Screw Ward. No, playtime was for Friday. I had a job to do. I shook my hair back as Lewis caught up with me, chattering about the players and a list of minor misdemeanors and why they needed to be fixed today.
I smiled when I reached my office and found a brand new door with four solid locks on it. Ward had interesting taste. I closed my new door, already in work mode as I grabbed my jacket and started realigning Lewis’ point of view. I could live with extra security. I could deal with Ward’s fantasy for Friday night. Who knew? I might even like it. Hell, I even had fun in the boardroom because that was my kind of fantasy, and he knew it.
That’s what we were best at. Just sex.
That’s all.
CHAPTER SIX
One frustrating day until Anniversary
WARD
Frustrated sounds came from Sia’s office as I strode past on my way back to the ice. I’d already run a training session today, but we were up for video reviews in half an hour, and I wanted to set the room up before anyone else arrived. This close to the game, the players were locked in their heads. Some were chatty, while others preferred not to talk at all. That was their head space. I was simply there to support.
Even the club’s hallways were muted, less crowded and rowdy than sustaining their usual heavy traffic.
A sharp voice floated through the partially opened door I passed. Someone was in fine form, and it wasn’t my wife, for once. Not that Sia raised her voice often.
Not unless we were playing, and even then I had ways of ensuring our sessions went unheard. Teasing ther ever loving fuck out of both of us the day before in the boardroom had been both unplanned and risky as hell, but oh so worth it. The way she shuddered for me afterward, struggling to pull herself together even as she sassed me, her body still straining for an orgasm that would never come…
Just like her.
Hell, she was beautiful.
The memory of Sia’s heat as she rested her weight against me,trustingme, left my cock thick and heavy in my pants. I growled low in my throat as I stormed away from her office. One more day, and I could play with her all I damn well liked. But until then, I had a team to coach and payoffs to win.
I slammed the door to the AV room open, halting when I realised I wasn’t the only person in it. My stained daydream featuring Sia died a short death.
Hux and Solace’s bulk filled half the space near the front of the room where the Chimera’s captain and ex-goalie talked quietly.
“Solace.” I nodded to the retired player I had the utmost respect for, usually. “Hux. Is this the right headspace for you to be in today?” After the review, it was stretches and home time. The boys knew their diet and what the hell they were doing.
“I’m good.” Hux rested the backs of his thighs against the front row of seats in the tiered theatre room. “How’s your morning been?”
“Fucking fantastic. Solace. It’s great to see you.” I nodded to the best defender the Chimeras ever had. Even Valentine struggled to put up stats that good, though he came close, but Solace’s knee wouldn't allow him to play any longer. “Are you commentating tomorrow night?"
“Yes, sir. I’ll be in the box.”
Solace’s quiet demeanour had always played well alongside Hux’s settled character, and Shannon’s more impulsive nature. Now I had Valentine in the mix, and Knox was still fairly new to me even after playing with us for the last five games. Good value, but unknown. Untried.
“We’ll miss you on the ice, but the team has to prepare. Get out.”
“Yes, Coach.” Solace dipped his head, hugged his friend and strode forward, heading across the front of the broad room toward the exit.
Hux let me inhale a single breath, and didn’t wait for Solace to leave before he picked holes in my technique. “She’s really pissing you off, huh?”
No secrets amongst players.
I pivoted away from him, loading up a selection of videos from my phone to the laptop. “That obvious?” What was the point of denying it? Everyone, including the shareholders for the club at this point, likely knew the ins and outs of my relationship with Sia.
Or, my not-relationship, because fucking my wife into oblivion once a year didn’t really count for shit. We enjoyed it, even when we hated each other for the rest of the year.
Lie.
Pity that door didn’t swing both ways. The arguments we had early on lasted weeks. Months. Eventually I moved out and the silence grew past the length of time we fought for.
Years.
