Page 67 of Ice Cold Heart

A sour feeling twisted in my gut, but I was doing the right thing. Cole deserved for me to get my shit together, and he definitely needed to refocus on the team. It would only be a few weeks, just until they got to the playoffs. Besides, I didn’t want to be responsible for Dad flexing his newly activated protective instincts on Cole.

With the matter settled, Dad nodded at my neck. “Is that one going to cause problems?”

“No.” I definitely wasn’t going to tell him about Cole now.

“Okay.” He eyed me over his mug as he took a long pull.

I narrowed my eyes. “You’re not going to interrogate me about my sex life?”

He shuddered. “I’m not going to demand you tell me about your life, and I definitely don’t need details. I want to know—in vague terms—because I’m your dad and I care about you. I’d also like to meet anyone my daughter lets close enough to suck on her neck like a vampire.”

Guilt pricked me with sharp little talons, but I smiled through it. “I’ll let you know if it gets serious.”

Hopefully, I could figure that out myself over the next few weeks… while fighting the urge to run to Cole every five minutes. Maybe one more night, then I could start my Cole detox. I really should explain to him face to face. The immediate excuse made me shake my head and push away from the counter to grab my own hot chocolate, a poor substitute for what I really wanted.

Cole—all the time, with no baggage or external complications.

Fuck, I was hopeless.

26

Iwas losing my mind. Everywhere I looked, I caught glimpses of red lips, dark hair, a knowing smile. Avery wasn’t there. I knew she wasn’t in the arena because she’d told me she had to work late on an article. Again.

The knowledge didn’t stop me from searching for her anyway.

With a silent curse, I wrenched my attention away from the stands. The puck hit the boards with a crack as I missed Reece’s pass. Kane flew past me to recover in a blur of royal blue, flanked by one of his defensemen. I’d never been as fucked as I was now.

My split-second loss of focus while my eyes flicked to the people watching was costing us this game.

I dug my blades into the ice and pushed off as hard as I could, sprinting to catch up to Easton’s right winger. My timing could have been better, but not by much. I intercepted the puck as he passed it, only to be smashed into the glass by Kane, the intended recipient.

“Asshole,” I ground out.

Kane gave me an extra shove, close enough I could smell garlic on his breath. “Where’s your girl today? She decide she belongs to Easton after all?”

I shoved him away from me, fully intending to lay him out on the ice, but the buzzer went off ending the period.

He grinned and held his hands up. “Bet she’s a freak in bed. Coach’s daughters always are when they’re slumming it with the players.”

I knew it was a mistake, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. “What the fuck would you know?”

“I know she has a birthmark on her inner thigh. Want to compare stories?”

My gloves hit the ice, and I snarled as I started toward him. Mase appeared from nowhere and blocked my way with both hands on my chest.

“Save it for the game,” he grumbled, shifting to stay between us.

I ground my teeth and reined in the scorching fury demanding I destroy this asshole for talking about Avery as if she ever let him close enough to see her birthmark. Mase pushed on my shoulder to point me toward our bench. He was right. Both teams were clearing the ice, and I’d be kicked from the game if I went after Kane now.

Once the game started again, though, I was going to level his ass at the first opportunity. Rage and frustration clouded my thoughts, and I barely made it into the locker room before I was surrounded by my roommates.

“Mathis, get your head out of her ass and focus,” Reece gritted at me. He squeezed water into his mouth, shaking droplets of sweat off his hair.

Mase left me with the others to do his usual private time between periods. I was grateful for his interference, but I’d save the thanks for later. He needed this time to get his head right as much as I did.

Gavin sank onto the bench in front of his locker and crossed his arms. “We’re playing good defense, but we need to score. Cole, whatever’s going on in your head, deal with it. We have one more game after this against Easton to make the Frozen Four, and I want you solid.”

I paced back and forth in front of him. “Kane won’t shut his mouth.”