7. Sam
7
SAM
Sam
I ’ve won championships and Finals before, but for some reason, this one feels different. The entire arena is going absolutely crazy. I can’t hear anything other than sheer noise blasting in my ears.
People are jumping around in the stands, their feet pounding down, creating a loud booming noise. It’s incredible. Winning never gets old.
I congratulate some of my fellow teammates, slapping them on the backs. It’s obvious that some of them don’t want this moment to end. For a handful of them, this is their first Stanley Cup.
Eventually, it does end, though not entirely. We’ll be riding this high for days, but especially tonight.
“Where are we going Sam?” Mark asks, panting as we walk down the hall.
I grin. “My grandfather’s hotel. I’ve rented out the penthouse and two floors below it for us.”
His jaw drops. “Holy shit man. That’s insane.”
“Invite whoever you want. There’ll be tons of open space.”
“Ice girls?”
I grin. “Definitely the ice girls. And make sure every single one of them attends. I don’t want any of them sitting this out.”
“Be right back,” he says, doubling back, no doubt to go invite them.
I wash up in the locker room, realizing that the usual feeling of nostalgia I get when a season is over isn’t there this time. All I can think about is tonight, and what I plan to do.
She’s going to be mine tonight.
Kim looked absolutely stunning during intermission, performing for the entire stadium. But all I could think about was how she wasn’t going to be performing for anyone but me from now on.
And how she has absolutely no idea what’s about to happen.
After cleaning up, me and half the team head to the hotel in a limo I rented out for us. Everyone’s already on their second or third drink by the time we get there, and I’m still on my first. I want to be one hundred percent present for tonight.
An hour later, the party is fully raging. I’m standing on the roof watching some of the ice girls showing off moves from tonight’s routine. Kim is among them, swaying her hips from side to side and dropping down to the ground, adding in some extra moves.
The girls all laugh and start freestyling. Kim looks like she’s really enjoying herself.
Off to the side, I notice Matthew watching them. His eyes are on Kim in particular, and before I can stop myself, I’m stalking towards him.
I grab Matthew’s arm and push him against the wall, before leaning in.
“Back off.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Back off. If I see you near her tonight, you’re fucking done.”
He looks like he’s going to protest, but eventually just nods. I let him go, turning back to watch Kim. No one appears to have noticed what just happened.
The girls dance for a little while longer. Once they branch off, I approach her, holding up a drink.
“For you,” I say.
“I don’t remember asking for this,” she says with a smile.
“You’ll take it anyways,” I tell her.
She grins and takes the drink from me. “Guess you’re right.”
“So how’d you like being an ice girl for my team?”
“ Your team?” she questions, a perfectly plucked brow lifted.
I shrug. “Isn’t that what they all say?”
She swallows a sip of her drink, and I watch her throat bob as the liquid makes its way down. I want so badly to wrap my hand around the skin there, but I pace myself. It’s not time yet.
“Pretty much,” she says, biting her lip. “To answer your question, I had a lot of fun. I hope I can do it again next year.”
“I’m sure you will. You did amazing.”
She looks away from me for the first time since I approached, visibly shy. But then she regains her confidence and looks me square in the eye.
“What about you? Are you scared you won’t be invited back next year?”
I laugh unexpectedly. “Do you think I should be?”
She pretends like she’s thinking about it. “I mean, you did play like shit this season, so I don’t know. Maybe watch your back.”
I step a little closer to her. All of my senses go on high alert as the scent of her perfume drifts up to me. It smells like vanilla and cinnamon, and it’s already driving me crazy.
“Who’s going to take my place?” I ask.
“I’m sure it won’t be that hard to find a replacement. Not like you were such an integral part of the team.”
I nod solemnly. “I think you might be right. Maybe I should think about an alternative career.”
She places a hand on my bicep, squeezing lightly. “It’ll be okay, Warwick. I can get you into Georgetown University.”
“Is that where you went?”
She nods. “Got a minor in dance, and I used to skate, so that’s why I tried out for the team. But it’s really just a job so that I can one day go back to school for what I really want to do.”
“And what’s that?”
“Astronomy,” she says, looking up at the sky. I don’t follow her gaze, instead using the moment to let my eyes trail down her body.
She’s wearing a red strapless mini dress and matching red heels. Practically every inch of her dark brown skin is showing, and it simultaneously makes me feel possessive and absolutely ravenous.
“Was hockey always what you wanted to do?” she asks, looking back at me.
“Pretty much. My family wanted me to follow in their footsteps and do business in hotels,” I say, gesturing around us. “But I was never interested. Seems pretty boring if you ask me.”
“Did they fight you on it?”
“For a little while, but I think they realized pretty early on that it was a lost cause. I was always going to do what I wanted.”
As we talk, I notice the way she can barely keep her eyes off of me. When she does look away, she’s pulled right back. I also notice how easily she’s opening up to me. She doesn’t seem to have drank too much, so I don’t think it has anything to do with alcohol.
“Why don’t we go somewhere a bit more private? It’s getting pretty loud up here.”
She agrees, so I take her hand and lead her to the penthouse floor and to a room at the back of the hall.
“This place is beautiful,” she marvels, staring at the gold trimmed room. She walks up to the giant four poster bed and turns to me. “So what’d you want me in here for?”
Without hesitation, I put a hand to her throat and push her back into the bed.
“This,” I say, before kissing her.
She kisses me fiercely, her hands snaking around to the back of my neck and pulling me closer. My tongue slips into her mouth, savoring the taste of her, which is exactly as delicious as I thought it’d be.
My cock hardens in my pants, and I have to force myself not to rip her clothes off right here. To claim her this very second.
She moans into my mouth, making it even harder. But I have a plan, and unfortunately that plan involves a little bit of waiting.
When we finally pull apart, I trail my mouth along her jaw, before skimming her ear.
“I’m going to make you mine,” I whisper.
She freezes. When I pull away, she avoids eye contact. I lift myself off of her and grab one of the bed posts with a hand.
Kim stands up and starts walking towards the door. “I’m sorry, I got carried away, but I have to go.”
She reaches for the door handle, but when she tries to open it, it doesn’t budge. She tries again, more aggressively this time.
“What the fuck?”
I cross the room in only a couple strides and grab her arm, turning her around and pushing her against the door. She’s mine. She’s fighting it right now, but she’ll see.
“Let me go!” she shrieks.
I chuckle. “You’re welcome to try, but even if you get out of the room, no one in this hotel is going to let you leave. I have every single staff member on the lookout for you, and they know exactly what to do if they see you.”
Her eyes go wide. “That’s not possible!”
“It is when your grandfather owns the hotel. These people technically all work for me.”
Her eyes widen, and she looks terrified. Good. She needs to know the kind of power I have. She needs to see there is no fighting this.
We are meant to be.
“I’ve wanted you from the minute I saw you.” I trail a hand down her face, my voice lowering. “You have the face of an angel, and now you’re going to be mine forever.”
I pick her up and toss her onto the bed, and then I turn around and leave the room, locking the door behind me.
I have to keep what’s mine safe, even if it’s from herself. And Kim…
Well, now she is mine.