Category: Fiction

June I was absolutely terrified of Elias. The bearded Swede was huge. Tall and broad-shouldered, with a wingspan made to stop a puck. He had also been mostly silent since I started working for the team, communicating mostly with glares, grunts, and growls. He reminded me of a polar bear that might suddenly snap and maul me

Elias I was not a man who asked for help. Needing help was a weakness. Men did not show weakness to anyone. Not to their family, or their teammates, or their opponents. They suffered in silence, projecting their strength. I had always been better at silence. Words never came easily, and when they did, they

June It was an innocent offer. Cole had walked me home in the storm, protecting me from rain and homeless men. Inviting him up to my apartment to dry off and have a drink was the least I could do. But when he declined, I realized my intentions weren’t so innocent after all. I wanted him to

Cole Being the captain of the Reapers was an honor that normally filled me with pride, but it had its drawbacks, too. I was expected to set an example for the team, which meant being the first person to show up to practice and one of the last ones off the ice. But my duties

June I finished up at the arena and drove home in a daze. It felt like everything that had happened tonight was a dream. A really, really good dream. But the reality of the situation sank in when I got home and showered. I’d had sex with a member of the Reapers. Was that even allowed? I

June Rhett kissed me hard, much harder than the kiss we’d shared on the ice. It was like he was proving something to me. All of my hesitation disappeared under his touch with the way his lips slid against mine, warm and wet and hungry. He pushed me against the cabinet, which slammed shut from the force.

June The rest of the road trip went well. We lost to the Anaheim Ducks, but then won the next game against the San Jose Sharks before flying home. Whatever tension had existed with Rhett was now gone. He’d lived up to his promise to forget about the kiss, for which I was extremely grateful. Back in

June What the hell was wrong with me? When I graduated from college, I was told by a lot of people that it would take years to get a job working for a professional sports team. I would need to spend at least five years at a college athletic program to even be considered for a pro

Rhett I’d kissed a lot of women in my life. Not trying to brag or anything, just stating facts. Being a star athlete made things easy, to be completely honest. But I usually saw the kisses coming. I’d never been surprised by a kiss. Until now. One second I was thinking about which of my teammates I

June I stood in the middle of the parking lot, watching the Bronco disappear down the road. At first, I was in shock by his response. I’d never heard Elias say anything out loud, let alone to me. Then I started crying. The more I tried to stop myself, the more the tears flowed. And once I