47. Winter

I wasin the hospital for a few days, and my mom practically moved in. Between me and my dad, she had plenty of visiting to do. Thanks to her, Asher, and Melly, I hardly had a moment alone.

It might have been the best week of my life, if not for the bad dreams plaguing me at night.

When I was finally discharged, I went to see my dad. Mom was already there, sitting in silence beside him. He was asleep. I closed the door quietly and sat beside her.

"Are you sure you're okay to go home, honey? You still look tired."

I couldn't tell her about the nightmares I'd been having every night about The Cove, so I just shrugged. There was a blank space in my knowledge about the Fitzgeralds and my family, and that terrifying place upstate. The mystery was driving me crazy.

"Why do you think Duncan gave me Aunt Ruth's bracelet?"

My mother shuddered. "Who knows why that man did anything. You look just like her. I suppose you reminded him or her." She stroked my hair. "I should have stopped it. I didn't want to be rude."

"Do you know where the inscription comes from?" I wondered. I rubbed my finger over the spidery Latin phrase on the white gold bracelet. In Tenebris Prosperamus.

My mom thought a moment and shrugged. "Ruthie used to say it was from social club that Duncan belonged to in New York. She didn't look happy when she said it. I never pressed her further on it. I wish I had. Maybe she would have felt like she could have come to me." My mother sighed sadly. "At least now, she can rest in peace. That awful place has been exposed and the police are looking for Duncan and Trent."

"I don't think they'll find them," I said absently.

"And you know that because?" she wondered, raising an elegant eyebrow at me.

I backpedaled quickly. "I don't know. Just being pessimistic, I guess."

"Well, I have to hope that men like that will get their just desserts," Mom said firmly.

I nodded, a grim grin coating my lips. "I didn't say that they wouldn't get what's coming to them…just that I don't think the police will catch them."

Dad got out of the hospital a week later and was put on bed rest. Mom had canceled all her trips for the rest of the year. The police were working with Canadian forces to track down Duncan Fitzgerald and Trent, as well as working on all the evidence discovered at The Cove. Police thought they'd fled over the border.

Apparently, they uncovered CCTV footage of plenty of rich and wealthy men from all over the East Coast who had frequented the business. There were a lot of legal offices and government agencies busy with the fallout from The Cove. It dominated national and even international news cycles for weeks. The one day that was conspicuously missing was the day that The Cove came crashing down. Funny that.

My childhood home was full. It was unsettling at first. My mom was always puttering around, and babying my father, popping up out of nowhere. It was odd to get used to at first, but then I liked it. I liked it a lot.

Now that Dad was taking time away from work, he was appreciating the small things again. A walk in the garden with his wife, and dinner with his daughter. All the ordinary, everyday things that made life worth living. Things that Melly Martino had understood the importance of, even as a single mom to twins.

Unconditional love, applied consistently over time without end.

Asher stayed in touch with his dad, traveling up to the farm in New York every few months and taking Eve with him. His dad sometimes came to his games. I sat beside him when he did. I never thought I'd see someone tear up with joy at a college hockey game, but Brett often did. I also learned that parents came in all shapes and forms. There wasn't some perfect ideal. There were just people, trying their best.

Both my parents were sitting in the restaurant at The Dunes when I came in from my tennis lesson. I'd thought about stopping them now that I was in college, but I couldn't afford to let my skills slip.

"Here she is," Dad announced with a smile. "Sit down, sweetheart, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What's up?" I asked, gulping down a glass of water.

Dad swallowed hard and then started. "You know that the company's bottom line suffers the less I show my face at work. According to my doctor, and your mother, that's what has to happen, however. Our lives might change a little, or a lot. I hope you can accept that. I'm sorry?—"

"I don't need lavish things." I rushed to reassure him. "I don't need new Amex cards or trips to Paris for shopping."

"I suppose since we'll be home more from now on, we'll need some new hobbies."

"You'll also be home more? Long-term?" I pressed.

Both my parents nodded.

"Then I'll be richer than I've ever been. I don't care where we live, as long as we're together and healthy."

A deep voice cut in from behind us. "I'll take care of Winter from now on, sir. You don't have to worry; she'll never want for anything as long as I'm here." Asher rested a hand on my shoulder, standing behind me.

I passed him my glass of water. The man had barely broken a sweat, despite being in the same demanding tennis lesson as I just had. I had to say, having classes with Asher made it miles more fun.

Dad smiled and tapped the table. "That's what I'm talking about. A responsible man. They're not easy to find, you know, especially at your age, son."

We hung out with my parents for a while before heading toward the locker room to change.

"So," I drawled, sauntering along beside Asher. "You'll take care of everything?"

"Damn right, Ice Queen."

"Buy me anything I want?" I pressed. It felt good to joke around like this, in the bright and sunny days of spring. It felt like my life was just starting, after being on pause for so long. If I slept alone, the nightmares still came, but when Asher slept with me, I felt safe. Luckily, I'd pretty much moved into his single room in the Hellions' dorm, so I didn't have to worry about it anymore. The one thing I couldn't forget was the feeling of the brand sinking into Trent's eye. It haunted me. But then stories came out little by little from the women who had been rescued from there. They were mostly homeless teens who had run away from home. An international charity had stepped in to help their recovery, funded by a hefty anonymous donation.

Asher's arm brushed mine, sending shocks of awareness through me. Would I ever get over the effect this man had on me? I was starting to doubt it.

"Hmm, why, are you going to put it to the test right away? Wait until I get into the NHL for that new black card. Then I'll buy my queen anything she wants."

I stopped right where we had after the first time we'd played tennis together. I put my hands on his chest and leaned up on my tiptoes.

"There's only one thing I want right now…" I whispered.

"Is that right?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

I nodded, biting my lip coyly.

I waited until it seemed his guard was down before shoving him in the chest. The competition never stopped between us. It kept me on my toes. I lived to clash with this man.

He fell back, but his grin as he fastened his hand around my wrist was nothing short of wicked.

He fell into the pool and tugged me right in with him. We hit the water with a huge splash.

I surfaced, and Asher grabbed me around the waist and backed me into the tile wall behind me.

"You better be wearing underwear around all these people," he warned, his hand straying under the hem of my skirt. There was no one in the pool area, but that could change at any second.

"And if I'm not?"

"That's an immediate spanking, I'm afraid."

"Sounds good, I'll pencil you in for tonight."

Asher laughed, low and throaty and sexy as hell. He picked up my left hand and kissed the ring on my finger. The ring he had made for me himself.

"Pencil me in for every night, for as long as we both shall live…If anyone asks," he tucked a wet lock of hair behind my ear, "you've got plans."

The game of the season was a close one. It was played at home in Hade Harbor, and the Hellions fought like no one had ever seen before. Maybe it was just to win the season, or maybe it was because there were NHL scouts in the crowd tonight. The tension was palpable.

From the second the team stepped out on the ice, my gaze was glued to number 18. Asher warmed up, skating by where I sat and touching the glass as he passed. I stood as he went, my heart thumping hard. He had to be so nervous, there was so much for riding on tonight for him. I had my camera and was taking pictures. There was such magnetism and energy in the game. It was producing my best work.

Still, as the buzzer sounded and the game started, his nerves weren't visible. But then, Asher never looked nervous. God, I loved him. I was head over heels for the talented, fearless man skating down the ice like a bullet. The one who knew all my worst secrets and loved me right back, just as much.

In the end, Asher scored and assisted two goals. The rest of the Ice Gods played amazingly, too. They were such a unit, nothing could get past them. They lived together, played together, trained together, and had bonded in ways that went beyond usual teammates. They were a force of nature and brought a new meaning to the Hellions' slogan. Raise Hell. The Ice Gods weren't about to do anything but that.

I ran my throat dry, screaming for Asher and the Hellions. I jumped and cheered and barely sat before I was up again. I'd never cared about a single sports game in my life, until Asher. Now, it was the most exciting 60 minutes of my life. Well, fully clothed, anyway.

At an interval, one of the recruiters introduced themselves to me and asked for Asher's number. I guessed it was pretty easy to spot the girlfriends in the crowd, seeing as we were wearing our boyfriends' official jerseys and sitting right behind the coach's bench.

After the game, I let the girls go on to the party and waited for Asher outside the locker room. The team drifted out, triumphant and happy. I had the scout's business card in my pocket, and I couldn't wait to give it to him. I scrolled through the pictures I'd taken, saving only the best ones. After a while, no one came out of the locker room.

Why the hell was he taking so long? I tentatively pushed the door open and peeked inside.

"Ash? What's taking so long? I have a surprise for you," I called. It was silent inside; only the drip of the shower met my ears. I stepped inside. He had to be in here. I'd seen everyone else leave.

The door shut behind me.

"Asher?" I called again, venturing forward and then screaming with fright as his arms closed around me.

He lifted me easily, whirling me around so my back came up against the lockers.

"What are you doing?" I hit his chest, but he was so close, I couldn't do much more than tap him.

"Waiting for you, what do you think? What took you so long?"

"I — what?" I laughed, relaxing into his arms. "Aren't you ready for the party?"

"Hmmm, I'm exactly where I want to be," he murmured into my hair, his hands roving over me. "You look so fucking hot in this jersey, you know."

"You really like the jersey, don't you?" I teased.

He always got turned on by the sight of me wearing his name on my back.

"You have no idea how much. Lose the panties," he instructed firmly, and guided my hands down onto a nearby bench so I was leaning forward.

"Make me," I quipped over my shoulder. I'd lost so many perfectly good pairs of panties this way, but I just couldn't resist goading him. I loved the controlled feel of him cutting items of clothes off me, never so much as nicking me.

He chuckled. "With pleasure."

There was the sound of his knife opening, and then the gentle touch of him slicing the thin material. Cool air hit my ass when he pulled the scrap of ruined lace away from me and folded my short skirt up under the jersey. It was so big and baggy, it hung down around my thighs. Asher bunched it in his hand and knelt behind me.

I jerked as he licked me. I always felt self-conscious at first, but then it faded as his tongue explored me. He ran his eager tongue across my clit and down the length of my slit, making me even wetter. After a game, it was overkill. I got plenty wet watching him smash his way across the ice.

He smacked my ass cheek hard and straightened up. "Fucking delicious."

Then his cock was prodding at my entrance, pushing just inside. He stretched me, shallowly fucking me at first, then pressed deeper. I arched my back and invited him as deep as he could go. He gripped his jersey in a knot and held my hips in place, fucking me harder.

He always went hard after a game, full of adrenaline and the high of winning. I held on to the bench and enjoyed every second of his punishing treatment. I loved all the games we played. Rough fucking postgame, gentle morning fucking, fucking me awake, fucking me outside in the woods…In all the games we played, it was knowing that he'd be the one I'd be playing with for the rest of my life that did it for me.

The only constant I'd ever known. The one who had refused to leave. The one who had held on to me, against all odds.

I came quickly. Watching the game was all the foreplay I needed. He followed with a guttural grunt, emptying himself inside me in a rush of sticky heat. I loved that feeling. I loved every single part of him.

After, when I was cleaned up and he was getting his bag together, I took the scout's business card from my pocket and handed it to him.

"Despite what you might think, I actually came here for a different reason. Here — the scout sought me out to try and get your contact info. I think you've been discovered, my love."

He took the card and stared at it for a long moment. Then he smiled, tucking the card away. "You're going to call him, right?"

He nodded thoughtfully. "Sure I am. I haven't worked this long to give it up now. However, I have my conditions. I won't go just anywhere. I don't want the type of contract that pays me a ton upfront and can trade me somewhere across the country whenever they feel like it."

"Okay, but it's the NHL. You might have to be accommodating," I teased him.

He shouldered his bag and held his hand out for mine. "Sure, on some things, but others are nonnegotiable."

"Like?"

"Like location."

We left the locker room and headed down the hallway.

"Location? That seems like a small thing to shoot yourself in the foot over," I observed.

"I won't go anywhere you don't want to. That's my nonnegotiable. I won't budge on it."

He pressed our joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of mine.

"That's my choice, and it always will be. First of all, I choose you. Every. Single. Time."

I blinked tears out of my eyes at his words. "Well, ditto," I mumbled.

He let out a booming laugh. "Your Majesty, you're a wordsmith, and don't let anyone tell you different."

I rolled my eyes at him, ridiculously pleased with his romantic words.

He tutted. "That wasn't an eye roll, was it?"

I tossed my hair and raised my chin to give him an imperious look, just the way he liked me to. "Depends on what you're planning to do about it if it was."

"You know it's my solemn duty to correct bratty behavior…if indeed, you were being a brat." His wicked eyes promised all kinds of fun and games.

"In that case, Martino, I definitely one hundred percent was…" I danced just out of his reach, his expression turning molten.

"I was hoping you'd say that. Come here." He lunged toward me.

I turned and ran, our laughter echoing around the halls.