Page 121 of Break the Ice
We’re at his door when he pauses, jerking us toward my place. “Almost forgot. Do you have any agave syrup? I ran out, and my momma has it in her tea and margaritas. The Sire has declared today Margarita Day after he realized the mimosas weren’t taking the edge off Isla’s grumpy mood.”
I chuckle at his exaggerated grimace.
“Are you sure it’s okay for us to crash your family time?” Finley asks.
“It’s Thanksgiving. You’re meant to spend it with the people who mean the most and give you reason to be grateful for life.” He gives me a dimpled smile that has my pulse throbbing in my throat. “You have to come. Besides, my mom planned a whole vegan menu, just for you.”
An overwhelming wave of emotion washes over me. I don’t want to make any more work for his parents, but at the same time, an inexplicable warmth wraps itself around my chest that his mom would go through any trouble to accommodate me at their dinner table.
“That’s… eeerm…” I don’t know what to say. How to adequately convey how grateful I am. “Thanks.”
Finley snickers at my hoarse reply. “I’ll just go grab the syrup,” she says, unraveling herself from Jayden’s long arm.
We traipse behind her as she heads inside my place.
She looks so damn sexy in that low-key way of hers. With her long hair swishing behind her, the loose lengths on the bottom cascading all the way down to the small of her back. I can’t help but follow the curve of her ass with the natural sashay of her steps.
“You might want to breathe at some point,” Jayden croons, playfully jabbing my side with his finger.
“I’m not sure that’s possible,” I murmur back, rubbing my hands over my face like that might pull me out of my Finley haze somehow.
It doesn’t.
“Yeah,” Jayden says on a long exhale.
When he breathes in again, I find myself pulling closer to him. With our shoulders pressed together, I chance a glimpse at him, only to be met with his deep, hazel stare. I should look away instead of making things weird.
I can’t.
The warmth of his body pressed to mine has me in a chokehold where I can’t breathe. I can’t think past how good it feels to have him close.
“How are you feeling after this morning?” He asks.
“Good. I think I’m still laggy from the meds they gave me at the hospital. The neurologist said it could take a few days for the side effects to wane.”
“You can't rush this, Eli.”
“I feel fine, JJ. Normal. It’s bothering me more that I’m letting the team down. Two weeks is a long time, and we have some important games?—”
“You're important, Eli.” A deep-set frown pinches his face. “I thought you were having a stroke.”
My hand latches onto his wrist, trying to reassure him. “It was a migraine.”
Jayden swallows hard. “Yeah, but for a moment, I thought I was losing you. It was the longest moment of my life. Finley’s, too. You terrified the fuck out of us.”
“I’m sorry.”
I don’t know how many more times I can apologize. Or how to make him forget...
“Don’t be sorry.” A faint smile tugs at one corner of his mouth as I release his wrist, and his hand closes around mine.
The voice in my head tells me to pull away. Meanwhile, my feet take me closer.
“Follow the doctors’ advice, Eli, and don’t stress about shit.”
“There’s so much going on, JJ.”
He nods as his hand trails up my arm to my shoulder. His touch is light, but the rake of his calloused fingers sends a shiver through me.Goosebumps prickle up my arm, chasing his touch all the way to my shoulder. When he tightens his hold on me there, his eyes spear me with an unwavering intensity that rushes all the air from my lungs.
