ian

, my vision blurring into soft edges of heat and shadow. Every light in the locker room felt blindingly bright, drilling directly into my skull. "Le

the board of this entire franchise." Orion's large fingers dug into my skin through my under-a

on the rubber floor between my thighs. He held my entire life, my

morrow, if you step back out on that ice without a plan, they will actively hunt you down during every single play on the shift. They will use the boards to tear your clothes, to smell you, to r

ad been pushing him away, uncurled, loosely hooking into the shoulder pads of his jersey. I hated how small my voice sounded. I hat

his lips brushed against the unmated skin of my neck. "This isn't protection. Don't conf

t shiver straight down my th

the admission price. From this exact second on, you don't touch another black-market suppressant.

unbroken version of myself through the suffocating haze of my own ph

onto mine with absolute certainty. His pupils wer

le the front office. I handle the team dynamics. And during your heat... I handle you. You belong under my wing, Luci

from me. If he stayed this close for another minute, the last remaining walls of my sanity would crumble. "I am a profess

coring them. But you will do it under my terms. When the main camp resumes tomorrow morning, you are on my line. You eat when I tell you

league commissioners with a single phone call, ending my career before I could even play my first official game. If I agreed, I

tion and the burning fever of my cycle. "Why are you doing

the depths of his eyes. He leaned in until his nose b

a beautiful, lethal little ghost who skates like an angel and fights like a devil. I watched you leave my best defenseman in the dust, and I realiz

under. The scent of dark cedar and winter frost from his aura wrapped around me like a shroud, completely blocking out the

, his lips grazing my jawline. "Tomorrow morning, firs

the wooden bench. I wasn't just passing out. I was waking up tomorrow as Orion Kae

s and let the d