Chapter 1

Dallas

“Another undefeated win. Tonight’s going to be good.”

Braeden nodded and ran a hand through his blond hair, scoping out the crowd. “Can’t argue with you there.”

I looked around the room at all the women, scantily dressed in their skintight dresses, ready to have some fun. We’d just won another game, our rank undefeated. We were already halfway through the season. It was time to celebrate what was going to be another victory year.

We bypassed the women and headed toward the kitchen, where most of the guys from my hockey team congregated along with other dudes I didn’t know. Maddox Ledger had a habit of inviting outsiders to our parties. Guess I couldn’t blame him, since he was the one hosting the party.

On every inch of the gray marble counters were bottles of wine, liquor, and beer. Maddox was at the head of the kitchen table, tossing back shots with some of our teammates. It was tradition to throw a killer party the night of our first home game win, and it was Ledger’s turn to host. The guy was a fucking douche, but he knew how to throw the parties. I could always count on him to have a horde of women at my beck and call.

Maddox held up a bottle of tequila. “Shot?”

Braeden and I walked up to the table and Josh Harrison, our backup goaltender, moved over to let us in. “Fuck yeah,” I said. “Pour me two.”

Braeden held up his hand. “Same for me.”

Maddox poured our shots and I tossed mine back, relishing the burn as it went down my throat. “Great party.”

A sly grin spread across Maddox’s face. “Yes, it is. I don’t do them half-assed.”

Josh slapped a hand on my shoulder. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. “That’s for damn sure,” he said, tossing his beer bottle into the trash can. “Maybe one of these days I’ll actually get to play.” He poured himself a shot of tequila and downed it, his frustration on display for the world to see.

Maddox shook his head, trying to hide his smile. “I’m going to leave that to you.” He walked off and the room cleared out except for Braeden. The last thing I wanted to do was deal with Harrison’s crybaby bullshit about how he never got to play. Don’t get me wrong, he was a good goaltender, but he wasn’t as good as me.

“You done whining yet?” I growled at Josh. His eyes darkened as he stared at me. He was only twenty-two, but I had more years of experience and he knew it. Our coach wasn’t going to choose him over me.

Josh bucked up, lifting his chin in the air. We were about the same height, but I had a good thirty pounds more of muscle on me. I could snap him in half. “Maybe if you started working with me like Coach said, I’d get better. Instead, you leave me high and dry.”

It was true. I was supposed to work with him, but I didn’t want him getting better than me. It was my time on the ice and no one was going to take that away from me. “Only you can make yourself better. You can’t blame that shit on me,” I spat. “Now get out of my face.”

His jaw clenched, but I wasn’t backing down. It wasn’t the first time I’d gotten into a fight with one of my teammates. As one of the alternate captains, I had to keep the others in line when our captain wasn’t around. Josh huffed and stormed out of the room.

Chuckling, Braeden slapped me on the back. “Makes you wish Carter was here, doesn’t it?”

I scoffed and poured another shot. “He’d tell me Josh was right. I don’t want to hear that shit right now. All I want is to drink and fuck, and then fuck again.” Kellan Carter was our captain and my best friend. As far as morals went, he was a saint. Especially now that he was married to one of the sexiest women in the world with a kid on the way.

Grabbing the bottle of tequila, Braeden nodded toward the living room, where the DJ started to play. “Let’s go.”

The room was dark, lit only by the colored lights the DJ brought in. Some of the guys danced with their girls, while a lot of the women danced with each other, their bodies rubbing together. It was such a fucking turn-on.

I couldn’t take my eyes off a certain blonde, wearing a tight black dress with her tits about to fall out. Biting her lip, she danced provocatively in front of me, beckoning me out onto the dance floor. Braeden nudged me in the side. “What are you waiting for?”

Grabbing the bottle of tequila from him, I took one last swig and grabbed her around the waist, just in time for “How Do You Want It” by 2Pac to play over the speakers. Turning around in my arms, she rubbed her ass against my dick as she danced, giggling as my cock sprung to attention. All I wanted to do was lift her dress and fuck her senseless.

Grinning broadly, she faced me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’m Britney. Why don’t we find somewhere more private?” She smelled like cherries and I had no doubt she’d taste like them, too.

I nipped her ear and she shivered. “Follow me.”

I knew exactly where to go. Maddox’s house had over a dozen rooms to choose from, and I always chose the same one that was farthest away. That way, no one could hear the screams of pleasure as I fucked her. Taking her hand, I pulled her to the back room and shut the door. There was a bed on the far side of the room, but we didn’t make it there. Britney was on me in an instant, her hands fumbling with the button on my jeans.

“We need to hurry before my friends notice I’m gone,” she said, her voice rushed. She reached into my jeans, wrapping her hand around me. It felt so fucking good.

Chuckling, I lifted her up in my arms, revealing her bare ass as her dress pushed up around her waist from straddling me. “Your friends will be fine.” I squeezed the back of her thighs and pushed her against the wall. “You’re not going to want me to finish that fast.”

Reaching into my pocket, I slipped out a condom and unzipped my jeans. Before they could fall to the floor, the bedroom door slammed open. “What the fuck? You’re so dead, Easton.” With Britney in my arms, I couldn’t turn around fast enough before I felt the searing pain of a beer bottle smashing against my head, the sound echoing in the room.

Britney screamed as I dropped her to the floor while blood ran down my face into my eyes. “Son of a bitch,” I growled, jerking around.

“Jeremy, stop!” Britney cried.

The room spun, but I wasn’t about to let that cocksucker get away. Unfortunately, my head felt like it was going to explode. I ran a hand over my scalp and felt glass stuck in my skin. Blinded by my blood, I swung at the figure in front of me, connecting with his jaw. The sound of his pain was music to my ears. I didn’t know who Jeremy was, nor did I care. The bastard was going down.

Once he was on the floor, I kept swinging until I was pushed off of him. “He’s down,” Braeden huffed, pulling me away. The smell of blood permeated the air and I could feel my consciousness slipping with each passing second. More people charged into the room, their voices panicked as they surveyed what had to be a bloody scene.

“What the fuck went on in here?” Maddox shouted.

“No time for that,” Braeden snapped. “We need to get Dallas to the hospital. There’s glass stuck in his head.” My pulse pounded in my ears and I closed my eyes. I couldn’t move my body, everything felt numb.

Maddox’s booming voice brought me back. “Davis! Where’s Callie?”

“She’s coming,” someone else shouted.

I had no clue who he was calling for, but when a pair of soft hands cradled my head, I opened my eyes. All I saw was a beautiful face with blond hair and green eyes before everything went black.