Chapter 3—Wolfe
Wolfe wasn’t going to lie, it felt good shoving his newest teammate out the bakery door with a little more gusto than necessary. It was similar to the extra push he regularly offered an opponent on the ice immediately following a jaw-jarring hit he delivered against the boards.
Just like Wolfe wanted the top performers of the other teams he played to know he’d be there to ensure they put up a goose egg on the scoreboard, he needed to let the pup know he was onto him and the goo-goo eyes he threw Mia’s way, aka squirt.
Wolfe had to respond since the ever-oblivious Dante wouldn’t know an attraction if it bit him in the butt.
Mia may be Dante’s sister by blood, but she was Wolfe’s little sister for all intents and purposes. A sister he would protect until the end of time unlike...
Stop it, dickhead.
It was a good thing Wolfe focused on the sparks flying between the rookie and squirt, because it offered Wolfe a reprieve from attempting to figure out what in the fuck just happened between he and the boss baker, Aspen.
Wolfe was a man of few words, a trait he’d honed to perfection during his thirty-and-change-years on the earth. Thankfully, he didn’t speak much, because the beauty of the stunning redhead – no, not exactly red, copper, maybe – halted all thoughts in his brain, let alone words forming in his mouth.
She was the first thing he noticed when they entered the bakery, and he never really moved his attention past her. She had a fairy-like appearance and didn’t seem all that tall, but with his own six-nine height, everyone seemed like an imp.
He hated when he had to nearly drop to his knees to kiss a woman, but he had a feeling that kissing the boss baker would only require a small dip in his stature.
And that small dip would allow him to capture her rose-colored lips that were free of any lipstick or gloss.
Thank God. He disliked it intensely when a woman slathered her lips in so much goop she more resembled a clown than a sexy female enhancing her natural beauty.
He could almost feel what it would be like to capture her lips as she stood on her toes to meet him halfway.
Wolfe would thread his hands into the coppery waves of her hair that would tumble down her back, because sure as shit he’d take that blob of pinned hair atop her head down within a nanosecond of being together.
His fingers would plunge into her fiery strands as deftly as his tongue would enter into the waiting heat of her mouth.
Slow your roll, ass.
Time to shift his thoughts to something he could control: the present.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Wolfe directed a challenging stare the rookie’s way. “What’s on your brain, kid?”
Wolfe would bet his seven-figure endorsement check from Muscle Max protein shakes that Matt’s thoughts centered around Dante’s sister.
“Just thinking about what I’m going to make for dinner,” Matt replied in an offhand tone, and an obvious lie. He then dropped his gaze to the concrete slabs beneath their feet as if they held the secrets of the universe.
“Uh-huh. Okay,” Wolfe responded, not believing a single word coming the rookie’s mouth.
Wolfe recognized the kid’s bullshit line, because he dealt with his own silent deflection issues with regard to the gorgeous redheaded baker.
He figured he’d let the rookie sweat it out a bit, then talk to him later, making sure he would think twice about pursuing anything with the squirt, not only for the sake of the team but to ensure the well-being of his balls.
Balls that Wolfe would gladly snap off of Matt’s body if he so much as hurt a hair on Mia’s head.
That is if the uber-protective Dante didn’t beat him to it.
“Hey, what was that between you and Aspen?” Dante interrupted Wolfe’s thoughts. Dante’s comment shocked the hell out of him because his teammate and captain of their NHL hockey team was unaware of everything around him off the ice, that is.
Everything.
“Nothing,” Wolfe muttered defensively, but curious enough to see what the captain may have picked up on during his interaction with Aspen. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, you just seemed different around her.”
Sonofabitch. Wolfe must have really been transparent about his instant obsession with the baker. He could still feel that lithe frame that fit perfectly in his embrace when he whisked her from the floor after her fall.
Maybe Dante should be focused on the rookie sniffing around his sister rather than Wolfe’s preoccupation with the baker.
“Not sure what you’re talking about, brother,” Wolfe shrugged off the comment only to see Matt breathe a sigh of relief, knowing he dodged the bullet this time.
Fucker.
Time to redirect, Wolfe considered then pushed forward. “You know me, I see something that needs fixed and I’m going to fix it. No big deal.”
“Okay,” Dante shrugged his shoulders, letting the topic go.
Thank the hockey gods.
Wolfe needed to figure out why he seemed so infatuated with the baker and fast, knowing that his teammates were sensing a crack in his formidable shell. They knew nothing penetrated it unless he allowed it. Like at the edge of never.
Jesus, he didn’t even eat sweets, so why was he inhaling the scrumptious scents like it was crack, and barely holding himself back from consuming the baker herself?
He could still smell the aroma of baked goods that clung to her skin and all he wanted to do was nibble, taste and lick her to consume her essence.
“I’m making chicken tonight,” Matt directed his comment toward Dante, interrupting Wolfe’s most recent journey to Destination Baker. “You in?”
“Nah. I’m having dinner with my publicist to coordinate my summer event schedule, but thanks,” Dante explained as they neared the high-rise condo where he lived along with the rookie as a temporary guest and Mia.
“And remember, Mia wants to finalize plans for the hockey camp for the kids where she’s working this summer. You guys have time for that, right?”
“Yeah, I can help,” Matt responded quickly.
“I’m in.” Wolfe nodded toward Dante, who offered back a cheesy, dad-like two-thumbs-up. With a shake of his head, Wolfe used the remote to unlock his Jaguar SUV parked on the street in front of Dante’s condo. “And now I’m out. I’ll catch you guys tomorrow.”
“See ya,” Dante said, and continued walking toward the entrance of the condo.
“Bye,” Matt said, looking a bit relieved at the bullet he dodged.
Not on your life, kid.
Wolfe narrowed his piercing gaze Matt’s way. “Don’t think we won’t be talking soon, rook.”
Wolfe slid into the driver seat of his luxury SUV and roared the engine to life just before he swiftly merged into traffic on the one-way downtown Denver street.
Pleased he put the kid on notice, it offered Wolfe the time he needed to figure out what in the hell happened between he and the baker, and why he couldn’t dismiss the thought of kissing her and so much more.