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Chapter Twenty-One

IZZIE

A fter the odyssey it took to get to the game, all I wanted to do was crawl into my hotel bed and watch TV until I passed out. Hence I declined Jackson’s polite offer to join him and other players at the hotel bar. Jane and Chad had other plans, obviously. I don’t expect Jane to return to our room tonight.

My eyelids are heavy and almost shut when someone knocks on my door. Thinking that perhaps Jane forgot her key and needs to grab something from the room, I get out of bed and open the door without looking through the peephole.

I get sprayed with a slimy substance that gets in my eyes, hair, nose—basically everywhere. “Take that, Lions loser!” the teenage fucker who sprayed me shouts, and then takes off with his friend.

Gone is my tiredness. I’m wide awake now and fucking pissed. “Come back here, you asshole!”

I rush out of the room and chase the guys down the hallway. They’re all wearing Vikings jerseys. The only explanation to why I was targeted is that they might have witnessed my altercation at the arena and are staying at this hotel. Maybe they saw me in the lobby and followed me here.

I’m in shape, but they’re tall with long legs, and they reach the elevator before I can catch up with them. Another accomplice is waiting, holding the elevator door open. They vanish inside, then the door closes. Not that I’d be dumb enough to get into a metal box with three punks. I don’t trust the few karate lessons I took as a kid.

“God dammit! I’m never coming back to this city.” I wipe goo from my face then walk back to my room.

When I try to open the door, it won’t budge. My stomach bottoms out. “No, no, no!”

I can’t believe I locked myself out of my room.

I’m covered in gunk and not wearing any shoes. My phone is inside, and I don’t know Chad’s room number. That’s probably a good thing. I really don’t want to interrupt him and Jane right now. My shoulders slump, and I let out a big exhale of resignation. I have to go down to the lobby and get another key. Joy.

I press the button to call the elevator and, while I wait, I use my PJ top to clean my face. There’s no hope for my hair. Only a shower will do. I’m in the process of wiping my cheeks with the bottom of my shirt when the elevator doors open. Unfortunately, it’s not empty. Promptly, I let go of my shirt and come face to face with Jackson, the only person inside. Of course he has to be the one to see me in this state.

“What happened to you?” he asks, sounding alarmed and amused at the same time.

“Some teen punks pranked me.”

“What?” His eyes bug out, then he steps halfway out of the elevator and keeps the door from shutting.

“Someone knocked, and this idiot here thought it was Jane and opened without checking first. I got sprayed with…” I gesture at myself. “I don’t even know what this is.”

The corners of his lips twitch upward. “Why are you walking around in your PJs like that though?”

My face becomes as hot as lava. “I ran after the teens and got locked out of my room. I was on my way to the lobby to get a new key.”

“You can’t go downstairs like that. Come on.” He gets into the elevator again and motions for me to follow him. “You can get cleaned up in my room, and then we’ll get you your key.”

I freeze. I’m not sure if it’s smart to go to Jackson’s room. Something changed between us after that night at his ranch. The air seems to crackle with electricity every time he’s near me. I’m attracted to him, there’s no denying it, and since my animosity toward him has decreased considerably, there’s nothing distracting me from these inconvenient feelings.

“Are you coming?” he asks.

“All right.” I walk in and stand in the opposite corner, and stare straight ahead.

I’m tense, but then Jackson says, amused, “I can’t believe you went after the teens who did that to you.”

“What was I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, but what were you planning to do to them if you caught them?”

“Maybe give them the ass-whopping their parents should have given them when they were younger.”

Jackson laughs. “Were those teens Vikings fans by any chance?”

I glare at him. “Yes. How did you know?”

He shakes his head. “Wild guess.”

I narrow my eyes. “Does shit like that happen to you often?”

He turns, and our eyes meet. “No. Come on. They wouldn’t dare pull something like that with me.”

I roll my eyes. “Why? Because you’re a hotshot hockey player?”

“No, because they would get their asses kicked if they tried.”

His gaze burns into mine, so hot that I begin to sweat. Great. I look away first and pretend to be very interested in the digital monitor showing the floors we speed by on the way to the top.

When the door finally opens, I exhale in relief.

“Ladies first,” he says.

I’d rather wait and follow him, but if I do, he’ll wonder why. I walk out first, and suddenly become very aware that my PJ pants are sort of see through, and I’m wearing granny panties. Fucking fantastic. Mercifully, Jackson doesn’t stay behind me. We walk side by side down the hallway, and with each step, my heart seems to beat faster.

“Is everyone on the team staying on this floor?”

“Yes. Why?”

“No reason. Just curious.”

“Chad’s room is next to mine,” Jackson says once he stops in front of his door.

“I hope you brought earplugs,” I reply without thinking, and when Jackson looks at me with an eyebrow raised, my face heats again. “Just saying.”

He laughs. “I brought them.”

He unlocks the door and walks in first this time. Maybe he wants to make sure there aren’t any compromising items on display. His room is a bigger than mine, with a king-size bed, a proper couch, and a coffee table close to the window. Jackson opens one of the drawers and grabs a T-shirt. “Here. You can change out of your PJ top.”

“Uh…”

He smirks. “Unless you prefer to walk around with slime all over you.”

I take his offering. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He sits on the couch and takes his cell phone out while I stand in the middle of his room, unsure what to do.

Jackson looks up and says, “You can use my bathroom to change, Izzie.”

I put my hands on my hips. “I wasn’t planning on taking my top off in front of you!”

“I sure hope not.”

My jaw drops. “Why do you sure hope not? What do you think this is? A seduction game?”

Now it’s his turn to open and close his mouth without saying a word. “That thought never crossed my mind,” he says finally.

Now my face is on fire. I’m regretting my outburst big time. “Can I use your shower? I want to wash the goo out of my hair before it solidifies.”

“Yes, of course. There are fresh towels in the bathroom.”

“Thanks.”

I hurry into the bathroom and lock the door. And just when I thought I couldn’t get more embarrassed, I glance at my reflection in the mirror. Son of a bitch . I look like a swamp monster. No wonder Jackson wasn’t even a little bit tempted to get a peepshow. I wouldn’t be either.