Page 196 of The Pucking Coach's Daughter

I let out a sob, finally, and fall into his embrace.

fifty-nine

carter

I get the story in bits and pieces.

Her mom isn’t missing anymore—she was found dead in the woods early yesterday morning.

She had abandoned the trailer that Sydney was helping to cover rent on, and Sydney eventually let it go. That explains a lot about Sydney’s financials… and her relationship with her mother.

I had assumed that Sydney was just bad with money, or at the very least tight with it. That the financial hardship had more to do with Scarlett picking an expensive apartment and forcing her to buy more clothes than necessary… I didn’t think that she was trying to pay rent in two places, on top of school.

Oh, but the detective thinks Sydney has something to do with her mother’s death. It’s unclear if it was an accidental death or murder… or suicide.

Her dad’s hired her a lawyer.

I guess we’ll find out in the coming weeks what’s happening. What comes with the investigation.

“He barely mentioned the break-in,” Sydney whispers. “More to use it against me than anything.”

Of course not.

“It’s probably someone else handling that case,” her dad says. “Where should I drop you off?”

“Oliver’s,” she mumbles into my coat. “But only if his family is gone.”

I chuckle. “I got the all-clear from Penn. So we’re good to go.” I touch her chin, directing her to look at me. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to come to my hockey game tonight?”

Her silver eyes stare into mine. It’s almost eerie—there’s nothing behind them, and then she blinks and seems to come back to life. The corner of her lips tip up.

“You want Oliver and Penn to come cheer you on, too?”

I smirk. “Only if they wear maroon.”

Coach Windsor coughs. “Good luck with that one, Masters.”

“Dad!” Sydney shakes her head. “We’ll come.”

It’s weird to want to kiss her in front of her dad. I resist the urge. Barely. He drops us off in front of Oliver’s giant fucking house, and we stand on the porch until he’s gone. Only then do I give in. I grab her face and kiss her hard. Her lips are warm. The cold tip of her nose touches my cheek. I lean in, licking at her lips until she opens for me.

I just have the insane desire to climb into her skin sometimes. I know it’s not normal. I know my kinks, if unleashed, would cause more harm than good right now. Especially because she’s abusing herself with it. I want to slice into her skin and lap at her blood. I live for the tremble of pain and pleasure.

But not if it fuels the darkness that takes her away from me.

Us.

Fuck. Somewhere along the line, I seem to have given up the notion of winning her for myself. Fucking stupid, really, giving up the fight this early. But how can I take her away from Penn? How would I ever make her pick? And, grudgingly, I add Oliver to that mental list.

Especially since seeing her make out with Oliver last night left me hard as a rock.

“Did you miss morning skate?” she asks me when we finally part.

“I told Coach I would.” Although it feels like an eon ago that I had the conversation with him. “I told him my girlfriend’s apartment was broken into.”

He was understanding and pissed all at once.

She looks up at me, her eyes wide. In a way, they remind me of two perfect moons. And I’m just the ocean, unable to resist the magnetic force of her.