Page 4 of One Last Puck

“Yeah, and to make it interesting, if you book five interviews, I’ll be your company for the rest of the night.”

I set my glass down on the bar and wiped my mouth. My eyebrows raised at his little wager.

“My company?”

“Yeah. All night for however long you want me.” There was that low, sexy tone that made my middle throb in my panties. Was he exchanging me booking interviews on my podcast for his body?

“Are you motivating me with your body, Mr. Saint?”

“I said company, but if you want my body, we can do that too.” He swiped his tongue across his soft, juicy lips giving me a preview of what he could do. Shit! I was in trouble. “You got an hour, sweetheart. I’ll save your seat.”

I nodded as I scurried away from Jaxton. I needed to get out of his space. How could I be missing Avery and thinking about letting a man I’d just met slut me out? It had to be the drink. I asked for something sweet and strong. Maybe it was sneaking up on my ass.

“Go get ’em,” Jaxton called out from behind me, making me turn around. His eyes were on me intensely, confirming that he wanted to give me that confidence boosting, mind-erasing fuck I knew he could deliver.

“Bet,” I mouthed back to him as I mingled around the room.

I had five guests to book for my podcast, so the fine man waiting at the bar could blow my back out later. So much for professionalism.

“I’m goingto marry that girl,” I whispered to myself as I eyed Lafayette.

Approaching her tonight was always a part of the plan. There was a friendly wager among my teammates on who could hit her first. I knew it would be me, but if they wanted to lose some money this weekend, then who was I to stop them? Lafayette Porter was just as gorgeous on camera as she was in person. She knew it, and so did every nigga in here. If they didn’t, they were blind. Her presence demanded attention. It had demanded mine the first time I’d swiped on her podcast back in college. She was doing a segment on me being in the most diverse class of hockey players drafted into the UHL and placed on the mostdiverse team. The way she spoke my name, I knew then if I ever crossed her path, I would make her mine.

“Would you like anything to drink?” the bartender asked, pulling my attention away from Lafayette.

“Yeah. Bring her another of whatever she had.” I pointed to Lafayette’s empty seat. “And bring me something dark on the rocks.”

She nodded, and I wasted no time turning my attention back to the woman I couldn’t stop thinking about. She moved through the crowd with so much confidence. I loved how she unapologetically took up space. My eyes traveled down her body. Her frame was perfect. She had curves, real ones she didn’t get from a doctor. I could tell by the little pooch she had in her midsection that it was all homegrown. Her dark brown skin was sun kissed from the sky above, always radiant and glowing. She was perfect, and as I watched her perfectly plump ass and thick thighs sway from side to side, I knew she was perfect for me.

She approached a group of women. Her big curls bounced with each step. I recognized a few of them as ball players. A grin crossed my face as Lafayette looked back at me, eyeing me mischievously. Shawty wasn’t playing fair. She was going to book interviews with all five of them at once. The thought that she wanted to get our little wager over as soon as possible turned me on. I liked a woman that knew when she wanted the dick. I hated all that beating around the bush shit. It was unnecessary, especially for Lafayette, because she already belonged to me.

“Aye, Jax!” The sound of my most annoying teammate, Liam Payne, broke my focus on Lafayette. “You slipping on your pimping, ain’t you, boy?”

He took the empty seat next to me. I kept my eyes on Lafayette. I wasn’t concerned about shit Liam had to say to me.He was one of those trust fund black kids that had everything given to him in life, so it naturally made him a douchebag. He was the oldest member and veteran of my team, the Richmond Penguins, but it didn’t make his ass any wiser. I already owed his ass a dozen ass whuppings, so I didn’t know why he was over here trying to be buddy, buddy with me.

“Jaxton!” He called me again, making me turn slightly in his direction.

“Yeah. What’s up?” I needed him to say his piece and then get the fuck up out of my face.

“You let her get away. Bad move,” he said, making me smirk.

“I don’t need a coach on getting pussy, Liam.” I shot back.

This square ass nigga really thought he had a chance with my woman. It was comical really. I followed his gaze to Lafayette. She was in a full conversation with the ladies now. Her fun-loving personality was on display. She was literally glowing. I watched as she tossed her head back in laughter.

Liam and any other man in this room could look and dream, but that woman was already sporting me on her arm. That beautiful smile she was wearing… I had been the one that helped her restore it tonight and find her footing. No one else had paid attention to her when she’d run out of here with tears in her eyes from a lost love, and no one else was going to be equipped to help her through her grief but me.

“That girl is beautiful,” Liam whispered, causing my head to turn in his direction. “It’s nothing like fresh meat in a lion’s den.”

He snarled, causing me to ball my fist. I didn’t like the way he was talking about my future wife like she was just a quick fuck. I had to fight the urge not to knock his damn teeth out of his mouth. If he wasn’t the team captain and this wasn’t a public event, I would have, but being on a primarily black team or not, I had to walk on eggshells for my image. The UHL wasstill greatly consumed with people who didn’t look like me and didn’t want black people there.

“That’s no way to speak about a woman, Liam. Didn’t your mother teach you manners?” My words were cordial, but my tone told his ass to tread lightly.

“You know, actually, she did. But the streets taught me these hos?—”

“Women,” I corrected him. He was going to speak with some respect when addressing her around me.

“Thesewomen… they like a dirty dog,” he continued, letting out a stupid ass laugh.

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