Page 17 of Melting the Ice

“Back off, Micah. You’re on top of me,” he griped.

“That was a shit hit, asshole.”

He shrugged. “Looks like the linesmen didn’t agree. Seemed clean to me. And the kid’s still standing just fine. Guess he can take a harder hit.”

I glanced up to see Dom win the puck and send it back to Haldy.

“Shall we see?” Lisbon taunted, skating toward Haldy.

I picked up speed and got in front of him, giving him a shove, my stick falling to the ice.

“You sure about this?” he asked, a grin on his face.

“I’m going to knock that smug smile off you,” I replied.

“Let’s see you try,” he said, dropping his stick and his gloves.

I dropped my gloves too, and we skated in a circle, both of us waiting for the other to make the first move. I pretended to go for a punch, and Lisbon hit first; his fist skimmed my shoulder as I ducked away. The sounds of the arena dulled, but I could hear the banging of sticks on the board as I took my first shot and hit his jaw.

I hooked my hand into his jersey before he could grab mine and got in another punch before the linesmen broke up our fun, sending me to the penalty box. Lisbon no longer had that smirk on his face when they ejected him from the game for starting the fight. I took my five minutes in the box as the guys played fouron four and Sin pocketed a goal. Three to four with five minutes left. Maybe we would end the night with the W after all.

JOSIE

Holy crap.

Watching Micah drop his gloves and fight shouldn’t have been so hot, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it as I slid under the sheets in his bed. The game had ended a few hours ago, and I was still keyed up. And now I was in his bed again. But he was away, and that was the deal we’d made, and freaking hell, why were his pillows, like, the most comfortable pillows ever?

They’d ended up losing by one stupid point. I’d been really hopeful after the fight and Sin’s goal mere minutes later. I shuddered a little, remembering the intensity in Micah’s eyes when they’d replayed the fight. He’d glowered, even while looking smug, during his sin bin stint.

So. Hot.

Phew.

I’d texted him my condolences for the loss and to make sure he was okay. He’d said he was fine and wished me a good night.

A better night would have been him here in this bed with me.

Dammit.

I needed to get control of my hormones over that man, and his glorious bed, with his scent still on the sheets, was not helping, but there was no way I was sleeping on the couch when his bed was even comfier.

It’s not like I was sniffing his pillow while I got myself off or anything. That would be a smidge too far.

I snorted.

Nope. Wasn’t going to do that.

I shimmied myself down and got comfortable, trying not to think about all the things I would love to do to that man. What would it be like if he finally let loose for once? He had a fire onthe ice, and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to experience that heat.

My fingers skated down my body, slipping into my panties, and I gasped as I found my clit.

A girl had needs, and I’d wash his sheets before he got home.

***

“Willow, stop sniffing Arthur’s butt,” I said two days later while I adjusted the two leashes I was holding. The wind was harsh today, so I limited the walks to thirty minutes for my clients, and even that seemed to be a struggle. Willow, a hound mix, kept putting her nose in Arthur’s business, and Arthur, a boxer rescue, kept tugging on his leash, wanting to jump in all the piles of snow. I was definitely getting my cardio in. Luckily, this family lived in a building a short distance from Micah’s, so it was a quick stroll to get the dogs, and the park across the street was the perfect walking spot. I had three more walks like this before the day was over, and then I was going to curl up on the couch with some hot chocolate and defrost.

But I loved being outside and hanging out with a bunch of cute dogs. There was nothing better. If I couldn’t have one of my own, I was going to play with all the dogs I could find.

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