She’s wearing my hoodie.
My stomach feels like it’s floating as I grab a biscuit with my stick and throw it into the net. Had I known she was here during the first period in the worst seats in the house, I would have moved her to the ice much sooner.
It took free season passes, signed jerseys, and a meet and greet with me and Kos to get the people in my girl’s and Chloe’s seats to give them up. But it was so worth it. Kos doesn’t know I volunteered him yet, but he’ll get over it. He loves meeting fans of the team.
I wanted Nikki as close as possible. One, so that I can look at her as much as I want. Two, because I know how these games can sometimes get. Alcohol and idiots are always a bad mix, and hockey seems to attract a lot of them. Now, I can make sure no one tries anything stupid.
The whistle blows, and I skate toward the bench. The second line is starting this period. I feel her stare on me before I even look up. With my stomach in my throat, I meet her gaze, and I can’t help the smile from stretching across my lips as I see her sitting there, wearing my hoodie.
I can’t get over it—how perfect she looks, wearing it. I never want it back ever. I want it to be the only thing she wears. That way, everyone will know who she belongs to, who protects her.
She blushes and bites her bottom lip, and the image of her wearing those sexy red PJs with her mouth hanging open and the toy between her legs flashes in my mind.
Fuck.
“Where’s your head at, Costy?” Brett taps his stick to my chest.
Refocusing on the task at hand, I do my best to push Nikki out of my mind. “Sorry, man. I’m here. Let’s go.”
Starting line is readying for the puck drop as I join Kos at his side on the bench. We’ve got less than a minute before our shift.
Substitutions in hockey are quick. We’re maybe on the ice for forty to fifty seconds, tops, at a time. Our energy is used in short bursts to be the most effective as many times as possible during a game.
The puck drops, and we gain possession. Number thirty-three on the Philadelphia Patriots steals it and takes off toward their goal.
After one more attempted shot on our end, our line is hopping over the barrier and taking the ice. Kos scoops the puck up and dribbles it around one of the Patriots’ forwards. The Patriots take it back after Brett’s shot is stopped by the goalie.
After a couple more unsuccessful shots, Kos and I are back on the bench, waiting for our next turn. A Patriots’ player checks one of ours into the boards right in front of Nikki and Chloe. Nikki glares at the Patriots’ player with more anger than I anticipated. I chuckle at her frustration. I’m glad she’s getting into the game.
It was a clean hit, so there’s not much to be upset about. But then he looks at her and winks.
This motherfucker winked at my Little Dove.
She pulls her gaze away, as if it was hurting her to continue to look at him, and her eyes fly to mine, a soft smile forming on her lips.
She holds my gaze for a moment before waving, her smile stretching wider across her cheeks.
I wave back at her gleefully, then force myself to refocus on the game.
The rest of the second period flies by, and when the clock times out, no points mark the board on either side. Not for a lack of trying, mind you. Our defense and offense are so equally matched that we can’t seem to get the edge on each other.
The third period starts with my line on the ice. The energy in the building right now is tangible, and the tension between the Patriots and us is explosive.
The puck drops, Kos scoops it, and we fly into our zone. Kos kicks it to Brett, who dangles it and fakes out one of their defenders. Brett fake shoots the puck. Their goalie falls for the move, and I skate toward the opening. Brett slaps it to me, and in one swift movement, I throw it into the net.
The buzzer sounds, and the boys pile into me with resounding cheers.
We skate off toward the bench for the routine high fives after a goal. I lead the line as we bump the gloves of our teammates on the bench.
Instead of stopping at the end of the bench, I skate past it and stop at the glass in front of Nikki. She lifts her fist to the glass, and my heart bursts. I bump the glass where her fist is. I want this every single game for the rest of my career. I want her in that seat. I want her to be a part of the routine.
The player who winked at her earlier skates up to me as we line back up and says, “I bet she has the sweetest ass on her.”
Gripping my stick tighter, I resist knocking him on his ass on a dead puck.
“Keep fucking chirping, and I’ll knock your teeth in,” I growl at him.
“She would be on her knees, begging me for it, if I wanted. She looks easy enough.” He grins, and all I can see is red.
The puck drops, and he gains possession. We all fly down the ice. They miss a shot, and it rebounds off of the goalpost toward the boards. His teammate grabs it and shoots. MacArthur blocks it, and it rebounds off of him and glides toward the benches.
Number eighty-four—the guy begging to get his teeth knocked in—takes off after it, and I’m right on his tail. Digging my blades harder into the ice, I gain as much momentum and speed as I can. He’s not a foot from the boards in front of Nikki before I put every ounce of rage into smearing him into the glass. The sound from him hitting the wall is deafening in the rink. But the audience’s shouts and cheers immediately take over.
With his face still against the wall, I grit my teeth. “Say one more thing about her, and you won’t be walking out of this arena.”
He falls to the ground as I pull away.
“Now, who’s on their knees?”
I spit on the ice next to him and look up to Nikki. Her face is a mix of confusion, fear, and adoration. I can’t tell what she’s thinking, and it’s driving me crazy.
My team flocks to my side, ready if a fight breaks out. I know I have a target on my back for that hit now. But I also know that Reed and Jensen will be with me. And they aren’t letting any of the Patriots get away with anything. Luckily, the Patriots didn’t try to get me back for that throughout the rest of the third period.
The game ends—Nighthawks one, Patriots zero. The next time we play them, a bloodbath is going to happen since it didn’t tonight. Their team is going to get me back for the hit I put on eighty-four—or at least try until it’s an all-out brawl. I know that’s what we would do for our boys. But I guess that usually depends on how the other team would handle it at the next game.
As we skate off the ice, I look over to Nikki, who is already staring at me with the biggest smile on her face. I wink at her and grin.
We play again tomorrow, and I need her here. I play better with her. I am better with her. I hustle to my phone and shoot her a text.
Me: Please don’t leave yet. I’m going to hop in the shower quickly. I’ll be right out.
She responds instantly.
Nikki: I’ll wait for you in the lobby.
“So, you want to talk about the girl you wouldn’t stop looking at throughout the game?” Kos asks as I strip out of my gear.
Smirking, I walk over to the showers. “Hopefully, you’ll meet her tonight. We can talk about her then.”
“Do I know her? She looks familiar,” Kos asks.
“She owns that coffee shop in Minnesota,” I say as I start the shower and step into the warm water.
“So, that’s where you disappeared to on your last off days.” Kos shouts to Brett who’s on the toilet, “Dammit, Brett, I owe you a hundred bucks.”
“Woohoo!” Brett cheers.
“You guys had a bet going?” I laugh. “Fucking stupid.”
The guys continue to give me shit as I wash my hair and change into gray joggers and a Nighthawks T-shirt and hoodie before rushing out to find Nikki.
Me: On my way to you.
When I walk through the exit door of our locker room, I see Chloe and Nikki standing with their backs to me. I want to scare them, but then I remember how Nikki reacted when I snuck up on her at the library. I never want to make her feel that genuinely fearful of me again.
“Hello, beautiful,” I say to her as I approach them.
“Oh, hey, Cam,” Chloe says, taking the compliment for herself.
Nikki laughs as she turns around and takes me in. “Hey.”
She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, and I can’t help the feeling of needing to touch her, but I restrain myself. For now.
“Did you enjoy the game?” I ask her, dying to know what she actually thought of it.
“I loved it, honestly! I’ve only seen hockey on TV. This was a much different experience. It was a lot of fun. You’re really good too,” she says as she stares up at me with those stunning blue eyes. “Oh, and thank you for the seats.”
I sometimes forget how much shorter she is than me. I’m six foot four; she’s got to be maybe five-three.
“I told you if you wanted seats on the ice, all you had to do was ask. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Do you guys want to come again tomorrow night? We play the Washington Wild. It’ll be a good game.” Please say yes.
“We would absolutely love to. Thank you so much, Cam, for being so generous,” Chloe says mockingly as she looks at Nikki.
She’s nervous. It’s cute as hell.
“We would love to come,” Nikki answers, blushing.
“Our team has a tradition after home-game wins. We go to End Zone, a bar in town, for a couple of drinks to celebrate. Will you come with me?” I ask Nikki. “Chloe, you are more than welcome. I’m sure the guys would be thrilled if I brought someone else along for them to flirt with all night.” I laugh.
Nikki nods. “I’m down to go for a drink or two. Chlo?”
She winks at Nikki and says, “I am exhausted and going to head back to our hotel. You go have fun. I have to FaceTime someone and go over business stuff anyway.”
“At ten o’clock at night? Must be really urgent.” Nikki smirks.
I wonder what conversation is happening between the words here, one that I’m not privy to.
“Super urgent. Can’t wait. I really need to go show him the value of his investments with the company and what he’s going to be getting out of it,” she says, and I look away, giving them privacy.
“Are you sure?” Nikki asks Chloe, and I can sense her nerves for leaving her friend.
“One hundred percent. Get out of here, you two lovebirds,” she coos.
“Okay, text or call if you need me,” Nikki tells her as she takes a step toward the door.
I move to join her, but Chloe grabs my wrist and yanks me down to her level.
What kind of superhuman strength does this girl have? That hurt my arm more than I’ll ever admit.
“Listen here, Cam. If you hurt her, make her cry, make her want to cry, or so much as upset her for a millisecond, I will make your death look like an accident and pay off whoever is necessary to make sure it stays that way.” She shoves me toward Nikki, who is now staring at us with a humorous smirk on her lips. “Have a great night, you two! Nikki, call me if you need a ride.”
Remind me never to piss that girl off.
“Love you,” Nikki tells her.
“You too, babes. Have fun,” she says with a heaviness I didn’t expect.
Hooking my fingers with hers, I grab my keys from my pocket. “I’m glad you’re here.”
We step outside into the cool yet refreshing air.
She kicks a rock with her shoe. “Me too.” She looks down and fluffs the hoodie. “You forgot this at my place.”
Staring ahead at the dark parking lot, I say, “I didn’t forget anything.” That hoodie is hers for good. “I don’t want it back either. It looks too damn perfect on you.”
“Okay, deal.” Her thumb strokes mine, and actual tingles shoot up my arm. “Is the whole team going to be there?”
I unlock the car as I walk her around to the passenger door and open it for her. “Yeah.”
She nods and gets in the car without another word. I hustle over to my side and start the car.
“Do people take a lot of pictures and stuff with you guys after the game?” she asks in a slightly shaky voice.
I pull out of my parking spot. “Sometimes. It depends on the night. Don’t worry though; I won’t leave your side,” I assure her. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Seriously, I will drive somewhere else.”
She furrows her brow. “No, I want to go. And I don’t want to be the reason a Nighthawks tradition is broken.”
“Are you sure? I don’t care what anyone else thinks, Nikki, only you.”
She rests her hand on my arm and takes a deep breath. “I’m positive. Plus, I want to meet your friends.”
“You got it. And don’t get too excited.” I chuckle. “They have a tendency to be assholes. But they’ll be nice to you and accept you right away. I know that for a fact.”
“They haven’t even met me yet,” she says worriedly.
“They don’t have to. I know they will love you for exactly who you are. And on the insane point-zero-zero-zero-zero-one percent chance they don’t, I’ll make them.”
“The same way you, uh, showed that guy on the ice earlier?” she asks.
“That was different. He was quite literally asking me to do it,” I say as I pull into the parking lot of End Zone.
“He asked you to hit him into the boards so hard that he couldn’t get up for a minute?” she retorts, and I can’t tell if it bothered her or not.
Throwing the car into park in a spot, I turn and face her. “He said how sweet of an ass you must have and how he would have you on your knees for him. I gave him a warning to watch his mouth, and he decided not to listen. No one gets to talk about you like that. Ever. I won’t tolerate it.”
She looks at me, taking shallow breaths with a big doe-eyed stare and parted lips. Silence builds between us as she continues to look at me while a war seems to be going on behind her eyes.
But then she is flying over the middle console, grabbing my face, and kissing me aggressively. Like she can’t get enough of me—and I fucking love it.
I cup her cheeks in my hands and kiss her just as hard back. This girl fucking owns me.
The sound of our lips smacking together fills my ears. The sound of heaven.
I run my tongue across the seam of her lips and feel them lift into a smile against mine right before she pulls away slowly.
I contemplate saying fuck it and taking her away from here, anywhere but into a room full of people. I want to keep her just to myself. If we stay alone any longer right now, I’m going to rip her fucking clothes off and devour her, but I don’t want to rush her.
“Ready?” I ask her, and she gives me a sharp nod.
She grabs her purse and gets out of the car, giving me a second to adjust my suddenly snug boxers.
As I step out of the car, the cool air seems to help calm everything down, including the bulge in my pants.
Nikki stares at the building with wide eyes.
“What are you thinking?” I ask her as I reach her, and we start walking toward the entrance.
“It just looks very busy in there, is all. I’m not used to such … crowds,” she says quietly.
“It’ll be okay. I’ve got you,” I assure her as I open the door for her, letting her step inside before me.
Kos finds my stare from across the room, and I glance down to Nikki to give him a heads-up that she’s here. Then, hopefully, he’ll give the rest a warning to behave. But the more hockey players you add together, the wilder we seem to be.
Nikki looks up at me as we make our way through the full bar toward our tables. I nod and smile at her. Taking her hand in mine, I interlock our fingers.
For the time it took me to look down to her and back up, the entire team has turned to look our way with faces of excitement and shock. They couldn’t be any more fucking obvious if they tried.
Laura is sitting next to Kos and looks like she’s vibrating in her damn seat. She’s so excited. Dear God, maybe this was a mistake. I laugh to myself. They’re a lot to take in when you first meet them.
“Oh, oh, oh. And who is this, Costy?” Brett asks, and I know damn well he’s doing this for show since he knows all about her.
I glare at him before scanning across the rest of them—a warning to be on good behavior. “This is Nikki. Nikki, this is the team.”
“Hi,” she says softly, giving them a quick wave. “You guys played great.”
Brett sits up. “You should have seen how excited Cammy boy here got when he found out you were here. Like a kid on goddamn Christmas, I swear.”
I’m going to kill him.
Brett props his head in his hands with a sly smile on his face. “And is she your sister orrrr … just a friend orrrr …”
“She’s my girlfriend. Any other questions, Brett?” I snap at him to shut him up.
Nikki squeezes my hand, gently giggling.
Brett holds his hands up in surrender. “None from me. Guys?” He looks around to the other players.
Almost everyone’s hand shoots into the air with a stupid smile on each of their faces.
“We’re going to the bar to get a drink,” I announce as I spin Nikki around with me. “Try to be less weird when we get back. Thanks.”
We make our way through the crowd, and I watch every wasted guy with extra caution. She is already nervous enough. No one is touching her and making her feel worse.
She approaches the bar, and I stand directly behind her, wrapping my arms over her shoulders.
One of the bartenders walks up to us. “What can I get you guys?” she shouts over the music.
“Vodka cranberry, please,” Nikki orders and shows her ID.
The bartender nods and looks at me.
“Just water.”
“Ten dollars,” she shouts to us.
Nikki goes for her card, and I grab her whole wallet out of her hand and shove it in my pocket.
“Nope. Absolutely not.”
“Here.” I slide her a twenty from my own wallet. “Keep the change.”
“Thanks,” she says and gets to work on our drinks.
I don’t move an inch. Nikki is pressed so perfectly against me right now. I could stay in this spot forever.
I hand her wallet back to her. “I know you can take care of yourself. But I want to.”
She tucks it in her purse and wiggles in my arms as she twists and turns around to face me, her back now pressing into the countertop. “Girlfriend?”
My face heats up. When she didn’t immediately bring it up, I thought she was going to let it slide without comment. I guess I should have asked her about that first. But it doesn’t change the fact that that’s what I think of her as, regardless if she thinks of herself that way.
“Yeah, my girlfriend. I don’t want to even think about another guy getting your attention. I can promise you no other girl has gotten or will get mine.” I pause. “Do you not want me to call you that?” I ask her with bated breath.
She tilts her head side to side with pursed lips. “Hmm.” Her finger taps her chin, and her smiling blue eyes look up at me. “I think I like it.”
“Think?” I lean down, closing the distance between our faces.
“We’ll see.” She smiles and squints her eyes.
She bites her lip as the bartender slides our drinks across the countertop. She turns around to grab it, and I lean down and kiss her ear from behind.
“Do you know what you do to me every time you bite your lip, Little Dove?” I whisper into her ear.
The effect she has on me has little to do with the biting of her lip. It’s every single thing she does. The way her hand fits into mine, the way her smile gives me fucking butterflies, and the way she understands my demons yet accepts them anyway.
She nods and shoves the little straw into the cup before turning around and taking a drink. With a devious little smirk, she says, “Yeah, I know. And?”
I want to show her how good I can make her feel, how good a firm smack on her ass or the sting of a bite can feel on her skin.
I lean down until my lips are hovering over hers. “You are driving me mad—you know that?”
She nods, and her lips press into mine, slow and soft. My heart thumps in my chest so hard—harder than a simple kiss has ever made it. But nothing with Nikki is simple, and I don’t want it to be. What we have isn’t simple or ordinary. It’s special; it’s everything.
I take her hand in mine again as we walk back to the team. They are acting exactly the same as when we left, everyone staring at us like we are their entertainment for the night.
There’s only one chair empty across from Kos—my usual seat. Looking around, I try to spot an empty chair that we can steal, but I don’t see anything.
Brett notices, hops off of his, and offers it to Nikki. “You can have mine.”
She shakes her head and sits down in my chair and holds her arms out. “You can just sit here.”
She laughs, and I smirk. No way am I crushing her in this chair.
Shaking my head, I say, “Nah, not happening. I have a better idea.” Before she can protest, I hook my arm under her legs and around her waist and lift her up as I sit down on the chair and place her in my lap. “There we go.”
“You’re ridiculous.” She smiles.
I kiss the side of her head as the guys seem to chill out and go back to whatever their conversations were before we got here.
“Where are you staying tonight?” I say and then get a brilliant idea to throw in before she answers. “Would you want to stay at my place?”
She doesn’t move or say anything for a moment, and my palms start to sweat because maybe she doesn’t want to. But then she nods, and I immediately relax.
“How have you been, Nikki?” Laura asks with the biggest smile.
“I’ve been really good. How about you guys?” she asks.
My hands are awkwardly hanging to my sides, so I decide to put them in a more useful place—on the tops of her thighs. She wiggles her hips, just enough for me to feel it, but not enough for everyone else to notice.
Stroking my thumb on her thigh, I brush it off, thinking she is just adjusting to get comfy. Until she does it again. And again as she sits forward to take a sip of her drink on the table.
My dick presses up against her, getting harder every time she moves.
She leans back and sets her drink down, and I lean into her ear.
“Little Dove, don’t play with me right now.”
She shrugs her shoulders, as if to ask, Why?
Then, she wiggles her hips again in my lap.
“Because I really want to play with you, and if you keep that up, I’ll do it right. Here. And I don’t think you want all of these people to watch.”
