Page 10 of Ice Devil

What I hadn’t expected was to see her again.

Yet even before I’d walked into the hotel bar with a few of the other guys, I’d sensed her. Not from the rush from her perfume and the near intoxication the scent provided. I’d felt her. As if there’d been an unnatural tether shackling us after our meeting.

There was a chance I simply remained high on life and the win. The slam of desire had nothing to do with being drunk since alcohol had a minimal effect on my system.

But the moment I walked into the bar, I was hit with an entirely different set of sensations that could only be described as hunger on steroids. Yes, the woman was that beautiful, the kind of girl who could get any man’s blood pumping. You bet I was attracted to her figure and her voice, including the way she articulated every word like the pro she was.

Maybe her sass was what had fueled my desire.

Whatever the case, for a few seconds I enjoyed the moment basking in her beauty.

The enjoyment was short lived even after her eyes raked down my clothed body and back up. Without hesitation, she’d cocked her pretty head, wrinkled her nose, and turned abruptly and decidedly away from me and back to the bar.

Now she was conversing with the bartender, and I didn’t like it one bit.

“Hey, man, let’s get a drink. You’re buying. Remember?” Bernie interrupted the rather painful brushoff, but at least I had a reason to head to the bar.

“Somehow, I doubt you’d let me forget,” I told him, still laughing at Ford’s text a few minutes earlier. Apparently, he’d prefer to chat on the phone with his fiancée than party down with the guys.

Traitor.

Bernie’s snort was an indication I was right. “Make it a double. I need to par-ty.”

“You’ve already done so like it’s a damn New Year’s Eve,” I chided.

“Hey, that was a hard win.” He smacked me on the back. “Thanks to you.”

I could almost tell the woman was thinking. Why the hell had we shown up in a nice, peaceful bar? Her wheels were grinding.

“Isn’t that the reporter from before?”

“Yeah, that’s her.” I couldn’t lie that I’d enjoyed the hell out of watching her squirm by my remaining completely naked. While she’d been none too happy, the only way I’d been able to tell she’d been bothered in the least was by the twitch in her eyes that no one else would have noticed.

“Be careful, buddy. I’ve heard she’s a real ballbuster. A make or break it kind of chick.”

We’d already been partying, hitting two bars near the arena after our win. There’d been plenty of fans, hundreds of them in fact. More puck bunnies of every shape, size, color, and age. All for the plucking.

But none of them had been the reporter with the nasty attitude.

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. Let me get those drinks.” I moved toward the bar, taking up a spot a couple of barstools away. Now she had her face buried in what she was writing. Maybe a Pulitzer Prize-winning article.

On me.

Ms. Winters was doing a damn good job of ignoring me.

While I might be quiet on the inside, gregarious in front of the cameras, what my personality couldn’t handle was being ignored. My father called the condition the curse of the wolf.

The correct term was the curse of the alpha wolf, their behavior and attitudes not only possessive, but often bordering on stalkerish.

Meanwhile, a fire burned brightly inside, filthy thoughts threatening to drive aside all the willpower I prided myself in.

Or maybe I should say for the first time in years, the thought of getting to know someone didn’t bore me to death.

My brother would say I had a penchant for pain. Maybe that was the truth. One aspect was certain. I didn’t like seeing her with another man.

Whoa. Where in the hell had that come from? I was just angry from being snubbed. That was it. Nothing a little sparring wouldn’t cure.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked.