Page 79 of Ice Cold Hearts

My knees go weak at the thought. He tightens his grip on my throat while his other hand slides through my wetness.

“You know, I’m feeling a bit greedy today, Kitten. Why should I have to choose? I’m going to bend you over this tub and fuck you until you can’t stand up. Then I’ll have you against the wall, my hands gripping your round ass, controlling your every move until all you can think about is me, and when you almost can’t take it anymore, I’m going to come in this ass.” He kisses my neck. “Would you like that?”

“Yes,” I answer shakily.

“Good girl,” he says, rewarding me with another mark on my shoulder.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

We both yelp and jump apart at the thunderous banging on the bathroom door.

“Mama! We made your favorite for dinner. Pancakes!” Audrey shouts. “It’s time to eat.”

I allow myself one frustrated sigh before answering, “I’m pretty sure that pancakes are your favorite food, not mine.”

“Oh, right.” She giggles. “I forgot.”

Audrey goes quiet. Hopefully, that means she’s gone away. I pull Ian in for a kiss, but we both startle when she bangs on the door again.

“They’re gonna get cold,” she sing-songs.

“Yeah, they’re gonna get cold,” Oliver repeats in the same tone. “What could you be doing in there that’s better than pancakes? Hurry up, you two.”

I rest my forehead against Ian’s and let out a frustrated growl. “They’re not going to give us a minute’s peace until we go, are they?”

He smiles, but it’s really more of a grimace. “No, probably not. Rain check this evening?”

“If you don’t follow through on that, I’m going to find someone who will,” I threaten.

26

OLIVER

We play hockey a few times a week. We practice hockey on days we don’t play. Even when we’re not practicing or playing, we’re doing daily workouts for, you guessed it, hockey. So after being oversaturated with hockey all this week, what does Alexei turn on while Emily gives Audrey a bath?

Hockey.

I’d even be willing to watch that princess movie we put on for Audrey over and over again instead of this, but I’m too tired to even complain.

I’m not even sure Alexei and Ian are watching it, either. Alexei’s eyes keep drooping shut, and Ian keeps glancing at the stairs looking for Emily.

They filled me in on the bare-bones details of what happened in the parking lot. Alexei gave me his version, and Ian filled us in on what Emily told him in the bathroom. It’s not rational, but it made me want to lock her up in a tower somewhere to keep her safe. The press has always been an annoyance, an unfortunate consequence of getting to play the sport I love on such a large scale, but now I’m starting to feel resentful.

“Can we agree that if she gets ambushed again we’re going to make her accept a security detail?” I ask wearily.

“I wanted her to have one from the beginning. You’ll get no complaints from me,” Ian says.

Alexei looks between the two of us. “Agreed, but it might be a fight to get her on board.”

I smile. “She is stubborn.”

“Audrey should have one too while she’s at school,” Ian says firmly, “although I don’t see why we’re waiting.”

“We have to respect her wishes even if we don't see eye to eye,” Alexei says grumpily. “It's perfectly reasonable for her not to want to increase security yet. Hank has been able to evade anyone who follows, so right now, the status quo remains.” He sighs. “But I think we should revisit the issue if they ambush us like that again, and honestly, with how bad they were this time, I think we should consider security for ourselves for day-to-day stuff.”

I wasn't expecting that.

“Was it really that bad?” I ask.

---