Chapter 8

All that worrying I'd done about Hayes leaving me at the compound when he moved into his house had been for nothing. Only one week later, not only was it fully furnished with brand new furniture that he'd asked me to pick out during my days off, but just about all of my clothes and toiletries were in the primary closet and bathroom.

The day after he did the final walk-through with the builder, we'd stopped at my apartment to pick up what I thought would only be a few more things. Instead, he'd had a prospect follow us in an SUV…with four extra suitcases. Big ones, too.

I wasn't sure how many trips it would take me to get all my things back to my apartment after this was all over. But with how Hayes kept calling the house our home, I was hoping I'd never have to find out.

We hadn't really put a label on our relationship yet, but I was meeting his brother today. Which had to mean something. Or at least that was what I kept telling myself.

"You're sure Nathan doesn't want to stay here instead?" I asked for the fifth time, worried that I'd scared off his younger brother.

"I'm positive, angel." Hayes brushed his lips against mine and murmured, "He's got his own room at the hotel. He'll be fine."

"Okay," I sighed, still feeling bad because he had been planning to stay at the house until Hayes had told him about me.

"You're worrying for nothing," he assured me, placing his palm on my lower back to lead me into the garage. "He just doesn't want me to kick his ass for hearing something that he shouldn't. You shouting my name as you come is for my ears only."

Climbing into the passenger seat of his SUV, I rolled my eyes. But I didn't bother arguing because I couldn't deny being loud in bed. So it probably was for the best that Nathan didn't stay with us the first time I met him.

What really helped settle my nerves was being surrounded by the women of the Iron Rogues in the suite at the arena. I had already been well on my way to becoming good friends with Molly, Dahlia, and Elise before I met Hayes, and the time I spent at the Iron Rogues compound had solidified those relationships. I'd also gotten close with the others, and it felt good knowing they had my back if Nathan disapproved of me being with his brother.

Especially since he looked fierce out there on the ice.

"I had no idea hockey moved so fast."

"You shoulda seen me play." Hayes gently bumped his hip against me. "My kid brother is good, but I was better until that last injury took me outta the game."

"Don't worry." I beamed a smile at him. "I might not be familiar with ice hockey, but I don't need to see you play to know that you're my favorite player of all time."

"Damn straight, angel," he murmured before taking a sip of his beer.

I tugged on the sleeve of the jersey he was wearing. "I have to admit, I was surprised to see you in this. Although you're here to watch your brother, you played for the Trojans for years. Do your old teammates and fans give you a hard time for so publicly rooting for the competition?"

"Doesn't really matter." He shrugged and gestured toward the ice with his bottle of beer. "Nathan's family, and that's all that counts. I would have worn his jersey for him when I was still playing for the Trojans if my contract had allowed it. As long as my team wasn't the one facing off against him, I rooted for the Navigators."

His steadfast loyalty was just one of many traits making me fall head over heels in love with Hayes. "He's lucky to have a big brother like you. I enjoyed being an only child, but listening to you talk about him makes me think that I would have liked having an older sibling to look out for me."

"Nathan was a pain in my ass growing up, but I wouldn't trade him for anything." He wagged his brows at me over the rim of his beer bottle. "Maybe having three kids instead of two would make it easier on them when they're young. What do you think?"

"Um…not sure I'm the best person to ask since I didn't have the chance to experience sibling rivalry up close and personal like you."

"Three it is then."

Hayes had said similar stuff in the heat of the moment, but I hadn't been sure if he meant it. But the ease with which he casually mentioned us having a big family made my heart race. It also had me thinking about how he'd never used a condom any of the times we'd had sex. Which was a lot over the past week. And I wasn't on birth control.

Unfortunately, it was the wrong time and place to get into a serious discussion like that, even though we really should at some point when he wasn't already driving me out of my mind with desire.

"Remind me again why I couldn't borrow one of your Navigators jerseys?" I gestured at the green sweater I was wearing. "Instead of this? It's the team color, but I would've fit in with all the fans better if I was in their official gear. And you had five more just like the one you have on."

"Didn't want my brother's name on your back."

Reaching up to trace the letters on the back of his jersey, I pointed out, "But it's the same as yours."

"But the number under it is his, not mine," he growled. "I love Nathan, but no way in hell am I gonna have my woman walking around branded as his."

I hid my smile behind my drink, happy to know that I wasn't the only one in this relationship who was feeling possessive. Not that Hayes needed to worry—he was the only man I wanted.

His attention shifted to the ice, his blue eyes tracking his brother as he stole the puck from another guy's stick and skated toward the net.

We celebrated the goal with a kiss and ended up on the giant screens lining the stands. Hayes didn't seem bothered by it and claimed my lips again, only lifting his head when the crowd cheered. We glanced down at the ice to see Nathan pointing his stick at the box we were in, pumping his fist in the air.

"Oops," I giggled, my cheeks heating as I wondered if he was upset that we'd taken attention away from his goal.

Since we were already in the third period, I didn't have long before I found out. After the final buzzer rang and the teams left the ice, we said our goodbyes to everyone and headed down to meet Nathan. We spent about half an hour surrounded by women who didn't look like they'd dressed for a hockey game—puck bunnies, as Hayes explained.

With him leaning against the wall, his arms wrapped around me, and my back pressed against his chest, none of the women paid any attention to us. But they sure did perk up each time a player came out. Except none of them approached Nathan when he finally came through the doors, his dark hair still wet from his shower.

"Huh, that's weird," I mumbled.

"Them?" Hayes asked, jerking his chin toward the crowd. When I nodded, he explained, "They know it's not gonna do any good, so they don't bother. My brother followed my lead and trained the puck bunnies to stay away."

I beamed a smile at him, loving that he hadn't taken advantage of his professional athlete status to mess around with a bunch of women.

"Welcome to the family, Marnie." Instead of greeting his brother, Nathan headed straight for me and gave me a hug. But it didn't last long before Hayes yanked him away from me.

Sliding his arm around my shoulders, he grumbled, "Get your own girl."

Nathan cocked a brow. "You know what Mom and Dad have always said…sharing is caring."

"Never gonna happen." Hayes pulled me closer. "And I'd hate for Mom to cry because I had to make you bleed."

Nathan chuckled, shaking his head as he grinned at his brother. "Figured you'd say something along those lines, but I still had to yank your chain. That's what younger brothers are for, right?"

"Fucking hell." Hayes shook his head with a sigh.

"Let me know if this big lug doesn't do right by you." Nathan winked at me, earning himself a half-punch to the shoulder from Hayes. "I'll kick his ass for you."

Hayes was proven right yet again. I didn't need to be worried about meeting Nathan. Although the way he welcomed me into their family did make me wonder what Hayes had told him about me.