Page 35 of Born of Ice

“Ha-ha, your morning humor is unmatched, Electra.” He gives me a flat look.

“Good, maybe you’ll stick to the couch tonight then.”

“Yeah, no. You missed your sunrise.”

“What?” The sudden change of subject gives me a little whiplash.

“The sun? It’s already up.” Exton points to the window above our heads where sure enough the day has started and by the looks of it, a while ago too.

I blink and blink again. How did I manage to sleep so long? My usual nights consist of at most three to four hours of restless sleep, yet last night not only did I fall asleep quickly, but I slept in this morning.

But it’s only when I’m at the safety of my shower, do I realize that there is no cold sweat covering my body. There are no remnants of my nightmares that need to be washed off.

“When do you have your physical therapy?” Exton asks as soon as I emerge from the bathroom.

He already has some sort of breakfast going on and it takes me by surprise that he even knows how to turn on the stove or that he looks so at home in my small but adorable kitchen. The flowery backslash is especially cute next to this huge hockey guy.

“Today. In an hour, to be exact.”

“They come here?”

“Yeah, so your babysitting duties are suspended for today.”

“Why? Do they take the whole day?”

“Oh no, I’m just usually either too drained afterward or too pissed off to do anything else. And more often than not, it’s a good combination of both. And I guess it’s safe to say that you already know how difficult I can get when I’m in a mood. So, I’m sparing you ahead of time.”

“My”—he clutches the wooden spatula—the one I poked him with on that first day—to his chest, acting like he was touched by my gesture—“aren’t you the sweetheart this morning. Sleeping with me must’ve really been good for you.” He winks, and I feel my cheeks heat up.

“I didn’t. That’s not…you know what…whatever,” I huff out, and he full on laughs. A real, deep kind of laugh.

“Relax, little star, I appreciate the warning. I’m just messing with you.” The smile he sends me is blinding and very much disarming, leaving me flustered because I’m not used to this charming version of Exton Quinn. And I think I prefer the asshole one to whatever this is. Because with the asshole, I’m safe.

“Mm-hmm, maybe it’s you who enjoyed sleeping with me a little too much based on your good mood?” I try to goad him to get back into our normal sparing routine.

“Oh, no doubt,” He winks again, and that blush is now spreading to my insides, liquefying them. Did he just really say what I think he said? Where is some snarky comment I’ve come to expect?

“Now, if you are done blushing over me, please roll your royal pain in my ass to the table and eat before your therapist gets here.”

Oh, never mind, here it is. I roll my eyes at him but do rollmy royal pain in his assto the small round table in front of another picturesque window where he set out a plate with an omelet, sausage, hash browns and fresh veggies and fruits on my side and a much bigger portion of essentially the same thing on his.

I look at the food then at him and repeat the process a few times before he clucks his tongue with impatience. “What? What’s wrong this time? And before you ask, no I did not spit in your food.”

“You cook?” I ask with a healthy dose of surprise.

He sits across from me. “Can you believe it? I’m not only a god on the ice but in the kitchen too. And…” Axe lifts his eyes to meet mine. “I’m phenomenal at other things too.” He winks and I feel something kick inside my stomach.

And for some reason, I don’t think it’s a wave of nausea like I’m hoping.

“Is everything okay with your eye?”

“Yeah, why?”

“It keeps twitching.”

“Hmm, yes, you do seem to have that effect on me,” Exton says as some weird emotion passes over his face, and he shoves some food into his mouth as if he needs it to stop talking and I don’t mind it one bit.

I look at my own place and must admit for someone who hasn’t had a full meal in over a month—nor did I have a single desire for one—it does look appetizing. I appreciate the gesture, but after just two small bites of the omelet and a few berries, I take the plate and wheel myself over to the sink.

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