Page 23 of Ice Dance Hockey

“Close your eyes. We’re going to be late.”

“You’re a fucking bossy bunny,” he says, but closes his eyes.

“You got that from Jack.”

“Yeah. He says it a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. Usually to Merc.”

Once the makeup is gone, I tug at his wrist so he’ll hop off the counter. My wrist still throbs, his teeth marks have broken through the skin, but the blood’s already drying. It’s a good thing I rolled up my sleeves.

“Lead me to your bedroom,” I demand, scooping up his heels once again. I should chuck these in the nearest trashcan. He really should have a better pair.

“Why? You going to stick that hog inside me?” He flashes his brows.

“I think I might kill you if I did that. It would be like a horse fucking a cat.”

“Whoa, dude. That’s an awful visual I’ll never get out of my head.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t walk into situations you can’t handle the consequences for, hmm?”

“I see what you did there. Point you.”

He leads the way to his bedroom, and I get to watch his round, figure skater’s ass move as he walks. He knows it too, putting extra sway into his walk. “If you’re going to be cheeky like that, I’m going to spank your ass again. This time until I’m sure it’s another color,” I say.

Laughing, he opens the door to his room. It’s plainer than I expected, devoid of any clues to his character. When I lived at home, I had posters of the hockey players I wanted to fuck plastered on my walls, and trophies and other medals were hung everywhere.

He hasn’t been here long, but you’d think he’d invest in one item of poster porn. There have got to be plenty of hot figure skaters if he’s anything to go by. He didn’t bring a single medal with him? My sources say he’s got to have a few.

“Now what?” he says.

“Where are the pants?” He points to the closet. “Put them on.”

He huffs but moves to the closet. “You’re going to have to face the other direction, hockey man, unless you want an eyeful. I’m wearing lace panties, and they’re see-through.”

What?I can’t breathe for a second. “You know, just because we’re not dating for real, doesn’t mean we can’t have sex,” I suggest. It would be a nice benefit. I’ve had plenty of meaningless sex with men I’ve liked far less than Logan and I’m starting to like Logan a lot.

“Nuh-uh, hockey gorilla. Not happening. Wash that idea from your mind now.”

My brows knit together. “Why?”

He points to the ground. “Mercy. He might actually lock me away and put a guard at the door if I did that. In case you haven’t noticed he’s just a tad protective.”

So, he knows it, then. I wasn’t sure. “Then what was all that about downstairs if you were just going to do what he said anyway?”

His nostrils flare. His hands clench. He struggles like he’s fighting some inner source of anger. Then his eyes prick with tears, and I don’t like that so much. “It’s stupid, okay? But Merc actually gives a fuck about me. He gives so many fucks and I like it. I love hearing it. It’s fucking addictive. I hate that I love it so damn much, but I do.”

I tilt my head. “What about your mother?” He doesn’t know that I know about his mother. Or well, he didn’t.

“We’re going to talk about how you know that,” he promises. “Look, my mom loves me. I know she does, but she isn’t well, and feeling her love for me is harder because it’s not as obvious. Sometimes she does things that make me question if she does. I barely know Merc and I know he loves me in every cell of my body. He’s the only one, theonlyone in the world who gives a damn about me. I can’t lose him. So, while I might fuck around with the rules a bit like an attention-seeking toddler, there are lines I won’t cross.”

Ah, which is why he gave me the gold card back.

But this also puts my plan in jeopardy.

“You don’t think he’ll be just a tad devastated when I take Jack back and you won’t feel guilty for it and confess?”

“Even if that happened, you’d be long gone into the sunset with Jack,” he says. True. “I know I’m a terrible person for this, but I’m that terrified of losing the only family member that cares about me like … like a real parent.”

“There are a lot of people in the Mercy household to worry about. Why are you focused on Jack?”

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