Page 63 of Xander

“You like your eyes?” I growled. “If you want to keep them, you better look away. Right now!”

“I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to⁠—”

“Leave. NOW!” I barked.

Jordan gasped as the man scurried away with his tail tucked between his legs.

“Was that necessary?” she chided, staring after him.

“Yes,” I snapped. “And keep your eyes on me, not on other men.”

Her jaw dropped. “What are you talking about? Why are you behaving this way—” Jordan snapped her mouth shut when voices floated into the rink. The invited puck bunnies took their designated seats. My teammates generally entered from around the back, but there were enough eyes on us to make her squirm.

Not wanting to make things worse between us, I left for the locker room to change for practice. She had been sullen since learning of my plan to take over her guardianship, and I didn’t know how to make things better.

What did she expect me to do? The court required her to have a guardian, and I couldn’t let Henry continue the role.

Perhaps the honorable thing to do would be to testify that Jordan was of sound mind and appeal to revoke the need for supervision, especially since she desperately wanted her freedom. It was fucked up to go against her wishes, but I was fucked up. Somewhere deep down, I knew she wouldn’t stick around unless I made her. No matter what she felt for me, she was unwilling to entertain a romantic relationship with her stepson.

That was why measures had to be taken, such as security and conservatorship. Throughout my life, I learned that no one would give me what I wanted unless I took it for myself.

A chill crept into my bones when I stepped onto the ice. Familiar adrenaline surged through me, and I skated alongside my team with an effortless glide. Growing up, I felt more at home on a frozen rink than at my actual home. The sentiment had never been stronger than this moment.

I glanced at Jordan.

How many times had I wished she was cheering me on in the stands? Though I’d finally dragged her here—albeit kicking and screaming—Jordan wasn’t exactly cheering me on.

Instead, she kept sneaking nervous glances at the security guards. At my instruction, they brought her breakfast and anything else she needed. They maintained distance, making their presence scarce so as not to spook her, but she remained wary.

Jordan was in a bind. She had nowhere to go, but as soon as she figured out an alternative, she’d make a run for it. Uneasiness lingered in my mind, making it difficult to concentrate on the warm-up.

“Maxwell!” Coach Foley shouted when I took a distracted shot and missed the empty net. He was a heavy-stock man with thinning hair and a grim expression he wore a little too well. And right now, his scowl was directed at me. “What the hell are you doing?”

His anger was justified. I was performing terribly, and it was only the warm-up. Even the elementary drill of passing the puck back and forth ended tragically for me.

I loved hockey and had looked forward to sharing this part of my life with Jordan. However, I was failing miserably at impressing her, and ironically, she was the cause of my poor performance. My attention kept drifting to the displeased woman on the bleachers.

At this rate, I might as well hang up the skates. I could see why Coach Foley hated it when wives, girlfriends, or puck bunnies hung around the rink. Distractions, he called them. But he didn’t understand that not having Jordan there would be a bigger distraction. Not knowing what she was doing every moment of the day would drive me insane, especially with Henry’s threats looming over me.

At least I could breathe if she was within my grasp.

“Come on, man. Wake your ass up.” Mark shoved my shoulder. “Are you playing this shitty because of her?” He glanced at Jordan and immediately returned for a second look.

Suddenly, I wanted to pluck his eyes out.

“Whoa! Who is she? She’s hot as fuck, eh?”

I gave him the biggest back-off look, cutting him off mid-sentence. “Don’t even think about it, and definitely don’t look at her again,” I growled. “She’s not for you.”

Mark threw up a surrendering palm. “Hey, man. Take it easy. I was kidding.”

“Well, don’t.”

He skated past me, realizing he had touched a nerve, but it only went downhill from there.

Every player who noticed Jordan stopped in their tracks for a second glance. I knew what those fuckers were thinking, their greedy eyes ogling my woman. I debated slaughtering my entire team, but Jordan was already wary of my intentions. Mass murder wouldn’t help my case.

To their credit, my teammates got the hint after I shot them repeated death glares and scowls. It wasn’t the first time a random woman had shown up to our practice wearing one of our jerseys and dreaming of becoming the next Mrs. NHL. But it was the first time I was distracted by one of them, and I fully expected them to grill me about her after practice.