Bennett: on the ice: Boston Bay Vikings, #2

By Lexi Buchanan

Boston Bay Vikings: hot enough to melt the ice.

Bennett

My friends whispered between themselves when I decided to move Scarlett into my apartment. I was the Captain of the Vikings, did the interviews, so the others didn't have to. I preferred my own company and my friends to that of the puck bunnies who tried to catch my eye. Yet, when I'd first met Scarlett, I told myself I was getting her out of a bad situation at home. However, I find I'm unable to get her out of my head. Frustratingly so. That wasn't supposed to happen. I hardly knew the girl.

Scarlett

When Bennett didn't give me any choice but to move in with him, my world had turned upside down. I had plenty of space, and he vowed that he wouldn't cross the invisible line he'd drawn. My confidence had grown because of him, and it was time to go after what I wanted, the man himself. Even with my stepsister and someone from Bennett's past trying to break the thread, we knew our obsession with each other was what would hold us together. Crossing the line was never more exciting.

Meet Bennett Edwards and Scarlett Hayes in the second book of the Boston Bay Vikings series by NYT and USA Today bestselling author, Lexi Buchanan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HFCA Publishing
• Release date: Mar 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393122890

Book preview

1

Prologue – Bennett

Fuck me! Wyatt shouts.

My head snaps in his direction. He glares at the phone in his hand while trying to keep the car on the road. I can’t make out what’s got his attention, but something has.

It’s been close to forty-eight hours since we last saw the girls. After they were snatched, we’d followed one lead after another, grasping at straws. Camden had suggested Lancaster County, as that’s where Molly was raised. So here we are now. I’m holding on to hope that we find Scarlett, and of course, Molly and Riley. I never knew a woman could get under a man’s skin the way Scarlett has mine. She isn’t even my type.

Keep telling yourself that.

When I first saw the girl, she’d been with puck bunnies, one of whom turned out to be her stepsister. However, Molly had decided to step in when she noticed how out of place Scarlett had looked. Molly had been right in her assumption. Scarlett didn’t want to be there. For some reason, she got under my skin from the start, and because I act before thinking, I now have the woman living with me. We have separate bedrooms, of course. I’ve discovered Scarlett is shy around the other guys and me without Molly there to act as a buffer, and I don’t know what to do about that. I only hope I get the chance to work it out. My stomach is in knots thinking about what she is going through.

Only half listening to what is being said, my ears perk up when Wyatt says, Riley’s tracker has just come back online. She’s close. About five miles away. Riley is his eighteen-year-old daughter, who happens to have a thing for Ethan. Although nothing has been said to me, I feel Ethan returns what is going on between them, which Wyatt certainly knows about at this point.

He’s not lying. He’s tracking Riley, Ethan says and goes quiet for a moment. He’s tracking her phone.

Camden watches Ethan closely, as do I, and then Camden erupts with laughter. We turn to him, but it makes him laugh all the more. We’re all fucked. He laughs and then mumbles, Fucked! He laughs even harder.

Camden! Wyatt snaps. Pull your fucking self together. No one is fucked. He glares at Ethan. No one, he mutters.

In the next moment, Ethan yells, Stop! Riley!

Wyatt hits the brake, taking us from ninety to zero in seconds. The car slides across the road. Ethan jumps out before we come to a complete stop. He’s running toward Riley, shouting her name. Camden is right behind him. Wyatt and I get out and run to catch up.

Ethan reaches Riley first, scooping her up into his arms. They’re wrapped tightly around each other.

What the fuck! Wyatt hisses.

I watch as Wyatt approaches them. He places his hand on Riley’s back and whispers to her.

Ethan kisses the top of her head before setting her down. They remain connected through intertwined fingers as Riley moves to her father, who watches Ethan over the top of her head.

Riley sniffles into her father’s chest and then pulls away and turns to Camden. Molly’s hurt. Scarlett is with her while I ran for help. We have to hurry.

Where? Camden asks.

Riley turns with her hand in Ethan’s and runs back in the direction she was coming from. Wyatt is immediately on his phone. I freeze at the sound of approaching dogs, then I get moving.

I run hard, following Ethan and Riley. The moment I spot Scarlett on the ground crouched over Molly, I fall to my knees and wrap my shivering girl up in my arms from behind.

Camden drops to the ground beside us, and Scarlett looks up at him. We have to get her out of here, Camden. Can you carry her?

Camden lifts Molly into his arms and holds her against his chest. Molly sighs and turns her face into his neck. Over the roar of blood in my ears, I hear her whisper, I knew you’d find me.

She knew more than I did.

I can’t stop touching Scarlett as we follow slowly behind Camden and the others. The relief I feel at seeing her unharmed is strangling me. I don’t like the feeling, but I can’t seem to stop it. It’s there. Wrapped around me like a snake, squeezing the air from my lungs. I make a weird noise, causing Scarlett to glance up. Her eyes widen and she stops. Breathe, she hisses as she cups my face. Bennett, you need to take some air in. She grabs one of my hands and presses it against her heart. Breathe with me.

Seconds later, the constriction in my chest slowly starts to clear, and then suddenly it’s gone. I let out a whoosh of air. Inhaling and exhaling deeply. I’m okay. I shake my head, embarrassed. I’m okay, Scarlett.

She eyes me warily but carries on moving toward where the car is and where there will hopefully be an ambulance waiting.

Was that a panic attack?

If it was, I don’t want another.

2

Bennett

Feet up on the coffee table, a mug of coffee in one hand and the latest suspense in my other, I sigh at the joy of finally being able to relax after a grueling week of away games. I plan on going nowhere until tomorrow when it’s back on the ice. My body feels bruised and used, and now that I’m getting older, the aches and pains take longer to heal.

Turning the page of Cold as Ice, I catch a blur of pink from the corner of my eye. I tell myself not to look. However, no matter how many times I try and avoid Scarlett when she wakes in the morning, I never do. The girl is like a breath of fresh air. It’s something I realized I needed when she’d been kidnapped. Somehow, Scarlett Hayes has gotten under my skin, and I don’t know what to do about it.

She’s been living with me for weeks after my friends and I rescued her from a home situation that wasn’t right. At first, she’d been shy and awkward around me and in my apartment, but she's different since the kidnapping, which is one word to use for what she is. Different. It’s the one word that doesn’t send my head and gaze to other things. Things that shouldn’t even be thought about, considering I’ve given her a home while she finishes college. I don’t want her ever to think I gave her what I have because I want something from her. That isn’t the case.

I sigh and give in, looking across to the kitchen and a very sexy Scarlett. My eyes widen and focus on her ass in skimpy pink shorts with Viking Babe across the butt.

Fuck me!

White knee-high socks and a tank top complete her outfit. My eyes can’t decide on what to focus on. I know what they should be focusing on, and it isn’t on anything below the neck. She turns around, and a deliciously large pair of boobs squished in the top hit my line of sight. The book in my hand immediately hits my groin to cover what’s going on in my shorts. I’m so surprised by her lack of clothing that I can’t form words. The frustrating girl offers me a soft smirk before wiggling her fine ass back into her bedroom.

What the fuck just happened?

My hand trembles, and I slosh coffee onto the side table as I place the mug down. I inhale and remove the book from my lap and wince when my cock jerks, tenting my shorts. I liked the girl from the first, and until recently, she hasn’t gotten me hard by just a soft glance or by wearing next to nothing.

I can’t and won’t take advantage of the sexy minx. The decision made, I slide a hand under the band of my shorts and wrap it around my throbbing flesh. Hissing, I catch my breath and relax into the cushions behind my head. Each glide of my fist heightens the pleasure building in my balls. Spreading my legs, I get into fucking my fist to the image of Scarlett’s perfect set of tits pushing up against her top. I imagine fucking them while I pinch and roll her tight nipples that I’d seen before she’d turned away from me.

Heat rises, my lower belly tingles with an immediate need, my balls pull tight, and then I feel— Fuck! A bedroom door slams shut as my orgasm rushes along my cock. It feels fucking amazing. I grab a cushion from behind my head and hold it against my groin. When I finish, I wince at how much jizz I released.

Having fun? Scarlett asks.

I cast my eyes her way. She’s leaning against the wall, her cheeks flushed pink.

Did she see what I was doing?

Of course, she did, you jerk!

I clear my throat and grin. I was.

Her eyes dim and I frown, wondering what she read in my words to put that look on her face.

I’ll let you get back to it, then. With an abrupt turn, the sexy woman stomps down the hallway.

Women!

This is all Molly’s fault. If she hadn’t gone and invited Scarlett over to our table, then I’d have never met the girl. I would never have felt a connection with her. I would never have had Molly in my ear about her. Now, not only is Scarlett living with me, but she’s in my head all the damn time. The little scraps of clothing she’s started to wear is not helping my imagination one bit.

I need to talk to her.

Moving the cushion from my lap, I grimace at the stickiness in my shorts and get to my feet.

First stop is the bathroom, where I kick my shorts off and toss them into the laundry hamper. I take a quick shower because it’s the only way to clean up after the mess I made. I purposely don’t think about the girl who’s in the next room while I clean up; otherwise, I’m not going to be able to face her. However, I don’t back down, and I tug on a pair of workout sweats and a T-shirt.

Scarlett’s door is closed, and I gently knock. After a pause, I hear, Come in. I’m dressed.

I hope to God you are.

Inhaling a deep breath, I enter and come to a stop when I see her suitcase and belongings scattered around the floor. Why haven’t you unpacked? I scan the room and find Scarlett in fluffy pajamas. Scarlett? Why is your stuff all over? I frown. You’re not an untidy person.

I figured it would be easier to leave when you asked me to.

Shaking my head, I move toward her and crouch. I take hold of her hands. "The day I moved you in here, I told you this was now your home. I meant it. Even if we do something to piss each other off, I will not kick you out of your home. You hear me? I squeeze her hands. This is your home as much as it is mine. If you want to have friends around, then have them around. You also don’t need to stay in your bedroom all the time. We have a huge living room."

I don’t know what I’m doing, Bennett. Tears fill her eyes. I don’t want to be underfoot so you won’t get tired of me.

I grin. I’ll never get tired of you. Clearing my throat, I add. I got you a ticket for tomorrow's game. Molly is going to pick you up from here so you’re not stuck trying to get into the stadium with fans harassing you again.

Thank you. She clears her throat. From now on, I’m going to cook for us. You refuse to let me pay you back once I’ve finished college, so I can at least cook. She grins, and I’m startled by how quickly she jumps to her feet that I end up on my ass.

You are so funny. She giggles, holding a hand out, which I take and let her haul me from the floor.

You already clean even when something doesn’t need cleaning. You don’t need to cook for me too. I moved you in here to get you away from all of that shit.

That was different. She smirks. "The entertainment is certainly different." She cocks a brow, and her smirk turns into a grin before she turns her back. Of course, I see the blush creeping along her cheeks. I don’t miss anything where this girl is concerned.

That’s why I came in here to talk to you. I brush my fingers through my hair. You need to wear more clothing around the house because seeing you in ‘Viking Babe’ panties does things to me. Fuck! No more walking around in underwear, I snap and make a quick exit.

She’s going to be the death of me.

I stop abruptly and curse myself before storming back into Scarlett’s bedroom. Get some shoes on; I’m buying breakfast.

I leave her gaping at me as I head into the kitchen and retrieve my keys. We’re not going downstairs to the café; we’re going to a small mom-and-pop diner on the outskirts of Boston.

3

Scarlett

It’s mortifying that Bennett knows I saw him fooling around in his living room. It had taken Molly and Riley’s encouragement to parade around in my underwear, but he still won’t take me up on what I’m offering. I’m not a clueless idiot. I know what I want, and that is Bennett. But I’m also incredibly naïve about getting a guy to like me. Molly had said sexy underwear would work. Show skin, she’d said. I’ve shown more skin to Bennett than I have my doctor, and still, he turns away from me.

I quickly change out of my comfy, fluffy pajamas into leggings and a University of Boston sweatshirt before I follow Bennett out of the apartment.

The small diner is cozy and serves comfort food that I haven’t eaten in forever. There aren’t many places to hold my attention, so I find my eyes back on Bennett, who has been watching me. I tilt my head and ask, Why were you so relieved to find me that day? You wouldn’t leave me alone. You slept curled around me once we got home. You made me feel safe. Then morning arrived and you couldn’t look at me. You’d leave the room when I walked into it. That’s why I’ve felt like you were getting ready to ask me to leave.

Bennett holds my stare. Even when the young server places food