Page 108 of Broken Promises

Once we both come down from our orgasms and catch our breaths, I gently pull her off me and carry her into the bathroom. Cradling her in my arms, I run the bath. I made sure our roomhad a large tub when I called for the reservations, knowing we both would need to soak in some warm water after.

When the bath is ready, I sink down gently and adjust Willa so she’s sitting in between my outstretched legs. She moans once she’s settled.

“Don’t start that, Princess. I don’t think you’re ready to go again so soon.”

She laughs sleepily and snuggles into my arms. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I tell her. “More than anything.”

“Mmm,” is all she manages before she’s asleep.

I sit in the water with my wife in my arms until it turns cold.

FIFTY

declan

The ice feelscool against the small amount of exposed skin on my wrists as I stretch. This is it. My last game. The last time I’ll be on the ice as an NHL player.

I made love to Willa before the sun even came up this morning. It was slow and sweet, a complete contrast to how hard and desperate it was for most of the night.

She came to see me in front of the locker room before warm-ups. The worry shining through her eyes even with her trying to plaster a smile on her face for me. We’re going together to speak to Sinclair after the game, win or lose. All our eggs are in one basket.

I go through the motions, doing the same warmup routine I’ve been doing for a decade now. Taking a deep breath, I turn my focus to the game, where it needs to be.

San Diego didn’t take the loss lightly. I know that team, and I know their coaching staff. They’re going to come out of the gate with a new strategy. Finn will have watched the tapes from every one of our playoff games and studied the shots taken on goal. It’s part of what makes him as good as he is.

Unfortunately for them, we’re ready to give everything to secure this win. Even if that includes both my knees. It’sprobably the first time in history someone’s life depends on the win. It sounds dramatic even thinking that, but Theo and Harrison are both secure in their guess that Maverick would be in danger once Eva was arrested.

A warrant for her arrest was issued this morning. They didn’t know what she did exactly, but it was bad enough that it forced the authorities’ hands, and they had to take her in. Eva got a heads up from someone and ran. Maverick has already been questioned about her whereabouts. Luckily, his dislike for his “mother” has been well documented in both the media and within her inner circles. So, he’s able to be here to watch my game and not stuck in a police station being asked questions he’ll never be able to answer.

We need help, and we need it yesterday. I shouldn’t have waited to ask. But Harrison said that everything he found on Sinclair was that he’s a grumpy asshole and unapproachable. So waiting for a win that would put the Stanley Cup in his office for a year made sense.

But I can’t help thinking about how nice he was to me when we spoke. Well, maybe not nice. Definitely approachable, though. Sort of.

I look up at the private box I bought for my family. This last game is on home ice, and I know Willa wanted to be front and center to see us win. I appreciate her not fighting me on it. I really thought she would once we got down to the last game.

My perfect wife is front and center, smiling when she catches me looking at her. Maggie is to her right and Belle to her left. Willa drags her thumb across her throat and points to the visitor bench.

I snort while a laugh comes from next to me. I turn to see Martinez looking towards Willa.

“Your wife is the best kind of aggressive. If she wasn’t so tiny, I’d suggest getting her signed and in a pair of skates.”

I laugh with him. “She wouldn’t even need us out here with her. She’d handle everything herself.”

Martinez tilts her head as he thinks. “Do you think it’s too late to add her to the roster? We’re going to need her.”

I shake my head. “We’ve got this, man.”

“I like your attitude, best friend.”

I roll my eyes and skate to the tunnel. Warmups are over and they need to flood the ice.

Gideon and Coach give their motivational speeches about how everything we’ve done has led to this moment or something. I’m not listening. My mind is on the pretty girl with the lilac hair.

“Monroe!”

I startle at the loud voice in my ear. I turn to see Gideon looking at me with concern. He has to do it through his hair, which has gotten long and is in his eyes. The helmet keeps it out of his face, thankfully. Hockey players are notorious for their superstitions. So none of us have cut our hair or shaved our faces since we made the playoffs. Ivanov usually shaves his head, so it was a shock to us all when his hair came in red. Slava’s dark mane is so long he can tie it back.

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