“I don’t lose, Ms. Soledad.”

“You will today,” she said with a bright, fake smile, reading word for word from the poster that was being held up for her.

“Cut,” Russell called from the bench as Brie exhaled hard, letting her face rest from the foolish smile she had been faking. “Okay, y’all set up, and we’re going to film the whole thing. Trash talk is welcome, but let’s keep it family friendly. Jensen here will be the ref.”

Oh, that’s why he was there. Whatever.

As she went to put her helmet on, Russell called out, “Vaughn, try not to make this a blowout. Give her some chances.”

Brie’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline, and she paused as she went to put her helmet on. “Excuse me?”

Russell looked over at her. “What?”

“That was fucked up,” Vaughn said, and a couple of the guys oohed like children. “I don’t need to take it easy or give her some chances. She’s good. Have you not watched her footage from Syracuse?”

“I can’t say I have.”

“Well, I have, and you don’t doubt her abilities like that if you haven’t.”

Glaring, she looked over at Vaughn, confused. “I don’t need you to defend me.”

He shot her a look, obviously annoyed by Russell. “Well, I will if I want.”

Her body shook with a fury like none other. Who the hell did he think he was? “You don’t have the right, remember? You made that very clear.”

“I don’t care what I said. I’m not going to have this asshole talk to you like that.”

“Oh, so only you’re allowed to cut me down and hurt me?”

“Guys, come on,” Jensen called out, but they both ignored him, locked in a heated stare down

“I don’t fucking cut you down, Brie. I pick at you, and you give it back just as much I give. I told you I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Yeah, you say that a lot,” she snapped back before putting her helmet on. She looked up to see everyone watching. They all mirrored each other, wide eyes and gaping mouths. “What? It’s nothing. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“Yeah, it’s none of you guys’ damn business anyway.”

“Then don’t make it their business. Shut up,” Jensen called to both of them as he skated toward them. But Brie couldn’t help it. She was pissed; he made her crazy!

“Yeah, because everything is a secret with you.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Vaughn put his helmet on and shook his head. “If you could give me a chance to explain, maybe we could squash this.”

“Or I can use your dick as a puck? I’d rather do that.”

“Why are you so mad? We never made any kind of promises or anything, so I don’t know why you’re being such a bitch to me.”

Turning to him, she pointed her stick at him as she glared. “Because you led me on, you son of a bitch!”

“But I didn’t mean to—”

“For God’s sake, shut up, you idiots!” Jensen yelled, blowing his whistle loudly. Coming between them, he shook his head. “Everyone is watching, everyone can hear you, and no one needs to hear this. If this is something you two need to do, do it in private.”

“I’d rather kill him instead.”

Jensen set Brie with a look. “That’s not an option.”

“If I win, you have to talk to me,” Vaughn insisted.

She laughed loudly, meeting his hopeful gaze. “No.”

“What? Scared I’ll win?”

“No, I know you won’t. But the fact is, there is nothing you can say to make this better.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Just stop.” Shaking her head hard, she pointed to Russell. “Let’s go.”

She skated toward the face-off circle where the puck waited. Vaughn followed, and she felt stupid. She shouldn’t have let him get under her skin like that. She shouldn’t have done that there. No telling what Russell would say later, and what if he told Elli? Damn it, what if she fucked up? Vaughn just drove her senseless, and she couldn’t think right when it came to him.

Damn it.

“I win, we talk. You win, I leave you alone.”

“No.”

“I know you. You like stakes like this.”

Holding his gaze as Jensen picked up the puck, she let out a long breath. “You hurt my heart. I refuse to allow you to do it again.”

His eyes turned sad as Jensen blew the whistle. Vaughn’s eyes were on her, so she grabbed the puck, skating backward with ease as he watched her while she played with the puck. As he skated toward the goal, his eyes stayed on hers, which she took to her advantage before she shot hard with a wrister. But it missed the goal, by an inch. Everyone in the stands groaned loudly as they both dug in for it. Getting to it at the same time, they fought in the corner, their sticks crashing as their bodies pressed into each other.

She could feel his heat in her bones, but she wouldn’t let that distract her. Slamming her stick into the puck and his stick, she freed it and stole it from between his legs. She rushed to the line where she could shoot. The little ding of a goal made a smile spread across her face as everyone hollered out for her. When she looked to Vaughn, though, he wasn’t mad; he was grinning as he came to meet her in the circle.

“Sneaky.”

“I play for keeps.”

“I see that.”

“And I refuse to allow you to win.”

“Why don’t you take my deal, then?”

“Because I don’t need a damn deal never to talk to you again except when I need to.”

“That’s fine because I don’t need a damn deal to get you to talk to me.”

Her eyes widened as the puck dropped, but when she went to get it, he passed it through her legs, going around her with ease before taking it and clinking it to the pipe, much to everyone’s dismay. Skating toward her, he pointed his stick at her. “You play for keeps, and so do I.”

“You don’t play well enough, though,” she said just as Jensen dropped the puck. Instead of going around him, she passed the puck up the side before chasing after it, but she heard him behind her. His stride was longer than hers, and he got there first, taking the puck. But when he shot, with a clean angle at the pipe, she blocked it. Boy, did it sting right in the spot where there was no padding. His eyes widened as he stopped immediately. “Are you okay?”