“Thanks,” I say with a tight smile as I feel Mira stiffen beside me. I press my knee to hers, hoping she takes it as the reassurance I mean it to be. I want to ignore this woman and her friends, but everything we do has the potential to end up online, and each member of the team has had it hammered into our heads that we always treat our fans well. The last thing the teamwants is bad press because one of us was an asshole to some random man or woman on the street with a huge social media following.
Normally, that doesn’t bother me. But with my wife beside me—the wife no one knows is mine—and a gaggle of women with predatory expressions and way too much cleavage in front of me, I want nothing more than to tell them to fuck right off.
“You’re Griffin, right?” a short brunette asks.
I nod.
“And you’re Sebastian?” She looks at Bash, who pastes a fake-ass smile on his face and also nods.
Logan, never one to ignore pretty women who are obviously looking to hook up with a hockey player, perks up and sticks his hand out across the table with a salacious smile. “I’m Logan. What are your names, ladies?”
The women rattle off their names, but I’m not paying attention. Not to them. All my focus is on the woman beside me. The one who owns me, body and soul. The one bristling as the brunette rests a hand on my shoulder.
“We were at the game tonight. You played so well.”
“Thanks,” I grind out. Nothing about my tone says I want to continue this conversation, but the woman either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care.
“I have to say, though, my favorite part is the warm-ups.” Her cheeks flush.
Before Mira, I probably would have found it attractive, but now? I’m annoyed because I have a feeling I know what’s coming.
“It’s so hot when you guys stretch out your hips.” She giggles.
Jesus Christ.
If I thought Mira was stiff before, it’s got nothing on the absolute rigidity of her body now. She’s practically vibrating with annoyance. It shouldn’t make me happy, but I can’t helpthe pleasure I get from knowing she’s feeling territorial. With my left hand beneath the table, I discreetly run my pinkie over her thigh. I need her to know that she’s the only one I care about. The only one I want to touch.
A second blonde pops a hip out and offers up a sultry smile. Her gaze skips from me, to Sebastian, then to Logan. She’s after a night with a Rogue, and I get the impression she doesn’t care who takes her up on it. “You guys are so tall. You can’t really tell just howbigyou are from the seats.”
The woman’s eyes flick down my body when she says the wordbig, and Mira snorts beside me. It has my lips twitching, which is unfortunate, because the woman seems to take it as a sign that I’m interested.
“And you’re all so strong. You must have so much stamina to play professional hockey.”
“Oh my god,” Mira mutters under her breath. It’s low enough that only Navarro and I hear it. Bash chuckles, and I lightly pinch my wife’s leg.
“We were wondering if any of you guys would like to join us? The next round is on us.” The brunette flutters her false eyelashes at me, and not only do I not feel even the tiniest hint of attraction, but I’m actually disgusted. It’s a struggle to keep my face from screwing up in a look of blatant distaste.
“Sure,” Logan says, running his eyes over the woman’s body. “We’d love to join you, wouldn’t we, Wright?”
I look at Mira, eyes wide, silently asking her to pipe up and say she’s tired and wants to go home, then ask me to take her. I want her to claim me. To tell these women to fuck off because I’m hers. But she doesn’t. She frowns, obviously unhappy, but she doesn’t say a thing.
Clearing my throat, I shake my head. “I don’t think so.”
“Come on, Wright, quit being such a stick in the mud. These gorgeous women want to buy us some drinks. Are you really going to deny them the pleasure of your company?”
I see Lexi roll her eyes, and Isla glances surreptitiously at Mira. Sebastian shakes his head.
“I’m good, man.” I turn to the women. “Thanks for the invite, ladies, but I’m going to pass.”
“Oh, come on,” the blonde with curly hair says. She runs her finger up my arm to my shoulder, and I shift away from her toward Mira. “I promise we’ll make it worth your while.”
Isla chokes on her beer, and Madds pats her back. She mutters something aboutbrazen bunniesto her fiancé and shakes her head. Isla has dealt with her fair share of bullshit from female fans since she started dating Maddox, and so has Lexi. Unfortunately, it seems to come with the territory when you’re dating a professional athlete. It’s bullshit, plain and simple. Some people don’t understand boundaries or simply don’t respect them.
I clear my throat, increasingly uncomfortable, and shoot Mira another pleading look. This time when I catch her eye, she frowns before peering down at the table. I want to shake her. She’s finally claimed me in private, called me her husband, and we’ve had mind-blowing, intimate sex every day since, but she’s just sitting here silently, letting these women proposition me? I want her to get mad, to tell them to get lost. I want her to bebothered.
A sharp pang of hurt spears through me, and I suck in a sharp breath.
Even after the last week, she still isn’t ready to admit who I am to her. Would she let me get up and walk away with one of these women without a single protest? Would she just let it happen? I thought we were making progress, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe she’ll always be embarrassed of me.
