11. Hayden

I"ve gotan early morning skate, so I untangle myself from Cassidy and throw on last night"s clothes. She"s still passed out when I leave, but I schedule her a delivery for breakfast and leave her a note telling her I"ll see her at her bar tonight after the game.

The guys are already warming up on the ice when I get there, and War grins at me as he skates by. "Gonna level up again tonight? Maybe a natty hatty this time?"

"Who knows? Weirder shit's happened," I say, grinning like an idiot. With Cassidy letting me inside of her, the way she finally surrendered to me, I almost forgot I scored my first hat trick in the pros. Fuck, my first hat trick ever.

He shakes his head. "You"re fucking crazy, you know that?"

"You"re not the first person to call me that." And I doubt he'll be the last.

He laughs and skates off to join the rest of the team while I finish stretching and getting ready for practice. Coach gives me a nod and a pat on the back before we start running drills and working on our stick handling. By the time we"re done, I"m drenched in sweat and ready for a shower.

As I"m walking back to the locker room, Roman steps in front of me, blocking my path. "What do you want, Morozov?"

He glares at me. "You fucked her, didn"t you?"

I smirk at him, neither one of us needing to clarify who the her is in this situation. "And what would make you think that?" Probably the marks from her nails on the back of my neck that stick out above my practice jersey, but I don't bring it up. I'm sure he's seen them.

He shoves me hard, making me stumble back a few steps in my skates because I wasn't braced. "Stay the fuck away from her."

I grin and shove him back harder, sending him stumbling into the wall behind him. I can"t wait to see his face when Cassidy comes to a game with her belly swollen with my baby. "I didn"t see a ring on her finger when I was balls deep inside of her last night."

He growls and lunges for me, but I sidestep him and stick my skate out, tripping him so he goes sprawling across the ground. "You're a dead man."

"And you"re delusional if you think she wants anything to do with you after you fucked someone else. And in her bar"s bathroom?" I shake my head down at him. "You must be a goddamn moron."

His eyes narrow as he picks himself up off the ground. "She told you about that?"

I prop myself against my stick, acting like I don't give a shit about him when really I'm vibrating with the urgent need to beat his face in with it. "She told me everything."

Roman gives me a mean smile. "I doubt that. Did she tell you I own her ass?"

"See, now I know you're lying," I say, folding my arms across my chest. "Since you can't possibly own what belongs to me."

He scoffs and shakes his head. "You don"t even know what you"re getting into with her, Vaughn. Best to back off now while you still can."

I glare at him as my stick creaks in my grip. "You don"t know shit, Morozov. Now fuck off."

He smirks at me as he walks away, tossing over his shoulder, "Wait and see."

"Touch her and die, dickhead!" I yell after him. He just laughs and keeps walking, leaving me fuming and fantasizing about all the ways I could make his death look like an accident.

Cassidy is mine, and no one is going to take her from me.

Especially not Roman fucking Morozov.

I have to haul ass to the airport to pick my brother up from his flight, but I"m relieved he"s here. Sawyer and I are only a year apart, but we grew up like twins. He"s my other half and best friend, and neither one of us is willing to be far from the other. Him being on the other side of the country was like missing one of my limbs.

We grew up on the ice together, but he was always drawn to the medical side of things, patching me up when I"d take hard hits or shots from rogue pucks. The last three years of him in medical school, we were lucky I was able to stay in one city the entire time so he didn"t have to move.

Now that I"ve been traded, though, he called in a favor with our asshole of a father to get his residency moved. Being a senator has some perks, not that I"ve ever benefited from Nathaniel Vaughn"s particular brand of political assholery.

I park at the airport and wait for Sawyer outside the baggage claim area. When I see him walking toward me with his duffel bag slung over his shoulder, I can"t help but grin and pull him into a tight hug.

He laughs and hugs me back. "Miss me?"

I nod, not even trying to deny it. He'd know I was lying anyway. "Fuck yeah."

Sawyer pulls back and shakes his head. "You"re an idiot." He looks around the airport like he"s searching for something or someone. "What, you didn"t drag Torin Mattson along to pick me up? I thought you loved me."

I flash a sarcastic grin, gripping one of Sawyer"s bags and lifting it off his shoulder. "Yes, because my very straight teammate would give up his pre-game nap to let my brother drool over him."

Sawyer scoffs and flips me off. "I don"t drool."

I laugh and lead him to my car, tossing his bags in the back before climbing into the driver"s seat and starting the engine. "So, how was your flight?"

He shrugs, yanking the hair tie out of his hair and letting it fall around his shoulders before putting it back up again. "It was fine. I slept through most of it."

"Good," I say as we pull out of the parking lot. "Because now that you"re here, we need to find a place."

He nods, staring out the window at the gray blanket of clouds and rain that is Seattle in November. "Yeah, living in a hotel sucks."

"Glad you feel that way, because we're meeting with a real estate agent when we get back to the city."

"Ugh," he groans. "At least buy me lunch first."

"Done." I flip on the turn signal and merge onto the freeway. I can feel his stare burning into the side of my face. "What?"

"Maybe I missed your face." I side-eye him, and he's grinning. "Who is she?"

"Who"s who?" I ask, trying to play dumb, knowing it won't work.

He laughs, shaking his head. "Oh, so we're pretending your neck doesn't look like Wolverine used you as his scratching post? Okay."

When I don't say anything, he keeps pushing. "And don't try to pretend it was a hookup. You'd never let some random mark you up like that."

"Her name's Cassidy." Every word comes out from between gritted teeth. Yeah, my bisexual doctor of a brother is a definite threat. "Hands off."

"I shouldn't suggest a Vaughn brother sandwich, then?"

I swear to fuck I growl like a goddamn animal at my brother.

"Fuck," he laughs. "Why do you look so crazy right now?"

My fingers tighten on the wheel as Sawyer connects his phone to the stereo. "She brings it out in me."

"Holy shit. Since when are you possessive?"

"Since Cassidy."

"And? Details, dude. Who is she? Is she hot?" Sawyer can't stand the silence, so he picks a song from his playlist to play in the background. "I'm waiting."

I grin as I think about my little liar who won't admit how much she wants me and how fucking perfect she is. "She hated me before we even met. Called me a talentless asshole in my Instagram DMs."

"Leave it to you to be into a girl who wants nothing to do with you."

"You know how I like a challenge."

"I'm well aware. So she hates you?" He studies me and then reaches across the car and pinches my cheek. "I don't think I like the way you're smiling right now. It's giving Joker vibes."

Fuck, I missed my brother. "You remember that hat trick the other day?"

"Dude, I couldn"t believe you did that. I broke my TV when it happened. Jumped up so fast I threw the remote at the screen and shattered it."

The song changes and I glance over at Sawyer, feeling smug as fuck about this next part. "Cassidy played chicken with me and lost. She dared me to get a hat trick and if I did, I'd get her. No way was I losing."

He stares at me like I'm a stranger, his eyebrows up by his hairline. "You want her long-term? You?"

His insulting tone is something I choose to ignore. I'm capable of being in a relationship. I think. "She"s stubborn as hell and doesn"t give in to me without a fight. But fuck if that doesn"t do something to me. She's the total package—gorgeous, clever, driven. Why wouldn't I want to keep her?"

"Remind me not to drink the water while we live here. I don't want to catch whatever this is." Sawyer sweeps his hand in my general direction. "And for the record, I think you're certifiable."

"Probably," I agree with a grin. "You"re the third person who"s called me that today."

He laughs and then turns to stare at me, raising an eyebrow. Yeah, he"s mastered the art of raising one eyebrow, Rock-style. "And you think a ride on your dick's all she needs to be all in with you?"

I stop at a light and turn to raise my own eyebrows at him—both of them. "You doubt my skills?"

My brother grins and grabs his phone, changing the song. "Never." I groan when I hear the familiar beat of The Killers" "Mr. Brightside". He knows I hate this goddamn song and the million times he's made me listen to it.

Sawyer laughs and cranks it up, singing along off-key while I try not to strangle him in the passenger seat.

When we get back to the hotel, I show Sawyer to his room in the suite—I upgraded so we wouldn"t have to share a bed—before heading over to mine to change for the game tonight. No pregame nap, but it was worth it to have my brother here.

"Get your ass in gear, bro. You"re riding in with me," I yell.

Sawyer pops his head out of his door with his lip curled. "Fuck, no. I"m not going to sit in an empty arena for hours before the game starts. I"ll grab a ride."

"We're stopping on the way to meet with the realtor and see a couple of properties. Besides, if you ride with me, you"ll get to watch warmups with Mattson. Two words, bro: Groin. Stretches."

His eye roll is so much like mine it's like looking in the mirror. "I"ll get to see those anyway. They"re right before the puck drops, jackass. You act like I"ve never been to your games before."

"Fine, whatever." I grab my bag and toss his wallet at him. "Come on, Sawyer," I pout, which is something I"ve only ever done with him to get my way. "Please."

He sighs before he flips me off and disappears back into his room. I grin because I know I"ve got him. Works every time. "And you can wear my jersey like you"re my bitch," I yell after him.

"Fat fucking chance. First stop is the team store for a number eight sweater."

He meets me by the door in ripped jeans and a leather jacket and I look him up and down. "You"re gonna scare Mattson away."

"Now look at you, doubting my skills."

"Never," I say, grinning at him as I echo his earlier response. Fuck, it"s good to have my brother here.

We walk down to my car and Sawyer hops into the passenger seat while I climb in behind the wheel. The first property is only a few miles from the hotel, so the drive is short, but Sawyer still has his phone out texting someone.

"Who are you talking to?" I ask, trying to peek over his shoulder.

He slaps my hand away and shakes his head. "Dad. He"s being as tyrannical as ever."

"Still trying to persuade you to become his queer show pony?" I ask with a laugh.

Sawyer rolls his eyes. "I swear the day I came out as bi, Dad stopped seeing me as a person and I became a campaign strategy instead."

My phone's been suspiciously quiet since my trade, but it's only a matter of time before my father makes his opinion known on my life choices. Loudly. No doubt he's working on how to spin what happened in his favor as we speak.

After our short but productive meeting with the realtor, we put in an offer on a house and haul ass to the arena because now I'm running late.

I pull into the player"s parking lot and park my Range Rover before we get out and walk toward the entrance. Sawyer looks around like he"s never been in an arena before, but this place was renovated last year and it"s hella nice so I don"t blame him for gawking. I did on my first day, too.

I lead him through the back hallways toward the locker room where the guys are already getting ready for warmups.

I stop in front of the doors and turn to my brother. "Glad you came now?"

He nods. "Hell yeah." He looks over at me with a smirk that tells me he"s about to say something that"s going to piss me off. "I"m about to see Torin Mattson's dick. I can feel it."

I glare at him. "You better not fuck him. Find someone at the bar tonight after the game and leave my teammates alone."

He laughs and shakes his head. "You're not the only Vaughn who likes a challenge, Hay."

"Straight," I growl, shoving him through the doors and into the locker room.

"That only makes it more fun," Sawyer says, repeating my words back to me.

I love my brother, but this is the last shit I need before a game. Still, I follow him inside and try to ignore the way he stares at Mattson like he"s starving and the dude"s an all-you-can-eat buffet.

"Keep your dick in your pants," I growl at my brother, knowing he only listens when he wants to. Hopefully Torin doesn't notice Sawyer eye fucking him, and right now his back's turned, so I drag my brother through the locker room with me before Torin can catch on to my brother's little crush.

I don"t have time to deal with Sawyer"s chase. We"re the same in our obsessive tendencies, he and I. But now, I"ve got a hockey game to win so I tune out all the bullshit and step into my pre-game ritual, knowing once it"s done, I get to feed my addiction with another taste of my girl.