Page 93 of Triple Power Play 3
I reach out, intending to weave my fingers through his hair, but he pulls away. Hurt and irritation hit my stomach in waves, and I clench my jaw.
“Seriously? You’re that mad at me?”
He shifts his entire body toward the window. “Let’s just go home. I don’t wanna say some stupid shit right now.”
“Like what?”
He doesn’t answer.
I jab the start button, and the car comes to life. I hate being ignored. My mood plummets and I grind my molars.
We leave the arena, and he reclines into the seat and closes his eyes.He’s exhausted, and why wouldn’t he be? The world is on his shoulders, his demons coming back to haunt him, and he still gave me one hundred percent on the ice tonight.
It’s hard to take my eyes off him. He’s honestly as beautiful as everyone teases him for being. Pure perfection in male form. Softer than me in appearance and emotion, yet so damn strong.
There’s no explanation for our relationship or my draw to him. I’ve been protective of him since the day Kyle waltzed into my locker room and Jax was outwardly uncomfortable.It’s more than that, though.I want him in a way that’s unfathomable.
I turn my attention back to the road and let my thoughts wander.
I’m not possessive or protective of Reece. I feel nothing toward him. I’m grateful he protects the two people I love, but I think of him as a business partner with aligning goals and priorities. If something were to happen to him, my only concern would be Aurora’s attachment.
My world would be forever altered if anything happened to Jax or Aurora. I doubt I’d want to wake in the morning. Even hockey pales in comparison to how complete I feel with them.
My mouth opens, and words tumble out. “I don’t have any tattoos. I think I’m afraid of needles.”
His eyes pop open, but I don’t acknowledge him. I focus on the highway ahead. “Not needles themselves, but the fear of becoming addicted to them. That sounds silly when I say it out loud, but my mom was an IV drug user.”
“No, it doesn’t.” He shakes his head. “You don’t have to—we don’t have to get tattoos.”
“I know. I would for you, though.” I glance at him, allowing him to see the truth in my eyes. “In Montreal, when Aurora wassick, the team wasn’t the reason I was aggravated.” My heart pounds furiously against my sternum as I recall the day. “That smell. The acidic, putrid smell of vomit has to be my worst memory.” I can smell it now just thinking about it. “I was five the first time I remember finding her, my mom, lying in her own vomit. There were mornings I thought she was dead.”
Sometimes, I wished she were.
She didn’t want to live, not without my father.
My throat constricts at the memories of me screaming and trying to wake her, and I can’t go on. I squeeze the steering wheel until his hand takes mine, and he intertwines our fingers, bringing them to his lap.
“For days after Montreal, I felt horrible. I avoided spending the night together, hating my inability to care for Aurora when she needed me, or you when you relapsed.” I should have been there for him.
“I’ll take care of her,” he says with assurance. “You don’t have to.”
“I know you will.” I shoot him a soft smile. “My point is, long before her heart eventually gave out, I went numb. I used hockey as my escape. I blamed her love for my father, which she never had for me, for ruining her. I never wanted that kind of love or heartbreak.” Knowing what I do now, I was probably an unwanted reminder of him. Regardless, I have no example of how to love, none whatsoever. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, Jax. All I know is that I can’t live without you. So please stop being a little brat and tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”
He releases my hand and rakes his fingers through his hair. “If you’re going to pretend there’s nothing between us, I want to be traded to another team.”
I swerve into the other lane before I catch myself. “No.”
“I’m not sitting outside your office listening to someone else flirt with you. Just fucking trade me.”
“I’m not trading you.”
“Then I’ll ask Robert.”
“Robert is not trading you!” My voice is nearly a growl. “It’d be a terrible business decision. Besides, I told him we’re together.”
Jax flounders but quickly recovers. “Good. Then he has reason to trade me.”
I scoff. “That will never happen.Iwill never let that happen.”
