Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
SINCLAIR
"Commiserations." I raised my drink in the direction of Aidan and Orion. I downed a gulp before I slipped into a chair beside Wren.
The Demons lost by two points, in a hard-fought game. The side of Orion's face was bruised, where he got an elbow from the opposition's enforcer. Right before he slammed him into the boards and ended up in the sin bin.
No one was holding back tonight.
"We'll kick their asses next time," Finley said.
The red-haired equipment manager was always smiling, relaxed, especially in comparison to Aidan and Orion.
He was like the sun peeking out from between two thunderclouds.
Still with a faint Irish lilt, after living in Australia for the last ten or fifteen years.
The more he had to drink, the more pronounced it became.
"We should have beaten them this time," Orion growled. "If he hadn't pulled me off right in the end—" His resentful gaze swivelled toward Aidan.
Elenna put a hand on his arm. "It is what it is. Next time, you'll clobber them."
Orion turned to look at her, his expression softened a fraction. He clearly loved her. If anyone tried to mess with her, he'd smash their heads in without a second thought.
Why couldn't I attract a guy like that?
I exchanged glances with Wren, who was clearly thinking the same.
She had a bit of a thing going on with Tiberius 'Tiger' Pennington, the Demons' first string left defence, but who knew if that was going anywhere anytime soon?
Tiger was almost as volatile as Aidan. He and Coast constantly gave each other shit.
I wasn't sure if they hated each other or just liked to stir each other up. Maybe both.
"We better win next time," Aidan said. "If we don't, we can kiss our chance at the Goodall Cup goodbye." He glanced at Orion like it was all his fault.
Orion glared back.
If I didn't know better, I'd think the two guys didn't like each other either. I suspected they just liked to out glare at each other.
Men.
While the rest of them chatted, I let my gaze wander around the pub.
Hazards was the favourite hangout of the Dusk Bay Smashers, the local rugby team, but the Demons frequented the place from time to time. The atmosphere was always good, and the hamburgers cooked in the restaurant at the back were the best in the city. Possibly in Australia.
I picked up my glass and found it empty. "I'm going to get a refill, does anyone want anything?" I stood and took my glass back to the bar.
"Hey, can I buy you a drink?" Javey Montanez, the Demons' left wing, stepped up to me and offered a tentative smile.
I'd only exchanged a handful of words with him in the past. He was one of the quieter players, often overshadowed by guys like Coast and Tiger. I'd never really looked at him before, but I looked now.
His dark hair was cut short on the sides, but long enough to curl at the back of his neck. His eyes were deep, chocolate brown. The kind a girl like me could lose herself in.
His body was all toned, lean muscle trying to escape from black jeans and a dark blue shirt under a black leather jacket. A tattoo trailed down the side of his neck, over skin a bunch of shades darker than mine, before disappearing under his collar.
What was it a tattoo of? All I could make out right now was a reptilian tail.
A piercing in his tragus winked in the light.
I smiled up at him. He had to be at least six foot three or four. Taller than my five foot ten.
"Sure," I said casually. I didn't want to look desperate or anything. I certainly didn't want to look like his proximity made my panties wet.
He smelled like some kind of spice. Cinnamon or nutmeg, or something that reminded me of baked goods.
Would it be too forward of me to offer to nibble on his loaf?
He smiled as though he had no clue I was mentally undressing him. "What would you like?"
Your tongue on my clit.
"Vodka and orange, please," I said instead.
He nodded and leaned over the bar to give our order to the bar attendant. He tapped his card and handed me my drink.
I smiled my thanks and sipped through the straw before stepping away from the bar.
"Commiserations on tonight's game. You played really well though." He had, hadn't he? Probably. If not, it seemed like the thing to say. Male ego and all that.
He followed me over to a quieter corner of the pub and shrugged. "Thanks. It was a tough one. I think… Most of us keep remembering the other night." The side of his mouth dipped down.
"Right." I'd forgotten about that. "You were held at gunpoint, weren't you?”
That would have been an ordeal for anyone. Badass or otherwise.
I quickly added, “I mean, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"It's okay," he said. "They reckon the best way to recover from something is to talk about it. We're banned from saying anything to the press or anyone outside the Demons, and most of the guys won't open up. I don't mind, if you want to listen."
"Of course." I gestured for him to continue. Being a good listener made me good at my job. Problems were easier to solve if I fully understood them.
He glanced down into his beer, then back up again. "Sitting on the ice in jeans is cold as fuck." His lips curved back up.
"Is that what you got from the experience?" I asked, teasing lightly. "Nothing about guns, just how cold the ice was."
People dealt with trauma in different ways. He may use humour to deal with his. Not to mention hiding behind a mask of shyness. What would it take for him to open up to me? Why did I want him to? I wanted to get to know him better. Was that answer enough?
He chuckled. "It's the thing that stands out the most. That and, you know, wanting to get out alive. Coach had our backs, like he always does." His gaze flicked over to Aidan, then back again. "I wasn't too worried."
I didn't buy that, but I wouldn't call him out on it. He was one of the ones who wrestled armed men to the ground when Aidan and the others stormed in. He could have very easily ended up dead. Thank fuck he hadn't.
"I'm sure you would have dealt with it if Aidan hadn't," I said. "You guys aren't beaten that easily."
"Not by people with guns." He sipped his drink. "If they were armed with hockey sticks, we would have been screwed." Lines around his eyes crinkled with amusement.
He was adorable.
"Right." I drew the word out. "You would have been totally pucked. Unless you had sticks too. You could have challenged them to a game."
He grinned. "They would have been beaten either way." He had a look in his eye, like he would have smashed the crap out of all of the attackers, single-handedly, if necessary.
I shouldn't be surprised to see violence bubbling beneath the surface. He was a Dusk Bay Demon, after all.
"That's hot," I said without thinking. Shit, did I say that out loud?
Whatever, I didn't want to take it back, it was hot.
Was he actually blushing? He ducked his face for a few moments.
"Can I tell you something?" he asked.
"Do you eat pizza with a knife and fork?" I asked.
He looked back up, confused. "No."
"Then you can tell me something," I concluded. He wasn't that kind of strange or suspicious, that was reassuring. "If you still want to, because that was a strange question."
"It's not the strangest thing I've ever been asked," he said. "I wanted to say that I've been trying to work up the courage to talk to you. You're usually surrounded by other people, especially other guys on the team who are, I dunno, more interesting than me."
"Who says you're not interesting?" I raised my chin and my eyebrows and looked at him questioningly.
"I do," he said. "When I'm not on the ice, I'm the guy in a corner reading a book. I'm not outgoing or funny. I'm just…me." He shrugged.
"I think you're very interesting," I said firmly. "I also like to read."
I hardly knew him, but I wanted to see what was underneath his shy exterior. And what was underneath his clothes. I was almost certain he was picking up that vibe too.
This could be the perfect start to moving on from my crush on Coast. We might even go somewhere, who knew?
I was usually drawn to outgoing guys and that hadn't ended well yet. It wouldn't hurt to look outside the box.
"What do you read?" he asked.
"Palms," I replied immediately. "Want me to read yours?"
"Um, sure." He held out his left hand.
I trailed the tip of my finger down his lifeline, from the heel of his hand to between his thumb and pointed a finger. My fingernail lightly slid over his skin.
His Adam's apple bobbed. "What do you see?"
"You're going to live a long life," I told him. "You'll eventually die in bed with a woman younger than you."
"That's very specific," he said.
"Isn't it?" I glanced up at him and grinned. I was almost certain he was twenty-five. A year older than me. I looked back down and turned his hand around. "You've never been married."
"Never," he agreed. "You can see that on there?"
"You don't have a tan line on your ring finger," I said.
He laughed. "That's observant. I'm starting to wonder if you can read palms at all."
"Because my reading is so dubious?" I cocked an eyebrow at him.
He grinned. "Well, a little bit, but your powers of observation are on point. What else can you tell about me just by looking?"
I made a show of regarding him carefully. "You like beer. Or you're very good at pretending you like beer."
He laughed again. "That's incredible. I don't know how you do it." He sipped his beer.
"A magician never reveals their secrets," I said, tapping the side of my nose. "I can also tell you don't get into trouble, or you're very good at covering it. But I know that because I've never had to help repair your reputation."
He eyed me over the rim of his glass, his lips barely touching the side. "Yet."
"Let me update my assessment then," I said slowly. "You're planning some trouble of some kind. You might even be hoping to get caught. How many older siblings do you have?"
He looked surprised. "Three. Two brothers and a sister. Why?"
"You have that air about you. If you tried to do something bad, people either didn't notice, or they let you get away with it because your older siblings had done it all before you. Am I right?"
He lowered his drink. "Nail, meet head." He looked like he was going to continue, but then said, "Do you want to get out of here?" He jerked his head towards the door, before downing the rest of his beer.
"Yes, I do, very much." I finished my own drink, took his hand and let him lead me out the door.