Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“We should watch one sometime. I can tell you all the good ones. Some are even too over-the-top for me, but I’ve cultivated a quality list.”
“Sure. We can do that.”
And then Kason Maddox, goalie for the LA Rebels, pulls out his phone and says, “What’s your phone number?”
I recite it to him. Mads adds it in, then texts me so I’ll have his.
“You sure you’re okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, nothing I haven’t heard before.”
“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but if what he said about your family is true…you deserve better.”
“How do you know?” I say playfully, but maybe I need to hear his response.
“We might not know each other very well, but I’ve been around you enough to see the kind of man you are. You’re good to Hayes and Donovan. Rylan talks about it often—how happy he is that Hayes has you.” Rylan and Mads aren’t just teammates, they’re best friends. It makes my heart stumble slightly that Rylan has spoken about me to Mads. “You do yoga. No one who does yoga can be bad.”
I nudge him with my arm. “I’ve known some asshole yogis.”
He nudges me back. “Well, you’re not one of them. You scored us a badass table tonight.”
He probably wouldn’t think that was such a feat if he knew I own the club. That my aunt and uncle wanted to get rid of me so much that once I graduated from high school, they gave me a whole hell of a lot of money to take off and make a life for myself. A better man wouldn’t have taken it, but I did, then worked my ass off to have something that’s mine, something I can be proud of—only I keep it a secret that it’s mine, so I’m proud of myself without giving anyone else the opportunity to be.
“It’s part of my charm.”
“I can see that.” His voice sounds a little huskier, and I try to ignore the thrill of heat that runs through me. “Don’t let anyone dim your light, Anthony. You’re one of the good ones, I can tell.”
When Mads wraps an arm around me, I tense, but it only takes a second before I relax into the touch, drop my head against his shoulder, and just let myself have this, let myself be comforted without automatically pulling away in fear.
“Tell me about these shows.”
And that’s exactly what he does.
CHAPTER ONE
Kason
January
Winnipeg’s center is skating right at me, while Rylan and Stevens are battling to get away from other players so they can come and protect me. Stevens breaks away first, Volkov’s there too, trying to help me protect our goal and get the puck back. It’s the third period, score tied at two, and my heart’s in my throat, my focus sharpening. Nothing exists beyond the ice, beyond my responsibility to keep that small black disk from making its way into the net.
Suddenly Rylan breaks free and darts toward their center, who makes a quick pass to their left winger. He shoots quickly, but not fast enough. I dive to the side and block the shot.
Unfortunately, Winnipeg gets the rebound. Stevens is on their winger, fighting him for the puck. Rylan skates over to help, checking him hard, but Stevens reaches out and trips their winger. I groan as the ref calls a penalty, sending Stevens to the box. Fuck, now they have the power play, with one more man on the ice than we have.
It’s a long two minutes, Winnipeg managing three shots on goal while Stevens is out. I manage to block them all, but I’m exhausted, or at least, I know I will be later. Right now, I can’t feel it. All I know is no one’s getting another motherfucking goal on me tonight. I won’t allow it. My guys will get the puck in the net. All we need is one more goal. We’re going to take the W home tonight. I can feel it.
*
“I miss the times when you used to leave the room so I could jerk off with Hayes,” Rylan tells me from the bed beside mine.
I turn and look at my questionable choice of best friend, his dark hair wet and messy from the shower. “I don’t know what to say to that other than fuck you, asshole.”
When Rylan and Hayes first started seeing each other, it was just a mutually beneficial sex thing. Hayes was—is?—Rylan’s good-luck charm, and at the time, Rylan played a lot better when he busted a nut with Hayes the night before. It wasn’t foolproof. We still lost games from time to time, but our odds were a whole lot better, even if it just came from Rylan telling himself he would play better and putting that energy into the universe.
I believe in that kind of stuff—that you get back what you put into the world, and positive energy and thought will always bring more positive outcomes than negative shit. It’s a lesson I learned from my mom. She’s always talking about auras and energy and all that, and she’s also the kindest person I’ve ever known. Neither of my parents grew up with much. Neither is a college graduate, and we struggled a lot when I was a kid, but they both worked hard to make ends meet, to make my dreams come true, and they did it while always thinking about others and being very intentional about their thoughts and actions.