Page 28 of Broken Ice, Mended Hearts

Sven waited until they’d gone before furrowing his brow. “The fuck was that about?”

“They probably noticed you ogling me while I changed shirts.” My boner had gone down, so I took off my street shorts and pulled on the ones I’d brought for the workout.

The look Sven gave me was somewhere between aghast and amused. “Iogledyou? You were the one drooling when I took off my shirt.”

“I was not.” I gave him the sternest look I could muster. “It might be a long time before I’m ready to have anything drooling out of my mouth.”

He snorted. “We’ll see about that.”

“Fuck off, Holmer. Don’t flatter yourself.” My parry sounded ridiculously fake, but it was important to taunt him a little. I wasn’t sure why, but it was.

He raised his eyebrows in mock indignation. “Well, if that’s how you feel about it, I’ll see you in the gym.” He tossed his empty cup into a nearby wastebasket, turned, and started walking away.

Damn, I forgot about the kiss.I called his name and hurried across the room. When I got to him, my heart was hammering in my chest, and I glanced around to be sure we were alone. “I owe you something.”

“You do?” His brow arched, and his eyes widened with curiosity. The grin that had set up permanent residence in my mind split his face, his lower lip protruding like a savory fruit.

“Yeah,” I replied, my fingers skimming down his chest. “This.” I leaned in and captured his lip between my teeth, tugging gently. “And this.” My tongue traced a path across his upper lip, and I kissed each corner, marking my territory.

“Mm.” The low rumble vibrated against my cheek as he shifted closer. His beard, a whisper of stubble against my scruff, launched a spark through my veins. The raw masculinity of it was enough to make my head spin.

“That all you got?” he whispered.

Anticipation hung thick in the air. “No, there’s this too,” I mumbled before brushing my lips against his. When I pulled back, his warm breath caressed my skin. Anticipation as thick as fog hung in the air.

He grazed his hands up my arms as I trailed a line of kisses down his jaw, loving the feel of his whiskers against my lips. When I drew away, his eyes were smoldering. Silence stretched between us, and I twisted my lips into a smirk. “You gonna kiss me back or just play damsel in distress?”

“Fuck, Pip.” He wrapped his arms around me as his mouth crashed against mine, a hungry kiss devouring his hesitation. Our tongues met in a frenzied dance, fighting for dominance. When I wrapped my arms around him, he tightened his grip on me and pressed himself closer.

I was painfully hard, and as I ground against him, his thick erection made mine throb. We moaned, holding each other in a steely embrace. When we drew apart a moment later, breathless and dazed, everything I thought I knew had been turned upside down. Could I enjoy a kiss with a man so much and have it mean nothing but a show of affection between friends?

“Wow,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Wow.”

“You sure can kiss, Gagné.”

His gaze locked onto mine while that crazy-making smile played on his lips, twisting my insides into a delightful knot. One hand rested on my hip, grounding me while my head spun. Half of me was dazed, basking in the afterglow of our kiss, but the other half was more confused than ever.

Shit, the bewilderment could wait. For now, my lips tingled with the phantom touch of his. I was high on adrenaline, experiencing a giddy disorientation that was strangely freeing. I’d figure it out later. We gazed into each other’s eyes, and another moment passed before we moved on to the gym.

Jack and Eckie hadn’t been kidding about the temperature; it was hot as hell. Sven and I both fiddled with the thermostat, but nothing changed the temperature of the air blowing into the room. “I’ll report this when we’re done,” I said. “We can’t work out every day with no AC.”

We got down on the mats and started our stretching routine. “Except for the temperature, this gym is much nicer than the one at our practice facility,” Sven said. “We’re always jealous when we come up here for games.”

“It’s the best gym I’ve ever seen in an arena,” I said, then moaned as I arched my back off the mat.

Sven stretched his torso to one side, then reversed it and leaned the other way. “When did you start playing hockey?”

“Dad taught me to skate when I was a toddler. That’s real foggy in my memory, but I remember skating and slapping a puck around with other kids when I was four. Don’t know if you could call that playing, but it went from there. How old were you?”

“No memories of learning to skate, but I started playing when I was five. My folks had died the year before, and my Mormor and Morfar loved hockey. They got me started, and I’ve done it ever since. I always dreamed about playing professionally, but it shocked the hell out of me when I got the chance.”

“Same.” I grunted as I stretched a tight hamstring. “Did you always play defense?”

Sven was exhaling through a butterfly stretch, so it was a moment before he answered. “Nah. I wanted to play forward, so I did that for a few years. Then I had a big growth spurt when I was nine, and the coach needed defensemen. Turned out that’s what I was good at, and I’ve been doing it ever since. You always been a D-man?”

“Yep.” I focused on my quad stretch, then flashed him a grin. “We were big Lynx fans, and I worshipped their defensemen. Fortunately, I was good at it.”

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