Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“But you left him. You got out. You took your life back.”
I nod, smiling sadly. “I did, but that did not alleviate the shame. I felt it every day. Still feel it as a matter of fact. I’m my toughest critic and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t remind myself what an idiot I was where Scott was concerned. Do you understand what that means?”
King shakes his head.
“It means I don’t trust myself. That I don’t know if I’m a good judge of character, and even worse is the thought that maybe I am a good judge of character and yet I still put myself in harm’s way, so that just makes me a dumbass who’s a glutton for punishment.”
Golden eyes stay locked onto mine and he licks his lips. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“I don’t know how to fix me,” I say, understanding how lost he feels. “But I’m trying, King. I’ve opened up to you in ways I didn’t think possible. I know it’s slow going, but I ask that you have patience with me.”
“I will,” he promises, hand coming to the back of my neck to pull me in for a gentle kiss. “I’ll give you all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere and I can back off if—”
“No,” I exclaim, a sudden panic hitting me hard at the thought of King taking a single part of himself away from me. “Don’t back off. Just… keep being you, because you’ve got me reconsidering what I thought I knew.” I take his hand in mine. “Just don’t give up if I get squirrelly.”
King chuckles, lifting our hands so he can kiss my fingertips. “I won’t give up, even if you’re squirrelly.”
I stare at him a moment, taking in his gorgeous face that doesn’t have a single thing to do with why I am attracted to him. It has everything to do with what’s inside. “I adore you,” I say, leaning over him so our faces are close. “You know that right?”
“You just told me, so I believe you,” he replies before pulling me down onto him. He wraps his arms around my waist to hold me tight, whispering, “I adore you too.”
CHAPTER 19
King
The on-ice atmosphere crackles with intensity as we line up for the face-off. The Winnipeg Rebels are a tough team, and tonight we’ve battled our guts out. My eyes lock onto defenseman Jacob McLendon who’s been shadowing Penn Navarro like a hawk. We’re on high alert and I can sense trouble brewing.
Penn’s not oblivious to it either and has shot a wary look or two McLendon’s way. Not in a way that says he’s fearful, but more like he expects something to happen and is waiting for the inevitable.
We’re deep into the third period, up by one goal. We need clean, defensive play which means the Rebels are going to do whatever they can to force mistakes. They’re desperate and desperation breeds dirty play.
The puck drops, and Penn, with his lightning-fast reflexes, easily wins the face-off. He passes to Boone, who’s ready to advance it up the ice. McLendon immediately zeroes in on Penn, checking him hard into the boards. He pushes McLendon away, skating off to get into position. The play continues, but I’m watching closely, knowing this won’t be the last of McLendon’s antics.
Boone sends the puck to Stone, who shoots, but the Rebels’ goalie makes a save, freezing the puck. The referee blows the whistle, and the play is dead. I skate up to McLendon, getting in his face to render fair warning. “Watch yourself. You’re very close to getting your head knocked off.”
McLendon sneers, his eyes cold. “Better keep a close eye on your boy, Kingston. Bad things happen to bad people.”
What the fuck? He skates away and I look over to Penn who’s lining up to take the face-off again. He doesn’t spare a glance anywhere else, focused on his job.
The ref drops the puck, and we’re back in action. Penn flies down the ice, stickhandling with precision. McLendon shadows him and I stay close by, ready to intervene if he even looks like he’s going to touch my boy.
Just as Penn slips a pass over to Stone, McLendon turns his back on the play and hurtles toward Penn. I’m close behind but before I can do anything, he cross-checks Penn right in the back, sending him sprawling to the ice. He slides ten feet, crashing into the boards and the home crowd roars in disapproval. The referee’s hand goes in the air, signaling the penalty but before Drake can get off the ice for a man advantage, a Rebel player intercepts a pass and the play is whistled dead.
I’m barely aware of Penn trying to push himself up off the ice as I launch for McLendon. That was beyond a dirty play. It was personal and could have caused serious injury.