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I slap his hand away and hiss angrily, “What thefuckdo you think you’re doing?”
He raises a hand in mock surrender, his half-empty glass still clutched in the other. “Hey, hey,” he says placatingly, an oily smile plastered on his face. “No harm, no foul. I was only trying to help.”
“Touch her again, and you’ll be the one who needs help,” a deep voice growls from behind me.
I don’t need to turn to know the owner of that voice. Goosebumps erupt down my spine at the familiarity of Harrison’s gravelly timbre.
“Who are you?” Timothy demands, peering up at The Ice Giants Destroyer.
Timothy tries not to wince as Harrison clasps his shoulder in his big paw. “I’m someone you don’t want to mess with. Now, move the fuck away from my woman.”
Goosebumps erupt on my goosebumps.
Did Harrison Tensly just call me his woman?
Chapter Four
Harrison
I’m late arriving at the charity auction. I wasn’t sure I was even coming until thirty minutes ago. I haven’t stopped thinking about the blonde angel who landed at my feet yesterday. I told myself it wasn’t a good idea to come here tonight. Hell, I didn’t even tell Noah, which is why his eyes widen with surprise when they land on me hovering in the doorway. He knows social functions aren’t my thing.
“Harrison? What are you doing here?” he asks, approaching with Elli.
“Not sure myself, to be honest,” I admit sheepishly. “It was a last-minute invitation.”
“I’ve been calling you since last night,” Noah says with a frown, wrapping an arm around Elli’s shoulder as she joins him. “Coach called me.”
“Of course he did,” I grunt. Noah is my agent, so it stands to reason that Coach Larch would call him with the “good” news.
“We knew this was coming, Harrison. I didn’t think it would be this soon, but we both know enforcers aren’t a viable option anymore.”
I got into hockey on a full scholarship. It’s all I’ve known since I was fifteen. Now I’m thirty-one. I know I’m lucky. I’ve had a long career, but foolishly, I never thought it would end.
My naivety pisses me off. Of course,it was going to end, either through injury or aging out. Younger, fitter players make their way up the ranks every day. So yeah, I’m lucky I lasted this long.
My lousy temper isn’t a good look for tonight’s fundraiser, and I’m about to say the hell with it and leave when my gaze snags on Jessica at the bar. She looks ravishing in a blue dress that clings to her curves, and my cock twitches behind the seam of my pants. But she’s not alone. Some fucker reaches out to blot at a stain on her dress and she slaps his hand away, her face tight with anger and a dash of fear.
My feet move without conscious thought as fury bubbles in my veins. How fucking dare he put his hands on her.
“. . . no foul. I was only trying to help,” he’s saying with a cocky smirk as I come to a halt next to him.
I clamp a hand on his shoulder. “Touch her again, and you’ll be the one who needs help.”
“Who are you?” he demands, wincing as I increase the pressure on his shoulder.
He’s ballsy, I’ll give him that. At 6’5, I have at least ten inches on the little fucker. “I’m someone you don’t want to mess with. Now, move the fuck away from my woman.”
My woman?Shit, did I just say that? Sounds . . . right.
The guy swallows audibly and mutters something about re-joining his friends. He scuttles away, saving me from a night in a cell for breaking his nose.
“Are you okay?” I ask Jess as soon as he’s gone.
She nods. “Apart from smelling like a brewery, I’m fine.” She looks up at me, giving me a shy smile that does weird things to my lungs. “You came,” she says softly.
“Wasn’t sure I was, to be honest. But I wanted to see you again,” I confess gruffly.
Jessica’s soft smile breaks into a full-on ray of sunshine.Jesus,this woman is pulling me into her orbit faster than the speed of light. Our eyes lock, and the room drops away as I lose myself in her crystal-blue gaze. I promised I wouldn’t risk my heart after what happened with Shelley, but my sexy blonde nymph is casting some kind of witchy spell over me. And judging by her flushed cheeks and jerky breaths, she’s feeling it too. She doesn’t take her eyes off me,and I’m frozen to the spot, unable to move away from her gaze.
