Page 83 of Against The Boards

He pinched my side. “Brat.”

“You like it,” I said while pressing small kisses on his neck. I arched my eyebrow when I felt exactly how much he liked it from the bulge in his pants. “You love getting me all riled up.”

“Angel?” he asked.

I pulled back and wound my hands around the back of his neck. “Hmm?”

His gaze was ablaze with passion. “You better get your ass in my bed right now,” he growled.

“Fucking make me,” I goaded.

I yelped when he stood up and carried me into his bedroom. He might have been a soft, sensitive boy, but he knew when I wanted an aggressive man in the bedroom.

Chapter Twenty-Four

BENNY

Riley and I leaned against the boards in front of the bench as we watched Rox and Noah doing one-on-one plays down the other end of the ice.

It had been a couple of days since Rox and I told each other how we felt, and when we weren’t spending time between my sheets, we were on the ice together. Riley and Noah had been bugging me about skipping out on training sessions with them, so I ended up recruiting them to help Rox get hockey ready.

“I think I need to get her new skates,” I said.

Riley winced.

Every player knew that breaking in a fresh pair of skates was the absolute worst. We waited until the absolute last minute to replace them, preferring to wear the same ones for three years straight. Breaking in a new boot was a pain in the ass, and you always felt for another player when they were going through it.

When we went to buy new gear the other day, Rox had mentioned her boots were falling apart, and it was probably time to get a new pair. I hadn’t pressed her on it because it sucked having to break in a new boot. I also wondered if part of her hesitation had to do with the expense. Hockey gear wasn’t cheap, and even though she worked for the team, her salary was nowhere near mine. Because of that, I had offered to help pay for her gear, but being the stubborn woman she was, she refused. But her birthday was coming up, and an idea had percolated in my brain.

“Would it be weird if I bought her skates for her birthday?” I asked Riley.

He chewed on his lip. “Nah. It shows you want what’s best for her, even if she doesn’t want to do it. Don’t envy her having to break in new skates, though.”

I nodded. “I know, but she’ll wear that old pair until they literally fall off on the ice.”

Riley smirked. “That sounds familiar.”

TJ had to replace his skates last season, and he still hadn’t stopped complaining about it. The Desjardins Twins had way more in common than I ever realized.

I turned my attention back to watching Rox and Noah on the ice together. Rox deked a shot and got the wraparound goal. Noah never saw it coming, and pride swelled in my chest at watching her. In a flash, Noah got the better of her by getting possession of the puck from her. She flew across the ice, tearing after Noah at the other end. I loved watching her play her two-hundred-foot game. She was more skilled at this sport than some of our fourth-liners. She tried to get the puck out from underneath Noah, but he toe-dragged it and directed it into the net before she could stop it.

“She can buy her own pair. Why do you want to do it?” Riley asked.

“I’m afraid she’s not gonna follow through with playing hockey again if she doesn’t replace them.”

Riley raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“She had a severe concussion in college and hung up her skates for a while. I think if I buy her new ones, it will force her to get back on the ice.”

“She’s on the ice right now.”

“No, like on a team.”

“You think she should try out for one of the PHF teams, don’t you?”

I nodded. I gave her some beer league teams to look up, but she looked ready to be on the ice with players of her caliber.

“Wow. You love her, don’t ya?” Riley asked with a smirk.