Page 108 of Hard Hitter
“But so am I,” he pointed out.
When she raised her gaze, she got another little jolt from those blue eyes. And it suddenly dawned on her how close together they were. His hand was warm around hers. If she took a small step forward, she’d be close enough to kiss him. “Let’s skate,” she suggested for her own good.
He grinned, as if reading her mind. “Right this way.” He led her across the rubber pads to the door, which he opened by sliding the bolt. The bright surface gleamed back at her. She’d forgotten how magical it was to step onto a fresh sheet of ice. “We’re going to scuff it up,” she pointed out. “Will anyone care?”
“Not much. Come on, now.” He turned around so that he stepped backwards onto the ice. He offered his other hand, too.
She took it and stepped out onto the slickness with her left foot and then her right. Patrick gave a tug on her hands and then they were gliding together effortlessly. He moved in a gentle backward rhythm, towing her.
It was like waterskiing, but the tow rope was the hottest man in Brooklyn.
“See?” he crowed. “You got it. You’re really stable.”
“Mmmhmm,” she agreed. “Let’s see how I do on my own.” She let go of his hands.
Smiling, he did an easy crossover, curving around with the shape of the rink. God, he was beautiful, powerful muscles visible through his suit pants, strong forearms visible beneath the rolled-up cuffs of his shirt.
But she had to stop staring and start skating. The first couple of steps were a little shaky as she felt for the edges of the blades for the first time in years. Then she was able to lengthen her strides and find a natural gait.
“You’re... wow,” Patrick said, still skating backward, watching her. “Nice.”
It was like flying. How had it taken so long to do this again? Although it probably lacked grace, she pushed forward on her right foot and lifted her back leg into the air, arms outstretched, then carved gently into a turn.
“Jesus.”
Ari didn’t spare Patrick a glance. She was too busy remembering how this was done. She flipped her hips around and skated a few backward crossovers. That felt graceful enough—on one side, anyway. Then she pressed out to the left and wrapped her right leg around, pulling herself into a spin. The rink flew by a few times in quick succession before she slowed herself to a stop.
And damn it, she was dizzy. That’s what you get for not skating for half your life.
When her eyes could focus again, she looked over at Patrick. He was standing still, feet together, bent over to clutch his knees, andlaughing.
“It wasn’tthatbad,” she protested.
He straightened, shaking his head, his face red. He couldn’t even speak he was laughing so hard. “Baby,” he wheezed after a minute. “You kill me. I swear to God.” He skated forward to wrap his arms around her. “All I do is try to impress you, and it’s impossible. Because you’re the most impressive person I ever met. I’m so screwed.”
Even as she leaned into the hug, his chest bounced with laughter. He smelled so good, like clean man and icy air.
“I’m so gone for you,” he ground out, still laughing. “I’ve got it bad. It might take me years to convince you I’m a good guy, but I’ll never stop trying.”
“The thing is...” She took a shaky breath against his warm chest. “I believe you.”
Two big hands rubbed her back. “You do?”
“Yeah.” She pushed her nose into his shirt collar and took a deep breath. Fighting him didn’t make sense anymore. She didn’t have to punish them both for all the scary near-misses of the past month. She could justbewith him—take him home, make him dinner, and take him to bed. It didn’t mean that she’d sacrificed all her principles, or that she couldn’t stand on her own without a man.
It didn’t have to be a statement. It could be just an evening with someone she liked. A whole lot.
She lifted her chin. His blue gaze waited at close range. They came together in slow motion. The first brush of her lips across his made him groan. She loved that sound. So she kissed him properly. His lips were just as firm and soft as she remembered. Strong arms pulled her in. He tilted his head to the side to improve their connection. She threaded her fingers through his hair as his mouth made a sweet, eager pull against her own, and she sighed.
Why had she been fighting this, exactly?
He kissed her again and again. Her libido sprang up and did a perfect sun salutation, her skin coming alive everywhere they touched. Maybe it was the ice skates, but the next kiss made her wobble.
Catching her, he chuckled into her mouth. “Easy.”
She was breathing hard, and not from the skating. They couldn’t get so carried away—not until they got home, anyway. “You dragged me out here,” she said, trying to cool down. “Let’s skate.”
“All right. Show me some more of your fancy moves. You did some figure skating?”
