I glanced up to see him making his way down the aisle, followed by Kaden and Steele. Axel wore a navy suit with a moss-green shirt and blue tie. The color brought out the vivid green in his eyes. The suit fit him like it was custom-made, which it probably was to fit his broad shoulders and muscled ass. I had a thing for his ass. I’d always been a woman who looked at chests, but that fricking ass was beyond extraordinary. He was hot in that suit, but he’d be hotter naked. Even better, Axel in a tie and nothing else would be a sight to see with all those ripped hard muscles and his laser-sharp intensity.

He glanced my way and caught me ogling him. A slow, sexy smile spread across his scruffy face, made all the sexier because of his head of unruly dark hair. I ducked my head, pretty sure what I was thinking was written all over my face. Judging by his knowing smirk, he’d read me pretty accurately.

Axel and his buddies sat not too far from where I was seated. If I craned my neck slightly, I’d be able to see him, but I forced my gaze to my book. Unfortunately, I’d chosen the wrong book to read on this trip, as the sex scenes were graphic and heated up my already-boiling-hot libido. His deep voice reached my ears as he sparred with his buddies over who was the best center in hockey, and I swallowed hard. This might be a long flight, after all. I pulled a blanket from the overhead bin and wrapped it around me, faking sleep. No one bothered the equipment staff when they were dozing as we got very little sleep as it was.

As soon as we were airborne, I reclined my chair and buried my face in a pillow, but I couldn’t drown out Axel’s voice or the images in my head of a naked Axel and me doing all things done when one was naked with a hot guy.

Chapter 9—Busted

~~Axel~~

Following an afternoon skate and group dinner buffet in one of the banquet rooms, I went out with the other Puck Bros for drinks. Only my heart wasn’t in getting shit-faced, but I didn’t like my other option either. Jock and I were sharing a room, and the team didn’t call him Papa just because he was the oldest guy on the team. We also called him that because he tended to be on the straight and narrow. He took setting a good example for the rookies to the next level. Since I wasn’t on good terms with the guy, I didn’t want to look worse in his eyes than I already did by staggering into our room and spending the evening praying to the porcelain god.

I nursed one whiskey all night, left the bros about eleven p.m., and crossed the street to the lobby. Walking toward the elevators, I passed the hotel bar. There were only a few patrons inside. One of them caused me to do a double take. My body tingled at the sight of long, dark, glossy hair and a Sockeyes-issued lime-green polo shirt.