Jaxon_Kings of Denver

by Sheridan Anne

  I kiss her until Coach is yelling at me to ‘put the girl down and get your ass in the locker room’. I feel her grin against my lips. “Got to go, babe,” I murmur.

  “K,” she says as I put her on her feet. “I’ll see you after.”

  With that, I head back to the locker room but Bobby and I are thrown in front of camera’s and end up giving spontaneous interviews before we finally make it back to the locker room.

  Coach gives us all a brief chat and congratulations before yelling at us to make sure we’re on time and pushing ourselves harder for the rest of the season. We are finally dismissed to shower and get ready for our traditional night out at Micky’s.

  Half an hour later we pull up at Micky’s and the boys pile into the pub to find our usual table reserved. The waiters instantly come around and drop drinks into each of our hands before taking any food orders, which after the game we just played, each and every one of us order a main meal, I even make sure Cass and Bri get a side of fries as I know the boys will still be hungry after that.

  Our night goes just as any other post-game night goes. We drink, we eat, we party and we pick up. Well, at least the single guys at the table try their best to pick up but with the label of being the undefeated Dragons, it’s really not too hard for these guys to find a willing chick around here.

  Cassie and Brianna disappear onto the dance floor and I give her the ‘be careful’ speech, though I know it’s not needed anymore, she hates drinking too much when we come here now.

  A text draws my attention and I pull my phone from my pocket.

  Miller – Fucking awesome game, man.

  I hit reply.

  Jaxon – Pretty sure I broke a few of your records during that one.

  Miller – Don’t count on it, bro.

  With a grin, I slip my phone back in my pocket and relax as I watch my girl dance. Xander getting up from the table has my eyes suspiciously following him. I watch as he weaves through the crowd, past the dancers and takes a seat at the bar far away from any of the guys. Hmm, that’s strange, if he wanted another beer all he had to do was wave over a waitress and it would have been placed in his hand within seconds.

  I watch with narrowed eyes as the new chick behind the bar approaches him and instantly places a glass down in front of him with a knowing, flirty smile. They talk for a while before I realise it’s too comfortable like they know each other somehow.

  “Oi,” Bobby says as a French fry bounces off the side of my face.

  I zone in on Bobby with a scowl. “What?” I grunt.

  “What’s up with you? You’re looking at the bar like you’re fucking lost or something.”

  “Nah, man,” I say with a shake of my head as my eyes return to Xander. I nod towards him with a lift of my chin and watch as Bobby’s eyes follow my gaze. “Something’s going on with the kid,” I tell him. “He was covered in bruises the other week but denied anything happened.”

  “Seriously?” he asks. “He in some kind of trouble?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “Don’t know man, but I know he sure as fuck doesn’t want to talk about it.”

  I see scenarios ticking over in Bobby’s mind and I’m sure it’s probably all the same stuff I’ve already considered. His eyes flick back towards Xander, the same way mine have been doing for the past 10 minutes when I decide I’ve had enough.

  I grab my beer off the table and weave my way through the crowd and take a seat on the empty stool beside him. “Hey, man. What are you doing all the way over here? There’s a party going on and we’re the guests of honour.”

  He gives a regretful smile as he continues to nurse the glass on the table. “Just chilling out with Charli here,” he says, motioning toward the chick behind the bar, who lifts her chin in acknowledgment before getting back to work.

  Xander looks down at his watch before grabbing the glass on the bar and throwing back what is left. “Let me guess,” I say. “You’ve got somewhere to be?”

  “Yeah, sorry man,” he cringes.

  “There something you need to talk about?” I ask. “You’re not in any kind of trouble, are you? I can’t have shit coming down on the team, especially now we’re getting closer to the finals.”

  “Nah,” he says with a shake of his head. “No trouble, just got stuff going on,” he adds before his eyes quickly flick to Charli’s.

  “Alright, man,” I say getting up off my stool and giving him some space. “You know where to find me if you need anything.”

  He gives a tight nod before getting up off his own stool. “Thanks,” he says before turning away.

  “Hey,” I call after him. “Don’t show up for training covered in bruises. I need your head in the game if we’re going to take out the championship again.”

  “Sure thing, man,” he says with a grin before turning away and ducking out the side door of Micky’s. I look back to the bar to acknowledge Charli before leaving for my table when I notice Xander has left his wallet on the bar.

  I duck through the crowd after him and slip through the side exit. I look up and down the side alley but don’t see him anywhere. I pull my phone out and quickly send a text.

  Jaxon – Dude, left your wallet on the bar.

  His response comes through almost instantly.

  Xander – Shit. Be there is a sec.

  I wait in the side alley, guessing he will return to this spot. A guy in a dark hood comes up from the bottom of the alley and I mind my own business, figuring he will walk on by, which is my biggest mistake today.

  My eyes are trained down on my phone when the guy grabs me and slams me up against the brick wall. My head rebounds off the solid wall but I’ve had worse hits in hockey to be affected by it, especially with the sudden burst of adrenalin surging through my veins.

  I push the guy back and the move has his hood falling off, revealing his face. It’s dark out in the alley but there is enough light from Micky’s that I can recognise the sick fucker, “What the fuck?” I growl at him as I push off the wall to get in his face. I notice his hand buried deep in his pocket, shaped in a fist as if he is holding something in there.

  “Karma is a fucking bitch,” he snarls just moments before his fist comes hurtling towards my face. I try to duck but the amount of alcohol in my system has my reflexes on holidays. The guy nails me in the jaw and my body falls back against the wall. My head starts to spin and the world goes slightly blurry before righting itself again. Shit, had this guy knocked me out or damaged my vision, I would have been fucked for the rest of the season and who knows what that would have done for my career.

  By the time my vision is cleared, the guy is coming for me again. I push myself up from the wall there is no chance in hell this guy is getting a second go at me.

  I bend at the waist and charge at the guy. His body is lifted off the ground and I slam him into the opposite wall. The move forces his fisted hand out of his pocket and I notice a pair of black lace panties that I would recognise anywhere.

  He rubs the panties between his fingers as his eyes light up in a sick, excitement before giving them a good sniff. That mother fucker. I see nothing but red. There is no doubt in my mind that they are Cassie’s missing black panties. The tiny pink bow at the top is a dead giveaway and I’m sure if I got them off him, I’d even see the tear in the fabric from where Cass stopped me from ripping them off her body.

  My fist goes flying before I even realise what I’m doing. I nail him in his eye socket, enjoying the sound of his head rebounding off the brick wall behind him but I don’t stop there, I swiftly deliver an uppercut that has him folding over and gasping for breath.

  “Stay the fuck away from her,” I warn the sorry bastard as I steal the panties from his clenched hand.

  He growls in frustration and it’s then I realise, he is here to have another crack at Cass. The thought alone has my knee coming up and nailing him in the guts once again.

  “She’s fucking mine,” he spits as he straightens himself out and tries to
come at me again but the guy is too winded and I catch him by the scruff of his shirt and pull him up to my height.

  “I’ve fucking warned you once already,” I snarl. “Don’t make it do it again.”

  The guy scoffs at my warning and I let go of his shirt. He drops to his feet and my fist comes hurtling towards his temple. It slams against his head and the guy drops to the ground like a sack of shit.

  There, that should do it.

  Anger pulses through my veins with a desperate need to get Cass back in my arms where I know she is safe.

  “Dude,” A voice comes from behind me, sounding half impressed, “Didn’t realise you had it in you.” I turn to find Xander in the alley, looking over the guy and taking in his injuries. “Everything good here?”

  “Yeah, man,” I say, stepping away from the guy, “Just had a little misunderstanding is all.”

  He lets out a small scoff. “Right,” he says before searching the alleys and finding his wallet laying on the ground. “Thanks for this,” he says, holding up the wallet and disappearing down the alley at a jog.

  The side door flies open and Shorty comes barging out with a chick on his arm. He looks at me with a grin before noticing the unconscious guy on the ground. “The fuck happened here?” he questions.

  “Same dickhead I knocked out last time, coming back for round two,” I explain.

  “Shit,” he grunts before turning his attention to the chick who is trying to slide her panties down her legs. He looks back to me. “You done with the alley, man?” he grins.

  “You know, it’s a lot more hygienic in a bed,” I remind him.

  He shrugs once again, “Nah, this’ll be too quick to worry about a bed,”

  I roll my eyes and glance back at the guy, making sure he is well and truly out before I leave. I head on through the side door and my eyes immediately search out Cass. She’s still on the dance floor and relief pours through my veins. I come up behind her and wrap my arms around her body. “You ready to go, babe?”

  She turns in my arms and her eyes widen in shock. “What happened?” she gasps, gaining Brianna’s attention and not to mention a few of the guys. Cassie’s hand instantly finds my face and I try my hardest not to shrink away from her touch because let’s be honest, it fucking hurts.

  “Nothing,” I tell her. “Just some dickhead wanting to settle an old score.”

  She presses her lips together and I see the look in her eye. I know she is not convinced by my casual attitude towards it but there is no way in hell I am telling her who the guy was. It would freak her out knowing he was here, though I’m pretty certain my warning was enough this time. There’s no way this dickhead would try for a third round, not unless he valued his life.

  “Seriously, Cass. It’s ok,” I tell her.

  She pulls me into her arms and holds me tight, “Are you ok?” she murmurs just for me to hear.

  I look into her eyes and see nothing but concern. “Yeah, babe. I’m fine.”

  She presses her lips together once more as she considers my answer, before taking my hand and leading me to the bar. She orders a bottle of water and wave’s goodbye to Brianna, who confirms Bobby will take her home.

  We get out into the street and she hands me the water. “Ah, thanks?” I say as my eyes discreetly move up and down the road and alleys.

  She rolls her eyes but grins at me anyway. “It’s not for you to drink, you moron. It’s cold. It’s to soothe your face and stop the swelling,” she tells me. “And besides, you wouldn’t want everyone thinking your girlfriend beats you up. I think that would damage your cred,” she laughs.

  I scoff but can’t help smirking at the little she-devil. “First of all, I highly doubt anyone would think someone as… petite as you would even be capable of beating on me and secondly, if anyone asks, I’d just say it happened in bed. They’ll assume we play rough and I’ll still come out the hero. Winners all around.” I laugh.

  “I hardly see how I come out a winner in that situation,” she laughs.

  “Babe,” I grin. “I’m a freaking beast in bed, everybody knows it, I have a whole reputation built on it, so basically as long as everyone knows you’re the one I’m with then they all know that you’re getting your world rocked each and every night, which you are,” I explain. “Therefore, you’re a winner.”

  “Oh geez,” she laughs as she rolls her eyes. “I was nervous your ego might have inflated with that punch but seems it’s ok, in fact, it might have even grown,” she smirks as we turn onto her street. “Be careful, you might not fit through the door anymore.”

  I grab her around the waist and pull her back into my chest. “My ego isn’t the only thing that’s fucking big,” I murmur into her hair as I nuzzle in to find her neck.

  “And hard…”

  “And ready…”

  I feel her thighs clench together as her bottom lip slips between her teeth. “Hmmm, I don’t know,” she teases as she pretends not to be affected by my wicked charm. “I’ve had better.”

  “Liar,” I murmur as I scoop her up in my arms and rush her down her driveway. My lips crash onto hers and she is stripped bare before we even make it into her room.

  Chapter 19

  Cassie

  It’s halfway through the season and Brianna is being a little bitch. Apparently too sick to come with me to the boys’ game tonight.

  “Please,” I beg for the twentieth time to a girl who has been vomiting non-stop for the past twenty-four hours.

  “You’ve got to be kidding, right?” She groans at having to engage in any type of communication. “You know I’d love to go, I hate missing games, I mean, I don’t think I’ve missed one of Bobby’s games since we were kids.”

  “I know,” I mumble, as I sulk on the couch.

  “And?” she prompts.

  “And I’ll text you updates as it goes.”

  “And?”

  “And I’ll video all the important parts,” I say, mimicking her voice as I roll my eyes at her. “Though, I’m pretty sure you can watch it live somewhere.”

  “Ugh,” she groans. “I don’t have the energy for that shit. Just send me the good things.”

  “Fine,” I grumble, sinking back into the lounge again.

  “Oh, and you better take your car. I think the boys would flip if they knew you walked all that way by yourself,” she tells me.

  “Yes, mother,” I smirk as she quickly sits up and holds her stomach.

  We both sit in silence for a few moments as we wait to see what little game her stomach wants to play right now. She lets out a breath. “False alarm,” she says relieved before laying back down and pulling the blanket back over her shivering body.

  I check the time on my phone and I know it’s either leave now or miss the opening, and I have to admit, watching Jax take the ice looking like an absolute god, proud and full of confidence kind of gets me hot, like really hot and I don’t want to miss that.

  I stand up and pull Jaxon’s jersey over my head. A thrill runs through me at getting to be the woman who gets to wear his name and number on my back, it makes me proud to be his girl. “Alright,” I tell Bri as I grab my keys. “I better go, do you need anything?”

  She looks up at me with big puppy dog eyes. “Could you grab my soup first?”

  “Really?” I grin. “Maybe you should get your boyfriend to come and take care of you.”

  “Shut up,” she says with a grin that she couldn’t possibly avoid as her mind goes straight the guy who swore he would never be a one-woman kind of man, but I guess miracles do happen. “Carter doesn’t do sick and besides, I don’t want him to see me like this. His idea of looking after me is sexual and as much as I want that, I’d probably blow chunks all over him and ruin any chance of him returning.”

  I try my best to shake the image out of my head as I head to the kitchen to fetch the wrench her soup. “You’d be surprised by the kind of stuff Carter would put up with for the woman he loves.”

  She looks d
oubtful but eventually allows me to leave.

  A moment later I am piled into my car and backing out the driveway. I turn up the volume on my playlist and belt out a little Celine as I trek over to the ice rink. I watch the clock as I get stuck in the roadworks on the main road. A chuckle rips from my chest as I remember Jax and Bobby getting stuck at this exact same place only a few short months ago and stumbled across Brianna and I in our pole dancing class.

  The clock continues to tick and I get a sinking feeling that I’m going to miss the opening that I love so much. I fidget and tap my nails on the steering wheel as I anxiously wait for the traffic to move along. I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Jax.

  Cassie – I’m running late, don’t let that game start without me. Love you.

  Jax – And deprive you of that tingly feeling you get when you watch me skate? Wouldn’t dream of it. Drive safe.

  Another ten minutes later, it finally starts to move and I gun it. I get to the ice rink a few minutes later and just my luck, only find a spot right up the back of the parking lot, so rather than have to run all that way, I pull into the athletes parking and park across the back of Jax’s and Bobby’s trucks, I mean, it’s not like they would be leaving before I am.

  I quickly check the time as I put my Beetle in park and turn off the ignition. Relief washes over me. If I run, I might just make it. I notice a few other people also rushing to make the start of the game and I pull out my phone once again as I rush forward.

  Cassie – Just running in now. Kick ass tonight.

  Jax doesn’t reply, but I didn’t expect him to. Coach Harris is probably giving the players their pep talk before sending them out to the ice.

  I slip my phone into my jeans pocket and push forward, trying not to physically run as to not look like a desperate fool but honestly, I’m walking pretty damn fast. The doors to the stadium come into view and I grin knowing exactly where my seat is, unlike the idiots around me who are all going to have to search through the crowd for their spots.

  I rush up the side of the stadium when my body is yanked backward. I’m pulled completely off balance by who the hell knows and I scramble to catch my footing but it’s no use, the concrete path is coming fast. A dark shadow crosses my vision but my first thought is about trying to save myself from this fall.