“How in the hell do you figure that?” she asks in exasperation. “No one deserves a surprise cross-check from the back.”

“He went after Lexi,” I say quietly as a few of the last players trickle out of the locker room and walk past us.

“Explain,” is all she says, crossing her arms back over her chest.

“He was trying to get me riled up on the ice, saying things about her,” I tell her. “But I didn’t rise to that. No problem ignoring him.”

“But?” she prompts.

“But I got a little on edge when he told me he bet her pussy tasted sweet,” I say bluntly, and Gray’s nose wrinkles in distaste. “But still, I ignored him. It was only after the TV time-out went into effect and he skated over to Lexi and made a gesture with his fingers and tongue that mimed he wanted to eat her pussy, well…I wasn’t going to let that pass. So I went after him. And would do it again in the same scenario.”

Gray’s face remains impassive for a moment as she considers what I told her, but then she puts the hammer down. “It doesn’t matter what he did. That was a stupid penalty to take and you’re at risk for a league suspension if they review this. Nothing warrants that, particularly when you were warned not all that long ago that I was not happy with the suspensions.”

Yes, she’s warned me before, but I’m not about acknowledge that, so I go back on the offensive. It’s where I operate best. “You know, every team has a bad boy. An enforcer. A rule breaker. Someone that gets ejected from games and takes suspensions to keep up the reputation that the team is tough. Nothing about what I’ve done so far has been detrimental to this team; you’re only speculating that it might be. So I have to wonder if your riding my ass has something to do with the fact I’m dating your sister.”

“You know it doesn’t, since we had this discussion before you met my sister,” she points out with a cocked eyebrow.

“Well, technically I had met your sister before we had our first discussion,” I throw back at her. “But that’s moot. Anything else you want to discuss?”

“Not at this time,” she says as she turns toward the family lounge. “We’ll just have to wait and see if the league does anything.”

I don’t respond as I pick up my gear bag and follow her, since I’m meeting Lexi there.

“And I’m fining you five thousand dollars for that hit,” she says as an afterthought but without turning to look at me.

“Figures,” I mutter under my breath.

“Did you say something?” she asks pleasantly as she turns left into the family lounge, still not looking at me.

“Nope,” I mutter again, entering right behind her.

Then there’s Lexi and I forget all about Gray and the ten thousand ways she seems to always piss me off.

Chapter 22

Lexi

I stand up from the couch the minute Gray walks into the family lounge, beaming a huge smile at her. This is a pleasant surprise and one I didn’t expect, as she knew I’d come to the game with Roman and would be in his seats. I just assumed she’d go home after, since we were getting together tomorrow night at The Grind.

Movement behind her catches my attention, and with smile still in place, I see Roman walking in, looking smoking hot in his suit. His eyes bore into mine as he stops just inside the doorway and leans a shoulder against the doorjamb, one hand holding the strap of his gear bag, which is resting on his shoulder, the other tucked casually into his pants pocket.

And damn, how can just that simple movement make him look even more gorgeous than I normally think he is? I’m surprised I don’t swoon on the floor right there.

But then my stomach sort of drops when I realize that Roman is not smiling back at me. My gaze slides to Gray as she walks toward me, and while she looks happy and relaxed to see me, I note her shoulders are a bit stiff with tension.

“Hey,” I say as she reaches me, and then I’m surprised when she steps in for a quick hug.

“Hey,” she says back, but as we release she says in a low, frustrated voice, “Sorry to keep Roman for a few minutes. I’m clearly not happy with him and we had to have a word.”

I’m a little shocked by this statement, and why she would say that to me. I know she’s no fan of his, but she also seemed to support my decision to see him. I glance over to Roman, still standing at the door, his face grave but patient while I talk to Gray.

When I look back at my sister, I can’t help but ask, “Not happy about the fight he had with that other player?”

“Pretty much,” she says softly, and in a tone that says I should be agreeing with her on this.

But I don’t know why she would, because I’m not sure what he did wrong.

So I ask for clarification. “I don’t understand, fighting’s allowed in hockey.”

Gray gives me a patient look and explains. “Fighting is tolerated in hockey, and only when two players equally participate while play is alive, and even then it’s penalized. That is not what happened tonight.”

“Oh,” I say, my mind trying to replay what really happened out there. It all took place so fast that I’m not really sure. I just know that other player was near where I was sitting on the ice, sticking his tongue out I think at me but I wasn’t sure. Then Roman was on top of him and I knew for sure. But I’d watched them have scuffles all night and figured there’d be a fight.

“Roman cross-checked him from behind, which isn’t only disallowed, it can come with a suspension,” she explains further, and by the look on her face, I know she expects me to join her in her disappointment with Roman.

But I’m not sure I can. We’ve talked about his style of play and how he pushes at the rules. It’s what makes him good. And what also makes him feared…his unpredictability. It’s who he is.

“Look. I just wanted to say a quick hello,” Gray says hastily, giving me another quick hug, but there’s no mistaking the distaste in her voice when she adds, “I know you have plans tonight.”

What the hell? I thought she was on board with Roman and me, and I get that as a general manager, she might be mad at him right now, but she actually makes me feel stupid for being with him. Her tone of voice implies I should know better.