Hard Stick

by L. P. Dover

Graham’s jaw tensed and I thought he was about to blow up. “And that right there is why he doesn’t want to see you.” He hit the button on his dash and the line disconnected. “I’m sorry you had to hear that. I should’ve known it was her calling from another number.”

  “It’s okay. Kellan told me what happened between you two.”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “She didn’t used to be like that. Her family never approved of me, since my parents didn’t have their social status. It didn’t stop her from being with me, though. I was in love with her. When Kellan was fifteen, she inherited her family’s fortune, and everything changed. Soon I wasn’t good enough, our house wasn’t good enough, being a mother wasn’t good enough. She always had to have more.”

  “I guess I can see why Kellan harbors ill feelings toward her.” He nodded in agreement.

  We pulled up at his house and I got out of the car. Graham peered over the hood at me, his gaze concerned. “Do you mind doing me a favor?”

  “Sure.”

  “Don’t tell Kellan his mother called me. It’s not the first time she’s done it, but if he found out, he’d get really pissed.”

  I held up my hands. “I won’t tell him.”

  “Thanks, Kristen. Not only does he have to deal with her, but her husband’s a complete jackass.”

  He opened the back of his SUV and I grabbed as many bags of stuff as I could. “I heard you mention him pestering Kellan. What happened with that?”

  His lips pulled back into a smile. “Kellan ended up punching the shit out of him. I’ve never met the man, but I heard he’s a dick. Kellan doesn’t have a tolerance for him.”

  “Wow, that’s crazy. Do you think she’ll really show up at his house?”

  We stopped at his door and he sighed. “She might. Kellan’s mother has a way of getting what she wants. But at least he can hide out at your house if he needs to.”

  It was crazy, but Kellan and I really did have a lot more in common than I thought. I was running away from a psycho ex and Kellan was running away from a psycho mother. Hopefully she’d stay away, but I had a feeling she wasn’t going to.

  Chapter 17

  Kristen

  “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been to keep my hands to myself?” Kellan grumbled.

  I patted his thigh, loving the way his muscles tensed when I touched him. “We have tonight,” I laughed teasingly.

  “Yeah, and you’d better be ready. Once Dallas’s party is over, we’re going straight to my house.” I laughed again, my whole body trembling with the thought. He didn’t realize I was in just as much pain as him. I craved feeling him inside me.

  It was Saturday night and we were on our way to the arena for the Strikers’ second game against Florida. They’d won the game last night and we celebrated by going out to eat with some of the guys on the team, including Dallas and Braeden. They still gave me grief about the money they lost.

  “Am I sitting in the same place as last night?” I asked. He’d put me in one of the luxury box suites with his father and the family members of some of the other players.

  “Yep. I don’t want you out in the seats where drunk assholes will be hitting on you every five seconds. Sometimes those fuckers don’t know when to stop.”

  I shrugged. “Drunk guys are easy to take down. They’re sloppy.”

  He grabbed my hand and kissed it. “Still, I don’t want you having to deal with that.” We pulled into our designated parking spot and walked into the arena. “You know where to go, right?” Kellan asked.

  We stopped in front of the locker room and I kissed him. “I do. Good luck tonight. I’ll see ya when it’s over.”

  “You’re damn right you will. Better be ready for me.” He winked and kissed me again before disappearing into the locker room.

  “Hey, hey, pretty lady,” Dallas called out from behind.

  I turned around and laughed. “Hey, good luck tonight.”

  After watching him play and spending time with him after the game last night, I grew to like the arrogant bastard. Watching him and Kellan banter back and forth was comical.

  He strolled up and patted his cheek. “Want to give me a good luck kiss?”

  “Sure.” I kissed my hand and smacked it on his cheek. “How’s that?”

  He rubbed his face and laughed. “Not exactly what I was looking for, but I’ll take it. You comin’ to the party tonight?”

  “Yep.”

  “Sweet.” Looking down at his phone, his eyes went wide. “Fuck, I gotta go. See ya later, Ten.”

  Apparently, my new nickname was Ten. It was the last three letters of my name, but Dallas said it was because I was a ten. He was drunk when he gave it to me, but it looked like it was going to stick. When I walked into the public areas of the arena, I couldn’t help but smile at all the little kids wearing their Charlotte jerseys. I realized I didn’t have one of my own, so I bought one with Kellan’s name and number on it and slipped it over my shirt. He’d get a kick out of that.

  I hurried to the luxury box and Graham was already there, sitting by the window and talking to Maggie. “Hey,” I said, taking the seat on his other side.

  “Hey, sweetheart.”

  I looked over at Maggie and smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Maggie. I need to come in and get some more cupcakes soon.”

  Her face lit up. “Yes, you do. I started making some strawberry ones that I know you’ll love.”

  “I’ll be by there on Monday, then.”

  Graham chuckled and held her hand. “I think I’m going to run to the restroom before the game starts,” she said.

  Once she was gone, I nudged Graham in the side. “Looks like things are going well between you two.”

  “They are. Thank you for helping me.”

  “You’re welcome. So tell me what I’m in for.” I nodded toward the rink. “How crazy is it going to get out there?”

  Tilting his head back, he bellowed out a laugh. “Just be prepared, sweetheart. Kellan can get pretty vicious. By the time he was sixteen, word spread pretty fast on how good he was. He was drafted at sixteen and the rest is history. It’s very rare you see a player stay with the same team for so long, but he’s done it. He’ll probably be with the Strikers for the rest of his career.”

  The players took the ice, wearing their blue and black colors. Kellan had a blue C on his jersey and the number nineteen. It was strange to think that when he moved to Charlotte, I’d just moved away. It made me wonder if I’d never moved or if my parents were still alive, if we’d have ever crossed paths. I could almost imagine running into him at the rink while I went there to skate. So many possibilities.

  The game was about to start and Kellan looked up at me. I waved and smiled, but my nerves were shot. Hockey was a hard-core sport and I didn’t want him to be injured. “How often does he get hurt?” I asked, leaning toward Graham.

  He snorted. “My son doesn’t get hurt…he hurts everyone else.”

  Kellan skated to the center of the rink and got into position. The game was on.

  —

  Hockey players were tough. When one would get smashed into the glass, he’d get right back up. Kellan was relentless out there, slamming people into the wall left and right. It made my body hurt just watching them play. Dallas let two pucks get past him, but the Strikers won five to two.

  “Why don’t you go down there and get your picture taken with him?” Graham suggested. He walked out of the luxury box hand in hand with Maggie while I followed them.

  The players had left the ice, but Kellan and Dallas stayed while they were being interviewed by reporters. “I think I’ll just stay with you and Maggie.”

  His brows lifted. “You’re not ashamed of being seen with my son, are you?”

  Maggie smacked his arm and I rolled my eyes. “Of course not. It’s just not a good idea for me to have my picture taken.”

  “You’re not married, are you?”

  “No.” I laughed. “I just don’t want to
be in the spotlight. I might break the camera.”

  It wasn’t exactly easy to say that I was afraid my ex might find me if there were public pictures of me; I had to be careful and Kellan understood that. Once the camera crews were done, Kellan and Dallas disappeared through the door that led to the locker rooms. There were so many people in our way that I couldn’t get there in time to catch him.

  With the badges around our necks, we were able to access the private areas of the arena. The security guards let us past and we walked down to the locker room where the other players’ guests waited.

  “Any big plans to celebrate tonight?” Graham asked.

  I leaned against the wall. “There’s a party at Dallas’s house. We’re going there.”

  He chuckled. “That should be interesting. I’ve heard about his parties.”

  “So have I,” I grumbled. His parties were popular and people were willing to do anything to get in. Apparently, there was a time he had a no-pants party. Kellan said he didn’t go to that one, but I didn’t know if I believed him or not. I didn’t care if he did, but if that was happening tonight, I definitely wasn’t going. The last thing I wanted to see was hairy bushes.

  Dallas walked out of the room first and everyone cheered. I clapped my hands and smiled as he sauntered over. “Great game.” He might’ve let two pucks get past him, but he stopped over a dozen attempts.

  “Thanks, Ten,” he said, putting his arm around me. “Carter should be out here any minute.”

  “And you probably don’t want him seeing you groping his girlfriend,” Graham laughed.

  Dallas shrugged and pulled me closer. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  My shoulders shook with laughter. “Actually…”

  Kellan walked out the door dressed in a pair of jeans and a green polo shirt, his gaze instantly finding Dallas and me. His brown hair was sexy as hell, all tousled and still a little damp from his shower.

  “Hey, man, I figured out what theme I want for tonight’s party,” Dallas called out.

  Kellan stalked toward us with a smile on his face. “Oh yeah? What’s that?” I loved that he was confident and not angry because his friend had his arm across my shoulder. Mitchell felt the need to stake his claim every time a man touched me, but Kellan wasn’t like that; he knew he had me.

  Dallas beamed. “All the ladies have to kiss me before they can come through the door.”

  I pushed him off. “What? I’ve already kissed you today.” Kellan’s eyes went wide, but I held up my hand. “Let me demonstrate.” I kissed my hand and slapped it against Dallas’s cheek. “Doesn’t that qualify as a kiss?” Dallas burst out laughing and rubbed his face.

  Kellan stepped forward. “It fucking better. If it doesn’t, he’ll regret it.”

  Laughing, Dallas held up his hands. “Okay, I give up. Ten gets a free pass.”

  Kellan slapped him on the shoulder. “That’s what I thought.”

  More players exited the locker room and Dallas joined them. “See ya in a few,” he said, taking off with the others.

  Graham hugged Kellan and patted his back. “Good game, son.”

  “Thanks,” Kellan replied. “Coach was really happy with the performance.”

  “He should be. You’re a good leader.” That he was. I didn’t have to watch him play in order to see that; it was in his blood. Kellan took my hand and everything tingled. What was it about his touch that absolutely drove me wild? Graham and Maggie smiled at us and then looked at each other. “Well, I guess we’re going to head out. You kids be careful tonight.”

  “We will,” I assured him. We walked with Graham and Maggie out to the parking lot and we parted ways. Once we were in Kellan’s truck, we started on our way to Dallas’s house.

  “What’d you think of the game?” Kellan asked.

  “Loved it. It was intense.”

  “Does that mean you’ll want to go to the Philadelphia games with me next weekend?”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Really? Are you going to try to get me to go to all your games?”

  His hand slid up my thigh to the hem of my skirt. “Something wrong with that?” I placed my hand over his and slid it up farther to my underwear. He sucked in a breath and groaned.

  “Nope, not at all. Actually, I love that you want me there.”

  “Good. Now let’s get to this party and head the fuck out. You have no idea how bad I want you right now.” Oh, I had an idea, because I wanted him just as bad. His arousal bulged underneath his jeans and it killed me that there was nothing we could do about it.

  Dallas’s house was packed when we pulled up, with a line of women waiting to get into the front door. “Is he seriously making them all kiss him?”

  Kellan snorted. “Looks like it. He’s gonna get his ass kicked one day.”

  One thing I noticed when we walked in the door was that most of the guests were women, prancing around the players. Some of the guys had a woman on each arm. I pointed to Maddox, who was one of those guys. “Is that how you were?” I asked.

  Kellan put his arm around my waist. “Nah, I had way more women than that.”

  Pretending I was mad, I tried to pull away and he laughed. “You’re not getting away from me that fast, buttercup. You should know I was never like that. It’s not my style.”

  I knew, but I had to give him a hard time. Braeden was in the kitchen with some of the other players and he waved us over. “Looks like Braeden wants you,” I said.

  Kellan leaned down to my ear. “Want something to drink?”

  I nodded. “A glass of Riesling would be nice.” We walked into the kitchen where a guy dressed in a tux was behind the bar, serving drinks. Kellan got my glass of wine and a beer for him before we joined his friends. I hadn’t officially met a lot of the other players, but a couple of them looked older than Kellan, probably in their midthirties.

  Kellan nodded toward the one with the closely shaven head and beard that had wisps of gray. He was a handsome man, but I could tell he’d played and partied hard over the years. “Kristen, this is Benny Fox. He’s retiring at the end of the season. He’s the one who found me up in Vermont. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be here.”

  Benny held out his hand and I shook it. “Oh wow, that’s awesome.”

  Benny slapped a hand on Kellan’s shoulder. “He was a moody little fucker, too. But I knew the second I saw him play he was special. At the time, one of my cousins was a teacher at his high school. He told me I needed to visit up there and watch his kids play.”

  “So he did,” Kellan said. “And then came back and told Coach Carlisle about me.”

  “So he owes you, right?” I laughed.

  Benny chuckled. “You’re damn right he does. But he’s been a good captain—much better than I ever was.”

  “You used to be the captain?”

  He took a swig of his beer. “For a while, but I’ll be happy to admit I wasn’t as good as Kellan.”

  He glanced at someone over my shoulder and waved. A woman with wavy blond hair wearing a royal blue skintight dress came strolling up. “There you are. I thought I lost you.”

  Benny nodded at her. “Kristen, this is my wife, Hannah. Hannah, this is Kellan’s girlfriend.”

  Hannah’s eyes brightened. “It’s so nice to meet you. I kept wondering if any of these guys were going to grow up and get some real women.”

  Dallas came up behind her. “Nope, we’re having too much fun with the fake ones.”

  Hannah shook her head. “Come on, Kristen. Let’s give these Neanderthals their space.”

  Taking my glass of wine, I winked at Kellan. “Be back later.”

  He bit his lip and watched me walk off, his gaze drifting to my backside as I snuck a glance at him over my shoulder. I loved that I could torture him. I followed Hannah to a vacant corner in the living room and we sat down. Kellan turned in his chair so he could watch me. Hannah noticed him staring at me and smiled. “I have never seen him like that before. What di
d you do to him?”

  “I have no idea. For the past year, he tried to get me to go out with him, but I always said no. Then I decided to give him a chance.”

  She tossed back her wine. “I’m glad you did. He’s such a great guy. A lot of these players are, but that’s just what they are…players. Benny used to be the same way.”

  “How long have you two been married?” I asked.

  “About nine years now. We have two sons. Once he finishes this season we’re going to move back to Ohio. That’s where our families are from.”

  I took a sip of my wine and looked at Kellan over the rim. He had his bottle of beer at his lips, his gaze burning right through me. I could see it in his eyes that he was close to losing control. It was the same way he looked at me when we slept together that first time.

  Guzzling the rest of my wine, I stood and peered down at Hannah. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

  She pointed toward the hall. “If you’re going to the restroom, it’s down that way, second door on the left.”

  “Thanks.” That wasn’t where I was going, but I appreciated it. Kellan watched me walk away and I smiled at him over my shoulder. Dallas’s house was huge and I had no idea where I was going to go, but I’d hoped Kellan would follow me. There was a line of women waiting to get into the bathroom, so I walked past them, slowly making my way down the hall. I heard a few gasps and the sound of Kellan’s name escaping their lips; he was following me.

  Turning down a corner, I didn’t get far before Kellan had me in his arms, his face buried in my neck. Sighing, I leaned my head back as he kissed his way up my flesh, sending shivers all across my skin. “I can’t wait any longer,” he growled low.

  The need in his gray stare made me tremble. “Where do you suggest we go?” I asked, whispering the words across his lips.

  “Follow me.” I followed him to the end of a hallway, where he ushered me inside a pitch-black room. When he turned on the lights, I smiled as my reflection showed in the mirrors along each wall. It had to be Dallas’s private gym. There were weights and exercise machines all throughout the room.

  I watched Kellan’s image in the mirror as he shut and locked the door, grinning devilishly as he stalked me. “What do you want me to do?”