Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
I take his hand in mine, when our fingers touch, a wave of heat spread through my body.
It’s cold out, but I feel no chill.
Instead, the feeling of skin touching skin sends an electric current through my body.
I move my hand, and he lets me.
My eyes are trained on his, watching him watch me. I can tell he’s wondering what I’ll do. He knows he should stop, but he won’t. He’s too curious. Too caught in my spell.
He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
I can almost feel the way his chest rises and falls with every heavy breath he takes. The anticipation is doing the same thing to him that it’s doing to me.
I place his hand on my thighs, and his fingers trail up my leg. As he does, he wipes away the tiny crystals of water that cling to my skin. Soon, he’s made it to the material of the bikini. His finger traces the thin lace, eyes bouncing between the thin fabric and my eyes.
I take a deep breath. “Do it.”
His finger dips beneath. My heart rattles fiercely. Just as I think he will touch me, he drops his hand and stands abruptly.
“No.”
And with that one word, the air suddenly chills to arctic levels, and I’m left standing alone and utterly disappointed.
30
DANE
The chill of the ice seeps through my gear, grounding me in the familiar feeling I’ve grown to love and hate in equal measures. Wolfe and Aiden flank me, their presence a reassuring force amid the sound of skates slicing and sticks clashing.
As the puck slides toward us, instinct takes over. I dig my blades into the ice, pivoting with controlled aggression. Wolfe surges ahead, deftly flicking the puck to Aiden, who swiftly maneuvers around Hudson, who’s our opponent for this drill.
I circle back, eyes fixed on Aiden as he weaves through the defense. Time slows as I anticipate his move, a split-second decision that could tilt the odds in our favor. With a flick of his wrist, Aiden sends the puck soaring toward me.
I intercept the puck in one fluid motion, skating hard toward the goal. Wolfe streaks alongside me, ready for any rebound.
Aiden’s shout cuts through the rink, guiding me with pinpoint precision. I feint left, then right, drawing the goalie off balance.
I release the puck and watch it sail past the goalie’s outstretched glove.
“Hit the showers,” Coach yells, signaling the scrimmage is over with that point and so is practice.
Thank fuck.
My legs are burning. Coach seemed different today.
Like he was exorcising a demon.
What’s up with him? Is this about dinner last night?
It makes me wonder if I’m missing a big part of the puzzle on his and Josephine’s relationship. I know there’s a story there, and I know I’ve said multiple times that it’s not my business.
But for some reason, even though I tell myself that, I find that what she does is my business. It doesn’t quite make sense, and I don’t like the feeling, but I just have this sense that everything she does is important.
It makes no fucking sense.
One by one, each team member slowly files out of the rink, leaving it eerily quiet and empty.
I’m not ready to go yet, so I don’t. Instead, I pull my arm back and slap another shot.
I need to get my head back into hockey, and sometimes, when I’m alone on the ice, it’s the best time.
Coach knows I like to stick around on the ice and let the guys get a head start before I head back to the chaos of the locker room, so he doesn’t even question it anymore. In the past, Aiden was the last off the ice, but recently, that’s changed. Now he rushes off.
Today, even Coach hurried off the ice, seeming irritated.
At one point, he said something about not getting lazy since we won the Cup this year.
After seeing how much Hudson has been partying and how MIA Aiden has been, I think he’s probably on to something.
I’m certainly not giving it my all.
If anything, I’m barely functioning these days.
I need the little hellfire to leave. I just haven’t figured out a way to tell Coach she has to go without getting her in trouble.
I’m torn.
I need her gone, but I don’t want this to look bad for her.
She didn’t do anything wrong, but she’s too damn tempting, and the more time I spend with her, the harder it is to remember why I can’t just grab her in my arms and kiss the ever-living fuck out of her.
I head toward the edge of the rink. My teammates are long gone, leaving the showers open. I had been in my own little world, skating around and thinking about Josie, and I completely lost track of time.
I see movement to my left and skate around to see who’s here, and when they come into view, my jaw tightens.