Chapter 21

Dallas

The first two games of the week were against Columbus and we smoked them. Now we were in Minnesota at the coliseum, ready to battle it out.

“Did you see the way Marcus stared you down earlier?” Braeden said, putting on his gear.

“Yep. And I know exactly what it means.” He obviously wanted payback for something he started and I finished.

Kellan huffed and shook his head. “If he pulls the same shit like he did last year, he’s going down. I swear, they must have the refs in their pockets.”

I couldn’t agree more. “No shit. Whatever happens, I want him.” I never would’ve had a problem with Marcus if he hadn’t kept jabbing me with his stick and bumping me so they could score. He never succeeded, but he did manage to lose his front teeth after I was done with him.

“You going out with us tonight or are you going to stay in your room and talk to your girlfriend?” Braeden joked.

I glanced over my shoulder at Justin, who glared at me. I’d spent every night this week after the games in my room, video chatting with Callie. I didn’t want to give her any reason not to trust me. Josh ended up hearing the conversation and butted in. “Girlfriend? Seriously? How long is that shit going to last?”

Gritting my teeth, I started toward him, but Braeden grabbed my arm. “Let it go, man. You know how Josh likes to joke around. The last thing we need is you getting reprimanded and him put in the goal.”

I thrust a finger at his chest. “Better watch your mouth, Harrison. I’m getting tired of listening to it.”

Josh bucked up, but one of our other defensive players, Wes Bradley, held him back. “He’s dating Justin’s sister,” he hissed low. “Shut the fuck up before they both go after you.”

Josh’s eyes widened when he turned to me. “Holy shit, you’re dating his sister? This is classic. No wonder Davis hates you.”

Maddox slapped Josh on the shoulder. “And Easton knows that if he hurts her, he’ll have me and Davis after him.”

Justin stormed out of the locker room, followed by Maddox and some of the other players. Kellan shook his head and laughed. “You’re in some deep shit, brother. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

I scoffed. “I hope so. Callie’s different from everyone else. I can’t seem to think of anyone other than her.”

Kellan and Braeden both smirked at each other. “Sounds like you’re falling hard,” Braeden said. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“Me, either.” I put on the rest of my pads and slid on my jersey. “Now let’s go kick some ass.”

We lined up with the rest of the team, and once the introductions were made and the music started playing, we took the ice. There wasn’t a lot of blue in the crowd. I took one turn around the rink with the team and then went straight to the goal. The whole coliseum pulsated with energy, the crowd cheering and hollering for their team. Judging by the way the Minnesota boys stared us down, it was going to be a rough game. Even the referees seemed on edge.

Kellan skated by me. “Stay focused, Easton.”

I saluted him. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

Everyone got into position and the game was on. All the action stayed on the other end, which was good. There was a lot of elbowing and clipping going on out there. It was times like that I wished I was an enforcer. All of my past coaches said I was too volatile to be one. That was why I directed all of my anger to protecting the goal.

Getting bombarded, Kellan passed the puck to Maddox, who kept being jabbed in the side by Daryl Frazier, Marcus’s wingman. “Are you fucking serious?” I shouted, holding out my arms. The refs weren’t calling shit.

Luckily, Braeden slammed Daryl into the wall, freeing Maddox so he could take the shot. It went in, putting the score at one to nothing. Tension filled the air and it felt like any minute things were going to explode. I was ready for it.

Everyone headed down my way and I focused on the puck, along with Marcus, who skated right toward me. Bring it on, fucker. Daryl and Kellan fought for the puck, and when Daryl took the shot, Marcus tripped me with his stick, only I was able to stop it from going in. There were loud boos from our people in the crowd, and yet the refs still did nothing.

“What now, you fucking cunt?” I shouted at Marcus. “If you want to lose more teeth, fuck with me again.” Braeden skated over and Marcus backed off. If the refs weren’t going to handle it, I sure as hell was.

“He must want his ass kicked,” Braeden huffed.

Gritting my teeth, I took a deep breath. It was only the first interval and I wanted to kill him. “He’s going to get more than that,” I growled.

The guys kept it on the other end for a while, with Kellan scoring us another goal. It only infuriated Minnesota even more. I knew what was coming. Marcus headed straight back to me and I focused as one of their players was about to shoot. There were so many players around he had his opportunity to strike. The blow to my back came just as his teammate took the shot.

“Damn, Easton. Why so clumsy?” Marcus sneered.

I fell to the ice, leaving the goal wide open. More boos came from the crowd, and that was all it took. All I could see was red. Kellan charged at Marcus, but ended up getting stopped by another player. Sticks, gloves, and helmets littered the ice, but I only had one goal. Marcus threw off his helmet and smiled, taunting me. Braeden skated after him, but I beat him to it, throwing off my gloves and mask in the process.

Rage consumed me and I tackled Marcus to the ice. “Son of a bitch,” I shouted, punching him right in the nose. Blood splattered across his face and he hit me back, clocking me against the cheek. It spurred me on even more. I punched him again and again until we were separated by the refs and I was pushed away.

Seething, Marcus wiped the blood away from his broken nose and I smiled as big as I could. “You’re pathetic.”

Braeden handed me my mask and I took a glance around the rink. “You gave the world a good show. Now let’s finish this.” Apparently my fight with Marcus was the last one to be broken up. Everyone else had already grabbed their gear off the ice.

Slipping on my mask, I triumphantly skated back to the goal while Marcus was taken out of the game. Victory was mine.

After a triumphant win, I grabbed a bite to eat with the guys to celebrate and headed straight back to the hotel. There were more missed calls on my phone from Ty, but I didn’t give a shit about calling him back, especially if all I was going to hear from him was about how Callie was bad for business.

My phone beeped with an incoming text from Lacey: Can’t wait to see you and meet your girlfriend this weekend.

I replied: Me, too. Callie’s excited.

Earlier in the week, I’d told her about Callie and everything we’d gone through so I could date her. She was happy to see that I’d stuck with just one girl for longer than a week. Getting comfortable on the bed, I called Callie. The second she appeared on my phone screen, she shook her head with the biggest smile on her face.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “What?”

“You. Strutting across the ice after you beat the shit out of Marcus. It’s a classic Dallas move.”

“What can I say, I kicked ass,” I said, brushing off my shoulders.

“That you did. Marcus deserved it after those cheap shots at you. I was getting so pissed at the refs for not calling anything.”

I scoffed. “You and me both. Thankfully, none of us were penalized except for Marcus.”

She sat back on her bed and I got a good look at her clothes. Her hair was in waves around her shoulders and her purple top dipped low in the front, revealing the tops of her breasts. It was definitely different from the scrubs she wore every day.

“Did you go out tonight?” I asked her. A pang of jealousy sparked in my gut, but I reined it in. She looked so damn sexy, and the last thing I wanted was for other guys to come on to her when I wasn’t there.

Nodding, Callie glanced down at her clothes. “Hannah and I went to Sammy’s to eat dinner and watch the game.”

“I see. How many guys hit on you tonight?”

Her lips pulled back into a small smile. “Are you nervous about something?”

“Hell yeah. You’re sexy as hell and I’m not there to keep other men away from you.”

She burst out laughing. “I can take care of myself. But if you must know, there was a guy who offered to buy me a drink and I refused. I told him I was taken.” Then her eyes narrowed. “I mean, I am taken, right?”

“Fuck yeah, you are. You’re mine.”

“Good. Because I have a surprise for you.” She grabbed a bottle of vodka off of her nightstand and took a long draft.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She hissed as the vodka went down her throat. “Trying to loosen up a bit. What I’m about to do is something I’ve never done before. I figured after the night you had, you could use a little fun.”

A million things ran rampant through my mind and my dick twitched. Eyes glued to the screen, I watched her situate her phone across the room and smile seductively at me as she flipped open her laptop.

“Fun, huh? What exactly do you have in mind?” I asked, palming my dick. Seeing her in that top and those skintight black pants, all I could think about was ripping them off. She clicked on her laptop and turned on Britney Spears’s “Gimme More.” “You’re going to dance for me?”

She moved close to the screen and winked. I had a feeling she’d had more than just that sip of vodka a few minutes ago. “Yep, and maybe take off a few clothes here and there. Sit back and enjoy it, because I’m probably never doing this again.”

Completely turned on and hard as a fucking rock, I watched her dance around her room. Callie was a strong, serious woman at times and a vixen in bed, but I had no clue she could dance so sexy and provocatively like a real-life stripper.

“Fuck, this is so hot.”

Callie turned around and looked at me over her shoulder. “Ready for it to get hotter?”

I couldn’t even muster a reply I was so fucking turned on. Swaying her hips, she lifted her shirt, showing only her back to me. She had on a lacy black bra that no doubt matched the thong underneath her pants. Facing me, she lowered them, keeping her seductive gaze on mine as she bared her body to me.

My fingers ached to touch her, and I’d have given anything to be there and spread her wide on the bed. Callie danced over to her bed and grabbed one of the posts, dancing up on it like it was a stripper pole. I was in heaven.

The song was close to ending, so Callie climbed onto her bed and took off her bra. On her knees, she squeezed her breasts and thrust her hips, moaning as if she was getting off. I could almost imagine me beneath her as she rode me. Fuck, I was going to come just thinking about it.

Once the song was over, she fell onto her bed and blew out a breath. “Wow, that was crazy.” My balls felt like they were going to explode. Groaning, I palmed my dick again, hoping to get some relief, with no luck.

“That was so damn sexy,” I said. She grabbed her phone and smiled. I could still see her breasts, her nipples all taut and swollen. “When I get back home tomorrow night, we’re not leaving my bedroom.”

She giggled. “Sounds good to me. I’ll be waiting for you. I wish I could be there now. Looks like you’re a little worked up.”

I tilted the phone down so she could see the bulge underneath my jeans. Then an idea struck. “Maybe you can be with me right now,” I told her.

Her brows furrowed and then she blushed. “What do you want me to do?”

Unzipping my jeans, I pulled out my dick and stroked it. “Not a damn thing. All I need is to look at you.”