Wild Love (Campus Nights Book 4)

by Rebecca Jenshak

  I step to the only guy I don’t know in the room and offer him my hand. “Hey, I’m Johnny Maverick.”

  He’s a big guy, several inches taller than me and like twice as wide. His grip on my hand is painful. “Hercules.”

  “No shit?”

  Hercules drops my hand and walks over to the squat rack. He proceeds to put forty-five plates on either side until I’m not sure the bar can take any more.

  “He doesn’t talk much.” Jack picks up his weights and goes back to curling the forties while chatting. “Ready to get to work?”

  “Yeah.” I nod and take a seat on an empty bench. We don’t have to report for camp for another two weeks, but I am anxious to get started.

  “Well, don’t just sit there. Grab some weights, rookie.” Declan smiles at me in the mirror. “Let Hercules have a little new blood.”

  The trainer in question grins.

  “Don’t worry.” His voice is thick with an accent—Austrian, I think. He sounds like Arnold. Just about as big as him back in the Mr. Olympia days, too. He tips his head, indicating I should come closer. “Let’s get some meat on those legs, huh?”

  Oh fuck, this is going to hurt.

  Jack huffs a laugh. “You made a friend. That’s more than he’s said to me all day.”

  Hercules doesn’t respond, but one corner of his mouth tilts in amusement.

  The giant trainer may not say a lot of words, but he doesn’t need to. I finish one set, he adds more weight, and then waves a hand, basically telling me to get a move on.

  Jack finally takes pity on me after an hour of sweating out the pound of sugar I inhaled this morning. I’m killing myself trying to keep up with everything Hercules throws at me.

  He tosses me a towel. “All right, Herc. You’ve had enough fun with the new guy. For now.” He looks at me. “Tomorrow, nine o’clock.”

  “I’ll be here. I might not be able to leave. I’m not sure I can walk. My legs are dunzo.” I lie on my back in the middle of the floor. Everything hurts, and I’m dying. I’ve got a lot of work to do. Less beer, less pizza, and way more weight training are in my future.

  He crouches down and offers me his hand. “You need to meet Elsa.”

  “Elsa?”

  “Trust me.”

  I take his hand, and he pulls me to my feet. Wowser, my thighs burn, but I follow him into another room to a waiting ice bath.

  “Seven minutes with Elsa, and you’ll be good as new.” He slaps me on the back, and I stumble forward on wobbly legs. “See you tomorrow, Rookie.”

  While Elsa isn’t the magic cure, I do feel better after a soak. I find Hercules still in the workout room and ask him to create a plan for me this summer. He grins, and I regret it immediately. Lastly, I have a meeting with Coach, and then somehow the day is over, and it’s five o’clock. I head upstairs to the main offices, looking for Dakota. I have no idea where she sits, but I see lots of other people I assume are interns and wander until I spot her red hair. She stands outside of an office, shoulder leaning against the wall.

  “What are you doing here?” She looks around.

  “Picking you up from work. Let’s go to dinner.” Now that I’m not in so much pain or in threat of puking up breakfast, I’m starving. I’m going to need to get my nutrition on lock to survive training with Hercules.

  “I’m waiting for Blythe. What are you doing here?”

  “I work here.” I wink.

  “Right. I meant—”

  “I know what you meant.” I lean against the wall next to her. “I worked out with the guys and then spent seven minutes in heaven with Elsa.”

  Dakota’s brows lift, and she pops a hip. “Do I even want to know?”

  “Ice bath.” I shift and hold out my arm. Standing still makes me realize how weak my legs are. I should have spent more time with Elsa. Or less with Hercules. “Ready to rock?”

  She wakes the screen of her phone and checks the time. “Blythe is running late. She has the boxes and all the details for the endorsement. I still don’t know which hockey player I’m working with. The suspense is killing me!” Her beautiful eyes light up.

  My gut twists. I should have told her, I know, but then she might not have come to Minnesota.

  “Can’t you get it tomorrow?” One more day of ignorant bliss.

  “Yes.” Her shoulders slump forward. “I guess so.”

  “Great.” I move my legs as fast as possible, which isn’t all that fast right now, to get us out of dodge before Blythe returns.

  When we’re outside, I breathe a sigh of relief. “Where do you want to go?”

  “I was planning on cooking. We did just buy a ton of groceries.”

  “Yeah, but I already ate all the good stuff.” Man, I’d love another donut right now.

  “I think I’m going to bake some tilapia and make a nice salad.”

  My stomach growls audibly, and I give her big, pleading eyes. The kind that says, please feed me and keep me company.

  Dakota rolls her eyes. “Fine, you can come, but only if you bring Charli and no complaining about how uncomfortable my couch is.”

  “Ooooo.” I inhale with a hiss. “I’m not sure I can promise that. It’s the most uncomfortable—”

  I slam my lips shut when her eyes narrow, and my dreams of a home-cooked meal start to disappear. I make a motion like I’m locking the key on my closed mouth and follow her home.

  13

  Dakota

  After dinner, I go with Johnny and Charli on a walk, and then they come back to my apartment. I get the feeling my place has become his new home away from home. I don’t mind. I’ve had a roommate for so long. I’ve gotten used to always having someone around.

  He collapses on my couch, groans, and mutters under his breath about how hard it is. I fill a bowl with water for Charli and then grab the nearly empty tub of ice cream from my freezer. We put a major dent in this last night.

  I wave a spoon in front of his face. “Want some rocky road?”

  “Oooooh.” His hazel eyes widen with excitement, and then he shakes his head. “Can’t. Hot girl summer.” He lifts the hem of his T-shirt. “Time to start treating this body like the temple that it is.”

  His flat stomach taunts me. Maybe I could lick his abs and save myself the calories.

  What… no. Ewww, no. Okay, not eww. Johnny is hot, but I need to get out and meet more people. If I spend every night holed up with him for the next eight weeks, I might do something stupid.

  I laugh and sit in the chair with the tub, eating straight from the container.

  He watches me lick the spoon, and I just know he’s thinking something dirty. It’s probably true ninety-nine percent of the time. I roll my eyes.

  “I didn’t even say anything.” His deep laughter fills my living room.

  “I could tell what you were thinking.”

  He smirks and sits up. “Doubtful.”

  He snatches me around the wrist before I realize what he’s doing and pulls me on top of him, ice cream, spoon, and all.

  “Johnny,” I squeal as he sets me in his lap, arms around me.

  “I changed my mind. Feed me, Kota.” He leans his head over my shoulder and opens his mouth.

  “No, this last bite is all mine.” I bring the spoon toward my lips, and he whines.

  “Kooooota.”

  I take a small bite and then feel bad and hold the rest out for him.

  “Sweet. Your mouth touched it too. Bonus.”

  “My saliva on your ice cream is a bonus?”

  He nods with a cocky glint in his eyes as he swallows. “Absolutely.”

  The next morning, I get to work fifteen minutes early, hoping to catch Blythe before rotations start. Again, I find her office empty. The lights are on, so I know she’s here somewhere, but it looks like another day without finding out which player I’m working with this summer.

  Thanks to Maverick, I know most of the guys aren’t around for another week or two anyway, but, ugh, I want to know!<
br />
  I head to my desk since I have time to kill. We don’t start our rotations until next week, which means this week, we’re with Blythe learning all things marketing department.

  While I wait for everyone else to arrive, I scroll through the Wildcats social media pages. They’re well done with a good mix of content: news announcements around game schedules and contracts, then there’s game footage—photos and videos a lot like what we compiled for the hype videos back at Valley in the Hall of Fame, and finally, more personal touches like birthdays and casual photos of the team and staff.

  Blythe and her team have created an engaging and visually stunning space on all the platforms. There are a lot of cool jobs at the Wildcats, and I’m excited to do all of it, but none of it more than working with Blythe.

  I click on the team page to find some of the guys’ personal pages. Jack’s is the most obviously curated. He doesn’t have any private photos or really anything that looks like he posted it himself. Still, he has almost a million followers.

  Reese is the next to show. He drops into a chair with his sunglasses still on.

  “Morning.”

  He slides the shades up and rests them on top of his head. “Morning, Arizona.”

  “I’m actually from Kansas.”

  “It’s too late. You’re Arizona in my brain now.”

  Quinn walks in just before Blythe. My new boss looks as stylish and gorgeous as ever. I’d kill to see her closet. She carries a box on her hip.

  “This is for you,” she says, dropping it on my desk. “Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to bring it by yesterday afternoon.”

  “No problem.” Ahhh, finally!

  “Is everyone ready to get started today?”

  I nod and bite my lip, anxious to dig into the goodies.

  The three of us gather around while Blythe gives us a basic rundown of the day. Reese and Quinn are assigned the task of brainstorming content ideas for social media posts between now and when the development camp starts in two weeks, and thank the hockey hotties, she tells me to spend the day familiarizing myself with the endorsement campaign.

  Quinn and Reese huddle together at his desk next to mine, and Blythe stands by while I open the box for my big hockey guy’s endorsement.

  “We’ll need to work around the camp schedule to get a photo shoot,” she says. “The sooner, the better because as the guys all return from break, things will get busier around here.”

  As she speaks, I dive in with enthusiasm to finally figure out what the heck is inside. My hand slides past the packing peanuts, and I wrap my fingers around the first item. I pull it out and smile. Body wash?

  I keep going, pulling out more products—deodorant, body mist, aftershave lotion, and … sack spray. There are a few different scents, all with names like Starry Night, Wild Fields, and Hailstone. Each fragrance is available in all the products so that you could have an entire collection of Starry Night, for example. Of all the things I imagined, this wasn’t anywhere on my radar. I’m relieved, though. This is going to be fun.

  I hold up the deodorant spray for balls for Blythe to see. She laughs. “Charming.”

  “What is it?” Quinn asks.

  I toss it to her, and she reads the label, mouth twisting into disgust.

  “Eww.” She tosses it to Reese like she’s playing a game of hot potato.

  Reese catches it easily and chuckles. “Awesome.”

  “Which player is endorsing ball deodorant?” Quinn lifts a brow. She stands and comes over to get a better look at all the products scattered on my desk.

  “I don’t know, actually,” I admit as I empty the box and set it on the floor. I glance at Blythe. She tilts her head to the side, a confused expression on her stunning face.

  “Do you know?” I ask her.

  “Yeah. I…” She smiles hesitantly. “Johnny Maverick. This is the Maverick Company’s new product line for male hygiene. He didn’t tell you?”

  Heat rushes to my face. I shake my head side to side. An unsettling feeling takes hold of my chest. I look back at the products. The Maverick name and logo sit proudly on each one. Oh my god.

  Quinn huffs, shoots me a suspicious glare, and goes back to her desk.

  “Well, I’ll leave you three to get started. Dakota, let me know if you need anything.” She waves, indicating the Maverick campaign and the tiny little bottles on my desk.

  As soon as she’s gone, I pull out my laptop and bring up the contract for my internship. JM Holdings. Oh my god, how could I be so stupid? John Maverick. Did Johnny do this? Of course he did. But why? And what else did he do?

  I grab my phone.

  Me: Are you at the arena?

  Maverick: Yep. I’m in the weight room. What’s up?

  Me: Have a minute?

  Maverick: Of course. Come on down. I’ll see if I can sneak you into the locker room for a tour while you’re down here.

  I stand and grab the Wild Fields sack spray. My cheeks burn with humiliation and rage.

  “Everything okay?” Reese asks, looking up from his notepad. Quinn doesn’t spare me a glance. I can’t blame her. I know exactly how this looks.

  “Perfect. I am going to take a walk while I brainstorm.”

  And I might maim a hockey player while I’m at it.

  14

  Johnny

  Jack and I have music pumping in the weight room. Hercules is working with Declan and Leo on the other side of the massive room. I asked Hercules to come up with a training plan for me, and he did not disappoint. I’m not going to be able to feel my arms when I leave here, but the man came through.

  When Dakota appears in the doorway, I smile and drop my weights. She scans the room for me, and while she does, I appreciate today’s outfit—a light pink dress paired with those red Chucks again. She is smoking.

  “Kota!” I call.

  Her expression morphs into anger. Those sexy blue eyes narrow, and her chin drops as she glares at me across the room. Ah shit.

  “You.” She marches over to me and pokes my bare chest with a pointy finger.

  “What? What?” I rub my chest and take a step back.

  She holds up one of the products for the male hygiene line I’m now endorsing.

  “Oh.” It’s a dumb thing to say. I knew she’d find out, and I knew she’d be pissed, but I hoped when the time came, I’d know what to say. I don’t.

  “Oh? Oh?” She comes at me again. She uncaps the spray and starts spritzing me with it.

  I back up and put my hands up. Does that stop her? Hell to the no. I trip over a dumbbell and catch myself on a nearby bench, sitting and saying, “Stop. Okay. You’re pissed. I get it.”

  “Pissed? You think this is pissed?”

  “Uhhh…”

  “Why am I working for your family’s company?”

  Jack, who was doing squats, stops and rests his elbows on the bar, watching our interaction in the mirror with a grin.

  “They needed someone to—”

  She spritzes me again. “Wrong. Try again.”

  “Blythe—”

  Another goddamn spritz.

  “Fuck, Kota. Cut that out. It got in my mouth that time.”

  “Serves you right.” She holds it up like a weapon. “I’m going to ask you one more time. Why am I working for your family’s company?”

  “Because I didn’t want you to miss out on an internship with the Wildcats.”

  “So you talked to your dad and got him to sponsor my internship?”

  Ah, fuck. This is going to be bad. Her eyes are tiny slits of ice.

  “It wasn’t my dad. I sponsored your internship. I used the money they paid me for the endorsement.”

  She goes on a spritzing rampage, growling and cursing me.

  Standing, I grab her wrist. We wrestle with the bottle, but I get it and hold it up high where she can’t reach it. She looks like she might hit me, so I hold her against my chest with the other arm. “You deserved the internship. It’s a great opportunity f
or you, and it isn’t like I’m not getting anything out of this. My endorsement campaign is going to be baller. You’re the best, and I wanted the best.”

  She wiggles in my hold. “Let me go, Maverick.”

  I comply, and she steps back, still glaring at me, but it doesn’t look like I’m in immediate danger.

  “I’m sorry, okay?”

  “Sorry? My entire internship is a big, fat lie.”

  “It isn’t. Blythe wanted to hire you.”

  “I don’t want your money. Find someone else to do the endorsement.”

  “Kota.” This is precisely why I didn’t want to tell her. “Wait.”

  “No. I would have been perfectly happy working at the Hall of Fame this summer. Maybe they can still get me on the schedule.”

  She starts toward the door, and I jog in front of her, blocking the doorway. “You can’t go back to Valley.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because this internship is a great opportunity. Blythe is the best. You said so yourself. A summer working for her will look great on your resume.”

  “Let me tell you how much I care about my resume right now. I assume the apartment was also you?”

  I don’t speak, but she nods once and sighs.

  “I might need a couple of days to arrange everything, but I will be out by the weekend.”

  “Come on. Don’t do this.”

  “I have to get back upstairs.” She pushes past me.

  Fuck!

  “I like her,” Jack says as Dakota disappears down the hallway. “Ah, rook.” He claps me on the shoulder. “You really screwed this one up, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I suggest groveling. A lot of it.”

  “You grovel?”

  “For a chick like that… I think I just might.”

  “What is that smell?” Hercules says as he waves a hand in front of his face. “It’s growing on me. Lavender? Sandalwood?”

  I toss him the sack spray. “Wild Fields.”

  “I’m gonna…” I jab a thumb to the door.