Page 32 of Born of Ice

Electra very slowly raises those magnetic eyes to mine.

Oh, hell…they are not magnetic!They are the enemy’s eyes, okay, Axe? Repeat after me, e-n-e-m-y! The kind that drives you bonkers and prays for your death.Except, she doesn’t feel like one.

Not after today. Not after that game.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She narrows her gaze at me, suspicious as fuck and for yet another unfathomable reason, my dick gets even harder. Because yes, I already have a raging erection for this angry elf.

“It means that I’m going to sleep in it.”

“Like hell you are!” she shoots back, her whole posture growing stiff.

“Haven’t you done enough for one day?” I roll my eyes at her petty attempt to use my flying puck as a jail free card.

“Admit it, you liked it.”

“Is delusion your coping mechanism?” Sure as fuck seems to be. Not that I’m admitting to that.

“Next time we play, you have to actually guard the net, not just yell.”

“There will be no next time,” she says but the words don’t ring as true as she’d like them to.

“We’ll see.” I grin with mischief, shaking off my conflicting and very much unwelcome thoughts and stroll inside, still clutching my own blanket to my chest and now there is no way I’m letting go of it. It’s bad enough thatIknowI got hard for her.

No need to give her any new ammo.

“Stop right there!” She gives me a stern warning when I’m just at the foot of her king-size bed. It’s not the kind I’d imagine this fallen star to have. It’s not light and airy with princessy curtains around it. No, it’s just a simple warm wood frame that matches the overall look of her cabin, and it’s the perfect height for her to move from her wheelchair and back.

Her nightstands are slightly taller than typical, and I can assume it’s to make it easier for her to reach for things on them.

The chandelier on the ceiling and the light fixtures on the nightstands are matching pieces, made from wood and cream materials. Nothing extravagant or modern like my own apartment back in Boston, and for some reason, I feel a sense of warmth here that I’ve never felt at my place.

Or anywhere else.

It actually feels like a home. One where families gather, with lots of kids and laughter.

I don’t think she’s done any of this, though. It was probably all left behind by the previous owners. But still, it’s rather taking meby surprise how comfortable I feel. And freaks the fuck out of me too.

I’m not one for any of that. I never was and don’t see myself changing that. Not when my mind is a broken mess and my heart has ice covering its many bruises.

“Axe.” She snaps her fingers, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Did you just call me Axe?”

“Yeah.” She shifts in her spot. “Why, I’m not allowed to call you by your stupid nickname?” She tries to make herself sound defiant, but her fingers betray her when they start tucking in some lose strands of her hair.

Why did calling me by my nickname make her uncomfortable? Does she think I wouldn’t allow it? Well, that couldn’t be further from the truth, because suddenly, for that same unfathomable reason, I find my eyes tracking her plush, strawberry pink lips, waiting for those three letters to roll off them.

“You are. You can call me whatever you like,” I tell her as if it doesn’t matter to me—which it really shouldn’t—and start moving again only to be stopped, again.

“I did not say you could move,Axe.” Her icy eyes are on mine and the way she says my name, it sends a fucking shiver over my body. A visible one.

I shake it off, swallowing the lump in my throat and keep walking to the other side of the bed. “Well, I’m not about to stand here, freezing my ass off.” I drop to the bed, her firm mattress a welcome change from that couch out there.

It’s not actually cold here, but how else am I going to explain that weird feeling that I still can’t get rid of? Oh, and the constant plea rolling through my head.

Say it again. Say my name like that again. Say it.

I need help. That’s all I’ve got for you. Maybe my reality has finally gotten to me and messed up my head beyond repair.

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