Chapter 41
Chapter forty-one
PIERCE
The tape across my nose is driving me fucking insane. With one quick rip that makes my eyes water, I peel it off and shove it in my pocket. The doctor said to keep it on for another week, but the swelling is almost gone.
Alexei’s box is packed with suits and diamonds, all of them watching the ice as the teams skate out for warm-ups. I stay against the wall where I belong, arms crossed, tracking Beckett’s number as he circles the net below.
And not on Ash. Totally not watching her in those jeans that look painted on and that shirt that takes all my willpower not to stare at. Nope. I’m watching the game.
My nostrils flare as I take a deep breath. It’s like emerging from underwater and taking my first breath. Everything is sharper, clearer. I sigh. It smells sweet, like a warm summer day. Ash is sitting four feet away. I lean toward her, just a little.
Ash. It’s Ash’s scent. Peaches. But not the fake stuff they put into candy or when they’re baked into a pie.
Those fancy flat little donut peaches that Liam gets at that fancy supermarket I wouldn’t dare shop in.
I’m just a poor trailer trash kid who has no right to a four-dollar peach.
No right to a girl with a scent like that.
Warm and fresh and real. No wonder Beckett is obsessed with her.
I inhale deeper, greedy for it, then catch myself.
Fuck.
I blink rapidly and try to focus on the ice below us. Her scent is like a physical thing; it wraps around me until it’s the only thing that exists. My skin prickles everywhere like I just touched a live wire.
I scan the room for Liam. He’s the only one who can make this make sense.
Liam works the room like he was born for this shit.
Three alphas in thousand-dollar suits laugh at whatever he’s saying, their faces transformed by the charm he can turn on like a faucet.
The only room I can work would be filled with degenerates drinking warm tap beer.
Liam makes it look effortless. I make it look like I’m contemplating homicide, which is why I’m banished to the shadows at these things.
The puck drops, and the crowd below us roars. The sound vibrates through the glass, through the floor, through my chest competing with Ash’s scent that now seems to own that space.
But then Ash shifts in her seat, tucking her hair behind her ear, and my attention snaps back to her like a rubber band.
She looks uncomfortable as hell, perched on that stool in clothes that seem borrowed.
The expensive omegas dotted around the room look like plastic decorations, fake dolls with fake tits next to her.
Ash is wild and untamed even in her designer jeans.
She grabs her drink and takes a nervous sip. Her fingers worry at the cocktail napkin, shredding it bit by bit. When she sets the glass down, her hands shake slightly. I shouldn’t notice these things. I shouldn’t be cataloging every micro-expression on her face.
I shouldn’t want to cross the room, grab her by the wrist, and drag her somewhere quiet where I can bury my face in her neck and breathe her in until the rest of the world disappears. My dick shouldn’t be getting hard watching her nervously lick her lips.
A sleek alpha in a navy suit slides into the empty seat beside her. I recognize him vaguely as some real estate developer who sponsors team events. His smile is too wide, too white. I can’t hear what he’s saying over the crowd noise, but I see Ash stiffen, her shoulders drawing up toward her ears.
“Enjoying the view?”
I nearly jump out of my skin. Liam has materialized at my side, two whiskeys in hand. He offers me one, which I take without looking away from Ash.
“Game’s going like shit,” I say, knocking back half the drink in one swallow.
“That’s not what you’re watching.” His voice is mild, but there’s an edge to it. Liam’s eyes narrow slightly. “Your nose is better?”
“Getting there.”
He takes a careful sip of his drink, watching me over the rim.
Something shifts in Liam’s expression, something like recognition, then calculation. His gaze slides to Ash, then back to me. “Interesting.”
The alpha in the suit puts his hand on Ash’s knee. My glass creaks in my grip.
“Easy,” Liam murmurs.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re going to shatter that glass.”
I set it down on a nearby table with exaggerated care. “Better?”
“Much.” He doesn’t sound convinced.
On the ice, the Scorpions score. The roar coming from the ice is almost soothing. The alpha is now leaning so close to Ash that his shoulder brushes hers. Her smile looks like it’s been nailed into place.
“You should go rescue her,” Liam says, still watching me instead of the game or Ash.
“She can handle herself.”
“Of course she can. But you’re about ten seconds from tearing across this room anyway, so you might as well stop pretending.”
I glare at him. He smiles back, serene as a fucking Buddha.
“Go,” he says, giving my shoulder a little push.
My eyes narrow at him. He’s up to something, but I cross the space to Ash’s side. I hover for a second, catching up on their conversation.
“…little omega like you? Let me buy you a real drink.”
“The drinks are free, my guy,” Ash says, her voice clipped.
“Come on, sweetheart. Wouldn’t you rather be somewhere more private so we can play?” He leans closer still, lowering his voice. “I’ve got a condo downtown with a view that’ll make you forget all about hockey.”
“I am positive going anywhere with you would be forgettable.”
The alpha laughs a little nervously, like he isn’t sure Ash is flirting or being mean. He touches her again and Ash recoils.
“Aren’t you a little ray of sunshine?”
Something in me snaps. I put my body between them and rest my wrist on her shoulder, my fingers dangling loosely. She stiffens, takes a breath, and then sinks into me a little.
“She’s my ray of sunshine.”
She snaps her head to me. Her face is washed in unease and discomfort. But a smile flashes for a second and her eyes dazzle. I get that feeling of stepping into the ring. It’s going to hurt and I’m going to love it.
“I’m not your fucking sunshine.” The words are a reflex. Her hand comes up to her shoulder, her fingers barely brushing mine, like she wants to make sure I’m not going to let go.
“Excuse me,” the alpha says behind me, indignant. “We were having a conversation.”
“You were having a conversation.”
“Who the fuck are you?” The alcohol on his breath tells me he’s had enough to make him brave. Stupid, but brave.
“I’m the alpha who is going to break your face if you don’t back the fuck off.”
“She says she’s not yours. She’s fair game.”
“She’s not a thing, a toy for you to use.”
“Whatever,” the alpha says finally, raising his hands in mock surrender. “Plenty of other omegas lining up for me to play with.” He backs away, trying to salvage his dignity.
I should let it go. I should turn around, make sure Ash is okay, and find a way to apologize for steamrolling her. Instead, I take a step after him.
“What did you say?”
He stops, uncertain now. “Nothing, man. Just—”
“No, say it again. About other omegas.”
Ash grabs my arm. “Pierce. Drop it.”
The contact of her skin on mine sends a jolt of electricity up my arm. Her scent is the only thing that makes sense.
“She looks cheap anyway. She’d probably run from a real alpha with a real knot,” the alpha mutters, retreating toward the bar.
I start after him again, but Ash’s grip on my arm tightens.
“Stop it. You’re making a scene.” She grabs my fingers and squeezes.
She’s right. Every eye in the box is on us now. Liam is moving toward us, all chill and relaxed looking, which means he’s absolutely not. Alexei saunters over too with undisguised amusement, his arm draped casually around his omega’s waist.
“So cute, you don’t want to be embarrassed in front of your scent match. I remember when I first met my Sandra. I nearly broke man’s jaw for buying her a drink.”
Scent.
Match.
My brain goes completely offline. Nothing but static between my ears. I watch Alexei’s lips move. He’s probably telling the story of meeting Sandra. But none of it registers.
Something happens on the ice that pulls Alexei and everyone else to the windows.
Ash doesn’t move. She looks up at me, and I can’t read the expression on her face. But her scent is gorgeous and thick enough to take a bite of.
“Stupid fucking broken nose.” I mutter. Did she know the second she met me? “Does Beckett know?” I can’t help but ask.
She shakes her head.
“Liam?”
Another shake.
“I do now.” Liam raises his glass to his lips and takes a quick sip. “Question is, are you going to break my face when you find out we both slept with her?”
Fear flashes in her eyes. Her body moves to take a step back. I squeeze her hand and don’t let her. I am never letting go of her. A smile spreads across my face.
Pandemonium breaks out in the box. Alphas are shouting, pounding on the glass. I look out at the arena. A massive fight is breaking out on the ice, emptying both benches.