Page 62 of Married to Number 22

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I have no clue why Smitty is scared of the adorably cuddly creatures, but he is.

And considering how much of a handful he is, I’m just glad to have a way to kind of, sort of control him.

Off the ice, anyway.

Onthe ice, he’s as much of a beast as always—skating hard, shooting hard, passing…you guessed it,hard.

And we need it against the Rattlers.

The bite as viciously as the actual reptile, never out of striking range, no matter how big of a lead we have.

Tonight, they almost sneak back in and strike like their namesake.

Luckily, I’m fueled by Coke and hot dog and the night of orgasms.

And that helps me see the breakaway developing the wrong fucking way—that beingtowardour goalie instead of to the goal we’re trying to score on—before the Rattlers actually send the puck sailing down the ice.

So I’m already hauling ass back, skating hard for our zone when I hear?—

Crack!

Glancing up, I watch the puck fly through the neutral zone, see it land on the Rattlers’ player’s stick.

Even though it’s not an easy pass to corral, Kit St. James doesn’t miss a beat, using his speed to his advantage and quickly getting behind our defense.

I’m ready, though.

I’m sprinting, tearing down the ice, cutting between him and our goalie?—

Right as he winds up for a slap shot.

Fuck.

I brace, turning my head away, knowing there’s no stopping myself now, no getting the fuck out of the way and letting the guy with the specialized pads—our fucking goalie—be the one to stop the wicked fast shot.

Nope.

This is all me.

Anothercrack!

I have a split second to watch out of the corner of my eye, to watch the puck fly toward me, to know this is going to really fuckinghurt.

And then…

The world goes black.

Twenty-Four

Luna

“I need to see Aiden!”I tell the security guard. “Aiden Black from the Grizzlies.”

He looks down his nose at me.

Probably because I’m acting like a crazed fan.

When really, I’m a panicked wife.

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