Chapter 40
40
Hudson
The crowd is deafening tonight.
Even though it’s an away game, a sea of screaming fans wave Redville Saints flags and chant my name.
I skate across the ice, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I’ve been in the zone all night—every pass, every play, every shot landing exactly where they needed to go.
And now, with the clock winding down and the fact that we are ahead by three, I know the game is in the bag.
The puck drops into the offensive zone, and I charge forward, my skates cutting sharply into the ice. Aiden sends a perfect pass my way, and I don’t hesitate to snap the puck toward the goal. It sails past the goalie’s glove, slamming into the back of the net.
The arena erupts into complete chaos.
I raise my arms, roaring triumphantly as my teammates swarm me, slamming their sticks against my pads and shouting in celebration. The final buzzer sounds, and it’s official.
We won.
Once we break away, I head out to leave the ice, grinning so hard my cheeks hurt.
This is the best.
I love this feeling.
The electricity in the air. The roar of the crowd.
Best. Feeling. Ever.
Once we’re in the locker room, the party starts.
Someone dumps a bucket of water on my head—ice-cold water.
Aiden sprays champagne onto Mason, who retaliates by dumping a cooler of ice water over him.
I shake off the water clinging to my hair and look up. Dane leans against the wall, shaking his head with a rare smile.
“You’re welcome, boys,” I call out, smirking as I peel off my gloves.
Mason rolls his eyes, grinning. “Oh, we’re supposed to thank you for doing your job now?”
Aiden laughs, slapping me on the back. “Let him take the win. The guy’s been on fire all night.”
“Damn right,” I say.
Dane snorts. “You’re unbearable when you’re like this.”
“Yet,” I reply, grabbing a bottle of water and chugging half of it, “you love me anyway.”
Everyone loses their shit.
The guys roar with laughter, and even though I should be celebrating, I can’t help but wonder where Molly is.
It’s a compulsion.
The need to seek her out is all-consuming. I try to stop myself, but I can’t.
When did I become so obsessed with her?
After the charity event?
Dinner with my family?
Most likely, it’s everything in between. All the little moments.
In the past, I would have ignored this voice telling me to go find her, but I can’t stop myself any longer. I don’t know what’s happening to me.
I don’t recognize this version of me.
I step outside the locker room, not able to hold back another second. It’s much quieter out here. Everyone is too busy celebrating inside.
A small crowd has formed, but it’s nothing like what’s going on inside. I start to make my way through the people milling about.
Luckily, no one stops me as I head to seek her out. I find her relatively fast. She’s standing at the far end of the hallway, leaning against the wall, scrolling through her phone.
“Anything interesting on that thing?” I ask once I’m near.
She doesn’t look up, but her lip twitches. “Just some story about a hotshot scoring a goal.”
“Oh, really?” I can’t help the cocky grin pulling at the edges of my lips. I am a hotshot. Glad she knows it. “And who is this hotshot?”
“No one you know, Wilde.”
Although her words are sarcastic, there’s no hate in her voice. Unlike back then, her barbs are light and airy.
I don’t answer.
Instead, I take her wrist and gently tug her down the hallway, away from the prying eyes of the media and staff. I don’t need another Redville Post headline accusing me of debauchery.
“What are you doing?” Molly stumbles slightly as she tries to keep up with me. “Where are we going? Someone might see us.”
“No one’s looking, Hex.”
I make a left and head down one of the back hallways, then I turn another corner. This place is a maze, but right now, I welcome it.
In the corner, outside a closet, is a stack of crates holding equipment.
I glance around, confirming we’re alone. “This will have to do.”
She furrows her brows. “What will have to do?”
I maneuver us so we’re hidden out of sight.
Once we’re blocked by the walls, I turn to face her. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Her eyes widen at my admission, she looks stunned.
Her lips twitch into a grin.
Reckless Molly is coming out to play.
Molly flips her hair over her shoulder. “Let me get this straight . . . you just won your game, and you’re thinking about me?”
“Yeah.” I move closer, my fingers toying with the edge of her shirt. “That’s right.”
Molly opens her mouth, most likely to fire back a witty rebuttal, but whatever she’s about to say dies on her lips the moment I cup her cheeks and bring my mouth to hers.
The kiss isn’t soft or gentle.
It’s filled with want and desire. Fueled by weeks— years —of tension.
Molly’s fingers clutch the front of my shirt, pulling me closer yet pushing me away at the same time.
This woman is one big contradiction.
But as long as she kisses me back, I don’t care.
She freezes for half a second.
A sound penetrates my ears. Footsteps, maybe. But I don’t care. I’m lost in this woman. All that matters is how she feels. How she tastes. The world could implode, and I wouldn’t fucking care.
“Hudson?” It’s Mason. The fucker has the worst timing on the planet. “You back here?”
Shit.
Molly jerks back like she’s been electrocuted.
Her hands press against my chest to create space between us, but I don’t budge. Her breath hitches, and for a split second, she looks as rattled as I feel.
I don’t let her get far.
I cage her in without thinking, one hand braced against the wall beside her, the other curling loosely around her waist.
My heart slams in my chest, hammering against my ribs like it’s trying to escape.
I look down at Molly. Her eyes are wide, and her cheeks are flush, pink streaking up from her neck to the tips of her ears.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to kiss her again, Mason be damned.
She sucks in a breath, her chest rising and falling against mine. Her lips are still parted, still red. Still mine.
I lift my finger to my mouth to signal for her to be quiet.
She shoots me a look, her brows furrowed like I’m somehow the one to blame for this chaos. Her gaze darts around the room, scanning for an escape route, but there’s nowhere to go.
I dip my head down until my lips brush the shell of her ear. Close enough that my words don’t carry, and I feel her shiver. “Relax, Hex.”
“This is a disaster.”
“I know.” I smirk, the corner of my mouth twitching. “We didn’t even get to the best part.”
She tries and fails to glare at me, her eyes narrowing, but her cheeks still flushed. “Not what I was talking about.”
“Was it?”
“You’re impossible,” she whispers, her tone still breathless from the kiss.
“Yet you kissed me back,” I say with a grin, dropping my voice just enough to make her blush harder.
Before she can snap back, Mason’s voice echoes closer, loud and annoyed. “Hudson, come on, man.” He sounds like he’s shouting into the void—unaware I’m here but banking on the slim chance that I can somehow hear him. “Coach wants us to talk to the media. You don’t want to keep him waiting.”
Shit.
That is one thing I can’t afford to do.
Mason continues to shout the same thing over, his voice growing further away this time. I can imagine him dipping from room to room, sweeping the place for me. Not for nothing, he’s a killer friend.
I sigh, stepping back from Molly, but I don’t let go of her gaze. She’s still standing there, her lips slightly parted, her cheeks flushed, and I’m not sure which one of us looks more wrecked.
My eyes locked on hers. “We’ll finish this later.”
“You wish,” she retorts, but the words lack heat. Her gaze betrays her, lingering just a little too long on my mouth before darting away.
I grin, tilting my head as I take another step back like I’m giving her space, but we both know it’s not enough. “Keep telling yourself that.”
She scoffs, crossing her arms like she’s trying to regain some kind of upper hand, but I don’t miss the way she swallows hard.
Mason’s voice echoes one last time, distant now. “Hudson Whatever-The-Fuck-Your-Middle-Name-Is Wilde. If you’re screwing around somewhere, Coach is gonna bench your ass.”
I shoot Molly one last look, a silent promise hanging in the air between us.
We will finish this.
It’s just a question of when.
And judging by the way her eyes flick to mine and hold there for just a second longer, she knows it, too.