Goal Line (Madison Howlers #4)

by Camellia Tate

  Well. Maybe. Obviously, not if he lost.

  Suddenly, Annie was a whole lot more invested in how the match was going to turn out.

  The Howlers were two goals up after the first period. Devon had yet to let the puck past him even once. Annie was almost dancing with excitement. Devon looked like a god on the ice, all muscle and power, and focus. Picturing him out of his uniform was bringing Annie’s temperature way, way up.

  Sawyer had grumbled, shooing Annie off to buy them some refreshments. Having grown up around the Green Bay rink, there was more than one face Annie recognized. She waved, but everyone was eager to make the most of their short break. Nobody stopped to chat.

  Annie had just attached herself to the end of a line for hotdogs when she felt two slim arms wrap around her shoulders, spinning her around to face Magda’s cheerful face.

  “Magda!” Annie leaned in, pressing a swift kiss against Magda’s plump cheek. “Oh my God, I haven’t seen you in forever.” Not since Annie had moved to Madison. They’d exclusively been in touch by text. It just wasn’t the same as getting together for a heart-to-heart in person. “Since when are you a Mammoths fan?” Annie asked, spotting the Mammoth’s jersey currently swamping her friend’s petite frame.

  She and Magda had grown up around the rink together. When Annie had ditched figure skating for dancing, Magda had kept at it. Annie had seen her perform, always feeling a mix of joy at her friend’s success and regret that she’d never get to experience it herself.

  “Since I started dating one the players,” Magda laughed. “So maybe like... two months? He said I can’t possibly be so good at skating and yet so bad at understanding hockey,” she explained giving Annie a wide smile. To be fair to Magda’s boyfriend, Annie had always teased her about how it was odd for Magda not to know hockey.

  The woman gave Annie another grin. “What about you? You haven’t moved back to Green Bay and forgotten to tell me, have you?” The teasing tone in her voice very much implied that Magda didn’t actually think Annie would do any such thing.

  Annie shook her head. “No. I’m still at college. I just came back for the weekend.” She grinned, linking her arm through Magda’s as they waited their turn to be served. “I’m dating a hockey player, too,” she admitted, a slight blush staining her cheeks. She knew she could trust Magda not to make a scene about it. Especially since she was also dating a professional athlete.

  It felt good to say it out loud. Despite the fact she and Devon had been seeing each other for weeks, Annie didn’t really know anyone in Madison well enough to tell them she was dating someone who might be her soulmate. She and Magda, on the other hand, had known each other for years. Magda had always been supportive of her. She’d grown up in a very different kind of family from Annie’s. It had been Magda’s mom who had been the one to drive Annie to and from her figure skating lessons when Annie’s dad was too busy with work.

  “Are you making him learn all the names for spins and jumps, in exchange for learning about hockey?” Annie asked, curious.

  “Of course I am,” Magda laughed. “I’ve even tried to teach him some jumps, but he’s convinced it’s too dangerous!” She shook her head. Her statement made Annie laugh. She could very easily imagine a hockey player arguing that it was dangerous to actually leave the ice in order to jump up into the air.

  Magda pulled Annie to one side, so they’d be less in the crowd and perhaps manage to keep some of their conversation to themselves. “So is it someone on the Mammoths? I thought your dad was super against you dating one of them?” Back when they’d been fifteen, Annie had spent a lot of time complaining to Magda about how unfair that truly was.

  “Oh, he still is,” Annie said, rolling her eyes slightly. Now she was older, she could see why her dad might warn his teenage daughter away from the players. Annie hadn’t exactly made the most sensible decisions at that age. Not to mention the Mammoths had all been years older and more experienced. “No, it’s actually someone from another team.”

  Annie enjoyed the way Magda moved closer, head bowed so that they could share a secret even amid the crowd. “You know Devon Oakley?” Annie asked. “He’s a goalie, in Madison.”

  Magda’s eyes widened. Her head snapped towards the rink as if she could see through the walls. “From the Howlers?!” she asked, sounding genuinely scandalized. Like Annie, Magda was a Green Bay native. She knew about the rivalry between the Mammoths and the Howlers even if she didn’t know anything else about hockey.

  “I know, I know.” Annie bit her lip before giving a small, unapologetic shrug. “I really like him, Mags,” she breathed. “He’s… different from most people I know.” Even Magda, who had stuck with skating when Annie hadn’t, wasn’t as focused on it as Devon was on hockey. Her dad and her brother, who loved business second only to their families, were the closest comparison Annie could make. She’d always admired that about them.

  Devon was definitely very different from Annie herself. “But he doesn’t seem to judge me,” Annie carried on. “He really thinks about me, about the things I say and about what I might like. He took me to the most amazing chocolate shop for our third date.” It had been far too long since Annie had had the opportunity to gush over a guy. She’d missed this.

  “Have you ever had a boyfriend like that?” Annie asked.

  “I guess I’m supposed to say that Henry’s like that - he’s my boyfriend,” Magda said. “But honestly, we have a lot of things in common, so it’s more that we do that,” she shrugged. “I mean, he does think about me. But usually probably either on ice or in, you know.” Magda laughed, clearly unbothered that her experience was different from Annie.

  Unlike Annie, Magda had always been much better at committing to things. She had many other friends who did the same thing that she did. And maybe she also just had very different experiences. Annie didn’t know. But she did know that she liked how much Devon seemed to care for her.

  “You look happy,” Magda commented with a smile. “He must be doing something right,” she grinned. “Are you seeing him after the game?”

  The thought that she looked as happy as she felt made Annie grin, as did the flutter of excitement when she thought of seeing Devon later. “Yeah. He doesn’t know I’m here,” Annie confided. “I’ll be a surprise.” She liked that surprising one another was something she and Devon did. Annie had always liked planning unexpected treats for people. Not all of her past boyfriends had taken to it as well as Devon did. Some of them had just needed to have a plan, whereas others had let Annie surprise them without ever returning the favor. Devon, on the other hand, was pretty perfect.

  Annie ignored the flush of nerves when she remembered that she still needed to tell Devon the truth about her dad’s business. She focused her attention, instead, on Magda. “Speaking of surprises, I still owe you a Christmas present,” she said, feeling a slight tug of guilt. She’d meant to knit Magda a scarf in her favorite colors. With one thing and another, moving to Madison and picking up new hobbies on campus, Annie had never got around to finishing it.

  “I’ll send you something, I promise.” Even if she had to go out and buy it, Annie always did follow through. Magda had given Annie enough belated gifts that she trusted the timing wasn’t going to bother her. “Is there anything you particularly want?”

  “No,” Magda shook her head. “Honestly, it’d be nice to just catch up with you when we have more time than just between periods at a hockey game,” she commented. That was definitely true. With all the talking, Annie was not going to have the time to actually get drinks for her and Sawyer. He’d understand. Sawyer knew that Annie didn’t get a lot of chances to talk to her friends in Green Bay. Not in person, at least.

  Annie gave a nod. It was easy to agree that they should meet up soon. “Maybe we can arrange a coffee date or something if you’re visiting your family one weekend?” Magda suggested. “It’d be great to just chat. You could even stay at mine if you’d like? Obviously not tonight! But we can arra
nge an evening of wine and cheese in the upcoming months?”

  It sounded great. Annie reached over to give Magda a proper hug, grinning at the prospect of a longer conversation in the not-too-distant future. “I’d love that,” she agreed. Annie made a mental note to have a present for Magda ready by then, whether it was shop-bought or homemade. In all honesty, Annie doubted she was going to finish the scarf she’d started. She hadn’t touched it in weeks.

  As the crowd around them started to move back towards the stands, Annie realized that the men she and Magda were dating were about to face off on the ice. Of course, neither of them would know. It still made Annie give a soft giggle. “Good luck to Henry,” she said, squeezing her friend’s arm. “But not too much luck.” Annie truthfully wanted Devon to win. But she knew that if he didn’t, he’d accept it as just part of the game he loved. Hopefully, so would Henry.

  Magda seemed to sense Annie’s train of thought. She gave a soft laugh. “Yes, same to Devon,” she grinned. “But not too much luck.” Then, she pulled Annie into another quick hug. “It’s great to see you,” she said. Annie smiled back widely. It was really great to see Magda, too. She would definitely need to make the effort to see more of her soon.

  The announcement came through the speakers welcoming the teams back on the ice. “I really have to go,” Magda said. “But we’ll speak soon, yeah?”

  Annie nodded, waving her friend off with a smile as she hurried back to her family’s box. Only two more periods to go, and then Annie would be able to surprise Devon at his hotel. She hoped he’d be glad to see her. Her stomach gave another excited somersault at the thought of spending her whole night alone with him.

  At least, as long as he didn’t take the news about her Dad’s ownership of the Mammoths too badly…

  All Annie could do was cross her fingers - cross everything - that the Howlers would win and Devon would be okay with it.

  Chapter Eight

  PLAYING THE MAMMOTHS was always a tough game. The team rivalry put pressure on everyone and the fans didn’t really help. So, of course, the competition had been fierce. Ultimately, the Howlers had won. Victory in Green Bay always came with a bittersweet feeling. It was great to win. And even greater to win over your biggest rivals. But knowing that they’d left thousands of people to walk away from the ice rink cursing their names? Well, you just kind of put up with that.

  Winning in Green Bay was different from winning anywhere else. In most cities, even when they won over the home team, the Howlers could go out and celebrate. Green Bay was not like that. It would be insulting to rub it in the fans’ faces. They all knew it.

  Instead, they stayed at the hotel, taking it over with their celebration. No one wanted to spend three hours on a bus to get home and go straight to bed (perhaps if they had lost), so all of them were gathered at the hotel bar. Much raising of glasses and bottles was done. Devon grinned when Lev sat down next to him.

  “You’re not drinking enough,” the Russian winger informed him, making Devon snort.

  “According to you, Poppy, no one ever drinks enough,” Devon pointed out. Lev shrugged.

  “It’s true,” he agreed. “But you never drink enough,” he insisted. It was almost definitely true. Devon rarely had more than one drink. He didn’t much enjoy feeling drunk. Most guys didn’t actually tend to notice. He had to give Lev credit there. “Is it because you’re thinking about... what’s her name? Anya?”

  “Annie,” Devon corrected. And then honest to God blushed because Lev’s grin widened. Fuck. Lev looked very pleased with himself for having made Devon say it. Devon shook his head at that. There was nothing shameful in the fact that his mind, when not occupied by thoughts of hockey, wandered over to Annie.

  They hadn’t been dating for very long but Devon already felt like... he knew her. Or rather, he wanted to. There were so many parts of Annie that he felt like he hadn’t discovered yet (a thought that also could easily make him blush again, even if he didn’t mean that). She was like a mystery he had to solve. Devon enjoyed that a lot.

  In the week he’d been playing away games, Devon had spoken to Annie over text, which was nice. But he looked forward to actually seeing her in person. Truthfully, Devon hadn’t anticipated missing her as much as he did. He missed how she laughed, missed the way she made jokes. He especially missed the way she made everything in his life seem just a little bit more colorful.

  “Right, right, Annie,” Lev nodded. “You miss her, yeah? I can see.” That made Devon chuckle and then shrug. He did miss Annie. It wasn’t long now until he’d see her again.

  Obviously, the other guys missed their girlfriends, too, but it was different when you just started out a relationship. Lev seemed to realize that because he actually gave Devon a sympathetic look. Albeit briefly. Then he went into a long spiel about how great one of Devon’s saves tonight had been and, well, Devon was hardly going to turn down that praise.

  An hour later, when Devon was walking to his room, he wondered if all the talk about Annie had made him miss her more. Mostly because he could swear she was there. Or rather, there was a woman in the reception area that looked exactly like Annie. It couldn’t...

  “Annie?” Devon called. His eyes widened when the woman turned around. It was Annie! His surprise was genuine but was quickly overtaken by the butterflies in his stomach. They demanded that he rush over and hug her. So Devon did.

  “What are you doing here?” he managed to ask only after he’d hugged her.

  She released her arms from around his neck, but only because she was too short to stay that way for long. Instead, she rested one hand against his chest as she grinned up at him. “I wanted to surprise you!” She certainly had done that. Devon grinned.

  “I came to watch the game,” Annie added. “I figured it’s only a few hours, and I could stay at my dad’s, if -” She blushed, shrugging one shoulder before she carried on. “If you didn’t want me to stay in your room.” From the sparkle in her eyes, Devon felt that Annie was hoping he would want her in his room with him.

  Before he could answer, Annie’s hand patted his chest softly. “I missed you,” she admitted. “I know it was only a week, but it felt like ages.”

  Her words made Devon’s smile soften. He leaned in to press a gentle kiss against her lips. “I missed you, too,” he told her truthfully. He’d missed her so much that for a moment he’d thought he’d imagined her. It was amazing that she was there! Devon loved that she’d come to see him play. Unlike the last time, his team had actually played amazingly and had won.

  “Come on,” he said, taking Annie’s hand and leading her to the elevator. They weren’t actually allowed to have girls over, but no one ever followed that rule. Usually, they were puck bunnies rather than girlfriends. Devon seriously doubted anyone was going to care. And luckily for Devon, he almost never had to share a room with a teammate when on the road.

  It didn’t take them very long to make it to said room. Once inside, Devon pressed Annie up against the door. His lips came crashing down against hers. He poured all of that missing he’d been doing into his kiss.

  Her body arched against his. Devon could practically feel the heat building between them as he pinned Annie to the wood behind her. She gave a soft moan into Devon’s mouth. It was a sound he could hardly believe he had waited so long to hear. Annie’s fingers stroked over Devon’s bare arms, making his skin break out in goosebumps at how good her touch felt.

  “Devon.” Hearing his name on those gorgeous lips just made Devon need her more. One of Annie’s hands moved to his chest, brushing over his muscles, her nails catching against the fabric of his shirt. The only thought Devon’s brain could really articulate was that there were too many clothes.

  One leg came up to wrap around Devon’s waist. He didn’t hesitate to move his hands under her ass for support. Spinning them around without breaking the kiss, Devon was glad that the bed was so close to the door. He dropped Annie on it, giving a grin at the sound of surprise she ma
de. She looked fucking amazing. Devon wanted to see more of her. He wanted to see all of her.

  He also wanted to hear what other sounds he could get out of her.

  Lowering his body atop hers, Devon sought out her mouth again, his hands sliding under the sweater and then the shirt she was wearing. “Why do you have so many clothes on?” he complained. The very obvious answer was because it was cold outside.

  Still, what Devon was far more interested in was pushing those clothes up and off Annie. The sweater and the shirt went together, leaving her only in a bra. Devon paused to take her in.

  “You’re stunning,” he told her, meaning it completely.

  The smile that broke across Annie’s face was enough to stop Devon in his tracks. She really was breath-taking, her hair spilling over her bare shoulders and her breasts rising and falling with every soft exhale.

  “Don’t stop,” Annie exclaimed, pushing herself up into a sitting position. She hooked her legs around the back of Devon’s knees, pulling him down on top of her again. Her hands felt cool as they slid beneath his shirt. She stroked over Devon’s stomach and chest. “Fuck, I want to see you,” she demanded. “I loved watching you on the ice today. I could hardly take my eyes off you, even when the puck was nowhere near your goal.”

  At her words, Devon gave a low, almost animalistic growl. His cock was instantly hard. Annie looked amazing and he wanted to hear her scream in pleasure. More than that, there was something insanely hot about having her talk hockey during this. Devon had never experienced someone praising his hockey while he was this close to sex. There was something fantastic about it.

  He buried his face against Annie’s neck, sucking the skin between his teeth. Hard enough to be felt but light enough not to leave a mark. Then, Devon kissed down, letting her pull his shirt off in the process. He wanted to kiss down more, but Annie’s hand against his shoulder pushed him up. After a moment, Devon realized it was so she could look at him.