Page 45 of Stay
It doesn’t take long before I’m imagining Cole caressing my insides with long smooth strokes. God, I bet he’s good at it. I mean, come on, of course he is. His kisses are literally mind-blowing. Even thinking about them has me clenching my inner thighs together, which is something I’ve never felt compelled to do.
“Cassidy?”
I blink and refocus my attention on Cole. I can’t believe I was just thinking about that. Here I am, practically fantasizing about him when all we’ve done up to this point is kiss. But they were some seriously super-hot kisses, if that counts for anything. Mentally, I’m nowhere near ready for more. And yet, it seems like my body is begging for it.
I give my head a little shake to clear it. This charade has gone on long enough. It’s time to end it. For a moment, I wonder if he’ll be pissed that I played him. I hope not, but I guess we’re about to find out.
I take one long, perfect stroke, and then a second.
“Cassidy!” He beams. “You’re doing awesome! Keep it up, baby!”
My eyes widen and I almost stumble at the endearment.
“Careful!” He looks ready to race over and catch me if needed. The funny thing is that I wasn’t even trying to stumble. I take another long stride and then another until I’m flying across the ice.
“Holy fuck,” he shouts in amazement as I leave him behind.
At this point, I can’t contain myself. A few chuckles slip free as I pick up more speed. I crouch low, finally doing what I’ve been dying to and push myself faster. It feels so good to stretch my legs and use muscles I haven’t exercised in almost a year. Even as I speed across the smooth ice, it feels like second nature. I peek over my shoulder only to find Cole standing where I left him. His mouth is hanging open as he continues to track me. I round the corner, racing up the other side of the ice until I whip past him, flipping around so I can wave as I skate backwards around another curve. With our gazes locked, I crisscross my skates, picking up more speed in a series of complicated strokes.
I see the moment understanding dawns across his face. “You,” he bellows, “knew how to skate the entire time!”
I can’t help the gurgle of laughter that falls from my lips at his stupefied tone. The expression on his face is priceless.
“No, you’re just a really great teacher,” I yell back. “Didn’t all those five- and six-year-olds take off like this?”
My snappy response spurs him into motion as he digs his blades into the ice and takes off after me. Because he’s fast, I know he’ll catch me in a matter of moments. I flip back around before forcing my legs to pick up more speed.
When he finally catches up, he jerks me into his arms as we continue to circle crazily across the ice. I shriek, afraid that we’re going to fall. When we slow, I’m laughing so hard that tears are streaming down my cheeks and my belly hurts.
He bands his arms around me as his eyes narrow with disbelief. “I can’t believe you lied to me!”
A smile lights up my face as I shake my head. “Technically, I didn’t lie. I never actuallytoldyou I couldn’t skate. You justassumedIcouldn’t.” I giggle before adding, “You know what they say when you assume. It makes an ass out of both you and me.”
His arms tighten even more until I find myself pressed up against his body. A heartbeat later, his lips crash onto mine in a kiss that almost makes me forget my own name. Even though this kiss is more forceful than the others we’ve shared, it still doesn’t scare me. Instead, it turns me on. Just as that realization hits me, he backs off.
“Sorry.” Breathing hard from our race across the ice, he leans his forehead against mine.
“It’s okay.” I hold his gaze before adding softly, “I liked it.”
A slow smile spreads across his face. “Is that so?” One brow arches as he searches my gaze.
“Yup.”
And I want more of them.
More of him.
“Noted.”
He leans in, slanting his lips gently across mine. After a few seconds, he draws away. “Figure or hockey?”
A patronizing smile curves my lips. As a female hockey player, I’d always looked down on all that figure skating crap. My forced retirement from the sport hadn’t changed that. “Hockey, of course.”
“Unbelievable.” He untangles his arms from around me before taking off toward the door that leads off the ice.
For the first time, anxiety slices through me as I hug my arms around my middle. “Where are you going?” Even though I found this little prank amusing, maybe he didn’t.
“To get another stick,” he shouts as if it should be obvious.
