Power Play (Nashville Assassins: Next Generation Book 2) Read online

  “Nope! I love it. It’s all black and shit.”

  “That’s what girls wear, not dudes,” Wes laughs, and Willy snorts.

  “I mean, we all know you have soft, silky hair like a girl, but this is going a bit overboard.”

  Aiden splutters. But then he smiles, not even the least bit affected by us. “Fuck all of you. If Shelli gets a ring to keep dudes away, I get one to keep the females away.”

  I give him a dry look. “You know a ring doesn’t keep anyone away. It’s the person. Take it from experience.”

  Aiden waves me off as Wes points to me. “He’s right.”

  “I love it. I think it’s awesome. You guys are just jealous I’m super in love with the hottest chick on this planet.”

  I might be biased and still in a Posey state of mind, but Shelli isn’t Posey.

  “Speaking of my hot, soon-to-be wife, there’s her sister,” he says loudly.

  We all turn to see Posey walking toward us. Still dressed in her sexy outfit from the game, she gives a brief smile as she walks by.

  “You wanna sit with us, Posey?” Aiden calls, and she pauses.

  Her eyes move to me but only for a second before they’re back on Aiden. “No, y’all have your fun. I’m just getting a nightcap to help me sleep. I won’t be here long.” She eyes him. “From the sound of it, you need to call it a night. I’m calling Shelli.”

  “No. Don’t,” he complains, and then he gets up, walking with her to the bar. When he puts his arm around her, hugging her tight into his side, anger explodes inside me, which is ridiculous. He’s wearing an engagement ring; plus, he wouldn’t cheat on Shelli. He actually loves her. He probably shows emotion and lets her know what he is feeling. Communication. I bet they’re good at that. I greatly dislike that I want that. I am supposed to be a lone stallion. Spreading my seed and enjoying life as a bachelor. But instead, I met a woman who commands my best on and off the ice.

  I want to give it to her.

  I try not to watch as Aiden talks to Posey, but it’s hard. I want to know what they’re talking about. I didn’t tell Aiden about us. I didn’t want it getting back to Shelli. But even knowing they wouldn’t be talking about me or us, I want to know. I want to be in the middle; I want her to look at me and smile like that. Even if it is just the annoyed, get-out-of-my-face smile she’s currently giving her future brother-in-law.

  When Wes leans in, I move away since I’d rather not talk to him. “I think you should go over there. It’s obvious you want to talk to her.”

  “Shoo, you.”

  He laughs, and I roll my eyes. When I look back to where Aiden is, I see he’s coming toward us with three shot glasses in his hands. It’s not unusual for Aiden to buy drinks for everyone, but there are six of us at the table. Maybe they’re just for our line? But then he sets them all in front of me. I can smell the vodka, top shelf, the good stuff. Aiden didn’t buy these. He’s a cheap ass when it comes to liquor.

  “Posey said, ‘Great goals tonight.’ Ta-da!”

  Vodka. We had vodka shots together last night. I swallow past the emotion before I look up at him. “She said ‘ta-da’?”

  “No, I added that,” he laughs, and my stomach clenches.

  I almost don’t believe she sent them, but when I look back to the bar where she is, she’s watching. She doesn’t smile or even wave. She stares at me with those blue eyes that have the power to cut a weaker man. Some would be scared, but I can see that her eyes are filled with such guilt. It makes her look like a dog that’s been kicked.

  “I think this may be an olive branch.” We all glance at Wes, and I know what he means.

  Aiden, though, says, “You want some olives?”

  Wes nods. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

  I stand. “Let me get those for you. I’m also going to go do these with Posey since she bought them.”

  To my surprise, no one razzes me or even says anything as I take the shots back to her. When she sees me coming, I watch as her shoulders fall, and she looks down at her wine. She runs her fingers along the rim of the glass as I put down the shots. She glances at them and then back at her wine. She swallows, still not looking at me as she says, “Came to bring them back?”

  “No. Actually, I was surprised you sent over three.”

  She looks up then. “What?”

  “I thought you’d subtract one since I messed up the power play.”

  Posey slowly shakes her head. “No, you earned those goals, and we’ll continue to work on the power play. If you want to, that is.”

  “I do,” I say, and surprise takes over her face. “I believe you’re the only one who knows how to fix it.”

  She smiles. “You don’t need much help. You’re already an incredible scorer. The pass is just slow.”

  “I am, but you were right about taking me off.”

  “I didn’t want to be,” she says softly. “I mean, I knew I was going to be, but I was rooting for you.”

  I quirk my lip. “Yeah.”

  “Yeah,” she says slowly, her eyes reverting to her drink. “I’m really sorry about all that. I shouldn’t have allowed my insecurities to cloud my decision on your play.”

  “But you were right in the end, and I’m man enough to admit that.”

  “I know. But still, it was shitty of me. I’m just terrified of you.”

  “Shit, same here,” I admit, moving my fingers around in the condensation on the bar from the glasses. Our eyes meet, and heat passes through us. I take a deep breath. “We’ve got ourselves in a pickle, Posey Adler.”

  “I’d say we do.”

  “Yeah,” I say on an exhale. “For one, there are three shots and two of us. How can we split these equally?”

  Her lips curve as she meets my gaze. I can tell I’ve caught her off guard. I like doing that. “Well, I could just match you. Three for three.”

  I nod. “That’s a damn good plan.”

  So, she does, and when her shots are placed next to mine, our eyes meet. She asks, “What’s ‘for two’?”

  “Funny you should ask. I was getting there,” I say, leaning my elbow on the bar. “I think with each shot, we should admit something to the other.”

  “That’s the ‘for two’?”

  “No, but we’ll get there.” I love the way she looks at me, her eyes so intent on mine. I want so badly to close the distance between us and smush my lips to hers. I hold up my first shot, and she does the same. I clear my throat. I don’t know if she’s nervous; I am, but she is just watching me. Giving me nothing to go off. “My ex said I don’t show feelings and that’s why she cheated on me. I do have feelings. A lot of them, actually, but I don’t always express them right. I never meant for you to feel like I’d used you. I think I’ve wanted you for as long as I’ve known you, and I don’t know how to express that.”

  Her breathing picks up, and she lets out a shaky breath as her eyes hold mine. In a low voice, she says, “My whole life, guys didn’t want me—they wanted Shelli. It’s given me a complex where I feel like I’m not ever good enough. I second-guess myself at every turn, and I want so desperately to believe that I am enough. I just don’t know how.”

  Because no one has ever made her feel that way.

  “Okay. So we jump right into the deep shit?”

  She grins. “It’s been a deep day.”

  I nod as I tap my glass to hers, and we both shoot back the bitter liquid. I slam down the glass, and she pushes hers away before grabbing the next, making a hissing noise. She holds it up, and I do the same, our eyes meeting once more. The heat is insane between us. I can feel it coming off her, and it slams into me like a tidal wave. She’s just so gorgeous.

  I want to tell her so, but before I can, she admits, “I’m terrified I suck as a coach. That I’m making the wrong calls and that I don’t belong in the organization.”

  Wow, I’m kind of struggling here. She seems to bleed confidence, but this is all very eye-opening. “I get nervous on the power play. I want so b