AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As the arena fills up the seats around me become a medley of team colors, spirited faces, and more people wearing the number twenty-one as far as my eyes can see.
Hockey might not be my thing but there’s something special about seeing all these people here supporting Luc.
His fans seem to be out in droves tonight because he was benched and missing from the games in Canada.
“You okay, sweetheart?” Dad asks. Although he’s smiling at me I can tell he’s uneasy at seeing so many Luc Le Blanche supporters. I have to admit seeing them does negate his warning that Luc is trouble.
“Yeah. I’m fine. I’m excited to see the game.”
“Good.” He nods, and Mom gives me a reassuring smile. “You’ll enjoy it.”
Zoe leans in and I know she’s going to say something off-key to me, so I try to lean away from Dad.
“You’re going to love how hot he looks in his uniform,” she chortles.
She doesn’t need to clarify who she means. She’s talking about Luc, and damn me for blushing.
Moments later the presenter announces the teams, and the crowd erupts in cheers as they make their way onto the ice.
However, when Luc skates on the roars become deafening and rows of people stand to cheer their allegiance to him. Suddenly they begin to chant his name. The arena fills with the sound, touching every heart and wall from corner to corner.
Luc’s presence is electrifying. It sends a thrill racing through me that I can’t ignore. Even if I could try, my attempts would be quashed by the obvious look of fascination Zoe is giving me and the coldness I’m picking up from my father, who is not liking the attention Luc is getting at all.
The crowd's euphoria becomes infectious with a magnetism that transcends everything. It's impossible not to get sucked into admiration that leaves me undeniably captivated.
I was right in thinking the fans worship him. They do.
And like their emperor, Luc stands tall and proud, soaking it all up.
He raises his hockey stick into the air and salutes the crowd. That sends their chants into the heavens. What’s more, at least ninety percent of his teammates are chanting, too, and skating around him in a circle, slapping their sticks on the ice.
It must be such an admirable thing to be so honored.
How in the hell did I not know who this man was when it seems like the whole world does?
And why doesn’t Dad like him when he’s clearly the most beloved player on the team?
I suppose that’s a question I won’t get an answer to, and the rest of my time here in New York will be just like this. Where I’m like a princess in a tower watching the prince, knowing I might lose everything if I pursue my attraction to him.
At least I can say that for one night in Vegas he was mine.
Luc skates toward us, holding his stick in the air, and looks up at me,focusingon me as if he wants to own me again. The way he owns this crowd.
My body heats at the thought, shamelessly wanting him again, and not caring that my father is sitting right here.
Chapter 15
Luc
After a wildly successful week of wins, tonight the Hawks are playing against the Dallas Sharks. The team who won the Cup series two years in a row before I came along.
The arena lights illuminate the ice like spotlights on a stage, and the sea of cheering fans in the stands add to the exhilarating atmosphere.
Like a deadly army on the battlefield, the players from both teams get ready to fight to the death for tonight’s win.
This is the last home game for the week and, like all the others, I plan to make it count. I don’t believe in allowing another team to win on your turf. The concept is ludicrous to me given that we train on this ice nearly as much as we walk on the ground. We know every inch of it the way we know our own bodies.
The puck drops, and it’s game on.
