Defensive Zone (The Dartmouth Cobras #2) (49 page)

All the men in the room went silent.

Silver started when Sebastian appeared at her
side again, then whispered 'Thank you' as he calmly held out a cup
of coffee. Her mouth had gone dry, so she took a sip before
speaking. "The magazine has requested seven men. I have two—now
three since Dominik has agreed."

"Which leaves four," Sloan said. "Are there
alternatives if the players aren't interested in posing for the
damn pictures?"

"Yes."

"Good. Well if I'm on that list, you might as
well choose an alternate." Sloan stood and strode around the table.
"Who are the other men?"

She'd completely lost control of the
conversation. Not that she'd had control in the first place. Her
gaze swept over the room and she couldn't find one friendly face.
Well, Scott, if the look Scott was giving her could be considered
friendly. And she wouldn't look at Sebastian, who'd mercifully
moved to the other side of the room. Carter stared at his bottle of
Gatorade and Max . . . actually, Max was frowning at the other
men.

"She's doing this for the team, guys." His
smooth southern drawl took on a sharp edge. He scowled at Sloan who
glanced back at him. "I'm thinking you all should cut her some
slack."

"I got everyone here to hear her out," Sloan
said. He gave her a hard look. "It's not a difficult question,
Silver. Who. Are. The. Other. Men?"

"Carter. Max and . . . ."

The door to the locker room opened and she
bit her lip. Landon's smile faded as he studied the other players.
He tossed the towel he'd been using to dry his face over his
shoulder.

"What's going on?"

Before she could answer, Oriana and Dominik
entered the room with a woman Silver didn't recognize. A badge on
her chest identified her as Scarlet Patterson.

The photographer for the photo spread. The
'professional' the editor had promised to send, who apparently
handled all kinds of sports stars.

Redheaded, perky, with her green jewel toned
blouse unbutton enough to reveal her generous cleavage, and a skirt
short enough to guarantee full ass exposure if she bent over, the
woman immediately got all the men's attention. Except for Landon
whose narrowed eyes were fixed on Silver.

Silver put her hand on his forearm, squeezed
the taut muscle, and spoke low. "Let me handle this. Then I'll
explain, I promise."

Landon gave her a curt nod. "Yes. You
will."

Scarlet slinked forward, offering her hand
first to Silver, then to Sloan. "I know I wasn't scheduled for
today, but something came up." She looked over the men and stared
at Scott as she continued. "Your secretary—Anne?—told me I could
come in."

Silver pursed her lips.
That woman is so
fired.
"We're still discussing who is willing to pose."

"Oh! But you've had weeks and everyone's
here." Scarlet shot a shy smile at Scott and simpered. "You've
posed for magazines before, Mr. Demyan—"

Scott gave her a slow, assessing look. "Call
me Scott. And yeah, I have no problem posing for you."

The twit let out a breathless little laugh.
"Perfect! And of course we have the captain—"

"You do not have the captain."

All around the room, the men started
muttering. By the sounds of it, the magazine would have to do a
spotlight on Scott alone. Even Sebastian looked pretty
disgusted.

Scarlet pouted at Sloan. "Oriana already said
she didn't mind!"

Oriana shook her head and paled a little.
"That's not what I said!"

"You said Silver was speaking to him. And
that he'd help Luke get over his misgivings." Scarlet approached
Carter and cocked her head. "It doesn't look
that
bad, Luke.
And we can angle the shot to get your good side."

Landon tensed beside Silver. Carter stared at
the floor and hunched his shoulders.

Enough was enough.

"I'm afraid there's been a mistake." Silver
stepped away from Landon and slipped between Scarlet and Carter. "I
was assured the magazine was sending a professional."

Crimson lips pursed, Scarlet looked her over.
"Silver, I understand that you're new at this, so I won't take
offense, but unlike you
I
have years of experience. Let me
handle the boys. All you need to do is cash the nice big check the
magazine will send you when I'm done."

Smiling sweetly, Silver nodded and spoke low.
"Can I ask you something, woman to woman?"

"Yes . . . ?"

"How much cum did you have to swallow to
become this stupid? I just want to make sure I'm not nearing my
quota."

Scarlet's face turned the color of her lips.
Her hand came up. "Why you little bitch. I'll—"

Oriana stepped forward. "Try it."

Taking a deep breath, Scarlet glanced from
Oriana to Silver and let out an airy laugh. "I apologize. It
slipped my mind that you're both involved with several of the
players. I'm accustomed to simply making sure the men I photograph
are . . . comfortable. But if you'll give me a list I'll make sure
to take a more hands off approach."

"I'd rather they send someone else." Silver
inclined her head to her sister, grateful for her support, but
needing the men to see
she
could stand up for them all on
her own. "I'm sorry you wasted both our time—"

"There is no one else." Scarlet put her hands
on her hips. "Perhaps I should just tell the magazine you're no
longer interested in reaching our extensive readership."

Damn it.
It had taken weeks to
convince the editor to even
consider
showcasing the team.
They desperately needed the exposure. But with this woman, she'd
likely lose what little respect she'd managed to gain from
them.

Sloan cleared his throat. "If we can agree to
some boundaries, I'm sure we can find seven men who would be
willing to pose."

"There are boundaries in place." Silver
hugged herself to stifle the urge to hug Sloan. When had he turned
into a decent guy? "Only Scott and Sebastian have agreed to nude
shots. And those must be tasteful. The other men will take off
their shirts. Whether they're okay posing in boxers or not is up to
them."

"Of course." Scarlet straightened her skirt
and visually stripped each and every player. She spent the longest
time staring at Landon. "I must use the goaltender, of course. Can
I do you, Mr. Bower? I mean—"

"Stop talking before I strangle you with your
cheep ass extensions." Silver gouged her palms with her nails and
let ice seep into her tone. "I can see you came here thinking this
team wasn't well known enough for you to bother approaching with
some fucking class. But
my
team reached the playoffs last
year and they've earned some goddamn respect. Maybe you've hit a
dry spell and you can't help throwing yourself at every available
male. There's obviously at least one man." She cast a dirty look at
Scott. "Whose standards are low enough to accept your blatant
offer. My other players are either family men or just not that
desperate. If they agree, you may take
pictures
of them. Try
more and I'll have you charged with sexual harassment."

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "Oh, please."

"You really are as dumb as you look." Silver
inched closer to Scarlet and spoke low enough so only she could
hear. "You have no idea what kinds of connections I have." She took
her phone out of her purse and held it up. "One phone call and I
could ruin your magazine."

It was a bluff. If she could actually bury
the magazine, she wouldn't be dealing with this woman at all. But
the woman didn't seem bright enough to figure that out.

"Should I assume you're not making that phone
call?" Scarlet asked, glancing nervously at Silver's phone as it
buzzed.

"Are you capable of doing your job?" Silver
checked her phone. The building contractor. She let voicemail pick
up.
One thing at a time.
"With your clothes on, Miss
Patterson?"

Scarlet sneered. "Yes. I can do that, Miss
Delgado."

"You can 'do me' first." Scott called out,
breaking the tension in the room.

All the men laughed.

"Well, since that's settled, I've got to get
back to the office." Silver bit the edge of her lip and glanced at
Sloan.
Do I dare ask?
"Can you take it from here,
Captain?"

"Yes." Sloan's lips curved slightly. "And
thank you for looking out for the team's interests, Silver. I
appreciate that."

Wow. A thank you?
Silver stared at
Sloan as he held a finger up for Scarlet to wait and gestured for
the team to join him. Hell, maybe he wasn't half bad after all. And
she'd never seen Oriana so happy—her sister glowed every time she
glanced his way. Maybe it was about time to admit he was good for
her sister.

A heavy hand dropped on her shoulder and she
swallowed as Landon spoke low in her ear. "Why am I only hearing
about this photo shoot now?"

"I forgot. Kinda." The last time she'd gone
over the list, they hadn't been speaking. But that wasn't why she'd
automatically skipped his name and started considering alternates.
She just couldn't see him stripping for a camera. Hadn't wanted to
ask. "There was so much going on—"

"I won't do this if you're not comfortable
with it."

"That wouldn't be fair, would it? I mean . .
. ." She glanced at her sister who eyed Scarlet like the woman
might pounce on one of her men. "I didn't think twice before asking
Oriana to help me get Sloan in on it."

"Did you think it would bother her?"

"No. Not really."

"So, as I said." His fingers loosened on her
shoulder and he sighed. "I need to know if it bothers you."

It did, a little. But knowing that he
wouldn't do it if she asked him not to helped. And she had to be
professional about this. Women would swoon when they saw his
picture. They'd buy his jersey and watch games just to see him.

Besides, they would never have anything more
than the pictures. This man was off the market.

She just had to make sure little Miss Bimbo
with the camera didn't forget.

Landon swung Silver around to face him.
"Listen to me, mignonne. You don't have to trust her. You have to
trust me. Do you?"

As long as you don't have a cane in your
hand . . . ?
She nodded.

"That's my girl." He grinned and put his arm
around her shoulders. "I'll go after Demyan. I want to get this
over with."

Ignoring Scarlet's breathless thanks, Landon
pulled Silver from the player's lounge, into the locker room, and
slammed her against the wall. He ravished her mouth, sucking,
biting, thrusting with his tongue. Then he slid her up the wall
with one arm around her waist and slipped his hand under her
skirt.

"I didn't touch another woman while we
weren't speaking. I didn't want anyone else." He bit her throat as
he slid his fingers into her panties. "I don't want anyone else.
And don't you fucking forget it."

His fingers pushed into her and she gasped.
"Landon! We're at work!"

He chuckled, stroking her clit with his thumb
as he pumped his fingers in and out, faster and faster. "Like I
give a shit."

"Someone could come in—"

"You're right." He took his fingers from her
and held her when her knees gave out. "So how about after the photo
shoot, we go somewhere where we won't be interrupted."

Uck, I should have kept my mouth shut.
Her insides throbbed and the heat he'd stroked simmered. She glared
at him. "That was mean."

He kissed her nose. "But you still love me,
don't you?"

"If I didn't, I'd make you eat your nuts."
She stiffened as the door opened, and groaned when Sloan appeared.
"I've got to go."

Landon moved away from her, shielding her as
she fixed her skirt.

"Bower, I think you and I should have a talk
about what's appropriate in the locker room," Sloan said.

"Stuff it, Callahan. I've seen Mason groping
Oriana in the hallway." Landon blocked her escape and gave her
another slow, deep kiss. His forehead pressed against hers, he
whispered. "I'll meet you in your office after practice. Around
two."

All she could do was nod. And make a quick
getaway.

Two o'clock couldn't come soon enough.

* * * *

Landon checked his watch and rolled his eyes.
He'd gotten in two hours of practice before Callahan suggested he
go check if Demyan was finished. But the freakin' door to the
office that Scarlet had set up for the shoot was locked. And no one
answered when he knocked.

What a fucking waste of time.
He
crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. If
Silver didn't need this photo spread to prove she could get the
team more attention . . . but she did. At that was the
only
reason he'd agree to it. Whatever Silver said, he could tell she
didn't want him doing this. But she was torn between jealousy—which
Scarlet hadn't helped with—and her dedication to the team. She
could deal with her jealousy. Failure with what her father had
entrusted to her was another matter entirely.

Carter shuffled down the hall and Landon
ground his teeth as he saw how miserable the kid looked. That bitch
had made him feel even more insecure about his scars.

"Callahan agreed to do the shoot." Landon
didn't phrase it as a question. Carter had said he'd do it if the
captain would. He wouldn't be here otherwise.

"Everyone did. Perron's right. Silver's
trying to get the team out there, you know?" Carter leaned his
shoulder on the wall and hid the damaged side of his face against
it. "And like that chick said . . . they can take pictures of my
good side."

Bitterness scalded Landon's guts. 'That
chick' had no goddamn class. "If they're going to shoot your good
side, you better show off that scar. All the greats have them. You
got that playing the game, man. It's nothing to be ashamed of."