Page 46 of Icebound Hearts

“We are not flirting.”

Aiden shrugs. “She wishes.” I narrow my eyes at him , while he has a stupid grin on his face.

“Is that right? Aidy.” His nostrils flare slightly, and for the first time, I think I might actually win this one. But then he steps closer, invading my space. “I’ll remember that.” The way he says it—low, full of promise—sends an entirely

different kind of chill down my spine. Done with this conversation, Alexei mutters something in Russian and skates off to stretch.

I square my shoulders. “Are you done?”

“Not yet.” Before I can react, he cups my jaw, leans in, and presses a firm, fleeting kiss against my lips. My brain short-circuits. My heart starts pounding against my ribcage. By the time I process what just happened, he’s already pulling back, that cocky, insufferable grin back in place.

“Go win, Angel Face.” Aiden walks off, leaving me stunned, my heart pounding, and my brain refusing to function. Alexei skates back up to me.

“Did I just see that correctly?” I snap out of it. “Shut up.” Alexei grins at me.

“You’re bright red.” I nudge his arm with a glare on my face. “I will push you on the ice.”He laughs, holding up his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. But at least now I know where your head’sat.” I inhale sharply, pushing every thought of Aiden out of my head. Focus. Compete now. Kill Aiden later.

We take our positions, the announcer calls our names, and as the first note of our music plays, I let everything else fall away. The fire in my veins is stronger than ever. Game on. The second the music starts, my body moves on instinct. Every step, every glide, every jump—I don’t think, I just do. The ice is mine, and nothing exists beyond the routine Alexei and I have perfected.

The tension from Aiden, the way his lips felt on mine before the program—I shove it down. It doesn’t belong here. Alexei and I move as one. The opening step sequence flows effortlessly into the side-by-side triple salchows, and our timing is flawless. The energy in the arena shifts, the crowd catching on, realizing that we’re not just skating—we’re performing. Aiden said to win. So I will.

Alexei throws me into a triple twist, and I land it with perfect precision, the blades of my skates carving clean into the ice. I can feel his grip tighten when he catches me in the final lift, and as we glide into the closing spin, I hear the audience roar before the final note even plays.

When we finish, my chest heaves, the adrenaline still pulsing through my veins. The arena erupts in cheers. Alexei grins, spinning me in a tight hug before lifting our clasped hands in the air. “We did it,” he breathes, his forehead pressing against mine for a second. “That was flawless, Malyshka.” The moment we step off the ice, the cameras swarm. The interviews blur together, my responses automatic, but my mind is elsewhere. All I can think about lately is the grumpy hockey player I live with and how his lips felt on mine.

I know he stayed for the performance. I can feel him watching me. His presence burns at the edges of my awareness, even as Alexei’s arm stays firmly draped over my shoulder.

My body still buzzes from the performance when we reach the locker room. I leave Alexei to celebrate, but when I turn the corner, I nearly crash into a solid wall of Aiden. He’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed, with an unreadable expression.

“What do you want, Aidy?” His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t take the bait. Instead, he pushes off the wall, stepping closer until I have to tilt my chin to meet his gaze. “You skated well,” he says, voice lower than usual.

I blink. “That almost sounded like a compliment.”

“It was. Don’t get used to it.” I roll my eyes.

“And here I was, thinking you might be capable of saying something nice.” Aiden smirks. “I kissed you before your program, didn’t I?”

My stomach flips, but I force myself to scoff. “You ambushed me.” He shrugs. “You didn’t stop me.” I hate that he’s right. I hate that the warmth of his lips is still lingering on mine, that my heartbeat hasn’t quite settled since it happened. “Enjoying yourself?” I ask dryly. Aiden leans in slightly, and I don’t step back. “Immensely.”

I let out a frustrated breath. “You’re impossible.” He chuckles, and for a second, something soft flickers in his gaze.

“Yet, here you are, still talking to me.” I hate that he’s right. I hate that I like it.

I don’t know how long I stand there, staring at Aiden like he’s some impossible puzzle I can’t solve.

His eyes flicker over my face, something unreadable in them, but his usual smirk is nowhere to be found. Instead, he’s watching me like he’s waiting for me to say something first. I won’t because I don’t know what to say. The memory of his lips on mine is still fresh, lingering, and I hate that it’s all I can think about. The warmth, the pressure, the way he pulled away like he hadn’t just completely thrown me off my game. Aiden’s fingers twitch at his side like he’s debating something.

“You gonna keep staring, Angel Face, or do you want to get another round of interviews where you pretend you don’t love the attention I give you?” And there it is—the arrogance. His smirk creeping back in like he’s reclaiming his territory.

“Oh, shut up, Knight. You love it just as much.”

“You know, the last time someone told me to shut up, I kissed them.” He adds with a grin, as his gaze lands on my lips. My face burns, and he knows it. I see the flicker of amusement in his expression, the way his lips twitch as if he’s daring me to react. I take a slow breath and cross my arms. “Do it again, and I’ll break your nose.”

Aiden tilts his head, stepping closer, and I hate that my body reacts before my brain does. The heat, the anticipation, the way-too-much awareness of him. “Tempting,” he murmurs, eyes dropping to my lips before

flicking back up. “But I’d rather wait until you want it. I open my mouth to fire back some snarky remark, but Alexei’s voice cuts through the thick air between us.

“Kat! Come on! The scores are going up!” I tear my gaze away from Aiden, yanking myself back to reality. Right. Scores. Skating. My actual life the thing that should matter more than whatever the hell this is between me and Aiden Knight.

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