LOGINVicky watches me like I'm a pot about to boil over. Nia is still holding the phone, her thumb hovering over the screen, ready to pull it away if I so much as blink wrong.
I keep staring at the picture.It isn't a kiss on the cheek. It isn't Lilian missing him while he wasn't paying attention. His hands are on her waist, and they're in his bedroom at the jock house.Whatever happened in that room, Cade was participating.The picture already has close to a thDax’s head snaps around. “What the fuck are you talking about?”Leo doesn't even flinch as he keeps his eyes on Coach.“I overheard them in the locker room. I didn’t catch every word, but it was clear enough. They were talking about making sure he can't play tomorrow.”Chase pushes himself up, still wincing. “You’re out of your mind.”I look at Dax. The guilt is written all over his face for half a second before he locks it down. That’s all I need.I've put up with a lot from this guy.The constant insults. The petty competitions. The way he acts like every good thing that happens to me is somehow something I've stolen from him.But this?He actually tried to get me injured. Over a fucking game.“That's why you volunteered to pair with me?” I say in disbelief. “You're unbelievable.”"ENOUGH!" Coach's voice cuts through the argument.He skates toward us, looking furious. "Everybody shut the hell up."Nobody speaks. Coach turns to Leo."You're telling me you overheard these two planning
~~CADE~~I’m leaning against the boards during the water break when one of the freshmen skates over, still a little wide-eyed from Coach’s announcement about the scouts."Is it true your NHL team wants to sign you?"I glance at him. "Who told you that?""Nobody. I heard some guys talking."Of course he did."We've had conversations. Nothing's guaranteed.""But they drafted you, right?""Yeah.""So you're basically going pro after graduation?"I laugh. "That's not how it works, man."He launches into a string of questions—what the scouts are like, whether they tell you what they’re looking for, if they’re intimidating. The earnestness is almost funny.“Being noticed is only the start,” I say. “Doesn’t mean shit if you start playing like an idiot because you think someone’s watching. Just focus on playing your best game. That’s all you can control.”What a lot of people don't know is that my draft team has been talking about signing me for months. They've made it pretty clear they want
~~DAX~~“Carter—no. DAX. Go sit down.”Coach’s voice cuts across the ice like a blade. I'm still skating when I realize it's for me."I'm fine, Coach.""No. You're playing like a wreck. Go sit your ass down and take five.""I don't need a break.""I wasn't asking."I open my mouth to argue again. The look he gives me is sharp enough that several guys actually turn to stare.My face burns. I skate off hard, drop onto the bench, and slam my stick against the boards hard enough to rattle them.I know I haven’t been sharp. I also know I don’t deserve to be called out in front of the entire team when Cade has made his share of mistakes and somehow never gets the same treatment.Of course not. Cade Carter is apparently everyone’s new favorite.I watch Leonardo Davis glide over to him and say something that makes them both laugh. Two defensemen join them a second later, talking through the last play.Cade lifts his stick and shows them something with his wrists, and one of them nods slowly l
~~CADE~~She’s so fucking gorgeous it actually hurts to look at her sometimes.I watch from the bed as Soraya lets the open wrap top slide down her arms and drop to the floor. She unhooks her bra next from the back, baring those perfect tits to me.Her fingers move to the button of her jeans. She toys with it, glances up at me, and takes another long moment before she pops it open.She's doing it on purpose.Every second feels designed to drive me insane with want. My hand drifts down my stomach and wraps around my cock, stroking slowly. The condom I put on does nothing to dull how sensitive I already feel.Soraya finally hooks her thumbs in the sides of her soaked panties and slides them down her gorgeous legs.The fabric is visibly wet. Exactly how I knew it would be. She steps out of them, straightens, and gives me a slow, sultry little smile.“Where did you say you want me?”“On my face,” I groan. “Now.”Instead of coming closer, she runs her hands over herself.She cups her breas
~~SORAYA~~“Do you still want him, Red?”I stare at Cade, his question hanging in the air between us.He asked it so calmly, no smirk on his face and no lazy half-smile. He's just watching me and waiting for my answer.“Are you seriously asking if I still want Dax?”“Yes.”I clench my fist as indignation flushes through me.“I agreed to be your girlfriend yesterday. Do you really think I would have done that if I were planning to run back to him the first chance I got?”“That isn’t what I asked.” His voice stays even, but something hard moves underneath it. “I know you want me. That doesn’t mean you don’t still want him.”The mere idea of it seems to piss him off, even though he's trying not to let it show. After the way I reacted at dinner, I can’t entirely blame him.Until Brenna and Dax showed up, I had been having a genuinely good time. Cade planned something thoughtful and fun, and I repaid him by getting quiet and distracted because I got affected seeing another man with the wom
~~CADE~~Brenna is putting on a full performance.The constant touching, the little kisses, the way she keeps angling her body so Soraya has no choice but to see every bit of it—none of it is subtle.She’s trying to needle a reaction out of Soraya, and she’s doing a piss-poor job of hiding it.What she doesn’t seem to realize is that Dax is playing his own game. His eyes keep drifting to Soraya, measuring her reactions the same way I’m measuring his.He's using Brenna, playing into her touchiness while gauging Soraya's reactions as well. It's as if he wants to know whether the wedding news landed. Whether it affected her.He's actively trying to make Soraya jealous.It's infuriating.I wonder if my stepbrother has finally woken up to the fact that he’s spent years overlooking the girl who was right in front of him.If that’s the case, he’s fucking late.And I'll show him exactly how late. If he wants to play, I can play too.While Soraya is answering one of Brenna’s endless questions,







