by Elise Faber
Breakaway
Gold Hockey #5
Elise Faber
BREAKAWAY
BY ELISE FABER
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
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BREAKAWAY
Copyright © 2019 Elise Faber
ISBN-13: 978-1-946140-33-3
Cover Art by Jena Brignola
Gold Hockey Series
Blocked
* * *
Backhand
* * *
Boarding
* * *
Benched
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Breakaway
* * *
Breakout
Contents
Gold Hockey Series
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Gold Hockey Series
Also by Elise Faber
Acknowledgments
One
Blue
Blue walked into his teammate, Max’s, backyard, his latest girl on his arm.
He’d met her at the bar last night, and they’d fucked like rabbits until the sun came up. Then they’d fucked some more.
Now, he was making the requisite appearance at Max’s engagement party.
He was happy for his friends . . . for all of them.
But fuck, he was the last of the guys.
The final holdout.
The only single one.
Which wasn’t really a fair assessment because there were other guys on the team who were single or divorced, but Blue wasn’t that close to them.
Not like he was with Brit, Stefan, Blane, and Max.
They had been his people since his rookie season, and they’d taken him under their respective wings.
And now they were all married or engaged or had cute little babies.
Yes, he got that he was younger than them, knew that he had plenty of time to sow his wild oats and still have a family.
But all Blue knew was that it was getting damned old coming home to an empty house all the time.
“There are kids here,” his date Bindi—or Bambi or Bobbi, because fuck if he could remember—said, and her tone told him she equated children with the seventh circle of hell.
“Yeah,” he said. “The guys have a lot of kids.”
Her face puckered with disgust, and suddenly Blue wasn’t remembering how good of a hand job Bindi or Bambi or Bobbi could give, but how happy Angie had been when Max had proposed on the Golden Gate Bridge.
Blue wanted that.
Not this.
“You know what?” he said, taking Bindi or Bambi or Bobbi’s hand in his and tugging her toward the front of the house, while he pulled out his cell with his other. “This will be lame. Why don’t I text you later when I’m done?”
Calling the Über took seconds.
Untangling the octopus that was Bindi or Bambi or Bobbi upon the car’s arrival took longer.
Much longer.
But finally, he managed to pack her into the car and sighed with relief as it drove away.
Until he turned and saw her.
Anna.
Who always looked at him with glarey eyes and a pissy expression.
“There’s my Ice Queen,” he said, moving past her and heading back to the party. He’d congratulate the couple then go the fuck back to his empty apartment.
“Doesn’t it get old?” Anna asked, trailing after him.
“Doesn’t what get old?” he countered, snagging a beer from a nearby table.
“Being a fucking sleaze.”
Blue froze then shook his head. “You don’t know me.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “I know plenty of guys like you. Fuck anything that moves, never sleep with the same girl twice, and too wrapped up in your own damned cock to be a good lay.”
She’d gotten his rage pretty ramped until the last statement.
That last one, though?
It tempered his anger.
He was good in bed. Really fucking good. In fact, Blue made it a point to make sure anyone he slept with had a better time than him. And that wasn’t ego talking. Sex just wasn’t fun for him if his partner didn’t orgasm at least twice.
He was an overachiever. What could he say?
Ah. Now there was his ego talking.
Smirking, Blue tapped his chin. “Sounds like a personal problem to me. Maybe you’re too cold in the sack to enjoy yourself. Or maybe you freeze a guy’s cock off with your Ice Princess powers.”
Anna huffed. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”
Blue jerked his chin toward the front of the house. “That’s what she said.”
As Anna flounced off, Blue couldn’t stop himself from watching her ass, because as much as he teased her about being icy during their interactions, he had the feeling she was very much fire under all that frost.
Not that he’d ever find out.
He and Anna were oil and water, two tomcats fighting over territory or, metaphors aside, they just always managed to get on each other’s nerves.
And while he couldn’t deny she was hot and gorgeous, Blue wanted a little more peace in his life when he found the right woman.
He wanted a girlfriend who didn’t constantly poke and antagonize but rather one who was sweet and gentle and kind. Like Sara. Like Angie. Yes, that made him an egotistical asshole—that he wanted a pretty and nice girl at home—but there it was.
Blue had enough stress in his career that he wanted to keep it simple at home.
Who could fault him for that?
No one, dammit.
He snorted. Okay, someone could.
A gorgeous blond someone with a fantastic ass.
Blue smirked as he made his way to his friends, socializing for a while, making sure to stop by and congratulate the happy couple and wish them the best, playing with Max’s son, Brayden, on the trampoline for a bit—which turned out to be a lot longer than a bit because once one kid saw him use the platform to launch Brayden in the air, Blue suddenly was begged and pleaded by all the kiddos to have a turn.
And then another.
So, by the time he dragged his tired ass off the trampoline, the party was breaking up.
He said his goodbyes and headed for the driveway, pulling out his cell for Über round two.
“Baby Blues.” He turned, saw Anna getting into a Prius. “Need a ride?”
He raised his brows. “You going to freeze my balls off?”
A sexy smile. “You know it.”
“I think I’ll take my chances with the Über.”
“Chicken.”
Blue rolled his eyes. “Seriously?”
“Buck-buck,” she clucked. “Buck-buck-buuuck.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“You’re a chicken.” She s
at down in the driver’s seat, started to close the door.
Blue sighed, sought patience from heaven. It didn’t matter what she said. He knew he wasn’t—
His eyes drifted back over to her car, and she was looking at him with that annoying ass smirk. Dammit. “Fine,” he grumbled and stomped over to her Prius, opening the door and dropping down into the passenger’s seat with a huff.
“Was that so terrible?” she teased.
“The worst.”
Anna flicked on the radio, filling the airwaves with classic rock. Which surprised him—he’d figured she would be more of a pop girl. But before he could ask her about it, she turned up the volume and backed out of the driveway.
He had to shout directions to his place over the noise, but that was probably her intention. And it wasn’t like he lived far or that the route was complicated.
Hell, he should probably be grateful she’d saved him the extra aggravation of having to converse with her.
Ten minutes later, she pulled into his driveway and put the car into park.
Only then did she turn down the volume.
“Your humble abode,” she said, sweeping a hand toward the little cottage tucked into a hillside south of San Francisco. It was ridiculously expensive and still mostly empty, but it was home and, as an Army brat, probably the most settled he’d ever been in his whole life.
“Yup,” he said, reaching for the handle. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Try not to go out and get a fresh bimbo to ride tonight. I hear STIs are on the rise in the city.”
Blue sighed, turned back to face her. “Really?”
She shrugged, a smirk teasing the edges of her mouth, drawing his focus to the lushness of her lips. “Just watching out for Max’s teammate.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not hardly.”
“Okay, how about I’m trying to prevent you from spreading STIs to the female populace?”
“I’m clean, and I’m smart,” he told her. “Condoms all the way.”
“Ew.”
Except there was something about the way she said it that made Blue stiffen and take notice. Because . . . he stared into her eyes, watched as the pale blue darkened to royal, saw her lips part as she sucked in a breath.
Holy. Shit.
“You’re attracted to me.”
Her jaw dropped. “No fucking way,” she said, too quickly, pink dancing on the edges of her cheekbones. “You’re delusional.”
Blue got close.
Real close.
Anna licked her lips.
And fuck it all, he kissed that luscious mouth.
Two
Blue
She tasted like heaven.
And cake.
Okay, not the most intelligent statement, but in reality, Blue was lucky to have a single thought in his brain that wasn’t more or fuck or now.
Anna shoved at his chest, tearing her mouth away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The question was angry, but her eyes were hot and her hands . . . well, they were tracing little circles over his pecs that made goose bumps rise all over his body, and his cock—
“Kissing you,” he said, curling his hand around her nape and tugging her lips back to his.
Sweet. So fucking sweet.
He had the feeling it wasn’t the cake, but rather, just Anna herself that tasted like ambrosia—a not-so-surprising fuck you to the entirety of the male population. “See?” her mouth seemed to say. “I’m beautiful and smart and just the feel of my lips against yours is hotter than any of the women you’ve slept with in the last year.”
Or maybe ever.
And when her tongue swept into his mouth to tangle with his, he saw fucking stars.
Literal stars.
Except they weren’t the result of pleasure.
Because his lips were torn from hers, those hands that had been massaging circles on his chest only moments before shoved hard, and his head collided with the passenger’s side window.
Thunk!
And cue stars.
“Fuck,” he gritted, cock throbbing nearly as bad as his skull, but before he managed to do more than blink against the pain, Blue suddenly found himself going ass over tea kettle onto the concrete of his driveway. “Wh-what the fuck was that?”
He rubbed a hand over his eyes, used his other to push himself to his feet.
Anna stood inches from him, chest heaving, indigo eyes flaring with heat.
Or maybe annoyance.
Or—
She crossed her arms. “Don’t you ever do that again you fucking . . . you fucking asshole—” She turned, slammed the car door closed then rounded the hood, staring back at him as he stood there gaping at her like an idiot. “I—” Her teeth clicked closed, and she shook her head. “I don’t know why you would d-do that.”
Blue raised a brow. “Um. You’re beautiful and—”
“What? You kiss every beautiful woman you meet?”
“No.” He stepped toward her, resting his hands on the top of the car. “But I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I saw you.”
“You—” Anna shook her head again. “Couldn’t.”
“Anna,” he said, “you’re sex incarnate.” When she made a scoffing noise, it was his turn to shake his head and state bluntly. “Big boobs, gorgeous ass, hips a man wants to grab on to. Not to mention bright blue eyes and kissable lips and a mouth that often spouts fire.” His own mouth curved. “Fire is sexier than smoke, I can tell you that much.”
Her brows pulled together into a frown—and he’d be lying if he’d said he hadn’t thought more than once about kissing that adorable little crease away.
Of course, that had been before she’d shown any interest in him.
When she’d been off-limits.
Well, she should still be off-limits.
But . . . interest.
What interest, asshole? his inner conscience shouted. Did you pluck the notion from her mind? Or maybe it was her “heated eyes” that clued you in so clearly?
Blue’s gut sank, twisting itself into knots. His mental keeper of morals was pesky and more than a little annoying, but in this case, it was also right. Anna hadn’t expressed any interest in him, and he’d jumped the gun, crossed a dozen boundaries because—
“I don’t even know what that means,” she said, drawing him out of his head and back into their conversation. “Neither smoke nor fire is sexy.” Her frown deepened, and Blue found himself having to clench his hands into fists so he didn’t round the car and show her exactly what that meant.
He forced his fingers to flatten out. “My point is that no real man wants to be with a woman who’s as substantive as smoke. He wants something that’s tangible, something he can have a conversation with.”
“Some . . . thing?” She pressed her lips into a flat line.
Uh-oh.
Blue swallowed. “That’s not what I meant.”
And why was he pushing this anyway? Hadn’t he just been thinking about wanting a woman who didn’t bust his balls? Who didn’t spit fire at him? For all intents and purposes, he should be bolting for his front door, hoping the kiss had been more smoke instead of heat.
Except . . . it hadn’t been smoke. It had been chock full of heat.
And then there was the fact that he’d seen Anna be sweet.
She was amazing with Brayden and the rest of the kids from the team, fit right in with the wives and girlfriends, was kind and nice to everyone. Everyone, that was, aside from him.
Which probably had more to do with him than her, considering the first time he’d met her had been outside the rink when she was waiting to pick up Brayden after a game and he’d thought she was there for—
Well, not for child-related activities.
He’d been a douche.
She’d not given an inch.
And here they were.
“My point is,” he continued when she just glared at him, “Tangible is better than someone who has rocks for b
rains and—” He broke off when her expression darkened. “I’m going to shut up now.”
“Finally, something smart has come out of your mouth.” She sighed and yanked open her door. “Especially because I think that you were going to equate tangible with whatever semi-attractive non-stupid female that’s in front of you.”
“You’re far from semi-attractive.”
Anna’s glare faltered. “Don’t say that.”
He opened his mouth to . . . what? He wasn’t sure. Perhaps, to say it again, to try to convince her that he thought she was beautiful. Or maybe, and probably more likely, to say something that would piss her off all over again.
“Why?” Figuring it was safest, Blue settled on the one word.
She bit her lip and ducked her head, looking more vulnerable than he’d ever seen her. Anna was capable, confident, had her shit together more than any other person he’d ever spent time with. Her appearing so fragile did something to his hard ass heart—made it pulse, made it ache, made it feel.
“Anna, sweetheart, why shouldn’t I say you’re beautiful?”
“Don’t,” she whispered. “D-don’t say that.”
His heart twinged again, and the unfamiliar ache had him lifting his hand to rub at the pang. And stupid as it was, Blue found himself walking around the front of her car, not stopping until he had to crouch down a little bit to meet her eyes.
Her gaze met his for the barest blip of a moment before darting away.
“Baby—”
She stiffened and snapped, “I’m not your baby.” A sigh. “Just go inside already.” Her fingers gripped the handle of the door, tugged.