Pucking Around With The Captain

They were supposed to be on the same team. Santos Khyle arrived in Seattle as the Soul Reapers' most anticipated rookie in years, a natural-born scorer with something to prove and a chip on his shoulder the size of a regulation puck. Gunner Jäger had been tearing up the ice as the team's feared enforcer for two seasons, and he had zero interest in sharing his spotlight with some orange-haired twenty-one year old who looked at him like he was a problem to be managed. From the moment they met, it was war. On the ice, they were a disaster. Off it, they were worse. Screaming matches in corridors. Fists through locker room walls. A live on-air brawl that made every highlight reel in North America and earned them both a suspension, a lecture from their furious coach, and the undivided attention of the entire hockey world. Nobody could stand to watch them together. Nobody could look away either. Because underneath the fury and the bruises and the months of spectacular mutual destruction, something else was building. Something neither of them had language for yet. Something that felt uncomfortably like the only fight either of them was actually afraid to lose. The Soul Reapers are one playoff run away from everything. Gunner and Khyle are one honest conversation away from falling apart completely. Or maybe, just maybe, from finally figuring out what they are to each other. Pucking Up the Ice is a slow burn MM romance set in the brutal and beautiful world of professional hockey. It contains explicit language, on-ice violence, emotional gut punches, two men who are absolutely terrible at feelings, and a love story that had to break everything before it could build something worth keeping.

AVA When my mom told me she was engaged, I was genuinely happy for her. After ten years of heartbreak and loneliness, she deserved a second chance at love. What I didn’t expect was for Caden Duke to be standing at our front door. Hockey Captain of Norwell University. Rich. Arrogant. Cold-hearted. My crush! The same guy who stars in every filthy fantasy and late-night delusion I’ve ever had is about to become my stepbrother. And somehow, it gets worse. His father decides I should move into Caden’s off-campus house near the university. Now I’m stuck living with the one person I can never have. CADEN Three rules. Stay away from me. Don't touch my food. And most importantly—Get rid of that pathetic crush you have on me, your stares are becoming creepy. That was before the drunken kiss. Before I tasted her. Before Ava Delene became the only thing I could think about. Now she’s everywhere—walking through my house, sleeping a room away from mine, looking at me with those innocent eyes like she has no idea what she’s doing to me. She was supposed to be off-limits. Instead, she’s becoming my newest obsession.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Imani whispered, her voice trembling more from want than from fear of her brother barging in and catching her leaning in to kiss his ex-best-friend now turned enemy. “Then stop me,” he murmured back, his fingers brushing her jaw, his breath hot against her skin. But neither of them moved. The distance between them had already disappeared, along with every rule she’d promised not to break. *** When Imani Grayson, a quiet psychology major, is assigned to mentor the university’s star hockey captain, Nicolas Jameson, she expects arrogance not the kind of chemistry that keeps her up at night. What begins as a simple assignment spirals into late-night tutoring sessions, stolen glances, and kisses that blur every boundary she’s ever set. But with jealous teammates watching, old wounds resurfacing, and a love too intense to hide, the game they started might be the one that shatters them both. Imani will soon learn that some games can’t be won without losing everything, and Nicolas, that even in the game of hearts, the strongest player can fall to his knees.

Zach thought he'd left the drama of high school behind when he started college, eager to focus on his studies, make new friends and enjoy a peaceful campus life. He didn't expect to see the last person he wanted there; Ryder. Ryder Summers, the star jock and notorious player in highschool was infamous for his charm and skills. Girls swooned over him, Guys wanted to be him. He was adored by all. But not Zach. To him, attractiveness aside, he was nothing but a bully that tormented him through high school and his worst enemy. As it seemed, things weren't so different now, whether it was people's reaction to Ryder, his hatred for Ryder or Ryder’s equal dislike for him. He was a different person from the nerd Zach knew before however and he'd show it. When they are paired in a high-stakes project in their class he is sure it's doomed from the start. Forced to work together, Zach is forced to confront Ryder on a daily basis. Yet, amidst the tension, Zach can't help but notice Ryder’s gaze lingering on his lips. Wasn't he supposed to be straight? Shouldn't he hate him? Why then does Ryder seem drawn to him now? And worse, why doesn't he hate it?

Janessa got into Berkeley on her own merit, but she didn’t plan on being homeless at 2 AM or living with the one man her boyfriend hates most. Brayden is rude, dangerous, and sees right through her good-girl act. He was supposed to be her punishment, but now he’s the only one teaching her how to want something for herself.

He’s my brother’s best friend. My father’s star player. And the one man I should never want. When my brother’s hockey team takes me in for a mandatory winter internship during the holiday season, I promised myself I’d stay invisible. Keep my head down, finish my internship, and steer clear of trouble. But trouble has a name—and it’s Liam Kane. He’s all sharp edges, wicked smirks, and muscles that make rational thoughts melt like snowflakes when the sun is out. A professional hockey player with a reputation for breaking hearts and rules alike. When one stolen kiss turns into nights tangled in his sheets, I know I’ve crossed the line. Because if my brother finds out—or worse, my dad, the team’s coach-Liam’s career and my future would both go up in flames. The rules were simple. No dating the players. No falling for him. Too bad I’m already pucked.