Page 7 of Of Pucking Course

I’m the exact opposite of the sweet, gentle guy everyone thinks I am. And I’d bet anything that if Dakota knew that about me…and that I’ve fantasized about having her in my bed and doing endless filthy things to her…she’d never speak to me again.

I huff out a breath. “Get a hold of yourself,” I mutter as I walk around the building to the parking lot.

“You’re fucking dead,” Del’s voice booms from around the corner.

I run ahead to the edge of the building. When I turn the corner, I see Del grabbing Jake by the lapels of his suit jacket and pinning him against the brick wall.

“You humiliated my sister. In front of all her friends and family. You little prick.”

Jake’s eyes are wide as he looks up at Del, terrified. “Dude, chill out. It was a joke.”

“You think embarrassing my sister is a joke?”

I run over to Del and clap my hand on his shoulder.

“Easy, man,” I say to Del, but that does nothing to faze him. He’s still glaring at Jake like he’s aching to rip his throat out.

Jake struggles against Del’s hold on him, but he’s not strong enough to get away. Del is around my height at six-foot-three, so a good handful of inches taller than Jake. And he’s probably got about fifty pounds of muscle on the guy, too.

I watch as Jake struggles and fails to squirm out of Del’s hold.

“I’m gonna call the cops on you,” Jake blurts.

Del lets out a bitter laugh. “You think I’m gonna leave you intact enough to use your phone?”

Jake’s eyes go even wider.

This isn’t what Dakota would want, her brother getting arrested for beating up her husband.

“Dude. He’s not worth it,” I say while trying to pull him back slightly. He pulls out of my grip, bumping me back with his shoulder.

“Dakota wouldn’t want you to do this,” I say to him. “You know she wouldn’t.”

Del blinks, the fury in his eyes fading. He lets go of Jake, and Jake falls to the ground.

Del leans over him. “Get the fuck out of here.”

He scurries off across the parking lot. Del and I watch as he jumps into his car and peels away.

I turn to Del. His jaw is bulging, and the look in his eyes is wild. He’s still pissed.

He huffs out a breath and closes his eyes. He shakes his head. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I shouldn’t have shoved you away. You were trying to calm me down.”

“It’s okay. I get it.”

“How’s Dakota doing?” he asks.

Guilt shoots through me for wanting to kiss her just minutes ago. I refocus and hope Del doesn’t pick up on it.

“She’s still pretty upset. Sophie, Maya, Ingrid, and Bella are with her right now.”

“Thanks for checking on her.”

Just then, the side door to the building swings open, and out walk our teammates, Xander Williams, Braden Blomdahl, and Theo Thompson.

They walk up to us. “Damn. Did you murder and bury Jake already?” Xander says.

Del looks at me. “This guy talked me out of it.”

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