17. Hayden

Sweat burnsmy eyes as I watch Saint cross-check the fuck out of number eighty-eight, clearing a path for Warren to score what I hope will be the winning goal. The crowd goes wild and we"re up by one point in the last few seconds of the game.

As the clock ticks down, I"m on my feet with everyone else, cheering as the final buzzer sounds. Another fucking W, baby.

We"re all exhausted and sore, but it feels so fucking good to beat Vancouver and to do it my way. Especially when they were chirping the entire game about our playing style. The refs missed most of our shots, so whatever. As long as the stripes don"t see it, it"s legal in my eyes. We"re here to win and if they don"t like it, they can get in line with all the rest of my haters.

I grab a quick shower before heading back into the locker room to change, ignoring Roman"s glare as we pack up our gear and I change back into my suit. He"s pissed that we won and we did it without him. He had three giveaways because he"s a garbage player and without the entire team feeding his ego, he"s feeling butthurt.

Too damn bad.

This is my team now.

I warned him I"d take it from him, and tonight was step one. I"ve just proven to the guys who wanted to listen that my methods work. They"re not pretty, but they get the job done. Now it"s only a matter of time before the rest of the guys get curious. Seattle has something Atlanta never did—a hunger. A desperation to win that matches my own.

I fit here.

I'm feeling good as I leave the arena and head toward my car.

"You coming out to celebrate with us?" War asks, throwing his arm over my shoulders. Kingston, Torin, and Saint pile on until I stumble and laugh, shoving him off.

"Where?"

"Where else, dude?" Saint asks. "The Sin Bin."

My heart stutters as I nod, a euphoria settling into my veins knowing it'll only be minutes before I see my girl. We all pile into our cars and head toward Cassidy"s bar in a long line. She better have watched me tonight, or I"ll have to punish her. On second thought, I hope she didn't because the idea of marking her body up so she'll wear me on her skin while I'm gone is my new mission tonight.

This girl has me so fucked up.

When we walk into the bar, the place is packed and there"s already a line of groupies waiting for us at the bar. I ignore them and walk straight up to my girl, leaning over the counter and grinning at her like I wasn't just picturing all the ways I want to show the world she belongs to me.

Despite just winning a game that put Seattle in the wildcard spot for the playoffs, this is the best part of my night.

It's still early, anyway. There's a lot of season to go. But this right here? Being in touching proximity of this woman? Easily eclipses everything that happened on the ice.

Cassidy rolls her eyes at me and hands me a beer, ignoring me as she goes back to work. But she"s not getting off that easy. Not when I"m feeling like this. I grab her hand and pull her over the counter, ignoring her squeal as I kiss her hard and deep, making sure everyone here sees. That everyone knows not to touch because she's mine.

She shoves me back, but I don"t miss the way her lips curl into a smile before she turns away from me.

"Did you watch?" I ask, sliding onto one of the stools right in the middle of the bar. No way is she hiding from me tonight.

She nods and leans forward on the counter, giving me an eyeful of her tits in that tight shirt. Fuck, I want to bury my face between them and never come up for air. "I did. You played dirty as hell." Her gaze flicks back to my teammates" usual spot in the back. "And so did they." Her pretty eyes find me again. "You"re a bad influence."

I take a slow sip of my beer, watching emotions play across her face as she watches me swallow. I don't think she's aware of how easy to read she is. "Guilty. And don"t even try to deny that you like it."

"I don"t like it," she argues, but I can see right through her bullshit.

My elbows rest on top of the bar, and we lean into each other. I don't think she knows she's doing it, like my body's pulling hers into my orbit. "You"re lying again."

She shivers and I can"t help myself from reaching up and brushing my thumb across her cheek. She closes her eyes for a second before startling and then pulling away. The irritation on her face would be cute if it wasn't starting to piss me off.

She turns around to grab someone else"s order and I scowl at the bastard who stole her attention from me.

Fuck, I want her so bad I can barely think straight.

When she turns back, our eyes lock and the air damn near ignites between us. She bites her lip and I"m ready to throw her over my shoulder and carry her out of here when the door opens and whoever walks in takes Cassidy"s attention away from me. I let out a growl that barely sounds human, tired of sharing her with all of these nobodies who don't matter.

But her eyes narrow into slits as she tries to murder whoever it is with nothing but a look.

The feeling is very much the same in me, this possessive rage rising in me like a tidal wave. But when I turn to see who it is, that tidal wave turns into a natural fucking disaster.

Fucking Morozov.

It"s almost like he timed his entrance because the second he walks in the door, I"m swarmed by fans drunkenly celebrating tonight"s win. How many times have we blown off steam after practice or a game in this place and no one has ever accosted me like this.

It"s like a goddamn mob scene as I"m surrounded by people demanding my attention, wanting selfies and autographs. I have no idea how Roman got through them unscathed, but it"s clear as he leans over the bar and whispers something in Cassidy"s ear that he"s up to something.

She looks pissed, even more like she wants to kill him than before. Can"t blame her. He brings out the urge to slit his throat in me, too.

I finally manage to grit through the last smiles and sign a couple last jerseys and then I"m fucking free, and I get to the bar as Roman walks away. Instead of chasing him down and beating his ass, I turn my attention to my girl.

"What the hell did he want?"

She rolls her eyes. "Nothing new. Just thought he"d take one last run at me and hope I"d cave and give him what he wants."

"And what"s that?"

She tilts her head to the side, a small smile on her wicked lips as she studies me. "You jealous, Hayden?"

My own mouth curves into the cockiest grin I've got. "Of that douchebag? He can't handle the real you, Princess."

She leans forward on her elbows, her tits practically popping out of her shirt. I can"t stop staring at them. And then I'm starting to get pissed off for a whole new reason—how many other men in this bar have been staring at her tits in this shirt tonight? Fuck. "And you can?"

I reach forward, trailing a single finger from the side of her neck down to her shoulder and watch as her eyes flutter closed and goosebumps break out across her skin. "Damn right."

Somehow, she shakes herself out of the hypnotic crackle of energy between us and the outside world blares back into my awareness. Cassidy smirks and then backs off out of my reach. "That was some crowd."

Ah, she's changing the subject. That's on brand.

Instead of calling her out, I grab a Sharpie out of my pocket and sign the damp coaster sitting empty in front of me and flick it in her direction. "Who"s semi-famous now?"

She doesn't even try to catch it, letting it fall to the floor like it's worthless. "Still you," she says, reaching over the bar to tap me on the nose.

I huff out a laugh and then ask her for another beer. I"m parking my ass on this stool and not going anywhere. Not until Cassidy"s done for the night and I can take her home. She'll no doubt try to tell me no or sneak out the back, but I'm not about to let that happen.

And Roman... every day he becomes more and more of a problem—one I'm going to have to fix.

Cassidy slides my beer across the bar top, and I watch her move behind the bar, getting drunk on everything about her instead of my drink. She has no idea the lengths I"m willing to go to keep her safe and happy. To get her hooked on me. To leave her with no choice but to be mine.

And she never will.