Page 54 of Broken Ice, Mended Hearts

“Why are you telling me this? Surely we aren’t supposed to go up there.”

His big grin returned. “Fuckhead. Do you always follow the rules?”

He was wearing me down enough that I shot him a little smile in response. “No, but this seems like something that might cause trouble.”

“Come on.” He reached down and adjusted himself through his pants. I’d noticed he had a way of doing that when he was trying to convince me of something, and I wondered if it was a reminder of what would come later or a subtle threat to withhold favors. As horny as he always was, it had to be the former. “Let’s skate for fun,” he said. “Just you, me, and some one-on-one action.”

Groaning inwardly, I almost offered an alternative form of one-on-one action, but I was too tired for that as well. Morning skates were bad enough during the season, and August was for recovery. “Don’t we do enough skating during the year? Training camp will be here soon, so let’s stick to our usual routine.”

Uncertainty flickered in his eyes, quickly replaced by a vulnerability that tugged at my heart. “But the ice is clean,” he said. “They smoothed it over last night and no one has skated on it since.”

We were alone, so I stepped closer and traced a finger down his chest. “What are you thinking, Pip?”

His grin returned, but it was different now—less cocky, more hopeful. “Can we ditch the routine and have a skate date?”

His words hung in the air, and the balance shifted. Pip, a fearless player on the ice who was trying to come to terms with dating a man, had exposed a softer side. His pleading expression made my heart skip a beat. A skate date, time on the ice just for us, might be exactly what we both needed.

I ran a hand down the side of my body, indicating my tank top and gym shorts. “My workout gear’s all I’ve got today. I don’t have any skates here, either.” I bounced my eyebrows. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to your place?”

He put his hands on my arms. “We’re about the same size, so you can wear some of my other stuff. Your feet are size twelve, right? At least that’s what you bought when we went shoe shopping.”

“Yes.” He’d captured my eyes by then, and I already knew I’d do anything he wanted.

“Then…” Leaning in, he brushed his lips against mine. “You can wear some of my skates. I’m a twelve too.”

“Seems like you’ve thought of everything, so you win. But if we get in trouble, you’re taking the rap.”

“Why, Sven…” He used a babyish voice and turned on his best smirk. “Is my big guy afraid of getting a spanking?”

Handing his smirk right back to him, I said, “Maybe, unless you’re the spanker.”

He snickered. “Oh, I used to spank it a lot. Not so much now, though, since you want to fuck all the time.”

Fantasies filled my head as I remembered yesterday afternoon, me on my knees, Pip kneeling behind me, fucking me like an animal. My cheeks stung, and I reached down to cup his groin. He’d popped a semi, so I squeezed his dick through his pants and whispered, “We’ll do it again today, as soon as we get home.”

“That’s a good plan. You behind me this time?”

“You’ve got it.”

He blew out a breath and rolled his shoulders. “Good deal. Now, let’s get you dressed out for skating.”

After I changed, Pip gave me one of his sticks, and we went through the tunnel to the arena. Something about unscarred ice in an empty rink is irresistible. That’s why morning skates are fun, once you get yourself there.

As soon as we were on the ice, we pushed off and did some warm-up laps. Since we were both fast and strong on our skates, we tested each other from the moment we took off. We were hockey players, after all, and you don’t make it to the NHL without a serious competitive streak. I’d worked up a sweat by the third lap, and the chill air rushing over my cheeks and ears felt good.

“Holding up, big guy?” Pip asked.

I glanced over, and he was wearing a snarky smile that made my dick twitch. “I should ask you that,” I said. “You’re the old man.”

“Fuck off, Holmer.” Cackling, he poured on a burst of speed and shot ahead of me.

I sped up too, but it took a lot of effort to catch up. When I was beside him, he showed me his smirk again. “Took you long enough. You’re out of shape.”

“Helvete!How do you go so fast?”

“It’s all the years trying to keep up with Nick and Tyler. You think I’m fast? They’re like bullet trains.”

“Tell me about it.” Trying not to show I was winded, I sneaked a small breath. “I’ve tried to keep up with them plenty of times.”

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