Page 15 of Reputation (Toronto Royals #1)
Chapter Nine
Jax
Jax drew in a breath of the crisp, ozone-scented air from the refrigerated ice beneath his feet.
He felt the cold tease his nose and lungs; the smell making him feel at home as he warmed up.
Being in skates on an ice rink, inside or outside, had always come naturally to him, like it was part of his DNA.
Game day morning skates are the player’s time to get their head in the game and focus for the puck drop in ten hours.
Coaches join, but only in a casual capacity.
There are no new plays or drills on game day.
It’s the only time the players get to choose what they do.
Some will work pre-existing plays together.
Goaltenders do it to prepare their bodies, while others do it as a mental exercise to connect them to the ice.
For Jax, morning skate was about being with the boys—about connecting with each name transcribed onto the game sheet.
It’s about building a team mindset and checking everyone’s readiness for the upcoming game.
Today especially, with the excitement and pressures of the first regular season game aligning with the home opener, Jax made sure to chat with each player.
He tried to spend a good portion of morning skate with the rookies, in particular.
Over the hour and a half of open ice time, Jax skated around, wandering from player to group and back to player. He asked Hans Mueller, an off-season trade from the New Orleans Rougarou, how he was adjusting to the location change.
He worked on a few cross-ice passes with Patrick O’Toole, known as Patty-O, a rookie from Harvard University. He also watched the defensive pair Jean-Pierre and Sergei work with centers Josh Leo and Graham Halpert, called Big Tuna, on two-on-one rushes, commenting on the plays.
“Leo, don’t be afraid to fake a one-timer before tossing it to Big Tuna. JP’s a big guy, so you want to get him off balance,” Jax said, referring to Jean-Pierre. “Make him think you’ll throw one at the net so he drops to block. That’ll open the field for Leo to shoot it home.”
Finally, he worked with Alex Nordstrom and Mitchell, his first-line wingers, on plays that took them from the defensive zone through to the offense, throwing shot after shot at their goal-tender Marc MacDonald. They wanted to ensure he was well and truly warmed up for tonight’s game.
Following morning skate, the boys took their time showering and changing.
The locker room on game day was the central hub for hype, with music blaring from a communal playlist and chirps being thrown from one player to another.
From here, the group would slowly find their way to the team lounge, where the specialized chefs and dietitians served handcrafted meals that would fuel them for their game tonight, followed by a quick, players-only meeting.
After that, they would head home for a few hours of rest before they would be due back at the arena for tonight’s game.
Leaving the locker room, his hair freshly washed and slicked back by nothing but the residual moisture from his shower, Jax wandered down the curving hallway of the player level, accompanied by Scott Brown, Scottie, another defenseman and Mitchell.
“You guys see the new girl today?” asked Mitchell.
“Yeah, saw her on my way in. Dude, she’s so hot,” answered Scottie.
Jax’s hands turned into fists at his side, his usually calm temper flaring.
“Too bad she’s as cold as an ice rink. No wonder they called her the Ice Queen at the Heirs,” laughed Mitchell.
“Her name is Eavie,” Jax gritted out through clenched teeth. “And maybe she wouldn’t be so frosty to you if you spoke to her without hitting on her.”
“Whoa, someone’s pissy this morning,” Scottie countered.
“Know from experience?” Mitchell laughed. “We all saw you chatting with her yesterday, and she didn’t look happy. Does that mean you were hitting on her too?”
A hot rush of guilt pierced his gut as an image of her face yesterday popped into his mind. “All I’m saying is that she’s not here for you to ogle like an object. She’s part of this team and deserves some respect,” he said.
The irony of his words wasn’t lost on him. He also knew that he wasted his breath. He’d heard the comments about her floating around the locker room since she’d joined the team.
The second Jax entered the lounge, his eyes instantly went to her.
Her presence was unexpected, and yet he was so fucking happy to see her.
She stood in front of the many chafing dishes, chatting with Mandy as she reached forward and scooped food onto her plate, the tight fit of her pants stretching over her perfect, perky ass.
“So much for not ogling her,” Mitchell snickered behind him.
“Fuck off,” Jax growled, only inciting more laughter from them both as they wandered to get food.
Something about her being here felt right. He couldn’t deny she was a beauty. A rose within the sea of ragged, smelly men. He told himself acknowledging that wasn’t as crass as calling her hot. Honestly, that didn’t even begin to describe her.
Today, she was dressed in Royals’ colors—dressed in his colors. The idea called to something primal within him. Seeing her wear his team colors was sexy as hell.
As he scanned her outfit, he followed the trail of her back, down her hips, ass, and legs, all perfectly outlined in her fitted pants. He was reminded once again of how long they were. They were built to be wrapped around a man while he pounded into her.
Jesus . That thought sent his rushing blood straight south, and he could feel himself hardening at the image of those legs wrapped around him while he did just that. He snapped his gaze back up before his quickly hardening cock became visible through his jeans.
She must have felt his heated stare because she glanced over her shoulder a heartbeat later, her cool blue gaze zeroing in on him. When their eyes connected, he saw a flash of crystallized heat in hers, and he knew exactly where her mind had gone.
He released the full effect of his smile on her, adding a wink he knew would stoke her fire. Unfortunately, her eyes quickly turned icy, but not before he saw that mesmerizing blush spread up her neck.
Perhaps that wasn’t the best idea, based on the biting look, but at least he knew she wasn’t completely unaffected by him.
Smiling grimly to himself, he took one last perusal of her figure from behind before he headed toward one of the tables.
He approached where Graham, Brooks, Alex and Luke lounged, half-eaten plates of food in front of them.
Pulling out a chair, he picked up their conversation about tonight’s game and the morning skate they had just come from.
“I think the strategy is sound, pairing our second line to the Volts’ third. The line is weaker for them, but we have strength spread across all of ours,” Brooks said.
“You don’t think it leaves a weak spot in our top line,” commented Alex, “putting our stronger defensive pair on the third line?”
“Jax,” Luke, another winger, said as he sat down, “What’s your take on the roster for tonight’s game?”
“The coaches have been studying the lines all summer. I took part in some of the meetings. Theoretically, the strategy provides strength and opportunity in all lines. I think it’s worth a shot, but Coach isn’t afraid to make adjustments mid-game if necessary,” he finished.
They moved on to other conversations as Jax caught sight of Eavie again out of the corner of his eye. She was still chatting with Mandy in line, and as he watched, Patty walked up behind her, drawing both their attention.
Monitoring the interaction, he saw Patty looked nervous as he spoke to her.
He figured the kid was taking a shot at asking her out—that newly drafted, young professional hockey player attitude making him think women would throw themselves at the chance to date a pro athlete.
He wasn’t wrong. It happened to all of them.
Still, he didn’t enjoy seeing it happen to her.
“Is that Patty talking to Eavie?” Alex asked when he noticed Jax watching the two, his question drawing the table’s attention to the pair.
“Do you think he’s making a pass at her?” Brooks asked.
“Poor kid, he doesn’t stand a chance,” Graham said mockingly.
“For fuck’s sake,” Jax muttered to himself.
He’d known his scolding to Mitchell and Scott had been a waste of breath, but he didn’t like having to repeat this conversation.
“None of you stand a chance with her,” he shot back, giving the three of them a hard stare before returning his attention to Eavie.
He heard Luke laugh beside him at the hurt expressions on their faces. Married for eight years, Luke was one of a few on the team Jax could take comfort in knowing wouldn’t be constantly lusting after her.
Irritatingly, Eavie chatted happily with Patty, her smile sweet as she spoke with him. A hot, thick rush of possessiveness churned in his belly. He wanted to march over there and demand she only smile at him like that.
Jax, not normally the jealous type, was rocked by the urge. He had never found a woman who sparked such a feeling in him, not even when his ex-fiancée announced her engagement to someone else. Eavie, it seemed, brought a possessiveness to him that he hadn’t known he had.
The ache in his knuckles registered in his brain. Both hands were clenched into fists, the hold so tight that the skin had turned white. He consciously tried to relax them. Smoothing them out on the table, he used the cool surface to ease his unnatural temper.
Only when Patty began to walk away did Jax exhale, releasing a gust of rage with it.
Despite his blood pressure dropping several millimeters, he continued watching as she and Mandy approached a table. While the jealousy within him had lessened with the growing distance, Jax could still feel it humming low beneath his skin, ready to strike and claim her.
With a frown marring his face, he looked away and rolled his shoulders, trying to release some of the tension that had built up there. The last thing he needed tonight was strained ligaments.
What was it about this woman? He wanted her, but more than that, she caused a possessive side to roar to life like an awakening lion who’d spotted a mate.
Contemplating this change in himself, he mulled over what he was going to do regarding Eavie. There was something there—something special worth pursuing. He just needed to convince her of that.