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His words have me ready to go all over again when we hear Sophie and Tank exiting her room from down the hallway. Miller grins and reluctantly pulls his fingers out of me as I climb off his lap. “Good timing,” he murmurs with a wink that drives me wild with need.
I’m just getting to my feet and straightening my clothes when Sophie and Tank appear around the corner and join us in the living room. “So, how about that movie?” Sophie says awkwardly, taking a seat on the opposite side of the room from Tank. The two of them are barely able to look at one another for some reason.
Hmmm, trouble in paradise? Either that or someone accidentally put something in the wrong hole.
“I’m thinking Micky’s,” I say.
Chapter 10
Miller
It’s game night. The first match of the season, and my guys are pumped. It’s a home game so the stadium is packed, and I’m pretty sure that has something to do with all of Dani’s promotions. Before she and Sophie started this assignment, we were despised around here. Don’t get me wrong, we have the loyal, die-hard fans we love, but the rest . . . they like to go with the flow.
Tonight is not only the first game of the season, but tonight we release our calendar. Dani said she’s had quite a bit of interest so far and has stuck a few freshmen at a table, putting them in charge of making sales so she can watch the game. I have to be honest, knowing she’ll be watching me tonight has me more than ready to absolutely dominate the opposition.
I stand with my team as Coach gives us his first pep talk of the season. “Alright boys, you need to get out there and show those guys who owns this ice,” he starts, his face turning red as he pumps us up. “This is our season, our house, and nobody comes between us and victory. We’ll wipe the floor clean with them. Show them how to play like men.” His tone gets louder with every word, the determination radiating out of him as he stares each of us in the eye. “We have a reputation to win back. We know we deserve it, but they don’t. So, go out there and take what’s ours!”
We all holler and chant as we hear our team called over the speakers, my cue to lead my boys out of the locker room and into our stadium. The crowd cheers as we make our appearance, and I don’t miss the booing peppered throughout the stands, but I do my best to ignore it. It won’t be long until we prove to them who the true Kings of Denver are.
We skate out onto the ice, and I look up at the grandstand, searching for a face that I know is hiding among the rest. There’s no way she would miss this. It takes only a second before I find that familiar wave of thick golden hair. Dani catches my stare and blows me a kiss, and being the dork that I am, I pretend to catch it and laugh as she rolls her eyes in embarrassment.
We get started with a quick warm-up, flying around the ice and taking a few practice shots before heading back to the side to let our opponents do the same.
Ten minutes later, we’re called to the ice. The referee takes his position, and at the sound of the buzzer, the game begins.
I speed off like a bat out of hell and so do my boys. Each of us knows exactly where we need to be. Not two minutes in, I claim the first point of the season. Our fans cheer, and I look up to find Dani standing with her camera plastered to her face, capturing the moment with a wide grin across her full lips. For some reason I can’t explain, seeing her happiness is a million times better than the rush of watching the puck slam into the back of the net.
“Good job, Cain,” Coach hollers from the barrier, bringing me back to the here and now as Tank claps me on the back.
We don’t waste a moment and the game continues, growing more intense with every passing minute. We do what we can to keep the upper hand and our opponents grow frustrated as the game goes on, which is when the real action starts—the reason I fell in love with the game in the first place.
Their right defense attempts to body slam Tank into the barriers, but he’s too quick. Tank sidesteps and takes the puck out from under him, throwing the opponent off balance and sending him sprawling to his knees, giving Tank a clear shot at the goal. He rears back, and like magic, the puck slides across the ice and straight into the back of the net.
