Page 39 of Captain's Claim

I clutch my cup tighter. “It might.”

She sighs, exasperated, then leans back in her chair, studying me like I’m a particularly difficult puzzle.

“Youlikehim.”

I choke on my sip of coffee. “I—what? No. Absolutely not.”

Natalie just grins. “Oh, babe. This issomuch worse than I thought.”

Before I can protest, the door bursts open again.

Big Mike.

And Greg.

And they both look far too pleased with themselves.

Greg claps his hands together. “Great. You’re here. Grab your coat.”

I frown. “What?”

Big Mike grins. “We need you rinkside.”

Natalie, all of a sudden sipping frommydamn latte, smirking over the rim. “Oh, this is gonna be good. See ya!”

Greg and Big Mike lead me straight toward the rink, moving too well for two giant men in suits.

Greg grins at me as we approach the boards. The team is already on the ice, and I can hear Coach Brody barking out instructions.

"We had a fun idea," Greg says, his corporate voice far too chipper.

Big Mike nods enthusiastically. "Yeah. League is on at us again to lift our online presence. Not cutting it at the moment. And that's your job, right? That why I hired you?"

I dig my heels into the floor, throwing them both a very skeptical look. "Uh, yeah, I guess. But perhaps one of you should define 'fun' before I commit to whatever this is."

But Big Mike, already calling across the ice as we reach the boards, doesn't wait for me to agree to anything.

"Maddox! Get over here. We need you."

I freeze.Oh no.

From across the rink, Blake skates toward us, slow and easy, his powerful stride effortless. God help me. He’s been impossible to shake from my mind, and now, afterdaysof avoidance, there he is.

Broad. Confident. Smug as sin.

The cut of his jersey stretches over his shoulders, the fabric clinging to muscle in a way that is truly, objectively, unfair. His masculine scent, a mix of fresh ice and pure male heat, reaches me even from here, making my pulse quicken traitorously.

I don’t know what I expected being dragged down here, but it sure as hell wasn’tthis.

This should be illegal.

Blake’s gaze finds mine, and for a split second, something flickers behind those storm-gray eyes.

It’s fast, barely there. But Iseeit.

Surprise.

Then something sharper.

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