Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

I 'm sitting next to Aliyah and Liliana. Watching the team practice. I'm impressed by their stamina. Honestly, I'd be passed out on the floor by now. I'm exhausted just watching them run drills.

"Do you skate?" I ask Liliana. Aliyah already told me she doesn't like going out on the ice. She has a fear of blades, but that's her story to tell, not mine.

"I can. I don't very often, though. Do you?"

"I used to. When we were kids, I'd follow Luke and Sean to the rink whenever I could. I mostly just wanted to hang out with them. But I got decent at skating at the same time."

"We should go to Gray and Kathryn's and skate with Graycee one day. She'd love it," Liliana says.

"Gray and Kathryn have a rink in their house?" I ask, shocked.

"Yeah, Gray put it in for Graycee. The guys run drills with her there all the time."

I've met Graycee. She's adorable and obsessed with all things hockey, particularly the Vancouver Knights. "That's insane but cute."

Money aside, I don't think my parents ever would have gone to that sort of effort for me.

I watch Luke and wonder what kind of father he'd be. Not that I want it to happen anytime soon. But eventually. When I'm better. When I can sleep without waking up screaming. Although, now that I think about it, I didn't have a nightmare last night.

I smile and grip Aliyah's arm. "I didn't wake up last night," I tell her excitedly. "I didn't have a nightmare. "

"What do you have nightmares about?" Liliana chimes in.

I blink as I look at her. I haven't told her about my past, about how Luke only came to get me because his mother called him from the hospital after I'd been beaten up by my boyfriend.

"I, ah, I had an ex who wasn't the nicest person," I admit.

"That's who you wanted to put a hit out on? When you asked Enzo about it on the jet?" Liliana asks. "Give me a name and I'll call my dad right now and get it done."

I shake my head. "I can't. I know that he deserves it. And I want him to disappear, but I can't be the reason he does."

"Okay. Well, if you change your mind, you have my number." Liliana looks out towards the ice. "Do you think they get hard doing that? Like, do they imagine moving on top of someone while gyrating on the ice?"

I follow her line of sight and see the guys stretching. And she's right. Their routine is very… provocative.

"Think anyone would notice if I just got up and slid underneath Travis right now?" Liliana grins .

"Yeah, me." Enzo's voice comes from behind us, making me jump ten feet in the air.

My hand lands on my chest. "Shit, I forgot you were there."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." He pauses, attempting to appear casual when he asks, "Out of curiosity, what did you say the name of your ex was?"

"I didn't."

Enzo smiles at me. "You're smart. Told you that you were too good for Jameson."

"Agree to disagree." I smile at him. The more I'm around Liliana's cousin, the more comfortable I feel.

"Agree to disagree." Enzo laughs. "I like that."

I return my attention to the ice. Luke is staring at me. Or is he staring behind me?

I glance over my shoulder but Enzo's focus is on his phone. When I turn back to look at Luke, he waves me over to the edge of the rink. So I push to my feet and approach the barrier.

Did I do something wrong?

I shouldn't have been talking to Enzo. I keep letting myself fall into this false sense of normalcy. And I keep forgetting the rules. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It won't happen again," I rush to say as soon as Luke is within earshot.

His brows draw down. "What are you sorry for? "

"For talking to another man. I shouldn't have done it. I know that. I shouldn't have…" I don't know what to say to get him to forgive me.

"Tanna, I don't care who you talk to. If you want to talk to Enzo, then talk to him. He's a good guy."

"You don't care?" I ask, the concept a little farfetched if I'm being honest.

"No, I don't," Luke says while pulling his helmet off his head.

"Then why did you look mad?"

"Because you're cold. I can tell you're cold and I should have gotten you a jacket." He sighs. "I'm not mad at you, Tanna. I'm pissed at myself for not considering your needs before bringing you here. I have to do better."

"I'm fine. I'm not that cold," I tell him. Or more like swoon at his feet. Could this man be any more perfect? I think not.

"Lia?" he calls out.

"Luke, don't. It's fine. I'm not that cold. I swear!" I tell him.

"What's up?" Aliyah calls back from her seat.

"Can you ask someone to bring Montana a coat?"

"You don't have to do that," I insist. "It's fine."

"You're cold and you don't need to be. You shouldn't have to be. Let me do this for you. Please," Luke says.

"I already did. About five minutes ago. I got all of us one, Montana. Don't worry." Aliyah smiles at me.

"Oh, thank you."

"I'm sorry I didn't think about it sooner," Luke says.

"Luke, you're not my father. I don't need you to look after my every need," I tell him.

"I'm your husband, and that's what husbands do. They tend to their wives every need." His voice has dropped a pitch. It's more husky. Growly.

My thighs clench together and my clit throbs at his hidden message. "You need to get back out there." I nod behind him.

"Yeah, I do." He sighs. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't need anything?" His eyes travel the length of my body before returning to my face.

"What I need you can't give me right now. So, yes, I'm okay."

"What is it that you need, Tanna?" he asks.

I lean forward and press my lips to his ear. "I need my husband to fuck me," I tell him. "I need one of those orgasms only he can give me." I step back and watch my words wash over him .

"Fuck my job. Giving you what you need is far more important," he grunts.

"Don't you dare. Nope, I came to Vegas to watch you play, Luke Jameson. Don't even think about walking off that ice. Besides, you can make sure I get what I want tonight, after you win."

"I'd much rather give it to you now," he pouts.

"I know. But we can wait. We have the rest of our lives together, Luke. We can wait a few hours."

"And the next," he reminds me before skating off.

"And the next," I repeat to myself.

I sit back down between Aliyah and Liliana, and a few minutes later, a girl walks out with three Vancouver letterman jackets.

Aliyah passes one to each of us. "We're going to need these. It's freaking cold in this place."

"Thank you," I tell her.

We're in a private box now. I don't know how Aliyah got us a last-minute box, but she did. And I'm grateful I don't have to be down there with the crowd. The game is in the third period. We're up by one, and I'm on the edge of my seat, waiting for the timer to go off. There are still five minutes on the clock. And, honestly, anything could happen.

"Please let them win," I pray to something, to anyone listening.

"They're going to win." Aliyah nods.

"From your lips to God's ears," Liliana adds.

Three minutes on the clock. The Vegas team gets the puck and I see it before it happens. They slap it past our goalie and tie the score.

"Looks like we're going into overtime," Aliyah comments. "No one is going to beat the dream trio in overtime."

"The dream trio?" I ask her.

"Liam, Gray, and Luke." She grins. "Their line is practically undefeated in overtime."

"Practically?"

"They've lost once or twice, but we don't talk about those instances. There's no room for negativity in this life. So, bring on the overtime. We're going to win."

I wish I had her confidence. It's not that I don't think the Knights are a great team. They are. But so is Vegas. And, well, I'm nervous. Luke takes the losses hard. He'll spend hours watching the replays, trying to see where things went wrong. What he could have done better.

No one else knows he does that. Well, no one but Grayson, because he does it too.

I get that losing is part of the game. Part of the sport. But Luke is my husband, and I'm allowed to want him to only experience winning, right? I haven't been a wife for all that long, but surely that's on the list of things a wife can do?

I wonder if there is an actual list. I should ask Aliyah.

The second I think it, I also realize how stupid I'm being. There's no list. As Luke likes to remind me, I am the decision-maker in my own life. There are no rules, other than the ones I set for myself. I get to decide what I do and when I do it. I get to decide the kind of life I want to live and no one has the power to make me think or do otherwise.