Page 201 of Stick It
Whatever you need to tell yourself, babe.
We head to the arena, grab some skates, and hit the ice. At first, we skate in circles, darting around each other, testing speed and grace. I try a spin and almost eat ice, making her laugh so hard she doubles over.
“Okay, okay,” I pant, even though my face is split with a grin. I knew getting her out here would help clear her head. Just like we needed to earlier with Lucas, she just needed to blow off some steam. On the ice is her happy place. She just needed to get out here for a bit when there was no one else around, no expectations or orders barked. Just her and the ice. And I’m the lucky one who gets to witness her transformation. “Show me how it’s done.”
With a dramatic flair, I gesture over the rink.
“Mm.” She taps her lip. “And what do I get if I can pull it off?”
Skating over to her, I grab her hands in mine and spin us in a circle. “What is it you want, Dylan Callahan?”
It’s the first time I’ve said her fullactualname aloud. I still can’t believe she’s Patrick Callahan’s daughter. Thatshe has the blood of a freakin’legendrunning through her veins.
Hell, she’s a legend in her own right.
She might have inherited some talent from her father, but her skills, her dedication, her dogged determination…that’s all her. She’s the impressive player she is today, not because of her father, but because of the hard worksheput in.
Needing to feel her closer, I pull her in against my chest. Her gaze drops to my lips, and I can’t help but smirk. “If a kiss is what you want, Hellion, you don’t need to perform some fancy figure skater move to get one.”
A slight pink hue dusts her cheeks that could be mistaken by the cold air if it wasn’t for the fact that it wasn’t there a second ago. Despite that, she rolls her eyes at me, pushing against my chest. I refuse to let her go, tightening my hold around her waist.
“Is a kiss what you want, baby?”
For the first time in…ever…she seems almost bashful, gnawing on her lower lip before softly saying, “Maybe.” She looks up at me from beneath her eyelashes, her hands sliding up the front of my chest. There might be several layers of clothing between her hands and my skin, but I swear I feel the heat of her against me. “I miss our secret, impulsive kisses.”
My hand moves on instinct to cup her cheek. God, how I’ve missed kissing her too.
“I’ve been trying to make it up to you,” I tell her softly.
“I don’t want you to hold yourself back from me.”
My hands flex around her hips.
She searches my gaze, although for what, I have no idea.
“Yeah, you were an ass about it, but I liked the way you’d drag me into a dark corner because you justhadto kiss me. Like you couldn’t stand going another second without doing so.”
“I couldn’t,” I rasp.
I still can’t, I’ve just gotten better at shoving the urge down.
She smiles softly up at me, and goddamn, it’s the most beautiful sight.
“I’m loving this new side of you, but I want that side too. I don’t want you to hold any part of yourself back from me, Finn.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking, Hellion,” I warn her, my hold on her verging on bruising.
Entirely unaware that she is waving a red flag in front of a bull, she smirks up at me.
“Oh, but I’m pretty sure I do.”
With that, she pushes her way out of my arms, skating toward the center of the ice before spinning on her skates to face me.
“If I stick the landing, I can have anything I want?” she asks.
All I can do is mutely nod.
The grin she flashes me is seductive as hell. Fuck, she has never looked so beautiful. So sure of herself. Of what she wants.
