Tacker (Arizona Vengeance 5)

Yeah… it was a stupid idea, but I wasn’t about to say “no” to her. We were spending a romantic week at a resort in St. Croix, and MJ had it in her mind she wanted to ride horses on the beach at sunset.

Sure, the sunset and beach part would be romantic, but the horses… not so much. Being from Texas, MJ wasn’t a stranger to horses, but I was from the concrete streets of Richmond, Virginia and had never so much as touched a horse before.

Not only was I out of my comfort zone riding the huge beast I was afraid would embarrassingly dump me on my ass into the wet sand at some point, but the winds were also so fierce coming off the water that my eyes were watering.

Still… I know I’m dreaming, but I hold onto it. It’s one of the rare dreams of MJ that I get that I actually treasure. A happy time where we were laughing and in love.

“Who’s that?” she asks, raising a finger to point down the beach.

Turning my head, I squint my eyes against the wind to see a figure in the distance. I can’t make out who it is, but it appears to be a woman.

Weirdly, the wind doesn’t seem to be touching her. Her dark brown hair lays calm along her shoulders. As our horses move closer to the woman, I can see she’s wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, which is definitely not how one dresses on a Caribbean beach.

And then I recognize her.

Nora.

I take in the odd way she’s dressed, yet still appreciating how her curves fill out her western wear in all the right places. The exquisitely refined facial features and cat eyes that stare knowingly at me.

It makes me hot under the collar and I slowly shift toward MJ, ready to explain how I know this woman and how there is no need for her to be jealous. MJ doesn’t give me her attention, though. She just stares at Nora, head tilted slightly in curiosity with a pleasant smile as she uses her hand to battle the froth of hair blowing around her face.

When I dart a glance at Nora, she’s still looking only at me, as if MJ doesn’t exist. Her hand reaches out, beckoning me to get off the horse and come to her. Again, weirdly, the air around her is utterly calm and peaceful.

Do I go to her?

Do I stay with MJ on this stupid romantic ride on the beach, which is one of my favorite recent memories that we would always laugh at later, or do I get off this horse and go to Nora?

The woman who is supposed to help me… what did she call it?

Flourish?

I wake up, jolting almost painfully out of the dream in a way that has me gasping for breath. My emotions are all over the place as I try to reconcile that it was just a dream, yet I still feel an unbelievable loss.

I don’t want to leave the beautiful memories of MJ behind, but I’m feeling an emptiness inside over not getting off that horse and going to Nora.

“Goddamn it,” I mutter in frustration, now feeling a flush of guilt for even having Nora in the same dream as MJ.

Suddenly, my entire body flushes as I start to feel awareness of other things.

My body.

My dick to be exact.

It’s fucking hard as a rock, tenting the loose sheet over me. I have no clue if my erection exists right now because of MJ, Nora, or because I’m a man who hasn’t gotten laid in a long damn time.

Regardless, I don’t want to be torn between which woman might encroach into my thoughts if I were to take myself in hand to get some relief, so I stubbornly ignore my hard-on and roll off my air mattress.

A cold shower is the only thing in my immediate future.Few things touch me these days. When people wall themselves off, things just tend to bounce back from whence they came.

But like Aaron showing up on my doorstep yesterday, this gesture by some of my teammates has a little cramp forming in the center of my chest.

Aaron showed up at my apartment not long after I finished my cold but effective shower, demanding I grab some ice gear and get in his car.

There’s a home game tonight, which means that workouts will be light. Some guys will hit the gym while others skate some drills. Nothing that will overtax, only get a player primed.

I’m not back in the lineup, so it means a lot to be invited to an impromptu skate at one of the local ice rinks where we often practice. Dax, Bishop, Erik, and Legend are meeting us there. Coupled with me, it’s the original first line of the Arizona Vengeance.