Icing the Puck (New York Empires Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

armrest to get her balance.
    “I told you. I read everything.”
    “OK.”
    The heated look in his gaze sent a hot little spark of desire through her gut. She had no idea what they were talking about, but she suspected this line of conversation would get her even deeper into trouble, so she went back to something she hoped was safe.
    “Your brother must be very good at what he does.”
    “Oh, he is. And you definitely can’t meet him now.”
    “Why is now different?”
    “You’re showing interest in him. You’d probably like him. Which means I’m not introducing you two any time soon.”
    She wasn’t even remotely sure how to respond to him. Especially because his pretend jealousy and possessiveness pleased her. She didn’t understand that reaction. It didn’t make sense. But very little about her encounter with Brody did.
    “What brought you to New York?” she asked, scrambling for something like solid ground in this conversation. “Did you move with your brother?”
    “No. I was in Connecticut first, with my AHL team. Then New York when the Empires brought me up.”
    “So you and your brother are here coincidentally?”
    “Mostly. He could move if he wanted to, but he likes me too much.”
    “Are you sure?”
    He laughed, loudly. Again. The sound attracted the attention of other passengers, but Brody didn’t seem to notice.
    “He has to,” he said. “He’s my twin. But you need to stop talking about him now. Get back to talking about me.”
    She was close enough to laughing at his over-the-top arrogance, she did change the subject. “Where are we going to eat?” she asked.
    “Steak house in midtown. Fantastic food. You’ll love it. You do like steak, right?”
    “I like all food.” It was one of the few indulgences she could manage without risking the fire, which meant she didn’t deny herself the pleasures of good food often. Fortunately, her metabolism was high. She was curvy but managed to maintain her weight without extreme dieting.
    Which was good because she wasn’t sure she could face denying herself anything else that was supposed to be natural and enjoyable to humans.
    She’d already had to shut off too much.
     
     

 

Chapter Four
     
    The ride into Grand Central Station went a lot quicker than Ann expected. Brody kept up a steady conversation that, while it knocked her off balance, never seemed awkward or forced. She really envied his easygoing nature.
    Once on the street, he hailed a taxi. They reached the restaurant in only ten minutes, and when she offered to pay for the ride, Brody refused her money.
    “I’m old fashioned. The man pays when he takes a woman out. Besides, I’m trying to impress you.” He got out of the taxi and then reached back, offering his hand to help her out.
    She risked touching him because she wanted to more than she needed help.
    “I’m still not entirely sure why you’d want to impress me,” she said as the taxi eased back into traffic.
    He tilted his head and gave her a quizzical look.
    The Midtown sidewalk was crowded with people rushing about, women and men in suits hurrying to some business, tourists in their casual clothes stopping in the middle of the pedestrian traffic to stare at a building, a few extremely well-dressed and tall women Ann assumed were models, delivery workers pushing carts piled with boxes. The area smelled like New York to Ann, from the nearby cart selling kebabs, to the scent of exhaust from heavy traffic, a few undercurrents of things less pleasant, and a faint hint of heated concrete, despite the cool, late afternoon air.
    She knew she and Brody were causing a block in the flow of pedestrian movement, but he didn’t seem to notice. He just stared at her as the crowd parted around them, the noise of car horns and people talking wafting past.
    “You don’t have any idea how attractive you are, do you?” he asked quietly, and more seriously than almost anything else he’d said to this point.
    She glanced away,