Page 15 of Pucking Amazing

DJ with his easy charm and flirtatious energy.

Tyler with his quiet intensity, the simmering emotions hidden just beneath the surface.

I constantly have to check myself, to remember my role as their team’s counselor and not...whatever forbidden fantasies threaten to carry me away.

Let’s just say it’s getting harder to banish inappropriate thoughts of them from my mind, especially late at night alone in bed.

“Hey, Doc,” DJ greets me now, plopping down on the chair across from my desk.

God, even the way he sits is sexy. What is wrong with me?!

“Got a minute for your favorite player?” His voice is pure seduction, sending tingles to all the right places.

Wrong places! Wrong places, Sydney!

I shoot him a look, trying to seem stern even as I fight back a grin. “You know I don’t play favorites, DJ. But of course, I always have time for you. What’s on your mind today?”

His smile falters slightly as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Honestly? I’m worried the team is fracturing...that we won’t recover from that shit-show. The guys are at each other’s throats constantly. I’m trying to stay positive, but...”

I nod, feeling DJ’s concern as if it’s my own—and in some ways it is. I’ve had basically the exact same thought nearly every day this week.

“Has something new happened that makes you think that?” I ask.

We’ve just started digging into things when a knock sounds at the door. I glance over to see Tyler hovering in the doorway, his brawny frame practically filling it. His gaze darts between me and DJ, uncertainty flickering across his classically handsome face.

The tension in the room instantly ratchets up a notch.

Tyler frowns slightly, his chiseled jaw clenched tight. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were with someone,” he mutters, already turning to leave.

But DJ jumps up, waving him inside with a grin that skates the line between friendly and wicked. “Don’t be silly, man. I was just heading out, anyway. Besides, Doc could use a visit from her second favorite player, right?”

There’s an edge to his tone that I don’t have time to interpret before DJ winks at me and motions to leave, but Tyler doesn’t budge from the doorway. After a charged standoff, DJ strides over to Tyler, grabs his muscular arm, and practically hauls him into the room.

I watch, transfixed, as DJ’s tattooed hand lingers on Tyler’s bicep a moment longer than necessary, his fingers trailing across the bulging muscle.

Tyler stiffens at the touch, his blue eyes avoiding DJ’s face.

The sexual energy between them is so electric, I swear it crackles across my skin.

Finally it breaks as DJ grabs his jacket and swaggers out, shooting one last look over his shoulder that I sense deep in my gut. I realize that I’ve been holding my breath, and inwardly roll my eyes at myself as I take a gulp of air.

Tyler clears his throat, looking everywhere but directly at me. “Second favorite, eh? Guess I drew the short straw, eh? Always the backup...”

The ghost of the heat from their exchange still hanging in the air, I force myself to focus on Tyler, noticing how his gaze lingers on the door.

Just what exactly is going on between Tyler and DJ?

An image of the two men together in bed, their muscular bodies slick with sweat, flashes through my mind.

A flicker of something hot unfurls low in my belly—jealousy? Curiosity?

I firmly push this line of thinking aside. Tyler is here because he needs my help to sort through his issues, not because he wants me perving on him and his teammates.

“What’s on your mind, Tyler?” I ask in my most professional voice, folding my hands on the desk and giving him my full attention. Time to do my job.

That night, I sit down across a small table from Selena, gazing with longing at a sashimi platter in the hands of a passing waitress. Selena arches a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me, a teasing grin playing on her bold red lips.

“Food can wait. Spill,” she demands. “I want to hear all about these hot hockey hunks you’re spending your days with.”

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