Chapter 17
Danielle
Sophie and I sit up in the grandstand watching as our men annihilate the team from New York. They have put in one of the best games of the season and I know there was a scout here somewhere who wanted to check out the dream team in action. They’re down to the last few minutes of the game, Coach Harris is screaming from the barrier, red in the face. We already know we’ve won this one, but he wants them to finish it strong. Who would blame him?
Miller looks up at me and gives me the cheekiest grin and wink as he steals the puck from the New York forward with absolute ease, adding in a little fancy footwork and powers on with amazing speed as Tank and Bobby do an amazing job of keeping his line clear. I see him stare down the opposition’s goalie and shoot for everything he is worth. The puck enters the goal and not two seconds later the buzzer sounds, signalling the end of yet another amazing game. Leaving my boys once again, undefeated. Yeah, that’s right, my man is a BAMF, A Badass Mother Fucker!
We watch and cheer with pride as the boys line up through the centre of the ice with Miller leading them in a handshake with the other team. They leave the ice proud men and disappear into the locker room. The crowd slowly clears out and as usual, a huge crowd is gathered around waiting to congratulate the boys and find out where the party is going to be tonight.
I make my way down to the merchandise stand to find out how our sales are going. After adding the boy’s jerseys to the merchandise, I’m not surprised to find that they have been selling like hotcakes, especially the ones that say ‘Cain’ in big letters across the back. Though I must admit, I might have bought one of those myself then surprised Miller in the bedroom when he got home the other night.
“How are you going, girls?” I ask when I finally make it through the crowd that is trying to get to the boys.
“Yeah, good,” the little blonde freshman says. “We’ve been getting smashed, I think we’re going to need a third person to help us out.”
“Ok, sure, I’ll get it cleared with Coach. I’m sure it will be fine,” I tell them as they hastily continue making sales. I check the stock and get busy helping them out when a familiar set of hands circle my waist.
“Fuck, you’re sexy in my colours with my name on your back,” Miller says in my ear because, obviously, I couldn’t resist wearing his jersey.
I turn in his arms and give him a congratulatory kiss. “You were sexy when you were on the ice, owning it”, I tell him.
“You girls up for Micky's tonight?” he asks.
“You bet,” I smile.
He gets ushered away with the boys and I promise that Sophie and I will meet them at the bar once we’ve helped the girls at the merchandise table finish up.
An hour later Sophie and I push out way through the door to Micky’s to find the place absolutely pumping, there are bodies everywhere and it’s no secret why they are all here when they all begin chanting the Dragons war cry. We push our way through the crowd which is made a lot easier when Jaxon calls out for the crowd to part for as we are Dragon royalty, Hell, Miller and I are now known as the Dragons King and Queen.
I find Miller amongst the bodies and sit down in his lap feeling right at home. The night erupts crazy around us as the boys continue drinking and celebrating. Miller only has a few and after the many disastrous nights I’ve had in this particular bar, I decide only a few sounds like a pretty good idea.
I spend my night splitting my time between dancing with Sophie, mucking around with the boys and making out with Miller as his hands slip into my panties under the table.
A few hours later, Coach Harris pushes his way through the door with a man dressed in a very expensive suit, looking as important as ever. “Fuck,” Miller says in shock as he eyes the man, recognizing him instantly. Tank looks up at Miller’s tone and immediately imitates his shocked gaze.
Coach Harris leads the man over to our table. Miller and Tank stand immediately, causing the rest of the boys to follow suit. “Well if it isn’t the dream team,” the man grins reaching out to shake hands with Miller and then Tank.
“Who is that?” I ask Jaxon, leaning over to whisper.
“Looks like a scout, but I have no idea where he is from. This is huge though, the scouts never come out to meet the players,” he says in awe, watching the scene unfold before him as if looking into his own future.
The boys talk with Coach Harris and the man for a while when I realize that Sophie is absolutely smashed. I let Jaxon and Bobby know that I’m taking her home so I don’t interrupt the boys during their meeting of a lifetime.
I buy a bottle of water and practically force it down Sophie’s throat as she gives me the latest update on her and Tanks sexcapades, which, as usual, is far too many details. We stop by the local burger place and grab some hot chips to munch on for the rest of the walk home.
Somehow a 15-minute walk has turned into a 45-minute stroll. We finally make it home and I tuck Sophie into bed after she begs me to help her pee.
My phone rings and I pull it out of my pocket to find Miller’s name on the screen. “Why hello, superstar,” I say as I answer the phone.
“Hey babe, just checking you got home ok?” he asks.
“Yeah, took us a while, but we got here eventually,” I laugh.
I hear the noise of the bar in the background and realize he must be standing out the front “So was that a scout?” I ask, hoping it was all good news.
“Yeah,” he says and I hear the pride, loud and clear in his voice. “He was from Chicago, one of the best teams, they seem pretty interested in signing both me and Tank but won’t make any promises till the end of the season. There are apparently a few other teams who are looking at us.”
“Wow,” I gasp. “That’s amazing.”
“Can I come to your place to celebrate?” he asks seductively.
“Of course, you can,” I laugh. “Stay and celebrate with the team, I’ll wait up for you,” I tell him.
His response is cut off when there is a knock at the door. “Are you at my door?” I ask as I make my way through the kitchen and lounge room.
“I wish,” he groans, sending shivers all over my body.
“Hold on a minute,” I say as I answer the door with the phone still pressed against my ear in my short pyjamas.
I pull open the door to my find a very drunken Brett standing before me. “Fuck,” I gasp as he smirks down at me, looking my body up and down with hunger in his eyes
“What is it?” Miller asks in alarm.
I ignore his question as I stare my past in the face. “You need to leave,” I demand with a snarl as my heart begins to beat rapidly in my chest.
“I’m not going anywhere, baby,” he slurs. “I told you, I want what’s mine.”
I gasp and step back into the doorway, dropping the phone as I attempt to slam the door. He jams his foot in and forces the door back open between us. “Come on, baby,” he says, stepping up to me and pressing me into the wall. The stench of rum wafts off him making me feel sick. “I know you want it, you dirty little slut.”
“Brett, I asked you to leave,” I snap, turning my face away from him as he tries to lean into me and begins untucking his shirt from his pants, the shirt that I bought for him.
He grabs my jaw and forces my face back to his. I look up into his dead eyes. “You’re. Fucking. Mine.” he growls.
“Get. Out,” I cry, hoping Sophie can hear me, but I know it’s no use as she has well and truly passed out already. Trying my hardest to get out of his grasp, I squirm against him but it’s just no use, I’m too small and he is far too strong. He must have spent the last year working out.
He laughs at my attempts and runs a hand down the side of my body and grasps my breast with force, I cry out in pain knowing it will leave a bruise. “Yeah, I knew you would like that, you whore.”
A whimper escapes me as I realize what’s about to happen. He leans down and kisses the side of my face working his way to my neck, leaving a nasty trail of saliva behind as his hand reaches down to release his belt buckle. His free hand slips into my singlet again and grasps my breast, pinching down hard on my nipple causing me to cry out in pain.
A tear slides down my face as I continue trying to push him away. Now with his dirty cock free, he presses his erection up against my stomach while his other hand cups me between my legs.
“Please, just leave,” I beg. “I’m with someone else now.” I whimper.
He leans back from me and slaps me hard across the face. “No. You’re mine, not his,” he snarls.
His hands find the waistband of my shorts and begin making their way inside. I feel his fingers roughly graze past my clit and force their way into my entrance, he pumps hard once, then twice when he is ripped away from my body and thrown into the opposite wall and falls to the floor with a thump.
Miller suddenly stands between us, shaking in rage, a cold, haunted look in his dark eyes. He grabs Brett off the ground and forces him to his feet by the collar of his shirt, holding him in place while he lunges out with a right hook, instantly knocking Brett to the ground once again. He jumps straight at him and proceeds to lay into him until he is out cold. Miller makes a quick call as my body slumps to the floor with relief, a loud sob escapes me and I am suddenly wrapped in the safety of Millers' arms. “Shhh,” he soothes as I cry into his chest, running his fingers through my hair and studying the red mark on my face.
We sit there for the next ten minutes until a cop car pulls up followed by Tanks truck.
Tank immediately takes in the scene before him as a snarl comes ripping up his throat. He looks me over, studying every inch of my body. “You ok?” he asks.
I give him a small nod as Miller promises to explain everything in the morning. Tank makes his way into the house and heads towards the kitchen, letting us know he will stay up if we need him.
The two officers get out of the car and come to inspect the situation. “Good Evening,” the first officer says. “I’m Officer Nathans and this is my partner Officer Samuels,” he says, introducing themselves.
Miller helps to pick me up off the floor as the officers begin their questioning. They call for an ambulance and I’m thankful that Brett is finally taken away. The officer’s come inside and takes a seat in the lounge room as Miller goes over his version of the night. They give each other a look when Miller gets to the part where he knocked him out and I hope this has no impact on his future.
“Thank you,” Office Samuels says, then turns her green eyes on me “Miss…?”
“Danielle,” I answer.
“Danielle, do you mind going over what happened here tonight?” She asks.
I give a slight nod and decide the full story will be best. I ask Miller to grab my phone from the doorway as I begin telling the officers about my history with Brett. Once Miller returns, I show them the messages I’ve been getting from him over the past few months. Millers back stiffens as message after message is shown and I know he is going to want to chat about this afterward.
I give them every detail of the night with tears slipping from my eyes as I go over the gruesome details.
“Now, Danielle, we suggest you come down to the station and press charges, I’d even suggest a restraining order,” Officer Samuels says.
I look over to Miller who gives me a firm nod and is in total agreeance with the officers.
“Ok,” I say. “Does it need to be now or can I come down in the morning?”
“The morning is fine,” she smiles. The two officers get up and Miller escorts them out.
He returns a moment later and instantly scoops me into his arms. “Are you ok?” he asks as I stare off into the distance.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” I tell him. “I just want to shower and get him off me.”
“Ok,” he nods, getting up and leading me down the hallway. “I’ll wait for you out here”
“No,” I say urgently, grabbing onto him. “Don’t leave me. I don’t want to be alone.”
“Are you sure?” he asks. “I figured you wouldn’t want me touching you right now.” he says.
“You’re the only person who could possibly help me forget everything that just happened. I need you.”
“Ok,” he nods, leading me into the bathroom. He helps me to undress and I watch myself in the mirror as he exposes my skin. There is a shallow bruise appearing on my face and red marks around my right breast. Miller kisses me on the forehead as he takes in my body and I realize seeing me like this is just as hard for him as it is for me.
I turn around and pull off his shirt, then move onto his jeans, letting them fall to the floor. We step into the hot water and he washes my body clean of any reminder of Brett. Miller holds me tight as the hot water rushes over us and eventually turns to cold.
We silently make our way into the bedroom. I do my best at towel drying my hair and slide into bed beside him.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him as he turns the side lamp off.
“Sorry about what?” he asks, coming up behind me and holding me close to the pillow.
“For not telling you about the messages,” I explain. “I just didn’t want you to worry, I never expected him to do something like this.”
“It’s ok, babe. I understand,” he soothes. “Just don’t hold back anything like this again. I want to know so I can protect you from things like this.”
“I promise,” I tell him as I nuzzle into his body.
“I love you so much,” he reminds me.
“I know. I love you too.” I say, rolling in his arms and planting a kiss on his chest as the world falls to darkness around me.