Caged (Gold Hockey #11) - Elise Faber Page 0,11

was the only way he was able to do both of the things he loved—hockey and learning new things.

Plus, he was on his last semester.

If he didn’t fuck up, he was going to have his master’s in psychology by the end of the year.

What he’d do with it, he didn’t know yet.

But he’d have it, and since earning his master’s had always been a goal of his—one that had sometimes been at odds with his career, with away games and playoffs and travel—he would be happy just to have the degree to shove in a drawer somewhere.

Then he’d do . . . something.

Maybe get a dog, although that would be tough since he was away for half the year. If he wasn’t single, if he had a partner like some of the other guys, he could rely on that girlfriend or wife to be on dog duty. Though, he supposed if he really wanted a pup, he could figure it out with a pet sitter or boarding or doggy daycare. But he’d never actually pulled the trigger because it just had never seemed fair to the pooch if he was constantly leaving and coming back. And dogs aside, it was hard to even find someone to date when he was currently hung up on a woman who traveled with the team, a woman he saw nearly every day who made every cell in his body stand up and take notice.

Dani with her beautiful brown skin, those amber and russet eyes, with lips and curves he wanted to kiss—

His cock twitched.

And he forced himself to stop, his hand on the handle of the door leading into the library.

One deep breath, Dani out of his mind.

Another to open the door and go inside.

Immediately, the smell of books wafted forward, drifting toward him, filling his nose and settling that itchy feeling inside him.

The vaulted ceiling overhead was covered in translucent glass, each of the panels surrounded by green metal. The walls were a pale, institutional brown, the carpet industrial and a quite unpleasant combination of tan and forest green, but the bookcases in the distance took the majority of his focus, row after row after row of bottled—or papered, he supposed—knowledge.

He wanted to explore.

But he had more things to do today than just browse through books, as sad as that thought was.

Averting his eyes from the temptation of all those books, Ethan headed to the hold desk and waited in line. A few minutes later, and with a swipe of his library card, he had received his stack of reference materials.

And out he went, thinking about the next item on his list.

Grocery store to pick up Nutritionist Rebecca approved food, the hardware store to pick up some samples of the new floor he was going to have installed. He’d bought it, now that he’d gotten the first long-term contract of his career—six years—and knew he’d be able to settle down in one place.

Plus, the Bay Area wasn’t a bad place to live, even once his stint in the league was done.

Whether he’d retire after the next contract (most likely), stay with the Gold, or move onto another team wouldn’t be decided anytime soon, but he was just happy to have found a team that he truly gelled with, even if he would never be good enough to be on that top line.

Power plays and penalty kills were his specialty, and between them and with his position as left wing on the third line, he got enough ice time to not hate what he was doing, and to appreciate that offer of six years of stability.

That was a lot more than other players.

Including a lot more than he’d had in the past.

Studying the books in his hands, leafing through the medical journal on the top of the stack, he went to push out the front door of the library when he saw her.

Her.

As always, his heart pattered, squeezing tight, and his fingers went all tingly.

She had a stack of books balanced in one arm, was paging through another . . . as she strode right for him.

He opened his mouth to speak, remembered the tablets, and thought better of it, shifting instead to be in a position to catch, and then snagging her arm. Her head flew up, and he saw that she was wearing turquoise-framed glasses, her hair wrapped up into a loose bun on top of her head, her lips painted a bright pink.

The books tumbled free, but since he was ready,