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Great.
I’d finally gotten the bad boys of the Rush tamed, and now this giant one was here, and I had a feeling he was going to fuck things up and cause trouble and just genuinely make a nuisance of himself.
Howdid I know this?
Because he had that twinkle in his eye.
Because his rumbly, deep voice went silken when I started to move past him—ignoring Joel because that was best for my sanity (something that had been easy to do over the last month because I hadn’t seen him since I’d left him sleeping on that cot in the gym).
“Hey, princess,” the big, big man murmured. “Nice slippers.”
I turned, raised my brows (and in order to give the giant my signature Mayor Look, I did that looking way,wayup). “Cute,” I muttered.
A wide grin. “I know.” He winked, ran a hand down his torso. “And we could be cute together.”
Laughter bubbled up in my chest, but I didn’t let it loose.
I knew instinctively that if I gave this man an inch, he’d take a goddamned mile.
“Or,” I said, “I can continue to be cute by myself and you can continue being”—I waved a hand from his toes on upward and started to take off—“whatever it is that giants are.”
This was my critical error.
Because it gave him an opening.
“Just saying I’m gianteverywhere.”
Shit.
The laughter in my chest exploded.
The big man laughed too, his face lit up with amusement, his smile framed by that big, bushy beard.
Joel didn’t. He was scowling, his body angled as though he was going to stand between us,movebetween us. “Cool it, Fox,” he muttered, shoving his teammate back. “This is Billie Rose, the mayor of River’s Bend.”
Fox—and seriously, what the fuck kind of name was Fox?—didn’t cool it.
He smirked, tugged at a strand of my hair, the curls straightened and tamed for once. “I like a challenge, princess.”
I smiled up at him sweetly. “Call meprincessone more time and I’ll shove thiscuteslipper”—I lifted my foot in question—“where you won’t appreciate the pointy little beak.”
That smirk didn’t go away. “Maybe I’dlikethe pointy little beak, princess.”
Swear to God. Fuckinghockeyplayers.
They just blew right by any barriers I tried to erect. Meanwhile, I slid one arch glance to anyone else and they immediately got in line.
That didn’t mean I backed down—and it didn’t mean I disliked the verbal sparring.
In fact, after the lecture, the disappointment settling over me like a weighted blanket, compressing my lungs, and making me feel far too fucking claustrophobic—after all of that, bantering with Fox was like breathing free.
No smoke.
No fire.
Just…me.
“Sure, playboy,” I drawled. “Next thing, you’ll tell me you want me to give you a pedicure and buy you your own pair.”
