Page 73 of Play Dirty

“You just called me by my actual name.”

That threw him for a loop. He actually stiffened.

“The team knows where I come from now,” I said evenly. “I have a hockey history. I didn’t just drop out of the clear blue sky, with a tablet glued to my hand.”

“So?”

“So that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” I folded my arms. “The team respects me.”

Ares paused, and bit his lip. I’d see him do many things, but I’d never seen him do that before.

“Maybe,” he allowed. “On some levels.”

I laughed. “Please.”

“Look at it from our perspective,” he went on. “You walk in, you don’t say anything, and you start making changes. And now suddenly you prove a point, and everything’s supposed to shift?”

“I didn’t ask for anyone to do anything,” I snapped back at him. “You guys were the ones who assumed I only knew one side of the boards.”

A slow-growing anger was boiling inside me. Especially since this wasn’t a guy who backed down.

“You think that was a power play?” I said, pointing vaguely.

“I think you knew exactly what you were doing.”

I locked gazes with him, and stared even harder into those ice blue eyes. The usual suspicion Ares carried for me was no longer there. It had been replaced by something else, entirely.

“You’re pissed,” I said quietly.

The muscles in his neck flexed.

“I’m not pissed.”

“You are,” I said. “I just don’t know why.”

His lips had gone tight now. Like he’d said too much.

“You don’t like that I didn’t need you to validate me,” I guessed. “You’re not happy that I didn’t wait for permission.”

He shook his head. “That’s not it.”

“You don’t like that I proved you wrong.”

Ares eyes darkened.

“That’s definitely not it.”

“Then what is it?” I pushed.

For a long, pregnant moment, the room was silent. Even the rest of the house seemed to go quiet.

And then suddenly, I knew.

And my eyes went wide.

“Oh shit…” I gasped.

The big defenseman tilted his head. If his jaw got any tighter, his teeth would shatter.