Page 35 of Pucking the Team

“She doesn’t know what she wants,” Steven spat.

“You’re wrong there.” Ben mimicked his brother’s stance. “Pippa is very much an independent woman who knows exactly what she wants.”

“So you can go now,” Eduardo said, his dark eyes set on mine. “And you’ll never come back. You’ll accept it’s over. Pippa is not yours, and she belongs to herself. She makes decisions for herself.” He squeezed a little more, and a strange choking sound came from Steven. He dragged harder at Eduardo’s arm.

“Got it?” Theo said coolly as though a man wasn’t being half strangled in front of him.

“Urgh…yeah…yeah…” Steven attempted to nod.

“And if you forget it,” Ben said, “you’ll have us to deal with. All four of us.”

In a rush of movement, Eduardo released Steven, giving him a hard push for good measure.

Steven was catapulted toward a topiary tree which bent as it caught him and shed a flurry of tiny leaves. He battled to stay upright and then spun around, gasping for breath and with the bush still shivering behind him.

Staggering back onto the path, he straightened his t-shirt and brushed a twig from his shoulder. Once again he scraped his hand through his hair, an action I was now finding distinctly irritating.

“You all!” he said, his voice hoarse. “Do not know who you are dealing with.”

“No.” Theo stepped up to him, his shoulders almost twice as wide as Steven’s and his biceps bulging around his Vipers t-shirt. “Youhave no idea who you’re dealing with, buddy, because we’re a team, a winning team, and once we’ve decided to do something, we won’t fail. And if that means coming for you, so be it.”

Steven glared at Theo with more guts than I thought he would.

Then Theo let out a low growling sound that was more animal than man, and he rounded his shoulders and balled his fists, stepping closer to Steven. The handsome hockey player with a winning smile had turned into something else entirely. “You got something else to say, asshole?”

“Fuck, okay.” Steven held up his palms. “So she’s got herself a security team. You said you didn’t like all that shit, Pippa, said you didn’t need it.”

“I don’t.” I tipped my chin.

“We’re her new friends,” Theo snarled. “And friends look out for each other.”

Steven stepped away and frowned, something he generally avoided because he was worried about brow linesforming. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a key fob. “Can’t say I didn’t try to save you from yourself, Pippa. Not marrying me is the worst mistake of your life.” He pointed the key at the Mercedes, and it flashed to life. “But you’ve made your bed, go lie on it and hope it’s not made of nails, huh, because it might be.”

He moved away from Theo and toward the car, his leather shoes clicking on the pavement.

“Just go,” I shouted after him. “And don’t ever try and find me again.”

He pulled open the door. “I won’t need to.” He gave a nasty smile that appeared almost demonic with the streetlight shining down on his face. “Because when I tellOKAYhow you left me standing at the altar, how you ran away from all of our family and friends without a word, they’ll paint you to be a spoilt, entitled bitch, and that will be sweet enough revenge for me.” He dropped into the car and slammed the door.

“You fucking asshole.” I burst forward. “I hope Cheryl chokes on your dick and you suffocate in her tits.” I banged my fist on the bonnet as it roared to life. “You’re lowlife scum, Steven Paya. Lowlife scum.”

“Hey. Watch it!” Dylan wrapped his arms around me again and pulled me backward with considerable force.

It was just in time because Steven raced off in a spin of rubber and a blast of exhaust. He would have got at least one of my feet under his wide wheel if Dylan hadn’t scooped me up.

“Bastard!” I shouted after him.

For a moment I had the urge to chase him, shout more expletives, tell him exactly what I’d do to him if he went to the press, if he sold the story spinning it so I was the baddie. But then both of Dylan’s arms tightened, and I was wrapped against him, my back to his warm chest, and he pressed his cheek to mine.

“Hey,” he said. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

My heart was thudding, my mouth dry, and emotions were blustering through me at ninety miles an hour.

Dylan seemed to sense this because he stooped a little, and I felt cocooned in his calm strength. He was holding me together. “He’ll never bother you again, Pip. He’ll never hurt you again. We won’t let him.”

Despite me barely knowing Dylan, I found that his words were like a balm, and I blew out a breath, trying to release some tension. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t my finest moment.”

“Consider it adefiningmoment,” Dylan said onto my temple, his breath warm. “The end of one life and the start of another, and I bet this new life is gonna be heaps more fun.”