31. Wren #2
“Can you get them set up in section sixteen for me? I want the cameras angled toward center ice when the players come out.”
The coordinator nods immediately and rushes off.
Beside me, Ronan studies me carefully. “You’ve got that look.”
“What look?”
“The one that says your brain is operating twelve steps ahead of the rest of us.”
Lucian smirks. “It’s terrifying, honestly.”
Silas flips to a fresh page in his notebook.
Sexy as fuck, though.
I choke on my coffee.
Lucian bursts out laughing while Ronan looks entirely too pleased with himself.
“Stop flirting with me and go get ready for the exhibition game,” I tell them off, pushing on Ronan’s chest to get him moving. The other two will follow their captain.
Of course, it’s not that easy to get rid of Lucian. Instead of leaving me in peace, something wicked dances in his eyes as he smirks down at me.
“I think I need an incentive to get in the right headspace for this game. What do we get if we win?”
Rolling my eyes, a smile plays at my lips. I can’t help it. Lucian’s antics are amusing, even if they drive me insane half the time. “You get the satisfaction of knowing you won.”
His nose scrunches in this cute way that looks impossibly childish on him. It makes me want to kiss him.
“Not quite the prize I was thinking of,” he purrs, voice tipped low and dripping with innuendo.
With heat coursing through my system, I glance from him to Ronan and Silas, who are both watching on with matching looks of desire and intrigue.
“How about the prize of seeing me naked?”
Lucian’s eyes flare with hunger. Silas chokes, completely taken by surprise at my words, and Ronan groans. I smirk when he subtly shifts, dropping his hands to cover his crotch. “There are children around,” he gripes.
“Just seeing, or do we get to touch?” Lucian rasps, voice thick.
I bark a surprised laugh. “Give you an inch, and you take a mile, Lucian Caulfield.”
He smirks victoriously. “Little Moth, when it comes to you, I want everything. I’ll take it all if you’ll give it to me.”
Fuck. Me.
Unable to hold back any longer, I lean in and press my lips to his. I long to do so much more, but for now, this will have to suffice. “I give you all of me,” I murmur quietly.
“Thank fuck because you’ve owned every inch of me since that first day when you bent over in that tight little skirt and showed me that biteable ass.”
“Lucian!” I shove him in the chest as Ronan, rolling his eyes, drags him away.
“What?” he calls, smirking cheekily as he looks back at me over his shoulder. “I was just being truthful.”
Ripping a page out of his notebook, Silas presses it into my hands, kissing me quickly before chasing after them.
Alone, I unfold it, my heart skipping a beat as I read what he wrote.
He’s not the only one who gave himself over to you at first sight.
Stunned, I stand there, oblivious to the chaos continuing around me as I get lost in Silas’s words until the lights in the arena dim suddenly.
Shit!
Pocketing the note, I hurry toward the tunnel from which the teams will appear. The stands are full now, a ripple of excitement moving through the crowd as children scramble back to their seats, clutching popcorn and foam fingers while music pulses through the overhead speakers.
My pulse kicks up right alongside it.
Okay.
Showtime.
I stand near the edge of the tunnel entrance with a microphone clasped tightly between both hands while arena staff scramble through the final checks around me. Across the ice, the giant projector screen flickers to life with the Kings logo spinning slowly against a backdrop of flashing lights.
I’m waiting for my cue to speak when Coach Wexler’s voice echoes through the speakers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us for the Valehurst Kings Youth Charity Weekend!”
Cheers erupt instantly from the crowd. I glance around. This wasn’t part of the plan… What is going on?
Wexler continues speaking from center ice, thanking sponsors and volunteers while the massive crowd settles into anticipation. Everywhere I look, kids are vibrating with excitement in their seats. Parents hold up phones ready to record. Volunteers grin knowingly from behind merchandise booths.
Then he gestures toward me from center ice. “And none of this would’ve been possible without one person in particular.”
Oh no.
Absolutely not.
The spotlight swings toward me before I can escape.
The crowd erupts into applause. Heat floods my face instantly. The banging of sticks from behind has me turning, finding the entire Valehurst Kings team standing just inside the tunnel. Ronan, Lucian, and Silas are at the front, clapping and hollering the loudest.
Traitors.
“Gwendolyn Winslow has worked tirelessly to make this weekend happen,” Wexler continues, entirely unbothered by the fact that I’m internally dying. “And apparently she decided sleep was optional somewhere along the way.”
Laughter ripples through the crowd.
I bury my face briefly in my hands. If it wasn’t for little impressionable minds watching from the stands, I’d flash him the bird.
“And because she enjoys making the rest of us look bad…” He gestures toward the tunnel entrance behind me. “She’s arranged one final surprise for tonight’s exhibition game.”
The arena quiets instantly. Anticipation crackles through the air.
I lift the microphone with slightly shaky hands.
“When we started organizing this weekend,” I begin, my voice echoing through the arena speakers, “we wanted to create something unforgettable for the kids who came out to support the Kings Youth Foundation.”
Thousands of eyes lock onto me.