Chapter 3
CONNOR
Roughly, I pull across the curtain dividing the plane and step into Shawn’s space.
“What the hell was that back there?” I grit out at my teammate.
His mouth curves. “I was just talking with Hadley, because I bet that dancer knows how to bend and—”
“Shut the fuck up.” I grab his shirt near the collar from pure instinct. “Stay away from her,” I nearly snarl, and I hate that I care.
Shawn squints his eyes before he smirks. “Oh yeah, someone mentioned you get a little crazy when it involves her. You should seal that deal, Con. She’s sports dynasty, hot as hell, and flexible, the kind of woman that I’m sure my dick would thoroughly enjoy.”
I push him against the side of a seat, enraged somewhere inside of me.
“Say that again and I will gladly break something, since we don’t need your arm during the off-season.
” Shawn just chuckles. “Listen, it was your first season with us, but everyone knows to leave her alone. It’s a team rule,” I attempt to rationalize, and I roll my shoulder back.
He raises a brow. “You mean your rule, and everyone just follows because they’re too scared of who your daddy and uncle are.”
I tighten my grip on his shirt. “Think whatever the hell you want, I’ll gladly prove you wrong.”
“Whatever, Connor. She’s an adult, and from what I hear, she hates your guts, so let me just walk back in there and offer her a drink.” Christ, this dude is pushing me. I always thought he was half-decent, but now he’s just irritating me to the max.
Before I can shoot off another warning, the curtain slides open in one abrupt swoosh, and our eyes land on Hadley who is leaning against the divider with her hand over her head and hip tipped out, and her tits are perked up because of her dress.
Well, this is just agony; she looks like a pinup girl full of sass.
My dick stirs against the zipper of my jeans, knowing her pissed-off look is for me, and that’s just exciting.
She throws an overdone smile at Shawn. “Do you mind giving your teammate and me a moment?”
Shawn looks between us and chuckles. “Sure. Body shots later?”
My muscles clench from every word this guy directs toward her.
Hadley smiles tightly. “Maybe.”
With my teammate walking past her, and I’m sure as hell confident he purposely brushes against her shoulder in passing, Hadley steps into my space, and in one movement, closes the curtain again before her hand returns to her hip with her dark blue nails tapping the curve of her waist.
But I’ve been here before with her, and it’s on.
“You’re breaking the rules, Hadley,” I chide as my eyes transfix on her face that doesn’t move an inch.
“Ah yes, your imaginary rules that you believe I follow,” she muses.
I wave my long finger side to side. “Staying away from one another is about the only thing we agree on, so why are you here?”
She steps forward and stands tall to appear unaffected by me.
“To enjoy your pleasant holier-than-thou company, of course.” Sarcasm suits her, damn it.
“Unlike you, your teammates and my best friend find me a little more than tolerable, so here I am, because I don’t give a rat’s ass if you care or not. ” There is a little bite to her tone.
“Feisty Hadley, lucky me,” I mock.
Her mouth changes shape to a sultry look. “Someone will be lucky. I didn’t even offer yet, but I may let Shawn trace the spot of my new tattoo with his tongue,” she rasps.
Willpower.
It’s taking a ton of willpower not to snap right now. She’s riling me up because she seems to think I’m affected, and she can’t know her theory is true.
But I’ll play her little game. I pretend to look at my watch. “You should send him my way if he needs directions, considering we both know that my tongue and hands are far too familiar with your body.”
“And don’t I regret it,” she snipes.
In a flash, I step forward and trap her between the side of a vacant seat and my body, our breaths mingle, and her chin rises from surprise.
My head lolls to the side gently, and if I were to move an inch, then her mouth would be mine.
“Trust me, I’m honored that you gave me your V-card.
” I pretend to be touched because she can never know the real truth.
Two palms land against my chest because I delivered a low blow, even I know that. Trust me, I’m already disgusted with myself.
“Don’t dredge up our past mistakes,” Hadley seethes, and I notice the rhythm of her chest moving while her scornful gaze feels like fire on me. “You’re the biggest asshole on this plane.”
“Big and me do go hand in hand,” I taunt.
She growls. “Your ego is a piece of work, and your arrogant tendencies aren’t the least bit refreshing.
Anything but original, actually. This is how this is going to go, Connor.
You’ll let me drink, dance, play blackjack, and do whatever the hell I want in peace.
Watch all you want, because we both know you’re like a child upset that his toy got taken away. ”
A deep chuckle roars in the back of my throat. “You’re a toy now?”
Hadley shakes her head, clearly exasperated. She looks away then back to me, with her eyes softening. “Insufferable, that’s what you are.” For a second, I hear sadness in her tone, and I nearly falter because I do actually hate that she was hurt and it’s my doing.
But I stay strong.
When she pivots to leave, I grab her arm, and she looks down then draws her sight up. “Just… not Shawn. He’s bad news.” My voice grows delicate, because as much as we’re one another’s despair, a protectiveness that I have no right to feel hits me when she’s around.
She scoffs a sound. “No, Connor… you’re bad news, and I swear, if I had it in me, then I would find a way to destroy you.
” It takes me a moment to digest her honesty, but then she snickers and walks a step before glancing over her shoulder.
“I’ll be sure to ask you to pass the salt when I decide to do body shots with your teammate. ”
She turns her back and leaves, so maybe she doesn’t hear my growl. She’s impossible, agonizing, and beautiful when she snarls.
Having her on this trip, not my choice, is the work of the devil. That’s the only thing I can come up with when I decide another scotch is calling my name.
That was a near excruciating flight, but luckily, other than a few drinks, everyone kept it steady, as we all know we have a long night ahead.
Now we are in Vegas, and I’m sitting on the sofa in the luxurious penthouse that we rented, complete with a rooftop pool.
After checking into the hotel and freshening up, we got straight into the celebratory mood.
I’m sitting on a sofa, overlooking the Vegas skyline as the sun hangs low to the west.
My friend and teammate, Briggs Chase, hands me a fresh drink with a grin. “God, I’m having a good time. No Vaughn Madden in sight.” That’s his archnemesis on the ice, the guy who got Briggs a ten-minute misconduct penalty during our game with Tampa.
“You’re still going on about that? He is actually quite a good guy off the ice.” Briggs gives me a death stare, and I give up.
He tips his nose in Hadley’s direction. “You going to survive?”
I stare into the presumably gin and tonic that he placed in my hands. “Always do. I’m feeling lucky tonight. Let’s head straight to the blackjack table when we head down.”
He feigns a sound of doubt. “I don’t know, man, can’t be late for the strippers.”
I scoff. “I’ll take a hard pass.”
Briggs raises his brows at me. “Why? Because you want to stick around to deter Shawn from getting his own private show from a certain dancer?”
“Fuck that. She isn’t my problem.” I hate that there is frustration in my voice.
Choosing to ignore the giggles of the girls in our group, lining up shots near the snack buffet, I know the daggers I feel on my back can only be coming from one person on this trip.
I don’t dare search for her with my eyes. Not when my mind is replaying how this all started a few years ago.
Glaring at my mother, I’m not impressed with this set-up as she sits by my side in the theater while we wait for the show to start. “Why the hell am I here again?” I ask her.
She adjusts her sunglasses resting on the top of her hair framing her face. “Because we are neighbors and friends. Everyone on our street supports one another. We go to Hudson’s football games, everyone comes to your hockey games, and now we are here for Spencer and April and for their daughter.”
“I come home for the weekend, and you have me watching little kids in tutus.” I’m very unimpressed.
My mother leans in. “If you stay in our house for the weekend, then you follow our rules,” she chides.
“I’ll go stay at the Dizzy Duck Inn,” I counter.
Her frown informs me that she isn’t having it. “You can suck it up for an hour or two. Besides, you missed Hadley’s eighteenth birthday party.” She stresses the word eighteenth.
“And?” It comes out flat. She’s the neighbor who has crushed on me for years.
Sure, I’ve noticed that she’s no longer a little girl.
Instead, she’s easy on the eyes, and I’ve done my damnedest to block her out of my head when she shows up to any family gathering or party I used to throw at my parents’ house.
The lights flicker, indicating that the show is about to start. I lean in to whisper to my mother, “This is my chance to escape.”
She grips my arm, preventing me from standing. “No, you won’t.”