Free On the Fly (Crimson Romance) by Katie Kenyhercz Page B

ready, but the buzzer sounded to begin the third period. When the players filed back onto the ice, Jacey thought the yogurt and M&Ms she had for dinner might make a second appearance on her suede pumps. She held her wrist under her nose, breathing in the soapy scent of her perfume. Madden smirked, and she wanted to slap it off his face, but he wasn’t done rubbing it in. “I told you.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “Why aren’t you ready to puke?”
    “Believe it or not, but you get used to it.”
    She didn’t believe it. The puck dropped. Nealy had replaced Carter with Ben Collier. Carter seemed fine with it, even encouraging his teammate from the bench. Ben proved his worth by winning the face-off and moving the puck down toward the Kings’ goal. According to his game history, Carter did what he thought best for the team — this only proved it. He could see beyond his ego and accept necessary changes where his coach saw fit.
    The goal didn’t come right away. They spent the first seven minutes of the period going back and forth across the ice, both teams determined. But a pass stolen by Dylan Cole afforded the Sinners an unguarded net, and they evened the score three to three.
    Both teams were especially vicious in trying to get the last goal. Fights broke out more often, and Jacey took notice when one of them involved Carter. He'd stayed clear of fights for the whole game, but when one of the Kings went after Dylan, Carter jumped in like an older brother and held the opposing player in a headlock while trying to deflect the blows aimed at his face. They fell to the ice in a tangle of kicking, punching, limbs, and finally the refs stepped in to pull them apart.
    Carter panted on his hands and knees, blood dripping from his nose. The Phlynn-addicts shrieked and swooned. Jacey strode toward the ice. Madden grabbed the back of her suit jacket just before she stepped over the threshold. She smiled a sheepish thank you before assuming her previous position, leaning against the glass. Bill, the athletic trainer, hurried over to Carter and helped him up. Instead of going back to the box, they went down the tunnel toward the locker room. She looked at Madden. This time her brother nodded in clear grudging approval, and she hurried down the hall after Phlynn and the trainer. It might not be the ownerly thing to do, but honestly, that ship had sailed long ago.
    Carter hopped up on the examining table like it was business as usual, and the trainer held his chin, turning his head to assess the damage. She looked on from the side and held her hands at waist level, wanting to do something but not knowing what. His olive-hazel eyes followed the trainer’s finger back and forth, up and down, then found hers. Her palms felt slick and she swallowed hard. “Are you okay?”
    He gave her an amused half-smile as the trainer wiped away the blood and pushed cotton up his nose. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
    She glanced down the tunnel then back to him. When had she ever felt so awkward around a man? “Well, I just didn’t … know how bad it was.”
    The trainer finished up and slapped Carter’s shoulder. “You were lucky they didn’t give you a game misconduct for being the third man in. You only got five for fighting. You should get back — it’s almost up.”
    Jacey’s eyes went wide. “You’re going to play? Like this?”
    “You’re more fun than a rookie.” Carter slid off the table. He moved past her down the tunnel and glanced over his shoulder. “Prettier too.”
    She trailed after him, arms folded across her chest. When she got back, Madden looked at her and lifted his brows. “So? Is he okay?”
    “He’s got a terminal case of asshole, but aside from that … ”
    Madden laughed, and she couldn’t help but smile. “What’d I miss?”
    “Not much. Reese has been earning his keep and made two saves. The Kings got a guy in the bin too since he started the fight, so we’re even, and that’s good. If we were down a