Page 55 of Top Shelf

Instead, I go on the hunt.

Forher.

I track her down in a supply closet behind the weight room, crouched next to a crate of spare helmets. She’s organizing labels or some pointless shit Carver dumped on her—anything to keep her busy and invisible.

Too bad I see her.

Her head jerks up as I step into the cramped space, blocking the exit with my body. Her eyes widen, not in fear, but in challenge.

Good.

This is better than the flinching.

Better than her pretending we don’t exist, like she has been doing ever since her littlechatwith Ronan. I know it’s gotten her cogs turning. I catch her glancing our way, and no longer is her gaze filled with a mixture of fear and hatred…but doubt. Confusion. She doesn’t know what to believe. Who to trust. Herself or us.

If only she would justaskus.

But until she’s ready to face that night, to face the gaps in her memory, the unknown, we’ll wait. We’ll watch over her. Protect her—even from guys likeEvans.

“What were you laughing about?” I ask, although it’s really more of a growled demand.

She blinks, holding strong against the anger lacing my words. “Excuse me?”

“With Evans.” I step closer, crowding her space. I’ve been gentle. I’ve held back, but I’m not someone who understands restraint, and I’m about at my limit. “What did he say that was so funny?”

Her brows knit, irritation flashing. “That’s none of your business.”

“The hell it isn’t.”

Fire flashes across her irises, and she stands straighter, her chin tilted up defiantly. It’s sexy as fuck, and this warm feeling of pride takes root in my chest. Unable to withstand the distance between us, I move closer, needing to be in her orbit. I move until we are skate-to-toe, my larger frame casting her completely in shadow as the fluorescent lights flicker above us.

“Wait,” she says, realization dawning. “Is that why you threw him through the glass? You could have killed him!”

I roll my eyes. “It was safety glass. So he spilled a little blood; if you ask me, he got off easy.”

“Because he made me laugh?” Her brows are dipped low over her eyes as though she can’t understand my reaction, but she doesn’t see what I see. The absolute beauty that is her pain and suffering, her fight and resilience. She’sstunning. I’d throw the whole damn team through the glass just for looking at her if it wouldn’t get me permanently kicked off the ice.

“Because I already warned him once,” I growl, hands curling into fists at my side and eyes flashing with menace.

“You—what? You can’t do that, Lucian!” Unexpectedly, her hands come up to shove at my chest—a futile effort since I weigh double what she does and tower a good foot-and-a-half above her. Rage paints her cheeks a pretty shade of red that makes me want to piss her off more often. “I’m not your property,” she snaps. “I’m not your anything. A fact I’ve made quite clear.”

“By ignoring me?” Ducking my head, I bring us face-to-face, forcing her to stare straight into my eyes. “Ignoring my texts. Trying to pretend like I—likewe—don’t exist?”

“So what if I have?” she throws back, crossing her arms over her chest. It causes her arms to press against the front of my jersey, and my gaze inadvertently drops to the swell of herbreasts beneath the crisp, cream blouse she has on today. She always does a staggeringly impressive job of straddling the line of professionalism and making me want to bend her over the nearest hard surface to find out what color panties she has on beneath her skirt. “Since apparently none of you are capable of doing as I ask and leaving me alone, I’m left with no other choice but to ignore you.” Her lip curls in a sexy little snarl. “Whatever you think you are to me…you’re not.”

“Oh, how wrong you are, Little Moth.” I can’t help myself. I reach up, twining a stray strand of hair that has come loose from her tight bun around my finger. The auburn color contrasts beautifully against my paler skin before I pull on it just sharp enough to make her gasp. “I’ve seen the fire underneath all that fear, and I’ve already decided. You’re mine.”

I don’t give my words a chance to truly land, to penetrate, before I eliminate the space between us. My lips land on hers, powerful and demanding. Her mouth opens on a gasp, and I bulldoze my way in, my tongue tangling with hers. Fireworks go off in my head. For the first time ever, the noise just…stops. The demons constantly clawing at the edges of my psyche go quiet.

Before I can fall too deep into the vortex that is Wren Winslow, tiny, ineffectual fists smack against my chest, and she wrenches her lips from mine.

“What the hell was that?” she accuses, but her lips are swollen, her eyes glassy. I can see her chest rising more rapidly than it was before. Maybe pushing her was the wrong move to make, but she had to see.

“Tell me,” I demand, holding her gaze and daring her. “Tell me you seriously believe we’re the ones who hurt you.”

Her lips part, but no words come out.

I daringly step closer, swallowing up her space. “Tell me that kiss didn’t just confirm everything you’ve been questioning.”