Chapter 10
Steven
Why in the fuck were my hands clammy?
And why was my heart thumping to the point the damn beat echoed in my eardrums?
And why was I jittery?
And why, oh, why upon all things holy in the world did I call my mother to help try to convince this girl to go have a drink with me? Had I been completely nuts? My mother could have easily blown my cover. The answer that was painfully obvious.
I was at the point of not caring whether Christine wanted me or not. My cravings were just about all I could think about. Wow.
Just before disappearing into the doorway leading to the employee lockers, I turned toward where she’d been sitting, my pulse racing the moment I noticed she wasn’t where I’d left her. A whooshing sound grabbed my attention.
She’d found the ice once again, spinning to nonexistent music.
I found it difficult to walk away, especially since I’d created a little nightmare for myself.
What the hell had I thought would come out of my stupid, reckless behavior?
Ugh.
The more important question was why I’d acted like a bumbling idiot and why I’d wanted to possess her body and soul? I honestly had no satisfactory answer.
She was beautiful. I certainly hadn’t lied about that. With her long dark hair, almost all I could think about was how good a handful would feel wrapped around my fingers while I did very filthy things to her. The kiss from earlier in the day had been a sweet and tangy appetizer.
Toying with her mercilessly had been the salad.
Now I was hungry for the entire feast.
Christine’s features were spectacular, her lips not only kissable but so naturally rosy red that all I’d been able to think about was what they tasted like.
With all her stunning features, the one that gutted me the most was her eyes.
They were gateways to an old soul, one who’d lived and suffered too many terrible things.
They held a silence to them that felt like an ocean wrapped in velvet night.
I wanted to ask her about them, but feared she’d either laugh or run away from me.
As if I could blame her.
I’d certainly come on stronger than I usually did. What in the hell had prompted me to act like some barbarian claiming her, insisting she wanted my cock? I had no clue what had come over me. None.
While cursing myself under my breath, I managed to find the real Danny in a room for employees. As soon as I walked in, he turned toward me, shaking his head. He’d obviously witnessed the entire charade.
“Some nice… footwork with the Zamboni,” he offered.
“That won’t get you fired. Will it?”
“A little too late now. Nah, it won’t unless you tell on me. You aren’t planning on doing that. Are you?”
“Ah, fuck, no.” As he opened a locker, I realized just how nice the team had it on the other side of the ice. These metal boxes had certainly seen better days.
“You do know women don’t like to be lied to. Right? I mean I don’t think I need to tell you about how to run your love life. I’m sure you’ve got plenty of women hanging all over you.”
Danny’s honest opinion was entirely different than the ones I was used to hearing.
He was a Zamboni guy, a dude who’d been nice to me since the day I’d walked into the arena, making a point of shaking my hand.
He had no reason to. I was no one special to him, but he’d gone out of his way to acknowledge my presence.
He’d even asked for my autograph.
“I didn’t mean to lie to her, but she flat out told me she can’t stand hockey players.”
“Oh, yeah? How’s that?”
“She called them arrogant assholes or something even worse.”
“Well, they are. You’re the exception, of course.” He grinned as he threw open his locker door. “I guess you’ll be needing skates. Huh?”
“I’ll grab mine.”
“From what I could tell, the lady is pretty savvy. I’ll think she’ll be able to figure out you’re lying to her if you suddenly show up with professional skates that look surprisingly like all those used by the other hockey team members.”
“Well, shit. You’re right. Do they rent skates in this place?”
“Every once in a while, but I won’t stand by and watch you breaking into the main supply room.
That will get us both fired. Here.” He tossed a pair of skates into my arms. “We’re about the same size and even if they don’t fit well, that will go along with your…
fib you told her.” His grin was practically evil.
His sarcasm was duly noted. The reason I’d lied to her was because I liked her. She was not only beautiful but intelligent, witty enough to see through my bullshit. Women were rarely if ever completely themselves around me and her assessment of some of the puck bunnies was spot on.
That had pushed me into hungering to learn more about her. Which meant telling a little white lie.
That wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t like I’d lied about my… profession or anything. Well, hell.
“Can I offer you another piece of advice, Mr. Beast?” Danny continued.
“Why not.” I wasn’t firing on all cylinders in any area of my life.
“Women have a bullshit meter like no one else. She’ll figure you out in fifteen minutes, especially with you pretending not to know how to skate. Haven’t you been on a pair of skates for a few years?”
“Since I was two.”
“There you go. You can take the man away from hockey, but hockey will never leave a man’s blood once it’s nestled inside. Just food for thought.” He backed away with his arms up as if surrendering, then promising not to offer any other advice.
Which in truth I obviously needed.
“Do you have a girlfriend, Danny?”
“Nah, no girlfriend.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe one day you’ll find the right girl.”
He developed a funny look on his face. “I didn’t say I hadn’t found the perfect woman. I just don’t have a girlfriend since I have a wife.”
“Oh, wow. How long have you been married?”
“Twelve wonderful years.” The man had a dreamy look on his face, likely similar to the way my expression had been when watching the fairy princess ice skating.
“You don’t look a day past twenty-five. How old were you when you got married?”
“Eighteen. We have the same birthday and we decided on that very day we couldn’t live without each other. So we got married. We went down to the courthouse and without telling anyone, we just did it. We haven’t regretted a day since.”
“How romantic.” I was being sarcastic.
“Trust me. I’ve made up for it time and time again. But when you know a girl is right, you know and you’re not willing to allow anyone to slide in, taking what you know belongs to you.”
There was something very odd about not only what he’d just said to me, but also the inflection as well. “Well, I’m not ready to settle down.”
“Are you sure about that?”
The answer was right on the tip of my tongue, but I honestly wasn’t certain. “Are you asking if I’m in heat?”
He cocked his head. “Please. You’re not a she-wolf. You’re an alpha male and if you were in the wild, you’d be at the point of dispersal. Or past it. I’ll need my jacket you borrowed.”
Dispersal. Meaning I would have left the pack either by myself or with another to keep from inbreeding, eventually settling and forming a new pack.
He was right.
If I remained in wolf form, which wasn’t the case. Other than controlled hunting, we spent most of our lives in human form, which meant wolf rules didn’t typically apply.
Except for one.
Shifters were different. Our mates called to us instead of us merely picking out a nice-looking girl and scent marking her. For possession.
I handed him the puffy coat, grateful I’d had it earlier.
“It’s funny how you know an awful lot about canine shifters.”
He shrugged, grabbing a duffle bag and closed his locker.
“I’m interested in the pack mentality. I always was.
I don’t mean any harm by it. I just sense your uneasiness.
Now, I better disappear before anyone catches us together and blows your cover.
Just be warned. If you go down this path and she finds out, be prepared to face her wrath. ”
I was more worried about a member of the team spilling the beans versus Danny since it seemed no one else bothered to talk to him.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Maybe I should stop right now before I got in over my head. Too bad I just couldn’t do that. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I wanted to spend some time with a woman.
Was that so damn horrible?
After he’d left, I headed out with his skates, thankful he’d allowed me to use them.
I returned to where she’d rescued me, sitting down and trying to pretend as if I’d never put on a pair of skates before.
Christine found me only a few minutes later, kneeling in front of me.
“Let me do that for you.”
“I think I might be able to handle it myself,” I insisted, but the complete jerk inside of me purposely tied the laces so they’d come untied way too easily, allowing me to fall on my face.
“Hands off,” she instructed.
“Why, yes, ma’am.” Leaning back, I enjoyed watching her lace my shoes. There was something innately natural as well as intimate about what she was doing. Even with her spending time on the ice and developing a sweat, she had a fragrance that could easily knock me on my ass.
If she only knew how difficult it had been for this wolf to control himself. I’d almost kissed her twice, the hunger reaching a precipice I wasn’t used to.
Even now, with the way her ponytail swished back and forth across her upper back, I wanted nothing more than to grab a handful of her hair so I could keep her in place while deep-throating her with my tongue.
Well, hell. I forced myself to look away because it would seem around her my control was slipping.
“There we go. That should do it. Now, come on. I’ve got you. I’d taken the blade guards off. You’ll need to walk like a duck. That will make it easier for you.” She backed away but held her hand out. “Don’t worry. I won’t allow you to fall.”