Trashing My Ex with the Ice King

Chapter 10

RYDER'S POV

I struck the puck with brutal force, sending it flying straight into the net. The roar of the crowd echoed through the stands, but my attention wasn't there. For the third time in the last ten minutes, my eyes darted toward the VIP section.

Empty.

The girl still hadn't returned.

I knew she didn't have any more classes today. f**k. A sudden sense of dread washed over me. Ignoring the referee's whistle and the confused shouts of my teammates, I skated quickly to the edge of the rink. I hopped over the boards, carelessly tossing my helmet and hockey stick onto the rubber floor.

Physically, I might still look like the arrogant captain who couldn't care less about the rules. But inside my head? Damn it. I was panicking.

I stomped down the hallway in my heavy skates, heading toward the restrooms and the outer concourse, completely ignoring the stares of everyone I passed. Did she go home alone? Impossible, her bag was still on the seat.

My footsteps halted when my eyes caught a broad, black-suited figure walking from the end of the hall. It was Dante.

I immediately lunged forward, grabbing the collar of his shirt, my jaw tight. "Where is she?" I demanded fiercely.

Dante didn't flinch, already accustomed to my temper. "Miss Collins is currently in the emergency stairwell leading to the west wing rooftop, Sir."

My eyes widened. "What? Why the hell is she up there? Is she trying to run away?" I asked, a sharp edge of anxiety in my voice.

"No, Sir. But it seems something—"

I didn't wait for him to finish. I released his collar roughly and sprinted down the corridor. "Damn it! Didn't I tell you to keep a close eye on her?!" I cursed, furious at myself for letting her out of my sight for even a second.

My heavy breathing echoed against the walls of the deserted emergency stairwell. I pushed the heavy metal door open, and my footsteps stopped instantly.

It felt like a cruel hand had just crushed my heart.

In the middle of the stairs, that beautiful figure was sitting all alone, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. But the moment she registered the sound of my footsteps, she looked up.

My arrogant mask nearly shattered at the sight of her. Her nose was red, and fresh tears stained her cheeks. Those eyes, which usually glared at me with an intoxicating haughtiness, now looked utterly broken and empty.

I walked down the steps toward her, fighting desperately to maintain my guarded expression.

"Why are you here?" she asked coldly, hastily wiping her wet cheeks.

"I should be the one asking. Why is my girlfriend crying all alone in a dark stairwell like this?" I shot back, stopping right in front of her.

Mary looked away. "Leave, Ryder. Aren't you busy being the star of the rink? I'm fi—"

"Who did this?" I cut her off sharply. "Tell me who the f**k made you cry, Mary."

Because I knew for a fact that a girl as strong as her wouldn't crumble like this just over some trash talk from a few petty girls in the stands.

Mary let out an exhausted sigh. Her shoulders slumped. "I can't do this anymore, Ryder. Cancel our deal. I want out."

My body turned to stone. Every muscle beneath my sweat-soaked jersey tensed instantly. "What do you mean?"

"I can't live with you anymore. I'll get a loan to pay off my mother's debt to you immediately. I'm moving out tonight." Mary stood up, refusing to meet my eyes, and tried to step past me.

My jaw clenched. A sickeningly fierce wave of possessiveness set my blood on fire. In a flash, I grabbed her arm and pulled her forcefully against my chest.

"Let me go, Ryder!" Mary struggled, pounding her fists against my chest.

"You ran into Henry while I was on the ice, didn't you?" I hissed over her head. Her body stiffened in my arms, giving me exactly the answer I needed. "What did that bastard whisper to you? What cheap manipulation did he use to make you forget your own revenge, huh?!"

"Let me go!" she screamed, her voice cracking.

"I am not canceling our deal, Collins. And I don't give a damn if you're bankrupt or if you owe me hundreds of millions!" I pressed, tightening my grip around her so she couldn't escape.

Mary broke down into heavy sobs, her tears finally soaking into my chest. "This isn't just about Henry... it's about my father," she whispered hoarsely, sounding so unbelievably desperate. "Ryder... please help me. Help me investigate my father's scandal. Clear his name."

My heart stopped beating at her request.

Richard Collins's scandal.

My hand on her back went rigid. Out of everything she could have asked for, why this?

Her father's bankruptcy wasn't just some ordinary corporate scandal. It was an incredibly dangerous, dark vortex. My own father had once looked at me with lethal eyes, explicitly warning me to never touch anything associated with the Collins name.

If I helped her dig up that past... f**k. I could be dragging her into a far more lethal danger. But... if I turned her down, she would undoubtedly leave. She would hate me, and I would lose her before I even truly had her.

Goddammit. What the hell was I supposed to do?

While I was still at war with my own thoughts, Mary suddenly looked up.

Her swollen eyes gazed at me mournfully, filled with a desperate plea. For the first time, my heart churned wildly at the sight of how fragile she was.

"Why are you quiet?" she whispered hoarsely. "Do you... not want to help me, Ryder?"

My tongue felt heavy. Before I could string together a rejection or any kind of lie, both of Mary's hands shot up, wrapping tightly around the back of my neck. She pulled my face down, squeezed her eyes shut, and crashed her lips against mine.

I gasped. A strangled groan slipped from my throat.

The sweet taste of her lips instantly obliterated my common sense, igniting the wild vortex of lust I had kept tightly suppressed ever since she stepped foot in my penthouse. My sanity shattered on the spot.

Brutally, I returned the kiss. My hand gripped the nape of her neck, tilting her head to deepen the contact. I invaded her mouth, mercilessly devouring her breath and her sweetness with my tongue. Her breathless pants against my lips only drove me crazier.

In one rough motion, my hand tore the coat off her shoulders, letting the expensive fabric drop to the dirty stairs. I pushed Mary until her back hit the concrete wall with a muffled thud. My hands roamed her hips possessively, sliding down to caress her bare thighs beneath her skirt.

"Ryder..." she breathed out in broken gasps.

Hearing my name said in that raspy, passion-filled voice was my ultimate weakness. I completely lost control. I gripped her hips hard and hoisted her body up.

Mary gasped, instinctively wrapping her legs tightly around my waist.

I pressed our lower bodies together, letting her feel exactly how much she affected me. My lips moved down, leaving her swollen mouth to attack her jaw and her slender neck. I sucked on her sensitive skin greedily, leaving wet, reddened marks of ownership. Her body arched in my arms, her fingers fiercely gripping my hair.

The sound of her moans locked my sanity away in the depths of hell. I wanted more than this. My hand moved up, preparing to push aside the collar of her dress and expose her tempting chest—

But suddenly, the cold touch of her index finger pressed against my lips. Stopping me by force.

Both of our breaths heaved heavily in the frigid air.

"If you help me save my father..." Mary whispered against my lips, her chest rising and falling as she held onto the remains of her shattered pride. "...I'll give you more than just this kiss, Ryder. You can take whatever you want from me."

My eyes darkened. f**k. My body reacted instantly to her offer. My blood boiled with lust, and the demon in my head was screaming at me to claim her right then and there. I wanted her so badly. God knows how much I wanted to strip her bare and dominate her in this very spot.

But then, I looked into her eyes.

There was no passion left in them. Only a vacant, broken, and transactional stare.

My chest felt like it had been hit by a sledgehammer for the second time. Someone—that bastard Henry—must have just made her feel so incredibly cheap that a girl as proud as Mary actually believed she had to prostitute herself to me just to get protection and help.

Swallowing hard, I cursed myself for letting my lust take over.

Slowly, I loosened my grip on her hips, lowering her body back down until her feet touched the steps. Then, with a gentleness I never even knew I possessed, I pushed her away just enough to break our physical contact.

Mary stared at me, her eyes wide with shock at my sudden rejection.

I looked down at her, swiping the remaining tears from her cheek with my thumb.

"Save your offer, Princess," I whispered, my voice rough with desperate restraint. "Because when I finally take your body... you're going to give it to me because you want me. Not because you're paying me."