Page 13 of Ice Devil

“Well, you certainly captured my attention.”

“Then I’m glad I’m wearing vodka instead of gin.”

“Hey, Devil man. Where are those drinks?” Doc called from behind me.

She leveled her eyes on their table, the edges of her upper lip curling as she did. “The answer is simple. Because I peppered people with questions from the time I started talking.”

While I was pulling out my wallet, I stopped mid-action to study her face. “Did you ever get the answers you hoped you’d receive?”

Her expression fell flat, the mask returning. “No, which was why I kept asking. Finally, a teacher in high school told me that I should become a reporter.”

“Good call.”

With a slight huff, she blew hair from her face. “I assure you he wasn’t being nice or mentoring my capabilities at that point. He was tired of me finding mistakes and pointing them out.”

We both laughed and I nodded to the bartender when he took the credit card.

“Well, for what it’s worth, he was right.”

“A compliment coming from the Devil himself. I’ll consider my night a success.”

“Contrary to what you might have seen earlier, I’ll always compliment a beautiful lady, especially one who could light up an entire city with her smile.”

“Hmmm…” she murmured.

“Laying it on a little too thick?”

“Afraid so. I assure you I’ve seen and heard it all.”

While the moment was suddenly quiet, all noise in the bar fading, I found myself unable to look away, every nerve ending in my body painfully alive in her presence. How long had it been since I’d felt a stirring from my wolf?

A long time. Years in fact.

But he was suddenly awake.

And he was very hungry.

The gravitational pull left a heavy, deep ache that took every ounce of control to deny.

When she looked toward the team again, I sensed my longing had done little more than drive her further into a darkened space where she was more comfortable.

“Would you like to join us?” Idiot. What the hell was wrong with me? Whatever the connection we’d just shared, I’d blown it. The reality was easy to see by the shift in her expression.

“No, I have an article to finish, but go enjoy. You certainly earned it.”

Nodding, I shoved my credit card into my wallet. “Good luck on your article.” I grabbed the beers first with both hands, preparing to walk away. “I’m sorry Ford couldn’t talk to you. He’s the star of the team.”

“Don’t worry. I have everything I need for the article.” She glanced down to my boots and for the first time in my life I felt as if I was being undressed with a woman’s eyes.

And I liked it.

“One last question,” she said more softly than at the arena.

“Sure.”

“Why the Devil?”

It took me a few seconds to realize she was talking about my name on the ice. “From what I heard, from my devil-may-care style.”