Page 74 of Ice Devil

She was standing with the team, the look on her face pleading with me to calm down.

I nodded, hoping she would understand I was fine. Fuck. The opposing team really was going to use anything they could to win the game.

All she had to do was smile and something washed over me. Not quite peace but an emotion close enough that I was able to focus. I skated closer, giving her a slight bow.

The crowd went wild. So what if they figured out there was something between us?

I did a little dance on the ice to the delight of those paying attention. It was also sent as an entirely different type of warning. I dared the Vegas boys to fuck with us again.

As soon as I moved into position, I slowly allowed all sound around me to cease.

The period began.

While the Vegas boys weren’t eager for us to make a goal, Jason Bragg, a man on our team called ‘the Annihilator’ for a reason, developed fire in his belly. More so than he’d displayed at any recent practice.

When he scored, the entire arena was on their feet, stomping as they did when their team was on fire. We had momentum, the defense doing their best to keep Jersey Mike from stealing the puck. But true to form, he came out of nowhere with a minute on the clocks.

And the game of superiority began in earnest.

The kid skated brilliantly, avoiding our guys with a vengeance than could only be described as a violent dance performed to a concerto. I had my eye on him, not paying attention to the damn clock. But I didn’t need to, the crowd counting down for us.

I’d give the guy credit. He waited until the perfect time, obviously paying attention to how I handled every deflection. If there was any weakness to me, it was from the far left. Only this time, I’d been prepared, figuring what he’d do.

After acting as if I wasn’t going to deflect, I took a dive toward the puck while everyone was holding their breath.

When I slammed against the ice, skidding forward by several yards, the fans let me know I’d been successful.

There was complete pandemonium in the stadium. Players swept the ice, throwing their twigs and pitching their arms into the air. Within seconds, I was hoisted up by several feet, the team’s cheers full of happiness.

When I was finally dropped back to my skates, the congratulations continued for a full five minutes until it was time to take a short victory lap.

Even as I did, I searched for the woman who had been on my mind every day one too many times. I found her in the tunnel, celebrating with the other team members.

As I approached, skating slowly, she sensed I was heading in her direction. The way she turned toward me, a smile slowly sliding across her shimmering face was exactly what I needed to see.

She cocked her hip while shaking her head in a way that told me she had wicked things on her mind. Well, hell, I did too.

“You cheated.” The words were ones I’d heard before, but that didn’t mean they didn’t grow old. Especially after the rough game we’d had.

“You’re just a sore loser,” I said in response, doing my best to ignore the huge defenseman. He was reported to be close friends with Bronco and son of the owner. Go figure.

Sloane offered a look, slowly shaking her head.

“All you animals should be hunted and killed for a real sport.”

I still managed to almost walk away.

“Yeah, I need your head as a trophy on my wall for what you did to Bronco. Once a cheater, always a cheater.”

That was it. What kind of bullshit did they think they were playing?

My reaction was all based on my wolf. I was in his face in a flash, but in a true surprise, so was Sloane.

“Don’t do it, Beck. That’s what this… player wants, for you to hit him on national television. He’s not worth it.”

Somehow, she’d even managed to crowd the space between us, making herself known and it impossible for me to punch him in the face with her standing in the way.

“Backing down to a woman, Kendrick?” His voice was gruff but full of amusement.