Page 23 of Power Play (Titans Hockey #2)

Chapter twenty

Scott

T he soft snick of my hotel room door closing wakes me just slightly from my sleep. I smile, keeping my eyes closed.

"I'd hoped you'd come," I say, my voice low and gravelly from sleep. I gave my second room card to Lacey in the hopes she would pay me a visit. I'd just hoped it had been three hours ago, but beggars can't be choosers.

She's silent as she slips under the sheets next to me.

I wrap my arm around her and hum a sound of approval when she presses her gorgeous tits against my chest and starts kissing my neck.

I breathe deep, loving her strawberry shampoo like it's a hit of cocaine.

I rub my hand up and down her soft arm and wonder if she's naked.

I'm instantly rock hard at the thought of her sneaking into my room and slipping under my sheets, naked.

I've quickly become addicted to this woman and the way she touches me.

I've become addicted to touching her. I'm sure the indecent stares I give her at work are becoming more and more noticeable. And I can't find it in me to care.

But something in this moment feels wrong. Her touch isn't lighting up my body the way it normally does. Normally, when our skin makes contact, mine buzzes and tingles at the sensation. But her touch isn't causing the same reaction in this moment.

Just as I'm opening my eyes, Lacey mounts me. Except it's not my Lacey. It's Tracey.

In less than a heartbeat, I'm fully awake and losing my shit. I shove her off of me roughly, my dick deflating. She's stark fucking naked .

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

"I thought you wanted this...wanted me..." she whispers, her voice wavering with tears.

I should have felt bad, but I'm a heartless asshole. "Fuck no, I don't want you! I'm with your sister!" Shit. That was a secret. Technically, we're not even together, but I can't stand the idea that I might have cheated on her if I'd let things go longer.

She stands up, completely naked so I avert my eyes to the ceiling. Fuck, everything about this is wrong. I assumed she was going to get her clothes and leave after my staunch rejection, but then I feel tiny hands work their way up my chest.

"It's alright, Lacey and I can share."

I don't want to grab her and accidentally touch something inappropriate so I barrel forward, pushing her with my chest. "If you don't get the fuck out of my room right now, I swear to God I'm calling the cops. I should have you fired for sexual assault."

"But my sister would be upset," she coos in a sickly-sweet voice. "Don't worry, it'll be our little secret."

Christ, this woman can't take a hint.

"She probably would. Which makes her ten times the woman you'll ever be. Get. Your. Clothes. And. Get. The. Fuck. Out," I growl between gritted teeth. I'm not above punching a woman. So sue me.

She finally gets the hint and backs away. "You'd really let me fuck you thinking it was her? Have some Goddamn self-respect, woman!"

I finally look and see her in a hotel robe. She gives an easy shrug. "It's worked before."

"You're disgusting. "

She goes for the door, but my hand above her head slams it shut. She turns into my chest and purrs. "Changed your mind?"

"Fuck no, but I don't want anyone seeing you exit my room."

I'm not going to lie to her and pretend this never happened, but I can imagine the look of hurt and pain that would be on Lacey's face before I could explain if she saw Tracey leaving my room in the middle of the night without explanation.

I will never hurt my woman, even unintentionally, if I can avoid it.

I open the door and check the empty hallway. I have no idea what time it is, but I'm grateful it's empty.

"Maybe one of the others will be easier to convince," she says, her voice dripping with unrestrained jealousy as she walks past me into the hallway.

"If I find you sneaking into any one else's room, I swear to fuck I will have you fired and a restraining order on you so fucking fast your head will spin. Leave everyone else the fuck alone. You're lucky I like your sister as much as I do and am willing to let her decide your fate."

I slam the door a little too aggressively in her face.

My heart is racing at the simple idea that if I hadn't noticed my body's lack of a response, Tracey could have had her way with me.

I would have been raped, Lacey would never have forgiven me, and I'd have lost my only chance at a real family.

I might have lost her before I even really had her.

With shaking hands, I immediately grab my cell phone.

Me: Your sister just snuck into my room and my bed. Nothing happened, but I wanted you to know.

Lacey: Shit. I'm sorry. I should have told you about her .

I'm stunned. She should be pissed. She should be angry at me that I even let it get that far. I wouldn't blame her if she broke off everything. But she's apologizing.

Me: Why are you apologizing for your sister's shitty behavior?

Lacey: Because I should have warned you.

Me: It's happened before?

I watch the three blue dots appear and disappear.

Me: Come to my room.

The three blue dots appear and disappear again, before a moment later there's a soft knock on my door.

Lacey stands there, in light blue pajamas, looking sheepish. Her shoulders are curled inward, and her hands are clasped, her head down even as she looks up at me.

This is withdrawn, Lacey, and I fucking hate it. My Lacey is happy and fun and is comfortable and confident. The Lacey from our one night together shines so brightly it's almost hard to look at her. But you can't help but warm yourself in her sunshine.

"Hey, beautiful."

I want to ravage her. I want to pin her against the wall and fuck her brutally. I had thought that first night might have been too rough for her, but she took it all and thanked me for it after.

"Sit on the couch, real quick, darling. I'm going to go get Ben and Jonesy. I have a feeling they need to hear about this, too."

She gives a sad nod before I stomp out into the hallway and bang on their door. Thank fuck they'd started sharing a hotel room.

Ben opens the door, topless, wearing only grey sweatpants - a woman's kryptonite - hair disheveled, wiping sleep from his eyes. I smile, eager to see Lacey's face when I present her with her two other boyfriends, shirtless in sweats.

"'Sup, boss?" he says groggily.

"Get Jones and come to my room."

He nods before closing the door. I rejoin Lacey in my room and sit next to her on the couch, pulling her onto my lap.

I stroke my hand up and down her thigh. I don't have the words right now to comfort her, to bring back My Lacey.

The boys shuffle in, still clearly very much asleep.

"Sit down, boys. Earlier tonight, Tracey snuck into my room and crawled into my bed naked." I can feel Lacey wince with her entire body, her shoulders curling in even more, as if she could make herself smaller.

"Fuck, Lace, are you okay?" Ben says, kneeling next to her and taking her face in his hands.

She nods, but it's small.

"She didn't get far before I kicked her out, but she threatened to do the same to both of you. I just want you two to be aware." I pin Jonesy with a glare, letting him know I think he's the fuck up.

Ben runs a hand through his hair. "Lace, you've got to put a stop to this. Report her to the owner so, he fires her."

She shakes her head. "Look, I know she's an issue, but she's my sister. I don't want to get her fired, I just..." she trails off.

"She's done this before?" I ask Ben.

He nods. "Every time Lacey had a boyfriend before me, and after me, if I had to guess, Tracey would seduce him. Everything Lacey has, Tracey tries to take."

"Fuck, maybe I should file a sexual harassment complaint. "

Lacey turns to me and places a hand against my chest.

"You can't, please. I know she's got some sort of mental health issue going on, but she's my sister. I really just want to see her happy. And I think she genuinely likes doing the social media for the team. We just..."

She hangs her head, resigned.

"This is why you don't date," Jonesy says from the other couch. "Because the minute you have a boyfriend, she tries to steal him."

Jonesy's revelation hits me like a ton of bricks.

This is why she only wanted one night. Because she knew if her sister got wind of a relationship, she would try to seduce me.

And might have succeeded. Lacey doesn't know me well enough to trust me.

I haven't earned it, so she has no idea I would never cheat on her.

She was forced into this relationship because of an accidental pregnancy.

We've skipped all the normal steps of dating where I can woo her, earn her respect, earn her trust.

"And why you were so spooked when you ran into her as our new social media manager," Jonesy concludes, his voice interrupting my thoughts.

/"Is this true?" I ask Lacey, thumbing her chin and turning it towards me.

"Tracey doesn't just steal boyfriends, she steals everything. Jobs, hobbies, sports, her entire identity," Ben finishes. He's gone from confused to angry.

"But why?" I ask, glancing between Lacey and Ben. Clearly, there's a history here, but I can't quite put my finger on how two identical sisters could be so fucking different .

Lacey is the epitome of selflessly, caring, and grace. Tracey is selfish, mean and... just plain horrible.

Ben looks to Lacey... for permission, I think?

She gives a small, sad nod.

"They had a younger sister that was born with a rare genetic disorder.

A fatal one. Except it took years for Savannah to pass.

Long, painful years. Lacey harnessed her pain into taking care of her body and doing everything her sister never got the chance to.

Tracey used her pain to inflict more pain.

She started obsessing over Lacey and everything she did.

Honestly, I think that Savannah stole so much of their parents' attention because she was sick, that Tracey became starved of it, and felt the need to hoard it.

So any attention they gave Lacey, Tracey felt like she had to steal. "

I'm stunned. Lacey's been living a shadow of a life because every time she has something good in it, her sister has to steal it from her or ruin it in some way.

This is her demon.

She doesn't trust that anyone will choose her over her sister - will be faithful to her when her twin throws herself at them. And now she can't even feel safe in her job. A job that takes up the majority of her days. That's all sorts of fucked.

Fuck that. Now Lacey's got three men completely devoted to her. Or at least two, I'm still not 100% sold on Jonesy.

"I'm going to talk to the hotel to see if they have video surveillance of her sneaking into my room," I say.

Lacey's eyebrows shoot up in alarm. I shake my head.

"Just in case you change your mind. Lace, your peace is important to me.

And if Tracey's stopping you from feeling safe and secure, I won't hesitate to get rid of her. "

"It'll be your word against hers. The surveillance will show her sneaking into your room after hours with a key. Whose to say you didn't invite her?" Jonesy challenges.

I groan. I know Jonesy's right, but fuck it. Craig, the GM, and I have a solid relationship and would take my word over a new hire's every time.

"My word's enough."

"She lives in the apartment next to Lace's." It's Ben this time. "When we move you out we need to make sure she doesn't see us."

Lacey nods sadly, and curls up in my lap, resting her head on my bare chest. I hate that she's feeling small and sad, but I love holding her like this.

Even at five foot five, she's small compared to me, and I love how I can wrap both of my arms around her and protect her from her demons.

I just hadn't realized her demons were her twin sister.

"Stay with me tonight," I whisper into her hair.

We haven't gotten the chance to sit down and hash out everything with us and the other two - how this relationship, or multiple relationships will work.

I need to bring this up to Siobhan, too, so she's aware of the unusual situation we find ourselves in.

But tonight, I can feel Lacey's feeling hurt and vulnerable and the caveman in me is demanding to protect her, to protect what's mine.

I look to Ben and Jonesy. Not for their approval, per se, but to judge their reactions.

Ben's in love with her and not going anywhere.

Jonesy? Their relationship is something I haven't figured out yet.

But when I look at the soft look on his face, the feeling, the compassion I see there, I know he's in this too.

"The couch is a fold out?" I offer, not really sure why .

"Got it," Ben says, motioning for Jonesy to get up.

I usher an almost completely shut down Lacey into the bedroom, and leave the doors open as Ben and Jonesy argue about the fold out and sheets and what side of the bed they prefer.

I'm grateful they're willing to sleep on an uncomfortable fold-out for our girl.

Our girl.

Fuck that feels right. As I tuck a deathly quiet Lacey under the comforter and slide in behind her, holding her close to my chest, I realize that this woman is my family. This woman and those two knuckleheads out there are my family. And there's nothing I won't do to protect my family.