Bruiser (Seattle Sharks 7)

“Yes,” I said. “I’m aware Elliott and I are your family. But them,” I said, pointing to where I could see Connor and Ivy and Eric and Pepper, and with Lukas, who was looking like the damn Phantom of the Opera himself finally trailing behind them. “They’re our family too. And they are here. So let’s enjoy the night.”

He smiled at me before turning to wave at the guys.

“And every night after,” he said into my ear, the heat from his breath sending more chills racing across my skin.

“And every night after,” I repeated.

Lukas

The party was in full swing. Usually, masquerades were exactly the kin

d of thing I’d go for. Masks. Anonymity. Dark corners for darker deeds.

Hell, I’d been eye-fucked by half the single women here and a few of the married woman.

That was the most action I’d had in six months.

Five. Fucking. Months. With zero fucking. None.

Because the one woman I wanted didn’t want me.

And there she was. My breath caught as Faith stepped into my line of sight as I leaned against the wall, content to simply watch her.

I’d gone from man-whore to pathetic.

Hell, even if I wanted to fuck another woman here, I wasn’t sure my dick would let me. It rose for only one woman—the one who smelled like pears and vanilla. With the Midwestern accent, silky red hair, and the greenest eyes I’d ever seen. Like fresh new grass after a Swedish winter.

Swedish winters were fucking long.

She smiled at something the guy next to her said, but even with the mask, I knew that wasn’t her stupid frat-boy boyfriend.

Her mask was white, shimmering, just like the dress that fell down her curved body in a sensuous drape of liquid sunlight.

Faith. God, even her name felt like renewal. New beginnings. New hope.

She was everything I wasn’t. Humble. Sweet. Innocent to the dirtiness that clung to every aspect of the life I’d chosen—that clung to me like the cheap perfume I used to wake up covered in.

But not in five months.

Not since I’d decided she was it. Only her.

She glanced over, saw me, then ripped her eyes away quickly, only to slowly let them return. I knew she felt it too, the seismic shift that happened whenever our eyes locked.

I knew it frightened her, which was why she stayed with frat-boy Fred.

But that was okay. I was in it for the long haul. I’d wait for her to decide she was ready to step onto the ice, for her to accept what I knew would change us both.

Until then, I’d sit on the bench and wait. Hell, she’d only just turned twenty-one. We had time.

“Crab is good,” Noble said as he came to stand next to me. “You should try some.”

I grunted.

He followed my line of sight. “Jesus, you and Faith. Maybe you two can just fuck and get it out of your systems.”

“She has a boyfriend,” I snapped. Like everyone didn’t know that. And if there was one thing I didn’t do, it was get involved with someone who was committed to someone else.

“You haven’t heard?” he asked, his brows drawing together.

“Heard what?” I asked, watching Faith walk away, her curves swaying as she headed toward the edge of the room.

No doubt to find Frat-boy Fred in one of those aforementioned corners.

“They broke up last week.”

My head snapped toward Noble’s. “What?”

“Yeah. Gentry was talking about it in the locker room. They’re done.”

Something electric rippled down my spine. Anticipation. Adrenaline. It was the same feeling I got just before I geared up.

I walked away from Noble without another word, following Faith across the room.

She might not be with the frat-boy anymore, but she sure as fuck wasn’t single.

She was already mine.

Now I just had to prove it to her.

Game. On.

* * *