TheEnforcer_Kobo

by Steph

  His laser-sharp gaze never left hers. “Sounds like you spent a lot of time with your dad at games growing up. Did you play at all?”

  She shook her head. “Not really. I can skate and I can hold a stick and shoot, but don’t expect me to fly up and down a sheet of ice chasing after a puck. I’m not delusional.”

  His laughter made it hard for her to swallow. “And that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. But you spent a lot of time at games, didn’t you?”

  She nodded. “When I could, yes. I love the sport, even though I know the system’s flawed and corporate interference is rampant. When the guys are out on the ice and they’re playing as hard as they can, there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than watching a game.”

  “And I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

  The longing in his voice made her wonder if he’d been thinking about retirement lately but she wasn’t sure she wanted to mention it. “You’ve been playing for a long time.”

  “Since I was five. But you know that’s not unusual.”

  “No, it’s not. But I also know you were a damn good baseball player in junior high.”

  His brows rose. “Now how the hell did you find that out?”

  Damn. Probably should’ve kept her mouth shut. When she started to talk hockey with someone who knew the game, she couldn’t help herself. All kinds of random facts fell out of her mouth.

  She shrugged, tried to blow it off. “You know who my dad is. He’s thorough.”

  Will didn’t look like he was buying her explanation. “So your dad went through his notes with you?”

  “All the time. I spent most of my childhood at hockey games with him. I loved it. My mom…” She grimaced. “Not so much.”

  “You and your mom don’t get along?”

  “Oh no. We do. She just doesn’t share my love of hockey. She and my dad weren’t married very long and they got divorced when I was three so I don’t remember a time when they were living together. Probably for the best because they can’t agree on anything.”

  “Sounds like a tough way to grow up.”

  She had a few seconds to think about her answer when the waitress returned with their drinks and she took a sip before speaking.

  “I didn’t know any different. And they both loved me. My mom got remarried and my stepdad is good guy. I actually had a pretty great childhood. When I was a teenager and my mom and I couldn’t be in the same room together for more than two minutes without fighting, I’d stay with my dad for a while. He bought a house a few blocks away from my mom’s after the divorce so he’d be close. During the week, I’d go to school like a regular kid. On weekends, I got to travel all over North America to watch hockey. Whatever city we were in, my dad always made time to show me around, even if it was only his favorite place to eat.”

  “Learned a lot about the game, huh?”

  Nodding, she watched as he took a swallow of his beer, watched the muscles of his jaw work, and wondered how badly she would embarrass herself by drooling.

  What the hell was it about this man that made her want to throw years of careful avoidance of relationships with hockey players out the window?

  Tearing her gaze away from his throat before he caught her staring like a madwoman, she said, “As much as anyone who doesn’t play the sport can.”

  Then he set his mug on the table and she ended up watching his hands. The man had big hands, all nicked up. Oh hell, even his hands were turning her on.

  “So why marketing?”

  “Honestly? It’s the only avenue open to a woman in the field. And there was no way in hell I was going to be an ice girl.” She shuddered at the thought. “And there are no female scouts in the sport.”

  The slight narrowing of his eyes was the only hint that she’d piqued his interest. But his next question was directly to the point.

  “So you wanted to be a scout?”

  Damn, he had no idea how much of a loaded question that was.

  She played off his comment with a shrug. “I love my job. It’s challenging.”

  “But it’s not really what you want to be doing.”

  She bit her tongue, so tempted to tell him the truth. To spill out such a closely held secret to a man she’d only known for days. What was it about Will that made her want to throw away years of restraint and do something so foolish as to give in to her reckless side and jump this man’s bones?

  Would it really be that disastrous?

  “It is what I want to do.”

  When he raised an eyebrow at her, she rolled her eyes and huffed. Damn him, she didn’t owe him anything but she still wanted to spill her guts to him.

  “Maybe I considered possibly pursuing scouting when I was younger. But I knew it would never happen and, even if it did, it would only happen because of my dad. It wouldn’t be because I was so good at it that the fact I’m a woman wouldn’t matter. Instead, I focused on what I knew I could actually do. And I’m damn good at my job, by the way.”

  He raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, no argument from me. But it’s kind of frustrating, isn’t it? Having only so much control over your own life.”

  Well, hell. Of course, he understood exactly what she was saying.

  She shook her head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to jump down your throat.”

  “No problem. Touched a nerve, huh?”

  Shrugging, she glanced away for a second. “Maybe a little one. What about you, Mr. MacDonald? Do you like your new team?”

  He nodded decisively. “I do. Great bunch of guys even if sometimes I wanna punch Flaherty.”

  Laughing, she reached for her drink. “You’d have to get in line. He’s a sweetheart but the guy just doesn’t know when to shut up.”

  His eyebrows rose. “A sweetheart, huh? What does it take for you to call a guy a sweetheart?”

  Did she hear jealousy in his voice? Or was that her imagination? “Well, he can’t be a dick. And he has to have a sense of humor and a great smile and be nice to kittens and puppies and little old ladies.”

  Will’s laugh rang out and her breath caught in her throat. Of course, her thighs clenched, too, but she wasn’t going to think about that.

  “Aw, hell, I guess I’m out of the running then. I haven’t met a little old lady yet that I haven’t wanted to run over.”

  And there was that humor again. Just slightly on the edge of being over the line into ridiculous.

  “Are you ever serious?”

  “Yeah. When I take a woman to bed, I’m deadly serious about treating her right. And when I’m on the ice, I’m there to do my job, protect my teammates and score goals.”

  Her breath caught in her thought and an image of Will, naked and stretched out on her bed, planted itself in her mind.

  Her bed had never looked more inviting.

  Blinking those thoughts out of her mind, she took another sip of her wine and hoped he didn’t notice the flush creeping onto her cheeks.

  Hell, she’d fan her face if she thought he wouldn’t look at her like she was nuts.

  Right now, he watched her so intently, he probably knew exactly what she was thinking, damn him.

  “That’s why you’re a good fit for the team.” She totally ignored the first part of his statement. Way too many landmines. “We didn’t have anyone with your specific strengths and experience. If all we’d needed were an enforcer, we could’ve picked up any number of guys from the WHL. But you had exactly what we needed.”

  His gaze narrowed “So it is true.”

  “What’s true?”

  “You recommended me, didn’t you?”

  Her nose wrinkled as she considered her answer, which was a dead giveaway.

  “I may have said something to Coach Scott about you a couple of weeks ago.”

  She was saved from saying anything else when the waitress returned with his food. She’d be sure to slip Sophie’s young cousin a little something extra for the inadvertent interruption.

  Will turned his smile on the girl
and Jess watched her light up.

  Ugh. He wasn’t even trying. She wanted to shake her head and throw her hands in the air in disgust.

  He was not that damn attractive.

  Except when he smiled. Then, yeah, he was.

  Shit.

  “Hey, could you bring the chocolate cake awhile. Jess might wanna start on that.”

  “Oh sure. No problem.” The girl’s smile widened. “Be right back.”

  Then she turned her back to Will and mimed, “Oh, my god” at Jess before she hurried off to the kitchen to do the man’s bidding.

  She wanted to kick said man under the table just for being exactly what she didn’t need in her life right now.

  Handsome, nice, decent, funny, and he’d graduated in the top twenty percent of his class at UMass with a degree in math. Full scholarship for hockey and academics. Yes, he was that smart.

  And how did she know that? Because she was damn thorough, that’s why.

  Stifling a sigh, she shifted in her chair, tucking back the strands of hair that had fallen into her face.

  “Why are you staring at the table like you want to stab it?”

  Busted. Lifting her gaze back to his, she saw that glint in his eyes was gone. He watched her with complete seriousness.

  “I don’t want to stab the table.”

  “Then I’m assuming you want to take a stab at me.”

  Was he being a smart-ass with the double entendre? She couldn’t tell.

  With a slight shrug, she sniffed. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you. The team needs you.”

  His lips quirked. “Oh, there are more than a couple of ways you can take a stab at me that won’t affect the way I play.”

  Yes, there were. And the more he spoke, the more she wanted to take him up on every unspoken thing he wasn’t saying.

  “I think…this was a mistake.”

  Will settled more easily into his chair, watching Jess try to hide her confusion.

  If she thought he’d back down after her last statement, she had another think coming. If she knew him as well as she thought she did, she should know he didn’t give up easily.

  And he’d already made up his mind.

  He wanted her.

  And since he planned to be here in Reading at least until the end of the season, he had some time to bring her around.

  But he’d have to lay the groundwork.

  “Having chocolate cake is a mistake?”

  She gave him that look he was beginning to find irresistible. The smile that said she wasn’t swayed by his charm. That’s okay. He could work with the fact that she’d agreed to come out with him.

  “You know that’s not what I meant.”

  He shrugged but didn’t answer right away because the waitress was back with the cake. When she’d left again, he leaned forward and picked up his burger. His stomach had been growling for a half hour.

  But he also knew she’d be frustrated by his silence and that was okay, too. Because she hadn’t gotten up and walked out yet.

  He heard her huff but she picked up her fork and took a swipe at the cake. While he chewed, he watched her lips part as she slipped the fork between them.

  Holy fuck. Electricity zinged through him like he’d grabbed a live wire.

  He wanted to lick those lips then smash his mouth against hers. She’d taste like chocolate and, damn, he loved chocolate.

  After he swallowed, he set his burger down. “We’re eating, talking. How is that a mistake?”

  Her adorable jaw set and he knew she was getting ready to tell him she didn’t want to see him again, at least not like this. Alone. Together. On a date.

  Which was exactly what he did want.

  He wanted more time with her. She intrigued him like no other woman he’d ever met. And he’d met many. Women who had no idea what a blue line was and women who knew what two-one-two meant in hockey terms.

  This woman probably knew more about hockey than any other woman he’d ever met and that turned him on. The fact that she’d had something to do with him being signed by the Redtails turned him on even more.

  “What exactly do you mean? Come on, Jess. Was there something in my contract I missed? Is there a clause in there about dating front office staff?”

  She looked straight at him and held his gaze. “No, there isn’t. But it’s not a good idea and you know it.”

  “So it’s not a good idea to want to date someone who knows the game and knows what a player’s life is like during the season? It’s not like you control the team in any way, right? You’re not the one making decisions on how much ice time I get or how much money I make, right?”

  She rolled her eyes and his dick hardened even more. “Of course not.”

  “And you’re not going to, right?”

  Shaking her head, she leaned forward in her chair a little. “Look, I see where you’re going with this and you’re not wrong, okay? I don’t have that kind of influence. It just…doesn’t feel right.”

  “Are you saying being here with me feels wrong?”

  She opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it again.

  Stifling a smile, he didn’t wait for her to get her thoughts together. “Because I gotta tell you, it feels pretty damn good to me.”

  “Will—”

  “I like you, Jess. No bullshit. You’re smart, you know your hockey, and you’re beautiful.” Her eyes widened at that but he didn’t stop to push the point. He wanted to keep her off balance. “I’m new here. Don’t know many people but I want to get to know you. You don’t want anything to jeopardize your job. I get that. But I don’t think being friends with me will put your job in danger. You don’t want to jump my bones, I’ll respect that. But don’t shut me down because you think sex is all I want. We’ve got a lot in more in common than you want to admit and it’s nice to have someone close to my own age to talk to.”

  That last one hit a nerve. He saw it register, saw her consider it and turn it over in her mind. He had a second to wonder if bringing up her age had been the wrong move, but when her nose wrinkled, he realized he might have found the right button to push.

  Letting her think about that, he picked up his burger again and they ate in silence for a while.

  Finally, the cake half eaten, she stopped and put her fork down.

  “So, you want us to be friends? And that’s all?”

  “I’d love to count you as a friend, Jess.”

  Her teeth lodged into her bottom lip, which he found sexy as all hell. It took most of his self- control to keep his mouth shut and not tell her that he also really wanted to take her to bed. But, hey, he’d managed to mold himself into a different player at his age. He could handle this.

  “Of course, you can consider me a friend. I’d… That’s great. I just don’t want you to…to expect anything.”

  No, he didn’t expect anything. But he sure as hell hoped for something more. “I’m enjoying the company. And the only thing I’ll expect is unbiased hockey analysis. Sound good?”

  She didn’t answer right away, just continued to stare at him like she was trying to read his mind. Good thing she couldn’t, because she’d be marching her cute little ass out the door.

  He’d meant every word out of his mouth but that didn’t mean he was going to give up on getting her in bed. It just meant he’d have to bide his time.

  Most people assumed that because he had a reputation as an enforcer, he had a quick trigger. Totally not true. He had one hell of a long fuse. And he could be patient.

  That trait made him dangerous, which most people only realized after he’d drawn them in and pounced.

  Finally, she nodded slowly, holding his gaze. “Sure. I can do that.”

  “Good. So what’d you think of the game tonight?”

  It took her a couple of seconds to respond, as if she were searching for hidden meaning in his words. And when she did, her response was almost tentative.

  “The third d-line still needs some tweaking.”r />
  He settled back into his chair. “Yeah, I noticed that. Not intuitive.”

  Picking up his burger, he started to eat again as she warmed up to the conversation. He didn’t have to nudge her very hard. He knew she loved the game but he hadn’t known exactly how knowledgeable she was until she started to talk statistics.

  He’d been a math major in college but he’d hated statistics.

  Jess apparently loved them. She could recite stats off the top of her head like she was reciting the national anthem. Hell, she knew some of his stats that even he would’ve had trouble pulling up.

  He would’ve listened to her talk all night but she wouldn’t let him slack on his end of the conversation. She’d prod and needle him until he spoke. Sometimes they agreed, sometimes they didn’t. They got into a fifteen-minute argument about shootouts that shouldn’t have made his dick even harder for her but damn if he could help himself.

  She got so passionate about her subject, he couldn’t help but want to keep her talking.

  He didn’t realize until he’d finished two beers, she’d had another glass of wine, and he’d ordered a second piece of cake because she’d finished the first by herself, that it was close to one a.m. He looked at the bar to see the bartender wiping down as he glanced at their table.

  Shit. He really didn’t want to say good night yet because he wasn’t sure when he’d see her again.

  They had a rare Saturday night off tomorrow, then another home game Sunday afternoon, practice Monday and Tuesday then they left for a five-day road trip. When they got back, they had games Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. He should be thinking more about the upcoming games than her but it was late and he was in full-blown lust.

  He wanted to spend the rest of the night with her, and if she were anyone else, he’d be putting on a full-court press to get into her bed.

  Not going to happen. At least not tonight.

  She must have noticed the bartender as well because she glanced at the band on her wrist and sighed.

  “We should probably clear out.” Her smile looked rueful. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”