Hands Off The Ice King novel Chapter 21

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Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Levi’s POV

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I could feel her looking away the second I started pulling my uniform off, and it nearly made me chuckle. Hope tried sa hard to act unaffected all the time, but her face betrayed her every single damn time.

Especially those cheeks. Bright red.

I shook my head, amused as I tugged the jersey over my head and tossed it onto the chair nearby.

“Just look,” I sighed. “I’m wearing a tank top underneath. You don’t have to act all shy.”

She immediately turned toward me, lips pursed in annoyance, though the blush staining her cheeks only deepened.

“I wasn’t looking away because I’m shy,” she argued quickly. “I was respecting your space.”

“Mm-hmm.”

The glare she sent me was sharp enough to cut skin. Then she moved closer before I could tease her again, focusing on my shoulder instead. Her fingers carefully pressed against the muscle, rotating my arm slightly while watching my expression for any sign of pain.

Her brows pinched together instantly.

I stared at her quietly.

Hope’s face was quite expressive. Every tiny reaction flashed across her features without her realizing it. Concern. Frustration. Concentration. Relief.

Watching her was strangely entertaining.

Somewhere along the way, I’d stopped hating being touched by her, too.

I had always hated physical contact. Past physical therapists annoyed me within minutes. I barely tolerated Nate checking my injuries most days, and he was one of my most trusted colleagues.

Yet here Hope was, standing between my legs while examining my shoulder.)

I didn’t feel trapped with her hold.

Was it because she was actually good at what she did?

Or because she smelled good?

Or because some stubborn instinct in the back of my head kept insisting she was different from everyone else?

I shoved the thought away before it could settle too deeply.

It was the scent thing. That had to be it.

She smelled clean. Warm. Sweet, but not overpowering. Nothing like Delaney’s heavy perfume that lingered in the air long after she left a room. And definitely nothing like the locker room idiots who thought spraying half a bottle of cologne over sweat counted as hygiene.

My nose wrinkled slightly.

“Why is your scent like that?”

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11:45 wed,

Chapter 21

Hope froze, slowly looking up at me with a confused frown.

…What?”

She lifted her sleeve and sniffed herself before glaring at me.

“I showered, you know.”

I realized that came out wrong.

“I mean “I cleared my throat. “What perfume are you wearing?”

“Oh.” Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “I don’t wear perfume.”

My brows lifted.

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“It’s probably just my soap,” she muttered while still inspecting my shoulder. “Goat’s milk and peach or something. got it at the drugstore because it was a buy one get one deal.”

“Although, it’s always buy one take one whenever I go there, so I think it’s just a marketing tactic.”

The laugh escaped before I could stop it.

Hope immediately looked up at me, startled.

For a second, she just stared. Then her eyes widened slightly, and color flooded her cheeks again like she’d just remembered I was shirtless.

“What?” she muttered defensively.

I shook my head, still amused. “Nothing.”

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously before clicking her tongue.

Then, without warning, she sat beside me on the bed.

“Give me your leg.”

I raised a brow.

“Bossy.”

“You’re injured,” she shot back. “You don’t get opinions right now.”

I almost laughed again. I stretched my leg onto the bed, watching as she carefully grabbed my ankle. Her hands were warm against my skin while she rotated it gently, testing the range of motion.

The deeper she moved it, the more her expression twisted. From the look on her face, it felt like she was the one hurting.

A small crease formed between my brows.

Why did she look more upset about my injuries than I did?

Hope clicked her tongue before suddenly flicking my shin.

I frowned. “What was that for?”

“You should know when to stop, Levi.”▾

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Chapter 21

There it was again. That frustrated little glare.

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“It’s just a practice game,” she continued. “And you already ended up like this. Your shoulder’s barely holding together, and now you’ve got a sprain too.”

She shook her head.

“You nag more than Forest.”

“Well, someone needs to,” she snapped immediately. “Because clearly, you don’t listen to anybody.”

I leaned back slightly, watching her continue inspecting my ankle. Her fingers pressed gently along the swelling, careful despite how annoyed she sounded.

“What even happened?” she muttered. “For a sprain this bad, you must’ve landed wrong or twisted it weirdly.”

My jaw tightened instantly.

Liam.

Just thinking about him irritated me.

That bastard had always known exactly how to get under my skin.

Family dinners at the mansion were already exhausting enough without him constantly turning everything into a competition.

The funny part was I never even considered him as competition. Not even once. He simply wasn’t good enough for that.

Liam had always hated that. And during the game earlier, he’d spent every second proving it. Cheap hits when the referee wasn’t looking. Shoves against the boards. Trash talk every chance he got.

I ignored most of it because reacting would only give him what he wanted.

However, during the second period, he opened his filthy mouth again.

“Who’s the chick at your bench?”

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