تسجيل الدخولScarlett’s POV
"Let me drive you home," he said. "We're all going to the same place anyway. It doesn't make sense for you to get a separate ride."
"I can call an Uber."
"Don't be ridiculous. Come on."
Madison was already walking toward the parking lot, her heels clicking against the pavement. I wanted to refuse, to walk away and never look back, but Pierce had that determined look on his
Scarlett's POVIt took less than ten minutes for everything to hit the trending page.I was still in the arena when Sarah texted me the first screenshot. The Silver Reapers' win was trending.The video was trending. Pierce's name was trending, and not in any way that was going to help him. By the time I got to my car, Madison's name had climbed above his.Sarah sent another update twenty minutes later. Pierce Sterling's company stock had dropped eleven percent in after-hours trading. The drop was still moving.I pulled up my own company's numbers.They were going the other direction. The Silver Reapers' win had something to do with it, the investment narrative had shifted fast once the final buzzer went off and people started connecting the dots.But the rest of it was the video and everything that followed, the confrontation, the screen, Pierce standing in the middle of a packed arena trying to win me back in front of several thousand people and a few hundred active phone cameras.I
Scarlett's POVPierce was over her, his hands pinned into the mattress, muscles rippling with every heavy, rhythmic thrust.Madison was beneath him, her hair a wild halo against the white sheets, her legs locked tightly around his waist as if she were trying to pull him into her soul.Then, the sound hit.The stadium’s high-fidelity subwoofers caught every wet sound, every ragged breath, and transmitted them with a booming, predatory clarity."Pierce... please," Madison’s voice cracked through the arena, sounding both tiny and god-like in its amplification. She sounded breathless, her head lolling back as she surrendered to him. "God, don't stop. Right there... please."Pierce didn't answer with words at first, only a low, guttural groan that vibrated through the floorboards of the stadium. He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear, his voice a dark, possessive rasp that everyone in the nosebleed seats could hear."You're mine, Maddy," he growled, his pace quickening, his breathing be
Scarlett's POVI heard Madison's voice before I fully turned around.She was still somewhere in the crowd, the same sharp, disbelieving tone she'd used when the final buzzer went off.I found her near the glass, Pierce at her side, both of them watching the Silver Reapers celebrate on the ice with expressions that didn't know what to do with themselves.I walked over.Madison saw me coming and pulled herself together fast. Her chin went up. Her expression shifted into something cooler, more composed.I stopped a few feet away and looked at her calmly."Congratulations to the Silver Reapers," I said. "Must be disappointing.""They got lucky," she said. "That's all that was.""Was it?" I kept my voice even. "Or did you tamper with their equipment and mess with the ice surface and they still won anyway?"Madison's mouth opened. Then closed."I don't know what you're talking about," she said."Sure you don't." I tilted my head slightly. "Because you were so certain they'd lose. You said i
Preston's POVThe second period was harder. The Wolves were physical and disciplined and they knew what they were doing.But the gaps I'd called were there, and Jake hit three of them.We traded goals back and forth, both teams playing at the edge of what they had, and going into the third period we were tied at five.Then, with about nine minutes left, Cody went down.He didn't get hit. He just took a stride and his leg went out from under him, awkward and sudden, and he caught himself on the boards before he fell. He skated to the bench slowly, favoring the ankle, and I came over."What happened?""I don't know." He looked down at his skate, flexed his foot. "Something feels wrong in the boot. Like it's moving when it shouldn't."I looked at the skate.The blade housing was loose on one side.Not completely, just enough that it was shifting under pressure.I looked at Tyler. He checked his own skate without being asked.Then Jake.Jake held his up and showed me the same thing on the
Preston's POVNobody in the building thought we were going to win.I knew that before we even hit the ice.I could hear it in the crowd noise, the way it flattened when our name came over the PA. A few scattered claps, mostly silence, and somewhere up in the second level somebody actually laughed.The team we were facing, the Northgate Wolves, had won their regional three years running.They had two players with AHL call-up history and a defenseman who'd been named to the all-tournament team at every circuit event he'd entered for the past four seasons.We were a team that most people in this building had never heard of two months ago.I pulled my helmet on and looked at the guys lined up beside me in the tunnel.Tyler was rolling his shoulders. Jake had his eyes closed. Cody was tapping his stick against the boards in a steady rhythm, Jett and Daxen were quiet about it, but they believed it too,the same thing he did every time before a game.They looked ready. They were ready."Let's
Scarlett's POVThe rumors started fast.Within an hour of the bracket announcement, half the arena was talking.People were saying X only got into the tournament because he was sleeping with me.That I'd used my money and my connections to buy his team a slot.That I was some older woman chasing a young athlete, throwing cash at him to keep him around.And me?I was getting buried in comments online. "Desperate rich divorcee." "Sugar mama." "Embarrassing."I was standing near the sponsor wall reviewing the afternoon schedule when I heard footsteps behind me.Unhurried.Deliberate.Pierce.He came around to face me with his arms crossed and that particular expression he used when he thought he was being reasonable."I saw what they're saying online," he said."Good morning to you too, Pierce.""This is serious, Scarlett. You're all over the news and not in a good way." He shook his head slowly. "You're really out here associating yourself with some regional circuit kid? You're embarras
"Look at this!" He shoved his screen in my face. "Look at what you've done!"I glanced at the trending topics. #ScarletBetraysSister was sitting at number three. #MadisonArrestedIceQueen at number seven. #FamilyDramaPress Conference at number twelve."So?" I met his eyes without flinching. "I told
Scarlett’sPOVI stood frozen, my brain struggling to process what Preston had just said.Marry her? Within three months? Was he insane?The reporters were practically climbing over each other now,
Preston’sPOVThe door to my office swung open, and my assistant walked in—the same guy who'd greeted Scarlett at the front desk earlier.He had this stupid grin on his face, like he knew something
Scarlett’s POVThe kiss caught me completely off guard. I shoved him away hard."What the hell are you doing?" I demanded."Just collecting interest on my investment."Before I could even process that, he pulled me back in. This time it was a full French kiss, his tongue sliding past my lips.He wa







