I’M THE TEAM ENFORCER. I BREAK THINGS FOR A LIVING. SO WHY AM I TERRIFIED OF BREAKING HER?
SAM
My dad taught me one thing: I’m a monster. On the ice, I’m "The Slammer." I protect the stars, I clear the lanes, and I serve the penalties. I don’t do "soft." I don’t do "relationships." And I definitely don't do my roommate’s little sister.
Linda Abbott is chaos wrapped in a cardigan. She knits scarves that look like intestines, she smells like vanilla and trouble, and she’s the one thing I’m strictly forbidden to touch.
I was doing a good job of ignoring her. Until a freak Vermont blizzard trapped us in a cabin with one bed, a bottle of whiskey, and a power outage that left us clinging to each other for warmth.
I took something from her that night. I claimed her.
We agreed it was a mistake. We agreed to forget it happened.
But two pink lines on a plastic stick are about to make that impossible.
LINDA
I’ve always been the invisible sister. The background character. Then Sam Kowalski looked at me with those dark, tortured eyes, and for the first time, I felt seen.
He thinks he’s broken. He thinks he’s poison. He tried to push me away to save his career.
But I know the truth. I know the man who rubs my feet and protects me from the world isn't a monster. He’s a wolf. And he’s my wolf.
Now, we’re hiding a secret that could ruin his draft chances and tear my family apart.
He’s fighting to get into the NHL.
I’m fighting for us.
And when the buzzer sounds, only one of us can win.
I WAS PAID TO PROTECT HER. I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO KEEP HER.
Patrick "The Reaper" O'Connell.
I have two jobs. On the ice, I’m the Enforcer for the Blackwood Kodiaks, clearing the way for guys with more talent and less baggage. Off the ice, I’m a ghost, grinding to pay off the debts my father left behind. I don’t have time for distractions. I certainly don’t have time for Rachel Sterling.
She’s the team owner’s daughter. A platinum-blonde, trust-fund brat who treats the world like her personal playground. She’s everything I hate.
But when her father cuts a check that clears my family’s debt in exchange for me "babysitting" her for a semester, I can’t say no.
The rules are simple: Keep her safe. Keep her out of the tabloids. And under no circumstances touch the merchandise.
Rachel Sterling.
Everyone sees the clothes, the car, and the attitude. Nobody sees the panic attacks or the pressure to be perfect. I act out because it’s the only time I feel real.
Now I’m stuck in my penthouse with a babysitter. Patrick O’Connell is six-foot-five of brooding, tattooed muscle who looks at me like I’m a problem he wants to solve with violence.
He thinks he can tame me. He thinks he can control me.
But when a blizzard traps us together, the lines between "guard" and "captive" blur. I discover that the Enforcer has a possessive streak a mile wide, and he doesn't just want me to behave.
He wants me on my knees.
The Fallout.
He was paid to care. I was desperate to feel.
We’re a disaster waiting to happen—a collision that will cost him his career and me my heart.
Because when the snow melts and the secrets come out, the penalty for breaking the rules isn't two minutes in the box.
It’s everything.
SAM
My dad taught me one thing: I’m a monster. On the ice, I’m "The Slammer." I protect the stars, I clear the lanes, and I serve the penalties. I don’t do "soft." I don’t do "relationships." And I definitely don't do my roommate’s little sister.
Linda Abbott is chaos wrapped in a cardigan. She knits scarves that look like intestines, she smells like vanilla and trouble, and she’s the one thing I’m strictly forbidden to touch.
I was doing a good job of ignoring her. Until a freak Vermont blizzard trapped us in a cabin with one bed, a bottle of whiskey, and a power outage that left us clinging to each other for warmth.
I took something from her that night. I claimed her.
We agreed it was a mistake. We agreed to forget it happened.
But two pink lines on a plastic stick are about to make that impossible.
LINDA
I’ve always been the invisible sister. The background character. Then Sam Kowalski looked at me with those dark, tortured eyes, and for the first time, I felt seen.
He thinks he’s broken. He thinks he’s poison. He tried to push me away to save his career.
But I know the truth. I know the man who rubs my feet and protects me from the world isn't a monster. He’s a wolf. And he’s my wolf.
Now, we’re hiding a secret that could ruin his draft chances and tear my family apart.
He’s fighting to get into the NHL.
I’m fighting for us.
And when the buzzer sounds, only one of us can win.
I WAS PAID TO PROTECT HER. I WASN'T SUPPOSED TO KEEP HER.
Patrick "The Reaper" O'Connell.
I have two jobs. On the ice, I’m the Enforcer for the Blackwood Kodiaks, clearing the way for guys with more talent and less baggage. Off the ice, I’m a ghost, grinding to pay off the debts my father left behind. I don’t have time for distractions. I certainly don’t have time for Rachel Sterling.
She’s the team owner’s daughter. A platinum-blonde, trust-fund brat who treats the world like her personal playground. She’s everything I hate.
But when her father cuts a check that clears my family’s debt in exchange for me "babysitting" her for a semester, I can’t say no.
The rules are simple: Keep her safe. Keep her out of the tabloids. And under no circumstances touch the merchandise.
Rachel Sterling.
Everyone sees the clothes, the car, and the attitude. Nobody sees the panic attacks or the pressure to be perfect. I act out because it’s the only time I feel real.
Now I’m stuck in my penthouse with a babysitter. Patrick O’Connell is six-foot-five of brooding, tattooed muscle who looks at me like I’m a problem he wants to solve with violence.
He thinks he can tame me. He thinks he can control me.
But when a blizzard traps us together, the lines between "guard" and "captive" blur. I discover that the Enforcer has a possessive streak a mile wide, and he doesn't just want me to behave.
He wants me on my knees.
The Fallout.
He was paid to care. I was desperate to feel.
We’re a disaster waiting to happen—a collision that will cost him his career and me my heart.
Because when the snow melts and the secrets come out, the penalty for breaking the rules isn't two minutes in the box.
It’s everything.