Ryker (Cold Fury Hockey 4)

"Oh, no she didn't," I say with a shake of my head.

"Wrong move."

Gray leans over and kisses me on the cheek. "You know me so well."

"I definitely know that you are not a person that takes threats well." The gravity in my voice alerts her to the fact that I'm still very much wigged out by what happened with Claude. "You told a knife-wielding lunatic to go fuck himself."

"I knew you were just moments away from kicking the door in," she says lightly, and lays a hand on my leg. She squeezes it reassuringly and then gives it a pat. "It's all done, baby. I'm fine and we're together."

"I'm so going to give Hensley a piece of my mind--"

"Don't," Gray says, her voice whisper soft. "Let's let it all go and just start fresh from right here."

Her eyes are so full of expectancy and hope. So happy and contented. I have no choice but to reach my hand over, cup her jaw, and pull her to me. I give her a slow kiss and then look her in the eye. "Okay. Fresh start. From right now."

Gray pulls away as soon as we hear the SportsCenter theme song and her hand goes to mine, clasping it tightly.

The reporter comes on, places an elbow on the desk, and leans in slightly toward the camera. "Interesting news in the world of hockey tonight. The league's first female general manager, Gray Brannon, made headlines when she made a very public declaration that she has a relationship with one of her players."

The feed cuts to video of Gray standing at the glass, holding her sign up. "Already, social media has blown up with an outcry for her resignation, citing a serious conflict of interest."

Gray's hand squeezes mine harder. I lean over and kiss her on the temple.

The feed then cuts to video of me kissing Gray on the ice during the TV timeout. "Immediately following the game, both Gray and Brian Brannon presented themselves to reporters for questions, and made a very surprising announcement."

The feed then cuts to a close-up of Gray with perhaps a dozen microphones all shoved under her chin. Flashes from cameras play across her beautiful face like lightning strikes.

"I would like to let the public know that as of seven P.M. tonight, right before the game started, I handed in my offer of resignation as general manager to the Cold Fury. This was done with the knowledge and approval of my father, Brian Brannon. Obviously, I recognize the conflict of interest that has arisen by me having a personal relationship with one of my players, although I would like to state for the record that at no time did I have a relationship with Ryker Evans prior to December of last year. Still, going forward with an inevitable offer to extend his contract, I know that I cannot continue to serve in my power as general manager without approval from the executive board. Until such time, Frank Lessier will be managing the organization."

Gray steps back with a placid smile on her face, while Brian Brannon moves forward. Reporters hurl questions left and right and he raises a hand that commands utter silence. "I won't be taking questions tonight, although I just wanted to make a statement of my own. Gray offered her resignation with my approval, as we don't ever want there to be a hint of impropriety with how we handle player relationships. I would also like the public to know that Ryker Evans has previously offered to retire from the team so as to remove the conflict, but Gray wouldn't let him do that."

My head jerks as I look over at Gray, but she doesn't take her eyes from the screen. This press conference was done while I was getting showered after the game, and while Gray had since filled me in on what she was doing, these words by Brian Brannon are an absolute shocker to me.

"I don't know that I've ever been more proud of my daughter than I am at this moment. All she ever wanted from the time she was a little girl was to be involved with hockey. Seeing her take the reins of the organization was what I thought was the proudest moment of my life. I was wrong. Today is the proudest, as I watch her stand up and sacrifice all that she ever desired for the simple prospect of love."

"Holy fuck," I mutter under my breath as I blink my eyes hard. "I think your dad might make me cry."

Gray sniffles and I look at her as tears pour down her cheeks. "Right? He's so wonderful."

I pick up the popcorn and put it on the table beside my bed along with my beer and pull her into my arms. The video feed is cut and the camera is back on the reporter who is wrapping up the story. He's talking about how the board of directors is going to vote on whether or not to accept Gray's offer, and that Brian Brannon is abstaining from the vote.

This I also already knew and that the vote would be happening tomorrow.

Gray lays her head on my shoulder, resting her bandaged arm across my stomach. "I love listening to your heart. It's so strong and solid. Just like you."

I squeeze her. "Did I ever tell you that you are the most amazing woman I've ever known?"

"I think you have," she says as if she's searching mightily for a recollection. "I mean, you say so many magnanimous things about me, it's hard to keep it all straight in my mind."

I laugh and press my chin on top of her head. We lie like that a few moments, comfortable in the silence yet still burdened by the crazy things that have happened to us in the last few days. Crazy, terrifying, heart-pounding, knee-buckling, insomnia-inducing, tear-producing, crazy-ass things.

But it's all good.

In this moment...it's all very, very good.

"Are you worried about the vote tomorrow?" I ask her. She's seems so far to be very unperturbed by all of this. I know my stomach is in knots over the prospect of her resignation being accepted. I'm not quite sure how I'll be able to live with this if it happens. I'm not sure I can be the one responsible for killing her dreams.

Before she can even answer me, I gently push her off my chest and say, "Fuck that. You cannot resign from the organization. I can't stand by and let you do that."

"It's done," Gray says as she levels those gorgeous green eyes at me. "It's why I did it before I went public, because I knew you wouldn't want me to do this."

I grasp her chin and hold her tight. "I'm feeling a whole lot of guilt about this, baby. I'm not sure this was what was best for us."

Her arms come up and wrap around my wrist. She doesn't make a move to pull my hand away from her, but rather seems to just want to touch me so I understand her when she says, "I can't control how you feel, but please...believe me when I say this is going to work out. Let's not worry on this one moment more until we see what happens during the vote tomorrow."

"But if they accept your resignation--"

Gray launches herself at me, plasters her mouth to mine. My arms automatically go around her waist, my fingers smooth over her bare skin. She's warm and soft against me and her tongue tastes divine. She kisses me hard...grinds her pelvis against mine.

SportsCenter, popcorn, and guilt are forgotten.

Gently pulling away from me, she keeps her face hovering just inches from mine. Her eyes penetrate...reach in deep and hold me hostage. "I love you. No matter what happens tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that. I. Love. You. And that is all that matters to me. The fact that I can go on a date with you, or hold your hand out in public, or that you can finally introduce me to Violet and Ruby as your girlfriend...those things are so much more important to me than being the general manager."

"But--" I make one more weak attempt, because damn if she isn't soothing my conscience nicely.

"But nothing. No matter what happens tomorrow, I will always be involved in hockey. I'll still be involved with this organization. Stop worrying about me, and trust that I made the decision that was best for me. I put my priorities in line and I sought out the top one. It's a win for me, don't you get it?"

"I'm thinking I'm the one who's truly won here," I whisper. "I'm not sure what I did to deserve this."

"How about we agree that we both got what we deserve and be happy with that?" she offers with a gentle smile. "Let's just be happy."

Oh, man, this woman.

This fucking woman.

"Okay," I tell her as I roll over, pushing her to her back and coming to rest on

top of her. Right between her legs. Best place ever. "Right now, we'll just be happy."

Epilogue

Gray

THREE MONTHS LATER...

It's game five of the Stanley Cup championship.

The Cold Fury leads the series 3-1 over Chicago.

There's fifty-three seconds left in the game and we are up by one goal. If we can just hold on. If Ryker can keep the net protected...we will win it all.

I'm not sure I can breathe. I'm pretty sure my lungs have gone on hiatus. We took a stupid penalty less than a minute ago so we are shorthanded by one player. Ryker has his work cut out for him.

I look around the Cold Fury arena. Every single fan is on their feet and the cheers are almost deafening. Every player is standing, leaning forward and watching with hunger in his eyes. Coach Pretore is actually standing on the bench to look over the players.

I glance up toward the owner's box. I know my father is up there watching and I'm just a tiny bit sad I'm not up there to have the first victory hug. But he knows I need to be down here...right at the edge of the tunnel that leads out onto the ice. I have to be here so Ryker is the first to get my hug. And kiss. And maybe a squeeze on the ass.

Thirty-nine seconds.

Come on, baby. Stand tough.

My hands are clutched together and pressed underneath my breastbone. I can almost taste this win. I can almost taste Ryker on my tongue. Both are equally sweet.

It's hard to imagine. My first year as a general manager, winning the Stanley Cup. Talk about history making.

That's right. I'm still the general manager of the Carolina Cold Fury. Almost three months ago, I declared to the world that I was in love with Ryker Evans and simultaneously handed in my resignation so that I could keep my reputation and the reputation of this club intact. It became breaking news and was the subject of conversation all across Twitter and in every bar that held a hockey fan. The following day, the board of directors convened and held a vote on whether or not to accept my resignation.

Surprisingly, my biggest proponent was Frank Lessier. While my father didn't vote, he did sit in on the meeting, and said that Frank was pretty amazing. He focused the board on a solution to make it work with me retaining head management and still preserving the integrity of our negotiations with Ryker at a later date. His idea was simple. I would stay on as general manager but would have absolutely no dealings, authority, or input regarding Ryker Evans and his tenure with the team. In fact, Frank offered himself up as the person who would deal solely with Ryker in the future. A few months ago, that might have concerned me, since Frank did not like Ryker for some reason.