Someone beat her to it. One second the stench of too many beers clogged my airways, and the next second Chad was jerked firmly backward.

The breath of relief I took from regaining my personal space was extremely short lived.

Gage’s blue eyes were slits as he towered over Chad. “Find someone else to bother,” he said, his voice bordering on a growl.

Chad raised his hands in defense, looking from me to Gage. “She didn’t say she was taken, man. Relax.”

A muscle in Gage’s jaw ticked. The same muscle that always ticked right before he lost his shit. The same look Letti made when she couldn’t put a puzzle together properly, or when she absolutely didn’t want to go to bed.

“She would have.” Gage shot me a glare over his shoulder. “If you’d given her a breath of space. Now, go.” There was no room for debate, Gage’s tone was an order only an idiot would refuse.

And it looked like Chad really wanted to be an idiot.

He straightened his shoulders, not budging. “You’ve got an attitude problem, man. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“He’s a Shark,” Jeannine said, the giggle in her voice shocking me. Could she not tell a fight worthy of the ice was about to break out? Oh wait, of course she could. And it excited her. I shook my head. The only thing keeping the anger at Gage making a claim on me that he had no right to, was the fear for this poor guy who had no idea who he was messing with.

“No shit?” Chad had the audacity to look impressed.

Warren and Rory came down the stairs from the VIP level, flanking Gage’s right and left. The trio together, all clad in suit shirts with the sleeves rolled up, leaving nothing to the imagination about their ripped muscles beneath, were something to freaking marvel at. Even Jeannine noticed it. She shifted her weight next to me as she openly ogled Warren. I sympathized with her, my mouth watering, my body unable to deny how badly it wanted Gage—despite also wanting to punch him for being so stubborn.

“Why are you still here?” Gage asked, his hands in fists. Having his boys at his side only amped the tension up to the nth degree, and I’d seen it escalate too many times before. I glanced around, searching for the paparazzi who would have his finger on his camera, ready to snap away a new meal ticket. The Shark’s bad boys were a feeding frenzy for the paper’s gossip section.

I didn’t want that. And after the incident in the player’s lot earlier, I damn well knew Gage didn’t either.

I took the few steps separating us and intertwined our fingers. The contact sent a surge of electric heat up my arm and straight into my core. He broke his stare with Chad, finally letting me see those gorgeous blue eyes of his.

“Dance with me,” I said. His muscles were locked and I reached up with my free hand, smoothing it over his chest. “I’m not asking.”

He licked his lips, the tension releasing as he turned toward the dance floor, giving Rory and Warren a nod as we went. I heard Jeannine whistle behind us.

The music thumped in a slow, sultry beat and I moved in synch with it once Gage had picked a clear spot on the floor. I rolled my hips, throwing an arm around his neck, but keeping enough distance so our bodies didn’t touch.

“So you’ll claim me the minute someone else is interested but if we’re at home—”

Gage’s lips cut off my words and I instantly forgot whatever I’d been saying. Hot damn this man’s tongue. It parted my lips and trailed the edges of my teeth. He tugged gently on my hair, angling my head so he could kiss me deeper, each flick of his tongue fueling the pulsing heat between my thighs. His free hand clutched the small of my back and he brought our bodies flush, all my soft curves hitting the delicious hard edges of him.

I gasped, kissing him back, harder than I had before, pouring all my anger, doubt, and need into it. Pulling back, he held my gaze, and slipped his hand down my neck, along the skin of my arm, until he settled on my hips. He pressed his forehead to mine, closing his eyes as he moved us to the beat of the music.

My brain told me to push back, to make him open up, force him to trust me, trust us, but my body…oh my body just wanted him to keep touching me. He may have said we’d get each other out of our systems if we crossed that line, but I knew that wasn’t true. Gage made my skin hum and my heart race. And that was just watching him on the ice. When his hands were on me? I was practically on fire, and the need to be consumed by his intensity wasn’t something that could simply fade.

“Bailey.” He sighed into my ear, his cheek pressed against mine as he arched me backward, bringing me back up against him slowly. I trembled, the heat from his voice and his body soaked through my flimsy gray tank-top and it penetrated straight into my center. If he made me ache this badly with just a dance, I couldn’t imagine how it would be with him on top of me, between my thighs. Actually…yes, yes I could imagine, and I wanted it. Wanted him sliding the silk off my body, leaving me bared to him. Wanted his strong, hard body against mine, his mouth everywhere he could reach.

I didn’t just want, I craved him.

“Gage.” I caught his eye then, the flames matching the lust level pumping through my blood. My heart soared with the sight, with the knowledge he wanted me as badly as he did, but the doubt quickly crept back in. I slipped my hand down to his, tracing my fingers over his knuckles. “You were seconds away from pummeling that guy as if he’d checked you on the ice.”

His hands flexed underneath my touch, and he pulled me closer to him, swaying us to the music. “He was crowding you. I could see it on your face. You didn’t like it.”

I arched an eyebrow at him. “You think you can read me that well?”

“I know I can.”

“You think that happens with everyone?” I challenged him, wanting him to see how perfect we could be if he’d just let me in.

He gave the slightest shake of his head.

“So what is it, Gage?” I asked, spinning in his embrace until my back pressed against his chest. I reached up and grabbed his neck, looking up at him from behind. “You want me? Or you just don’t want anyone else to have me?” I shamelessly swished my ass against him, shocked at how hard he already was.

“Is there a difference?” He growled in my ear, lightly nipping at my lobe.

Warm chills danced across my skin and I spun again, rolling my hips against him as he held me with strong hands at my lower back. “There’s a huge difference.”