Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 200(@200wpm)___ 160(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
She was worth the wait.
"What's the plan for today?" she asks, peering up at me, her eyes a little dilated, like she's trying to think about anything other than me eating her right now.
I decide to take pity on her. I know she's anxious about meeting my teammates, and I don't want to add to it. She should be comfortable here. And she needs to know that not every team is like the one that shattered her confidence and her trust. This team may be a goddamn zoo, but they're good guys.
"Simple," I say. "We'll meet everyone, explain what your organization does, and then I'll extort them for large sums of money."
A shocked laugh burbles from her lips. "You did not just say that."
"I did. Meant it, too."
"We aren't extorting your teammates," she sniffs. "We're humbly requesting they sign on to help fund scholarships for college athletes."
"Extortion sounds like more fun," I tease, pausing in front of the locker room. "You want to wait out here while I make sure everyone is decent?"
"Um, yes, definitely," she says, her eyes wide.
I just grin, pressing a hard kiss to her lips before I nudge her away from the door and slip inside. Surprisingly, everyone is fully dressed, lined up on the benches like they're on their best behavior. Ryan's even sitting on his hands like a little boy in a church pew.
It's fucking weird.
I draw to a stop, eyeing them suspiciously. "What the fuck is this?"
"Karsen threatened them," Trent drawls, his lips quirked up in a grin. "Said if they didn't behave while Tia was here, they'd be skating suicides all morning. Guess they don't want to skate suicides."
"He threatened you, too," Ryan grumbles.
"Uh, definitely not. I know how to behave."
"Well, that's a damn lie if I ever heard one," Cale mutters under his breath. "You only pretend to behave when it suits you."
Trent just shrugs, smirking.
I run my gaze over my teammates, not sure I trust whatever this is. Are they good guys? Hell yes. I'd ride at dawn for any of them. Do they know how to behave? Absolutely the fuck not. They're all terrorists. The proof is in our group chat.
"If you stress her out, I'll slip through your windows while you're sleeping and murder you with your own pillow," I warn them, earning a shit-eating grin from Ryan.
"You were way less cranky before you fell in love," he says.
"You'll get it one day."
All across the locker room, my teammates' eyes go wide. Shit. Did I just admit that I'm in love with her? Yeah, I think I did. But I'm not going to take it back or downplay it, either. That's precisely what's happened here. I fell in love with her so fucking hard I'll carry evidence of impact for the rest of my life, in all the places that matter.
When she's ready to hear it, I'll tell her too. But not yet. I'm not trying to push her out of my life. It's one step at a time, one day at a time.
"You're all donating a shit ton of money," I warn, earning groans from a few of them. "Blame Ryan. He's the one who came up with this plan."
Someone tosses a towel at him, but he just laughs. "You're welcome, asshole."
I grin, yanking open the door to poke my head out. Tia is leaning against the wall, looking a little like she wants to throw up. "Beautiful," I murmur, my voice soft.
She startles, glancing up at me, her face pale.
"They're ready for you."
She swallows hard and then nods, smoothing her hands down her sides. "Okay," she whispers, stepping up in front of me.
"You've got this," I mouth, lacing our fingers together.
She squeezes them gratefully, nodding, and then steps into the locker room with me. For a long moment, no one speaks. They all just stare at her. She stares back, trying to take them in. I know it's a lot. Even seated, they're all big, and she probably feels like this is our territory, not hers.
I think she knows a few of them, at least in passing. But she still looks like she's ready to shit a brick as her gaze bounces around, trying to take in the walls of lockers, the team on the benches, the piles of gear, and the overpowering smell of sweat.
Has she ever been in a locker room before? Shit, probably not. I'm guessing she's made ninety different excuses never to step foot in Kingston's locker room.
"Guys, this is Tia," I say. "Tia, this is the team." I point everyone out, naming them. Her mouth moves silently as she repeats them, trying to commit them to memory. "They're big proponents of education."
"Damn straight," Ryan says, which makes Tia snort softly.
"He threatened you, didn't he?" she asks.
"With murder and mayhem," Colt says solemnly.