Page 22 of Icebreaker

Just as I started to lose myself in the sensations, and I thought I would drown in my craving for Axel, he suddenly stiffened. His whole body was tense.

I pulled back and placed my hands on his chest. "Axel, what's wrong?"

He didn't look at me. His eyes focused on something over my shoulder, and he looked pale. I would have guessed he was staring at a ghost.

"It can't be." His voice was soft and strained. "It's not possible."

I turned to see what he was seeing. My heart pounded, and then I saw the man.

He stood at the edge of the parking lot, tall and slim, with dark hair and a face that might have been handsome if he were smiling. Instead, his features twisted into a mask of anger and bitterness.

His words sliced through the night air like a blade tearing through canvas. "Well, well, if it isn't Axel Karlsson, the one that got away." The voice was smooth as silk with an undercurrent of barely restrained anger. "Did you miss me, sweetheart?"

Axel's grip on my hand tightened until it hurt. A shudder raced through his body. In the streetlight's glow, I watched the color drain from his face.

"Dante…what are you doing here?"

Dante Russo stepped closer, and his lips curled into a wicked smile. "What, no warm welcome? No big hugs for an old friend? I'm hurt. After everything we've been through…"

The words hung in the air as my heart pounded and my thoughts raced. I tried to sort out what was going on. All I'd known was that Dante's presence could shatter the fragile happiness I'd begun to build with Axel.

From the look in Dante's eyes, that was precisely what he had in mind.

Chapter seven

Axel

When I saw Dante standing in the parking lot, his cruel smirk animating his face, it felt like ice cracking under my feet. The shock stole my breath and ability to think. The chill of the night air cut through my jacket, but it was nothing compared to the icy dread that settled in my stomach. The past had suddenly rushed forward to swallow me whole.

Quinn gripped my hand, his fingers weaving through my trembling ones. "Axel?" His voice was low and soft. "Is that…?"

"Dante Russo." I finished his question with the bitter taste of the name on my tongue. "My ex."

Quinn tensed. He knew about Dante, of course. Everybody who paid much attention to hockey did after the media circusthat blew up around our public outing. Still, knowing about it and coming face-to-face with the man who shattered my heart and nearly destroyed my career were two different things.

Dante edged closer, and the smirk turned into a sneer. "Is this the latest, Axel? Are you a happy couple?"

"Dante…don't." I tried to issue a warning.

He gave Quinn the once over. "Quite a downgrade, I'd say. Does he know about all the things we used to do together? All the ways I made you beg for more?"

Rage and humiliation began to battle in my gut. Quinn squeezed my hand tight, and I knew he was ready to defend my honor, but I wouldn't let him do that. It was my fight, and it was my demon to confront.

I squared my shoulders to face Dante directly. "What do you want from me?"

He shrugged. "Just wanted to see for myself how far the mighty Axel Karlsson has fallen. Cast off to an expansion squad and now slumming it with a rookie. Tsk, tsk."

"Leave, Dante." My voice was shaky, but it still carried weight. "You aren't welcome here. Go."

Something appeared momentarily in his eyes. I wasn't sure whether it was anger or hurt, but he quickly replaced it with a mocking smile.

"Oh, I'll go…for now, but I'll see you around, Axel. You can bet on that."

With a final, dismissive glance at Quinn, he turned and disappeared back into the shadows. A chilly breeze swept past us.

When he was gone, I sagged against the brick wall of my apartment building, my knees weak. Quinn placed a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

"Are you okay?"

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