Defensive Zone (The Dartmouth Cobras #2) (61 page)

"What were you thinking?" He strode towards
her and snatched the bags from her hands. "I asked you to be
careful!"

Silver sighed and looked back at her sister.
"I told you. He's lost his mind."

"This is why I'm waiting." Oriana moved
around them and went to drop the rest of the bags on the sofa in
the living room. "I am
not
looking forward to dealing with
either Sloan or Dominik when I decide to have a baby." She sidled
past Landon and rubbed her sister's stomach. "But I'm looking
forward to spoiling this one."

"You staying for super, Oriana?" Dean asked,
joining them. "I can put on another steak."

Oriana shook her head. "Thank you, but no.
Sloan told me he has . . . plans for tonight."

Dean grinned. "I'm sure he does. Enjoy your
evening."

"You too!" Oriana kissed Silver's cheek, then
gave Landon a hard look. "Pregnant, not disabled. Can you remember
that?"

"Oriana . . . ." Landon took a deep breath.
She was right, of course, but it irked him that any sub would speak
to him that way. Even though he should be used to it. Silver was
worse.

Slapping his shoulder, Dean moved between him
and Oriana. "I do believe Dominik planned to speak with you about
meddling. Maybe he and I should have another chat."

Oriana paled. "No, Sir. I remember the last
one."

"Very good." Dean inclined his head. "Good
night, Oriana."

"Good night." Oriana shot her sister an
apologetic look, then darted out.

Silver shook her head at Dean. "You're
horrible. Do you have any idea what Dominik did to her last
time?"

Dean removed his apron and gave her a slow
smile. "No. Why don't you tell me? The man is quite creative and
I'm always looking for new ideas."

"Umm, no. That's okay." Silver bit her lip
and reached out to grab Landon's hand. "Come on, I got something
for you."

Halfway to the living room, Silver stopped
and gasped. Her hand went to her stomach.

Landon's throat locked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Shit!" Silver laughed and put his
hand on her stomach. "Can you feel that?"

He couldn't feel anything, but he almost
sagged with relief. "Is she moving?"

"He's kicking!"

"He?"

"I don't know! You can't feel it?" She
giggled. "It feels weird. Uck, just trust me on this. The baby is
fine. I'm fine. But you drive me nuts every time you come home.
Like I said, I've got something for you."

Dean sat on the arm of the sofa as Silver dug
into a bag, but Landon stayed where he was. What more could she
give him? What more would she want to give him considering he was
'driving her nuts'? He tried not to crowd her too much, but it
happened, far too often.

She took out a box and bent down to one
knee.

His eyes widened. He glanced over at Dean,
who shrugged.

"Give me your hand." Silver's whole body
trembled as she opened the box. She waved away his right hand and
reached for his left. Then slipped a solid gold ring on his finger.
"I couldn't think of a better way to tell you. But I'm ready."

"Ready?" It wasn't supposed to go like this.
He should be the one kneeling. But . . . he shook his head and
knelt in front of her. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." She held up her hand and drew
Dean down beside them. "This . . . this is real."

After staring at the ring, at Dean, then at
Silver, Landon nodded and pulled her in for a kiss. "Oui, mon
amour. It doesn't get any more real than this."

Celebrity Dish

by Hayley Turner

Dartmouth
Cobr
as are making headlines
again! Are they serious cup contenders? Who knows or cares! So, ok,
they have four players among the top scorers in the league, and
their goalie clenched the #3 spot, but that doesn't really matter
to most of us. What we care about is the dirt!!

Scott
Demyan's antics on and off the ice have made him a household name.
There's even a fan website where puck bunnies can submit pictures
they've taken in his hotel room to see who can g
et the biggest bragging rights. My question is,
what bragging rights? Obviously, he's not too picky, but he is
hot.

When you're
on a team full of headline makers, perhaps the biggest surprise is
the lack of news from Sebastian Ramos
. Over the past few years, several starlets have been seen
on his arm but the most anyone is willing to dish is that he's a
perfect gentleman! Now rumor has it that the Dartmouth Cobras are
known for being open minded about 'alternative lifestyles', but
what secret is Sebastian really hiding up there in the frozen
north? I suspect there will be some significant melting when I
finally find out and you can believe I will!

But we cannot
forget about my favo
rite
ex-starlet Silver Delgado! Is she really off the market? Rumor has
it that the aforementioned star goalie, Landon Bower, is her baby
daddy. The couple will be tying the knot this summer so all signs
point to that being the winning bet. However, she's been seen
acting awfully friendly with General Manager, Dean Richter. They
did have a relationship before Silver hooked up with Landon.
Perhaps she's just following in big sisters footsteps. The more the
merrier!

Cross-legged on the living room
sofa, Silver read over the article Asher had scanned, emailed, and
texted her about. A slight fluttering in her belly drew her
attention. She rubbed the small bump over the top of her pale pink
pyjama pants and chewed on the inside of her cheek trying to decide
if the article bothered her as much as Asher had warned it
would.

It really didn't.
She
knew
who her baby's biological father was. And who his daddies would
be.

The stuff about Scott wasn't
news, but the stuff about Sebastian . . . He was a good guy. Now
that she wasn't scared of him anymore, she could actually kinda
call him a friend. She didn't like Hayley digging into his personal
life.

Unfortunately, she hadn't
said anything that counted as slander. So Silver couldn't sic Asher
on her.
Yet
.

Silver
closed the laptop and set it aside. Time to sneak back in
bed before Dean or Landon noticed her missing. She didn't need to
be reminded again that her butt wasn't pregnant. Landon still
fussed about her lifting anything heavier than her purse, but he
had no problem picking up the tawse when she got mouthy. And Dean
had been brainstorming on new punishments that would be safe for
the baby.

Half an hour kneeling on
uncooked rice had her thinking twice before insulting him
ever
.

Tiptoeing into the bedroom, she
took in the both of them, sprawled over the bed. Landon, facedown,
his arm draped over Dean's chest. Dean flat on his back, hands
under his head, looking more like he was lounging in the sun than
sleeping.

The light from the hallway made
his open eyes shimmer. He smiled at her, gently moved Landon's arm,
then shifted over to give her some space between them. "I hope you
weren't up working, my little dragonfly."

Careful not to disturb
Landon—though with the way he slept she could jump on the bed
without waking him—Silver crawled up to Dean and snuggled against
his side. "I wasn't working—just reading something."

"Hmm." Dean studied her face in
the dark, then nodded and adjusted her so he could cover her belly
with his hand. "Anything interesting?"

"Not really." Reaching down, she
fingered the gold ring on his left hand, given to him only days
after Landon got his.

"I know I can't legally marry
you two, and I know I already wear your collar at the club, but . .
. ." She'd almost dropped the ring twice before getting it on his
finger. "The whole ''til death do us part' . . . it goes for both
of you, okay?"

Dean had lifted her up off her
knees and held her tight. "Yes, my love." He'd clasped her face
between his hands and whispered against her lips. "And he won't be
the only one saying 'I do'."

Another fluttering within—more
like a birds wings than the tiny one's she'd felt the first few
times—made her giggle. Dean chuckled and sat up.

"He's a lively one, just
like his mother." Dean considered Landon for a moment. His hand
remained on her stomach as he reached behind him to grab a glass of
water off the night table. "He'll probably keep the three of us up
all night for the first few months."

Winking at her, he tossed the
water right over Landon's head.

"Fuck!" Landon shot up and
Silver winced as he hit the floor with a thud. He rebounded to his
feet quick as he did between the pipes and shot her a panicked
look. "What is it? Is it the baby? Is something wrong?"

"It's the baby," Dean said,
dryly, shaking his head. "But there's nothing wrong. He's wide
awake and I thought you should be too."

Landon shook the water from his
hair and climbed onto the bed so carefully it looked like he was
avoiding land mines. His hand hovered over her stomach. His throat
worked as he swallowed.

Silver bit her lip and looked at
Dean. They both knew it bothered Landon that he hadn't been able to
feel the baby yet. What if he didn't this time either?

Sighing, Dean put his hand
over Landon's and lightly pushed it down. "Trust me. You can't miss
this. I think he's getting ready to take your place on the blue
ice."

A nice hard kick. Silver watched
Landon and . . . there. His eyes widened with wonder and he lowered
to kiss right over the spot where their baby was still doing his
'stretches' as Dean called it. He whispered something she couldn't
make out. She could feel him trembling a little—he was still
scared. But in just a few more months, he wouldn't have to be
anymore. He would look into his son's eyes—she hoped they would be
grey just like his—and he'd be able to let himself picture the life
they'd have together.

Dean kissed her cheek and held
her hand. And damn, he made everything perfect. He dealt with
Landon's fear—and hers—with the same steady calm he dealt with
everything else. He was with her when Landon couldn't be, and that
slowly eased away the shadows of guilt she saw on Landon's face
every time he had to miss a checkup.

Without Dean, she'd be hesitant
to hope for the future, to imagine the wonderful life they'd give
their child.

But with him it was all she
could see.

www.TheDartmouthCobras.com

Praise for GAME MISCONDUCT (The Dartmouth
Cobras #1)

As fast-paced
and engrossing as any hockey game, Game Misconduct sizzles hot
enough to melt ice. Bianca Sommerland definitely scores with this
captivating, erotic read.
~Cherise Sinclair Author of Club Shadowlands and Queen of
BDSM Romance

Night owl
Reviews TOP PICK!-
Game Misconduct was an amazing read. I
absolutely loved it. I fell in love with the characters from the
very beginning.~Tigger9

Tell you about me? Hmm, well there's not much
to say. I love hockey and cars and my kids…not in that order of
course! Lol! When I'm not writing—which isn't often—I'm usually
watching a game or a car show while networking. Going out with my
kids is my only down time. I get to clear my head and forget
everything.

As for when and why I first started writing,
I guess I thought I'd get extra cookies if I was quiet for
awhile—that's how young I was. I used to bring my grandmother
barely legible pages filled with tales of evil unicorns. She told
me then that I would be a famous author.

I hope one day to prove her right.

For more of my work, please visit:
www.ImNoAngel.com