Page 23 of Melting the Ice

I tossed the covers back and got out of bed, striding out of the room and into the bathroom without giving her a second look.

Had she looked? Gasped? Chuckled, maybe? I thought I’d heard something as the bathroom door shut behind me.

Fucking hell. She had my brain doing spins and my body on edge.

I jumped into the shower and kept the water on the cool side as I silently jerked myself off.

I sucked in a few breaths as I came down from my orgasm.

Now, I had to face her again and not think about her hands on mine or the fact that I’d just violently come against the showerwall while thinking about her. I quickly finished washing up and stepped out of the shower to towel off, then stared at myself while the steamed-up mirror slowly cleared.

I could do this, could act like nothing out of the norm happened this morning. She was like a sister to me, and my best friend would string me up by my balls if I forgot that.

My brain was in control of my body, and as I wrapped the towel around my waist because I stupidly forgot to grab clean clothes when I bolted from my bedroom, I could only hope that Josie was not still wrapped up in my sheets.

“I’m making banana walnut pancakes, if you want some,” her voice called out as soon as I left the bathroom.

“Sounds great,” I replied.

See? I could act like everything was normal and that I didn’t know how soft Josie’s skin felt when I’d accidentally slipped my pinkie along the hem of her shirt this morning.

JOSIE

I turtled into my oversized coat as I did another lap with my newest client, Wally. It was freaking cold, and the snow was piling up, but luckily, Wally’s owners lived in Micah’s building, so I’d picked him up and taken the elevator up to the rooftop garden for a quick walk and potty break. A few laps up here, then we were heading back in for a little indoor playtime. My other three clients for the day had canceled, and I honestly wasn’t mad about it because the temperature was dropping quickly as the snow piles grew.

Of course, if I really needed to warm up, all I had to do was think about waking up in Micah’s bed yesterday morning with his gloriously hard dick pressed up against my ass. Holy crap, I’d been so blasé about it. Hell, I’d even done a little wiggle against him, and I was still surprised that my body hadn’t gone up in flames. I bit back a giggle at the memory of his face when I askedif he had a sword in his pants. Freaking hell, I couldn’t believe I said that to him, but setting him on edge was almost as enjoyable as waking up nestled into his big, strong body.

It was a shame that nothing else had happened after he’d escaped into the shower. We’d danced around each other all morning and talked about his away trip over a batch of my delicious banana walnut pancakes that had always been his favorite. Then I’d helped him clean up the condo and set up my bedding on the couch again before he’d disappeared into his zen room and I’d worked on some Etsy orders. He’d gone out to meet up with some of his teammates for dinner while I made myself something quick and spent a few hours working on some author branding illustrations. I was starting my first spicy drawing for one of my clients and trying not to make the image look like Micah.

Not that he wouldn’t make an exceptional model. All glowering and hot.

This time, my shudder had nothing to do with the winter temps.

“One more lap and we’re out of here,” I told Wally, quickening my pace for our final loop.

***

Two hours later, I stared at the image in front of me. It was almost perfect. The heroine was reclining on the dining table, similar to the one I was currently sitting at. She was naked and propped up on her elbows while the hero sat in a chair and feasted on her. I fanned my face with my hand. It was definitely hot, and I couldn’t stop my grin. Drawing this image had been challenging because I’d never sketched something like this before, but it had also been so much fun.

Way more fun than just doing illustrated headshots and logos. I could only hope the author, Elaine, would love it and want more.

I bit the side of my lip and tried to get the shading around their bodies spot-on.

“What is that?” Micah’s choked voice said from over my shoulder, and I jumped, smacking the top of my head into something hard.

Most likely his chin, judging from the grunt behind me.

“Shit,” I gasped, rubbing the top of my head, before I turned to take him in.

His cheeks were slightly flushed, his lips barely parted as he rubbed his chin. He smelled amazing, and his hair was still damp from the shower he must’ve taken after morning skate.

“Sorry for scaring you,” he said, his eyes darting between my face and the drawing on my tablet.

“I’m fine. You’re back already?”

“Should I even ask about this?” he asked at the same time.

I laughed. “Are you scandalized, Micahtron?”

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