Kings of Denver - COMPLETE BOX SET 1-4

by Sheridan Anne

  So, here I am now. Standing at the top of this mountain, in the very spot she had told me all those years ago, holding her ashes to my chest and not wanting to let go. Mom and Dani had wanted to come up here, too, but I knew mom wouldn’t be able to make it all the way. After all, it took me two hours to get here, and to tell the truth, this is something I wanted to do for my sister, just me and Mia, one last time.

  I feel a strong breeze coming along and I begin to unscrew the lid. “I hate that you left us Mia, but I know you had no choice in the matter. I love you so much, baby sister. You’ve left this huge gaping hole in my chest and it hurts so bad,” I say as I begin to sob for my sister. “I’m going to miss you like you wouldn’t believe, but I’ll see you again one day, so you better be ready for me when I come.”

  I feel the wind strengthen around me and I know it’s time to let her go. I tip the ashes out into the wind and watch as she floats through the sky, flying one last time. “Goodbye, Mia. I love you.”

  I fall to my knees as I watch her ashes disappear into the wind, finally free.

  I can’t find it in me to go back straight away, so I sit here at the top of the mountain for another few hours remembering my sister. Remembering the times we had come up here together. I pick a rock up off the ground and walk over to the highest tree and carve her name into the trunk so she can forever leave her mark on this world. So everyone who comes to this mountaintop will know that Mia was here.

  Chapter 25

  Danielle

  We arrive back at Miller’s place late on Wednesday night. We would have stayed another night with his mom, but the Dragons are putting on a benefit skate night for the Denver Youth Hockey Program tomorrow night where we are going to present them with the cheque from all our fundraising we have done this season. Then, early the next morning, we’re flying out to Chicago to kick off the Frozen Four, where over those few days we will determine if our boys will remain undefeated and win the championship.

  I sit up in bed and plug my phone into the charger. “What if I don’t go?” Miller asks as he climbs into bed beside me and begins studying his hands.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask, dreading where this conversation is going.

  “The Frozen Four. The NHL. All of it. I pushed myself this hard because Mia was the one who wanted me to go all the way. She was the one who said I could do it. I don’t know. It just feels wrong without her here,” he says, dropping his head into his hands.

  I snuggle into his side. “Do you think you would have still tried to make it to the NHL, even if Mia hadn’t suggested it herself?”

  He’s thoughtful for a short while before looking up at me. “Yeah, I guess. It’s every little boy’s dream to be in the NHL. I just didn’t think it was possible until Mia convinced me it was.”

  “Do you love playing?” I ask.

  “Yeah.”

  “Now, do you play because you love it or because Mia wanted this for you?”

  “Both,” he admits.

  “Would you want Mia to give up on something she loves because you weren’t around anymore?” I ask climbing up over his hips to straddle him and give me a perfect view of his face.

  He places his hands down on my thighs. “Of course, not.”

  “Then assuming she was as stubborn as you are. I think she would have been mighty pissed if she knew you were even considering not going and giving up. If you truly love hockey and it’s your dream to be in the NHL then you need to go for it. Do it for Mia, but mostly, do it for yourself,” I tell him.

  He pulls me down to him. “You’re amazing,” he says.

  “I try,” I say then grind my hips down on his, desperately needing his touch, since the last time I had him was the rough night in the shower. “I’ve missed this,” I tell him as my lips come down on his.

  I feel him harden beneath me. “I know. I’m sorry, let me make it up to you,” he promises and makes it up to me he does.

  ---------

  “Crap, it’s early,” Sophie yawns as we meet the rest of the team at the airport.

  “No, it’s not,” I laugh. “You just couldn’t get your ass out of bed.” We had the Skate Benefit Night last night and it was huge. There were kids everywhere in their little hockey skates and Dragon’s jerseys. It was amazing. They had the time of their lives when all my boys came out to skate with them and I must say, it was great to see Miller enjoying himself, even if it was just a little bit.

  Though, my favorite part was when Coach Harris asked me and Sophie to come up and present the huge novelty check for $150,000.00 to the Denver Youth Hockey program and gave us a special mention to say none of this would have been possible without us.

  Even Professor Whitaker came along to support the boys and let Sophie and I know just how proud she was of us.

  But after still celebrating at the ice rink until 1 am. Coach finally sent all the boys home to get some rest.

  Which puts us all here at the airport, tired as fuck as we wait for our flight to be called. My phone rings deep in my pocket and I pull it out, finding a private number.

  “Hello,” I say, curious as to who would be calling me.

  “Danielle. Hi. It’s Officer Samuels,” she says. “I tried to call you a few times, but there was no answer.”

  “Oh sorry, we have had quite the busy week,” I explain, though she should have known as I called her a few days ago explaining to her why we wouldn’t be making it to the trial. Though, she understood, sent her condolences and said that our statement alone should be enough to get Brett convicted.

  “Yes, that’s right. Anyway, I wanted to call and let you know what happened at the trial.”

  “Oh, of course,” I say, getting up and walking over to a quiet area of the airport so I can hear every damn word she mutters.

  “The trial was a success. Brett has been convicted of abuse, attempted rape, arson and attempted murder. He will be going away for a long time,” she ensures me.

  “Wow, that’s great,” I say with relief. “Is there anything you need from me?”

  “No darling, that’s it. It’s all over. You can be free to get on with your life,” she tells me.

  “Holy crap,” I sigh. “Thank you, so much.”

  “It was my pleasure. Have a good day,” she says then hangs up.

  I glance up to find Miller’s questioning eyes on me. I rush over to him and throw myself into his arms as I tell him the good news. His body visibly relaxes under me as if a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulder, much like mine had.

  I get on with giving mom and dad a call to let them know what Officer Samuels had said and then hang up to find Sophie standing right before me. “Did I just hear what I think I just heard?” she asks.

  I give her a bright smile. “Yeah,” I tell her, getting up off Miller's lap and wrapping my arms around her.

  “Thank god it’s over,” she sighs.

  “Tell me about it.”

  Thirty minutes later, we board the flight. I have a little freak out when the plane takes off and then promptly fall asleep as exhaustion catches up with me.

  Coach had given us the run-down of how this thing is going to go, which the quick version is pretty much a huge press conference before the games start. I must admit, I’m pretty nervous about it as word of Mia’s death has now gotten around, so they’re bound to ask Miller how he’s holding up, but I’ve assured Coach Harris that he will be fine. Or at least, I hope he is and if not, that’s what I’m here for.

  I wake up an hour before the plane is due to land and pull my head up off Miller’s shoulder. “Good sleep?” he asks.

  “No,” I grumble and look up to find Miller smirking down at me. “What?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

  He looks around quickly then leans down to me. “You want to join the mile-high club?” he murmurs in my ear.

  “What?” I whisper yell as my eyes widen in surprised shock. “You can’t be serious?”

  “Oh, I am so serious,” h
e tells me with a sexy smirk.

  I glance around the cabin to find the majority of the team fast asleep and the ones who aren’t are certainly not paying any attention to us. Hmmm. “Ok,” I smirk back at him. “How’s this going to work?”

  “Go down to the bathroom and I’ll come and join you in a few minutes,” he tells me.

  I give one last nervous glance around before getting up and heading to the bathroom.

  Twenty minutes later, I can proudly say that I am now a member of the famous mile high club and to say having sex in a plane bathroom is difficult, is definitely an understatement, but my man can make anything work. What’s best is that no one knows our dirty little secret.

  “You ready for this?” he asks a few minutes out from landing. “It’s going to be crazy in there. Heaps of fans and press,” he warns.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine. It’s you they want,” I laugh.

  “Don’t doubt for one second that they aren’t going to hound on you. You’re my girl, they are going to want to meet the woman who finally tamed the famous Miller Cain,” he smirks.

  “That’s ok. I can handle myself,” I tell him as the plane begins to descend. I grab his hand in a death hold, squeezing it until I’m sure I’ve cut off the circulation.

  “I thought you could handle yourself?” he asks.

  “I can,” I snap. “I just don’t like to fly.”

  “Ok, ok,” he says, holding his hands up in surrender then gives his now squished hand a shake to help the blood flow. “No need to get your panties in a twist.”

  “How can I get my panties in a twist when you wouldn’t give them back?” I hiss under my breath. He smirks down at me and gently pats his jeans pocket where I know my undies are currently hiding. “Jerk,” I mutter, getting up and reaching for my bag.

  We finally make it off the plane to find the airport filled with press and fans, everyone calling out, desperate for the attention of their favorite Dragon, and I know I might be slightly biased, but I swear I hear Miller’s name being called far more than the rest of the boys, though, I can’t blame the fans, he is nothing but a star.

  We get back to the hotel and the boys are given a good half an hour to get themselves changed into their Dragon’s suits for the press conference. I watch as Miller strips off and gets himself suited up, and man does he look good.

  “Stop looking at me like that,” he scolds as he pulls his suit jacket on.

  “I can’t help it,” I say as I continue to mentally undress him.

  He walks over to me, well, more like struts over to me with his cocky, sexy, signature smirk and runs his fingers down my body. My body reacts to his touch which, of course, he doesn’t miss. “Fuck, baby, I wish I had time to give you what you need right now,” he murmurs into my ear.

  “I know you do,” I say reaching forward and palming his hard cock through his pants.

  “Don’t get me started on something I can’t finish,” he warns taking both my shoulders in his hands and stepping out of my reach. “I have to go,” he tells me.

  “I know, Captain,” I sulk. “You’ll be great. I’m going to go down to Sophie’s room to watch you guys on TV and order room service.”

  “Ok,” he grins. “Don’t wait up for me, I’ll probably be late.”

  “K,” I smile stepping back into his arms. “Just be careful. They’ll most likely ask about Mia,” I warn.

  “Yeah, I know, but its ok. I’m ready.”

  I look up into his eyes and realize he is. I reach up onto my tippy-toes and give him a quick kiss. “Go get em, Tiger,” I mock.

  “You’re such a smart ass,” he laughs as he grabs his phone and wallet off the table and slides them into his pocket. He walks with me down to Sophie and Tank’s room and I slip inside as Tank comes out. We watch in awe as our sexy boys strut back down the hallway, looking as handsome as ever in their suits.

  We make ourselves comfortable on the couch as we check out the competition on ESPN while ordering room service. The other teams so far look pretty good but we know they have nothing on our boys.

  An hour later, the Dragon’s are introduced and my man’s face appears on the screen with his ranking and stats. I squeal out as he smirks down the camera and mouths ‘love you, baby’. Pride surges through me and I must admit, I tear up just a little.

  Next up is Tank who holds up his hands to make a heart and gives the camera a sexy smirk while Sophie screams out that she loves him. The rest of the team follows along and eventually, the full team sits along the longest table you’ve ever seen, each with their own microphone and little nameplate before them.

  It doesn’t take long for the press to jump straight into their questions. Starting with Coach Harris then moving onto the boys. All the regular questions are thrown around like, ‘How did you prepare?’, ‘Do you think you’re ready?’, ‘What has your training been like?’, blah, blah, blah.

  Twenty minutes into the press conference, they start with the more personal questions, in particular, asking about the Kings of Denver Hockey Calendar that went out early in the season and the auction, which both managed to get quite a lot of attention. Miller pipes up and answers these questions and makes sure to mention Sophie and I in the process. He then goes on to tell them about the fundraising and proceeds which were donated to The Denver Youth Hockey Program.

  On and on it goes, question after question when a small brunette stands up and makes herself known. “Hi there, my question is for Miller Cain,” she announces. There’s a slight pause as the camera pans back to Miller. He indicates for her to go on with her question. “Hi Miller,” she starts. “I don’t mean to be insensitive, however, it’s been brought to our attention that your younger sister, Mia, has recently passed. We would like to know, how this is going to impact your performance tomorrow?”

  Miller smiles back at the woman. “I was wondering how long it would take for Mia’s name to be mentioned,” he smiles fondly. “She always used to bug me about giving her a shout out at one of these. It’s a shame that it’s under such awful circumstances in which that has now happened.”

  “But as for my performance? Mia always had faith in me that I could do anything I put my mind to, including taking out the championship. When I get on that ice tomorrow, I’m skating for her. So, no, my performance is not something I’m concerned about. If anything, I know I’ll be skating at my absolute best.”

  Holy crap. That’s my man. Pride surges through me for the second time in twenty minutes and I realize that every word he has just said is as true as it could possibly be. Tomorrow he isn’t skating for himself or his team. He is doing this for his sister, which is how I know without a doubt, that no matter how much of a fight the opposing team puts up tomorrow. Miller will still come out on top, even if it kills him.

  A few hours later, I’m fast asleep in bed when I feel a familiar warm body crawl in beside me and scoop me up.

  “You did amazing. I’m so proud of you,” I murmur in my sleepy haze.

  “Thanks, baby,” he says planting a soft kiss on my lips. “Go back to sleep. We have a huge day tomorrow.”

  Chapter 26

  Miller

  Just as I promised to the nosey bitch of a reporter, I absolutely kicked ass and I skated every moment of the semi-finals with Mia in mind. It was a hard game. In fact, one of the hardest I’ve had, but I kept on and in the end, I did it for Mia.

  The boys all stopped me in the locker room right before heading out and let me know that they were all doing this game for Mia too which nearly brought me to my knees, seeing how the boys had turned into men over the space of the season. I couldn’t have been prouder of them.

  I thanked them all and got out on that ice, and as a team, we pushed our way right through the semi-finals and into the final where we will be skating for that championship, it just happens to be the LA team that beat us last year, but I won’t let that happen. Not on my watch. These boys have worked too hard to let it slip through our fingers once again.


  We all celebrate in the locker room with a quick speech from Coach Harris before getting back into our suits to head out for the after-game reporters.

  Following our duties and strict instructions from Coach Harris, Tank and I find our girls and head back to the hotel. “So, Coach isn’t letting us leave the hotel tonight, so, I was hoping you’d join me for dinner in the hotel restaurant?” I ask Dani as we step into the elevator.

  “Are you asking me out on a date?” she says with a flirty tone in her voice.

  “And if I am?” I smirk.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” she says, stepping out of my arms. “I have a boyfriend back home and I’m not too sure how he would feel about me accepting a date with a superstar,” she jokes.

  “What’s your boyfriend going to say if he found out the superstar is going to be feasting between his woman’s legs tonight?”

  Her eyes widen and she gasps as her face goes bright red. “I can’t believe you just said that out loud” she scolds.

  “Is this an open invitation?” Sophie asks from beside us.

  “What?” Dani screeches as Tank looks over at her with curiosity.

  “Ah, what?” I ask.

  “Get your mind out the gutter. I meant the restaurant not the feasting between my best friend’s legs,” she scolds.

  I look down at Dani. “What do you think, babe?” I ask.

  “Why not?” she says. “It’s a hockey trip, you should be with your team as much as possible. After all, you’re graduating soon and this was the last college semi-final you’ll ever be a part of, so you may as well make it count,” she says.

  “Alright then, I’ll see if a few of the boys want to join us,” I tell her.

  “Make sure you invite Coach Harris. I don’t want him to feel left out,” she demands.

  “Yes, boss,” I mock.

  “Shut it,” she laughs.

  An hour later, we find ourselves down at the all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant meeting the rest of the team. The rest of the Dragon’s appear over the next few minutes and before you know it, we’re all digging in, even Coach Harris, who I must admit was thrilled that we had thought of inviting him.