The Golden Captain's Heart On Ice

Marina

"Marina, if you don't knock on that damn door, I swear I'll do it for you."

"Lower your voice." I glared at Maya, my best friend.

"Go ahead. Eden should be inside."

My stomach twisted.

Eden Cooper is one of my brother's friends. I had loved him for so long that I couldn't remember when it had started.

I held a bottle of wine in one hand and a flower in the other.

Maya followed my gaze and sighed.

"Oh my God. You're really doing this. You bought flowers, changed out of your work clothes, spent forty minutes getting ready, and you shaved your-"

"Maya!"

"And you're standing outside a man's apartment looking like you're about to interview him instead of confessing your feelings," she continued.

I shot her a look, but she only grinned.

After spending the entire night at the arena, the Aurora Blades had finally won the championship. I'd been assigned to cover the biggest game of my career, interviewing the golden captain, Dane Whitaker.

I'd gone home afterward, changed, stared at myself in the mirror for almost an hour, and nearly changed my mind six times.

But tonight was supposed to be different.

For years, I had been Grant's little sister. The girl Eden protected, he always smiled at me with that soft, patient expression that made my heart beat loudly.

"I'd rather hear the truth than spend another year hoping."

Maya studied me for a moment before nudging my shoulder.

"Then go. But I have to leave. Marina, best of luck. And make sure you give me all the tea tomorrow."

I laughed weakly.

We hugged, said our goodbyes, and she disappeared down the hallway.

I turned back to the apartment door, for a moment, I just stood there.

Then I reached into my bag and pulled out the spare key Eden had given me years ago.

Sometimes I want to escape my overprotective brother's shadow. Eden's apartment had always been the easiest place for me to disappear.

He traveled constantly for work as a lifestyle photographer, so most of the time, I had the place to myself.

Tonight, he's finally home. I slid the key into the lock.

Click.

I pushed the door open. The apartment is dark. But I stepped inside.

"Eden?"

A woman laughed somewhere deep in the apartment.

I froze, my stomach knotted, the sound came again. I took one hesitant step forward.

"Ed-"

A moan cut me off.

"Ah, Eden. Right there. You just hit that spot."

My entire body went rigid.

"You take my cock so well." Eden's raspy voice filled the apartment.

Something inside my chest tightened so violently that I could barely breathe.

He was never mine, so why did it feel as though someone had reached inside my chest and ripped my heart out?

The wet slap of skin against skin echoed through the hallway.

I should have turned around. Instead, I walked toward the bedroom.

The door was open and I stopped at the entrance.

Eden laid on his back, a woman bouncing up and down on his cock. His hand rested firmly on her butt cheek, guiding her as though she had every right to be there.

She shrieked as if she was having a fucking orgarsm. "Yes! Make a mess on my cock, baby."

Eden's voice came out rough and hoarse, and then she suddenly collapsed on top of him.

I went numb. I could barely breathe as I stared into the dim room, my mind struggling to process what I was seeing.

After loving Eden for years, I was apparently the stupidest girl alive.

The woman with him said something, but I couldn't hear a word.

"I told you," Eden said softly. "Marina has always been like a little sister to me."

My heart stopped, they were talking about me.

"She doesn't look at you like a brother," her voice sounded strangely familiar.

"She's never going to be anything more than a kid to me."

The world tilted.

A kid, after every smile, and moment I had convinced myself meant something.

The woman said something else.

Eden sighed. "Don't start." The warning in his voice made me flinch.

"I'm only saying everyone can see it," she said with a laugh.

I knew I should walk away.

But the same stupid part of me that always needed to know the truth pushed me towards the room.

My fingers found the light switch.

Click.

The room flooded with light, both of them turned.

"Marina?" The woman gasped.

"Oh my gosh," It's Blaire, Dane Whitaker's girlfriend.

She had kissed the golden captain on the ice barely two hours ago while I had stood behind a camera, taking notes.

My fingers went numb, the wine bottle slipped from my hand. It hit the floor with a violent crack.

I stumbled backward.

For years, I had imagined Eden looking at me as though losing me would destroy him.

Standing in his bedroom, I finally understood the truth.

I had never been the woman in his story. I will always be Grant's little sister.

Blaire recovered first. Her eyes traveled slowly over my clothes, the flowers, the broken bottle, and the bag hanging from my shoulder.

Then she smirked.

Eden's expression hardened. He had always been impossible to read.

So I turned ready to walk away.

"Marina." Eden's voice followed me.

I kept walking.

"Marina, wait."

Blaire stepped in front of him before he could follow.

She was naked and completely unashamed.

"How sweet," she said. "You finally grew some balls."

I stopped, my hand formed in a fist.

"Oh, wait. You're upset about the person making me scream?"

"Blaire." Eden's warning was unmistakable.

"What?" she asked innocently.

Then she looked directly at me.

"Just admit it, girl. You love him. You were about to confess."

I couldn't breathe. It felt as though the air had been sucked from the room.

I looked past her. Eden stared at me in confusion.

"Did you really think he would want you?"

"Enough." Eden's voice cracked like a whip.

Blaire rolled her eyes before disappearing back into the bedroom.

Eden remained in the doorway, for one second, neither of us moved. He opened his mouth, but I turned and walked away.

My heart hammered so violently I could hear it in my ears.

Blaire returned a moment later, she's dressed now.

Tears burned behind my eyes. I refused to let either of them watch me break.

But the first tear streamed down my face anyway, I hated that Eden saw them.

His expression changed.

"Marina..." I looked away.

But Blaire wasn't finished, because she stepped closer. Her eyes locked on mine, and the cruelty in them sent a cold warning through my body.

She stopped inches away. I could smell Eden's cologne clinging to her skin.

Her smile was slow and vicious.

"Tell Dane about this," she whispered, "and consider your career dead."