**A top 25 Amazon best seller!**I'm not the hero in this story.I'm the villain...The notoriously angry, grouchy, D.C. Eagles defenseman that just can't keep his temper in check. The temper that leads to a fifteen game suspension from the NHL.As if that's not bad enough, I'm forced into a short term youth-hockey coaching gig. Which my manager swears will "rebuild my image."But what I didn't expect was for a gorgeous, spunky blonde to stomp onto the ice on day one and lecture me about being rude to her little brother.Something about this spitfire of a woman, and the boy she's so protective of, has my defenses melting.And if I'm not careful, I'll burst into flames, forever melting the ice I've carefully kept around my heart.(This is a fade-to-black romance with mild language. Desire or Defense is a dual POV, interconnected standalone.Trigger warnings include: parental substance abuse & dealing with grief/loss of parents.)