On thin ice the redwood.., p.1
On Thin Ice (The Redwood University Series Book 1), page 1
On
Thin
Ice
BY
DAISY EGAN
This book is part of a series called The Redwood University Series. This book is the first in the series.
First published in Great Britain by Daisy Egan, 2024
Copyright © Daisy Egan, 2024
The right of Daisy Egan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales are entirely coincidental.
Printed and bounded in the UK.
To all the girls whose love of ice hockey came from hockey romance books… Me too.
PLAYLIST
Don’t Rush (Explicit) | Young T & Bugsey 3:28 Play Play | J Hus (feat. Burna Boy) 3:25 Charmer | N-Dubz 3:08 RUNAWAY | Nino Uptown 2:40 Love Me Like You | Little Mix 3:18 I GUESS I’M IN LOVE | Clinton Kane 3:24 My Way | Timbaland & Anna Margo 2:56 Sprinter | Dave & Central Cee 3:49 Ice Ice Baby | Vanilla Ice 4:32 Stuck with U | Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber 3:49 No Favours | Mowgs & Nino Uptown 3:05 Twilight | Cover Drive 3:28 No Worries | Nino Uptown 2:48 Lose Me | Nino Uptown 2:48 Low | Flo Rida (feat. T-Pain) 3:51 So High | Mist (feat. Fredo) 2:43 Fine Girl | ZIEZIE 2:46
Content Warning: This book is intended for adult readers only. It contains mature themes and sexually explicit content that is not suitable for readers younger than 18 years old.
Chapter 1
Sean
“Taylor, what the fuck are you doing?” Coach screams from the edge of the rink.
To be totally honest, I don’t know what I’m doing, all I know is that my head is most definitely not in the game today. My teammates fly across the ice past me, the puck bouncing between them. The stadium is pumping with tension, the team we’re playing today are wiping the floor with us and as much as I hate to admit this, it’s mainly because of me. Since the second my skates hit the ice today I’ve not been able to keep my eyes on the game because they’ve been fixated on something else. The curly haired, sexy brunette that sits with her legs crossed in the penalty box, picking her nails and scrolling on her phone looking entirely uninterested in the excruciatingly tense game that’s going on in front of her.
I’m a ladies man I’ll admit and I mostly let my dick lead all of my decisions, but after last night I thought my horny ass would be satisfied at least for 24 hours. I tend to stick to a one night, one girl rule, it prevents any complicated feelings or expectations. Almost all of the girls I sleep with want more from me, they want to be the one to change my fuck boy ways but I’ve always known that I'll change when the time is right, and that time most definitely hasn’t come yet, I’ll know when it does. I respect the fuck out of women though make no mistake, I love women, but I’ve only really ever had any interest in their bodies. The second they start talking about themselves is the same second I need them to make a swift exit through my bedroom door.
I’ve only been at Redwood for three months but I’ve managed to fuck my way through almost every girl on campus…ok that may be an exaggeration but I get a lot of sex. Last night was the craziest of my life, I had three girls all over me after the game. Three blondes with legs that went directly to heaven were touching me and flirting with me at the bar we all went to post game to celebrate our win. To be honest I got kind of pissed off that they wouldn’t leave me alone to celebrate with my boys so I took all three of them back to our shared house just off campus and fucked them all, one after the other. I won’t pretend I wasn’t fucking exhausted afterwards, the three of them probably had the time of their life but all I could think off when they left was sleep.
The girl in the penalty box tonight though is something else entirely, she’s a fucking rocket. I keep skating past the box purely to get a closer look at her. She’s small, a lot smaller than me which isn’t hard because I’m pushing 6-foot-4. Her long, chocolate brown curls hang over her shoulder and her green eyes are soft and uninterested, but I can see a lingering fire beneath the surface.
I hope she’s a feisty one, they’re my favourite.
“Focus man, you’re throwing us off.” Kyle nudges me into the plexiglass when the ref blows the whistle to signal the end of the second period. My eyes are still hooked on her though, I watch as she stands and turns to leave. Fuck, her ass is incredible, I can’t wait to get my hands on that later.
“I am focused.” I say, brushing my face with my gloved hand as I watch the sexy thing saunter through the crowd towards the corridor that leads to the locker rooms.
Kyle snorts a disbelieving laugh. “I mean focus on the game, not on Callie’s ass.”
“Callie? That’s her name?”
“Yeah man, that’s her name, now erase it from your memory and keep your head on what’s happening here. We need to win this game and we’re having to work extra hard because you’re too busy drooling over a girl that you’ll never have.”
That’s got my attention.
I lift my eyes from the delicious curve of Callie’s swaying ass to look at Kyle. “Never have? You’re crazy man, I’ll have her if I want her.” Kyle shakes his head with a smirk. “You’re dreaming. You know who she is right?”
“No, but I’m about to find out.” I say under my breath. I bat him away with my now glove free hand and skate off the ice towards the locker rooms. I’m sweating like a whore in a church and I need to piss, but more importantly, I need to find that girl.
My plan wasn’t exactly planning the way I wanted it to and I ended up back on the ice before I was able to locate the mysterious, sexy, rocket of a woman that I now know as Callie. I force myself to take my eyes off her and concentrate on the game, we really need this win to get us out of the relegation zone and back to our usual status.
Coach is screaming at all of us from the side of the rink, he gave us a heavy pep talk — it was actually more like a verbal ass whooping — during the break. We deserved it, we’re playing shit tonight. My team is usually like a well oiled machine, working perfectly in sync with each other and battering our opponents, but tonight I’m letting the side down. I know this and yet I can’t stop. I literally can’t tear my eyes away from Callie, her tight stomach through the thin material of her bodysuit, the swell of her perfect tits, the way her thick curls bounce as she moves. She seems totally disinterested in the game itself and I find my curiosity growing by the second. It’s the third period now so I only have twenty minutes to make a quick decision, is this game my priority right now? It should be, I am the captain after all, but I think my dick has taken over at this point. The longer I look at Callie the more I start to panic that she’ll leave after the game before I get a chance to talk to her. I need to take her home with me tonight, I need to see what’s under those clothes. I make a snap decision, zipping across the ice and shoving my skate under one of the defensemen’s legs, sending him tumbling onto his stomach. I wait for the sound that will determine my fate and I hope I’ve done enough to be sent to the sin bin, which is exactly where I want to be right now. The high pitched sound of the whistle has my stomach jumping with triumph, but I keep my face neutral as the ref directs me to the penalty box. Fuck yes!
Kyle is shaking his head at me from his spot in goal, reading my mind as usual and knowing that my plan worked. He’s trying to hold back his smile but he’s failing miserably. I’ve left my guys a man down for the next five minutes and I know that’s shitty of me, but we’re one nil up at this point so the chances of us taking this win are pretty good. I can spare five minutes of my precious time to speak to this sexy bombshell, who by the way, doesn’t even glance in my direction when I fall down onto the bench next to her.
Oh my god, she’s even better up close. Her creamy skin dips along her collarbone, lifting and falling as she breathes a sigh of boredom. Callie might just be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Her chocolate curls fall down, dancing across her jaw and accentuating the light sprinkling of freckles that decorate her cheek bones. Her eyes are bright when she finally looks up at me, the emerald pools drinking me in and making me ache to slap my lips onto her’s. Then her gaze hardens when she sees who’s sitting next to her and the tiger behind those sexy, green eyes sharpens it’s claws.
This is going to be a fuck load of fun, I can feel it in my bones.
Chapter 2
Callie
If there’s one thing I know about hockey players, it’s that they stink. I don’t mean metaphorically, I mean they literally stink to high heavens. The amount of sweat that pours out of them during a game is enough to fill the Thames. I should know, I’ve been around them since I was little. James Burch, also known as head coach of the men’s ice hockey team at Redwood University also has another nickname he likes to go by, Dad. Yes, my dad is the men’s hockey coach at the university that I attend for gymnastics. The sport is my entire life, has been since I was four years old and almost every decision I make is to further my chances of making a success of myself.
Redwood University sits about half a mile from the road, surrounded by green and cocooned away from the rest of the world, or so it seems when you’re there. It's miles from anywhere, the nearest city being London with it’s hustle and bustle, which is incredibly ironic considering all you can hear after
I love sports, not just gymnastics but it’s where my natural flare was as a child. Dad wanted me to do something, anything that was athletic as he used to be a hockey player himself. As hurtful as it is to say, I think he was disappointed to find out he was having a daughter, it’s natural for him to want to pass down his hockey genes to someone, but it certainly wasn’t me. I can barely stay upright on the ice so I avoid it at all costs. My dad has drilled it into me from the moment I said my first word that being successful is what life is all about. My parents never had any other children, so Christmases and family events are quiet, but it’s the way it’s always been and it’s the way I like it. My mind is a constant buzz of deadlines, competitions and training, so going home is pretty much the only time I’m able to fully switch off from the stress of university life. Don’t get me wrong I love it here, my dad has been planning for my time here since I did my first cartwheel and I have to say I’m glad he saved every penny for the first twenty years of my life to make sure I could get a place. I met my best friend here too, Molly Crawford, we were paired in a dorm together two years ago and the click between us was instant. She’s 100 miles per hour all day, everyday and I’m about 10 miles per hour behind her, so we make for a perfect pair. Anais then joined our dorm room 18 months ago, not long after she started at Redwood, she’s a gymnast on my team too so we have a lot in common. The girls on my team and Molly are pretty much the only people I’m willing to give up my time for here, everyone else pretty much pisses me off, especially my dad’s hockey boys. That’s why I’m wondering how I ended up where I am right now. In the penalty box at a hockey game, my dad screaming profanities from the plexiglass and waving his arms in the air. I used to come and watch the games all the time with Molly, but I’ve been so busy with competitions since we came back from summer break that I’ve not made the time to come and watch any games. Like I said, I’m awful on the ice, but watching hockey and playing hockey are two different things entirely. As I sit, picking at my finger nails and half watching the game, the sensation of warmth rolls over my skin when a huge wave of heat brushes past me and lands on his ass, right next to me in the sin bin. I twist my neck reluctantly, not wanting to engage for even a millisecond with whichever player has been sent off the ice. He’s bound to be mad, frustrated at being sent off for something he’ll be sure he didn’t do. When I look up at the dimple-faced, smiling hunk of muscle I see it’s Sean Taylor.
Why god, why did it have to be Sean Taylor?
He’s the most annoying of them all, captain of the team since he joined the university three months ago he’s already made himself known to every single female that comes within a mile of him. The cocky smile spread across his rugged face right now proves that. I watch as his gaze turns sultry and he drags his caramel eyes down, prowling over my skin and making me shiver.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s hot as balls, but I’m not the type of girl to jump into bed with any guy who shows me an ounce of attention. I prefer to be in a relationship, I like the stability and feeling like someone is committed to me and only me. Not that that worked out for me the last time. My ex-boyfriend Joel is a football player here, we were together for just over a year when he dumped me last week. He said I was constantly in a bad mood, always had an attitude with him and he could never do anything to please me. I can’t help it though, it’s just the way I am and as much as I love being in a relationship I refuse to change myself for any man. Sean is still fluttering his eyes across my body, his gaze lingering on the low neckline of my sleek, black, bodysuit as he digs his teeth into his bottom lip. The whistle snaps his attention back to the game and I sigh with relief to think he won’t bother me anymore with his perverted looks and eye fucking. But of course I’m never that lucky, and when I turn my head back in his direction he captures my eyes with his.
If he wasn’t so heartbreakingly good looking it would be easier to be rude to him, it’s obvious why girls are literally falling at his feet. He’s huge, about a foot taller than me and I’m 5-foot-4 on a good day. His short, dark curls accentuate the hardness of his jaw line and the discreet coating of shadowy stubble that blankets his face is screaming for me to reach out and brush my fingers against it. But unfortunately for Sean Taylor he’s also the most irritating, arrogant asshole on the whole hockey team. He knows he’s hot and I think if you asked him he’d tell you he’s the hottest person he’s ever seen. There’s nothing I hate more than a guy who thinks he’s god’s gift to women.
He’s still looking at me like I’m his favourite snack, not saying a word and it’s making me want to reach over and slap the smug grin off his gorgeous face. He finally clears his throat and I realise that I’m staring at his mouth, the pink of his lips tempting me in accompanied by his deliciously sexy dimples and extremely arrogant grin. Absolutely not, I will never be seen dead going home with a guy like him, like I said I don’t do hook ups anyway and even if I did I’d have better taste than a walking ad for chlamydia like Sean Taylor.
“Hey,” He says, his swampy eyes trapping me for a split second before I remember who I’m sitting next to.
As tempting as it is to be rude to this giant hunk of arrogance, I decide to try and be civil, hoping his time in here with me goes quickly so I can go back to my scrolling and nail picking.
I sigh, full of boredom and indifference. “What you in for?”
“It’s not prison,” He snickers and I turn back to my phone. He has to be annoying the second he opens his mouth doesn’t he?
My obvious disinterest in him clearly has him confused. I don’t think a girl has ever been less interested in him than I am. Like I said, he’s painfully hot, but his ‘I’m the king of the rink’ attitude overrides his hotness the second he opens his mouth.
“It’s hockey prison.” I say, still not looking at him.
He barks a laugh. “I was sentenced to 5 minutes for tripping, which is bullshit because I didn’t even trip him.”
There’s the ‘I didn’t do it’ mantra that I was waiting for.
“Actually,” he says, twisting his whole body towards mine and I purposefully shuffle further away from him down the bench. “I did trip him, I tripped him on purpose so I could get sent in here.”
“You purposefully got a penalty?” I ask, his shit eating grin glowing back at me. “Wow, what a shitty captain you are leaving your boys a man down for 5 whole minutes.”
His smile widens further and my stomach does a backflip. “I wanted to talk to you.” He grins, caramel eyes flitting across my freckled cheek bones.
There he goes again with the arrogance, I’m sick of hockey boys thinking just because they’re tall, painfully handsome and sexy that girls will automatically drop their pants. I’m not denying that most of the hockey team are fine as hell, Sean Taylor being at least ten times hotter than the rest of them, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to dive into bed with him, begging him to give me the pleasure of his dick for one night. “Yeah, ok, look, the smooth talking isn’t going to work on me, so save your breath. Unfortunately for you I’m immune to your boyish charms.” I let out an aggravated sigh, letting my irritation for him get the better of me. His eyes float between mine, washing with a sparkle of excitement mixed with the absolute confusion that any girl couldn’t want him.
“There’s nothing boyish about what I want to do to you.” He smirks, a devilish grin spreading across his cheeks.
A flabbergasted scoff leaves my lips before I can stop it and Sean’s face changes. “You’re really living up to the whole fuck boy, sleaze bag, man whore image that I already have of you.”
I twist my body completely away from his and check the clock on the scoreboard. Still two and a half minutes of torture left in here with this buffoon of a man whilst he desperately tries to claw his way into my pants. I keep my eyes on the game for a few seconds, but Sean never takes his sparkling gaze off the side of my face. He’s so fucking annoying. “What?” I spit, catching him by surprise and watching as his eyebrows shoot up into his hairline.
