A tisket, a tasket . . . she's hell in a handbasket.

I've spent my whole career blocking pucks left and right, keeping my head in the game, and my personal life off the record. But when Blakely Rivers storms into the media room, the first and only female member of the press team, my entire world to flips upside down.

With her smart mouth, her stubborn streak, and eyes that see way too much, she calls me on my weaknesses and questions every bad decision I make on the ice. We've been trading barbs for months. She's relentless and determined to live rent free under my skin.

But she's also smart, witty, gorgeous, and as passionate about hockey as I am and I'm finding myself unable to push her out of my mind at any given moment. I have no business catching feelings for the woman who rivals my every move but here I am wanting her and everything that comes with her. The fire, the fights . . . and the forever after.

So, when she faces a professional blind side of her own, I can't just stand by and watch her fall. Not when every instinct I have is telling me to catch her, hold her, and make sure she knows exactly how much she's worth. Blakely thinks letting me in will complicate things, and she could be right, but I'm done playing defense when it comes to her.

I'm not letting her skate away from a future with me. If it's a fight she wants, it's a fight she'll get . . . Just not in the way she expects.