nora
atingly hot, smelling of burnt coffee, exp
arm to sink its fangs into my shoulder. Blisters were rising along my knuckle
o hard I tasted the sharp, metallic tang of blood. But I refused to fall
, self-righteous rage. Behind him, dozens of prominent figures from the NHL front office, local s
f the concrete walls with absolute theatrical authority. "You come to our celebrat
he mangled right arm tucked against my ribs. "Look at her! She doesn't have
ng Jared's leg. "That's a lie! She's lying! Look at my dress,
embling catering server who was trying to speak up. His priority was clear: protect
is hand shooting out
irectly over the freshly r
ts, a sharp, guttural hiss escaping my clenched teeth as my knees buckled. I barely caugh
ling of bourbon and mint. "Right now. On your knees in front of everyone. Or I s
up into
ying ice packs to his battered ribs. The man whose contract negotiations I had saved from predator
carrying a terrifying, icy clarity. "Tell me something, Jared
ning marginally, making the agony fla
"Two years in your bed. Two years in your kitchen. Two years keeping your
tet in the other room had stopped playing. Every e
just started speaking in tongues. Then, slowly
sharp, and utterly humiliating. "Eleanora, ar
a dismissive shove tha
executive could hear him loud and clear. "You were an analyst who lived in my spare room and occasionally warmed my bed. You were convenient. You were a che
s, followed immediately by cruel, sni
just a groupie cling
agining a whole relatio
g to deal with a s
ed into meaningl
our relationshi
cause in his arrogant, narcissistic mind, I was n
my arm suddenly became distant and trivial. A strange, crystal-clear calm washed over my
five-hundred-dollar haircut, the custom t
ars, I didn't see an NHL god. I
n my uninjured left arm, I stepped forwa
AC
hrough the corrid
andprint blooming instantly across his pale cheek. He stumbled, catching hi
elope, my chin held high. "I thought you were a man. Turns ou
isty. I didn't look
idor, every step a triumph of sheer will over ago
xit doors, spilling out onto the r
st my face, soaking my gown. The shock of the cold against my blistered,
lder hitting the cold granite of a decorative pillar. I slid dow
iercing white light s
sive tires screeching against the wet asphalt.
a towering figure br
s, followed instantly by two massive, unyielding arms that scooped me eff
the blinding blur
His jaw was clenched so hard the muscles jumped beneath the s
snarled, his voice v
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