Rush the Edge: A Brother’s Best Friend Hockey Romance (Blue Devils Hockey Book 3)

I narrow my gaze. “You are insane.”

Kane’s lip pulls up at the side, and my stomach dips. “Let’s go, Daisy-Petal.”

I wish he’d stop calling me that.

I teeter with the idea of telling him to go screw himself and heading back to my apartment, but there’s something kind of sad about the fact that he’s up here all alone, carrying out his crazy superstitions the night before one of his games like he’s that same eighteen-year-old boy I grew close to years ago.

So much has changed, yet things still feel the same.

“Ugh.” My shoulders fall. “Fine.”

Kane’s blue eyes light up with excitement, and it shouldn’t please me that I’m the reason it’s there.

Get a grip. Kane is a total asshole who has a vengeance against me.

“That’s my girl.” He winks at me.

I’m warm all over, and that is not good. “I am not your girl.”

Kane smirks, and then the music cuts back on. His large apartment is surrounded by Marshmello’s beat and my wildly beating heart. I angle away from him because I’m not wearing a bra, and although I’m part of the itty-bitty titty committee, I still have some bounce.

My lungs start to get tired after thirty jumping jacks, but I ignore the sting in my chest because there is no way I’m letting Kane see me struggling. I’m not willing to let him in on the real reason I’m in Chicago, because he doesn’t deserve to know anything about me.

This is my thing, and he has no part in it.

“Keep going,” he encourages.

He’s jumping with ease. His muscles flex with every jump, pulling my eyes to his abs like a magnet. Kane has always been blessed with a toned body, but now that he’s in the pros and works out daily, his muscles are honed to perfection—a full eight pack, rippling back muscles. Even his back strains with strength.

Stop looking at him.

I pull my attention away and put my best effort into the remaining jumping jacks.

My hair is beginning to dampen with sweat, and by the last few, I’m hardly doing them at all.

I press my back to the window and slowly slide down to the floor.

Kane stands over me with his hands on his hips. “You okay?” There’s barely even a rise in his chest, whereas my lungs are screaming for air.

“I’m fine,” I choke out.

“You can sit on the couch, you know.”

I scoff as best as I can. “I don’t know what you’ve done on that couch. I’m good here.”

He rolls his eyes and heads to the kitchen. I shut my eyes, level my breathing, and will myself not to think about how hard he’s judging me right now. One of the first things I’d noticed before I was officially diagnosed with Lupus was how tired my muscles felt when doing the simplest of activities. Unfortunately, even though I’m in remission, they are still weaker than most.

“Here.”

My eyes spring open, and the rest of the air in my lungs disappears. Kane is crouched down in front of me with his blistering blue eyes, holding out a water bottle for me to take.noveldrama

I grab it hesitantly, fearful he’ll steal it before I get my grip on it, but he doesn’t. The cool water coats my throat. He watches me closely as I drink half of it before he takes it back and screws the lid on.

A couple beats of silence pass between us before he slips down beside me and rests his back against the window too.

What is he doing?

“Don’t even think about making a pass at me,” I bite out.

I’m on edge with him this close. He’s acting…neutral, and it’s confusing me.

“When was the last time you exercised?” he snorts.

Okay, never mind.

“Earlier.” I look over at him and grin coyly. “With Lars.”

Kane’s eyes flare with irritation before he drops his gaze to my cheeky smile. “Nice try.” He pulls his knees up to his chest and drapes his arms over them. “He won’t touch you after I warned him.”

“Mmm. You sound awfully confident. Are you sure about that?” I ask.

I should really stop trying to get a rise out of him.

Kane pulls away, but I still manage to catch the annoyance on his features.

“What other superstitions have you kept up with since high school?” I ask.

I’m curious.

That’s all.

I am not trying to put us on an even playing ground.

After a few seconds, he shrugs. “Not many. Jumping jacks, taping my stick. The normal stuff.”

Normal?

I rub my sore legs to give my hands something to do. “What about your mom’s smoothies? Do you still make those before a game?”

Before a game, his mom would blend together a smoothie for extra energy and good luck. He and River called it their game-day smoothie. It was filled with organic yogurt, ¼ cup of oat milk, a cup of fresh blueberries, a cup of fresh strawberries, one banana, and some chia seeds.

He answers abruptly. “No.”

I stop massaging my thighs at the sight of his flexing jaw.

“Why not?”

Kane turns toward me slowly. Our eyes catch, and if I were standing, I’d likely lose my footing. There is something so haunted in his gaze that I feel it like a ghost brushing against my skin.

“When was the last time you saw me at my house, Daisy?” His hoarse voice sends a pain into my chest.

To be honest, each time I came home, whether it be for the holidays, college breaks, or when I got sick, I avoided his house like the plague. I wouldn’t even glance in that direction in fear that he’d be home for a split second to visit his mom and brother.

Kane’s neck bobs with a gruff swallow when I don’t answer. “I haven’t been home since I left for the junior league.”

Confusion pulls on my head like a puppet. I keep my mouth closed instead of letting my lips part with shock.

“Your mom is still icing you out?” I whisper. No way.

Without answering, Kane hops to his feet quickly and swipes his shirt off the floor. “I’m going to shower,” he says over his shoulder. “You better be gone by the time I get out, or I may have to prove to you that I was right when I said you’d let me fuck you.”

I scowl at his bare back as he jogs up the stairs with ease to his second floor.

Instead of sending a biting remark his way, I slowly climb to my feet and make my way over to the door. It doesn’t take much for Kane to get under my skin, but I’m not one to kick a dog when it’s down.