Page 9

ERIK

T houghts of Kayden swirled like a tornado through my mind for my entire week and a half away from the team.

Sure, he was a pain in the ass, but I was sure his claim that he would’ve done the same for any teammate was total bullshit.

For one thing, I saw the truth in his eyes.

Second, I heard it in his clipped words.

But Kayden Preston knew how to throw a monkey wrench into the works.

I learned that the hard way when I returned to the locker room while the team was still on the ice.

At the captain’s locker, I grabbed the lock, and twisted the knob back and forth, but the stupid thing wouldn’t budge.

So, I tried again.

Same problem.

I yanked a bunch of times, ready to yank it off, and then peered down at it. The lock in my hand didn’t belong to me. Oh yeah, it was black with white numbers, but this one boasted a slightly different design. Then I glanced down at the floor and found my lock with the latch cut.

My eyes panned to the left, and I found my clothes and equipment in a heap. Let’s face facts: whoever had done that had wanted me to see it.

I drew a deep breath and found my chest already heaving. I’d kept a cool head before, but now I was going to lose my mind.

Now that everything had sunk in, I felt hot all over. My hands balled into fists. I wanted Kayden in that locker room immediately, so I could lay into him for the bullshit he’d pulled.

But I wasn’t stupid. I would wait until after practice had ended and everyone had left—except for Kayden. He loved to pass that leader-leaves-last crap, but at least I would know where and when to find him.

Besides, I wanted him alone.

After practice, once everyone had showered and filed out, I found Kayden all by himself. My hands balled into fists again. What would I do with them? Nothing good, I decided. I would turn into a wild man like that big dope Kayden if I didn’t control myself, so I drew another deep breath.

He acted so casual, puttingg deodorant, styling gel, and a comb into his locker, like he’d done nothing wrong. Despite my attempt to stay cool, I marched straight up to him.

“Welcome back.” He spoke in an easy tone that would’ve sounded legit to a moron, but I knew better. Kayden Preston loved to rub things in, and no one could tell me he wasn’t doing that right now.

“Don’t give me any of that welcome back shit.”

He arched his eyebrows. “Well, well, well, don’t we sound a little testy?”

“Don’t fuck with me, Kayden. I’m warning you.”

“Such language. Back on the farm, your parents would’ve washed your mouth out with soap for talk like that, wouldn’t they?”

I gritted my teeth, trying hard to keep my fist from flying.

“You cut my lock off. Don’t deny it.”

He shrugged. “Of course I don’t deny it. Why would I?”

God, he was impossible.

“You waited until the second I was away with an injury to do that.”

“Not the split second. You were off at least a few days before I cut your lock off and put mine on.”

“And what gave you the right to do that?”

I heard the mounting animosity in my voice, but Kayden seemed unfazed, like nothing could rattle him. Deep down, he might’ve enjoyed seeing my nose out of joint.

“What gave you the right to put your lock on this locker in the first place? You knew better.”

“No, I didn’t. Let’s not even get into that dumbass debate. I didn’t cut anyone’s lock off. The locker was free. I just called first dibs on it.”

“First dibs or not, you had all the warnings in the world. I told you before your injury that you were supposed to have your lock off and your shit out. It didn’t happen.

When you think about it, I was generous.

A team leader can’t put up with disobedience like that.

But I made an exception for you. I guess I’ve got a bit of a soft spot. ”

Oh my God, could this guy get any more pompous?

I felt a headache coming on. I closed my eyes and touched my index and middle fingers to my temples.

If nothing else, Kayden would think he’d frustrated me, which was one hundred percent true.

You can’t show weakness in front of guys like Kayden, though.

Think of a shark smelling blood in the water.

“Help me out here,” I said, “I just can’t understand how a guy can go from being an asshole, to the guy that drove me home from the hospital, and then back to a piece of shit again.”

“Maybe I always was a piece of shit.”

Kayden paused, seeming aware of how stupid he sounded. Any other time, I would’ve taken the opportunity to pounce on him, pelting him with all the insults he could handle.

“None of this makes sense,” I said. “Why did you come to the hospital and make me think things were going to be okay between us if you were going to do this?”

“It’s your own fault, De Ruiter. I’ve told you a hundred times already not to take that hospital visit personally. You did it anyway. Whose fault is that?”

Okay, I really wanted to punch him now. Forget about what it would do to the face I’d admired so much.

He was driving me crazy. Whoever said “ this town ain’t big enough for both of us” had been right.

This was the hockey version of that. I realized that Kayden and I could never coexist on the same team.

“Look,” I said, “I’ve tried being the rational one from the start. Do I really need to take extreme measures?”

A huge shit-eating grin appeared on his face. Naturally.

“Like what?” he asked.

“Oh, I think you know.”

Kayden pointed to himself. His mouth dropped open like laughter was ready to pour out. Of course he found it funny. He was an idiot. Also, he could never take anything seriously.

“Look at you,” he said. “You’re all red in the face. You’re making fists. Pretty soon you’ll start shaking. Think you’re gonna do something to me? Oh, puh- lease . You can’t even finish the first period of an exhibition game without getting your ass kicked.”

“Trombley was playing dirty, and you know it.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that I had to come and rescue you.”

I would before it was all said and done. If that happened, I would lose, and not just because Kayden would win the argument. I would lose the war because I would’ve tried to make him see reason from the start and lose my head.

Despite the mounting tension, I noticed the hair hanging over his forehead. His emerald eyes still took my breath away. The whiteness of his teeth remained almost blinding. I noticed those dimples again and felt weak. I hadn’t taken those things in all at once before, and it overwhelmed me.

My breathing picked up, not from anger this time, but from that incredible sight. I’d tried holding back before, but part of me wanted to let go in the worst way.

“You didn’t have to rescue me,” I said. “I could’ve handled myself just fine, thank you.”

“I doubt you could’ve handled much while face down on the ice.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“No, you shut up.”

Kayden was asking for it.

My eyes shifted to his chest, which strained against his shirt, as if raring to burst free. Then my eyes returned to his, and I fell back into his trap. I couldn’t think about that. I shouldn’t . Kayden was off-limits. No matter what I told myself, I couldn’t stop.

“I swear to God, Kayden, if you don’t shut up, I’m going to?—”

“What are you going to do, De Ruiter? Go ahead and tell me. What are you going to do?”

I no longer stared into those eyes. Instead, they fixed themselves on my body, binding me, like they could control my every move.

And then it happened, the moment I snapped, and crossed the point of no return.

I lunged forward…or Kayden heaved himself toward me.

It all happened so fast I couldn’t tell for sure.

For all I knew, we’d done it simultaneously.

We fell into each other’s arms, our lips locking immediately. I thought again of a dam bursting and a deluge gushing through. Our mouths opened, my tongue slipping past his lips. His tongue lapped over mine. I tasted mint from his chewing gum as his stubble scratched my face.

Oh my God, his arms felt so powerful wrapped around me. My hands ran up and down his mighty back, and I pressed his body hard against mine, wanting to squeeze every drop of juice from the moment.

My eyes fell shut. For a second, it felt like falling, like I’d let go in the most freeing way possible. The entire world had vanished. In that moment, Kayden Preston and I were the only two people in existence.

And then we broke away from the kiss suddenly.

Kayden released me from his arms, and I nearly tumbled backwards.

Our eyes stayed fixed on one another. At first, I felt like I’d been awakened from a sweet dream.

Once reality set in, I felt stunned, not knowing what to say, and refused to admit how wonderful Kayden had made me feel.

For the first time, I saw fear in Kayden’s eyes. He looked like a deer in headlights.

“I…uh…I’ve gotta go.” He hurried toward the locker room door but didn’t run. That would’ve confirmed his fear. When I started noticing those things about Kayden, I hadn’t realized this would happen. I couldn’t have dreamed of the outright loss of control.

Maybe I should have.