Page 103 of From Ice to Grace
“Hey, you’re flashing that ring to get private access. I think that earns me a kiss.”
She turns back to me, and I lean down slightly, tapping my cheek.
She stands on her tip toes, and just as she moves to press her lips against my cheek, I turn slightly, just enough to allow her lips to brush the corner of my mouth.
Her breath hitches when she realizes what happened. Her fingers are warm against my chest and instead of pulling away like I thought she might, she lingers for two heartbeats longer.
And the world goes quiet. Her lips are soft and warm and real.
She smells like something clean and floral, and for the first time I feel like I’m home. Not the kind with four walls and a roof, but the kind you never want to walk away from.
When was the last time I felt like that?
Not since I was a kid. Before everything fell apart.
“Good luck,” she says, her blue eyes sparking with something soft and steady. “Stay in control, Declan. You were made for this.”
Her words sink deep, steadying me in a way nothing else has before. I can still feel her breath on my lips, the noise from above in the arena fading away. All I can think about is how close she is, and how badly I want to close the distance.
I look down at her mouth, knowing I’m in trouble. Because this doesn’t feel like pretending.
Before I can stop myself, I reach for her. My hand finds the small of her back, the other slides to the base of her neck, my thumb brushing against her jaw as I claim a kiss.
A real kiss.
Not for the cameras or for who might be watching, but because I have this need burning through me. The need to make her mine and to never let go.
Instead of pushing me away, she sinks into me, sighing against my mouth. I tighten my grip, deepening the kiss as I lift her off the floor. Fire burns through me, the sense of being in the right place for the first time in my life pulsing through my veins.
For the first time ever, I can understand what others talk about. That innate sense of knowing…the undeniable, terrifying feeling that she’s the one I’m meant to be with.
I reluctantly pull away, because if I don’t stop, I never will. Her blue eyes are wide and bright, filled with questions and something else, something softer.
“Still the worst kiss ever?” I ask, my voice rougher than I’d like.
“You’re getting better,” she says, her voice raw and her cheeks flushed. “Or maybe it’s just growing on me.”
I grin, but inside everything feels different. Like something has clicked into place.
Because I’ve kissed a lot of women before. Many of them have worn my jersey. But no-one has ever made me want to play for it, work for it.
But tonight I will play for her, and tomorrow and every day after that, I will work for what we could be.
We’ve killed the Devils and Petrov got his first shut-out for the season.
The locker room is loud. Music is blaring, guys are yelling and cheering while reporters are hovering just outside waiting for post-game interviews.
Mitch throws me a towel. “You good?” he asks with a giant smile on his face.
“Yeah,” I lie, dragging a hand through my hair. “We had a good game.”
My gaze finds Boqvist, his smile big as he celebrates with Kade. They made a good pair tonight, even I can’t deny that.
“You did,” Mitch says. “Now you need to shower. The reporters are waiting, I’m sure Coach will want you in front of them tonight.”
Slight worry and disappointment settles in my stomach. I didn’t play as much as I’d like though. I had two shifts with Mitch in the first period, one in the second. And the third I didn’t even touch the ice.
My phone buzzes in my hand.
