Dominik (Arizona Vengeance 6)

Legend drops his stick to the ice, both gloves following, then he streaks toward the other goalie. For a moment, the Demon net defender doesn’t move. But then he realizes he’s being challenged, and he has no choice but to meet it. He takes off, the two goalies meeting at center ice. Legend grabs the Demon by the jersey, who reciprocates, and they start grappling. I hold my breath, praying Legend doesn’t take a shot because his hand will probably end up broken against the other goalie’s helmet.

My eyes dart to the bench. My Vengeance players are on their feet, leaning over the half wall and I can tell by the looks on their faces they want to clear the bench and join the brawl.

“Don’t do it,” I mutter under my breath. We can’t afford the suspensions that will come if they leave the bench.

The kids from Miller House are going nuts. They are experiencing a rarity indeed… a full-line brawl with even the goalies going at it, and the kids couldn’t be enjoying themselves more.

Luckily, it’s all over fairly quickly. The four officials move in, somehow managing to break up the fights. To give my guys credit, they seem to realize this could get out of control and cause injuries, which could severely impact our future. Those whose fights have broken up start to pull their teammates out of the fray. The last two combatants to be diffused are Legend and the Demon goalie, who have really only managed to wrestle each other in what I deem to be a display of nothing more than not wanting to be left out of the fun.

Players are separated, the officials confer, and penalties are issued. The penalty box fills up with each member of the first line who was engaged in the fight, same with the Demons. Legend is given a penalty, but as a goalie, he can’t leave the ice, so another Vengeance player skates over to serve time for him.

Our second line takes the ice along with the new Demon players, and play resumes.

“That was intense,” Willow whispers harshly. I realize her fingernails are dug into my arm where she’d been clutching me the entire time that took to play out.

I gently pry them away and we watch the rest of the game in tense silence, although the crowd in the arena resumes the deafening roar of encouragement for their team. The next few minutes tick by agonizingly slow. The fight seems to have taken the pep out of the Demons’ step for a bit, but when they pull their goalie, they get their momentum back.

They manage to put three shots on goal while their own net remains empty. Legend is in the zone, though, deflecting two and nabbing the third.

When the buzzer goes off and we claim the victory, I almost sag against Willow in relief. We are now two games up in this series, and even closer to making the Cup finals.

I turn to face her, uncaring if any of the kids are watching. My hand goes to the back of her neck, my mouth crashing down on hers.

I’m thrilled the Vengeance has another victory and we’re now one step closer. I’m ecstatic my Miller House boys had such a phenomenal experience.

But right now, all I really want is to be with Willow. It’s getting to the point where my best feelings are coming directly from her.CHAPTER 21WillowI resist the urge to open the oven door to check on dinner. Instead, I use the dishcloth in my hand to make another swipe across the countertop of Dominik’s kitchen. It’s already pristine, but I’m expending nervous energy.

Dropping the cloth in the sink, I peek through the glass door of one of the ovens to note that my potatoes are browning beautifully and will need to come out soon. Perfect timing as our guests will be here any minute.

I’m not sure what possessed me to do this.

Agree to Dominik’s request we have my family over to his home for dinner, I mean.

Actually, I do know what possessed me. It was those damn kids he’d invited from the group home he’d been raised in. That beautiful act of kindness and community had touched me. It didn’t exactly surprise me because I’ve learned Dominik is a giver. But the fact those kids have so much meaning to him and it’s important they have opportunities just made me fall for the guy a lot harder.

I just wanted to give him something back and I know inviting my parents to dinner was something he not only really wanted to do, but also something he gladly gave up because I just wasn’t ready.

I guess I want to show him I’m ready—that I can move deeper into this.

Tonight’s the night and my parents, Dax, and Regan should be here soon. The Vengeance will be on the road to Los Angeles to play the Demons the next two games in the series. We won game three, but they kept the conference finals victory from us in game four in a double-overtime win.