Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
AIDAN
"Are you ready?" I looked Elenna up and down, drinking her in with my eyes.
As long as I lived, I may never truly believe she belonged to me. She was so fucking gorgeous she made my breath catch in my throat. I wanted to rip her clothes off and fuck her harder than I’ve ever fucked her before. There would be time for that later.
If she didn't keep looking at me like I had a gun to Orion's head.
"You still haven't told me what we're doing." She pulled her hair up in a ponytail and tied it back with a black hair band.
"It's a surprise," I said. "Can I not have a date with my wife? I thought you'd enjoy seeing more of Opal Springs."
"Have any of your contacts heard back from Nicholas or Celine?" she asked. Blunt as ever.
"No," I said. "As far as I know, the message hasn't got to them yet."
"Or it has and they're going to step through the door and kill him the moment we leave the hotel." Her mouth was set in an unhappy line.
"They won't," I said. "Not in a hotel full of Demons, each of whom knows how to use a gun.
" They didn't know exactly what might come, but they were always ready for something.
Some of them came from backgrounds more violent than mine.
Phoenix, in particular. If anyone was ready to deal with an attack, it was Phoenix DiMarco. Not to mention Finley.
"We won't be going far," I added. "It's just across the road."
"I might have to explain the meaning of sightseeing," she said dryly. "The hockey arena is across the road. We saw that already."
"Part of it." I held out my hand. For a moment, I didn't think she'd take it.
She was pissed at me about Orion, with good reason.
Things could very easily go sideways. I'd make sure they didn't. This was going to go exactly how I planned.
When I was done, Nicholas and Celine would be off our backs.
Permanently. Elenna could breathe easy after that.
That was the only thing I cared about. The only thing in this world that mattered.
Finally, she slipped her hand into mine and we stepped out of the hotel room. Finley and Orion were with the rest of the team, drinking and commiserating. Tomorrow, we'd watch the game over and over again and figure out exactly where things went wrong.
By that, I mean the way they plays we'd practised a thousand times before didn't come off the way they should.
The opposition had our measure from puck drop to the end, anticipating our moves better than we anticipated theirs.
We'd have to work on different plays for the next time we played the Ghouls.
Not to mention working on better understanding theirs and being more flexible.
We'd tweak and practice and next time we'd win.
I led Elenna across the road, to a door on the side of the arena. One of the staff let us in, nodded and waved us past before closing and locking the door behind us.
"If you're planning a fuck in the locker room—" she started.
"I thought that might come later." Her hands still in mine, I led her across a reception space and through a set of glass doors.
We pushed into the rink where we’d just been beaten by the Ghouls. Only some of the lights were on, illuminating the ice. Soft music drifted from speakers in the ceiling.
"This is so nice, but if you think I'm going to forget—"
I pulled her to me and kissed her mouth.
"For an hour or two," I said finally. "We're not going to think about anyone but you and me.
" Sharing her with two other men was worth it if she was happy, but this time was for us only.
I didn't want anyone else in her head, or her body, but me.
I would dominate her thoughts until I took her back to our hotel.
She sighed. "Fine. You and me and that's it. But just for now."
I gripped her chin hard enough to leave a bruise. "Do I need to remind you who you belong to? Me. You will put them out of your mind." I kissed her again, then led her over to chairs where skates already waited for us to put on.
"You know I've only skated once or twice, right?" she asked.
"I was with you both of those times," I said. "Did I let you fall? I won't let you fall now." I'd sooner rip off my own eyelids with a pair of pliers than let her get hurt.
She let me draw her to her feet and help her over to the ice. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to my body. Holding her like that, I began to skate slowly.
"Isn't this nice?" I nestled my face into her hair.
"It is," she admitted. "I just—"
I tightened my hold on her. "Later." I wasn't above punishing her if she didn't let it go for a while.
We'd both enjoy it. I'd make sure there was no one near to hear or see us.
The rink was outside, but protected by walls on all four sides.
If I exposed her ass to the cold air, she'd think again about disobeying me.
My cock was now half hard and pressed against her hip.
She finally relaxed into me. "Do you miss this? Skating. Playing. Shoving other players out of the way?"
"I can still do all of those things," I said. "Not as much as I used to. I miss it, but I like what I'm doing. The Demons are improving. Before long, they'll be dominating."
"What then?" she asked. "What do you do when you reach the top? Where will you go from there?"
"I stay on top." I cupped one of her breasts. "What other choice is there? There's only one way I'm going down." I let my other hand drift to the front of her jeans.
"You wouldn't consider coaching a different team?" Her body trembled lightly under my touch. "One that isn't playing at their best, that you can work with?"
"I'd consider it," I admitted. "There are a lot of factors to consider. Pulling you out of your life in Dusk Bay, for one thing."
It wasn't a matter of whether she wanted to go or not.
If I decided to move us, then she'd move with me.
Even if I had to tie her up and carry her there myself.
Nothing would make me leave her behind. Not that she'd consider staying when I was leaving.
She belonged to me. Wherever I went, she went.
She'd promised me that. I'd hold her to it until the day one of us was dead.
"Yeah," she said softly. I suspected Finley and Orion crossed her mind, but she had the sense not to mention them now. Shame, I was looking forward to baring her ass to the cold.
"That's a long way off," I said. "I intend to make champions out of the Demons and keep them there. Every player in the country, in the world, will want to come and play for us. We'll be fighting them off."
"Literally," she said with a faint laugh. "Things could get ugly."
I kissed her hair. "Things are always ugly. It's what we choose to do with them that matters."
"That's true," she said. "Or we can put on romantic music and pretend nothing is wrong."
I turned her around and pushed her back against the boards so quickly she barely had time to blink.
She gasped out a breath. The sound went straight to my cock.
I gripped a handful of hair and tugged her head back. "I didn't say nothing was wrong," I growled. "I wanted time alone with you. That's not a fucking crime."
"You're going to let them kill Orion for what I did," she said. "For what we did. You want me to pretend that's not going to happen? I can't." Her eyes glistened.
I wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and strangle him for being inside her head right now. Instead, I wrapped my hand around hers.
"I thought you trusted me," I said, my voice dangerously low. "I thought we understood each other. You know everything I do is for you. Don't you?" I squeezed a little tighter. "Don't you?"
"This isn't about me," she said. "This is about taking responsibility for something that had nothing to do with him."
"Do you think he would have hesitated to pull the trigger if he was there?
" I asked. "He would have killed Oscar for you.
I would have." I fucking should have. She thought I didn't notice how often she washed her hands.
How she flinched at the sight of raw meat.
I should have killed the little prick to save her from the anxiety.
"He wasn't there, and he didn't," she argued. "I did. If anyone's to blame, it's—"
"Me," I finished for her. "It's me and I'm going to fix this." I let her go and skated back a few steps. "I promise you that. I will fix this." I ran a hand over my hair and glanced around. "I'll fix this and none of us will die."
She frowned at me. "But you said…"
"I said I'll make sure the Fiorellis blame Orion," I said evenly. "I never said I'd let them kill him. You really think I’m that much of an asshole? That I wouldn't have some kind of plan to make this work in our favour?" I saw from the expression on her face that she did think exactly that.
"Aidan…" She put out a hand.
I shook my head. "You think I'm some kind of monster?" I regarded her evenly.
"Of course I don't," she said.
I skated back and pressed my body against hers, pushing her hard against the side of the rink.
"You should," I said softly. "Because I am. But you, you're my whole world and I’ll fucking destroy anyone who tries to take anything away from you. Including myself."
I leaned forward and inhaled the scent of her. I buried my face in her hair and took a moment to regain my composure.
"I love you," I said, my voice low, choked with emotion.
Love wasn't something I was used to experiencing.
Not as intense and all-encompassing as this.
There was nothing in this world I wouldn't do for her, no line I wouldn't cross.
I'd rip apart everyone on the face of the planet if she needed me to. With my bare hands, if necessary.
"I love you too," she whispered. "But I'm very tempted to kick you in the nuts for letting me assume you were planning to let Orion go to his death."
"I'm used to telling people what to do and having them do it," I said. "Answering to someone else is new to me. I don't intend to start doing it for anyone but you."