Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“Don’t flirt with her. Not unless you want Coach to know, and you get benched or, worse, traded . . .” Molly says. I can’t see her face, but since I’ve been spending time with her recently, I’d recognize the voice anywhere. “Actually—keep flirting.” She leans forward until she’s visible. “Sorry, Josie, but can you take one for the team? Hudson’s a menace.”
“Sure.” I shrug. “Flirt away.”
“Not nice, princess. I’m wounded.” He raises his hands in mock defeat.
“Her name is Josephine.” There’s no mistaking the rough and gravelly voice. Dane isn’t happy, not that he ever is.
“Jeez. You’re even more of an asshole tonight than ever. What’s up your ass?”
“Nothing. Just not in the mood for your shit tonight.”
“Touchy. At least Molly—”
“Molly? Nothing,” Molly chides. She stands up from her seat and heads in my direction, pulling out the chair directly beside me.
“With all this testosterone in the air, I figured us girls should stick together.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Thank God, because it was either you or Laurie.”
“Laurie isn’t that bad.”
“She isn’t good, though.”
I laugh because her assessment is spot-on.
It takes me a minute to get into the conversation. I’m pretty lost, seeing as I showed up late, but I try my best to mingle in a way that’s not obvious.
Mason eventually returns to the table with a pitcher of beer, and I pour myself a glass. Unfortunately, when I do, a little dribbles out of the pitcher and gets on the table and my hand. I see a pile of napkins that I reach for, and when I do, I notice I’m not the only one who went for them.
Dane’s fingers brush against mine. And although I know it was an accident, he lingers there. The moment stands still, voices fade away, and all that is in that room is him, and it feels like jolts of energy course through me as our skin touches.
“Sorry.” Dane pulls away, and I want to beg him not to leave, but I really don’t have a choice.
“It’s fine,” I respond, my chest pounding.
The touch is brief, but the effects linger. My face is warm and flushed.
This man does crazy things to me.
Dane moves to separate from me, and when he does, I get a clear shot of Molly.
She’s looking right at us. Her eyes narrow, and her jaw clenches.
Shit. What did she see?
Does she know?
And if she does, what will she do with the information?
54
DANE
Another game. Another city.
Because of the distance and time of tomorrow’s game, we’re spending the night once again.
The plan is to go to dinner and then sneak Josephine into my room.
It’s not ideal, but I can’t imagine spending the night without her.
Her presence calms me, and I’ll need that now more than ever, seeing as we are playing the Empires tomorrow.
They are a team to be reckoned with, but since we met them last year for the Cup, they are even more so.
Everyone thinks we’re a shoo-in. Well, everyone except the assholes who are most likely betting against us.
Like all of New York.
I start to pace my hotel room; I’m having a hard time keeping still. Another reason I need my little hellfire. If she were here, I could work out my energy.
Fuck.
Now I really don’t want to go to dinner.
Lifting my arm up, I check my watch. It’s only seven, and dinner isn’t until seven thirty.
I’m about to text Josephine to see if she’s still with Molly when the hotel phone rings.
Strange. No one ever calls me on that thing. I walk over to the phone and pick it up.
“Hello.” The confusion is most likely evident in my voice. Either that or I sound like a grump, as Josephine likes to tell me.
“Good evening, Mr. Sinclair. There’s a package for you at the front desk.”
My brows draw in. Why would anyone send a package to me? Especially since I’m in New York. But then I think about Molly. Maybe it was her. She does tend to drop off stuff I need; maybe she’s too busy hanging out with Hellfire and gave it to the concierge.
She should have just given it to Josephine and made my life easier and a hell of a lot better.
Only one problem with that plan—Molly doesn’t know about Hellfire and me. Second problem, she’s way too observant not to see the signs if I asked her to have her bring it up.
Yep, nope. Bad idea.
“Can you have someone bring it up, please?”
“No problem, sir. It will be up shortly.”
I hang up the phone and walk to the other side of the living room in my suite. Grabbing the whiskey decanter, I pour myself a glass and wait.
I’m halfway through my drink when the knock sounds against the door. I don’t bother placing my glass down. Instead, I walk with it to the door and open it with my free hand.