Page 17 of Ice Devil

I walked closer, noticing the expression on Sloane’s face. She was annoyed but refusing to back down. However, she flashed a look indicating surprise at the confrontation. I wasn’t just a damn pretty boy in a jersey.

“Mind your own bidness,” the asshole dared say. Yes, he was slurring his words, but there was something about his tone that bothered me.

When I took a long stride closer, she threw out her hand suggesting caution. I was no fool. I’d been around the block a few times with reporters and even fake fans determined to catch the big, bad wolf doing something heinous.

“It’s okay, sugarplum,” she answered. “We were just having a friendly conversation. Weren’t we?”

“I just wanta have a drink with you,” the guy slurred, his body swaying. When he pointed his finger at her, I bristled. I’d seen a lot of drunk guys in my day and he was closing in on becoming violent.

I counted to five in hopes of putting my wolf to sleep.

“Go sleep it off, bud. Can’t you see you’re irritating my wife? That’s not a good idea.” I moved closer still, even though she gave me a look that screamed she could handle the jerk. Or maybe after the long night she preferred ‘handling’ him in a way he wouldn’t soon forget.

The asshole kept his gaze on me as I approached, stumbling slightly. “You’re that hockey player. Huh? The dude who beat our team.” I found it interesting that he was no longer finding the English language complicated. “You’re married to this jerk?”

Sloane sighed and I could hear a delicious series of curse words coming from her lush lips. Wow. If the girl met a sailor, they’d be in heaven. Her nastiness was a huge turn-on. “Buddy. Let me tell you something about my husband. He is five million times more a man than you are. Where you have an itty-bitty dick, his is huge. Huge.” With a drag of her tongue across her bottom lip, she opened her hands, spreading them out a foot apart.

Wow. I had a reputation to uphold.

She continued with the charade, moaning appropriately while even swiveling her hips. Was she trying to create a painful rock between my legs?

Gritting my teeth, I sauntered the rest of the way since I’d just been promoted to being her hot stuff husband.

Obviously, I was too blindsided by her grand gesture to realize the asshole wasn’t interested in backing down.

“Trust me, babe,” he continued. “I’m hotter and longer.”

When he grabbed her arm, yanking her against him and planting his lips on hers, my reaction was instant and more violent than heroic.

I wrapped my fingers around the back of his neck, squeezing at the same time I jerked him off and up into the air. Two, three, even six inches off the floor. While holding him under the harsh lighting, I allowed him to catch a single glimpse of my wolf through the limited transformation into a man-eating beast. It was amazing the effect my wolf’s eyes could have on a human. I debated showing him my canines, but couldn’t stand when a man pissed in his pants.

His gasp was little more than a wheeze since I was cutting off his air supply.

“You’re going to apologize to the lady, asshole. Then you’re going to run, not walk out of here. If I see you again even looking in her direction, I will crush every bone in your body leaving nothing but dust. Do you hear me?”

At least my threat was being taken as real since I was fairly certain he was having trouble holding his bladder in check.

“You can put him down now, Beck. I think he got the point.” While the irritation in Sloane’s voice lingered, there was also a hint of amusement.

I didn’t budge right away, enjoying the power I had over the jerk.

“Um, honey bunchkins, don’t we have a date with the plunge pool? You and me, naked and wet all over?” Was she purring? Did she not understand she was tempting a beast?

My cock was just about ready to split the seam in my jeans, tough material or not. “An all-nighter?” I tossed out while Mr. Wonderful fought my hands. What did he think he was going to accomplish by slapping my arm? Oh, I was afraid.

“Of course, baby cakes. For my snuggle bunny, anything you want.” She was egging it on, her voice sweet marmalade on an English muffin.

Without moving one inch, I glanced down into her face, lifting an eyebrow. The feisty reporter was enjoying herself. There was definitely a connection between us, one that could easily turn hot and heavy depending on the timing.

And our moods.

“I don’t know, honey bunchkins. I’m not certain our buddy here has learned his lesson,” I said, offering him an up close and personal lesson in the art of growling.

“I… have. I… have,” he insisted.

She planted her hands on her hips, the comedic moment lost. “Put him down, husband of mine. I assure you he was just leaving. Weren’t you?”

The guy didn’t have the common sense to answer right away until I smashed him against the opposite wall and released my hold. As he slid to the floor, the wheezing continued while he grabbed his throat instead.