Scoring His Heart

SCORING HIS HEART

A Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey Story

Suzan Butler

www.suzetalks.com

SCORING HIS HEART

Zoe Logan has always believed that those she loves will always leave her. It's why she fights so hard against anyone getting close, but when sexy defense Gavin Ferrara zeroes in on her, she finds herself falling hard and exploring the hidden parts of herself that he brings out in her.

Gavin’s always trusted that playing hockey is the most important thing to him. But when a strange encounter from months ago leads to more between him and the local bar owner’s daughter, he’s torn between what he wants and what’s best.

WARNING: This book contains a threesome hot enough to scorch the sheets, a dirty talking Russian, a bisexual Italian, the college virgin who brings both of them to their knees, and the best anatomy and physiology study session ever.

This title is #3 in the Texas Highlanders series, though all books can be read as standalone stories.

Reading Order:

O Christmas Three, #0.5

Off Her Game, #1

Heart and Snow, #2

Scoring His Heart, #3

Scoring His Heart

Suzan Butler

Prologue

Four Months Ago

Her father’s phone clattered to the floor as Zoe Logan halted in the doorway. The two men in the room stopped and froze. Gavin turned, his shirt half untucked, and his usually well-put together curls mussed from finger raking. The jeans he wore were faded and worn, but nothing could hide the bulge in the front of them. Misha, Gavin’s roommate, wasn’t in much better shape, his lips pink and kiss-swollen. He leaned against the wall, like if he tried to move away from it, he’d fall over. Her hands shook, and she clenched them tightly, as if she could stop it.

Dazed, Misha’s voice was barely there. Zoe…

She waved her hands in front of her, like it would wipe the scene away. I… uh… She tried to look everywhere but at the pair before her. Of all the things she thought she’d walk into, this was not one of them. All she wanted was to run out and hide, but her feet were rooted to the spot, like they were glued down. Her cheeks burned. Her chest ached with the stabbing heat of embarrassment. Breathing was suddenly impossible. She’d almost thought Misha could have liked her after she found out Gavin didn’t like girls, but no. She should have known better. She’d known he liked guys too, and the two had always been close.

A long moment of awkwardness passed before she realized that she was blocking the only exit to the room. She stumbled backward, lifting her eyes so she could see them both, though her gaze fell on Gavin immediately. More pain and more stabbing in her chest forced her away from them faster.

God, how mortifying. Thoughts were barely coherent in her mind, knowing that she’d put herself out there for not one, but two guys who just weren’t into her.

Her throat hurt, the tears lodged into it like a square block in a round tube. She reached down and grabbed the phone she’d dropped, her hands still shaking, and placed it on the desk, careful to stay out of arm’s reach of either guy.

Um, when you’re done. Could you plug that in? I won’t tell Dad you’re using his office to… Just make sure you clean up. Clean up? Did she really just say that? Oh, good god. She was a complete and total moron. Gavin started to step forward to say something, but she stumbled back again, slipping out of the room before he or Misha stopped her.

Her entire face was flushed, rich with the memory of the two men inside that office kissing each other like nothing else in the world mattered. She didn’t stop when she reached the main bar area. The party was in full swing, and all she could think about was getting out. 

She was almost to the door when she saw Gavin and Misha emerge from the back rooms. Gavin’s eyes were scanning the room, which meant he’d find her in a few seconds if she didn’t get clear of the bar.

She ran out the front door, slipping between the people streaming in from the line outside, and went straight for the apartment upstairs she shared with her father. She focused on her goal, on trying to get inside her apartment, where it was safe and quiet, and no one would see her fall apart.

She bolted the door shut, the heavy lock turning with a loud clunk. Her dad had installed that years ago, when she was a kid, so she’d feel safe while he’d been working late nights. She sank down to the floor, hugging her knees and breathing heavily.

She was supposed to have been Misha’s designated driver. He’d asked her to be, and had promised her a fun night where she could forget about Gavin and her misplaced crush on him. All she wanted to do was crawl under her blankets and forget either of them existed anymore.

Fuck them.

She shouldn’t have been so upset but she was. How long had she pined for Gavin Ferrara? Watched him flirt with all the little bar bunnies that came through, the same ones that were just looking for a good time. She wished she could be like them, carefree and easy, but that wasn’t how she was wired.

That was probably why they didn’t see her, neither Gavin or Misha. Or maybe it was just because they didn’t want girls half as much as they wanted each other. Her face burned, ripe with embarrassment as she covered her face with her hands. Shit. What if they didn’t like girls at all, and she’d been pining for a man that she really didn’t ever have a shot at?

She’d kissed guys, gone further with some others, but she’d never felt enough passion or attraction to have sex with them, not like that passion she saw downstairs. Maybe it wasn’t something she was able to do or had the capacity to experience. She ran her hands over her face, not caring that she probably just smeared her eye makeup and then stood up.

Zoe had never seen or felt passion like what the guys had shown. Like they were meant for each other. And it sucked, because Zoe had wanted Gavin since the first moment he’d stepped into her father’s bar. Now, here she was, nineteen, a virgin, and pining after a gay hockey player. Maybe pining after two gay hockey players.

Life wasn’t fair.

~*~*~

Gavin set the phone down on the desk, staring hard, and out of some weird compulsion, he plugged it in. How sad was that? Zoe Logan was pissed off at him and he still needed to make sure he plugged her dad’s phone in. He covered his face with his palms and slid them down his face. This wasn’t how his night was supposed to go.

Well, that went well. Gavin turned back to Misha, who leaned against the desk now. The Russian ran his fingers through his blond hair and sighed. What do we do now?

Do? Gavin stared at his friend. His lips still tingled from that kiss. Seriously?

She’s going to tell everyone. Misha shook his head. It’ll be in the news by tomorrow morning.

Gavin rolled his eyes. Don’t be dramatic, Misha. That’s not who she is.

Actually, he didn’t know Zoe all that well, but he had hopes. She didn’t seem like the type to go for the sensationalism of the tabloid life. It was a hell of a thing to walk in on, though, and he didn’t blame her for being upset.

This was a mistake. Misha stood, squaring off his shoulders and pushed off the desk.

Gavin studied him—his best friend—while Misha smoothed out his clothes. Did he really think it was a mistake? Why do you say that?

Because I’m not stupid, he replied and he added something in Russian Gavin didn’t recognize.

No one said you were. Gavin grumbled.

Misha stepped up close to him, but this time it wasn’t arousing. It was intimidating, because of the anger that wafted from the man. You’re just using me to fill some secret hole in your life.

What? Misha, that’s not what’s happening here.

You were embarrassed when Zoe came in here.

Who wouldn’t be? We just got caught making out in her dad’s office. We’re not even supposed to be back here. Gavin gestured to the room to punctuate his statement.

That’s not what I mean and you know it.

Shit, maybe I can still catch her. I need to explain— Gavin started for the door, but Misha grabbed his arm. What?

This is not us, Gav, he said. You and me?

Gavin shook off the hold Misha had on him and glared at his friend. If you believe that, then yes, this was a mistake. A big one.

He stormed from the office and jogged back to the main room. The music blared in his ears, throbbing in time with his racing heart. He shouldn’t have kissed Misha, he knew that. But he’d been harboring feelings for him for so long, thinking that he was the one Gavin wanted to be with. But when Zoe had walked in, it wasn’t embarrassment he felt. It was guilt, and not because Misha had come with her to the Penalty Box. It was because he wanted her too.

He scanned the room but he didn’t see her. She’d moved fast, and now she was long gone. He knew she lived upstairs, but really, if she wanted to talk about it, she’d have stayed. He’d have to figure this out another time. The guilt he’d felt in his chest—instead of the embarrassment that Misha had accused him of—tightened and squeezed his insides until he couldn’t quite breathe as well as he should have been.

Damn it. She was gone.

He started to go back to the office where he’d left Misha, but something stopped him.  What was he doing? Ruining his relationship with his best friend? Changing it so they couldn’t go back to who they were before? He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He should have stayed with Niko out here in the main bar. Niko was new to the team, and he’d come here to give him a good night out.

But seeing Misha with Zoe had done something to him. And he’d responded by taking Misha inside the owner’s office and kissing the fuck out of him. He was such an asshole.

Misha appeared from the back rooms. Their eyes met as he approached. He stopped inches from Gavin. He cleared his throat. I’m headed out.

Gavin nodded. Zoe left. We need to talk about this.

Misha shook his head. We really don’t. Let’s just chalk it up that we were drunk and not thinking clearly. I’ll get a cab. Without waiting for an answer, Misha brushed past Gavin, hitting his shoulder. A second later, Misha had disappeared out the front door, leaving Gavin alone, utterly alone.

He’d ruined everything.

Chapter One

Four Months Later…

Gavin took a swig of his beer and set it down on the bar. The loud clink of the glass against the bar top’s finished wooden surface echoed in his ears. Irritation filled him, made his blood pound with unwarranted anger. He hadn’t been the same for weeks, not since Cody Baker’s daughter had been born, if he remembered right. Hell, it was long before that, too. Weeks.

Too much had happened in such a short time. He’d spent the summer on the beach in California, surfing, if only just to get away from everything. In fact, he’d only come back in time for the pre-season to ramp up. Things hadn’t improved, like he’d hoped. In fact, it seemed that Misha Kozlov had decided that night in the bar never happened. Or rather, he’d redoubled his efforts to act like nothing was going on.

The blond man shamelessly flirted with a girl at the other end of the bar, probably turning his normal harsh accent into low, sexually-charged tones. He’d seen Misha work more times than he could count, and that number had doubled in the last four months.

As luck would have it, on the other side of the bar was Zoe Logan, the daughter of the bar owner, and the bane of his existence. Okay, maybe not that bad. He’d considered asking Zoe out once, right before that night with Misha happened. The one Misha refused to talk about. Now she blushed and turned away every time she saw either of them. They’d ruined whatever friendship any of them could have with each other, with one stupid moment.

Hell, it wasn’t a stupid moment for Gavin. That kiss had knocked him on his ass. But he regretted everything that had happened because of it. Now, Misha had his tongue down that girl’s throat, and Zoe was flirting up a storm with Todd Barnes, one of the rookies on the team this year and Gavin was alone.

Low-level possessive anger he had no right to feel heated his chest. Barnes wasn’t interested in anything Zoe had to offer except how fast he could get her to lose her panties. Of course, was Gavin so different?

He’d been with women before, the ones that Misha had brought expressly for the more… exploratory things they did in the bedroom. But it had been months since Misha had done that either. In fact, he usually went out and came back the next day with a major hangover now.

It sucked, royally sucked to be sitting in the middle of the Penalty Box, feeling more alone than he’d ever felt before.

Hey, Gavin.

Gavin turned to his left, just as Valerie Chase, his teammate’s fiancee sat down beside him. Hi, Val. He pasted on a happy face, though he imagined the team counselor could see through just about any of his guises. He was pretty sure it was her superpower. How are you?

Good. You?

Fine, he grumbled into his pint glass. He side-eyed her. Where’s Darren? I thought you quit this place?

Val chuckled. He’s in the bathroom. And just because I don’t work here anymore doesn’t mean I can’t come and say hi to people.  Valerie had joined the Highlander organization a couple years ago, when the owner, Vince Jenkins, had decided to hire a team family counselor. Guess the team was just that screwed up. Considering his current situation, that didn’t surprise him at all. He was definitely screwed up in the head.

I guess that’s true.

Have you talked to Misha yet?

He cringed.

I’ll take that as a no, she replied.

Sometimes, he really regretted talking to Valerie about any of this. She never forgot and that stupid moment—a weakness he should have resisted—had turned into nothing but a nightmare. Thankfully, he’d been right, and Zoe had never said a word to anyone, but he figured that probably had more to do with her embarrassment than anything else. Not to mention he’d lost the little ground he’d gained trying to be her friend.

 You know, this rift is just going to get bigger if y’all don’t talk.

I know, he grumbled. It had already passed insurmountable proportions, in his opinion. How many weeks had it been? Months? He’d managed to avoid it over the summer, but now he had to deal with it.

So try it. The talking thing.

He looked at Val, her soft brown eyes watching him carefully. She had this way of being intense without actually being intense. Was that what Darren found so enticing about her? He couldn’t say for sure. He also didn’t like it much, because she had that way of getting him to talk when he didn’t want to.

He glanced back to where Misha was. Misha’s tongue was currently down the brunette’s throat, his hand resting easily on her ass. Suddenly, the thought of Misha thrusting into her, his ass clenching with every movement, his muscles flexing, cries of pleasure tearing from his throat…

Nope, nope, nope. So not going down that line of thought.

I think Misha has his own way of dealing, and I think he’s got the right idea, he said, and tilted his head toward his roommate.

Val followed the nod and sighed. He’s your friend. You should talk.

Yep, Gavin growled. He’s my friend. My best friend. And I’d like him to stay that way.

He tore his eyes from Misha.

And how’s that working out for you so far?

He shot Val a glare, but she was unfazed, as always. She took a drink from her glass and smiled.

He glanced over to Zoe. Barnes wasn’t getting as lucky as Misha had, but he also didn’t have that sexy Russian accent. And it was Zoe he was flirting with, not some random hockey groupie. However, she didn’t seem to be hating the attention either. 

A low growl left his throat involuntarily. He tried to stop the next, but instead a shudder hit his entire body all at once.

You know, Darren got thrown out of this bar once for fighting over me. Nick doesn’t like bar brawls.

Gavin slid his line of sight back to Val. Did she know about Zoe too? He’d mentioned the kiss to her, and Misha’s rejection, but he’d never mentioned that Zoe had been there. How did she do that?

Gavin, I’d hate to see you end up resenting anyone later, or losing a friendship you really cherish.

Stop analyzing me, Val, he replied, but he knew she was right. One of them had to give. This three-way mission to ignore each other had to stop. It was killing him.

He paused as Darren made his way back to Val, stopping every few seconds as people greeted him. It was a damn Cheers bar here. A sudden fear gripped him. Did you tell D? I mean, about what I said? About what I did?

Of course not. She had the good graces to look offended by that. "He wouldn’t care anyway, but I