THE PLEASURE GAME

Lena

People say ice is cold.

They’ve clearly never met Kane Ravenwood.

The first thing I noticed about him wasn’t his face.

It was the silence.

Not normal silence either. The dangerous kind. The kind that crawled through a crowded room and made people straighten their backs without realizing it. The kind that followed him like a shadow.

Even now, standing at the entrance of Blackthorn University’s hockey arena, I could feel it.

Music blasted through giant speakers. Students screamed from the stands. The smell of beer, sweat, and cold air wrapped around the rink like smoke. The Ravens had just won another game, which the Geant campus would spend the next week worshipping the team like they were gods.

Especially him.

Kane Ravenwood.

Captain of the Ravens.

Campus king.

Professional heartbreaker.

Certified asshole.

I adjusted the strap of my camera bag and ignored the group of girls beside me practically drooling over the ice.

“Oh my God,” one whispered dramatically. “Kane literally fought two guys tonight.”

“Did you see his face after the fight?” another sighed. “I swear I’d let him ruin my life.”

I almost laughed.

He already ruined one.

My brother’s.

The thought tightened something ugly in my chest.

“Mason should’ve been captain,” I muttered under my breath.

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Unfortunately, Zara heard me.

My best friend turned toward me with a tired expression. “Please don’t start.”

“I’m serious.”

“You’re always serious when it comes to Kane.”

“That’s because he’s a jerk.”

“A hot jerk,” she corrected.

I gave her a look.

Zara raised both hands in surrender. “I’m just saying. If evil looked like that, I’d probably risk it.”

Typical.

The crowd suddenly erupted into deafening screams.

The Ravens were leaving the ice.

Players skated toward the tunnel while cameras flashed everywhere. Most of them looked exhausted, laughing and shoving each other after the win.

Then there was Kane.

Black hair damp with sweat. Bloody cut near his mouth. Broad shoulders hidden beneath his jersey with the giant red C stitched across his chest.

Captain.

His expression stayed emotionless while teammates celebUntil someone bumped into him.

The player stumbled sideways.

Kane didn’t.

He simply grabbed the guy’s jersey and shoved him hard against the wall.

The arena went quiet for half a second.

That’s how scary he was.

Even silence obeyed him.

“Elbow me again,” Kane said calmly, “and I’ll break your jaw.”

 detached expression.

Until someone bumped into him.

The player stumbled sideways.

Kane didn’t.

He simply grabbed the guy’s jersey and shoved him hard against the wall.

The arena went quiet for half a second.

That’s how scary he was.

Even silence obeyed him.

“Elbow me again,” Kane said calmly, “and I’ll break your jaw.”

The player immediately apologized.

Coward.

Kane released him and kept well as if like nothing had happened.

The crowd started cheering again.

I stared in disgust.

“There,” I said flatly. “That’s exactly what I mean.”

Zara sighed beside me. “Lena, every hockey player fights.”

“Not like him.”

Nobody fought like Kane Ravenwood.

Not with those dead eyes.

Not with that terrifying calmness.

He didn’t lose control when he got angry.

That was the problem.

He looked most dangerous when he was completely in control.

I pulled my attention away and lifted my camera, snapping photos for the student paper. I only came because our editor begged me after another photographer bailed.

Apparently, everyone was scared of the hockey team.

Understandable.

Especially after what happened to Mason.

I lowered the camera slowly.

The memory hit harder than expected.

My brother was sitting at the edge of his bed three years ago. Broken. Silent. Destroyed after losing everything.

His scholarship.

His future.

His love for hockey.

And Kane Ravenwood had been standing right at the center of it all.

Maybe not directly.

But close enough.

Close enough to become the face of every bad memory I carried.

The locker room doors suddenly burst open.

Players poured into the hallway loudly while students rushed closer hoping for pictures or attention.

I stepped backward immediately.

No thanks.

Zara, unfortunately, moved forward like she’d her lost survival instincts.

“Kane!” some girl screamed.

He ignored her.

Another girl grabbed his arm.

Bad decision.

Kane slowly looked down at her hand touching him.

The girl released him so fast you’d think she’d touched fire.

Good.

Maybe the campus would finally realize he wasn’t normal.

The team continued walking toward the private exit, security surrounding them.

Then it happened.

One second, Kane was moving past the crowNextnext, his eyes landed directly on me.

My breath caught stupidly.

Gray eyes pinned me in place.

Not casually.

Intentionally.

Recognition flickered across his face.

My pulse stumbled.

No.

There was no way.

We’d never actually spoken before.

But then his gaze dropped briefly to the camera hanging around my neck before returning to my face again.

Cold.

Unreadable.

Like he was trying to remember something.

Or someone.

My skin prickled.

Zara leaned closer immediately. “Oh my God.”

“What?”

“He looked at you.”

“So?”

“So?” she repeated like I’d lost my mind. “Kane Ravenwood doesn’t look at people. He threatens them with eye contact.”

I rolled my eyes even though my heartbeat felt annoyingly uneven.

Kane suddenly stopped walking.

The entire hallway slowed with him.

One of his teammates said something, but Kane ignored it completely.

Still staring at me.

The noise around us faded strangely.

It felt too intense.

Too personal.

And for the first time since I’d arrived at Blackthorn University, I understood why people feared him.

Not because he yelled.

Not because he fought.

Because when Kane Ravenwood looked at someone…

…it felt like he already knew how to destroy them.

Then his gaze shifted slightly.

Toward the silver necklace around my neck.

Mason’s necklace.

My brother’s old Ravens chain.

Something unreadable crossed Kane’s face.

Not anger.

Not recognition.

Something worse.

Guilt.

The moment vanished instantly.

His

expression turned blank again before he walked away without saying a word.

The hallway exploded back to life.

Students screamed after him while cameras flashed.

But I remained frozen.

Because for one terrifying second…

Kane Ravenwood looked at me like he knew exactly who I was.