Read Melting Ice for Free Online

family.
    “I don’t know,” Avery admitted.
    “Seriously? Brad is the biggest man slut around. You don’t need to get hooked up with a friend of his. That guy, Isaac, is bad news. He’s dangerous.”
    “What makes you say that?” Avery laughed at her sister who liked to pretend she had some gift for seeing inside a person, which she didn’t, but usually Avery humored her.
    “I just know.” Emma continued to stare at the door.
    Avery didn’t roll her eyes but she wanted to. “I’m not going to do anything with him that Bella wouldn’t do.” Avery grinned knowing her statement would really get a rise out of her straight-arrow sister.
    Emma eyes grew big. “Bella doesn’t have any boundaries. She’s—she’s indiscriminate.”
    “I have a long way to go before I surpass her. This is just one guy, and I only want one night.” Maybe two or three. After all Bella had a stable of guys she called when she was horny. Why shouldn’t Avery have just one?
    “You’re going to hook up with a virtual stranger for one night of meaningless sex? That’s not like you.” Emma’s brow furrowed with worry, but then Emma liked to worry.
    “This is a new year and a new me. So, yes, I am, given half the chance. That man is pure sex with a bad-boy twist. I can tell. I just have to keep him away from Bella, or she’ll be all over him in seconds flat.”
    “I think you’re making a mistake,” Emma sniffed, sounding like some Victorian schoolmarm.
    “I know you think that. You believe love and sex go hand in hand. Emma, the rest of the world has progressed far beyond that crap. Get with the twenty-first century, sister. I’m going to have hot, dirty sex with this guy and probably never see him again. It’s not a big deal as long as we practice safe, consensual sex.”
    Emma frowned; obviously it was a big deal to her.
    Avery didn’t care. They might be twins, but they had their own lives, their own dreams, and their set of moralities. Avery’s just happened to be more relaxed than her sister’s. Besides it wasn’t like this did this type of thing every day, but the right guy had pushed all the right buttons.
    Tired of Emma’s judgmental attitude, Avery picked up the brush and started grooming Dex again. Emma turned to go up the stairs to their apartment and paused.
    Avery glanced up at her. “What?”
    “He is hot, Ave,” Emma admitted and grinned.
    “I know, Ems, I know.”
    Emma hesitated as if she wanted to say more. Instead she shrugged and headed upstairs.
    Avery smiled to herself.
    Yes, Isaac was one hot man, and he wanted her.
    Naked, willing, and able.
     
    * * * *
     
    Isaac showed up early at the Sockeyes’ facility and worked out before meeting with his new coaches. The team had flown into Seattle at the break of dawn, and even though it was Sunday, hockey teams don’t take many days off during the season. Neither did Isaac. None of his new teammates were in the workout room yet, for which he was grateful. He didn’t feel like making nice with the guys, and yet he knew he had no choice. Not if he wanted hockey to remain a part of his life. And he did because without hockey, he had no life. At least not one worth living.
    Isaac showered, dressed in a pair of new jeans and a Sockeyes polo and headed for the coaches’ conference room. He was ten minutes early, but he hated being late.
    As he rounded the corner and walked down the hall, he heard his name. The door was ajar to the conference room so he approached slowly, feeling like a damn coward for not marching right in. Instead he lurked in the shadows by the door and listened.
    “I can’t believe you signed that asshole without at least talking to me first. After all, I’m the team captain.” Cooper Black’s angry voice carried down the hall. Isaac couldn’t stand Black. The guy was arrogant and too perfect, never causing trouble, always playing for the team, while holding himself and others around him to those same impossibly high