Offside (The Barker Triplets 1)

Logan lowered his head. He inhaled her subtle, clean scent and stifled a groan. What was it about this girl that made him feel like a teenager again? A damn horny teenager.

“I think you’re wrong, kid,” he whispered near her ear.

A soft sound escaped her lips. A sound that made him tight and hard. As much as he wanted to pursue the moment he knew enough to back off. The timing wasn’t exactly right with Shane grinning at him from the shadows. He’d take his time with this one.

He had the feeling she’d be worth it.

Chapter Ten

Billie arrived at the arena a half hour before the game. She’d been ready for at least an hour, but had paced her bedroom for most of it. She’d seriously thought about ditching hockey. The guys didn’t want her there anyway, and really, who was she to stir the pot and upset so many people?

Just this morning, Ike, at the coffee shop had complained loud and clear about his views on a woman playing in the men’s league. They weren’t favorable and they weren’t subtle. In his opinion—which he shared with everyone in earshot—it was plain wrong. It was men’s hockey and a man should be able to have one night in the sanctity of a locker room without any female presence. How in hell could you scratch your balls and fart when there was a woman on the bench?

Billie thought of Dearling and clearly, some of the guys had no problem with this.

But maybe he had a point? She could have played in a mixed league in the city, or joined the local women’s league but the skill level just wasn’t the same.

For two whole seconds she considered Ike’s arguments, and then as her gaze settled on a framed photo—taken just after she’d scored an Olympic medal winner—something inside her stirred. Something fierce and full of need.

She grabbed her jacket—passed Herschel on his way up to her father’s room with a cup of tea—and kissed his cheek.

“Give ‘em hell, sweets.”

“I will,” she’d murmured quietly and then proceeded down the stairs where she’d pointedly ignored Bobbi who was in the kitchen making Gerald D

ooley a goopy, gross dessert.

Gerald smiled, though it dimmed somewhat as Bobbi shoved a bowl in front of him. “Heading to the game?”

“Yup.”

Billie heard her sister’s derisive snort as she’d headed out into the cool, crisp evening and even though it shouldn’t matter, it did. Some of her oomph left as she’d slipped into her car and turned the key, though the warmth in her belly stirred as she thought of Logan.

She thought of how much she’d wanted to kiss him again in his shop. She thought of the way he smelled and his dark, sexy eyes. She thought of his lean, hard body and a butt made for a woman’s hand.

His full sensual mouth.

The words that had fallen from said, full sensual mouth. [i]“I think you’re wrong, kid.”[i]

What the hell did that mean? Wasn’t he still with Sabrina?

Billie pushed all thoughts Logan aside. She cleared her mind of any excess garbage that could ruin her game and parked her shiny, red Honda near the entrance— underneath the biggest, brightest security light she could find. She’d lucked out, someone was just leaving.

She heaved her bag over her shoulder and paused as a rusted out, silver Chevy rolled past. The driver’s window was down, and she earned one hell of a scowl as Ed Cronkwright searched for a spot to pull his truck into. He mumbled something as he passed and though she couldn’t hear his words, she sure as hell got the drift.

She watched him pull into a spot farther along and thought, screw you.

This was hockey—nothing more—and she wanted to play. Billie wasn’t going to let anyone take that away from her. Not Seth Longwood, or Ed Cronkwright or her sister. Not the bastards who’d vandalized her car, or even the thought of being so damn close to Logan Forest.

She heard Ed’s door slam and flipped him a mental bird. Scowl all you want, asshole. I need this.

All week she’d been on pins and needles. Bobbi was pissed. And, sure, Billie was big enough to admit that maybe some of it was deserved—Bobbi obviously believed she was sleeping with Shane—but still, it didn’t mean that every single person who orbited Bobbi-Jo Barker’s circle deserved to be as miserable as her sister was.

As far as Billie was concerned, her sister loved to wallow in darkness. Why else would she hook up with someone like Gerald Dooley and pretend to be something she wasn’t?

Frustrated, Billie entered the arena and pushed all thoughts of her family aside. She’d think about them later. Right now, she had a game to concentrate on.

“Hey, Billie.”