Page 125 of The Draft
“Oh, and Dash,” Cade said, turning to look at me again. I raised my brows in acknowledgment. “If I ever find out you’ve lied to me again, or if you hurt Madison, I will kill you. I will literally handcuff you to a fence with bike chains and torch your dick off.” Well, that wasn’t where I was expecting this conversation to go. He raised his hands, tipping his chin in amusement. “I don’t want to do it, but I’ll have to. To defend her honor.”
I pursed my lips together because, what the hell do you say to that? “Good to know.”
“Welcome to the family,” he said with a wicked smile, and I gulped, wondering what the hell I got myself into but realizing I didn’t give a shit. Cade could threaten me all he wanted. I wasn’t going anywhere.
“So,” Madison drawled out once Erik dropped us off at her dorm.
Even though my face looked like a conceptual art piece, I was lucky that Cade hadn’t broken my jaw or nose, which meant I could still play hockey and help the team get through to the Frozen Four. Once the swelling reduced, of course.
“How did it go with my brother?”
She was perched on her desk as she looked down at me sitting on her bed. It was the first time we’d been alone since our relationship had been put out in the open. We were a couple now, and it felt freeing, yet somewhat constricting at the same time. Cade asked Erik to drive so he could sit between us on the car ride home, and I knew that would only be the start of the team’s monitoring of our relationship.
“Better than I expected. He threatened to burn my balls off before pleasantly welcoming me to the family,” I laughed.
Madison’s jaw dropped. “He didn’t?” She covered her face in embarrassment and shook her head. “I’m going to kill him. He drove me here after I told him he had no right meddling in my relationships, and here he is, meddling in them.”
“It’s fine. He was just looking after you, and the more people that are on your side, the better. He’s not going to stop us being together because he knows I’m serious about you, but he’s not thrilled with the situation either. The only good thing is that I’m certain we’re past the point of him giving me another black eye over you. Unless I hurt you, of course. Then it’s warranted.”
Madison smiled, but it quickly dropped. “Wait. Is that your way of saying you’re not getting any more black eyes?”
“Yup. No more black eyes from Cade, at least.”
“That’s too bad.”With a smirk on her face, shec
rossed her arms and sauntered over to me. “Because I’ve got to admit, your purple and black face really is kind of sexy.” She crinkled her nose, taking me in. “You got beaten up for little old me.” She fanned herself overdramatically.
I glared at her, but I was pretty sure she couldn’t tell since my face was that swollen. “Really?”
Madison moved over to me and sat on my lap. When she was comfortable enough, she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. “Definitely. All you need now are a couple of your front teeth knocked out, and then you’ll be my wildest dream.”
I shook my head before resting it against hers. “You’re a weirdo, you know that?”
“What can I say? Hanging out with those pretty football players has made me realize just how much I like a ruggedly aggressive goaltender who tends to my needs.” She wiggled her eyebrows and bit down on her bottom lip. “Do you get it?”
I shook my head, kissing her cheek. “We need to talk about this budding friendship you’ve got with those guys. I’m not sure I like it.”
“You should love it. They’re the only reason I even spoke to you about the kiss after The Draft. If my friendship with them didn’t happen, then we might not be here.”
“Good point. Maybe I’ll watch a game or two to thank them. They need all the ticket sales they can get.” She cackled, wrapping her arms around me, scooting herself further into my lap. “So, do you still want me? After all the shit with your brother?”
“Of course. I think the bigger question is if you still want me, after all the shit with my brother?”
I paused, pretending to think about it.
“Dash?”
“There’s no one I’d rather be fighting the world with than you.”
A sly smile drew across her lips. “Oh, Dash. Look at you. I knew you were the brooding type, but I didn’t realize you were the ‘fight for your girl type,’” she said with a husky drawl. “How can I not swoon?”
When she kissed me on the lips, I winced. “Oh, sorry. I guess that’s probably going to hurt.”
Clasping her jaw in my hand, I brought her forward and kissed her passionately, letting her know that no amount of pain would stop me from kissing her. Ever. “Kiss me all you want. It makes me feel better.”
It was technically a lie since the heavy meds were probably the thing helping ease my pain, but I felt like it reduced the throbbing more than anything, and I didn’t want to bother Madison with the details. Mainly because I didn’t want her to ever stop kissing me.
With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she pushed me down and straddled me. “I can think of a few places to kiss you that would make you feel a lot better.” She wiggled her eyebrows and dropped her hand to my waistband, but I stopped her from going under.