Chapter 17
Lily
Don’t throw up. Don’t do it. Just don’t.
Dry heaving wasn’t a good look, but at least I wasn’t spitting out chunks of a rubbery hotdog.
I leaned against the sink, licking beads of perspiration off my upper lip.
What in God’s name had I just done? I had no answer. Not one.
Why did I think I could make anyone believe I was Saint ‘The Savage’ Masters’ girlfriend? Er, fiancée. Big correction. Huge. So huge the blips on my phone indicated hundreds of comments on Saint’s social media.
As angry as I was with Saint, I couldn’t lie that seeing him taking up for me had been… A sigh pushed past my lips. I’d enjoyed watching his macho attitude strike a pose for the world to see.
I was sick to my stomach, holding my arm across my abdomen as I paced the women’s restroom floor. Thankfully, I was alone. Enough time had passed that the arena had emptied out, a few players and custodians remaining.
Instead of enjoying a nice glass of wine or a hot bubble bath, I was cowering in a sterile-looking restroom where I’d been for almost twenty minutes. So much for bravery.
At least I’d perfected a plastic smile. So much so my jaws hurt.
I rubbed my face and my jaw cracked appropriately.
My feet hurt.
I was still cold.
I stunk like stale beer.
And to top it all off, I was engaged. To be married. To a man who jumped from one bunny to another.
Also to a man who’d defended my honor. I’d seen the first upload of a video taken of the brutal fight. The words were clear, the threat Rocco had issued pissing me off. What was I supposed to do with that level of violence?
I yanked my phone into my hand, nervously shifting to the video once again. Huh. The comments were surprisingly upbeat.
What a gentlemen to defend his girl’s honor.
Rocco is a twat. Kick him out of hockey.
I’d love to be Saint’s girlfriend.
Okay, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Another set of images rushed into my mind at a completely inappropriate time.
My God. The visuals were off the charts. They man couldn’t keep his cock in his pants and I was going to suffer because I was attached to the man at the hip. This wasn’t the short leash I’d intended.
My life couldn’t become any more of a pain in the ass than it was. Not possible.
To hear Saint announce we were engaged had been bad enough. The next fifteen minutes I’d remained in a vacuum, including when two huge goons had escorted me down series of blocked-off corridors until I’d reached the locker rooms. And the throngs of reporters who refused to leave me alone.
I had no clue how any celebrity tolerated being shoved around, questions coming from every angle, every side, some extremely negative.
“How did a girl like you capture Savage’s attention?”
“You’re not good enough for him, sweetheart. Go back to Jersey.”
Jersey. Where had that come from?
And my personal favorite insult of the night?
“You’re a nobody. How did a nobody get to sleep in his bed?”
Yep. My self-esteem was bordering just below a flushed toilet.
Right now, it felt like I was the most hated woman on the planet because I’d captured not only the Savage’s attention, I’d also managed to capture his heart.
A cough pushed me over the edge of the sink. Both fake news that I’d get to report. Me, myself, and I.
“Ugh!” The single sound echoed in the empty space.
Suddenly, there were footsteps.
Great. Now even the respite I’d found in the shadows had been stripped from me. I pretended like I was washing my hands so I wouldn’t be perceived as some crazy bitch who enjoyed hanging out in arena bathrooms.
A series of vibrations jolted my system only seconds later. I turned off the water and pressed my hands against the counter, lifting my head at the same time. The crackling electricity had been a forewarning of the reflection I’d seen in the mirror.
Saint’s stunning face and wide grin stared back at me. He was acting as if nothing had occurred, including me all but telling off his coach. Meanwhile, my skin was crawling as I thought about all the nasty things my father would have to say about me being completely unprofessional.
“I thought I’d find you in here,” he said in his deep, husky voice that thrilled so many women. “But I didn’t take you as the kind of girl who hides from anything.”
“I’m not hiding!” I snapped and yanked a piece of paper towel from the holder. The fact the thin piece of brown paper was little more than a cocktail napkin almost created a tantrum.
“Oh, I get it. You’re enjoying the peace and quiet of such a lavish space.” His throaty laugh earned him another nasty look from me.
His fake… everything.
Oh, I hated this more than anything.
“I don’t need your interjections, thank you very much.”
“What do you need?” He purposely allowed his less than chivalrous gaze to fall.
Or maybe he thought I’d be the one falling to his feet kissing his boots. Not a chance. One night of hot sex didn’t give him the right to act as if I belonged to him.
Okay, calm down.
Maybe I was blowing this a bit out of proportion. After all, I wasn’t being forced to actually go through with marrying the dude.
“Peace and time away from you.” I kept a wide berth as I moved away from him, heading to the door. “We are going to establish a brand-new set of rules.”
“What might those be?”
“No beating up your opponents. No threatening anyone. And for God’s sake, don’t be caught with your hand down the cleavage of one of your bunnies.
The visuals won’t look good to anyone, including your voracious fans because you’re supposed to be getting hitched.
To one woman, not to a half dozen.” I could feel my blood pressure rising.
His smirk was only growing. So was the fury sizzling every nerve ending. “Anything else?”
“Yes,” I hissed, trying to remember all the things I’d been taught about handling difficult clients.
“I know you’re a growing American boy who needs constant attention.
And fondling. I’m certain you need a ton of fondling but do it in private.
With the blinds closed. We don’t need any pesky reporters catching you with your pants down.
Understood? We also don’t need that puck bunny to snap a picture of your…
goods and post it all over the internet. ”
“How could I keep that from happening?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Saint. You take her phone away before you fuck her.
You force her to sign an NDA. You do know what that is.
Right? If you don’t, I’ll be happy to school you in the pleasantries and safeguards around requiring your conquests to sign one before you stick your dick out.
” Now I was getting flustered, the heat covering my jaw crawling up my face like tarantulas.
“You’re actually giving me dating advice?”
Dating? Who was he kidding? He didn’t date. He fornicated and fled.
“No, I’m telling you to be careful because you don’t need to add cheating, lying sack of shit to your resume.” I huffed after I finished, doing my best to cool down without making it obvious.
His grin widened. “Then I guess there’s only one way to make certain I don’t stick my dick out at the wrong time.”
“What’s that?”
“That when I’m all hot and bothered and need relief, I come to you for… advice.”
The flush swept up my face as if a hot water bottle had been tossed. I’d fallen right into that. I’d never felt so flustered in my life. “That’s not what that means at all.”
“Well, you can’t have it both ways, little librarian.”
The line drawn in the sand was enough to make me throw a tantrum. Come to think of it, he was the only man alive who’d managed to crawl so far under my skin. Oh, good look, Lily.
“You almost punched that reporter. You did punch Rocco. Several times. What were you thinking?” I threw out, trying to break his obvious concentration on hot sex.
“That I needed to defend your honor. Both times.”
Was he kidding me? “Are you certain it wasn’t all about you?”
“I take offense to that,” he huffed, acting as if he was hurt by my words. “Where are you going?”
“To my car and home.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
I had my fingers wrapped around the door handle. “And why is that?” With a smirk on my face, I didn’t expect him to answer.
“Well, I had the security guards check the perimeter of the building for me. Your car has been recognized and is currently being surrounded by several of the local news vans. They won’t allow you to leave the parking lot without answering their questions.
Now, maybe you don’t mind being on the morning news and probably half the national sports stations tomorrow.
If so, then I’ll walk you out just to make sure you’re protected. ”
I found myself walking closer to him. “You’re kidding me.”
“Nope.”
“How the hell did they discover what car I drive?” I’d drifted even closer, enough to catch a strong whiff of his incredible aftershave. Sun-kissed sandalwood mixed with the perfect squeeze of citrus and shake of exotic spices.
Meanwhile, I smelled like a crusty old corner bar.
“You’d be surprised how quickly just about anything can be found.
You have no privacy, no secrets either. Everything is ripped out into the open from the fact you had a broken arm as a kid to when you sat in a hospital doing your homework while your sister had her twelfth chemo treatment. Reporters are brutal animals.”
He sighed and looked away, the arrogant persona dropping at least for a few seconds. With his guard down, he almost carried an aura of sadness. Almost. But his Golden Retriever, sexier than ever smile returned in a flash.
“Did your sister really have cancer?”
As he’d done on the ice, he placed his hand over his heart, only this time his fingers were spread wide open. “You wound me at least once a day. Yes, she did.”
“Well, get used to the wounding as I plan on catching your every bad move, fiancé.” I hesitated to ask him anything else, but couldn’t help myself. “Did your sister recover?”