Page 238 of The Protective Gryphen

Oh, he was aware.

“You don’t say?” Ian teased. “Let me help you up,” he said, somehow getting to his feet. Then, with Gryphen’s sheer strength, he managed to get him up too.

They wobbled all the way to shore.

“We’re not that bad,” Ian admitted, “but I’m beginning to believe they lie in the movies when they say that it’s their first-time skating.”

He snorted.

“You think?”

Yeah, he did.

When he got Gryphen back, Ian tried again, determined to get the hang of it. He slid away from Gryphen, and immediately, the other man warned him.

“Baby, stay over here,” he said, getting worried. “The ice is thinner over there.”

Ian turned.

“I’ll be okay,” he said, moving more, and that’s when they heard it.

There was cracking.

Ian stopped moving, frozen in place.

Gryphen had heard the sound, too, and he knew what that meant. Ian was going to go in if he even moved.

“DON’T MOVE!” he ordered.

That wasn’t happening.

Ian was frozen.

“How bad is it?” Ian asked, trying not to freak out, but from Gryphen’s tone, he knew it wasn’t good.

His man was honest.

“If you go through and under, you’ll get trapped beneath the ice, Ian. I won’t be able to get to you,” he stated. “I need you to listen to me,” he said.

Ian was staring at him.

“What do I do?” he asked, tears in his eyes.

The last thing he wanted was to get trapped under the ice and die. Then, Gryphen wouldn’t be okay.

The man’s training kicked in.

“Slowly, go to your knees. Then, lay absolutely flat on your stomach. I need you to disburse your weight evenly across a larger space. It’ll keep the ice from cracking.”

He put his faith in Gryphen.

“Once you’re flat, you’ll be okay, and the ice won’t break. Now, slowly, Baby. SLOWLY.”

Ian started moving, and with each motion he made, he could hear more cracking. His eyes were huge, and Gryphen was staring into them, ready to move. He’d go in and save him, but there was no guarantee he’d get to him.

In water this cold…

One of them might not make it back.

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