Chapter 46
Ash
I should be nervous. It’s been a long time since I’ve started and most other players would be worried about making sure they don’t screw up, but I’m strangely calm as I wait for the puck drop.
I’m almost certain I have Kaladin to thank for the start. He’s been trying to ride the media attention surrounding what happened to Gray to promote the team, and I’m pretty sure he told Coach Davis to get me on the ice early. I’m still officially second line, but I intend to change that.
Ideally, I want to see me, Cote, and Bouchard promoted to first line together.
They’ve put up with a lot from me this season, and they should be rewarded for that alone.
All things considered, the three of us play really well together when I have my head on straight, like we’re reading each other’s minds.
It’s only been my consistency that was the issue, so if I play well tonight, maybe Coach will try starting us again.
I glance over at Gray and relax to see her in her seat with Sully and Dean keeping an eye on her. I know at some point she’ll reject having bodyguards around her at all times, but for now she’s not fighting it.
I clench my teeth every time I see the bruises on her neck, and I wish I’d gotten a few more punches in on the fucker who gave them to her before Sully pulled me off him. My hand still hurts from hitting Barry, but it was worth it.
Gray has a long road to feel safe again – if that’s even possible – but I have my own demons to deal with.
When Sully called to tell me what he’d seen, I freaked the fuck out.
Losing Gray was unthinkable, and it’ll be a long time before I’m able to let her out of my sight without fearing I’ll never see her again.
Getting Barry behind bars permanently will be a good start, but there are more men like him out there. Too many.
I just know one thing with certainty. Gray is the woman I plan to marry. Now isn’t the right time to tell her that, of course. We both need to heal first, but one of these days, she’ll wear my ring, and knowing that makes everything alright for now.
I turn my attention back as the ref gets ready to drop the puck.
Across from me, Lapoint eyes me like he wants to eat my liver.
I haven’t seen him since that preseason game when he put the tampon down my jersey, and I know the standing ovation I got pissed him off.
He’ll start chirping at me as soon as he can, but I’m not worried about it.
Gray is safe, and I’ve come to some realizations lately. I’m ready to play.
The puck hits the ice, and I swipe it back to Cote who takes off and slaloms between defenders like he’s an Olympic skier. He and Bouchard are feeding off my energy. They don’t care how we got to the starting spot, but the three of us are determined to keep it.
We score our first goal less than a minute into the game, and I feel vindicated for having bumped Nilsen, Aasgaard, and Fig from this first shift. The honor of the goal goes to Bouchard, but I get the assist, and the crowd surges to their feet.
The chirping starts on my next shift, but it doesn’t bother me anymore. I learned something important in this whole ordeal with Gray.
As much as I wanted to believe the misogynistic comments bothered me because I was so ‘enlightened about feminism,’ I had to face the fact I still held some deeply ingrained beliefs about how women were weaker and more limited in certain things.
When I ran toward Gray that night and saw her fighting off Barry, saw her trying to hit and buck off a man bigger than her who was holding her down as he tried to kill her, I had nothing but awe for her.
She’d ultimately needed my help, but she’d fought until Sully and I could get there.
She bought us time to get to her, and she’s alive because of it.
Maybe I’m stretching things, but it’s kind of like BDSM. Just because the submissive looks weak doesn’t mean they are. They’re actually the one with all the power in the dynamic.
In any case, once I allowed myself to truly believe how strong women are – how strong my sisters and my mother and the love of my life are – it made letting go of the trash talk easy. It has no power over me anymore, and hearing guys use it to get under my skin just seems pathetic.
Lapoint’s frustration and that of the other Ducks is apparent as the game goes on and we take them apart piece by piece. Nothing they say riles me in the least, and the crowd turns practically feral as we pull ahead by three goals in the third period, two of which are mine.
Lapoint slams into Kingston with four minutes left under the guise of not being able to stop in time, and we’re instantly on him, me in the lead.
I get two minutes in the box for my trouble, but it’s worth it.
Kingston may be an asshole, but he’s our asshole, and if you fuck with him, you fuck with us all.
The game ends just before things get really ugly, and we win 5-2. The chances that Cote, Bouchard, and I have secured our starting spot in the lineup moving forward are good.
Whether the crowds will continue to come once the media frenzy dies down remains to be seen, but we have a winning record at the moment, and we get better with every game. We’re in the running for a wild card spot, and Kaladin’s hopes of getting to the playoffs are not out of reach.
And for the first time this season, I believe we can make it too.
Ash
Gray’s face lights up when I exit the locker room after the game. Celena has apparently left, but Sully and Dean stand in the hall next to my woman. I ignore them and pull her into my arms before slanting my mouth across hers for a deep kiss. Her moan of pleasure goes straight to my cock.
“Ugh,” Kelsier groans as he exits behind me. He turns and calls back into the locker room. “Warning, guys. Captain America and the doc have excessive amounts of PDA going on out here.”
I shoot him a glare, but Gray smiles and says, “Hi, Kels,” before he gives her a wink and heads out. We’ll meet him and a few of the guys out shortly.
Fig and The Don leave next, followed by Kingston, who stops to look around when he sees Gray.
“Your little friend still hiding from me?” he asks her.
Gray holds out her hand to him. “Give me her panties back,” she says, ignoring his question.
My gaze shoots to her. “What? Why does he have her panties?”
“No idea,” she says, “but he needs to give them back.”
Kingston just grins down at her. “Convince Celena to come out tonight, and maybe I’ll make a trade.”
Gray narrows her eyes. “What kind of trade?”
“That’s between me and her,” Kingston says as he turns and heads down the hall.
We both stare after him, but I decide I’d rather not know.
“Ready to go, baby?” I ask Gray. She looks at me hesitantly, and I frown. “Something wrong?”
She glances at Sully and Dean, then looks back at me. “I need to tell you something before we go.”
“Okay. What is it?” She looks so serious, and now I’m nervous.
“Not here,” she says. She grabs my hand and pulls me down the hall until we get to the equipment room. I look behind to see Sully and Dean following at a safe distance.
“We’ll just be a minute,” I tell them as Gray drags me into the equipment room.
I’m not sure what to think. This room has some good memories, and my dick reacts accordingly as she turns to me, but the look on her face doesn’t suggest she has sex on her mind.
“I love you,” Gray says without preamble.
I blink. That was the last thing I expected her to say, and I have to reset my brain before her words sink in. Even so, my immediate reaction is, “…What?”
“I love you,” she repeats, a shy smile adorning her face.
“I should’ve told you a long time ago, back when you first said it to me, but I was afraid.
I wish my first time telling you wasn’t from the other side of the glass in front of all those people, but recent events made me realize I shouldn’t wait to express how I feel.
Hence the reason I’m telling you again now rather than waiting for a more romantic moment. ”
I pull her into what’s likely a bone-crunching hug. “Fuck, Gray. I love you too. I love you so much.”
My lips descend on hers again to kiss her deeply, and it’s nearly a minute before we pull apart.
Then something she said hits me. “What were you afraid of? I already told you I loved you. Did you not believe me?”
She shrugs. “It’s hard to explain,” she says. “I mean, you’re this big hockey star, and you’re so…” She lets her eyes run over my body quickly. “Pretty,” she decides on, making me almost laugh. “It’s like Barry said. I’m just regular, and I didn’t think-”
“He said what?” I interrupt, red rage filling my mind at the thought of that incel motherfucker.
She looks taken aback at the ferocity of my question. “It…It’s nothing,” she says. “He was just saying guys like you get all the actresses and supermodels, so he was mad you were also taking the regular women like me, and-”
“Stop,” I interrupt her, closing my eyes against the desire to do violence in response to the utter fucking bullshit that jackass was filling her head with before I got there.
I open my eyes. “First of all, Gray, there’s nothing regular about you, and I’m surprised at you for letting that piece of shit convince you otherwise.”
Her mouth works as if she wants to argue, but it’s a second or two before she says, “He just meant…I mean…well, compared to your last girlfriend-”
I put a finger on her lips to make her stop talking, and I wish that fucker was here so I could beat the shit out of him all over again. Sully should’ve let me put him in a coma.
“You need to listen to me carefully,” I say, “because this is the last time we’re going to have this conversation. Understand?”
She nods, my finger still on her lips.
I push her back toward the wall until she’s pressed against it, and I grind my hips into hers so she can feel the erection straining against my pants. She groans.
“You are fucking gorgeous,” I whisper to her. “Grace couldn’t hold a candle to you.”
She opens her mouth, and I already hear the argument on her tongue, so I bring my lips down on hers to stopper the words before she can speak them. I kiss her until her body goes limp against me.
“Fuck, baby. Don’t you feel how God damn hard I am for you?
” I ask. I push my groin into her, and she moans.
“Grace never made me this hard. I’m fucking mad about you, Gray, and I don’t fall for just ‘regular’ women.
You’re not just gorgeous. You’re smart and fierce and brave, and if I could spend the rest of my life just breathing the same air you breathe, I’d be a happy man. ”
A small breath punches out of her. “Alright,” she says.
“I don’t believe you,” I say. “I’m not sure you’ve gotten the message yet, so I think I have to take you home, strap you to the bed, and make you come until you understand.”
“I…,” she starts, then trails off.
I smile. She wants to argue that she understands, but she doesn’t want to take being tied to the bed and given multiple orgasms off the table.
Gray swallows. “I thought we were going out with the guys tonight.”
“We are,” I say. I reach down and start undoing her pants.
She grabs for my hands. “What are you doing?” she whisper-hisses.
“If I’m going to make it the next few hours until I can get you home, I need to fuck you now.”
Her eyes widen. “Now? Sully and Dean are right outside the door. They’ll know-”
“Let them know,” I say. “And if they’re doing their jobs, they’ll keep us from being interrupted.”
As if on cue, we hear voices outside the door, and I distinctly here Dean say, “You can’t go in right now.” Give that man a fucking raise.
I finish undoing Gray’s pants and pull them down her hips. She sighs as she kicks off her shoes, then takes her jeans and panties the rest of the way off as I pull out my cock and open my wallet to grab a condom. When I open the pocket, though…It’s empty.
“Fuck!” I say. “I forgot to reload my wallet.”
Gray shakes her head. “We don’t need a condom. I have an IUD, and I just got my test results this morning. I’m clear. Come inside me.”
Her words go straight to my balls.
“Fuuck, Gray,” I say, drawing out the word. “Are you sure?”
She nods. “I’m sure.”
I push my jeans further down my hips and lift her up, pinning her between me and the wall.
She reaches down and lines me up, and I slide her down onto my cock as she wraps her legs around my waist. We both groan as her pussy swallows me up.
I’ve never gone in bare before, and doing it for the first time with Gray is a religious experience.
“God damn it, baby,” I whisper against her ear as I start to thrust. “My fucking angel.”
She smiles. “My naughty demon.”
I drive deeper as her body thuds softly against the wall. Gray clamps a hand over her mouth to stifle her cry, but I pull it away.
“Let them hear you. I want everyone to know you’re fucking mine.”
“I’m yours,” she says, half delirious with rapture.
“Yes, you are,” I say with a smile.
And I prove to her just how extraordinary she is.