Page 47 of Breaking the Pucking Rules (LA Vipers #1)

KODIE

I ’ve pulled on a pair of boxers and have ESPN playing in the background by the time Linc emerges.

He doesn’t say anything as he strips out of his clothes, grabs his cell and a bottle of water, and joins me on the bed beside mine.

But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t got a million and one questions spinning around in his head. And I also know he’s not going to let me off easy. He’s just biding his time. Torturing me.

I barely breathe as he gets settled, keeping my eyes glued to the TV.

Minutes pass, and my anxiety only grows.

“You’re really going to make me ask, aren’t you?” he finally says, breaking the tension that’s settled over us.

“No, I’m not going to make you do anything,” I mutter.

He chuckles. “Of course. So…go on, then.”

“Nothing to tell,” I say, trying and probably failing to look like I’m invested in the TV.

“I know we’ve only known each other a little over a year, man. But it’s enough to know that what you were doing tonight isn’t your usual post-game routine.”

“How do you know that’s not what I used to do instead of going out for drinks with you?” I cringe at my own words. I shouldn’t be encouraging this. I think my brain is still fried from the orgasm.

He laughs. “Because you weren’t,” he states. “Come on, who is she?”

“Nope, not going there.”

“Dude. I need to meet this woman. She’s clearly knocked you for six. She’s got you smiling, for fuck’s sake.”

“I smile,” I complain.

“Yeah, when Sutton is in the room,” he counters.

I don’t respond. How can I? It’s not like he’s wrong.

“She looks good on you,” he finally says.

I shake my head.

Casey might be a good influence on me in some ways.

But in others, she’s distracting. If my head weren’t so far in the gutter during tonight’s game, maybe we wouldn’t have lost so badly.

Maybe if I were focused on the job at hand and not the photo I thought I was going to receive this evening, we could have secured a win.

“Is she hot?” he asks, changing tack.

I scoff.

“What? I don’t even know what your type is. We were wondering at one point if you were gay.”

My brows lift. “I’ve got a daughter,” I counter.

“Crazier things have happened,” he mutters.

“I’m not gay.”

“From what I heard just now, I can confirm.”

“You were listening?” I balk, my previous panic returning.

“I wasn’t against the door with a glass to my ear or anything. But you weren’t exactly quiet, bro. Although, I get it. She had a sexy fucking voice.”

Dread sits heavy in the pit of my stomach.

It didn’t even occur to me that he might recognize her voice.

I’m going to fuck this up for us. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll be the one.

Just look at what’s already happened. I unknowingly walked into her childhood bedroom and fucked her on her desk with her father and the rest of the team downstairs. And I’ve let her get me off on a video call with Linc right on the other side of the door.

“Turned me on a little, if I’m honest.”

“Seriously,” I mutter.

“What? I’m just a mere, red-blooded male.”

“You’re a pig.”

“And someone is getting all jealous and possessive over their mystery girl. If you won’t tell me who she is, how am I going to—” I cringe as the cogs fall into place. “I know her, don’t I?” he says on a gasp.

“Lincoln,” I warn.

“Don’t you Lincoln me,” he shoots straight back.

“I need you to stop.”

He turns to look at me with a raised brow.

“You could just tell me.”

My hard glare is clearly enough of an answer.

“Rivers, you’re my man. Whoever it is, your secret is safe me with. Bros before hoes, right? Shit, unless it’s Reese,” he says in a panic, referring to Fletch’s wife. “Or Cour?—”

“I’m not with anyone’s wife, Linc. She’s single.”

“Well, she’s not, is she? She’s yours.”

O ur penultimate game of this road stretch ends with a win in overtime.

My mind is spinning as I follow the guys back to the visitors’ dressing room, ready to change and head back to the hotel.

One game to go.

Three more days and there won’t be a phone between us.

She could be in my arms.

Fuck. I want it.

Her.

I want her.

Coach tries to keep spirits high as he gives us his post-game speech, but I’m barely listening. Mentally, I’m already in that hotel room, waiting for Casey.

“So, what’s the verdict on drinks tonight?” Linc asks me.

“Ugh.”

“It won’t just be me who gets suspicious if you keep blowing us off to…well…” He wiggles his brows, making me roll my eyes.

“I’ll be there for a drink.”

“And you’ll put a sock on the door handle so I’ll know if you’re in the middle of something when I return?”

“Or you could go and find your own fun.”

His thoughts wander. “Here’s hoping.”

I never actually asked him why he was back so early the other night. To be honest, I don’t want the details. But it’s unlike him not to lose himself for hours with bunny action.

Thankfully, Monroe steals Linc’s attention, and I can go back to focusing on what the rest of my night has to offer.

Fuck, I hope I get to watch her come properly this time. Once I’m showered, dressed, and ready to leave, I discreetly pull my cell from my gear bag.

Trouble: Tough game. I’m confident that you’re still going to score tonight, though.

“Ohhh,” Linc sings behind me, forcing me to shove my cell back into my bag. “Is that her?”

“Fuck off,” I grunt.

He holds his hands up in surrender. “Fine, fine. You keep your secrets.”

I shake my head, not wanting to get into this with him while in a dressing room full of ears, throw my bag over my shoulder, and head out.

I’m the first on the bus, but that suits me.

Sinking low in my seat, I pull up my chat with Casey.

Kodie: Promised Linc I’ll go for a drink when we get back.

Trouble: Making me wait for it, huh?

Kodie: You know how much I love it when you beg.

Heat stirs within me.

It’s only been two days.

Before Casey, I went years without any action. How have I become so needy in such a short space of time?

Trouble: You want me on my knees for you, baby?

Kodie: You have no idea.

Our filthy messages continue until there’s movement at the front of the bus.

“There you are,” Linc mutters. “Should have known you’d be getting frisky somewhere.”

“Jesus. One video call and I’ve got a rep.”

“Nah, I’m just yanking your chain. You know I’m fucking stoked for you.”

He drops into the seat beside me and taps my knee like a patronizing jerk.

Everyone else joins, and only a few minutes later, we head off.

The last thing I want to do is go for a drink, but Linc is right. If I want to keep everything under the radar, I can’t give them a reason to look harder.

D espite wanting to be alone with Casey, hanging out with the guys isn’t actually a chore.

I may not have spent much time getting to know everyone last year—I was too focused on keeping my head down and doing a good job—but the Vipers are a great group.

Eclectic as fuck, but then, from my experience, that makes the best team.

It may have only been a few weeks since I was instructed by Coach to make more of an effort, but already, these guys feel like family.

Beside me, Fletch’s cell lights up on the table.

“Right, I’m calling it a night,” he says, standing and slipping it into his pocket. “I've got a hot woman waiting on me to wish her good night.”

A couple of the guys groan, ribbing him about his ball and chain, but he takes it all with a smile.

“Same,” I say, draining what’s left of my beer and following him out.

Linc notices from where he’s chatting up two bunnies and gives me a little wave, his brows wiggling.

“Jesus,” I mutter.

“Everything okay?” Fletch asks, turning back to see what’s going on.

“Just Linc being Linc.”

Fletch chuckles. “Ah, the good old days.”

“How do you do it?” I blurt without really thinking it through.

“Do what?”

Reaching up, I rub the back of my neck nervously. “Juggle hockey and a serious relationship.”

“Dude, you have better experience with that shit than I do.”

“I’ve never had a serious relationship,” I confess.

“I was talking about Sutton,” he explains.

“You know more than anyone how hard juggling two lives can be. At least with Reese, she understands. This was my life before she came along. She was never under any illusion that she’d be able to change me.

She knew she had to fit in. It’s different with a kid. ”

“And she’s okay with it? All the traveling?”

“She has to be. There isn’t really any other option. We were all born to play hockey. It’s in our blood. Until we’re told we physically can’t play anymore, everything else in life comes second to the game. You know this as well as I do.”

“Yeah,” I muse.

He studies me as we step into the elevator. “Have you found someone, Rivers?”

“I-I— I’ve found something,” I confess. “I wasn’t looking. I don’t need anyone. My life is already busy enough, but?—”

“She just stormed in and found herself a place to slot in as if she’s always been there?” he asks, making it sound like he knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Hell. He does. He has Reese.

“Yeah, something like that,” I mutter as we head to our floor.

“I’m not going to lie to you. Relationships for pro athletes are fucking hard. But when you find the right one, it’s more than worth trying to figure it all out.” When I don’t respond, he continues. “Is she a hockey girl? Does she get it?”

I think about Casey and the life she’s lived with James Watson as her father.

“Yeah, she gets it.” She probably gets it more than I do.

“Good. That’s a good start. Just…be open and honest with her. And…figure out ways to be creative in your time apart. Makes it more exciting when you return,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder.

“Yeah...we’re, uh…trying.”

“Good man. See you in the morning, yeah? One more game, then we can go home.”

Home.

Whenever I’ve thought of home before, it’s been my house, wherever that might be. So why when he says the word does my mind immediately take me to wherever Casey is? I fear I’ve got a real problem here. And the fact that her father is my coach isn’t the biggest one.

I’m pretty sure I’m falling for Casey Watson, and there’s fuck all I can do to stop it.