The Bad Boy Rule (Hellcats Hockey #1)

by Maren Moore

“God, you are such a motherfucker, Saint Devereaux.” Apparently, this is only a revelation to the naked blonde standing in front of me, who’s still wiping my cum off her face. She knew exactly what this was, or what it wasn’t. It’s not my fault she didn’t listen when I told her. It’s simple. I don’t do sleepovers, I don’t kiss, I don’t cuddle. I’m not the guy who’s going to tell you everything you wanna hear, the one you take home to your parents or tell all your girlfriends about. I’m the guy who fucks you better than you’ve ever been fucked.

can these authors stop having their first openings of their books be the hero after he has had sex with the woman who isn't the heroine. I hate those beginnings. Its gross

I steel my jaw before asking, “What’s your name? So I can be sure to tell Summer that I’d rather choke and die than ever share the ice with you again.” Without turning, he calls over his shoulder, “Saint. Devereaux. She’ll know exactly who I am.” “Oh? Nice to meet you, Satan. I’m Lennon. Rousseau. Hopefully, you’ll forget it before you make it out of the building.” Even though he’s got his back turned, I lift my middle finger to send him off.

I’ve been obsessed with the game since I picked up a stick for the first time when I was seven and learned early on the more I pour into it, the better off I’ll be. I once heard this saying in a class back in high school that you are a product of your environment. Meaning that if you were raised by fuckups, then nine times out of ten, you’re going to become the very same fuckup. It’s statistics. But if nothing else, I’m a stubborn motherfucker, and I refuse to let that happen, if not for myself, then for my mom. Because she deserves at least one good thing in her life, and I want to make her proud. I know that she loves me, but my mother is a victim. She’s fallen prey to my father’s narcissistic, brainwashing bullshit and abuse. That’s what motivates me, pushes me harder, to be the best and accept nothing less. Her.

“Everyone knows who she is. She’s little miss perfect. On the dean’s list, the honor society, president of the Social Club bullshit. Volunteers at charities and shit. Doesn’t party or do anything remotely fun.” He leans closer as he says, “Dude, if you’re thinking about trying to hit that… think again. She’s off-limits even to you, the mighty Saint Devereaux. “ That can’t be true because I’m fairly certain there’s not a single girl on this campus who’s insusceptible to my charm. I arch my brow. “Off-limits?” He nods, his lips twitching. “Yeah, so rumor is she has some kind of pact to stay a virgin until she gets married or something. It’s like this unspoken thing that everyone knows about. Got a whole-ass promise ring and all. Heard it from a couple guys who tried to hook up with her. So if you’re looking for an easy hookup, she’s not it, man.” A virginity pact? This whole thing just got a lot more interesting. Alright, Lennon Rousseau, you have my attention.

I’ve spent the last eight years of my life thinking about how I could ever inflict the same amount of pain on Edward Rousseau as he has on my family. It’s one of the only things I felt like I had left when my life was falling apart… my hatred. I held on to it like a raft on a sinking ship. Her father’s always deserved whatever fucked-up karma was headed his way. I just never thought that it would be in the form of me. Until now. It seemed almost too perfect for this, for her, to just fall into my lap like this. It’s like the universe was presenting the perfect opportunity to me, wrapped with a bow on top. And I’d be a fucking fool not to take it. What better way to get revenge on the man who ruined my life, who fucked up any good I ever had, who fucked up my family’s reputation than to give him a taste of his very own medicine. What would it look like if I took Edward Rousseau’s precious, untouched good girl and dirtied her up? The idea began with the first little granule of information—her name—and has since morphed into something else entirely. I’m going to ruin her the very same way her father ruined my family. Every bit of information I learn from this point forward, I’m planning to weaponize and use against OU’s golden girl to get the revenge I deserve. Granted, I know she’s not just going to stumble over to this side of the tracks for a guy like me, so I know I’m going to have to put in work, probably be slightly less of an asshole, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing...

He’s the catalyst that set my fucked-up life into motion. If it wasn’t for him, my dad never would’ve fallen from that scaffold. He never would’ve gotten addicted to the pain pills the doctor prescribed him, and he wouldn’t have added alcohol into it. Abuse. None of that would have ever happened if Rousseau had taken responsibility for his company’s negligence. Instead, he falsified those accident reports, claiming my dad was already an addict and high on the job, and that’s why he fell. All because he didn’t want his fucking company to be seen in a bad light or to shell out money to compensate his employee for a faulty fucking tie-off that the safety foreman should have checked. My father wrongfully lost his job, and suddenly, everything happened at once. We had a mountain of medical bills that no one could afford. He couldn’t work because he was hurt, and he was denied unemployment since he technically “quit” his job. On top of it all, he was addicted to the pain pills the doctor prescribed to help him. None of it should have happened. Except it did. And the millionaire got the easy way out while we’ve been living a fucking nightmare. Now, it’s his turn.

“What the hell, Saint?” she hisses, glancing around to make sure no one heard her. “What was that?” My brow lifts. “What was… what?” Her eyes narrow. “The touching. That… kiss.” I almost laugh out loud. She has no fucking clue what she’s signed herself up for. Oh, you poor, sheltered, innocent girl. It’s almost a crime to be the one she chose for this. I step closer until I feel the front of her pressed against me, drinking in the surprised, sharp intake of breath as she peers up at me. “Just playing my part. You want to convince them or not?” “Of course I want to. You’re here, aren’t you? That doesn’t mean you have to…” “To what? Kiss you here?” I bring my fingers to her neck, ghosting them along the spot where my lips were just minutes ago. She shivers beneath my touch, her piercing green eyes widening. “Don’t forget, Golden Girl, that you’re mine to kiss… touch… whatever I want. Even if it’s just for show.”

The perfect prey made for a predator to devour with sharp teeth. And that predator is me. I’ll be her villain. I’m the big, bad wolf, and the only thing I’m hungry for is the taste of sweet little Lennon. “Why are you staring at me?” “Sure you want me to answer that?” I ask, reaching out to ghost the pads of my fingertips along the top of her thighs, just below where her skirt ends. Her breath hitches at the contact, and my eyes never leave hers, holding her stare, watching as her pupils dilate.

My fingers press into her thigh as I tighten my grip, my other hand finding the curve of her waist to haul her flush against me as I lower my lips to her ear. “I’m staring because you look good enough to fucking eat, and all I can think about is laying you down right here on this ice, flipping up that little fucking skirt, and seeing just how good your sweet little pussy tastes.”

The thick muscle of his jaw flexes before he meets my eyes again. I had no idea eye contact could be so… hot. So purposeful. Despite the stifling heat and tension surrounding us, a shiver races up my spine, sending a flurry of goose bumps erupting along my skin. “Never have I ever kissed someone in an elevator.” His low, raspy words suck the rest of the air out of the room, specifically from my lungs. “Never have I ever wanted to kiss the girl who’s driving me fucking insane with how badly I want my lips on hers in a broken elevator where she looks so goddamn beautiful I feel like I can’t even breathe.” He adds the next part as if he needs to make it even more clear to me that I’m the girl he kissed… or intends to. My head feels light with the way he’s looking at me. Like I’m the only thing that’s going to breathe air back into his lungs. His eyes are hooded and dark, holding mine with rapt intensity.

I trail my finger along his jaw and gently lift his chin. My chest starts to feel tight when I see the pain in his eyes, a raw, heartbreakingly vulnerable sea of dark that makes emotion snake up the inside of my throat. “Why did you come here, Saint?” “I didn’t know where else to go.” It’s a whisper, his voice rough and uneven as he pauses, holding my gaze. “You’re the only thing in my life that feels right anymore.”

Her cheeks are tinted pink, and she rolls her lips together, “I know that’s really old school and archaic, but it was basically drilled into my head growing up that I was to save myself for marriage. And after some things happened in my life… I decided to repurpose it. It’s now a promise to myself to make my own choices with my body, my life. To never let anyone decide those things for me. Not that it really applies any longer, but to give myself to whoever I wanted without guilt or consequence.” Carefully she slips it off her finger and tilts it, “I got this phrase inscribed on the inside the day I made the promise to myself to take my life back.” Inside reads De meo arbitrio. “It means, By thy own will.” She adds before slipping back into place on her finger. “So, yeah.”

Saint’s shoulder moves in a shrug. “Apparently, you’re my thing, Golden Girl.” His words warm my insides, sending my heart into overdrive as it beats wildly. “Am I?” I can barely get them out of my mouth because I’m trembling. He nods. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Lennon. And I’m fucking terrified. Terrified that I’m going to fuck up the best thing that’s ever happened to me, terrified that I’ll never be worthy of you no matter how hard I try. But you’re in here.” His fingers curve around my wrist as he lifts my hand and places it on his chest, directly over his heart. “In so fucking deep.” I try to ignore the heavy swell in my chest as the steady, strong beat of his heart thrums beneath my palm, but it’s no use. “I don’t know what it means, and I have no fucking clue where to go from here… I just know that I don’t want to be without you. I can’t be without you, baby.”

Lennon follows closely behind the officer as he hauls me toward the exit, but before I let him pull me through the door, I turn to her father, who’s just as guilty, if not more, in all of this. “Unlike you, I will always put your daughter first. There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for her. No line I wouldn’t cross. One day, she’s going to find out about all the fucked-up, disgusting shit you’ve done to get ahead, and you know who’s going to be there when she does? Me, motherfucker.”