Balls: The Complete Players Collection (Sports Romance Box Set)

by Teagan Kade

  With Rae at my side and my entire body beating with desire, I led her to the locker room. I almost felt jealous handing her over to the wolves, so to speak. “I’m sorry, but the separate locker room isn’t ready yet. The team owners are in talks with the stadium to get an old closet renovated with a shower, bench — a kind of cubby for you.”

  Rae didn’t seem fazed. “It’s fine,” she said. “I didn’t walk into this expecting to have my own personal spa.”

  There was something about her attitude that stirred my senses. She never presented herself as weak or a damsel in distress, seeking my safety and protection. Rae was confident and strong. She had an attitude about her that exuded control. I shouldn’t have been worrying about whether or not she could handle the starting five. If anything, I should have been worrying if the starting five could handle her.

  I poked my head through the door. “All right, everyone on the ice,” I said, clearing out the room for her.

  The five starters emerged a few seconds later. Liam Golder was the first out with his blond hair slicked back. His eyes scanned Rae from head to toe. When his evaluation was over, a descending whistle of approval split his lips. “Come on now, Coach. I don’t want to break her.”

  Rae rolled her eyes and took a step towards the entrance but was immediately stopped by Jensen Pettigrew. He stuck his arm out, blocking the door. “You’re heading the wrong way,” he told her.

  “Actually, you’re in my way.” She knocked his arm down, and pushed past him.

  “You want a tour, sweetheart?” Eric Monahan asked as he passed her, staring back at her ass.

  “Hey!” I barked. Their heads whipped to me. “Enough of that bullshit.”

  “You okay, boss?” Liam Golder asked, his brow creased.

  “Fine. Have you all gotten this frat-boy bullshit out of your system? Can we get to work now?” I could feel the anger heating my face.

  They nodded in reply.

  “Good, because the next one of you that makes any advance towards that woman or so much as flirts with her will get written the fuck up.” My toe tapped against the concrete floor. “That’s your new goaltender there,” I pointed. “Respect her.”

  The reaction was immediate… and explosive.

  “What?” Liam hissed. “What did you just say?”

  Jensen shook his head. “Coach, you can’t be serious.”

  “Yes, I am serious.”

  “Is she any good?” Cormac asked, the sole voice of reason.

  “She’s very good, Cormac. So good, in fact, she outclassed the entire NWHL. That’s why we’ve pulled her.”

  Eric shook his head. “Nah, nah, nah. I’m not doing this. I refuse to play any game with a woman on the ice. It’s dangerous. She’s not big enough to take the hits. One good slam against the glass and she’ll be in a hospital bed.”

  “Fuck the hospital,” Liam said. “This is bigger than hypotheticals. This is our careers on the line, man. I’m not stepping out in front of a crowd with a girl in my goal. It’ll devalue my worth as an athlete, and the worth of the team.”

  I shook my head. “That’s bullshit, and you know it, Liam. Times have changed.”

  Liam took a step towards me, challenging my authority. “You put her on the ice, I’ll fucking quit.”

  Jensen took a stand with Liam. “Yeah, I’m with him. I’m not playing with a woman on the team. It isn’t right. They belong in the stands flashing their tits, not slapping the puck around playing hard to get.”

  “Great.” I shrugged. “You two are more than free to walk.” I didn’t actually have the authority to cut them loose. That was something only Allie or Tripp could do, but I wasn’t above bluffing to show them they weren’t the ones in control here. “I hope taking a season off doesn’t hurt your careers. After all, the trade window is closed.”

  And, by god, that did the fucking trick.

  *

  I grinned to myself as I watched Jensen and Liam fly back and forth across the ice. Stupid pricks. Rae deserved a chance. I’d be damned if they stole it from her. I had worked too hard to get her here, and she had the potential of being a great fit for the team. I had my doubts, sure, but hope was there. I liked the feel of it.

  Rae stepped out onto the ice. Her skates cut through it seamlessly, her stick rested effortlessly in her hands, whisking easily across the surface. With her pads on and mask down, the only indication she was a woman was the long, red ponytail that ran down her back. Well, that and her petite, feminine build.

  She did a few sprints, warming herself up. My eyes followed her backside from one end of the rink to the other — a moth drawn to flame. If I ever got my hands on her…

  You’d be fucking fired.

  I shook my head. Fuck. I couldn’t keep entertaining these thoughts.

  I pulled the whistle from my pocket and blew one long blast. The team stopped in their tracks and skated over to the box.

  “Alright, today we’re going to do something a little different.” I slid my hands into my pockets. “We’re going to break up into two teams and have ourselves a friendly little skirmish. The team that wins, drinks are free tonight. The team that loses, you’re paying.” A buzz of excitement ran through the group, but I also noticed a number of them were glancing in Rae’s direction. “Also, I’d like to formally introduce you to our new goalie.”

  A couple of players nodded her way, lukewarmly welcoming her to the team. I purposely left out her gender. I wanted them to see her play first before handing it over. If she proved her skill today, I doubted I’d deal with much pushback from the team. That’s what it came down to — performance on the cold stuff. It didn’t matter if she was the fucking Abominable Snowman. If she could kick ass out there, the battle would be won.

  Jamie, my assistant coach, separated the players. The skirmish was soon off the ground. I had asked him to put Rae on one team and Liam Golder on the other. After the tussle in the tunnel, it was obvious these two had some issues to work out. If she could whip Liam into shape, I knew Jensen would accept her as well.

  It wasn’t long before the two of them met on the ice. Liam gave her a hard shoulder, but she didn’t budge. She took the hit like a champ. At one point even Erik tried to heave himself at her, but her petite size allowed her to scurry away. What Rae lacked in body mass, she made up for with speed.

  “Pettigrew, switch with Culver,” I ordered after fifteen minutes of play.

  “Are you sure you want to do that?” Jamie whispered to me. “The other team will have an offensive advantage.”

  I nodded. “I know, and that’s exactly what I want.”

  I needed to see how Rae would hold up against the dynamic duo — Liam and Jensen. A small part of me hoped she’d best the both of them.

  Jamie gave the order. The next time Jensen stepped out onto the ice he flew to Liam’s wing. It took the two of them less than a minute to snag the puck and skate it across the rink, making it nearly impossible for the defense to respond.

  As they neared the goal, Liam kicked off and dashed through the middle while Jensen went around behind the goal. Liam hovered around the net, elbowing Rae and trying to muscle her out of the way. When Jensen came back around, he passed it in. There was a heated scuffle between Rae and Liam. Jensen quickly joined the fight for the puck.

  A helmet went flying. Several staff members and other players ran out onto the ice to pull them apart.

  Liam skated over to where his helmet had flown off to. His brow formed a deep furrow. His nose was wrinkled, his mouth pinched into an angry line. When he scooped his helmet off the ice, he turned to me. “That would be a fucking penalty in a reffed game.”

  I shrugged. “So would messing with the goaltender.”

  Liam gritted his teeth. “Coach, she’s been high-sticking us this whole fucking game!”

  I glanced at Rae. She stood near the goal, cool and unflappable. “Keep playing,” I told him.

  This game wasn’t about being fair and playing by the rul
es. This was about them adjusting to each other. Eric Monahan, Jensen Pettigrew, and Liam Golder all seemed determined to drive Rae away by being overly aggressive on the ice, but she hung in there and dished it right back. It was the exact attitude she would need when she stepped out for a real game. If she felt the need to slap them around with her stick, so be it. ’Bout time these boys were taken down a peg…

  …Or twenty two.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  RAE

  I slid into my car. The seats still smelled like new leather. The dealer’s evergreen air freshener dangled from the rear-view mirror. I reached over to the passenger-side dashboard, despite the agonizing ache that burned through my body, and slipped the lease contract into the glove box. The muscles along my ribs screamed in pain from the simple action.

  Today’s practice had taken a toll on my body, not that I was willing to let it show. The guys were vicious, especially Liam Golder. He, Jensen, and Erik clearly had it out for me. Every chance they had, they jabbed me in the side, smashed me against the glass, and tried to trip my skates. Tussles in front of the goal were practically MMA cage matches. More than once my goaltender mask had been rocked and socked. I had to readjust it on my head every ten minutes so I could actually see.

  Needless to say, I had taken a beating. One which I knew was coming. I was a woman, entering a man’s arena — at least, that’s how they saw it, I’m sure. Not only did I expect them to test me and see if I was able to compete, but I was certain those who didn’t want me on the ice were going to do everything they could to bully me off. If this was any other sport, the behavior displayed today would have been considered overly aggressive or even assault.

  I sighed, sinking into the growing soreness in my body. I’m pretty sure Bausch knew it was coming too. He never punished or called them out for their conduct. He anticipated this first training sesh was going to be tense and the guys would want to test me. He had to let them get their claws into me. It was best for the team. To be honest, I would have been mortified if he stepped in and told them to stop. I didn’t need him to stick up for me. I didn’t want them to see me as weaker, needing Scott to be my precious, manly protector.

  Screw that.

  I turned my head, staring at the practice arena. He was still in there. I wondered what it would be like to have Scott Bausch backing me. The man was fierce on the ice — an enforcer that could score. I had seen him throw a few punches that dropped men twice his size.

  My entire life, I had to be the tough girl. I was the one that fought for my friends and beat down the bullies. But what would it be like to have someone protect me? Someone that was stronger and more skilled? It was something I had never had but always longed for. It was probably also the entire reason none of my relationships ever lasted more than a month. I didn’t want to be with a man I felt I could beat up. But that was neither here nor there. Scott Bausch was so far out of my grasp he wasn’t even an option.

  Not that I was interested in him or anything. Yes, I desired a strong, alpha man, but I also wanted someone that wasn’t a sleaze-ball that treated women like something disposable. I needed someone with moral integrity. Scott was just a pretty face stuck on a muscular body with a big bank account… and maybe a big something else if the legend was to be believed.

  Filth, essentially.

  Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Rae.

  I switched the car into drive and rolled out of the parking lot. My body was begging for a warm bath in my new townhouse. As was customary with all new players, the franchise had gotten me a townhouse to live in until I managed to secure my own housing. Fortunately, it wasn’t far from the practice rink.

  The ride was smooth. It only took me ten minutes to get there. The traffic wasn’t bad in this part of town considering we weren’t technically within Seattle city limits. I pulled into my designated parking spot in front of the building marked 2A and promptly put the car in park.

  It was a bit of a struggle getting out of the thing. My muscles ached every time I used them, but I managed to pull myself up to my feet. I strolled up to the fire engine-red front door with a slight wobble in my step. My calves were shot.

  There was a small walkway that had been well taken care of and manicured. A large pine tree stood proudly in the front yard, guarding the place with its roof-toppling height. Mine was the second house in the row out of four, each with its own unique brick color. Good ol’ 2A had been painted white with black trim. Every window on the townhouse had a cute little flower box that added pops of red and green to the black and white canvas. When I reached the front door, I noticed there was a small note: ‘Welcome to the team. Regards, Tripp and Allie.’ It was sweet. A far better gesture than the one from my team.

  I slid my key into the lock. The door opened effortlessly, but I was not prepared for the sight before me.

  It was like walking onto the set of Waterworld. It ran down the stairs like a modernist waterfall. The paint was peeling from the ceiling, soaking wet. The rugs and furniture directly below the growing crevice were saturated. One wall in the living room shined in the light, slick. There was a thin sheet of water cascading down it and spilling onto the brand-new wooden floors.

  The place was flooded.

  Bad.

  Like, welcome-to-your-new-swimming-pool bad.

  I ran a hand through my hair. Obviously, a pipe had burst. It was the only explanation for this much water.

  I shook my head. This was supposed to be my big day, a major victory in my life. Why did the universe have to crap all over it? Why couldn’t the team have been a little warmer, instead of giving me such a cold reception? The flooded townhouse was just the icing on the crap-cake.

  First, I found the water main and shut the water off.

  I surveyed the scene again, but a mop and bucket wasn’t going to put a damn dent in this disaster.

  I hunted through my messages and found Coach Bausch’s number.

  He answered on the third ring. “Rae, how are you settling in? What’s the place like?”

  Like Atlantis, I wanted to say. “I’m afraid there’s a tiny, teensy problem.”

  *

  It was twenty minutes before Scott called me back.

  “I called Tripp and Allie for you,” he said, “the team owners, who called someone else and I’m sure someone else again, but it’s a bad time, apparently.”

  “A bad time?”

  “There’s a convention in town. Every hotel room within fifty miles has been snapped up.”

  I tried to stifle down the growing dead. “Oh.”

  “However,” he said, “I told them I’d look after it personally”.

  I wasn’t sure where he was going with this. “Which means?”

  “Which means you’ll be staying with me.”

  “With you?”

  “Sure,” he answered. “I’ve got a spare room at the condo. You can stay there while we get your housing figured out. It’s not a problem. I’m still at the rink, but I’ll swing by and pick you up.”

  It was a bad idea. I could feel it. There was something between us, some magnetic pull, and that was very, very dangerous for someone in my position. It seemed like the start of a bad romance novel. Staying at his condo with him alone was asking for trouble.

  I hated him and I wanted to resist him, but for some inexplicable reason I was also drawn to him.

  “Unless you’d rather stay with Wanda? We could always ask her,” he continued. I could picture the grin growing on his face. He must’ve sensed she’d irked me.

  I decided. “No,” I said, “I think your place will do just fine.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  SCOTT

  I glanced in the rear-view mirror for the third time, catching a glimpse of her face. I was addicted. I couldn’t stop looking at her. She was entirely too captivating. Put simply, she was taking over my mind. I had done a shit job of coaching during the training session because all I could do was watch her. Even Jamie had to keep reminding me I needed
to actually add comments to the clipboard about the other twenty-two players.

  This was such a bad idea. I shouldn’t have invited her to stay at my place. Any time I’ve wanted a woman, I pursued her until I was able to make her mine. I could never seem to stop myself, and Rae wasn’t someone I could play that game with.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. I slipped it out, a strange indifference overcoming me. The caller ID announced Tana was calling. She used to be one of my favorites for a fun night out, but now… My eyes flicked back to the mirror. Tana just seemed so lackluster compared to Rae, a pretty face with nothing else to offer but a warm place to park my cock.

  Rae had it all in comparison to Tana and the other women in my little black book. Good looks, a bangin’ bod, aspirations, dreams, goals, accomplishments… and then there was this ‘good girl’ vibe I picked up off of her. It was so delicious, so fucking wholesome. It made my heart beat and turned my cock to granite. I wanted to strip her of that innocence and make her beg for more, tie her to the bed and take her until she passed out.

  Fuck me. The longer I thought about it, the more I needed it, needed her. My mind flashed with images of her red hair draped along my bed and her naked body splayed across the sheets for my taking and mine alone. My fingers sinking into the tight globes of ass as I pulled her closer and closer to the edge…

  “Jesus fucking Christ,” I breathed to myself. My heart was thumping hard in my chest, the tipi in my pants telling me this was heading somewhere dangerous, and fast.

  Why was I acting so unprofessional all of a sudden? I would never risk my career for a woman, and that’s exactly what I was doing by thinking these thoughts and inviting her back to my condo.

  Goddammit. I glanced once again in the rear-view mirror needing to see her again.

  Rae donned a pair of black sunglasses that matched her heart-shaped features perfectly. Her copper hair had been pulled back into a tight ponytail, but a few strands had escaped the hair band and were now draped along the outer edge of her cheekbones. Her lips weren’t wide and puffy like a social media wannabe but were tight and prominent instead. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to have them wrapped around me, around my…