14. Hayden

Cassidy breaksour little stare off first, but that's fine. I'll let her have her space for now.

I shove my glass away, frowning down at the remnants of the disgusting liquor.

"Want another one?" My little liar smirks, holding up the bottle of cheap shit and shaking it in my direction.

"Fuck no."

She laughs and I'm caught up in it until my asshole teammate Morozov takes the spot beside me.

Immediately, his eyes land on Cassidy, and I bristle. "Hey, fuckwit, you wanna find out how hard it is to play hockey blind? Get your eyes off my girl before I scoop them out and shove them up your ass."

He looks like he wants to rip my head off, and I hope he fucking tries. I waste no time fantasizing about all the ways I'd love to kill him, stuck on the idea of spilling his blood and burying his body somewhere in the woods.

In fact, new life goal unlocked.

Morozov smirks, that cold-ass smile sending gasoline into my veins, just waiting for another word to be the spark that sets me off. But I don"t show it. I never show weakness, especially not to a prick like him.

"Your girl? You mean the one who was warming my bed for the better part of a year?"

"Keyword being was," I drawl and I notice Cassidy moving to the other side of the bar to get away from the two of us. Can"t say I blame her. "You fucked that up, though, didn"t you?"

He clenches his jaw, his nostrils flaring as he leans toward me, his face inches from mine. "She"ll be back begging on her knees before this season"s over, Vaughn. Don"t you worry. In the meantime, enjoy that thing she does with her tongue. I taught her that."

I don't get a chance to respond before his face smooths into a calmness that"s so clearly a mask, it"s laughable. I wonder what the hell he"s doing now, but then I see the manicured nails slide up his arm from the other side.

There"s a blonde with her tits nearly falling out of a dress that"s too short and too tight sitting next to Morozov, and I can practically smell the desperation wafting from her. She"s on the stool beside him and he"s already got a hand on her thigh. She"s giggling at something he just whispered in her ear.

Roman turns to look at Cassidy, I"m guessing to check if she"s noticed he"s here with someone else. She"s got her head tossed back, laughing at something Lila said, before she turns and her eyes lock with mine. My girl didn't even glance in his direction, like for a second she only sees me. She gives me a small smile, then shakes herself like she didn"t mean to let me see that she actually likes me.

It"s cute.

She"scute.

Cassidy looks away, and I turn back to the scene in front of me. Roman"s whispering in his date"s ear, his hand inching up her thigh. I roll my eyes.

She"s nodding eagerly, her eyes wide. "You should definitely do that," she says, her voice porn star breathless.

"I just might," he murmurs, and I almost gag. Is that Roman's sex voice? Fucking sick.

"Can"t wait," she says, licking her inflated lips. "It"s going to be so hot."

His date"s gaze slides over to mine and I see the heat flare there in a way it didn"t for Morozov, and I can"t resist taking a dig at my tool of a teammate. "If diseased dicks are your kink, sweetheart, I"m sure Roman will give you a taste of his."

She blinks in confusion, and I"m not sure if it"s because she doesn"t hear me or doesn"t understand me.

Roman snarls in my direction, his hand curling into a fist. "You know what, you fucking asshole?" He leans forward, his hand leaving his date"s thigh as he gets in my face.

"What"s that, motherfucker? You going to finally grow a set of balls and fight me?"

He shoves me, but it"s not enough to even budge me. "I"m going to end you."

I grin, that familiar adrenaline rushing through me, the one I get every time I'm on the ice, at the idea of finally putting him in his place. "Bring it, fuckface."

My fingers curl into a fist, but before either of us can make the first move, Cassidy"s there, gripping the back of my shirt and pulling me back. "He"s not worth getting into shit with the team, Hayden. Let him go make whatever poor decision he"s about to." She leans around me and levels Roman with a glare. "Somewhere that"s not my bar, asshole. I don't know how many times I have to say it, but get the hell out."

Once Roman takes his ugly scowl and skanky date out the door, Cassidy blows out a breath and looks up at me. "I don"t need you fighting for my honor or whatever. I can handle Roman"s idiotic attempts to make me see what he thinks I"m missing on my own."

"And are you?"

She gets this cute wrinkle between her eyebrows when she's confused. See? Fucking cute. "Am I what?"

"Missing him?"

She stares up at me before she completely fucking falls apart. And I mean, the kind where she"s laughing so hard she can"t breathe, so she snorts and has tears running down her face. When she finally calms down and I wipe the wetness from her cheeks with my thumbs, she grins up at me. It"s the kind of grin that lights up the whole goddamn world. It also makes my dick hard.

It"s like she"s showing me the real Cassidy underneath all the walls she"s thrown up between us. It"s the first time she"s let me in like that, and I"m not about to let her regret it.

"I miss Roman like I miss food poisoning," she says, rolling her eyes at me. She"s still smiling, and I feel like I"m winning something.

"Good," I tell her, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead, breathing her in. "I"d hate to have to kill him." Despite my words, I'm still considering it. He's going to be a problem.

We stay like that for a few minutes, and the world disappears around us. She leans into me, her fingers gripping the fabric of my shirt like she doesn't want to let me go. I know if I called her out on it, though, she'd deny it.

When Cassidy finally pulls back, I reach up and cup her face, brushing my thumb across her cheek in a move that"s so unlike me, it"s hard to believe I"m doing it. I"ve never given a shit about anyone but Sawyer and myself, so this thing I"ve got going on with Cassidy is fucking weird. "You want to get out of here?"

She nods and I drag her over to Sawyer, handing over my keys so he has a way to get back to the hotel when he's done. Then I lead Cassidy out of The Sin Bin and down the street toward her place, her hand in mine as she follows beside me.

There"s something different between us now. Something deeper.

It"s not just lust.

I think it just might be the start of something more.