I open the door forcefully and elbow him in the side, smiling at his oof. Letting go of the door so he has to catch it or risk getting his fingers caught between it and the jamb, I step inside and create some space between us.

“First of all, you don’t get to stroll down memory lane with me. Ever.”

“Come on, Queenie, we had some good times.”

“I can probably count all of them on one hand. And that time I found you banging a bunny in our bed pretty much cancels out every single damn one of them.”

“I was drunk.”

“As if that’s an excuse.”

“I thought she was you.” He says this while picking his nail.

I hate him so much. “She was blonde and I am not. The only way she resembled me even remotely was because she had boobs and a warm hole.”

Corey sneers. “Still the same bitchy attitude you had back in college. And you wonder why you couldn’t keep anyone entertained for longer than a few months.”

I grit my teeth, aware that he’s needling me on purpose and that if I have an outburst of any kind I’ll be giving him exactly what he wants—a reaction. It will also make me look unprofessional. I have to see his jerk face on a regular basis, so if I feed into this now, it’s just going to make it infinitely more difficult in the future.

“Although if I remember correctly, you could do a few things with that mouth that were worth hanging around for.”

I spin to face him and give him my widest, most syrupy smile. “I think we need to set some ground rules.”

He leans against the closed door. I know it’s meant to make me feel like I’m trapped, but I know all the exits out of here, while he does not. Still, it’s annoying that he believes he can use these kinds of tactics to intimidate me. “I’m engaged, in case you didn’t know, and she’s preggers, so you and every other bunny are off limits. For now, anyway.”

God, he’s disgusting. And worse than he was when I first started dating him all those years ago. I hold up a finger. “One, I’m not a bunny.”

“That’s not what I hear.”

“Ex-fucking-cuse me?”

“Rumor has it you’re chasing guys on the team.”

“Well, rumor has it wrong. Secondly, even if you were the last man on earth and the entire welfare of our species hinged on me sleeping with you, I would gladly forfeit my own life and that of the entire living, breathing universe to avoid ever having your hands or any other part of you on my body.”

“That’s not how you felt in college.”

“It took about six weeks for me to develop a strong aversion to you, since your misogynistic asshole side didn’t come out until we were living under the same roof. You need to keep your mouth shut about what happened between us.”

“You mean when we—”

I hold a hand up in his face. It’s annoying how high I have to reach because he’s so tall and I’m not. “Do not finish that statement. Ever. You will take it to the grave with you, and so will I.”

“Or what?” He sneers, body bowing forward so he can get up in my space.

I try to take a step back, but there’s a piece of workout equipment behind me, so there is quite literally nowhere for me to go. It’s rather unfortunate, because Corey must’ve eaten something spicy and garlicky recently, and he’s breathing it right in my face.

I motion between us. “Does your pregnant fiancée know what happened?”

Confusion mars his expression. For as skilled as Corey is on the ice, he’s sort of an anomaly in the hockey world, since he’s not all that smart. Usually these guys have the brains to match the brawn, and Corey definitely doesn’t. “No.”

I wait for him to process the information. It takes three long, stinky garlicky breaths before he finally clues in. And then the aggressive dick I knew and learned to loathe back in college rears his ugly head. He moves in even closer and barricades me against the machine. “Is this your attempt at a threat, Queenie? Look at you, still running home to Daddy when things don’t work out for you. Just like you did back in college. I mean, how pathetic can you be?”CHAPTER 18

BACK OFF MY GIRL

Kingston

Today has been amazing. I had a great workout and an excellent practice. One of the best of the season so far, and I’m attributing that to Queenie. And amazing sex. I’m definitely looking forward to more of that.

I whistle as I head for her office, hoping I can convince her to stay at my place again tonight. We have a game tomorrow afternoon, and normally I’d avoid the possible sleep disturbance, but considering how beneficial it seems to have been today, I feel like a repeat would only be helpful.