Page 18 of Breaking the Pucking Rules (LA Vipers #1)

KODIE

E very muscle in my body tenses, and my lungs depress as if I’ve just been hit in the chest with a stick.

I knew it was a risk when I agreed to join the guys for a drink tonight. But from what I’ve heard over the past year, Casey doesn’t follow the team out after a game.

I can only assume that’s because her father has told her not to.

Exactly why she refused to take her mask off two weeks ago.

She isn’t allowed to fraternize with the team just as much as we’re meant to keep our distance from her.

After Fletch told me how good it was for me to show my face after our Vancouver game, Coach pulled me into his office and none too discreetly demanded that I put in a little more effort with the team.

He fully understands my other priorities but also knows how vital team bonding is.

He’s been in my position, so I have to trust that he knows what I need to do to be both the best hockey player and father I can be.

I thought it was going to be safe. I could have a beer with the guys and then head home so I could be up early to spend time with Sutton before I was needed back at the arena.

I was confident that I could handle both going into the season.

Until she walked in.

Hell, what am I saying? The second I saw her sitting behind the net as I stepped out onto the ice earlier, I knew that life was never going to be easy again.

Not when she refuses to get out of my head.

Linc spent the rest of our trip trying to pull information out of me.

I refused to give him anything, instead sticking with my story about not knowing who she was.

It’s how it was meant to be.

I played better tonight. Instead of being distracted by her eyes on me, I was able to harness it and turn the heat of her stare into determination.

I hate to give her the credit, but I’m pretty sure she’s the reason I was tonight’s top goal scorer.

The moment she sees me sitting amongst the team, her steps falter, and the blood drains from her face.

Something stirs inside me.

Satisfaction and a little relief.

I’m not the only one who’s just had the world tugged from beneath them.

The only problem is I don’t know the reason for her shock.

It’s been two weeks since the ball. A week since I discovered her identity. She’s had every opportunity to seek me out. It’s what a puck bunny would have done.

They’re relentless in their quest to bag a player.

But she hasn’t. Other than turning up to my games, wearing my jersey, and holding eye contact a couple of times, she hasn’t made a move.

I can’t help but wonder if I’m thinking about all of this way more than I should.

Am I building it up to be something bigger than it is?

She told me that she only wanted one night. Was that really the truth?

I feel like a jerk assuming that one night wouldn’t be enough. Apparently, I’m now the cocky asshole I used to be .

She brings it back up in me, though.

The need to be noticed. To be wanted.

Although, if I’m being honest, I’ve never been genuinely needed by a woman before. They might have wanted me for a fun night or two to let off some steam and earn some bragging rights or a story to sell. But not a single one ever cared enough to actually need me.

It doesn’t matter, though. I’ve got Sutton for that.

She makes me feel needed and worthy every day.

I don’t need any more than that.

Conversation continues around me, but it’s like time stops as we stare at each other.

Memories of that night flicker through my mind like a movie. No, not a movie. A porno…but better.

It was real.

So painfully fucking real.

“What do you think, Big D?” Fletcher’s voice floats around in my head, but it’s not strong enough to pull my attention to him. “Big D?”

Finally, I turn to look at Fletch and the rest of the guys at our table.

“Uh…yeah.”

“Excuse me,” Linc says, sliding from the booth and making a beeline for Casey and Parker.

“Fucking dog,” Fletch mutters as he tracks Linc’s movement toward the bar. Or, more specifically, Casey, after he clocks what’s on her jersey.

He waves to the bartender and orders drinks for both of them.

“You know who that is, right?” Cole Hansley, our goalie, or Handsy, as he’s fondly known, says, throwing his arm around our rookie’s shoulder.

“Uh…” Marilyn studies both of them.

There’s no way Coach hasn’t said anything to him. The rest of us have been warned more times than I’ve had hot dinners about staying away from his daughter.

Unless, of course, he isn’t concerned she’ll go for the baby of the team.

Something hot and uncomfortable rushes through me at the thought of her looking at him—or any of them—the way she did me that night.

“C-Coach’s daughter, right?” he asks, proving that he’s not as unaware as he often appears.

“The one on the left, yeah. She’s off-limits, unless you want to say goodbye to your career before it’s started.”

“What about her friend?”

“Parker Donnelly? I’d stay well clear of that one, too.”

“Why?”

“You’ve heard of Everett Donnelly, right?”

Monroe frowns for a second before realization hits.Everette Donnelly is not only the Seattle Bandits star defensemen, but he’s also Linc’s best friend and Parker’s big brother.

“Oh, shit. No way.”

“Rett’s little sister.”

Hayden huffs and slumps back with his hands folded over his chest. It’s a move I’m more used to seeing on Sutton than one of my teammates.

“Well, this fucking sucks. Who can I hit on in this bar?”

The guys look around. “Anyone but those two.”

“But they’re by far the hottest.”

“Probably best not to lead with that line,” Fletch suggests.

“What the fuck do you know about picking up women these days?” Handsy asks with a smirk.

“From watching you lot, I know exactly what you shouldn’t do,” Fletch laughs. “Right, I’m out. Got a hot woman waiting on me.”

After a quick round of goodbyes, he disappears, the first to leave just like last time. But seeing him walk away, dividing his time between his two great loves—his career and his wife—solidifies my belief that I can also do the same.

I should follow his lead and go home.

When I told Mom I’d been instructed to join the team after the games, she unsurprisingly agreed. Even Sutton was happy about it. She told me that I should go and celebrate all my goals with my friends. That it’s what she’d want to do if she were in my skates.

I shake my head as I remember the firm way she glared at me, ensuring that I did as my coach and captain said.

Linc glances over from the bar, having seen Fletch depart. He studies me closely, probably expecting me to be next. But as much as I might want to get home, I can’t force my legs to move.

Especially not while he’s standing a few inches too close to the woman who seems to be a constant presence in my life these days.

“Another round?” Handsy asks, but while everyone else agrees, I decline the offer.

Over the next hour, I try my best to keep my eyes off Casey, but it gets harder and harder, especially when it becomes obvious that she’s drunk.

Linc has thankfully moved on to more hopeful targets. He might flirt his ass off with Casey and Parker, but he likes his job and his balls too much to take it anywhere further.

Unfortunately, there are other guys in the bar who don’t have a death wish hanging over their heads, and not ten minutes after Linc leaves them does some other asshole try his luck.

Casey stares up at him from her seat on the stool and throws her head back, laughing at what I’m sure was a shit joke.

My fists curl under the table.

The guys talk around me, but thankfully, they’re too lost in their conversation about our next game to pay any attention to me.

My heart jumps into my throat as Casey slides off the stool and, on unsteady legs, starts toward the bathroom, focusing intently on where she’s going.

As she passes, her addictive scent hits my nose, and my cock jerks as I remember that she tasted even sweeter than she smelled.

The guy she left behind takes her stool and turns his full attention on Parker, but that doesn’t concern me.

I’m still trying to convince myself to leave when she returns.

The sight of her jersey stirs those unwanted feelings that hit me earlier, and my breathing increases.

She should not affect me like this.

As she passes, she pulls her cell from her purse, swipes the screen, and puts it to her ear as she turns to leave. But before she gets to the door, she stumbles and crashes into the wall.

Parker looks over with concern, but Casey waves her cell at her to explain where she’s going before reaching for the door.

It’s too heavy, and she fumbles with it for a few seconds before finally getting it open and disappearing outside.

I should ignore it. Ignore her. I should wait for her to come back and then leave.

But I can’t. The temptation is too much.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” I say as I push to my feet. I don’t know if they hear me or even respond. My sole focus is the door and the woman on the other side of it.

Warm air rushes over me as I step outside and leave the air conditioning behind.

“I-I can’t hear you. The reception is crap,” she slurs down the line.

The sound of her raspy voice hits me right in the chest. An ache forms behind my sternum.

“Are you there? Can you hear me?” she asks, almost shouting at whoever is on the other end.

“Ugh. I’ll call you tomorrow,” she finally says before giving up.

“Useless piece of shit,” she mutters to herself as she drops her cell into her purse and spins around.

I swear her gasp is big enough to suck all the air from around us.

Being close to her again...it’s dangerous.

My fists curl, attempting to stop me from reaching for her.

Everything that night was so easy.

I even danced with her, for fuck’s sake.

I don’t dance.

Hell, I don’t do any of the things I did that night.

“Kodie?” she whispers, suddenly sounding a hell of a lot more sober than a few moments ago.

The sound of my name rolling off her lips does bad things to me. But worse than that, it makes me want to do filthy, wicked things to her all over again.

“H-how are you?”

She takes a step forward, probably intending to return to the bar, but in my head, she’s moving closer to me.

Whatever she’s attempting to do, she fails the moment her foot catches on the pavement, and she stumbles straight into me.