Page 56 of On A Manhunt: Complete Series

DEX

“Bridget will stay with me, but Lindy won’t be back in that house for a while,” Mav said as I watched Lindy.

She seemed to be fine, but her house had been seriously damaged.

That was stressful and heartbreaking since she said she grew up in the place.

It was literally the only home she ever knew.

There had been no tears, only a spine of steel as she tackled the fire department, the utilities guy, and an insurance call like a general leading her troops.

Her list, which she always seemed to have from the sound of it, just got a hell of a lot longer.

That was why she needed a distraction. And not just from this, but from life. Everyone needed to shut their shit down every once in a while. Some went running. Or to yoga. Or skydiving. A cruise. Sex. I wasn’t sure what Lindy did, but I didn’t think she was getting many orgasms.

I didn’t even want to think about who’d be giving them to her. No fucking way was another guy pleasuring her. And if she took things into her own hands, well, that was fine, but it didn’t seem to be enough.

From what I could tell–and I’d been observing really fucking closely–Lindy Beckett was a straight-laced perfectionist.

Who needed to be kissed and touched. Licked and fucked.

Nothing would help with a tree falling through her house more than my dick in her pussy. Because that kiss? Foreplay.

She’d been surprised at first, then she’d let go.

The second she melted against that window, fuck, it had been incredible.

The fight, every thought in her head, just vanished.

If a kiss did that, then getting her beneath me would make her forget her own name.

Every woman deserved that kind of pleasure.

Mav and I watched as Bridget tugged Lindy across the yard and were now in a deep conversation in hushed voices. I assumed it was about the house, but who knew with women.

“She’s staying here,” I finally told Mav.

I held the pizza boxes and shifted it so the side of them rested against my hip. The to-go container of salad sat on top.

“Here? With you?” He sounded surprised.

“With me.”

He was quiet as Lindy whipped her head around and gave me a death glare. I winked in return. They definitely weren’t talking about the house if I got that look. And I definitely needed to get my hands, and mouth and other things, on her so her entire attitude changed.

She would soon be begging me to do things to her. I’d get her to burn for me, turning that list to ash. I had a list of my own with everything I planned on doing to, and with, her. It was really fucking long. Longer than the one I had in my phone.

She spun back around and returned to their conversation, then slapped her hand over her sister’s mouth.

“It’s like that?” he asked.

“She’s mine.” That kiss proved it. Clinched it. No trade backs.

“Lindy Beckett?”

I finally looked away from my woman and at Mav. “Say her name that way again and I’ll rip your head off. I may not be as big as you, but I’m younger and can fight dirty, even on ice.”

His eyebrows went up at my I’m-not-fucking-around tone.

He held up his hands as if to keep me from jumping him. “I’m just surprised. She’s a lot older than you.”

“That’s what you’re going with?” I asked, surprised.

“Good point.” He was almost fifteen years older than Bridget. An age gap should be the last thing he considered an issue.

“You’re right. She’s just… high maintenance and high strung. Didn’t picture you with her, that’s all.”

I couldn’t argue with either of those observations. Standing side-by-side, one sister looked like she was ready for a summer picnic at the lake, the other looked like she was ready for the interview portion of the Miss America pageant. One dark, the other fair. One petite, the other tall.

“Yeah, well, you haven’t seen a picture of me with anyone.”

“Except in that bar fight,” he reminded, much to my annoyance.

I clenched my jaw. Nothing came from the incident.

No issues with the team or the league because they knew the truth, that the guy had been drunk, handsy and an asshole.

Team players who’d witnessed it backed me.

Even the woman I’d protected had spoken out in my favor.

Except the media didn’t care about that, only click bait.

“The media will find something else to report about soon enough. I’m just a hockey player.”

He tilted his head and gave me his serious look. “You’re just a hockey player? Right. That’s what Lindy thinks?”

I flicked my gaze to Lindy, then back to him. “She doesn’t know I play hockey.”

He laughed once, probably surprising himself. “What do you mean she doesn’t know? How is that possible?”

I shrugged. “She doesn’t watch sports? Not everyone recognizes me.” I thought of Otis at the pizza place, who did, not even an hour ago.

“Aren’t you going to tell her? I mean, that’s not just your job, it’s your life.”

“Sure. Eventually. I like being just Dex with her.”

“Well, Just Dex, if she looks you up or someone tells her about you–which you know is going to happen–she’ll find everything about the bar fight from the tabloid’s perspective.”

That was completely true, which was why I wanted as much time as possible with her before she found out who I really was before having to slog through media lies. Maybe then she’d doubt what she found.

“The guy deserved it. The media can suck my dick,” I said.

“Sounds like you’ve already got someone else you want doing that.”

“Careful,” I warned again. I got myself off thinking about Lindy’s mouth around me. But that didn’t mean I wanted Mav to talk about her that way. “That shit show aside, you don’t see me online with women.”

“Haven’t in years.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he validated what I just said. “It’s rare to see you on social media with a woman, but in any I’ve seen it’s easy to tell you’re not into her.”

After a game, the team went out to dinner as a group. Sometimes, we continued on to a bar or two. It was impossible to avoid clingy puck bunnies and being photographed and ending up online. A photo didn’t tell the truth though, just like with the bar fight.

“I wasn’t aware you even knew how to use social media,” I countered.

“If I said Bridget shows me, that’ll make me sound really fucking old. So I’ll say Bradley does and gives me the highlights of anything important.”

Mav was CEO of James Corp and had too much to do to tackle apps. The fact that he was reorg-ing his schedule to stay here in Hunter Valley with Bridget said plenty about the seriousness of their relationship. Silas was picking up the slack at corporate.

“Well, he’s really good at his job because I’m not into any of those women,” I insisted. “You think I want to be like Dad? Fuck ‘em and leave ‘em?”

His face went hard, and he took a small step closer, leaned in. “That’s what you think? That if you want to get your dick wet that means you’re like him?”

I shook my head, although I did. A little. A lot.

“He’d drop me off at the rink, find a willing mom and fuck her while I had practice.

Caught him once coming out of a supply closet zipping up his pants followed by one of the snack bar attendants, then learned the signs.

The messed-up hair, a smudge of lipstick on his neck, the way Mrs. Troncher gave us a finger wave after the state PeeWee championships in sixth grade. ”

His jaw clenched so tightly the muscle ticked. He ran a hand over his hair. “Fuck, I didn’t know that.”

I’d been twelve when he fucked a teammate’s mother. Mav had been twenty-two and already out of college. He hadn’t lived at home in four years at that point. I had a lot of stories he didn’t know about.

“So you associate hockey with him being a manwhore asshole and since you play, you’re one too?”

I shook my head. “No, Jesus, you sound like a therapist. He’s everything I don’t want to be. He’s my role model for how not to live. I steer clear of flings not because I’m afraid I’ll be a manwhore, but because I don’t want meaningless.”

Nothing had held value to the man. Not his marriage vows. Not his kids. Not even his company. He used the money he made to fund his never ending, shallow fun.

“I do think I associate him with assholes and will defend women who have to deal with them.” Like the woman at that Denver bar.

“You’re nothing like him. Nothing.” His voice was low, but deadly. “Neither am I, even though Bridget’s so fucking young and Dad liked them that way. It’s not the same.” He pointed to himself, then me. “We’re not the same.”

I only nodded because the last thing either of us wanted to talk about anymore was that asshole.

“Lindy will be lucky to have you, brother. She’s smart. She’ll see the real you no matter what she reads.”

Scout barked in what I assumed was agreement. I glanced down at him.

I offered him a smile at his encouragement, although I had no idea how he knew what we were talking about.

Bridget and Lindy started to come our way.

Mav leaned in. “Wait. How can she stay here if you only have furniture in one bedroom?”

When I decided to relocate from Mav and Bridget’s supersized fuck pad, Bradley had it furnished enough only for me to live in. Meaning the second bedroom was completely empty because it hadn’t been necessary. It still wasn’t.

I gave him a look that told him everything without saying a word. When it came to making Lindy mine, I’d take whatever advantage I could. I planned to get her in my bed sooner than later. I wouldn’t say the tree falling on her house was a good thing, but it definitely moved things along.

He slapped me on the shoulder and grinned. “She doesn’t know about this either?”

“Not yet.” She also didn’t know I bought a ring in Denver.

Mav only shook his head and went inside, Scout hot on his heels. The ladies caught up to us. I took the rear, carrying the pizza and salad.

Lindy was staying with me. She just didn’t know she’d be sharing my bed.