“Clean up your mess. Do as you’re told tomorrow, Pookie, or there will be a real punishment that you won’t like at all. We don’t have quitters here in my house, or I would have gone back to California a long time ago.” He smiled at me and lifted the foil with a happy hum. “Hurry up. And then go get dressed for dinner. I expect you to look nice for me each night, unless I specifically request you in certain clothing, the way I did this morning.”
“You’re fucking serious?”
He glanced at me and amusement flashed across his features. “You keep asking me that. Do I have to motivate you?” He grinned, and I shook my head. In less than three minutes I’d finished the floor, emptied the bucket, and then shot toward the bedroom to change, all the while horrified at what might constitute a punishment from Stormy.
His smile had been far too smug.
12
Lane
Kellan Arrington was at leasta foot taller than me and had the body of a god, but that wasn’t exactly surprising. Before he’d been injured, he’d played hockey, which was why he’d gotten this job in the first place. Now he had me in an entry-level position with the New Gothenburg Blizzards, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
“Would you look at those boys?” He whistled, nodding out at the rink where twenty men were training. This was their last time on the ice together before they broke up for the summer, I could tell. They were laser-focused on either their coaches, who were giving them last-minute workouts of things to brush up on over the break, or the task at hand, which gave us ample time to peruse the goods. Ogling wasn’t easy to do while they were decked out in their uniforms and protective gear and there was quite a bit of imagination involved. The padding did little to show off the bulging muscles beneath. I’d seen a few of them in the locker room being iced after a practice or walking around in just a towel after a shower, and they made Kellan look average.
While there was no doubt they were sexy as fuck and I didn’t mind staring at them, I also had no interest in checking them out for too long because I had Ross, and I wanted to dick him down as soon as I got home.
“What are you doing?” Juliana approached us from behind and threw her arms around our shoulders, getting in close to us. She was the other trainer they’d put on the schedule along with me, and even I could admit she was good at it. Kellan had told me a physiotherapist had suggested her, and the bigwigs of the Blizzards had decided they needed all the help they could get. “Are we checking out the boys?”
“No, we’re merely studying them for job purposes,” I lied, winking at her in a way that had her laughing.
“Bullpucky.” She nudged me and took a step back. I liked Juliana because she fit in easily with us, as though she wasn’t fresh out of college and five years younger than me, and she was smart, too. She was the kind of woman who preferred polo shirts, shorts, a cap, and sneakers, rather than the high heels one of the full-time physiologists wore. Not that there was anything wrong with that, other than I didn’t see the benefit. She’d be wearing them all day, and I suspected her feet hurt by the end of training. I’d worn heels more than once, and even I couldn’t have them on for more than a few hours, so more power to her as far as I was concerned.
“Which one is your favorite so far, Jules?” Kellan asked, waving his hand toward the guys in the rink.
“All of them?” She chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder before checking the Fitbit on her wrist and tapping it a few times. Her attention returned to the boys and she crossed her arms. “Greenwood is hot. I like blonds.”
“Gay and married. It’s technically Greenwood-North, by the way,” Kellan said in a bored tone. He flashed us a grin.
She rolled her eyes. “You asked who I prefer. You didn’t say it was about hooking up.”
I laughed and shook my head. “She has a point, Kellan. Be more specific.”
He made a noise and waved his hand again. “Fine. If you could hook up with one of them, who would it be?”
She peered out at the ice again, lips pursed in thought. “Voss or Merc. Voss’s ass is a delicious piece of meat, and Merc has that rugged, handsome look going for him.” She glanced at me. “What about you, Lane?”
I stared out at them, watching their skates slice across the ice with ease. They were professionals for a reason, and most of them were big, tall men with strength behind every move they made. They had to have power to play hockey. Ross was different. He’d gained muscle in prison, but he didn’t have the kind of bulk they did. He was shorter, too, and regardless of the ideals of a perfect man, I preferred him ten times over.
“I have a boyfriend.” I shrugged.
Kellan snorted. He was the only one who knewwhomy boyfriend was, and only because I’d been honest with him from the start of my job search. He’d questioned the whole whore thing, but he wasn’t the judgmental type.
“So do I, but I chose,” Juliana grumbled.
“You got a guy?” I turned and leaned against the boards that surrounded the rink. “Tell me more. I want a description or photo.”
She pursed her lips and brushed her brown bangs off her forehead. “Nope. I don’t even know what this is between us. I’m not saying a thing. What about you? Have you got photos for us?”
I rolled my eyes. “No, sharing is caring, sweetheart, and if you’re not going to share with me, I’m not sharing with you.”
She huffed just as the head coach blew the whistle to signal a huddle near the team bench. I shifted to watch the men skate toward their coach and lean in when he started talking to them. Again their protective gear left everything to the imagination, which was a shame because I didn’t mind a good peek of a nice ass.
That train of thought only made me think about Ross and what he could possibly be doing at home. I couldn’t wait to get back to my apartment to see him in the apron I’d ordered him to wear all day.
Underwear and apron—they were the only things he was allowed to wear.
The face he’d given me when I’d told him that was unforgettable, and it had taken all my effort not to laugh. He’d agreed, though, and while I was still there, he’d undressed down to his briefs and slid on that black apron with pink polka dots like I’d asked, and the sight alone did all sorts of things to me.
