Page 17 of An Undisputed Christmas
"What?" he asked innocently, even as one hand drifted lower to cup my ass through my jeans. "I'm just making sure you don't fall, princess.”
Around us, I could hear the whispered comments from other skaters:
"Is that guy seriously groping his girlfriend on the ice?"
"God, they're hot though. Look at them.”
"I want whatever she's having."
Jax, of course, was eating up the attention. He spun us slowly, showing off while keeping me plastered against him, his lips brushing my ear as he murmured, "You're blushing. Getting turned on in public?"
"You're impossible," I hissed, but I didn't pull away. Truth was, being held by him like this, surrounded by his strength and heat while he effortlessly controlled our movement across the ice, was incredibly arousing.
"That's not an answer," he teased, his hand squeezing my ass again. "Because I can feel how your body's responding to me, and we both know it has nothing to do with the cold."
Nearby, Sierra was having her own experience with Connor's unexpected skating skills.
True to form, she'd given up any pretense of actually skating and wassimply letting him tow her around the rink, her arms wrapped around his muscles while she laughed at her own helplessness.
"This is not how I imagined this going," she called out as Connor pulled her past us, moving with the steady power of a freight train. "I'm just a human-shaped anchor!"
Connor's response was too quiet to hear, but whatever he said made Sierra burst into delighted laughter.
On the other side of the rink, Isla and Adrian were putting on a show that had half the crowd openly staring.
Apparently, Isla had been lying about only being able to skate a little—she was gliding backward while Adrian spun her in a way that looked like a professional ice dance routine.
"Show-offs," I muttered, but I was smiling.
"Says the woman currently being felt up in front of fifty strangers," Jax pointed out with a grin.
"That's your fault!" I protested, but I was laughing too.
The absurdity of it all—us thinking we could embarrass these men, only to discover they were basically ice dancing pros—was too crazy not to find funny.
Plus, the way Jax was holding me, the heat of his body against the cold air, the possessive way he'd claimed me in front of all these people... it was working for me in ways I probably shouldn't admit.
"Having fun yet?" he asked, spinning us again so smoothly I barely felt the movement.
"Maybe," I admitted. "But you're still an ass for not warning us."
"Where would be the fun in that?" He dipped me suddenly, supporting my weight easily as my hair brushed the ice. "Besides, now I get to be your hero, saving you from falling on your pretty little ass."
"My hero?" I raised an eyebrow as he pulled me back up. "More like my tormentor."
"I can be both," he said with that wicked grin. "In fact, I prefer it that way."
The music shifted to something slower, more romantic, and Jax immediately adjusted our pace to match.
Other couples around us were doing the same, turning the ice rink into something resembling a winter waltz.
"Much better," he murmured, pulling me even closer. "Now I can really hold you."
Both his hands were on my waist now, guiding me in a gentle rhythm that was less skating and more swaying on ice. It should have been awkward; I still couldn't really skate, but Jax made it feel effortless.
"You know," I said, looking up into his blue eyes, "this is actually kind of romantic."
"Kind of?" He looked mock-offended. “Princess, I'm literally ice dancing with you in a winter wonderland while Christmas music plays. If this isn't romantic enough for you, I'm going to have to seriously up my game."
