“We’re a pathetic bunch of losers. I know why I’m sitting around here with only you clowns for company and nursing a beer. I have a fiancée. But why are the three of you hanging here instead of sampling the nightlife this city has to offer with Cave and Ziggy?” Easton took a long pull from his beer, set the bottle on the table, and swung his gaze from Steele to Kaden to me and back.
Kaden shrugged but offered zero explanation. He popped a hunk of chips dripping with cheese into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Steele yawned and fixed his gaze on the flat-screen above his head showing hockey highlights. I had nothing to say either, so I kept my trap shut.
“We’re the Puck Brothers. What’s happened to us? At least Ziggy and Cave are carrying the torch. They’re out partying it up, and here we sit.”
“More like the Hard Luck Puck Brothers,” Kaden mumbled, and we all stared at him, waiting for more of an explanation. He didn’t elaborate.
“You still seeing your secret lover?” Steele asked. Kaden had been “dating” this mystery woman since the beginning of the season. No one knew anything about her, and as far as we could tell, neither did Kaden. We weren’t even sure she was a woman or a real person. Maybe she was married or something else?
Kaden shrugged. “Yeah, sometimes. Are you still plugged in to your phone?”
“I guess you could say that.” Steele was known to have his head buried in whatever piece of technology was available at the time, either his phone, tablet, or laptop. But he hid the screen every time any of us tried to sneak a peek. Easton swore he was addicted to porn or something. I suspected he had an internet girlfriend.
“What’s your story, Axe? Why aren’t you clubbing it up tonight?” Easton centered his attention on me. I had a feeling I was walking into a trap, but I wasn’t smart enough to change direction. I kept walking. My ears burned with embarrassment, which was as good as waving a red flag in the faces of three bulls.
“Not feeling it,” I said, which was basically true.
“I don’t think you’ve been feeling it for a while,” noted Steele.
“I’ve had to deal with a lot of shit.” I hoped my response would be adequate, but I wasn’t so lucky.
“This doesn’t have to do with Jock’s sister, does it?”
I had one hundred percent of their attention. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. We’re friends.”
“I have eyes. I see. She has you tied in knots.” Steele cocked his head at me.
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Kaden leveled me with a glare that said, You aren’t getting out of this one.
“He’s got a crush on Geneva. We’ve all noticed the way he looks at her when he doesn’t think we’re watching.” Easton, who was crazy in love, wanted everyone else to be in love. He saw stuff where there wasn’t anything.
I signaled the waitress for another round and grabbed a hunk of nachos from the plate on the table. I was stalling, and the bastards grinned at me, perfectly content with waiting me out.
“Her brother hates me. It’d never work out even if we did have a mad attraction to each other.”
“Which you do.” Big E pointed a nacho at me, using it to punctuate each word, just to make his point.
“She is hot,” Kaden said, and Steele nodded his agreement.
“Why don’t you ask her out?” Steele said.
“Why don’t you?” I shot back.
The asshole grinned one of his rare grins, as if he knew something I didn’t. “She’s interested in you, not me, brother. Ask her out.”
“Yeah, ask her out.” Easton had to jump in with his two cents. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
I shrugged. “I could get another black eye.”
“From her or her brother?” Steele asked.
“Either. I bet Geneva has a wicked right hook, and I don’t want to find out.” I stuffed more nachos in my mouth and chewed.
“Ask. Her. Out.” Easton was a pushy bastard. I flipped him off and guzzled down my beer. All three of the bastards chuckled, enjoying my annoyance. My fault. I’d given them the ammunition to get under my skin, and I knew better.
I’d ask her out if I chose to, and I had to admit I might be warming up to the idea. Jock’s hatred of me was beginning to thaw. Easton might be right. Maybe I didn’t have anything to lose and a lot more to gain if she said yes.
I was going to ask her out, damn it.
~~Geneva~~
The Sockeyes lost a heartbreaker on Thursday night, and we flew straight to New Jersey that same evening. It was a short flight, thank God, because everyone was down about the loss. They’d led the entire game until the last three minutes, then all hell broke loose, and Florida nailed us with two unanswered points. Jock blamed himself, but so did every other member of the team who skated onto that ice tonight. The defensemen were pissed at themselves for not supporting Jock more. The forwards were irritated by their sloppy play. The coaches blamed themselves because they’d changed up the lines and messed with the chemistry each line had built over the course of the season.
I avoided everyone on the flight and buried my head in a feel-good romance.
The coaches had planned a morning skate on Friday but, after last night’s performance, had a full-blown practice and team meeting, which involved a good amount of work for the equipment staff, but I hoped to finish the laundry early enough to have a few hours to myself. Road trips were hard, with a huge amount of packing and unpacking, as opposed to being at home.
Later in the afternoon, the team boarded the bus for the hotel, and the equipment staff toiled in the bowels of the arena; our work had just begun. I gathered all the towels in need of washing and set about loading the washing machines, then unloading the dryers I’d started earlier in the day and began my folding.
I wouldn’t be getting out of here anytime soon, but such was the job. Who’d have thought a year ago that I’d be enjoying a job that consisted of handling hockey players’ dirty equipment, uniforms, and towels? Yet I did enjoy it. Not that I didn’t aspire to more. I wanted to move up in the organization. All the other equipment guys were older, and eventually they’d retire. If I managed to swing a full-time job, I saw opportunities down the road. Not bad for a girl with very few job skills and a high school diploma to go from scheduling repairs in a motorcycle shop to working for a professional hockey team.
Of course, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit one of the reasons I was enjoying this job so much had to do with a certain green-eyed rookie with the world’s best man-ass. I’d love to take him for a ride, use him, and abuse him until he dropped from exhaustion. I’d bet he’d never been with a woman like me. I loved sex, and I loved it multiple ways, from hard and raunchy to rough to— I stopped there. My sexual encounters had all been with guys a little on the wild, untamed side. I’d never had sex that was slow, romantic, and gentle. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. Then again, any kind of sex with Axel had to be better than all my other conquests put together.
Hours passed, and I occupied my brain with several fantasies involving Axel, licking tattoos, grasping his hair, and seating myself on his cock as he lay on his back. I’d be giving myself a workout tonight in the privacy of my hotel room.
I tidied up the empty visitors’ locker room and placed recently dried pads in front of each locker just so. Everything had to be perfect for Roy. He set high standards and followed those standards himself. I was learning from one of the best, and I appreciated his hardline stance on all things related to equipment.
The door opened, and I looked up eagerly, hoping it was one of my colleagues reporting the pizza had been delivered. I was starved.
I blinked, not sure if I was seeing things correctly or if I was still fantasizing. This couldn’t be one of my fantasies, though, Axel had way too many clothes on.
“Axel? What are you doing here?” The team bus had left hours ago, and I’d expected him to be on his fourth or fifth beer by now.
“I need to talk to you.”<
br />
My heart stumbled and almost fell. I picked it up and tucked it back in place, hoping he hadn’t noticed how much he affected me. “Is it Bria again?”
“No, nothing like that. In fact, she’s been quiet, scary quiet.”
“Never a good sign.”
“Don’t I know that. For now, the attorneys have her controlled.”
Axel walked farther into the room and shut the door behind him. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, stared at the floor, looked at me briefly, then shifted his gaze back to the floor. He was nervous for some reason.
“Is everything okay?”
“Uh, yeah. No, I mean, yeah. Most things.”
I was confused. He wasn’t making sense, nor could I fathom what he was doing here.
He dragged his gaze back to mine, took a deep breath, and spoke. “I’ve been fighting my attraction to you, and I’m tired of denying the chemistry we have.”
I smelled alcohol on his breath and chalked up his sudden confession to liquor, though he didn’t seem drunk or even a little buzzed. He’d probably taken a few drinks to boost his courage, knowing I’d shut him down. He and I weren’t happening, were we? I’d just spent the last several hours fantasizing about him as I folded towels.
I shrugged and went back to folding towels. “I have work to do, and you’re interfering.” I elbowed him out of the way as I moved past him to put the freshly laundered towels in the bin behind him.
“Go out with me?” He blurted the words out so quickly, I took several seconds to process them.
“Go out with you? Like on a date?” He was obviously drunk.
He nodded, looking adorable in his insecurity.
“No, thank you.” I smiled to lessen the harshness of my words.
“Why not?” He frowned and squinted at me, as if trying to see through me into whatever murky depths lurked below my surface. Trust me, buddy, you don’t want to go there.
“I’m not averse to hot, casual sex, but dating is an entirely different animal.”
I watched as he contemplated my almost offer. He set his jaw and leveled me with a look of pure determination. “Just one date is all I’m asking. Dinner out, your choice of location.”
“I’m not interested in dating you.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not your type.”
“How do you know what my type is?”
“Trust me. I do, and I’m not it. You’re a decent guy, Axel, but we’re not a match.”
“Fuck that. You know we are. We’ve been into each other from the moment we met.” He leaned against one of the dryers and crossed his arms over his chest. As he did so, his T-shirt rode up to reveal a flat stomach and a trail of black hair leading downward and disappearing under the waistband of his jeans.
“Aren’t you cold?” I deftly changed the subject before realizing I’d made a grave miscalculation. His body was so fucking incredible. One glimpse of his skin and my body was ready to follow him anywhere. My head wasn’t far behind.
“No, actually, I’m pretty hot.”
I rolled my eyes, and he leaned closer to me. The scent of a subtle aftershave and soap floated to my nostrils and activated my girl parts. I brushed past him on my way to the dryer, but just that one touch of our bodies set mine on fire, and it took every ounce of self-discipline I possessed not to rip off his clothes and have him do me on the dryer.
He grinned as if reading my mind, or most likely my body. “I’m not averse to sex with you, but I want a date first.”
“Get lost. I’m working here.”
“You don’t want me to leave.”
“What’s the matter, can’t believe there’s a woman on earth immune to your charms?”
“Something like that, or maybe I don’t believe you’re immune to me.” His lopsided grin revealed a dimple. How had I not noticed his dimple before? I’d probably been too busy looking at his ass, among other things.
“Going out with you comes with too many complications. Not worth the bother.”
“Oh, baby, trust me, I am worth the bother.” He’d gone from a nervous schoolboy to a cocky young stud in a matter of a few minutes, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle this version of Axel. He had me unbalanced, and I hated being out of control.
“Your ego is bigger than your dick,” I shot back in an attempt to get on even ground with him.
“How would you know?”
“I know. Remember, I’ve walked in on you in the locker room before.”
“Then you know they’re both huge.”
I waved my arm at him to indicate I didn’t care. “Don’t flatter yourself. Not interested in dinner or sex.”
His green eyes darkened and that chiseled jaw set with determination. I’d made a tactical error. I’d issued a challenge to a competitive man. Never a good idea.
“I want to ask you out, not just have sex with you. I mean, if that happens, I wouldn’t say no.”
“My brother would be thrilled.”
“Last I looked, neither one of us answered to your brother.”
“You’re right. I answer only to myself, and myself doesn’t want to date you or have casual sex with you. Regardless, dating you would cause issues between my brother and me and add more tension between the two of you. Why push it? There have to be thousands of women lined up for a date with you.”
“Ninety-nine thousand, three hundred and six, but who’s counting?”
I laughed in spite of myself. “You’re impossible.”
“I’m too cute for words. So you’ll go out with me?”
“No, I won’t deceive my brother like that.”
“Who says we’re deceiving him? I’m going to tell him I’m wildly attracted to you and want to ask you out.”
“You’re wildly attracted?”
He grinned the most endearing lopsided grin. “Hell yeah, I am.”
“Are you planning on getting out of that conversation with my brother alive?”
“A guy can hope.”
“You’re crazy. But I’m still not going out with you.” He was wearing me down, and I was pretty sure he knew it. We were two sparring partners sizing each other up and figuring out our strengths and weaknesses.
“I’m not giving up. I’ll be back tomorrow, asking the same question until you say yes.”
“Don’t waste your time.”
He turned with his hand on the doorknob. “Oh, I’m not. Pursuing you will never be a waste of my time. It might turn into my second favorite sport.”
Chapter 15—Permission
~~Axel~~
That evening after I left Geneva at the arena, I jogged back to the hotel less than a mile away. The night was crisp but clear. I was feeling good about my chances. Geneva was being her stubborn self, but I had absolute confidence I’d wear her down. I tried to take away one of her arguments by getting her brother’s blessing, or at least a guarantee he wouldn’t beat the shit out of me if I took her out. I wanted him to know my intentions were good—somewhat, but he didn’t need to know the somewhat part.
I took the elevator straight up to the room, hoping Jock would be there. For once, I got lucky. He was sitting in the room’s only easy chair by the window reading a sports magazine.
He glanced up when I came in, balancing a pizza box in one hand and a six-pack in the other. I kicked the door shut with my foot and put the pizza on the small table. “Hungry?” I asked, pointing toward my peace offering.
“No, I—” He stopped, seemed to reconsider, and said, “Yeah, yeah, I’m hungry.”
I sat down at the desk chair and opened the box. “All meat.”
“Perfect. Seen any more regarding Bria?” His tone was conversational, too cold to be friendly, but not hostile either.
“Nothing. You?”
“To be honest, her drunken rant of a post helped my case.”
“Really?” I hadn’t expected something good to come out of that mess.
“Yeah. I’m having papers
served as soon as I get home. I’m requiring she have a drug and alcohol assessment and get treatment before she can see the kids.”
“Probably a good idea.” I didn’t explain my statement, and he didn’t ask. He already knew. The woman was poisonous, narcissistic, and entitled. Not qualities I looked for in a woman I was considering more than a one-night stand with. We made small talk about the previous night’s game, how to prevent the same thing from happening again, and opinions on the coach moving the lines around. You’d almost think we were friends, but I knew we hadn’t gotten over the hump yet. He tolerated me, didn’t detest me, but he wasn’t anywhere close to liking me—yet.
“I want to date your sister,” I blurted out before I thought better of it.
“Are you asking my permission or rubbing it in my face?” He wore his unreadable mask again, and I didn’t have a clue what he might be thinking.
“Neither. I’m being up-front with you.”
“Have you asked her out yet?”
“Yeah, she’s, uh, not warmed up to the idea yet.”
“She shot you down?” He grinned with devilish delight, enjoying my discomfort.
“With both barrels, but I’m not giving up.”
“Good luck with that. She’s coming off a very destructive relationship and lifestyle and trying to rebuild. I doubt she wants to open another can of worms.”
I refused to take offense at his insinuation that a relationship with me would be destructive. Besides, he might not have meant it that way, but I’d bet he did.
“Any suggestions on how to win her over?”
Jock threw back his head and laughed. He laughed so hard there were tears in his eyes. Finally, he blew his nose and wiped his eyes. “You have to be fucking kidding me? I’d never give you tips on how to get my sister to go out with you. If anything, I’d give her tips on how to avoid guys like you.”
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