“Don’t I know it.”
“I think you’re the right person for the job.”
“Maybe.” When it came to being free spirits and doing as we pleased and how we pleased, Ziggy and I were kindred souls.
While Steele…
He was the opposite of us. Somehow we’d all learn to live together despite different approaches to life. If I had my way, I’d loosen some of his coils that were wound too tight.
There was one easy way to do that, but I wasn’t sure he’d go for it. All those hard muscles, all that intensity, all that raw power surging and directed toward me. I fanned myself.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Ziggy said.
I jumped, having forgotten he was there. “What am I thinking?”
“You want him. I can tell by the way you look at him. So what’s holding you back?”
That was a good question. What was holding me back?
Nothing other than a reluctant partner. Willing partners were so much more fun.
Chapter Three
Meatballs
~~Steele~~
I hated to admit it, but my stomach was in love with Cin.
Dinner was incredible. Both Ziggy and I had thirds and made a huge dent in the large pot of savory spaghetti and meatballs. Cin cooked the meatballs separately since she didn’t eat meat. She put veggies in the sauce, and I had to admit I liked the different flavors and textures the veggies added.
Despite my pickiness when it came to certain things, I was the type of guy who’d eat anything.
I tried to eat healthy, but if I was cooking, it was usually takeout or pizza.
I’d be eating healthy if Cin cooked, but I didn’t want to get comfortable with her being here. I was racking my brain to come up with a solution to get her out from underfoot. Ziggy needed to go, too, but I’d deal with the most pressing problem first.
Cin.
My nemesis.
The source of my frustrations not just from an orderly standpoint but also sexually, much to my dismay.
I’d never admit the latter to anyone. Being attracted to her body while greatly disliking her personality was insane and unexplainable and completely out of character for a guy like me who relished order in my life.
I wasn’t letting my fellow Puck Brothers get away with what they’d done to me. I recognized a hit job for what it was. They’d forced these two slobs upon me for sheer entertainment value. Besides, it was Kaden’s turn to pay his penance. When we’d started as rookies, we’d made a pact not to get into a serious relationship before we were thirty. Anyone who broke the pact paid the penance. So far, Easton had polished our skates and blades, a lame penance if you asked me, but I didn’t plan that one. Axel had been the entertainment at Easton’s bachelor party, thanks to me. I’d surprised more than a few teammates and coaches with my deviousness, as Axel had popped out of a huge cake wearing a skimpy Speedo.
Now Kaden’s turn was coming, and he wasn’t getting off easy, especially after he allowed Cin to take over his lease.
After dinner, I needed some space from Cin especially. I called my bros and asked them to meet me for a beer that evening at the Place, our usual hangout across the street from the SHAC, the Sockeyes Hockey Athletic Center, our practice facility.
When I left the condo, it was past eight o’clock. Ziggy and Cin had disappeared to their rooms, and I slipped out the door. None of us had to answer to the others, yet I felt guilty for what I was about to do—find a way to get rid of Cin and that disgusting dog of hers.
My buddies were already putting a dent in a pitcher of beer when I showed up. I sat down and poured a beer for myself.
“Where’s Easton?”
“Busy with the kids. Can’t get away.” Kaden took a long drink from his beer glass and wiped his mouth off with the sleeve of his long-sleeved T-shirt.
I nodded. Easton had found out last year he’d fathered two children with his high school sweetheart. He hadn’t known about them. The entire situation had been more than a little odd, and I’d stayed out of it for the most part.
Axel glanced at his watch for the tenth time in the short while I’d been sitting there.
“Got a hot date?” I quipped, knowing full well he was probably anxious to get home to his girlfriend. “We’ve only been here a few minutes.” I hated the sound of my voice, almost whiny and butt hurt.
“Geneva is unpacking and inventorying new equipment tonight. She’s coming here afterward.” Geneva was Axel’s girlfriend, our backup goalie’s sister, and was one of the team’s equipment staff. I really liked her. She was exacting at her job. When she set up our locker room, every piece of equipment was in its place and immaculate. A girl after my own heart, but Axel beat me to her. Not that I begrudged his relationship with her. They made a great couple.
“I see.” I took another swig of my beer. I wasn’t a huge partier like my buddies had been in their single days. I’d opted to be the designated driver more often than not. Regardless, I appreciated a good beer now and then. I wasn’t an excess type of guy, not in my drinking and not in my other habits, unless you counted tidiness.
Kaden’s cell buzzed, and he snatched it up as if world peace depended on it. A slow, goofy smile spread across his face. Axel groaned, and I rolled my eyes. No woman would ever make me look like that. I loved women, don’t get me wrong. I loved to fuck women, but unlike most of my teammates, I wasn’t overindulgent. I tended to hook up with older women I met privately, rather than pick up a twenty-something in a bar for the night or take home a few puck bunnies to warm my bed. Older women knew things, and they often knew how to please a man and weren’t afraid to ask for what they wanted. I was a better lover because of them.
There was one particular woman who was the hostess at a French restaurant I frequented that I saw more often than most. She didn’t want anything from me but my body, and I felt the same about her. She might be in her forties, but a guy would never guess that about her.
“Are you sexting Delaney?” Axel asked Kaden.
Kaden glanced up, still wearing his stupid expression. “Nah, she’s in a meeting. One of her many causes.” Kaden’s girlfriend had political aspirations and was the daughter of a powerful senator.
“She seems to have a lot of causes,” I noted. I was well informed. I watched the news, read quite a bit, and I had my opinions, but I mostly kept them to myself.
“She does. Speaking of causes, how are you making out with Cin?” Axel asked.
“And are you making out with her?” Kaden waggled his eyebrows, and both of my idiot friends broke into laughter.
“You two are gonna pay for this.” My grouchiness came flooding back. The bastards.
“Hey, I already did. Remember me being forced to jump out of a cake in a G-string at Easton’s bachelor party?” Axel shot me a smug smirk. “Payback is a bitch, Steele.”
“I hardly think installing that woman in my home is fair payback. You only had to endure misery for several minutes. You’re sentencing me to way more than that.”
Axel snorted and fist-bumped Kaden.
“Don’t forget, Kaden. You haven’t paid your Puck Bro penance yet.”
Kaden sobered immediately. He hadn’t thought this through very well. Not one damn bit. “I, uh, I… She’s a good cook.”
“Yeah, I’ll give her that, but it’s not worth it when a guy has to put up with everything else. She had bras and underwear draped over the balcony railing.”
They both found this way too funny while I scowled. I wadded up a napkin and pegged Axel in the head. He shot it right back, and the damn thing landed in my beer. I fished it out with a spoon, but there were remnants of paper towel floating in the beer. An attentive waitress hurried over with another beer and handed me another napkin. I glanced down to find she’d scrawled her phone number on it.
I shook my head and wadded up the napkin, turning back to my current problem. “You have to help me out here. I can’t live with her. Ziggy is bad enough.”
“Oh, no.” Axel waved his arms and shook his head vehemently. “Don’t pin your Ziggy problem on us. Coach wants him there because you’re a good role model, even though you’re single. You’ll have to deal with Coach on that subject.”
“I will,” I said without a lot of conviction. I wasn’t about to make waves. I wanted a new contract before the end of this season. “Just help me find a way to get Cin out of the house.”
Kaden and Steele exchanged glances. They knew something I didn’t. I saw it in their eyes.
“What’re you hiding from me?”
“It was Delaney’s idea,” Kaden admitted, refusing to meet my gaze. He was guilty of not running this by me, and he knew it.
“What was? Putting Cin in your old room?”
“Yeah. I guess she was living with her mother, and it wasn’t a good situation. We offered her the place, and we’d cover the first month’s rent,” Kaden admitted.
“How is she going to pay for the next month’s rent?” I was skeptical. I doubted doing alterations or working as a bartender paid all that well, and this condo was expensive even split three ways.
“She’ll be good for it,” Kaden insisted. “You don’t know her.”
“And you do? Either one of you?”
They both shrugged, unwilling to respond to my question. I was stuck with her, no matter how I felt about it. I was about to open my mouth and offer another argument for them to shut down when Geneva joined us, followed a few minutes later by Delaney. Feeling like a third wheel, I excused myself and headed out the door. They barely noticed I’d left.
Feeling out of sorts and left out, I wasn’t ready to go home yet.
The night was warm for a mid-September Seattle night, and I strolled along the sidewalk, past several shops closed for the night, a small Italian restaurant, and a bar. I’d never been in this particular bar. The old building appeared somewhat worse for wear, and I suspected the place been a neighborhood staple for a long time. I glanced inside past the tables, chairs, and the pool table. I stopped dead in my tracks and did a double take.
Cin stood near a table wearing that same tight black tank and an apron around her waist. She placed a beer in front of the bearded, tatted patron. He grinned up at her. I knew that grin. I’d seen it enough on my buddies. The guy wanted her. But what did I care?
Yet I did. Or my body did. Ugly tendrils of jealousy snaked through me. I tried unsuccessfully to shake the feeling off. Cin was a big girl perfectly capable of handling herself. Only my feet wouldn’t move. They were rooted to the sidewalk as I watched the drama play out inside.
The guy pulled her onto his lap in one swift movement. She didn’t stand a chance as small as she was. His buddies sitting at the table laughed as Cin struggled to get free. No one was making a move to help her. Most were pretending this behavior was completely acceptable.
Not to me it wasn’t.
I saw red—the red of hot, boiling anger.
My feet propelled me forward. Next thing I knew, I’d yanked the door open and was striding across the sticky, wood-planked floor, ready to kick some ass, and I was so not an ass kicker off the ice. In fact, I’d never been in a bar fight or anything of the sort. My lack of experience in bar fights didn’t stop me.
I caught the asshole off guard and sucker-punched him in the jaw. Cin’s mouth formed a shocked O just before she took the opportunity to scramble to her feet and away from the jerk.
Mr. Tat leaped to his feet and launched his huge body at me. I was faster due to years of playing hockey and dodging players and pucks. I moved out of his way. He barreled face-first into the empty table next to me, rolled ungracefully off it, and sprawled on the floor, flailing around like a turtle on its back.
I stood above him, my hands fisted at my sides as I wondered what the fuck I was doing. I could be suspended from the team for this, especially since I’d thrown the first punch.
Cin shot into action and stepped between us as the guy struggled to his feet.
“You need to leave, Tug.”
Tug rubbed the bruise on his cheekbone and regarded me with outright menace. “You’re lucky I’m not in a fighting mood tonight, asshole.” He turned to Cin. “I’m not done with you yet, bitch.”
I made a move toward him, but Cin gripped my arm, her eyes pleading with me. “Please, Steele. Let him be. He’s an old friend. He was just messing around.”
“Yeah, Steele, we were just messing around.” The dickhead sneered at me. “I’m an old friend, if you know what I mean. You’ll pick up the tab, right, Steele? Later, babe.” He tipped an imaginary hat to Cin and gestured to his buddies to follow him.
I stared after him. Was that guy an ex of Cin’s, or even worse, a wannabe boyfriend? What did I know about her private life? Not a damn fucking thing. Out of genuine concern for her well-being, maybe I’d interrupted a perverse little game they played with each other.
And they’d played me for a fool.
Chapter Four
Tug
~~Hyacinth~~
I held my tongue and counted to ten. Steele managed to push every one of my buttons without trying, but, I reminded myself, he probably meant well. He didn’t understand me or the situation. Actually, I wasn’t sure I understood the situation.
Tug was an ex, a guy I dated when I was young and dumb. That was, until I caught him in bed with my free-spirit mother, who, to this day, doesn’t understand what I was so upset about. We’d had a few drunken hookups over the past year. Big mistakes, and after the last time, I swore I was done with him, even though he wasn’t done with me.
He worked in construction and made good money, something to do with skyscrapers. We never got to know each other personally. We’d been too busy fucking each other’s brains out. Not to mention, I didn’t exactly like him as a person. I had a tendency to be drawn to men who didn’t attract me beyond the physical. Case in point, Steele. My preferences were probably grounded in self-protection and my overall scorn of love and marriage. I’d seen the mess my mom had made of our life with her revolving door of boyfriends. I’d learned not to get attached to any man, whether he be a father figure or a boyfriend.
And now Tug had gone, and I was left with Steele. He watched me warily, as if I might not appreciate his rescue attempt. I guess the guy knew me better than I would’ve guessed.
I motioned him over to the bar and away from the prying ears of the few patrons left this late on a weeknight.
He sat down on a barstool while I moved behind the bar and poured him a beer. I pushed it across the counter to him.
“Thank you.” I heard the confusion in his voice and sought to come up with the right words that weren’t overly angry.
“Steele, thank you for intervening but it wasn’t necessary. I’m a big girl. I’ve been taking care of myself since I was fifteen, not that I didn’t before that. I don’t need a knight in shining armor or anyone else. I can handle myself.”
“You weren’t,” he pointed out defensively.
“You didn’t give me a chance. Please do not interfere in my personal life again. Do you understand?” I pinned him with my hardest badass chick glare. He didn’t even blink. In fact, one corner of his mouth twitched.
“I won’t stand by and watch a man harass or abuse a woman.”
He was so stubborn and so certain he was right. “You don’t understand the situation with Tug. Please stay out of it.”
“Then enlighten me so I can understand.”
“My personal life is none of your business.”
“Yeah, right, you told me that. Since you’re living in my condo, your personal life affects me to a point.”
“It’s our condo, not yours.” His self-righteous, smug attitude irritated the hell out of me. If only I could find a way to wipe that superior smirk off his face. Kissing him would do it, but not one of my better ideas, though it did have merit. As much as I’d like to get between the sheets with him, I also had to live with him. Talk about bringing the drama I was
trying to avoid crashing down on me just for a little sex, which I could get anywhere.
Yeah, but sex with him… I’d contemplated whether or not he’d be good in bed since I’d first met him.
Enough contemplating. Images of a naked Steele were clouding my ability to think clearly.
I cut off my current line of thinking. I didn’t deny I wanted Steele, but I didn’t think the complications were worth it. He struck me as the type of guy who might fall in love or some stupid-assed shit like that, maybe think sex with someone meant more than sex, but what did I know? He was a mystery to me.
“You should at least file for a protection order,” he said, not giving up on the subject. Like Herc with a good bone, Steele was going to gnaw on this subject until he’d chewed every last bit of meat off it.
“No, thanks. I’m not voluntarily stepping foot inside a police station.”
“Why?”
“You have to ask me that? I don’t believe in rules, and they’re rule enforcers.”
He considered my words. “For good reason. To protect us all.”
We stared each other down, and I looked away first. I had an inborn mistrust of any authority figure thanks to my mother.
“I bet you don’t even jaywalk,” I said.
“I don’t.”
“Run a red light?”
“Nope.”
“Dispute a law that doesn’t make sense?”
“No, I leave that to politicians. That’s what we elect them for. You go through the proper channels to get things done.”
“Even if those channels refuse to enact change?”
He shrugged. “Then you vote them out.”
I gave up. He was so black-and-white about things, and I was every shade of gray known to man.
Steele took a long pull on the beer and made a face. “What the fuck is this crap?”
“You don’t like it?” I said innocently. I’d poured him a glass of the cheapest, nastiest beer we had, not sure he’d notice, but he had.
Icing Page 3