Page 115 of Break the Ice
He sighs, “I don’t know… kill it on the ice for the both of us?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He nods. “I guess I still need a gym partner, even if I have to slow things down.”
“I can take it as slow as you need.”
Eli gives me a faint lopsided grin as he leans forward and reassures Finley, “This is not on you. It’s biological chemistry and probably the result of the stupid number of times I’ve hit my head.”
“I don’t want to be the reason you hurt or get sick.”
“Angel, you’re the reason I’m here.” One of his hands brushes mine on her shoulder as he glances at me. “You both are.”
CHAPTER 36
FINLEY
Nobody should be so beautiful while they sleep. In true Elijah form, he’s so gorgeous that I can’t bring myself to move when I reach the end of the chapter I promised myself I would pause at and go to sleep. That was before Elijah dozed off.
Now he looks peaceful and perfect, and he’s meant to be getting as much rest as he can. Instead of waking him up, I burrow deeper into the thick blanket we’re sharing and inch my legs closer to his as I get back to Angel’s and Tess’s story.
His couch is so deep and long that the two of us have been sitting on it without so much as brushing our legs together. And after all the tactile attention from Jayden, I’m craving it non-stop. Like a drug that I’m on a constant come down from, even when I’m living at the peak.
Touch is such an underrated sense that you don’t realize how incredible it is to be touched by and to touch another person unless you’ve lived without it.
Reaching the end of another few chapters, I can’t help the smile that stretches across my face while I read Jayden’s annotations on Angel sending Tess away. My heart is breaking for her, but his note, has me feeling all kinds of giddy.
What an ass. Come on, dude, you’re making us all look bad right now! Jackass!
Tess, baby, you better make him work for it now.
“You’re smiling.”
I glance up from the page to find Elijah watching me.
“You should be sleeping,” I say, placing the book on my chest so he knows he has my full attention.
“How much sleep have you had in the last couple days?”
Trying to retain my cool when his leg nudges mine purposefully, I tell him, “I’m at the point where I’m past tired and too wired to sleep.”
“Strung out.” His leg nudges mine again, except this time he smiles at me.
Good Lord.
I’m speechless as he sits up and pats the empty space next to him, motioning me closer.
Of course, my heart gets away with itself. The excitement too much for it to remain steady as I crawl to his side and sit.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” he says, tilting his head to rest it on mine while he switches channels on the almost muted television. “If I had known the migraine was going to get that bad, I would’ve gone to see Doc the way Jayden told me to. I just… I panicked. I don’t want to let them down.”
My chest clenches. “Elijah… Love…”
“I want to play the best hockey of my life, but I want to be here too. Every time I’m not, all I want is to get back to you as quickly as possible. To make sure that you’re okay and safe and?—”
“I can’t be the reason you’re sick.” The hand resting on his thigh shifts to sit on mine, covering my trembling hand.
“It’s not you, Fin. There’s so much at play right now, and then the photos happened, the damn lamb’s head… and even though I tried to put them out of my mind, all I kept thinking is where does it end?”
