Page 61 of Home Ice

"Chloe—"

"He told me I'm lucky grandpa's dead because he would beat the fag out of me, but then Dad started doing it. He yanked my hair every time he did. Hard. So hard I heard it rip some times.

"Then tonight, Mom was cleaning my room, and she stormed out holding a tube of lipstick like it was a knife. She was crying and screaming, and it's like it wasn't even her. I tried to tell them it was from before. That I didn't have any of that stuff this time, but I don't think they even heard me. Dad hauled me up by my hair and told Mom to get the clippers. She didn't even question as he shoved me into the kitchen chair. He twisted my arms behind me while she shaved my head, but he didn't have to hold them in place. It felt like I was stuck. It was like watching it happen to someone else.

"When Mom finished… I guess I must have been crying because Dad roared that he would give me something to cry about. It's what he always says to me. But it was different tonight. He turned to Mom, 'He's not gonna learn is he?' She shook her head.

"That's when he told me I had to leave. Dad said if I was still there after two minutes, I wouldn't like what happened."

I just stare at her as she tells us the story. I don't have a clue what to say to a girl who has to live a life like this. It's not until Chloe closes her eyes and rests her head back against the seat that I taste the blood on my tongue and realize I'm biting my lip so hard I broke the skin. I want so much to turn this car around and find these fuckers to give them everything they deserve. But that's not going to help Chloe.

"I know it's not the same," Lily says as she runs a hand along where Chloe's hair should be, "but you're always going to have us. Me and Brant. No matter what you'll always have two people who love you and are on your side." Lily works her arms around Chloe and pulls the girl into her.

Silver's head is still resting on Chloe's lap, but he looks up at her and then puts his paw over her leg, like he's telling her he'll always be there for her too. Like he's telling her he's never letting her leave again.

That makes two of us.

CHAPTER 41

ALL YOU NEEDED WAS THE SCREECHING VIOLIN MUSIC AND A SHOWER CURTAIN TO SET THE MOOD

LILY

I lean against the painted concrete wall and yawn. These back hallways of the arena are always so surprisingly quiet on game days. Once in a while, one of the staff members from the other team will come through here. Their loading area is just around the corner, but normally by this point, they have everything they need. There's no sign of anyone here now, so I let my eyes close.

Last night was almost too much. It was the same things I heard from Mom. They didn't sound like echoes. They sounded like she was right there, saying them all again. Letting me know that the only way she would ever love me was if I lived my life in the mold she chose for me. Just like Chloe's parents. But I had Dad. Chloe doesn't have anyone.

Brant was so good with her, though. He didn't hesitate to go get her. And even though I know the things he wanted to do to Chloe's parents, he never let her see that. He just made sure she knew he was there for her. It made me think I could feel more for him than just this attraction. And when he insisted on making breakfast before we all crashed this morning? I knew I felt more. I tried to tell myself it was only exhaustion clouding my mind, but the truth is, I felt little pulls of this before last night. But I won't let myself think about that because those thoughts will just crush me in the end. I don't know what this is between us, but it's not that. Definitely not that.

I slouch down the wall until the small of my back is pressed tight and flat. I could take a nap right here against the cold concrete. It feels like I hardly got any sleep at all, even though I was out as soon as I crawled into bed. Brant's bed. Chloe and Silver slept in one of the guest bedrooms. I've slept with Brant Morrison three times now, but we've still never had sex. Not in the way my body screams for whenever I'm within a football field of him.

Last night was supposed to be the night, and I was so very ready. I had everything I needed in my purse. Walking in to find him in that apron was the final piece that assured me it was going to happen. That apron. I'm about to fall asleep, but I'm awake enough that my core clenches at the thought of it. What I wouldn't give to have just thirty minutes alone with him right now.

"Sleeping on the job, eh?" A deep, gravelly voice rattles in the abandoned hallway and startles me awake.

I snap my eyes open and whip in the direction of the man. Of course it's Brant. I should have guessed it would be him. "You scared me to death. That didn't sound like you."

"Of course not. You wouldn't have jumped if I used my normal voice. I had to use my special scaring-girls-in-abandoned-hallways voice."

"You've obviously gotten a lot of practice using it, because it works."

As he walks closer, I see that he's only wearing the shorts and shirt he layers under his uniform. Nothing else, and those underclothes leave nothing to the imagination. "Shouldn't you be watching film right now?" That's why I chose this time to sneak away. Until the players start their warmups, Elijah can handle things without me.

"I already know it all backward and forward. When you play for the Sting, you spend the whole year studying Denver. Besides, there's something else I'd rather be watching." He puts a hand on the wall beside my head, and I feel the heat coming from his body as he leans close to me.

"So you don't just go around scaring girls. You also spend lots of time watching them?"

The curve of his mouth draws my eye. And damn, I want to feel that mouth on my skin. I want to feel those lips on my neck. "Only one girl. I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do with her last night." He exhales. The hot breath flows under the collar of my shirt and teases along my chest.

"What did you want to do with her?"

"Eat Frosties." He doesn't hesitate.

I put my hand on his hip and regret it immediately. We're at work. We should be moving further from each other, not closer. And I definitely shouldn't touch him because that is exactly like setting an open canister of gasoline next to a fire. But I don't pull my hand away. "Is that all you wanted to do with her?"

He shakes his head. "Not even close. There were also nuggets. Spicy nuggets." He moans the words, and I never imagined nuggets could sound so sexy.

"And sauces," I whisper.

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