Page 71 of The Puck Decoy

I can’t help but gleam as I brush against him and purr, “But I thought it was you who enjoyed being the one going down.” My voice is laced in innuendo, as his eyes darken with so much lust, that I swear I can still feel the phantom of his touch from our early morning tryst in the shower.

His fingers find that same spot on my waist that they always do, as he leans down and presses a kiss to the side of my throat. “You know the rules, Tink, you want me on my knees then you better ask nicely.”

My skin burns even on the cold chill of the ice, as I whisper, “I thought you preferred me on my knees?” My words have him groaning into my neck, and I’m sure he is thinking about the last time we were on this ice together.

“Don’t push me, wife,” he grits, and I know if we were alone here right now that I would be having another fantasy come to life on this very ice, especially when his teeth nip at my throat.

I tip my head to the side to give him better access, but he pulls away too quickly, leaving me feeling horny and needy. “Come on, Joshua, you know the saying, happy wife happy life,” I tell him with a shrug, as he circles around me on the ice.

“What about having a happy husband?” he questions, letting his fingers trail around my waist, as one of the guys yells at him to hurry up.

“Hmm, how about you let me win this game and I’ll make you areallyhappy husband and let you score a goal again.” I gesture towards the net he bent me over a few nights ago, and his eyes widen in surprise.

“Are you flirting with me Mrs. Peters?” he questions, his tone laced with both shock and lust, that I can’t help but laugh at as I skate away.

“For years now, Joshua, it’s about time you noticed,” I toss over my shoulder, before joining my team with only one thought in my mind.

My husband is going down.

Archer offers me a high five as soon as I reach him, and Daemon watches him with that dark, detached gaze of his, but Archer just ignores him completely. I’m still not sure of the dynamic between them, because every time I think I haveworked it out, they change it up, but there is definitely some history there. I don’t know Jake that well, he lives in one of the other hockey houses, but I’ve seen him around campus with his girlfriend, and Levi has been around since Josh was in high school, so it shouldn’t be too hard to wrangle them into a good game.

“I hope you’re ready to win, boys,” I gleam, flicking my gaze across all of them, surprised to find them all giving me their full attention.

“Come on, Hals, you really gonna make us try to win against them?” Levi asks, flicking his stare over to the other team.

“What's stumping you, Jones, is it the seven year old they’ve got?” Archer asks, causing Daemon to drop his head to hide a smirk. “Or are you still scared of Cap?”

Levi scoffs, and I cut in before they can start some bullshit argument. “I don’t care how we do it, just that we do. If Josh beats me he will never let me live it down.” My eyes flick over to the man in question, finding him leaning against the goal post he took me against, watching me with a smirk.

I can see Penelope gesturing wildly, keeping her team in check, and I can only imagine the trouble she is going to be in with boys when she gets a little older. Josh is definitely going to have his hands full, but his eyes are still on me, and I watch as he frowns when Archer slings an arm around me.

“Why don’t you kiss me again, Sanders, that will distract him,” Archer teases, his eyes on my husband, as he offers him a little wave of fingers, and I blush furiously.

Before I can respond, or Josh can react, Daemon’s hand lands on Archer’s shoulder causing his head to snap towards him. “Don’t even think about it.” His tone is completely lethal, yet for some reason Archer’s eyes seem to widen in delight, like he won something.

“Why? Does your friend not like sharing his toys like you do?” he tosses back, and my own eyes widen in surprise. Yet before I can even take my next breath, Daemon has him gripped by his jersey and smashed against the plexi glass, panting heavily as he stares at him in a rage, but Archer only smirks. “Careful, Forbes, don’t poke the bear.”

I have no clue what is happening between them, but the anger is pouring off of Daemon in waves, and the rest of my team curses. From what Josh has told me, this is a regular occurrence between them, they have a relationship similar to the one Josh has with Nova, but this isn’t the time or the place. I skate up beside him and place my hand on his shoulder gently. I know he doesn’t like to be touched, we have that in common, and though I don’t know his reasons why, I can’t help but feel right now he needs it.

When his stare snaps to mine, his eyes are almost black as they take me in, like he is no longer here with us, yet still I softly whisper, “Come on, Daemon, Penelope is watching.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth he releases Archer like he has burned him, his stare filling with regret as he snaps his gaze over to the other team. Thankfully Penelope is too preoccupied with Nova, who has swooped in to teach her a trick, but it’s the disappointment in my husband’s eyes that I know will cut through Daemon the most.

I know the moment he sees it, because his stare drops to the floor and he moves as if he is going to skate away, but I immediately step in his path. “Leaving will only make it worse,” I tell him softly, and his eyes snap up to mine, and what I find in them can only be described as pure heartbreak. It’s at this moment that I wish more than anything that I knew what happened to him to make him the way he is. “We all make mistakes,” I add in a whisper. “It’s how we fix them that counts.”

For a moment I almost think he is going to ignore me entirely, and I can feel Archer’s stare burning into us in question, but then Daemon nods. It’s small, and only once, but it’s there, so I take it as a win. When I skate us back over to the team, I give Archer my best death glare, but his delight seems to have dissipated as he watches Daemon like a hawk. Ignoring them both, I make a game plan, and each of them cuts in with their ideas of how to be careful in terms of skating around Penelope.

Then it’s game on, and the tension in the air is quickly forgotten as we all go head to head. Josh is just as much of a force on the ice as he always is, and with Nova on his team, it’s like they are unstoppable, especially with the help of Landon. Their only downfall is Penelope, who is too busy falling in love with her older sister’s boyfriend to actually care about scoring any goals. She is well and truly under the Nova Darkmore effect. Even Alexander isn’t much help with his focus on Callia instead of the game, much to Josh’s displeasure.

My team is faring a little better at least. After his outburst, Daemon’s focus is stone cold, to the point you’d think this was an NHL final and not a friendly match between friends. I can’t help but feel he needs this to burn off his emotions, and wherever he moves, Archer isn’t too far behind. The more I see them together, the more confused I get. It’s like they hate each other, but are also drawn to one another, and no one else seems to notice but me.

By the time the game is over we scrape a win with five points to four, and the victory is sweet when I spy the look on my husband’s face. It’s soon wiped off with a grin when Penelope tells him that this has been the best day ever. The look in her eyes as she stares up at him is priceless, and I know that whenever Callia decides to tell her who he really is, that she is going to be delighted.

The rest of the guys filter off the ice led by Nova, who immediately zeros straight in on Maddie, like he can’t stay away from her too long, but I find myself lingering on the ice, chasing the feeling I had when I was last here.

Which is how my husband finds me.

“Should I be impressed or concerned that you easily managed a team of four hockey players to victory?” he drawls, pulling me in by the loop of my jeans until his body is flush against mine.

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