Chapter 32
ZARIAH
POSSESSIVE GESTURES
How could I ignore a request from the Marrs hockey coach? It would’ve been rude.
Denali certainly thought so. The morning of the ETCU game, I was stretched out on my hotel bed, chatting on the phone with him. When I went out to dinner with friends, my phone jingled again. It was an hour before game time and I grinned, slipping out to the courtyard to talk to him.
I couldn’t wait for the game to start. I took over one of the lounges of the hotel, paid sixteen dollars for the live stream, and bought a pack of wine coolers. It was the most excited I’d been to virtually watch a hockey game ever.
And it was a goddamn great game. The boys threw themselves into every play and I squealed, pointing at the TV. “That’s another point!”
“That was from far away, does that count for extra?” Kassie asked. “How does scoring work?”
“They’re each one point.”
Ryan snorted. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Is Denali out?” my friend, Willow, laughed. “I can’t see the beard anymore.”
“No, he’s on the bench.” I jerked up from the couch, weaving between our tables of snacks. “He’s out again—oh, god—”
Denali soared across the ice. His stick was a flash, the puck flew into the net.
My wine cooler almost spilled when I shouted. I pointed at the TV. “Denali scored a hat trick—it’s a fucking hat trick!”
Kassie laughed. “What’s a hat trick?”
“That’s his third point—Denali scored three points in the game!”
“Your man scored three points?” Kassie teased.
“My man scored three motherfuckiiiiing points,” I sang back. “Look at him doing his little loop—ugh, I adore him.”
The game ended seven to two and the camera moved to their locker rooms. A very polite newscaster was joined by Coach Sémajuste.
I couldn’t believe it. “The Gladiators never get interviewed!”
“Never?” Ryan repeated, surprised.
“Never. This is, like, unbelievably good for them.”
My words faltered when someone else came into view, a certain someone I couldn’t stop dreaming about. Sweat dripped down Denali’s forehead, new bruises decorating his jaw, his post-game look was so sexy. He looked divine.
“Denali Maddox.” The reporter beamed. “From the USAC championship, to a star player of the Gladiators, the unlikely success has been an astounding story. Your previous coach at Michigan, Michael Taylor, has said that he primed you for—”
“I’m not here to discuss that,” Denali said, his voice firm.
“Of course, but he said—”
“I’m not from Houston. Most of us aren’t, but we’re proud to play for HTX and Marrs.” Denali raked a hand through his hair. “I wouldn’t be here without Coach Sémajuste, or the Gladiators.”
She smiled, taking the hint. “This is your last game before January. What do you have to say to UTV? They’re last year’s finalists for the Gulf Coast Championship.”
“Are we ready for UTV?” someone shouted and his teammates howled in response.
The grin was lofty on Denali’s lips. “We’re ready.”
An arm draped over his shoulders, Nick’s face appearing in the camera’s view. “My captain wants to say something.”
Denali’s lofty grin morphed into an embarrassed one and his team wouldn’t let him up. They pushed him closer to the camera, egging him on. Suddenly he looked much redder.
“Can I say something?” he asked. “Can I do a shoutout?”
The newscaster arched an eyebrow. “Is it clean?”
“It better be.” Elijah burst in from behind them. “The shoutout’s for my sister.”
More of the team demanded for Denali to go through with it and his dark eyes met the camera. “This shoutout’s to my good luck charm. The hat trick’s for you, Riah.”
Oh. My. God.
My face flamed with a blush as the team went crazy, dragging Denali back, roaring with laughter. I melted into the couch as my friends began freaking out beside me.
We arrived hours after the Gladiators returned to campus. I should’ve gone to find Elijah, but I was counting down the minutes to see Denali again. The man scored a hat trick for me, I had to see him.
It was easy to find the team at Gianna’s, they were laughing loudly together, everyone was happy to see me. I searched through the faces for Denali when I saw—Elijah.
I blinked. “E?”
He was definitely tipsy, his mouth turned for a melancholic, painful smile. “Hey, Z.”
“You’re at Gianna’s?”
“I wanted to apologize to—” He stopped himself before he said his ex-girlfriend’s name. “But apparently she doesn’t work here anymore.”
Oh, god. That had to be to avoid Elijah. I didn’t blame her for taking the needed space but that didn’t stop me from feeling so bad for my brother. I wrapped him up in a hug. Elijah didn’t even try to fight against it.
“Congratulations on the ETCU game,” I tried, holding him tight.
“Aren’t you supposed to congratulate everybody?” Nick asked.
I welcomed the change of conversation. This was a night to celebrate—I didn’t want Elijah to be sad. I squeezed Nick’s shoulder. “Oh, sorry about that. Congratulations to my not-favorites too.”
Nick snorted and Tallulah waved for my attention. “Bear and June told me to tell you ‘hi,’ they left already.”
“They left?”
Fridge rolled his eyes. “The moment Bear saw June, he practically carried her out of here.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Tallulah said quietly.
“It’s unhealthy. That kind of obsessive behavior isn’t good for either of them.” Fridge said. “You saw how they were during the summer, and now Bear’s getting drafted to the Bulldogs. Trust me, they won’t last—”
“Where’s Denali?” I was too eager to see him to debate about our friends’ relationship.
Nick thumbed to the other section of the restaurant. “Denali’s writing an essay to you, as per usual. He said we were being too loud and he’s—uh—” His eyes widened. “Ooo…shit.”
Everyone at our table fell silent as Elijah tried to get my attention, his words suddenly rushed. “Zariah, it’s not what you think.”
Denali was sitting at a high-top table by the bar, and a girl stood beside him. She was a very pretty blonde, taller than me, with a curvier body, and a tennis skirt. Her gaze caught mine and she pointed my way. I couldn’t hear her, but I could read her lips. “Is that her?”
Denali went stiff, his body too tense. I couldn’t hear what he replied with, but I could see how short and irritable his answer was.
My fingers dug into the meat of Nick’s shoulder. “Is that Evie?”
“Ow, ow, ow,” Nick whined. “Zariah, your fingernails—”
“That’s Evie, but it’s not what it looks like,” Elijah told me. “I didn’t even see her over there until—”
Denali clearly said something to cut off the conversation and put his head down to focus on the letter. Evie laughed and touched his face. She touched his face. Her smile was directed my way when she turned him to look at her.
Evie was moving to fucking kiss Denali.
Blood roared in my ears, and I abandoned the hockey players on a war path.
“Oh, fuck,” Nick said before the team’s chairs scraped against the floor. Everyone was obviously watching, but I didn’t care.
Denali lurched off the stool and I grabbed his arm with an ironclad grip, dragging him away.
Evie giggled. “Hi! I’m Evie!”
I shot her the nastiest look as Denali stumbled on his feet behind me.
“You’re welcome!” Evie continued. “I told him it’d get your attention!”
I didn’t respond. I marched Denali to the nearest empty booth, fucking furious, practically spitting with rage. I snapped my fingers. “Sit your ass down.”
Denali immediately took the seat, and I sat next to him.
I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck, a possessive, angry gesture.
This wasn’t me, none of this was me. I’d never been this kind of person, especially when Denali and I had first been dating.
I knew this was crazy, but I couldn’t stop.
My pulse raced with the red-hot anger, and the look on Denali’s face…
His eyes were half-lidded, dark and glazed over, his breathing labored. His stare was too intense. Even through the anger, it prickled me with goosebumps.
I didn’t have to touch him—I knew Denali was hard. I was breathless with the realization but that did nothing to quell the outrage.
“Don’t talk to her ever again,” I warned.
His voice was so husky. It felt like a lick down my body. “I told her I didn’t want to talk to her. Especially about…”
“What?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“Evie saw the interview after the ETC game. She wanted to know why I’d blocked her over a girl I wasn’t even dating yet. And then…when you came in…she saw the look on my face.”
Denali’s hand drifted across the seat, hovering close to mine, and my heartbeat picked up. “What look?”
“The look,” he said, like it was the most obvious answer in the world. “She could tell. You have me wrapped around your finger.”
My voice was unsteady. “And then she tried to kiss you?”
“I told her I wasn’t interested, and she said if I wanted to get your attention so bad, she knew a way to do it.” He exhaled. “I didn’t ask her to do that. I don’t play games. You know that.”
So Evie felt bad for Denali and wanted to push me into action, to force the jealousy, and I’d fallen right into the trap. But realizing it was a trap for Denali’s benefit didn’t calm me down.
Because I wasn’t really jealous of Evie.
How could I be? Denali broke it off with her the second I returned to Houston—there was no competition. I knew who Denali couldn’t keep his eyes off of. My jealousy was an excuse. It was smoke and mirrors to flash my claws that were already dug so deep in him.
I wanted to remind Denali who he belonged to.
The truth was—I let jealousy run wild because this was really fucking hot. The possessiveness squeezed me like a snake, wrapping its coils around me. I felt so alive. God, was this what Denali experienced when we were kids? I didn’t want to stop this at all.
“I want her blocked on your phone,” I decided, tightening my grip around his neck.
“She is,” he rasped.
“Not tonight. Now.”