Hooking - Kristine Allen Page 0,2

“Hey, little brother! You ready to tear up the town?”

“As long as you don’t break my ribs!” I wheezed out. He let me go with a laugh and a rough pat to the back.

“You guys want to come in to use the bathroom or anything?” I asked, since a few of the guys had women with them.

“Oh my God, that would be awesome! I have to pee so bad!” a strawberry blonde said. She was with the big dude they called Styx. Hard to believe the scary motherfucker was a nurse.

I knew Smoke’s wife, Nova, from when she’d given birth to their daughter. I’d stopped by the hospital and brought them a tiny Amurs jersey for her with a stuffed version of the endangered leopard that was our mascot. She walked over to give me a hug. “You behaving yourself, Alex?” she asked with a soft smile.

“Now what’s the fun in that?” I teased. She scoffed and hooked her hand through Smoke’s arm.

“Come on in. I’ll show the ladies to the bathrooms.” They all followed me inside. I heard a couple of them talking about my car. She was my baby, so I didn’t mind that they were praising her. One day, I’d have a Lamborghini or a Bugatti, but until then, my red Maserati GranTurismo was the one. Custom black interior with red highlights and stitching made her a sexy beast. Picked her up the day I’d gotten back from getting my belongings.

“Holy shit!” one of the guys said from behind me as we stepped inside the house. I directed the women to the bathrooms, and they took off oohing and ahhing.

“Damn, man. This is one helluva a place you got,” said Gunny with a whistle as he looked around the expansive space.

“Thanks. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.”

“You know everyone, right?” asked my brother as he motioned to his club brothers.

“Most of you, I think.” I’d met Smoke, Gunny, Lock, and Slice on several occasions. The rest I’d met briefly.

“Well, to refresh your memory, that big Viking bastard is Styx, the scary-looking dude that can eat his weight in Snickers candy bars and not gain an ounce is Slice. My VP, Straight, Radar, our prospect Drew, and of course you already know Gunny, the other Viking bastard, Lock, and my P, Smoke.” He leaned against the counter. Hands resting on the edge, elbows bent back, and ankles crossed, he looked around with a grin.

“Nice to meet all of you again. Sorry I’ve been so scarce. Things are pretty busy for me during the season. Then I had to get my shit moved down here.” One by one, I shook their hands.

“Man, no sweat. We know you have a busy schedule. Eighty-two regular season games over approximately six and a half months? Damn. We’ve been following you. Dude, you’re really good.” That came from Radar. He was an unassuming kind of guy. Tall, dark, and quiet the few times I’d met him.

“Thanks, I appreciate that. It helps that I love what I do.” I crossed my arms and grinned.

“Sorry about the playoffs. If it’s any consolation, y’all played great,” said Smoke.

I snorted in disgust. “Well, not good enough, but thanks.” It still rankled that we’d been eliminated so early on. Especially considering my old team went to the Stanley Cup Final. Consolation? They lost.

“No more talking about the bad shit! Tonight we’re going to go out and have a good time. Little brother, we’re gonna see if we can find you some prime Texas pussy before you run off up north for the summer,” said Cooper as he clapped his hands once and rubbed them together evilly. I rolled my eyes. Little did he know, I hadn’t been hurting for pussy in years. Hockey seemed to bring puck bunnies out in droves.

“Ew. Y’all are such guys,” said the strawberry blonde. There were a few chuckles. Cooper wrapped his arm around her and laughed.

“Aw, don’t hate on us, Gwen. We can’t help that the rest of us haven’t been as lucky as Styx.” The big dude in question narrowed his eyes at my brother and growled.

“Hands off my woman, Truth,” he grumbled. I snickered, and Cooper flipped me off as he released Gwen with a kiss to the cheek. Styx smacked him upside the back of his head. It was weird hearing them call him Truth.

“Watch yourself,” he warned Cooper with a barely discernible tip of his mouth. Fuck, if I didn’t know they