Page 2 of Puck So Good
After arranging the flowers and placing the vases in the living room, I take one last look in the mirror, grab my purse, and head out the door with my matching gold mask tightly clenched in my hand. One part of me hopes Mr. Manning doesn’t recognize me behind the mask so I can enjoy my fantasy of being a mysterious woman he falls deeply in love with. But the more logical side of me wants him to know it’s really me, so I’ll be sure if he’s interested in the real me or if it’s time to move on.
two
Brant
Inotice her themoment she steps into the ballroom, even with the gold mask covering her beautiful face, the color of her dress shining like spun gold in the chandelier's light. Her sun-kissed skin, matching the highlights in her brown hair, glows, making her look ethereal. Speaking of her hair, she has it down tonight, flowing in a cascade of curls down her backinstead of her usual sleek ponytail. Her dress hugging every luscious curve of her body, just as I'd imagined from the tiny glimpses of her I’ve seen in her business-casual attire.
Trying to keep my distance from her these past few months has been tough, but the last thing I need is a scandal involving a young woman twelve years my junior. As the youngest hockey commissioner in history, I feel the eyes of the hockey world watching my every move. I can’t risk my career over some young woman—even if she makes my heart race like no one else ever has, not even Jane.
Jane, even thinking of her name leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. For someone I once thought was so sweet and innocent, I saw her true side when my brothers and I considered making her our woman and sharing her like the Minnesota Norse and the Iowa Poseidon hockey teams do.
It was two years ago that my brothers and I retired from our professional hockey careers. We had been intrigued by the Minnesota Norse hockey team and how they paired up, three guys with one woman. We had given up puck bunnies long ago, seeking something more meaningful than just one night. We thought we had found that with Jane until she showed us her true colors.
Charlie and Remy aren’t related to me by blood, but we’re closer than true-blood related brothers ever could be. My parents adopted Charlie when we were both five, after realizing they couldn’t have any more biological children. Five years later, they adopted seven-year-old Remy. He was born with a cleft palate, and the orphanage where he lived didn’t have the resources to fix it properly. He was teased mercilessly by the older kids atthe orphanage. And even though he has undergone numerous surgeries since becoming part of our family, Remy is still very sensitive about his appearance. The scar that divides his lip is barely noticeable, but to Remy it’s huge.
“Is that her?” Charlie steps beside me and raises his champagne glass toward Blair. “She’s stunning. No wonder you can’t stop talking about her. Do you think she’d be interested in the three of us?”
A vision of sharing Blair with my two brothers flashes through my mind. It feels so real, I can picture the four of us just relaxing at home watching TV. A wave of peace washes over me until the vision shifts to Blair in the middle of my bed on her hands and knees, taking each of us into one of her holes. I shut the vision down—it’s too dangerous to even fantasize about.
“That’s her.” A small part of me wishes I had never told my brothers about Blair in the first place. But ever since I did, they’ve been pestering me to meet her. Even Remy, and he was the one most devastated by Jane’s betrayal. “But I don’t think she’s interested in taking on all three of us.” It’s not that I don’t want to share her with my brothers—in fact, I want nothing more than to share her with them. It’s that my feelings for her are much stronger than they were with Jane—I’m not sure I could survive her betrayal.
“She’s just as beautiful as you said.” Remy adjusts his mask, making sure to cover the scar on his upper lip. Damn it, I will not see him hurt again.
“We won’t know until we ask her,” Charlie smirks, setting his champagne glass on the table next to us. “I think I’ll go introduce myself.”
“Wait.” I grab his arm to stop him from going to Blair. “Let’s wait until after the draft. I don’t want to overshadow it with a scandal.”
“Fine, but I’m not going to waste this chance to dance with a beautiful woman.” Charlie shakes off my grip and pushes through the crowd until he’s standing in front of Blair.
I watch as Charlie introduces himself to her, too far away to hear exactly what he’s saying, only to see her scanning the ballroom, her eyes finally landing on mine. With a tiny salute, I raise my champagne glass in her direction. She nods, then goes back to her conversation with Charlie. All the while, my heart screams at me to go to her.
three
Charlie
“Dance with me, beautiful,”I say to Blair, forgoing a formal introduction.
Blair’s eyes sweep across the ballroom, and I have no doubt she’s looking for Brant. If what he said about her is true, she’s just as captivated by him as he is by her. After seeing Brant raise hisglass to her, I wait for her response. Her hand is already reaching for mine as she follows me to the dance floor. It’s interesting how easily she obeyed me.
I pull her tight to my chest as we begin to dance, “Are you enjoying the Ball, Blair?”
“Y-yes, I am, thank you. How do you know my name?”
“Such manners. Are you always this polite? I really want to hear your pretty mouth say please.” With her gasp at my whispered words, I know I’ve surprised her, but the feel of her nipples hardening against my chest shows she wants this as much as we do.
“Who are you, and how did you recognize me in the mask?” She asks, not pulling away.
“I believe you know my brother, Brant Manning. He hasn’t said anything but good things about you.”
“He talked about me to you. I didn’t even think he knew I existed, let alone recognize me like this.” Her heartfelt confession warms my heart, confirming my belief that she is nothing like Jane.
“Oh, he knows exactly who you are. You see him over there by the edge of the dancefloor.” I shift her around on the dancefloor until she’s facing Brant and Remy. “He’s talking to our other brother, Remy. Seems like we all have something in common.”
“And what’s that?” She turns her gaze back to mine.
I pull her closer to my body, pressing my cock against her stomach, “I think the evidence is poking at you.” I’m going off script here, but I can’t help myself, she’s so sweet.
“Wait? What? You want me to have sex with all three of you at the same time?” Her eyes drop to the front of my shirt as she says the last part to my chest.
