Rival on Ice

Nola Wagner measures her life in numbers and clinical distance, depending on an Olympic fellowship to clear her mother's medical bills.

Chase Guzman, Duluth's most feared captain and the consensus number-one draft pick, crushed her research grant and treats her work like an inconvenience while laughing off his cracked ribs.

Then the athletic board forces them into the Vault twice a day, an eight-by-twelve concrete bunker where a mandatory fatigue protocol leaves every breath shared.

Professional examinations turn reckless, and the arrogant enforcer's insults give way to rough praise that undoes her composure.

Crossing that line could destroy her career and his professional future, but after he has already put his hands on her, staying away no longer feels possible.