Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Kelsey brings her hand to her lips. I see the smile in her eyes, though. She's laughing at me.
"It's not funny," I growl. " Do you have any idea what I went through last night? I'm pretty goddamn certain I saw a country musician railing a model on top of a table."
"It's a little funny."
"The table had hooks built into in, Kelsey."
Her lips twitch.
"I kissed Jamie."
Her laughter dries up. She drops her hand, staring at me with wide eyes. "You kissed her?"
"Don't worry." I scowl at the wall behind her head. "That's as far as it went. I know what I want doesn't fucking matter here, given the circumstances." I huff out a breath. "I kissed her and sent her on her way like a good little team player."
It took every ounce of strength I possessed to do it, but I did it. And I'm still pissed about it. I want her, regardless of what the rules of this brotherhood say. I want her, regardless of how untouchable she is or what anyone has to say about it. I want her, period. And right now, I'm mad as hell that I can't have her. Teams don't fucking work without trust, and my teammates don't trust her.
"You like her," Kelsey says.
No, I don't like Jamie. I'm pretty fucking certain I'm in love with her.
I never thought about what life would look like for me after hockey. I'm not the kind of guy who thinks that far ahead. I live one game, one season at a time. But a career in the NHL doesn't last forever. My big ass may be stubborn, but my big ass is getting old too. I'm thirty-one. I've got maybe half a dozen good years left before it's time to hang it up and move on. And more and more lately, living one season at a time isn't enough.
I tell my teammates I'm never falling in love and that I'm never getting married. But I look at what Wes has with Laney and what Gray has with Camila, and I feel…envious. Because the only woman who has ever made me want that shit is the one I'm not supposed to want. I watch her from across the arena, and I think, Damn. I want to go home to that.
And last night, I finally had her in my arms. She was right there…and I was stupid enough to let her go. I called her the enemy. I've been kicking my own ass for the last twelve hours. I woke up this morning, fully expecting to see that she'd run the story simply because I was a dick last night. It's what I deserve. But she didn't run it.
"Why didn't she take the story I practically dropped in her lap?"
Kelsey makes a sound that can only be described as a dying cat.
I pull my gaze back to her to see her shaking her head at me.
"You rescued her from a creep, kissed her, sent her home safely, and now you're confused as to why she didn't publish the story about you being in a sex club?" she asks, staring at me like I have two heads. Which, I mean….
"She's a gossip reporter," I say, and instantly regret it. We're all more than our jobs, aren't we? Shit, I hope so, or my teammates and I are in serious trouble.
"And you're an idiot." Kelsey scowls. "Why are you guys so dumb? I mean, I know you take pucks to the head a lot, but the IQ on this team is seriously below the NHL average. Maybe Coach should start administering tests every year to see how being around each other impacts your common sense because you all seem to share one brain cell."
"Hey," I protest, even though I definitely deserve her shit.
"She likes you, you idiot!" Kelsey shouts. "I'm guessing she likes you a lot if she's willing to risk the wrath of her boss to keep your secret because that man is an absolute cretin."
"He's mean to her?" I growl, my hands curling around the arms of my chair as a surge of…something fierce and deadly shoots through me. I'll tear his balls out through his throat if he's mean to her.
"Dear, sweet Jonas." Kelsey reaches up to rub her temples. "I forget that you guys live in a bubble that isn't like the rest of the world," she mumbles. "Your world is all fancy and privileged and kind of sad and lonely."
"I can never tell if you're insulting us or if you're on our side," I mutter.
"I'm a realist," she says, which tells me nothing. "Did you know Jamie graduated from Harvard at the top of her class?"
"No?" I knew she was smart, but go, baby girl!
"Do you know who her father is?"
"No?"
"Aiden Knight."
"Aiden Knight from Sports World?"
"Yep," Kelsey says.