Bruiser (Seattle Sharks 7)

“What did you do?”

“I pulled my father’s gun on him, then cocked it to let him know I meant it. Then I told him if he ever stepped foot in that house again, I’d fucking kill him.”

“Oh, Hudson.”

“He saw it in my eyes—that I meant it. And I did. I would have shot him right then and there, but I didn’t want to traumatize Maddox. He left. Mom finally pressed charges. He went to prison.”

“I’m so sorry.”

I shrugged it off, just like I always did. “It’s over. My mom divorced him, and she’s got a pretty great boyfriend now, but she’s a little skittish, still.”

“I can imagine.” She offered me a small smile.

“We’re a pair, aren’t we?” I asked.

“I think we fit pretty well.”

“Oh, I know we fit well. Very well,” I waggled my eyebrows at her and was rewarded with a laugh.

Then she stopped, her eyes blinking rapidly. “Wait. Maddox Porter...as in…”

“The pitcher for the Charleston Hurricanes?” I supplied.

Her mouth dropped open. “Your brother plays major league baseball?”

“Athletic ability runs in the family I guess.” I shrugged.

She scoffed. “That’s like saying politics runs in the Kennedy family.”

“Noble’s brother is in the NFL. It happens. There are two brothers on the Detroit team, too.”

“Do you ever see him?”

“When our schedules allow it. He’s usually in full swing when we finish the playoffs, and when he’s through with playoffs, and I’m on the ice. He’s a good kid, though. Reckless. A little...careless in other regards, too, but a good guy. You’re better off with me, trust me.”

She patted my hand. “I have all the Porter I can handle right here.”

I took her home and proved that with my body, taking my time, kissing every scar on her skin. I stroked and tongued her, but refused to give her what she needed until she was writhing, begging to come. Begging me to fill her.

So I did.

Then I lost myself in her, gave myself over to everything she was. Every cry she uttered. Every arch of her back and swing of her hips.

I existed in those moments only to please Shea.

I used every weapon in my sensual arsenal to bring her to orgasm again and again.

And with every touch, every kiss that I intended to help heal her heart, I realized she was actually healing mine.

And every ounce of it belonged to her. Only her.

Chapter 14

Shea

My fingers gripped the seat so hard my knuckles were white. The family box may have had more room than general admission, but it didn’t shield from the wild energy that pulsed through the massive crowd.

Thousands of people screamed and cheered and booed at different intervals, all coinciding with what happened on the ice.

Smack!

I flinched from the impact of the opposing player against the boards.

Thump!

I cringed as another player hit the boards and went down.

Crack!

I jolted from the power behind the stick as Connor made a shot.

And I gasped as the goalie blocked his shot and another player skated toward Conner as he captured the rebounded puck. The intent was clear, he was supposed to lay Connor out. I wanted to shout his name, tell him to turn around, tell him to pay attention.

I squinted my eyes, readying my body like I was the one about to get smashed, when out of nowhere, like a tidal wave on ice, Hudson caught a pass, placing himself between Connor and the opponent, and became a brick wall.

A giant brick wall that the other skater smashed into, the force from the impact so intense that his butt hit the ice in a blink.

Hudson passed back to Connor, who gave a single, quick nod, and headed back toward the goal. They didn’t even take one second before they were both going their separate ways on the ice. Both with different goals—all of them, actually—and yet they worked together so smoothly it was like a dance.

A brutal, intricate, and somewhat wild dance.

Elliott screamed, fist-bumping the air. “Did you see that? Hudson makes the Sharks untouchable!”

I loosened my grip on the seat, smiling at Elliott’s back as she jumped up and down. She’d barely sat the entire game. Her and Hannah and Lettie formed a tiny line of support that was enough to melt my heart. Elliott would have made such a great big sister if I’d ever given her the chance.

Minutes passed that felt like hours and a blink at the same time.

My muscles coiled and twisted with each hit, each near-fight as emotions escalated.

Shredded ice and thwacking bodies and goals and shots and screams.

A wild, brutal game.

That’s what I’d always seen hockey as.

Why I’d avoided it all this time.

But with each hit Hudson delivered, I realized something.

Like pulling back a veil, I understood something I never had before.

Hudson may be knocking grown men down, may have had the force of a Mack truck behind him when he did it, but he was preventing hits each time.

Protecting his teammates.

The giant man who could be so gentle when teasing kisses down the seam of my neck was a force to be reckoned with on this team. For his team, he became what they needed most. Someone strong enough to take the hits they couldn’t, and dish them out in return.

A smile shaped my lips as I kept my eyes trained on him. On the way his brute strength didn’t hinder him in the least when chasing down threats. The way he pushed himself, pushed his body, his mind, all for the sake of his team.

Protection.

God, the guys had always called him a Bruiser, and I’d equated that to someone who did nothing but fight the whole game.

But it was so much more than that.

Hudson was so much more than that.

And it had taken watching him on the ice, in action, to realize just how damn…beautiful he was at it.

Something warm radiated from the center of my chest as I watched him prevent another hit. A primal, deeply rooted heat that pulsed in my blood and slaked my soul.

All my life I had protected Elliott, would always have a piece of me that was scared and watching. I’d done everything in my power to prevent the darkness of our past from touching her. And I would always do that—protect her.

Hudson and I were the same, in so many more ways than I’d thought.

The man was capable of bringing himself to Elliott’s level, to tease and rile and challenge her, as well as be the protector of the Seattle Sharks. He could be calm and gentle when coaching Elliott and yet he could be fierce and passionate when coaxing pleasure from my body. He had the ability to fall silent and wait and listen when I needed to talk but also could unleash his quiet humor in order to make me laugh.

Everything.

Hudson Porter was everything.

And I was absolutely in love with him.

There was no shock, no bolt of realization as my mind finally caught up with my body and soul.

I loved Hudson.

Loved him like I’d never loved a man in my life.

Loved him with all the earned trust and passion and bliss I’d secretly dreamed about but never allowed myself to hope for.

For a decade, I’d prided myself on not needing anyone to help me and Elliott besides the mercy and miracle of Mr. Barnes—the man who’d cut me a break, gave me a job and put me through school. I suppose he could be credited with introducing me to Hudson since he was Connor’s lawyer and had called me to help with Hannah’s case. Life…was so funny that way. But counting on anyone else had always set me up for failure, and in the end, I’d known no one was as trustworthy as myself when it came to taking care of Elliott.

But this, with Hudson?

It was real and tangible, and there was this glowing, searing knowledge inside me that knew without a doubt I could count on h

im. I could depend on him without losing myself. I could allow him to help me without thinking I’d failed. And I could do the same for him. Be there for him in ways no other woman could. I saw him—more than the name on his jersey, more than the intimidating size and scars on his body.

A true partner.

An equal.

I love him.

“What?” Elliott touched my shoulder. “Mom, what?”

“Hmm?” I asked, blinking back from cloud nine.

“You’re smiling like the joker.” She glared at me. “And we missed another shot. That’s not cool.”

I cleared my throat and tried to contain my smile. “Sorry,” I said. “I was thinking about something else.”

“Something else?” she balked, waving her hand toward the ice. “How could you think of something else when they’re on the ice?” She looked at me like I’d lost my mind and returned focus to the game.

I watched more intently, seeing clearer than I ever had before.

Twenty minutes later, I bent to Elliott’s ear to be heard over the roaring crowd.

“I need to use the restroom,” I said. “Before the crowds.”

“Oh, Mom!” she groaned. “Can’t I stay with Hannah and Lettie?”

I glanced toward Ivy and Bailey who were cheering the Sharks’ win as loud and as proud as everyone else.

“What’s up?” Ivy asked, leaning toward my questioning glance.

“Is it okay if you watch Elliott for a few minutes?” I asked, practically in her ear. “I need to hit the bathroom.”

“Oh, of course!” She smiled and nodded. “We usually stay until way after the game anyway to wait for Connor to get done with locker room coach talk and showers. We hang in my sister’s office. It’s right by the locker room. Know it?”

I nodded, remembering Hudson showing us before the game because he’d wanted us to meet him in that hallway.