Dominik (Arizona Vengeance 6)

Down on the ice, the game isn’t quite over. The linesman gets the players lined up for another faceoff, but it’s obvious in the droop of the Demons’ shoulders. They know they’ve lost.

The puck drops, Tacker gets his blade on the puck first again, right in between Dax and a Demon player. They fight for control, but it’s futile. The buzzer goes off, which signifies the end of the game.

The Arizona Vengeance have won the conference finals and they’ll be playing the Cold Fury for the championship.

Green, blue, and silver confetti pours from the rafters of the arena, and the rest of the team swarms the ice. More hugs and shouts of joy can be heard in the owner’s box. My dad pulls me into a bear hug that knocks the breath out of me.

Dominik gets swept off, everyone wanting a chance to hug the owner—the man who made this possible.

We catch stolen peeks at each other through the crowd. I know Dominik will have to go down to the ice soon, but he starts sidestepping people to make his way back to me first.

His eyes are locked on mine, and I have never seen such a mixture of emotions on his handsome face. Joy and triumph tempered with a hard look of determination. If we weren’t in a room full of people, some of which are my actual family, I’d say it’s the look he gets when he wants to drag me off to bed and fuck me.

Which I’d be all for.

Dominik weaves in and out of people then, finally, stops in front of me. Once again, I’m in his arms and he’s swinging me around. I’m laughing and my head is spinning. Yeah… one of the happiest moments of my life.

Setting me down gently on my feet, Dominik puts his hands on the sides of my head and gives me a hard kiss that lasts forever, but still isn’t long enough. We both start grinning into the kiss until we’re laughing.

He pulls back just a few inches, his entire face awash with happiness and promise for the future. He looks like he could conquer the world, and I believe he can.

Dominik’s grin is so wide it’s infectious, and I’m smiling like a silly fool right back.

Dropping his hands to my shoulders, he blurts out a statement as if he’s been keeping it in for a long time. “Let’s get married, Willow.”

It’s like I can hear the screech of a needle on a vinyl record. Everything sort of freezes for me. I’m vaguely aware of everyone else around us still laughing, shouting with joy, and pretty much acting crazy over the win.

But there’s only Dominik and me, staring at each other, and his words echoing in my ears.

“Married?” I ask, my tongue feeling thick and swollen in my mouth.

“Yes,” he exclaims. “Married. I’m crazy about you. I’ve fallen madly in love with you, and I know it’s fast—”

“So, so fast,” I interrupt as I try to take a step back from him.

He holds on to me tightly, giving me a chastising shake of his head. “Yes, it’s fast, but we’re there. I can feel it. You’ve pushed past your fears and jumped into this with me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Willow. I know damn well I can make you the happiest woman ever if you’ll just take that leap with me.”

My head is spinning, and it has nothing to do with the victory or the bourbon I’d slugged down moments before. I’m also slightly nauseated, which has everything to do with the fact I don’t want to let Dominik down, but I’m also pretty freaked out right now.

“Dominik,” I say softly… okay, pleadingly. My hands go to his chest, and I have no formulated thoughts. Just a lot of emotions in my head right now. “This is just too fast for me. And yes… I’ve taken the plunge with you, and I really like you a lot—so much—but I’d like to just stay the course the way we are right now.”

“You like me a lot,” he repeats back. I’m so relieved he heard me that I miss his dull tone and the flatness in his eyes.

“Yes… I’m crazy about you, too, but you need to put more thought into this. I know you’re excited about the win, but think this through. I mean… you should think about a prenup. You’re a multimillionaire—”

“Billionaire,” he mutters.

I laugh, knowing that I have no concept of how rich he is will always be our joke. “Yes, okay… a billionaire. A hot, eligible billionaire, and I’m poor by comparison. You need some protection and—”

“I don’t want any protection,” he cuts me off, and I jerk a little at the harshness of his tone.

The jubilation in his expression is gone now. There’s no more eagerness in his eyes. I shot him down flat, and I feel like shit I took away his joy from this victory.