Page 68 of Ice Wolf
Oh, brother.
Huffing, she took the time to wrap a strand of hair around her ear before continuing. “Since you need Saint Masters on your team and he needs to learn to toe the line of decency while learning to keep his goddamn mouth shut, I realized a more intense plan was needed. After watching the… puck bunnies fall all over him when attempting to have a single night out to portray our fake relationship, I knew their attention-seekingmethods wouldn’t quit. They couldn’t care less that I’m his girlfriend. They tried to walk over me. Bitches.”
A laugh formed in my throat that I disguised as a cough. Both Lily and the coach flashed me a look of anger.
I was batting a million.
“So what was a girl to do so she could stake her territory? Become his fiancée. Now he has to settle down and so do those… women. I plan on making that happen.” She faltered for a few seconds and I could sense she was cursing to herself silently.
“I don’t know if he has what it takes to keep the charade going,” the coach said as if I wasn’t even in the room.
“Oh, he will. Trust me on that.”
“I’m curious how you think that’s going to happen since he nearly beat a man to death tonight.” The coach wasn’t in the mood to mince any words.
She tossed me another look before continuing. “I’ll deal with that too, although that Rocco dude needs some serious anger management. As far as Saint is concerned, we’re going to live together until this is over. No one could tolerate being involved with a creature of the night. Right? Our fake engagement and residential status should get us through the playoffs. After that, all bets are off. Now, I don’t want to hear about how my firm can’t handle this job. Although I’d begun to think only God himself could handle Saint Masters, I’ve come to the conclusion I was wrong. There’s only one person on this earth who can.”
The coach fell into the game, asking a single question. “Who?”
“Me.” She tossed her hair, turned, and headed for the door.
For the first time in not only my career but also my life, I was stunned.
With no words to say.
CHAPTER 17
Lily
Don’t throw up. Don’t do it. Just don’t.
Dry heaving wasn’t a good look, but at least I wasn’t spitting out chunks of a rubbery hotdog.
I leaned against the sink, licking beads of perspiration off my upper lip.
What in God’s name had I just done? I had no answer. Not one.
Why did I think I could make anyone believe I was Saint ‘The Savage’ Masters’ girlfriend? Er, fiancée. Big correction. Huge. So huge the blips on my phone indicated hundreds of comments on Saint’s social media.
As angry as I was with Saint, I couldn’t lie that seeing him taking up for me had been… A sigh pushed past my lips. I’d enjoyed watching his macho attitude strike a pose for the world to see.
I was sick to my stomach, holding my arm across my abdomen as I paced the women’s restroom floor. Thankfully, I was alone.Enough time had passed that the arena had emptied out, a few players and custodians remaining.
Instead of enjoying a nice glass of wine or a hot bubble bath, I was cowering in a sterile-looking restroom where I’d been for almost twenty minutes. So much for bravery.
At least I’d perfected a plastic smile. So much so my jaws hurt.
I rubbed my face and my jaw cracked appropriately.
My feet hurt.
I was still cold.
I stunk like stale beer.
And to top it all off, I was engaged. To be married. To a man who jumped from one bunny to another.
Also to a man who’d defended my honor. I’d seen the first upload of a video taken of the brutal fight. The words were clear, the threat Rocco had issued pissing me off. What was I supposed to do with that level of violence?
