It’s game day, and when Hallie and I pull into the parking lot of the hotel that the team is staying at, I can feel the anticipation of seeing Nova burning through me. I woke up this morning feeling reckless, and wild, and it was with that notion in mind that I dressed in some of the sexiest underwear I own, before tossing on one of Josh’s jerseys, some tight jeans, and my heeled boots. I feel good, and I plan to find Nova after the game and have him make me feel even better, just one last time.
“Archer said he would room with me to give you guys the whole night together,” Hallie cuts into my thoughts, her fingers firing across the keyboard of her phone as she talks. “I’m cool with it if you are.”
Climbing out of the car and moving to pull our bags from it, my neck almost snaps because I turn around to look at her that fast, “What? I’m not spending the night in his room, Hals,” I screech in outrage, as if we haven’t already spent the night in his bed together, but that was different. That was before I knew who he was, it can’t happen again. “This is strictly a friends with benefits situation,” I confirm, before adding, “No, an enemies with benefits situation, actually. There will be no room sharing or sleepovers.” We have to go back to the way things were before all of this, but even I can hear the lies in my voice, and my best friend just laughs.
“Again, you mean?” Hallie muses, popping her hip out to the side as she glares at me knowingly. “There will be no sleepovers again, because if my memory recalls, you already spent the night at Casa Darkmore.” Her smug smile is insufferable, and before I can call her out, I see my brother barreling towards us with a smile on his face.
“You made it,” he hollers, causing Hallie’s spine to stiffen, as he approaches us from behind. Of course, he tries to ignore her completely as he strides past her and pulls me into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here, Mads.”
His words are bittersweet. I have never been to one of his away games before, and I feel guilty instantly. I mean, yes, of course I am excited and happy to watch my brother play, but if I am being honest, he’s not the reason I’m here. I’m here because Nova asked me to come, because in a rare vulnerable moment, he invited me and I couldn’t say no. A common theme occurring anytime he is around lately, but it makes me feel like shit for lying to my brother.
“Maddie, did you know I’m invisible now,” Hallie drawls sarcastically, as my brother ignores her presence completely. “I wonder what I can do with my new found magic.”
Now it’s Josh’s turn to stiffen, and I prepare for the bitterness and disdain between them just like always, as he pulls away and looks blankly at my best friend. “Sorry, Tink, I guess it’s easy to forget you’re here considering you haven’t grown since you were twelve.” I see Hallie’s eyes widen at the use of her old nickname, one neither of us has heard in years, and all I can do is stare.
“Not everyone can take steroids, Joshua, sorry it’s so lonely at the top,” she snaps back in a fluster, clearly feeling unnerved by him, and still I remain silent watching them. What the hell is going on?
My brother laughs, reaching out to ruffle her hair like he always used to when she was a child, as he leans in close to her with a smile. “Don’t worry about me, Tink, I’m never lonely for long,” he replies with a wink and a smirk, and she pushes him away with a shove.
“God, you’re so annoying!” she huffs, straightening out her hair from his light assault, and grabbing her bag from the car to place it on the floor with mine.
Josh doesn’t skip a beat, reaching down to grab them both, and slamming the trunk of the car shut for us as he goes. Then turning to walk inside of the hotel, but not before he tosses over his shoulder, “Trust me, Sanders, the feeling is mutual.”
The two of us watch him leave, before Hallie grumbles, “Well, that was a fun start to our game day road trip.”
I can’t help but laugh, looping her arm in mine and dragging her with me to follow my brother inside. She might have said it sarcastically, but I know she enjoys the back and forth banter with him. She may as well be our middle child at this point, and as I pull her inside, I look forward to what the rest of the day may bring. Go Flyers and all that.
After checking in, we grab a quick coffee with Josh before he has to rush off to the stadium, and then Hallie and I spend the next hour getting ready for the night ahead. By the time we make it to the stadium ourselves, it is already bursting with fans for both teams, and I wait until Hallie is settled into our front row seats, right next to the flyers area, before slipping away.
It doesn’t matter that this isn’t our stadium. I have practically grown up in these places alongside Josh, and I know what it takes to slip past everyone and hunt down the changing rooms, yet they aren’t my destination. No, I am heading down to the players’ tunnel tonight, slipping myself out of sight just in time for the guys to start storming by me as they make their way to the ice.
Just like I knew he would be, Josh is one of the first to exit from the changing rooms, and I have to press myself into the wall I am hiding against to make sure he doesn’t see me. Harper, Jones, and Cooper are quick to follow, along with most of the team. Then I spy Daemon Forbes, and to my surprise, Archer is right behind him, followed by Alexander, and the player I am actually looking for.
Already dressed in all of his gear, Nova looks every bit the Captain he is, and butterflies wreak havoc in my stomach as I think about the text he sent that wasn’t really meant for me. I just want her. That’s what he said, that he didn’t care about what my dad did to his mom, that my brother is on the team, he said none of it mattered. He just wants me, the real me, the one he doesn’t even realize how well he truly knows. No one has ever just wanted me before, and I wish I could have, that he could have me, but that’s not our fate, it was never going to be.
I wait for the rest of the players to pass, until Nova is almost walking right by me, before I take a deep breath. This is it, all we have is tonight. “I hope you are planning on winning tonight, Captain,” I purr, his head instantly whipping round to find me. “I didn’t come all this way to watch you lose.” When his eyes land on mine, a sinful smile spreads across his face, and his huge body turns towards me.
“From where I’m standing, it looks like I already won.” He drags his stare across my body, fixating on the Flyers jersey with a satisfied smile, before dragging it down my jean clad thighs and back up again. “You stalking me, Princess?”
I snort a laugh. “Please, just because you weren’t on your knees at the time, doesn’t mean you didn’t practically beg me to come.”
Those brooding eyes darken at my words, flicking over his shoulders as the rest of his team starts to disappear, but he doesn’t move. Instead he leans above me, placing his arm against the wall by my head and leaning down, bringing our mouths close together. “I will gladly get on my knees and beg you to come,” he breathes, pressing the stick in his hand between my thighs and thrusting it up against me. “You know how much I love to hear you scream my name.”
A gasp slips out before I can stop it, and I am seconds away from begging him to take me right here, but this definitely isn’t the time or the place. Yet still I press against the hard lines of his body as I whisper, “Maybe it will be you screaming my name, while I ride you.” I almost can’t believe those words just left my mouth, but when Nova drops his forehead to mine and groans, I light up inside just seeing the effect I have on him.
Only for tonight.
“If you wanna see my dick again, Princess, all you have to do is ask,” he grits through his teeth, the cheers from the crowd getting louder, letting us both know our time is almost up.
“I’d rather choke on my own tongue.” I press against his stick one more time, before bringing my hands up and shoving him in the chest to push him away from me. Our cat and mouse game of hatred is still swirling between us, and I am beginning to love the chase, especially now that it has to come to an end.
Of course he helps me out, taking a few steps back as the Coach starts to scream for him to hurry his ass up. “But choking on my dick is so much more fun.” His words are paired with a wink, as he continues to walk away from me, and all I want to do is grab him by his jersey and not let go.
Instead, I push off the wall myself, ready to slip back to my seat to enjoy the game when I reply, “You’ll have to make me, Darkmore.”
He throws his head back and groans, before coming back with a smirk that almost brings me to my knees right here. “Oh you’d like that, wouldn’t you, Princess?” I don’t bother answering him, almost getting too far away for this conversation to remain private. So I just shrug, turning to leave without another word. I barely make it around the corner before I am being grabbed and dragged backwards, slamming into a hard chest. His gloved hand finds my throat as his mouth meets my ear. “I recall giving you a jersey with my name and number on it, Madeline, so fucking wear it. I don’t want to see another name on your back again, not even your own.” He pairs his threat with a hard bite to the lobe of my ear in warning, forcing another gasp from me, before he releases me. When I turn to look at him, he is storming away in the other direction without looking back.
Excitement and lust burn through my veins, and I have to steady myself with a hand on the wall as I attempt to catch my breath, barely aware of my surroundings as I stumble my way back to my seat. By the time I reach Hallie she is already screaming, as the players fly around the ice, and stretch to warm up. I spot the number nineteen on instinct, and as I watch him stretch out his thighs towards the floor, I can’t help but think how much trouble I am in with him, and how much I like it.
Just one more night.
I watch their entire warm-up and then once the game starts, my eyes track him as he skates around the ice, only failing the few times my brother skates by, slamming the glass in a high five as he passes. Their entire team is on fire tonight, but number nineteen is in a world of his own. Two goals under his belt, and it’s as if he is having the game of his life. The other team can barely keep up, and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that this game belongs to the Flyers tonight.
Just watching him gets me hot, and every time his eyes find mine, I swear I can feel him stripping me bare. It’s why I feel no shame when I lean over to Hallie and yell in her ear, “Okay maybe one more sleepover won’t hurt.” I don’t take my eyes off Nova, and you would think he could hear me from the way he is looking at me, and when he smirks at me yet again, I squirm in my seat.
I watch the game with rapt attention, another goal flying into the net, and more fights breaking out that I can keep up with. Of course one of them includes the captain I am pretending I’m not cheering for, but by the time the clock runs down, FU wins. I feel exhilarated as Hallie and I wait for the crowds to die down a bit, before I show her the way to sneak down to the changing rooms so we can wait for my brother.
We wait at the end of the hallway this time, more towards the exit considering there are multiple hockey players leaving and taking up space, and when we spot the first friendly face, Hallie goes on a mission. I watch as she pulls Archer aside, talking to him quickly and quietly, before he nods his head and they pass something over to one another. Then Archer is the first to pass me to leave, smirking at me with a knowing wink, tipping his head as he passes. When I turn back towards Hallie she is already moving towards me.
“Room secured,” she starts with a smile. “I got his room key!” she adds in an excited tone, just as members from the opposing team start to exit their own changing room, cutting her off.
“How about I give you the key to my room, baby,” one of the guys cuts in, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her against him.
I’m already storming towards him before he has even finished his sentence, but before I can say anything, he is being dragged away from her and slammed against the wall opposite. “Don’t fucking touch her, prick!” Nova curses, shoving him hard with a hand around his throat.
His friend moves to step in, when Josh appears out of nowhere and covers Nova’s back, at the same time he pulls Hallie in behind him. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Josh warns, his tone low and lethal, and before his friend can make a decision, both Daemon and Alexander appear, taking in the scene before them and standing tall at their back without question.
“Leave, while you can still fucking walk, let alone hold a stick,” Nova threats, squeezing the guys throat even tighter, before letting him drop to gasp for air.
The two of them don’t even think about it, just turn around and hurry off towards the exit without another word, and as soon as they are out of sight, my brother turns to Hallie. “You okay, Tink?”
My panicked and shocked eyes find hers just as she nods, fluffing out the dress she is wearing with shaky hands. “Yeah, I’m okay.” In truth, she does look okay, besides being a little shaken, my brother on the other hand looks ready to burst with rage.
His gaze snaps to mine. “Come on, I’ll walk you guys back to the hotel.” He doesn’t wait for me to respond, just hauls his bag up onto his shoulder, and guides Hallie towards the exit.
My feet however remain rooted to the spot as I move my eyes to Nova. There isn’t much I can say when my brother is within hearing range, so I settle on the only question I can ask freely without raising too much suspicion. “Why did you do that?”
Nova is watching my brother and Hallie closely, as if he is dissecting them, before he turns to me and shrugs. “You told me she doesn’t like people touching her,” he says, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world, and I am rendered speechless. My gaze flicks between him, and my brother and Hals, who have stopped to wait for me, and I know they both heard what he just said.
He remembered. The night he walked me home I told him that Hallie doesn’t like people touching her. I didn’t tell him why, or get into it any further, but he remembered. He didn’t care what the reason was, or ask me why, he just saw something that he knew would make her uncomfortable and he reacted. My heart threatens to explode inside of my chest as I nod at his explanation, my body free falling into the tornado that is Nova Darkmore.
“Thank you,” I all but whisper, the words barely coming out, then I am turning on my heels and fleeing before I do something stupid like kiss him in front of them all.
When I reach Josh and Hallie, my brother’s eyes are assessing Nova with a darkening expression, but Hallie just grabs my arm and pushes me outside, slipping the swapped hotel room key from Archer into my hand. “He definitely deserves his baguette eaten for that,” she leans over and whispers with a smile, and I choke out a surprised laugh.
Yes, yes he does.
