Page 74 of Branded (Breakers Hockey)

Three

Cas

I was trying not to stare like a fucking idiot, attempting to not slaver over her like a dog.

Like I always did.

But fuck, she was pretty.

Deep brown eyes, shining blond hair. Hips I wanted to grip as I stroked home, stroked deep. An ass that called for my teeth, the slight sting in my skin from the crack of my palm.

Not interested.

She wasn’t interested.

I, on the other hand, was nearing obsessed.

Even though I was trying not to be, was attempting to ignore the draw I felt toward her. But fuck, it was getting harder with each minute I spent in her presence. There was an inner light to Jules that caught my focus, shining brightly, bringing out my protective instincts.

I wanted to make sure no one ever dimmed it.

I wanted to be able to call her mine, to shelter that light, help it grow, make it so damned bright that it wasn’t ever at risk of fading. Turn the incandescent to LED, harness the energy of the wind and sun and rivers, making it so that her bright wouldn’t ever go out.

But she didn’t want me.

So, I tried not to stare.

And I failed every fucking time.

“Well,” Jules said then, and I didn’t have to look her way, because—fuck—I’d been staring at her again, committing every single freckle to memory, the way her lashes curled up, framing those bright brown eyes.

I wondered if her skin was soft as it looked, if the faint hint of flowers I’d sometimes picked up around her was from her shampoo or her perfume or her lotion or just her .

She glanced away, snatching up her empty soda glass and sliding out of her seat. “I should get back to work before Matt gets pissed at me for slacking off.”

My anger was razor sharp, the question sneaking out before I could stuff it down. “What does Matt do when he gets pissed?”

Jules stilled, and her gaze finally came to mine, finally connected…and held.

The air tightened.

My nostrils flared as I sucked in a breath, desperate for a hint of her, of those flowers I’d scented behind CeCe’s, in the hall, occasionally when she brought my food or drinks.

But then Jules laughed, and it made my lungs spasm as I tried to suck in more air, even though there wasn’t room for it in my chest. Fuck, but it was a pretty sound, that inner light shining through, filling the space between us.

Almost as beautiful as her smile.

Her laughter began when she was looking at me, and my heart stuttered at the sight of her mouth curving, her eyes crinkling at the corners, the gorgeous tinkling sound.

“He scowls at me.” Another laugh. “Matt is a good guy.” But I didn’t get to soak her smile in, not for long anyway, because then she glanced away, nodding decisively.

“Okay, then.” A tap to the table. “I’ll just make my rounds and then come back to close you guys out. ”

“Thanks, honey,” Beth said, yanking me back into reality, into this moment, reminding me it wasn’t just me and Julie, that there were other occupants at the table with me. Beth squeezed Jules’s forearm. “No rush, yeah?”

Jules smiled again, nodding at Beth, at the table, but then she glanced back to me, just briefly, and fuck if my pulse didn’t skitter in my veins. But I only got it for a heartbeat. Then I lost her smile, her light as it arrowed back to Beth and Raph.

I watched her expression warm, that smile soften. “Yeah, I’ll bet you don’t mind cozying up to your hot hockey player while you wait.”

Beth laughed, leaned back against Raph. “Nope. Don’t mind that at all.”

With one last grin, Jules slipped away.

I clenched my jaw, flexed my toes in my boots, digging them into the soles of my shoes, keeping me in place.

When all I wanted to do was go after her.

To take her in my arms.

To whisper in her ear, inhale the soft floral scent, to feel her body against mine and?—

Smitty laughed, the sound booming through the air, and I looked away from where Jules had disappeared into the kitchen and back toward my idiot teammate.

Who was smirking in a way that made me want to punch him in the face.

But Hazel was sitting there with Oliver, and she could make the worst miscreants behave. I wasn’t a miscreant, of course, though I wanted to do bad, bad things to Jules, but I definitely had miscreant vibes, mostly because I wouldn’t mind taking a pot shot at my boisterous teammate.

I loved the guy.

But swear to fuck, Smitty could get on my nerves.

Movement by the bar drew my focus, and I watched Jules slip back out through the swinging door, a heavy tray laden with plates perched on my shoulder.

Yup. I knew I was in deep as I watched her deliver the food.

She was strong and confident, smart, and worked her ass off.

Yeah, she was quiet compared to some of the girls—though with Beth and Pru and Smitty around, it was hard to imagine anyone getting a word in.

Thus, it wasn’t uncommon for the rest of our group to come from different places on the scale of Kailey (our shyest member) Quiet to Smitty Loud.

Of course, she was also beautiful and had that inner light and?—

I liked her.

I just…couldn’t have her.

Sighing, I smothered the urge to go after her, to help her with the heavy tray, the large number of plates. At the very best, I knew that would be a huge overstep (and look at me go with my critical thinking skills!). At the worst, it would be an unwanted comment about her abilities.

Truthfully, though, I was still tempted to risk it. I hated the thought of her on her own, even here, wanted to show her that I was there, that I was?—

“Might want to stop mooning over her,” Theo muttered, clapping his hand on my shoulder, “and start doing something about it.”

Normally, Theo would be right about getting off my ass and doing something about it.

Normally, I lived my life by grabbing on to opportunities, by putting balls to the walls, by knowing that I’d miss one hundred percent of the shots I didn’t take, by leaving it all on the ice, by?—

Insert other cliché sports analogy here.

There would be no ball-walling or shooting or leaving it on the ice.

Jules had turned me down.

So, I wasn’t going to be a dick.

She’d drawn a line. I wasn’t going to cross it.

Sighing, I picked up my glass, started to drain it, but Theo smacked me on the shoulder again, nearly making me choke on the beer.

“Welp, on that grumpy expression of yours,” Theo said, the asshole fucking beyond chipper as I tossed a napkin on the table then gave a jaunty wave. “I’m out.”

Which was when I realized that the rest of the table had cleared out.

Right.

I’d been—as Theo said—mooning over Jules, and not doing it slyly in the least. Certainly not slyly enough to avoid my teammate, Smitty’s, matchmaking laser. Nor sly enough to avoid Beth’s newfound interest in the same subject if their disappearing acts were any indication.

Cuddling up to her hot hockey player my ass.

Another sigh. Another gulp of my beer.

They would pile on the shit in the locker room.

Not something I’d typically care about. I could take the teasing and could dish it out just as effortlessly.

But it was going to sting because I didn’t have a shot with Jules.

All the teasing would be pointless.

Grumbling to myself when I spotted the signed credit card receipt on the table and realized that one of the guys must have gone to Matt while I was mooning and Jules was working and cashed our tables out, I drained the remnants of my beer.

I stood, threw a hundred on the table because she was a single mom and I knew what it was like to be struggling for money.

My parents were good people, had made it work even though things had been tight as they raised four kids.

They were okay now because my siblings and I were adults (and I was in a position where I could help with things like college tuition).

But I still had a soft spot for those who were hustling their asses off.

Jules was one of those people.

I’d caught her studying on her break, working to improve her future.

I’d seen her leave a shift early when her son was ill.

I’d watched her hustle during every shift, remaining capable and cheerful even with dark circles beneath her eyes.

Now, it was late. CeCe’s had cleared out, and I was one of a handful of customers left.

I should go. Let her get out of here. Let her get home to her bed and her son.

Smothering a sigh, I soaked up one more look of her as she cashed out her final table and headed for the hall.

I’d get my ass on the treadmill, would run off this frustration.

Hands on the metal bar that would open the door that led out to the rear parking lot, I started to push through.

“Cas!”