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“Damn it, Justin. Don’t joke about this.” Zachary rounded on me.
I met his glare head-on. “I’m not kidding.” I lowered my voice so he had to lean in to hear me.
“We could both be with Lucy. Either apart or at the same time.” I didn’t care as long as he didn’t keep telling me I had to give her up. This might be the answer I’d been looking for.
Could we pull it off?
13
LUCY
Icouldn’t hear a word Zachary and Justin were saying, but the angry gestures made me want to jump between them and put an end to the madness. Heat pooled low in my belly as I watched the two men I’d slept with swap verbal punches.
Justin said something that made Zachary’s eyebrows crash down and his mouth drop open. What? What had he said? Not knowing was killing me a little more with each passing second. I forced my gaze back to the ice. If Dad caught me watching the guys in the penalty box, he’d have questions I didn’t know how to answer. I had a job to do here, and their argument was a distraction I should avoid.
Lennox skated past, his eyes sparking trouble when he glanced at Justin and Zachary. The look promised retribution as soon as he could get his hands on his teammates.
The delicious heat curling deep inside intensified. What the fuck was going on with me? I’d slept with Justin, and then Zachary. That was more than enough to satisfy my sex drive, but it had the opposite effect. I wanted more of them. I ground my teeth together and huffed a breath into the cold air. They were a risk I could not afford. Not with my advocacy dreams hanging inthe balance. Sure, no one really cared if I had sex. But they did mind if I had sex with multiple men on my father’s hockey team. A team that was set to go to the championships this year if they could keep their damned heads in the game.
Justin moved in my peripheral vision as he shoved Zachary’s shoulder and the two of them finally resorted to glaring at each other in silence.
Dad patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry about them. They’ll sort it out.”
I glanced up in time to see him nodding toward Justin and Zachary. “Yeah, I know.” I’d seen enough fights before to know that they never lasted long. Usually by the time the penalty ended, they were best friends again. I had a funny feeling that whatever caused their fight had something to do with me. I snorted and shook my head at my arrogance. No way I had any power over either of them. They enjoyed sex with me, sure, but that’s where it ended.
Two skaters on the opposite team passed in a blur of motion. They nodded at each other and split apart. One went after Lennox, skating up to his unprotected back. He bumped into Lennox, then spun across Lennox’s back and dropped to a knee, his stick out in front of him.
Lennox jumped to avoid the obstacle and another skater hit him from the left, knocking him to the ice with a sickening thud.
“Watch it!” Dad pointed at the ref. “Watch your players, ref.”
The ref shrugged and skated backward across the ice. He’d missed the whole thing as another skater provided a distraction in almost knocking him down while the others went after Lennox.
Lennox leaped to his feet. “Try that again, motherfucker.” His voice was a low growl that sent shivers along my spine. I should have been appalled at the darkness emanating from him, but it caused excitement instead. Lennox was a force of natureas he took off after the skater. The crowd surged to their feet as their bloodlust rose.
Justin and Zachary pounded their fists on the barrier between them, and Dad turned to face the box.
He shook his head at them. “Stupid fools. What do they expect me to do? I can’t get them out of the box until their time is up.”
I jerked my gaze up to the clock. They had a couple minutes left in the box. Then all hell would break loose. I knew the look in their eyes. They were hell-bent on destruction once they hit the ice.
“No one hits Lennox.” Zachary bellowed at Dad while slamming another fist to the barrier.
Dad waved him off and returned to the game. We were falling behind puck by puck. My heart dropped at the score, then fell again when I spotted Lennox limping across the ice. He skated behind the goal and stopped. Leaning forward, he rubbed his knee, hiding a wince by dipping his head and turning to the side.
Lennox was hurt. Damn it. I stood and grabbed Dad’s arm. “Lennox.” I jerked my head in his direction. “I need to check on him. He’s hurt.”
Lennox pushed off the wall and took a turn around the ice, rejoining the team. The puck skimmed the ice, flashing between the opposing team. Lennox went after the player dashing toward the goal. His strides were fluid now, but I caught the way he bared his teeth in pain every time he put weight on his right leg.
Dad peeled my hand off his arm. “If he tells me he needs off the ice, you can look at him.” He shook his head when I started to argue. “I’m not pulling him, Lucy. I need him out there. Already lost two of my three best players. Can’t lose him too.”
I wanted to rant at him that Lennox’s well-being was more important than a game, but I held it back. None of them would look kindly on me pulling Lennox from the game. I didn’t evenhave that kind of power. All I could do was sit there and watch him skate while in pain and hope that Justin and Zachary would get back out there and protect him like they were supposed to.
I tried to relax, but every muscle screamed in protest when I sat. I scooted to the edge of my seat and shoved my hands between my thighs to keep from slamming my fists on the partition in front of me. The smell of adrenaline mingled with the ice and the sour stench of hotdogs and beer. It twisted my stomach, but I stayed seated and kept an eye on Lennox. My heart hammered against my ribs like it wanted to burst free. Why? Why did I have this incessant urge to call Lennox off the ice and take care of him? It made no sense.
I hated the frustration clawing through my system. It felt like thousands of ants marching over my skin and nothing I did made them go away. Worry slithered through my veins and I sank my teeth into my lower lip to keep from calling Lennox’s name as he raced past. He played like the devil himself sat on his shoulders. Nothing and no one stood in his way. If they tried, he plowed right through them. Cheers rose in a tidal wave that drowned out the grunts of pain from the players. Bloodthirsty. The whole stadium was full of bloodthirsty men and women. “Fight. Fight. Fight.” They chanted over and over again like it was an after-school brawl.
Justin and Zachary yanked on their gloves and helmets and grabbed their hockey sticks. One more minute and they’d be back on the ice. They crowded close to the gate barring them entry and shouted at every opponent within hearing distance. Their jeers and taunts had almost no effect, but that didn’t stop them.
