Body Checked (Salt Lake Pumas #2)

by Camellia Tate

  Vega gave what I thought was a reassuring bark, then trotted off to find Teddy. I looped an arm around Will’s waist, letting the heat of his body ground me so I wouldn’t go and watch for the shelter people through the window.

  “You’re always so calm,” I said, looking up. “I love that about you.”

  He gave a soft chuckle, pulling me in closer against him. “It’s my superpower,” he informed me. “Like how yours is always running into me,” Will teased. I was sure it would always be funny to us just how many times we’d run into each other before finally planning to see each other.

  “It worked out well for me,” Will informed me. It had worked out well for me, too. I was about to say as much when a car pulled into the drive. “I think that’s them,” Will said, nudging my shoulder. “I’ll go put the dogs in the yard,” he added.

  We were well prepared, with me having read a lot about how to introduce dogs to each other, so I knew we couldn’t just put them together suddenly. Still, I worried my lower lip between my teeth. Will must have spotted; because he gave my hand another squeeze.

  You’re ready. We’re ready,” he promised.

  I nodded, letting him go so that I could rush to the door. Once I’d opened it, Pauline from the shelter gave me a nod as she lifted Drake out of the backseat of her car. Unlike Teddy and Vega, it was hard to tell exactly what breed Drake’s parents might have been. Pauline had told us he was active enough to keep up with our existing pets.

  “Hi Pauline, hi Drake,” I greeted. Drake ran about halfway towards me, then stopped, glancing back at Pauline. As she came closer, he followed, until I could stretch out my hand to let him sniff me.

  Instantly, my heart melted. The nerves I’d been feeling vanished. Drake seemed far more anxious than I was. I wanted nothing more than to make him feel welcome and comfortable. I knew it couldn’t be rushed. Our house was full of strange dog smells, we had to let Drake take it at his own pace.

  “Shall I bring out a bowl of water?” I suggested, just in time to see Will emerge from the front door, carrying a clean bowl filled with water.

  I smiled.

  “Okay, that’s a little unsettling,” Pauline teased. “Are you two always reading each other’s minds like that?”

  Will gave a shrug at that. “No. One of us just read a lot about getting a dog and the other had to listen to a lot of it,” he answered, setting the bowl down and holding his hand out for Drake to come sniff it. Looking up at Pauline, Will grinned. “I’ll let you figure out who’s who in that scenario,” he told her. I could feel a light blush spreading over my cheeks.

  Pauline, at least, laughed. “Well, I’ve just got a few bits of paper for you to sign and then Drake’s all yours,” she announced.

  Will and Pauline chatted. I was too absorbed in Drake to pay much attention, but I did hear Will answering questions about how long we’d lived together and how long he’d lived in the house before I moved into it.

  By the time all the papers were signed, Drake was ready to come in and explore his new home. I took his lead from Pauline, thanking her once again for helping us through the adoption process.

  We waved goodbye, and then I reached for Will’s hand. I wanted the three of us to take Drake’s first steps into our shared house together.

  “This feels right, doesn’t it?” I asked. “I mean, I know you laugh when I say that the universe wanted us to be together.” Will wasn’t romantic the same way I was. “But it feels right to you, even if it’s in a different way than it feels right to me.” To me, it felt like everything had been leading us here. And I couldn’t be happier about it.

  Giving my hand a squeeze, Will smiled. “It does feel right,” he confirmed, before pressing a quick kiss against my lips. Drake was already excitedly sniffing around, learning the house before I’d even let him off his lead.

  “Maybe, maybe, I’ll agree, this once, that the universe brought us together,” Will said, a wide, infectious smile blooming across his face.

  It was the perfect thing to say. I smiled back just as widely. “This once is enough, I promise,” I told Will as I finally let Drake off the lead. “I won’t ask you to say it on every anniversary.”

  But I did believe that it was true. The universe had pushed me and Will together because we were meant to find each other. Teddy and Vega were meant to bond, and we were meant to offer Drake a new home.

  I leaned into Will as Drake padded across the living room, pressing his nose into everything to investigate all the different smells.

  Watching our family grow, with Will’s warm hand in mine, I couldn’t remember a time that I’d ever been happier.

  Which boded well for the future. Because I knew that this was only the beginning of our happiness together!

  Other books by Camellia Tate

  Salt Lake Pumas Series

  Gloves Dropped

  El Sterling ruined my life once. I’m not giving her a chance to do it a second time.

  I’ve made mistakes.

  Mistakes that I’ve learned from.

  I’ve come a long way to make it as captain of the Salt Lake Pumas.

  So of course, that’s when she comes back.

  The girl who ruined my life twelve years ago.

  But not again.

  I’m a changed man. I’ve worked hard for this.

  My head knows I need to ignore the woman El has become.

  My body’s much more easily swayed.

  The fire in her eyes burns through my cool-headed defenses.

  No one told me that giving in to the sparks between us might make me change all over again.

  A 68k standalone, enemies-to-lovers hockey romance!

  Madison Howlers Series

  Game Plan

  Sometimes, knowing the name of your soulmate is more trouble than it’s worth. That’s how Connor Lewis feels when photographs of his soulmark get published.

  The hockey fans go crazy. Every Ashley in the Madison area is wild to convince Connor that she’s the one. All Connor wants to do is focus on his game.

  Ashley Walton isn’t looking for a soulmate. She wants a relationship based on something real.

  That makes her perfect for what Connor has planned. He asks if she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend, on the understanding that it’s just until the media frenzy dies down.

  They expect it to be a few months, at most. Ashley’s really more interested in learning from the Howlers’ PR team than she is in Connor.

  At least at first.

  Everything about their ‘relationship’ is a show staged for the press. Except, Connor spends every waking moment with Ashley on the brain. Finding out she wants to move miles away for her dream job hits him like a body-slam into the boards.

  The closer they get, the more Connor is willing to risk to keep Ashley at his side. Falling in love wasn’t in their game plan, so Connor takes matters into his own hands...

  Best Shot

  Finding your soulmate is supposed to be easy! Especially when everyone carries their soulmate’s name written on their skin.

  Best friends Thea and Doe would never fall out over a man. Doe’s soulmark reads ‘Blake’ and Thea’s is ‘Frederick’, so the possibility has never crossed their minds.

  Enter Blake Ashbury. Thea is first to meet the gorgeous hockey player. As soon as she finds out his name, she gives playing matchmaker her best shot. She should be over the moon to introduce Doe to her soulmate. It doesn’t matter that Thea is the one who loves Blake’s jokes, or that his touch feels like fire and electricity. Blake isn’t meant to be with her, so Thea will back off.

  At least, that’s the plan.

  Blake never expected meeting his soulmate to be so complicated. Doe is sweet. She’s everything Blake thought he wanted in a girlfriend. He can’t understand why it’s Thea who makes his pulse race!

  Thea and Blake aren't meant to be together, so why is it so hard to keep the chemistry between them down? The longer they spend together, the harder it beco
mes to remember that they need to keep their distance!

  Empty Net

  A tiny portion of the population have empty space where the name of their soulmark should be.

  Ryan Newell believes that hockey is his one true love. Knowing he doesn’t have a soulmate, he gives his heart to the Madison Howlers. It’s only his body that he gives away freely.

  A little too freely. A scandalous picture lands him in hot water with the team’s PR. To fix his rep, they send him off to fundraise for a local charity.

  That’s where he meets Naomi Stone. Being blind since birth, Naomi has never seen the name that’s written on her skin. All she knows is that Ryan makes her pulse race and her skin tingle in ways she’s never felt before.

  As things heat up between them, Ryan starts to feel like he’s in over his head. Having a girlfriend isn’t something you can train for. Knowing that he can’t be Naomi’s soulmate is a thought that Ryan can’t escape.

  Finding love is hard enough without knowing you are no one’s destiny.

  Goal Line

  When your dad owns an NHL team, you meet a lot of hockey players.

  Annie’s daddy made her promise she’d never date one of the Green Bay Mammoths. That suited her just fine. Her interest was in their skills on the ice, not off.

  But Devon Oakley changes everything.

  Ever since she discovered the name of her soulmate, Annie has been waiting to meet him. And Devon’s just as dedicated to his soulmark match as he is to his team.

  But there’s always a catch. Devon doesn’t play for Green Bay. He’s the goalie for their greatest rivals!

  Annie has to know: is true love bigger than ice hockey loyalty?

  There’s only one way to find out...

  Final Score

  Finding a soulmate is different for everyone. Lev and I met at the side of the road and became friends over a common language. Then I had to tell him that I couldn't see him anymore.

  Maria Rawlins is the best friend anyone could ask for.

  Funny. Passionate. Twice shy.

  Under her insistence that she doesn’t need a man is a yearning for the kind of meant-to-be connection that her mom and sister have both found. She wants a Russian soulmate who loves life as much as she does.

  A man who’ll make time to be with her, who’ll see her as his equal.

  She doesn’t notice Lev settling into the empty space in her heart. Not until there’s no way to stop it.

  A Russian-import NHL athlete, Lev Popov is...

  Talented. Sexy. Wounded.

  This devil-may-care extrovert could have any woman in Madison, but his heart is locked behind a wall built by his ex. Yet brick by brick, Maria is breaking it down.

  Falling for his best friend is not what Lev wants. His heart races for Maria - and at the thought that loving her might mean losing her.

  True love might be rare. True friendship can be rarer.