Page 40 of Ice King

There was something almost adorable about the way he was huffing and puffing and God help me, but my mind shifted to a nursery rhyme. How horrible of me, but that’s what Ford did to me. Imagine if we were actually friends.

Or something else. Oh, no. I was not going to go down that sinful path.

Why was it that he knew exactly how to create and torment a wound with only a few words? I pushed him hard, more so that I’d intended and he even stumbled against the table. I made it all the way to the door before spinning around, fuming to the point I doubted there was anyone in the building who wouldn’t know how angry I’d become.

“Why don’t you find that newscast the coach mentioned about how I came to your defense. You don’t deserve the crap you’re getting for being a shifter, not that I even knew you existed before coming here. Yeah, I know what you’re gonna say. Was I living under a rock? Well, trust me, Ford, my former life was sheer hell while you were living the good life. Go find that report then come back to me and ask the same question.”

I made out the door before turning around one last time.

“And I triple dare you. We’ll see how you handle it.Wolfman.”

CHAPTER 9

Georgia

“Oh. My. God.” I gawked at the women blanketing the parking lot, many of them dressed as if they were auditioning to become showgirls. Granted, there were plenty of what I’d called normal women in jeans and team sweatshirts on both sides of the equation, but I had a sense they’d drop everything to be with a hockey player.

“A lot to deal with,” Roxanne mused as she pulled me through a huge crowd, many of whom were holding signs. “It didn’t used to be this way. So crazy I mean.”

“Why the change?”

She tossed me a look, carefully avoiding being attacked by a male tailgater. There were plenty of guys dressed up as hockey players in the mix, some a little too garishly for them to be in public. “Shifters. Once they came on the scene, people just went nuts. Look at the press. I know this is an important game and the eleven o’clock news always provided highlights, but this is like a three-ring circus.”

I took a few seconds to scan the crowd as we moved to the back of the line. The parking lot was insane with the number of people. Including some of the same assholes picketing both the event and the players involved.

Shifter players.

Go chase rabbits

We don’t want your kind

Bloodthirsty animals

And another one that would remain on my ‘best of’ list.

A hunk, a hunk of burning beastly love

“Wow,” I murmured without realizing it.

Then I noticed the woman I’d had a run-in with before and offered a growl.

“What are you doing?” Roxanne noticed my line of sight. “Oh, the woman you told was missing out on hot sex. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Please tell the whole thing hasn’t spread too far.” The woman with the picket sign turned away, almost as if shaking from fear. I almost pounded my fist in the air, until reality set in.

“Oh, girl. I think you might be famous.”

“No. No. No!”

“Oh, yeah.” She snickered and I was ready to crawl under a rock. My life couldn’t get any worse.

“I can’t breathe.”

“Oh, stop it. What you did in taking up for the shifters, brilliant. I wish I’d done the same thing. Did you see any of the recent headlines?” she asked, the line moving fairly quickly.

“No. I try not to pay attention to the news as you well know.”

She chuckled while pulling out her phone, scrolling with her thumbs. “Look at this one.”