Luna
TWENTY-EIGHT
“Look what I have for you?” I glance up from my laptop and see Sophia standing there with a ticket in her hand.
“Max ditched us for a party, and Quinn already has plans to spend the night with your niece. My mom has Grayson, so that leaves you,” she grins, dropping the Bolts ticket on my desk and plopping down in the chair facing me.
“And what makes you think I would want to go?” I ask, sitting back in my chair.
“Because you are having hot sex with the goalie. Duh,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“We agreed to keep it casual. Doesn’t this cross some kind of line? I mean, if he wanted me at his games, wouldn’t he have asked me to come?”
The more time I spend with Cayden, the more confused I get. He says one thing, but the way he looks at me…the way he touches me, says something entirely different. It’s getting harder and harder to pretend that my feelings aren’t getting involved.
“Or he’s too afraid of what he might feel seeing your sexy ass in the stands,” she wags her dark eyebrows at me, and I stifle a laugh. “Oh, come on, Luna. It’s just a game. Not even Cayden can control who gets to go to his games. It’ll be fun. Savi will be there and so will Olivia.”
“Fine,” I sigh, shutting my laptop. “I could use the break tonight anyway. This recital coming up has me stressed to the max, and I need something to take my mind off it.”
“Yay!” She grins, standing up. “Now go home and put something sexy on. Trav and I will pick you up at six.”
“Sexy? It’s a hockey game,” I laugh.
“Yeah, but we’re taking you out for a couple of drinks afterwards, and besides,” she grins, her hand on the door, “that goalie of yours needs to know what he’ll be missing if he doesn’t step up and snatch you.” Her green eyes are full of sass as she waves goodbye and heads out.
Picking up the ticket, I tap it on my desk and stare at the Bolts logo. I would be lying if I wasn’t excited to see him play again. I’ve been watching every single one of his games at home, but it’s not the same as seeing him in person.
The truth is, I miss him. I haven’t seen him since the night we went out for ice cream. He’s been on the road most of the week, and I knew they were going straight into this home game tonight when they got back.
Maybe it will be good to surprise him. It’s not like I have any other exciting plans for a Friday night. My wine and romance book date can wait.
Shutting my laptop, I gather any work I can do from home. If I’m going to look presentable tonight, I need a shower and enough time to get ready.
I make it home in record time, and after a long, hot shower, I’m standing in my closet debating on what to wear.
I finally decide on a black jean skirt with a white crop top, and since Cayden kept looking at my boots last time, I throw those on for a little something extra. I eye his Bolts sweatshirt sitting on the chair by my bed and pick it up.
Bringing it to my nose, I inhale deeply. It still smells like him, and I haven’t been able to bring myself to wash it yet. He insisted I keep it when I tried to give it back to him after he walked me to my Jeep, and I’ve worn it more times this week than I care to admit.
Knowing the rink can get cold, I throw it over my head, tucking one side in slightly to make it more fashionable and to still see my skirt.
I smile in the mirror when I see the finished results. If we go out later for drinks, I can always take the hoodie off, but for now I like feeling him around me. Besides, I really like the guys on the team and want to show my support.
My phone dings, and I glance at Sophia’s text letting me know she and Travis are here.
Blowing out a breath, I take one glance in the mirror before heading out the door, already feeling my heart pick up speed the closer it gets to seeing him again.
“I’m so glad you came,” Savi smiles as she reaches over and hugs my arm. She looks as cute as can be, wearing Knox’s jersey with her big, round belly.
“I’m pretty sure Sophia wouldn’t have taken no for an answer,” I laugh, “but I’m glad I came too,” I smile. “This is only my second hockey game I’ve been to, but I’m starting to see what all the hype is about.”
“I’m completely biased because of my hot hockey husband, but it’s the best sport out there,” she grins before settling back in her seat.
I feel the energy shift immediately and turn to see Cayden stepping out on the ice for the pre-game warmup.
His dominating presence is hard to miss as his large frame hits the cold, hard surface, his body covered in gear, and his black helmet giving him an almost untouchable edge like a warrior stepping out onto a battlefield instead of the rink.
His face is completely hidden in the shadows from the rest of the world, except for the piercing green eyes that are locked onto the ice. Even at a distance, I can feel the control and armor he’s wearing tonight.
He skates to his net and immediately starts preparing his area as the rest of the lineup comes out one by one.
His blades move back and forth as he roughs up the ice in front of his domain, dropping to his knees several times and hitting all the save zones in a precise manner, quickly and efficiently.
More players hit the ice, and the fans get more amped up as a few get closer to the ice with signs hoping to get noticed.
Knox is the last to come out and taps the glass when he passes by, winking at his wife before joining the rest of the team to work on some light drills.
“God, I love him,” Savi sighs, her blue eyes lovingly watching her husband’s every move.
“We know,” her brother Miles chuckles behind her. “You remind us daily.”
“Like you’re not walking around with heart eyes twenty-four seven,” Savi laughs, looking over her shoulder at him. “I think I’ve heard ‘my wife’ more times than I can count since you’ve been back from your honeymoon.”
“Have you seen my wife?” Miles grins. “She’s a fucking hottie, and I will never tire of those two words.”
Olivia giggles, looking at her husband with that honeymoon glow still on her face. “Come here, my hottie husband,” she motions with a curl of her finger.
Miles grins and leans over to kiss his wife.
“God, were we ever that disgustingly cute?” Sophia asks, eyeing the honeymoon couple who clearly need to get a room.
“You were worse,” Savi snorts. “Still are.”
Travis chuckles by his wife’s side. “Hear that wildcat,” he whispers. “We’re worse.”
“I’ll take that as a win,” Sophia grins, kissing her husband.
“It’s definitely a win,” Travis smiles, moving to her ear and whispering something that has Sophia’s green eyes blazing with something that tells me she’s going to have a good time later.
Tuning out the love fest around me, my eyes turn back toward Savi.
“How come you don’t sit with the wives and girlfriends? Don’t they have a special area for them or something?”
“The WAGs,” she nods, using the abbreviation, “do have their own section. I could sit there, but I prefer to be with my family. Knox also likes me to be close to my brothers. They're my assigned watchdogs when he can’t be,” she laughs.
“I swear that man would build a damn army around me if he could get away with it.”
“I get that,” I laugh. “Noah and Maverick have been my guard dogs since the day I was born, and then add Travis into the mix…I was lucky to have gotten a date at all in high school.”
“I hate to break it to you, Luna, but it’s only going to get worse,” she giggles, leaning over and getting closer to my ear. “If the way Cayden is looking at you now is any indication, it seems like you got an even deadlier guard dog on your hands.”
My eyes turn and scan the ice, and it takes all of two seconds to zero in on the heat being flooded my way. He’s adjusting his glove, but those intense eyes behind the mask are laser-focused on me.
They drop slightly, and when he notices his hoodie, something dark and sinful weaves in and around us. In an arena full of thousands, it feels like it’s just the two of us as all the sounds fade away.
This isn’t the look of someone who’s casually having sex with someone.
No, this look is all-consuming.
It’s a look that will reach into your soul and stay with you long after your last breath.
He’s looking at me…
Like I’m already his.
“Jesus,” Sophia whispers to me. “Are you seeing this?”
“Yes,” I swallow hard, feeling my heart beat out of my chest.
Knox comes by and taps Cayden’s leg pads, breaking the spell. I watch him shake his head slightly and adjust his stick in his hand before his attention returns to the ice.
“Are you okay?” Savi asks gently, noticing that I’m all shaken up.
“Yes,” I whisper again, feeling like a broken record. “I just didn’t expect…I mean, I had hoped, but…” I turn toward her suddenly. “I’m not imagining things, am I? That wasn’t just a casual I want you in my bed type of look?”
“Well, he definitely wants that,” she laughs, shaking her head, “but no, you aren’t imagining things.
It’s the same look I’ve seen in Knox…the same one I see in all my brothers when they look at their wives,” she smiles.
“He’s got it bad, and if I know Cayden, he’s going to fight this hard until he can’t anymore.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, most men are stubborn,” she chuckles. “Trust me…I know. I married one.”
Her blue eyes get soft as she watches Knox shoot the puck over to Thane before smiling back at me.
“But when they finally do let their guard down, they love harder than anyone I know. Guys like Knox and Cayden have lived through the worst and are guarded for a reason. They don’t let love in easily, pushing it away and living with it just outside their reach, where they can control it.
Until one day, it becomes too hard to contain, consuming them until they have no choice but to walk into the flames and pray it won’t be taken away again. ”
My eyes drift back to Cayden, and he’s zeroed in on the pucks his teammates are shooting his way. His movements are quick and instinctual, never missing a beat. He’s like a machine out there, trained and lethal to anyone who wants past him.
“That man right there,” Savi says, following my gaze to Cayden, “is one step away from thinking he’s losing everything he’s tried so hard to protect when in reality he’s gaining everything.
He just needs to realize it.” She pats my leg and gives me a reassuring squeeze.
“It’s all going to work out the way it’s meant to. ”
The players leave the ice one by one to get ready for the start of the game. Cayden flips his helmet up, and his face is stone cold and in complete game mode as he removes a glove. Not an ounce of emotion is on his face as he slowly lets his blades glide him to the bench.
Right before he enters the locker room entryway, his eyes scan the crowd before finding me. If you weren’t looking for it, you would never see it, but the small curve of his lip on his left side is all the confirmation I need.
He’s glad I’m here.
And somehow that tiny smile seems more dangerous and intimate than all the looks before it.