BREAKAWAY (The Dartmouth Cobras)

BREAKAWAY

The Dartmouth Cobras

By

Bianca Sommerland

Smashwords
Edition

Copyright 2012, Bianca Sommerland

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Edited by Rosie
Moewe

Cover art by Reese Dante

License Notes

This
ebook
is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This
ebook
may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the vendor and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

Warning

This
ebook
contains material not suitable for readers under 18. It also contains scenes that some may find objectionable, including hockey violence, BDSM, ménage sex, bondage, anal sex, sex toys, multiple partners, woman love, and man love including, but not limited to an erotic shower scene. Readers are advised not to attempt reenacting the scene while reading the
ebook
.

Dedication

To all the players who held the fort during the 2012 lockout, spending their time playing charity games. I can't blame anyone for leaving, but I respect those who stayed.

Acknowledgements

I thank you in every book, but this time, I need to add a little more.
Cherise
Sinclair, I was nothing but a
fangirl
at one point, an aspiring author who looked up to you and respected you so much, who saw you as the perfect example for the kind of writer I wanted to be. And not just by writing characters people would love, but by loving the craft and continuing to grow and thrive no matter where the written road took me. That hasn't changed, but now, I don't just admire you, I consider you a friend and a mentor. You've helped me navigate through road bumps in my career and my personal life. You always push me to find the right words, but there are none that fit for this except I love you and I appreciate you so very much. Keep kicking my ass,
darlin
'! We both know I need it!

To Rosie
Moewe
, damn it, I don't know how you put up with me! You've been with me through every step of this book, you've been a friend, a support system, and so patient while I've gone through my ups and downs. You are so precious to me and I've never known a more giving person in my life. I couldn't have made it through this book without you.

Missy
Vogler
, thank you for making me laugh, for listening to my drunken ramblings, for being so honest and giving me a shoulder when I needed one. I'm looking forward to
chillin
' in our matching Dartmouth Cobra PJs! In you I've made a lifelong friend and I can't wait to see what the future brings.

To my beta readers, Jennifer
Zeffer
, Stacey Price, Maria Alvarez, and Genevieve Trahan, I loved hanging out, and throwing around ideas with you about the book! You have all been so essential in making this series successful, and whether you've been with me from the beginning, or came in later, know that I appreciate you so very much.

Toymaker, thank you for helping me get inside the head of a good, strong Dom, for giving me advice and some wicked ideas to play with. If I ever get a Dom of my own, I want him to be just like you. Loving, understanding, and damn inventive!
Lol
!
Eirocawakening
, what can I say other than I love you! In such a short time you've gone from being a great friend, to more of a sister. There's nothing I can't tell you, and I'm looking forward to the days when we can be our weird selves together in a . . . unique setting ;)

My readers, as always, you have given me all the support and strength I needed to bring you more of the characters who are as real to you as they are to me. All the emails and comments I've gotten from you have done more to keep me going than you will ever know.

And a special shout out to the Dartmouth Cobras Street Team! You'll all be getting another visit from the guys soon! You've earned it!

To my family, thanks for waiting for supper, and laundry, and pretty much everything else. Sometimes, all we had was minutes before I had to get back to work, but you made every second count. And in return, I'm bringing you all to Disneyland!

Just one thing…there's a few more books to write. Rain check, okay? ;)

Chapter One

Mid April

Luke Carter trudged up the steps and dug his keys out of his pocket. Goosebumps rose under his dress shirt and his numb fingers shook as he tried to fit the key in the lock. He had to stop letting his roommates hog his indoor parking spot. And he needed a new spring coat. His shoulders had broadened over the last year and nothing seemed to fit right. A nice thick sweatshirt would’ve kept him warm, but he’d wanted to look good for his girl. He tightened his grip on the bouquet of clunky flowers, pink and white—Stargazer something or another. They smelled real nice anyway.

Nice enough for her to forgive you?

He made a face at the stupid flowers and thought back to a chat with his good buddy Landon, the Dartmouth Cobras starting goalie. The man had used books to fix things with the chick he'd been into. And that chick was now his fiancé.

Teresa
ain't
into books.
But maybe jewellery—or something pretty. He'd forgotten
their
. . . third month anniversary? Which was apparently a big deal. Not that he could've known. He'd never dated a girl this long.

Either way, he knew he'd screwed up. All he had was some flowers. That would have to do for now.

After unlocking the door to the apartment he shared with teammates,
Tyler Vanek, and their newest roommate, Scott Demyan—a linemate who'd gotten kicked out of his last two apartments—
Luke nudged the door open and stepped inside. Then he blinked and stepped back out.

He had to be fucking seeing things.

Moving slowly over the threshold, he shook his head as his stomach turned and clenched his fist hard enough to break the flower stems in half. Teresa gasped and pushed away from where she straddled Demyan on the coach. She crossed an arm over her bare breasts, using her fingers to comb through the tangled mess of her chestnut colored bob as blotchy red covered her cheeks.

Demyan groaned and leaned forward. "Look, man, it's not what you—"

"Shut the fuck up." Luke tossed the flowers aside. "Shut the fuck up and be a fucking man, you son-of-a-bitch. You're screwing around with my girlfriend? In my house? You've got brass."

"Yep." Demyan sighed and stood, rubbing his palms on his black jeans. "That's me. Stupid enough to mess around with your woman right here where you'd catch us. Have at me if you want, might make you feel better. Then maybe you two should have a little chat."

"A chat? Seriously?" Luke slammed the door behind him. "What's there to talk about? You two enjoy each other. But do it somewhere else. Both of you get the fuck out."

"Carter, please." Teresa reached one hand out to him, her soft hair sweeping over her big, teary blue eyes. "This is my fault. I just thought—"

"Thought what? If you wanted a threesome, I might have considered it." He let out a bitter laugh, the ice in his tone seeping through his veins. "But not like this. Damn it, you haven't spoken to me in three days. I asked you to meet me here so we could work things out and—seriously, what the fuck!"

"If I wanted a
threesome
? What kind of freak do you think I am?" Teresa scowled and grabbed her shirt from the edge of the big denim sofa. "I thought this would be easier, okay? Maybe it was stupid, but I didn't know what else to do!"

Luke threw his hands up in the air. "About what? Me forgetting our anniversary? I said I was sorry! I was ready to prove it!"

"Exactly!" Teresa pulled on her shirt, then moved towards him, speaking low. "I've been acting like a total bitch to you. I figured you'd get fed up and dump me. But you didn't."

"Why would you want me to dump you?"

"Because I didn't have the heart to dump you! Not with everything going on with your mom! But I can't do this anymore! I can't be with a man like you!"

Everything inside Luke went still. His heartbeat stuttered in his chest. He heard Demyan swallow and saw him look away from the corner of his eye.

He took a deep breath. "A man like me?"

"Carter—"

"Luke." He ground his teeth. "Why don't you ever call me Luke?"

Her lips moved. Then her jaw set and she shrugged. "Because you're a hockey player. And being with a hockey player was exciting at first, but you're not the type of man a woman wants to spend her life with. I'm going to school in Ottawa this fall and I want to keep my options open. I realized this wouldn't work when I went down for a tour last month. There are so many clean cut guys with normal jobs, guys whose jobs don't make them look like—"