Page 17 of Reputation
Jax wandered down the aisle of wide, shallow stairs and grabbed a seat at the end of the third last row of leather chairs with Sergei Mogilny, a defenseman, on his right.
“Hey, Serg,” Jax said, relaxing back in the wide leather chair.
Nodding back, Sergei responded in his thick Russian accent, “Cap.Feeling good about tomorrow?Should be an interesting one to start the season.”
On Sergei’s other side was Daniel Henriksson, a young winger called up from their farm team.It was the Swede’s first season with the Royals, and everyone had high hopes for the kid.He was green but very skilled, and with the right coaching, he could be a top player in the league.He would add a lot of depth to the team this year.
Leaning forward to see past Sergei, Daniel asked, “What do you think the Volt’s strategy for tomorrow is going to be?”Like Sergi, he spoke with a melodic accent.
“I’m sure we’ll cover it in today’s brief, but they’re weak on their defense.I would expect them to come hard offensively and try to keep us in our zone,” Jax answered, reciting the same information he had been turning over in his mind the past few days.
“Their goaltending is strong,” added Sergi.“Won the Vezina last year.Could be in for a fight.”
Jax nodded in agreement.The Volts goalie had a good season.It would take precision from their offense to get past him.“True, but we have an opportunity to hammer him with shots given their weak D.If we focus on throwing pucks to the net, they’ll land.”
Sergi grunted, his customary response to most things.No one knew if that meant he agreed or not.
Jax sat back in his chair, his eyes on the front of the room, when he felt a zing of electricity surge up his neck.It was similar to when a player was skating up behind him on the ice, but there was something different about this one—it had a distinct spark of heat.
Looking over his shoulder, he watched Sam walk into the room, followed closely by a tall blonde in a dark blue skirt and matching jacket.She kept her eyes down, focused on navigating the steps in her heels.As he watched her descend the rows of stairs, his heart rate kicked up in his chest as he sat up straight, his body ready to launch to his feet.He restrained himself just before his arms went to push him up out of the chair.An excitement he usually only felt on the ice slithered through his stomach.
No fucking way.
It was her.The bombshell from the bar—the one he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about for the past week.The intense desire she had elicited from him had haunted his thoughts, the feel of her lingering on his hands, and her taste…fuck, he would never forget the honey-ginger flavor.The second he’d gazed into her clear, Nordic blue eyes outside the bathrooms, he’d felt a lightning bolt spear his chest.The sound of her laugh and the tilt of her full, luscious lips when she smiled had lingered in his mind.
When he’d first watched her walk into the bar, there had been instant interest on his part, a conception of attraction.Still, he’d never felt such an intense desire toward any woman he had met.Sure, he’d felt desire with other women over the years.He wouldn’t have been with any of them if he hadn’t, but the raw hunger that had washed through him as he talked to her was unlike anything he’d experienced before.
And then she’d disappeared like some modern-day Cinderella, leaving him confused and pathetically desperate to see her again.
Since that evening, he’d wondered if hewouldever find the mysterious vixen again—wanted to find her.It drove him mad that he didn’t know her name.His need to see her had him thinking up all kinds of crazy ideas, like returning to the bar to see if he could run into her.Based on her interactions with the staff, she was a regular, and he thought the odds of her returning were pretty high.
He wished it was the mystery of her that held his thoughts so captivated, but he knew that was only part of it.After talking to her for less than an hour, he knew there was something special about her.
Even as he recognized their intense connection as different, it also made him cautious.He wanted to see her again, but the intensity of it made him apprehensive.For the last two years, he’d intentionally kept women at arm’s length.He didn’t have the time to get involved with anyone seriously, even if he was interested in going down that road again.
Jax certainly never expected to meet a woman at a bar whose presence had taken up residence in his mind.The sound of her laugh and the tilt of her full, luscious lips consumed his dreams, only to have him waking up feeling on edge.
Watching her descend the auditorium stairs, the same rush of confusing emotions flowed heavily in his chest.He couldn’t believe he had been thinking about finding a way to see her again, and here she was, athisarena.Right then, he ignored the caution sign flashing through his head.
A hush fell over the room as she followed Sam to the front.Tearing his eyes away from her, he glanced around, only to see she had caught the attention of several other players.A sensation resembling possessiveness flashed through his chest at the idea of another man looking at her.It was a primal instinct he wasn’t used to, the feeling of wanting to claim her as his, which was even more dangerous for him.
Leaning to his right, he asked quietly, “Do you know who that is?”He nodded in her direction, even though it was obvious whom he was referring to.Both Sergei and Daniel were also watching her.
“Her name is Eavie Adams.She used to work for David,” Daniel said, referring to the GM of the Heirs, the team Daniel had been called up from.
Eavie Adams.
Jax thought it was an entirely appropriate name for a goddess.Even in her navy-blue skirt suit, she was just as stunning as she had been last week at the bar.His gaze swept over her, his mind picking out the subtle differences in her appearance.It was more reserved than the night he met her.
Gone was the gold shimmer of makeup on her eyes and the brown smudged liner she had worn.Instead of the warm bronze on her cheeks, they were clean, colored only by that natural blush he’d traced with his fingers.But her change in style did nothing to diminish his desire for her.
Her long hair was pulled up on her head in a neat bun, and she’d swapped the tight black jeans and tank top for the jacket and skirt, though the skirt showed her fantastic figure just as well as the pants had.It sat at her trim waist, accentuating the swell of her hips that he could still feel beneath his hands.It ran down her toned legs, hugging the gorgeous curves of her ass.
Damn, but she truly had a figure that made a man’s mouth water.The jacket hid her curves above her waist, but remembering her pressed against him, he knew she had more than a handful on top, too.
Seeing the interest on Jax’s face, Daniel chuckled as he continued, “I wouldn’t bother if I were you.The boys always referred to her as the Ice Queen.”
“What do you mean?”Jax asked, not taking his eyes off her.
