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I react without thinking, spinning toward him, grabbing his neck and slamming him back into the lockers. “Don’t fucking talk about Nova’s ass.”
The fucker clearly has a death wish because he just smirks again, wider this time, before he glances over at Leo and Riggs. “And apparently, our captain likes Nova’s ass so much, he’s feeling possessive.”
I squeeze my hand.
He coughs.
Then because it won’t be great for our season to kill one of the few decent guys on the team, I let him go.
“He saved her and her dog from a snowbank,” Knox rasps, rubbing his throat, his snark and bullshit not tempered in the least. “Now he’s gone full caveman and claimed her. Should I get you a stick to bang her over the head with too?”
I retie my shoes—only so I won’t throttle him again. “Dead. Fucking. Man.”
Knox laughs.
Leo leans back, crosses his arms, studies me. “You like her.” Not giving me shit. Not pushing my buttons. Just an observation.
Riggs nods in agreement.
Fuck, this is why I don’t do this shit.
But…I opened up to Nova and she didn’t run away screaming. She opened up to me and—
Normally, I would have told them all to fuck off then hauled ass to the gym. Today…I want something different.
Something more.
I ignore how fucking stupid that sounds—even in my own head—and mutter, “Yeah. She’s cool.”
Knox snorts. “Cool?”
“Dude,” Leo says. “Do youwanthim to murder you?”
Another nod from Riggs.
“Cool, though?” he says. “That’s seriously how Lake Jordan, sexiest athlete around, glistening cover model, vodka slinger, and big, tough hockey player is going to describe the first woman he actuallylikessince I’ve known him.”
Murder.
M.U.R.D.E.R.
“Baby steps, man.” Leo yanks off his sweatshirt, shoves it in his locker. “Take the win, take that he’s not still choking you, and let’s move the fuck on.”
One more nod from Riggs.
But not from Knox. He just opens his mouth—
And I lose it, the words exploding out of me. “She’s beautiful and cool—really fucking cool—and I’m going to keep her, okay? So fuck off and let’s go work out.”
Silence.
I backtrack through my words.
Realize what the fuck I just said out loud.
Fucking.Stupid.
“Dude,” Knox says.
