingers, even through the sleeve of her blazer.

      She shrugged her arm from his grasp, an act of self-preservation.

      Luke sighed, obviously interpreting it as an act of defiance.

      “Holly, you remember all that stupid stuff you asked me earlier? I gave you the benefit of the doubt and I answered all your dumb questions because you were just doing your job. Now I’m trying to do mine, and part of me doing my job is making sure my guys are ready to play. Focused. And if maintaining a stupid superstition is what it takes to ensure we bring our A game tonight, then that’s what I have to do. So do me a solid, okay? Even though it’s silly, and inconvenient and probably makes no difference at all, please let’s get out of here before anyone sees you?”

      Holly had to look up at him, despite her four-inch heels and his lack of skates. When had he gotten so close? God, he was handsome, all tall and stubbly, his ocean-blue eyes pleading.

      “Fine. Let’s—”

      “Shit. Someone’s coming!”

      Holly wasn’t sure exactly how it had happened, but suddenly she was chest to chest with Luke inside the tiny bathroom stall, made positively miniscule by his large frame. She heard the telltale footsteps a moment later.

      Luke scooped her into his arms, one hand around her back, his other forearm under her knees. He’d literally swept her off her feet, and the suddenness of it stole her breath. Her arms flew around his neck in self-preservation, and she was vividly aware of every inch of her body, especially the parts of her that were plastered against his broad chest.

      She could feel his muscles beneath his suit jacket, enough to tell that they were barely straining under her weight. She shot him her best “what the hell?” glare through the onslaught of yum, and he gestured with his chin in the direction of her feet.

      “Your shoes. That’s how I knew you were in here.”

      He breathed the words quietly, his mouth so close that she could feel the exhalation against the sensitive skin beneath her ear. It tickled, and she turned her head to protect her neck. Suddenly there was nothing but a fraction of an inch’s worth of air separating their lips.

      His muscles flexed then, pulling her tighter to his chest and her breath came fast and shallow. Heat prickled over her skin and pooled in her belly. Her fingers clenched against the soft material of his jacket.

      Holly had never experienced lust at first sight before, but man, Luke Maguire made her lust. She ran her hand up his chest, and he shifted his stance, but before their lips met, he banged his elbow against the stall. The thump reverberated through the bathroom, snapping them back into the present, and they froze, eyes wide.

      They both cocked their heads toward the sink side of the stall, listening intently for any sign that they’d blown their cover.

      After another moment of silence, Luke set her carefully on her feet. The lust hangover made Holly a little wobbly on her heels. He stepped forward and lifted onto his toes so he could see over the edge of the stall. “He’s gone,” he said, the words СКАЧАТЬ