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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

JACK

*Archer added you to a group chat*

*Archer renamed the group Shit on the Scorpions*

My phone buzzes on the nightstand behind me, waking me from a dream involving the girl currently sleeping in my arms.

Rolling onto my back, I somehow manage to reach behind me and unplug it from the charger while keeping the arm under Kendra still, making sure I don’t wake her.

“The fuck?” I whisper, squinting at the screen and waiting for my six a.m. vision to focus.

Archer

*photo of him shirtless, riding a spin bike*

Wakey-wakey. Rise and shine. Been up since five and ready for the biggest game of the season so far.

Sawyer

You realize this isn’t your OnlyFans page, right?

Next to me, Kendra stirs, and I shift behind her, wrapping my leg over hers and kissing her bare shoulder.

Fuck, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.

Scratch that. What part of me would ever want to get used to this?

She’s mine, and I’m hers, and right now, I’m living the dream in a city that’s rapidly feeling like the home I never expected it to be.

Archer

Nah, the shorts are normally off for that.

Sawyer

Please spare us. I’ll need my eyes for today’s game.

Archer

If Jessie Callaghan thinks he’s extending his top goal-scoring lead tonight, he can think a-fucking-gain.

Jon’s former Seattle teammates, especially Jessie Callaghan, will be well up for handing our coach and team our asses on a silver platter. Today’s game is huge, and I need to get up and start preparing, but for the first time in my life, hockey is a distant second to the girl snoring lightly in my bed.

Our bed.

This is where she sleeps from now on.

Me

Callaghan is definitely thinking it. Probably got one eye on a hat trick.

P.S. typing with one hand is difficult.

Sawyer

I’m sorry, what?

Shit. I start typing another message. My one thumb moving at a snail’s pace across the keyboard.

Archer

Whoa, whoa, whoa. This isn’t actually OnlyFans, you know? Put that away.

Me

LOL. No, my other hand is under Kendra.

Sawyer

I’m calling my agent and putting in for a trade. I didn’t sign up for this.

Archer

Bro, even this is a bit much for me.

Me

NO! I mean, she’s literally sleeping on my arm, and I don’t want to wake her, so I’m typing with one hand.

Archer

Simp.

Me

I fancy myself for a goal or two today.

Archer

Sounds like you’ve already scored.

Sawyer

Give me strength.

Jack, I know I’m the C and should be all words of motivation, but good luck finding a way past Jensen Jones. He’s currently trying to beat his own shutout record in his last pro season. Can’t see him making an exception for his former captain’s son. Knowing him, I bet he’ll go harder.

Me

Added motivation tonight. Will have my mum, sister, and Kendra watching from the box.

Archer

Sister …

Me

DON’T EVEN GO THERE.

Archer

Damn, I bet it took you even longer to write that in capitals. You must REALLY MEAN IT.

I know he’s joking, but I will castrate him if he even looks at her.

Me

DO NOT TOUCH HER.

Archer

That’s not very feminist of you. Surely, Emily is her own woman, capable of making her own decisions, no?

Me

Who the fuck is Emily?

Archer

The only British name I could think of.

Sawyer

I’m going to weigh in here and say Emily is probably off-limits.

Me

That she is. Plus, she has a boyfriend.

And her name is Darcy.

Archer

Darcy, Darcy, Darcy. Like it. Very regal.

Me

Can we stop talking about my sister now?

Archer

Sure. I’ll see her later anyway.

Me

Unbelievable.

I set my phone on the side when Kendra starts to wake properly.

“You even stretch out like a kitten,” I tease, burying my face in her hair before she rolls over to face me. “Open those eyes for me, pretty girl.”

She scrunches her nose up. “It’s my day off, and I have nowhere to be until I meet Darcy before the game. Can’t we just stay in bed?”

I pull back as she cracks an eye open. “Where are you going?”

“Out to eat before we head to the arena.”

Something warm flushes in my chest. Not just for me, but for the girl I’m falling in love with. I want her to have everything good in my life, and my sister is absolutely a part of that.

“She invited you out, didn’t she?”

Her hands find the back of my neck, and Kendra pulls me toward her for a kiss. “Other way around. I messaged her last night, saying I’d show her some sights before she flies home tomorrow. She’s really nice. Your entire family is nice.”

I bite back the urge to caveat that—my dad. He’s the exception to the rule and the good people I’ve always had around me, many of them she met last night. Though something tells me that my girlfriend will have minimal exposure to that asshole anyway.

Pushing away thoughts of Elliott Thompson, I focus my mind back on the girl lying next to me. With the difficult time Darcy’s having in her relationship with Liam, the invite Kendra extended must have meant so much to her, and I feel myself fall for this girl just a little bit more.

“I really wish I didn’t have to get up for morning skate. Because I’d be buried inside you in a second.”

She giggles and slides down, disappearing under the duvet. “Go! I’ll keep your side nice and warm.”

I groan and will myself to move unsuccessfully. “What are you going to do with your morning?”

She giggles again. “Stuff. ”

“Oh, yeah? Like what?” Reaching a hand down, I tickle her ribs. I’ve no idea if Kendra is ticklish, but if it’s another excuse to hear her laugh, then I’m keen to find out.

Bingo.

“Stop, stop, STOP!” she cries out and wriggles down further until she’s out of reach.

I’m immediately on my feet, grabbing the corner of the duvet and flipping it off in one motion, exposing her naked body to the morning air.

Stunning.

Her eyes land on my hard dick as she attempts to pull the duvet back around her. “It’s freezing, and I was all cozy and warm!”

Instantly, I’m back on the bed, crowding her with my six-four frame. My dick is lined up with her entrance, and it would take one tip of my hips to be back where I love.

Her fits of laughter stop when she looks down between us and registers the same. “You have to get to morning skate, remember?”

It fucking kills me that I can’t take her right now. At a push, there might be time to “fuck her and flee,” in Archer’s words, but that’s not what I want with her. I don’t think there’ll ever be a time where I’m not desperate to make her come until she’s physically incapable of giving me more.

“Meet you after the game?” I say with a kiss. “I don’t have any press responsibilities tonight.”

“In the parking lot?”

I pull back. “The fucking what ?”

She rolls her eyes and attempts a British accent. “The car park.”

I run a thumb across her cheek, realizing her innocent question just exposed her ex further. “Kendra, why would I meet you in the freezing cold? You meet me in the players’ lounge after the game. Then we head out together.”

I can sense the realization the moment it slams into her, and my heart breaks at the way she tries to hide her embarrassment. I don’t know what Tyler was thinking, but he clearly wasn’t interested in his girl being the first person he saw after games.

“You meet me after the game, dressed in my jersey and ready for me to take you out and spoil the shit out of you. That’s how it works every time you can make one of my games, Kendra. That’s what happens for my girl.”

“I don’t think I need to remind you all of how pivotal this game is. A win tonight means we go above the Scorpions on points. I also don’t need to remind you of how much we’ve achieved in the few weeks since the season started. And even more has changed since preseason.”

I can’t help but cast a glance at Tyler as he sits forward, elbows resting on his knees as Jon delivers his final pep talk before we hit the ice.

He holds eye contact with me, chewing on the corner of his mouthguard. Since the GM didn’t put him on the trade list, he’s largely kept out of my and Kendra’s way and been more professional in games. Although the animosity between us has never been greater.

“You’re finally playing like a goddamn team,” Jon continues. “But let me tell you this. It’s something I’ve not said in briefings and prep this week, but I think the warning needs to be out there for the rookies.” He thumbs over his shoulder, motioning to the rink. “The Scorpions are more like a family. The kind of ride-or-die team that can be three to zero down in the third, and it’s not over.”

Jon looks directly at me and then Tyler and Matt. “Give Zach Evans half a chance to board you, and he will. His entire game is built on intimidation and strength, but don’t be fooled by his distribution capabilities, as I showed you in game footage.”

He then looks at Archer. “And I know I’ve said this fifty thousand times, Moore, but somehow, Callaghan has gotten even better than he was last season. Despite recently becoming a dad, he’s faster and stronger, and God only knows he’s after some of my own records.”

There are a few chuckles from around the room, including one from Archer.

Jon smiles and tucks his iPad under his arm. “But you know what they don’t have experience with?”

The room stays silent as we wait for Coach to speak again.

“Most of them can’t remember what it’s like to struggle. To have fans leave the rink cussing them because their team is going through an overhaul and trying to find its feet again. Most of them have forgotten what it’s like to truly fight. So, let’s fucking show them!”

Jon leaves the locker room to cheers from freshly motivated players.

I nod my head over at Sawyer, who’s doing a last-minute check on his skates. “Ready?”

He nods back, and we both head for the ice, the rest of the team following behind our captain.

I’m nervous every night, but tonight, I made the second line, and I know Kendra will be up there, watching me. I also know how much this game means to Jon personally. Last season, the Blades got wrecked by the Scorpions, and I know he’s anxious about it happening again.

“Something on your mind?” Tyler comes to stand next to me.

I shrug and listen to the team announcements. “Nope. Just pumped for the game, is all.”

“Not seen her at the arena yet. Kinda weird, don’t you think?”

“Kinda weird that you still give a fuck,” I reply .

Jesus, I hate this guy and how he still affects Kendra as she learns of all the ways he fucked her over.

With his hands braced on the end of his stick, he leans across to me, still chewing on the corner of his mouthguard, wearing the kind of cocky grin I’d like to remove with a single punch.

One fucking day.

“They say rebounds last around a month, sometimes as long as a year. You’re doing well. But I’ll be waiting.”

One swipe, and I could knock him clean out. I fight with every shred of willpower to keep my hands on my stick. “Yeah, went pretty fucking well last night when she wore my jersey too.” We begin walking out, and I throw him a smirk of my own. “If you look up and to the left, you might even catch a glimpse of her in it tonight.”