Defender (Seattle Sharks 9)

“Hey, Langley,” he said before chugging water.

“Don’t you dare hey me, Lukas. You had to be in on this, too.” Langley turned her glare to me. “Why the he...heck,” her eyes darted to Lettie, “do you think I have any sway over him?”

“Because you do,” Lukas answered.

She shot him a look I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of before looking up at me. “Come to Charleston, you said. Be our publicist, you said. Never once did you mention that Silas was going to give me an impossible task as a test.”

“Sorry, Langley. I didn’t know,” I put my hands up. “Really. He gave me control over the players I wanted to sign, but he has control over the administration, you know that.”

“And you think telling me that I only get the job if I get Axel to sign to the Reapers is a fair test? I’m a publicist, Gage, not a da...darn agent!” She crossed her arms and glowered.

“It wasn’t my idea. Honestly.”

“It was mine,” Lukas answered.

Oh, shit, the man was going to need more than a wall and some gear to protect him from Langley’s wrath.

“What? Why?”

“Because you’re in a unique position to get him here. We need him.” He shrugged.

“You’re his best friend!”

“You look better in a skirt.”

I was going to have to move Lettie if they continued to fire shots across us.

“What a horrid, sexist thing to say!”

“Why? You can wear pants, too. He really won’t care as long as it’s you asking. He already told me no. Silas, too.” Lukas took another drink, and I contemplated shoving the bottle down his throat before he put his foot in his mouth any deeper.

“Me, too. Look,” I stepped in between them. “If you’re really uncomfortable asking him, then I’ll talk to Silas.”

She softened, but the fire still lit her eyes. “Oh no, I’m no damsel to be rescued. Silas gave me a job, and I’ll do it. I’ll get Axel to sign to the Reapers. Not that I understand why you need a six-foot-six Swedish Neanderthal.” She sidestepped and jabbed her finger in Lukas’s direction. “But I’m taking your plane and staying at your house.”

“I’ll call my pilot,” Lukas promised.

“I have to leave tonight. I’ll need every second I can get, because last time I checked, that man had no interest in leaving Sweden.”

“Done.”

She glared at both of us. “Fine. I’m leaving. Lettie, it’s always lovely to see you.”

“You, too, Ms. Pierce!” Scarlett replied.

Lukas skated off to join the game, leaving Lettie and me on the bench.

“We really do need him,” Lettie said softly.

“Yeah, we sure do.”

“Ethan!” Scarlett jumped down as she spotted her little brother, running out of the bench to scoop him up.

Bailey walked in and stepped up onto the bench. I wound my arm around her waist and tucked her in close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“They look good,” my wife commented.

“They do.”

“Do you miss it? Playing?” she asked. “I know it was a sudden transition.”

I gave it some serious thought. The question deserved it.

Finally, I shook my head. “I know there will be moments I’ll wish I was out there,” I told her honestly. “But my days on the ice are over, and this…” I glanced from my players to my jacket with my name and my title embroidered on it. “This is where I belong. Where I’m meant to be.”

“You don’t feel like you’ve given too much up?” She looked up at me, her eyes soft with understanding. “I know how much you loved it.”

Scarlet laughed as she chased Ethan down the practice rink’s walkway.

I smiled and cupped Bailey’s face in my hands. “It’s a fresh start for us, in a new place with a new team. And I love you more than ever, Bailey. You’re all I ever need. All this…” I pointed to ice. “It’s all just icing. Really, really good icing.”

“You do look good in navy blue,” she smirked.

I lowered my mouth to hers, reveling in the shot of lust that always hit me at the first brush of our lips. “You look better naked. What do you say we ask Faith if she’ll keep an eye on the kids and go christen my office?”

“Ha! Are you out of your mind?” she giggled.