Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 83927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Hey,” her beautiful, worried voice says. She answers on the first ring as though she’s been waiting with her phone in hand. “How did it go?”
I relax at the sound of her voice, hating that she’s worried. “Okay,” I tell her. “Are you home? I’ll come by and explain.”
“Yeah, I’m home,” she says.
“Alright, I’ll be there in five,” I assure her before hanging up and sliding my phone into my pocket. I hit the gas and make my way to her place, counting down the minutes until I can feel her safe in my arms once again.
I pull up to find Dani and Sophie sprawled on the ground in front of their open doorway, a hammer and screwdriver in Sophie’s hands while Dani clutches onto some type of security camera while scanning over the installation instructions.
“You need a little help with that?” I ask, pleased they’re proactively looking out for their safety.
Dani looks up at me from the floor. “No,” she says, getting a groan out of Sophie. “We can manage.”
“Okay, sure. I’ll just sit over here and wait till you’re done,” I say, indicating the outdoor couch by the door. It gives me the perfect view of Dani’s ass as she tries to work out the lock.
“Excellent,” she smiles sarcastically, giving me a bit of her usual sass, and I realize the restraining order must give her a feeling of security, and I couldn’t be happier.
I sit by the door for at least thirty minutes, more than amused as I watch her fumble around the door. “Need some help?” I ask again with a smirk.
“No, I don’t need help,” she tells me with a huff. “I can definitely do it myself. But if you’re offering to do it, I’m not going to say no.”
I laugh as I get up off the chair and make my way over to the door, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips before picking her up. I dump her on the couch then make myself comfortable in front of the door as Sophie takes advantage of the opportunity and scurries away. I undo everything the girls’ have attempted to do and have the camera installed two minutes later before showing Dani how to access the feed through an app on her phone.
Dani huffs as she watches me in frustration. “Whatever,” she grumbles to herself, an amused smile playing on her lips as I join her on the couch. “Okay, tell me all about it.”
I give her the rundown, the same way I’d done with Coach Harris. “So, what does this mean for hockey?” she questions.
I let out a deep breath and curl my arms around her. “If the charges go through, I can kiss my hockey career goodbye,” I tell her honestly.
“Shit,” she gasps. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”
“Like hell it is,” I tell her, grabbing her waist and turning her to face me. “Not one bit of this is on you. You’ve done nothing wrong except for being the sexiest damn woman I’ve ever met.” She gives me a soft smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “It’s going to be okay and if it’s not, we’ll fight like hell until it is.”
“You’re too amazing for me,” she says.
“Yeah, I’m pretty damn great.”
Dani relaxes against me as she breaks into laughter. “Come on,” she says. “It’s been a long day. Let me cook you dinner so I can get you to bed.”
“No,” I say a little too quickly. “I’ll cook. You go relax.”
There’s no better feeling than being on the ice and looking up into the grandstand to see the woman of your dreams staring down at you, wearing your name on her back, and cheering for you as you score in some of the most important games of your life.
I push forward, flying past the referee and a few of the opposing skaters. I narrowly miss getting shoulder charged and have to add a bit of footwork to keep control of the puck. I flick the puck over to Tank to avoid losing it to the opposition.
Tank easily keeps up with me and sends it straight back moments before he’s slammed into the boards. I catch the puck against my stick and push forward, flying toward the goal. I rear back and slam the puck forward. It sails across the ice, slides straight past the goalkeeper, and rocks into the back of the net.
The crowd gets to their feet and cheers, breaking into their fourth chorus of the Dragon’s war cry. I skate around the back of the net as my boys crowd around, clapping me on the back and cheering my name. I push past them and quickly check on Tank, who seems to be fine.
“Nice one, bro,” he says, pulling me toward him and clapping me on the back.