Page 67 of Icy Pucking Play

"Of how I somehow got the prettiest Blades intern to fall for me."

"Former Blades intern," she corrects. "And who says I've fallen for you?"

I roll us again, pinning her beneath me. "Haven't you?"

Her expression softens. "Maybe. A little."

"Just a little?"

"Don't push your luck, Ice Man." But she pulls me down for a kiss that suggests it’s more than 'a little’.

We get lost in each other for a while, the phone call momentarily forgotten. But eventually, reality intrudes.

"We really should get up," Sophie murmurs against my neck. "Practice..."

"Is still forty minutes away."

"Thirty-eight." She pushes at my chest. "And I need to shower and change and…"

"Shower here."

She raises an eyebrow. "That's not very professional."

"Neither is what we did in your office."

"Fair point." She trails her fingers down my chest. "But if I shower here..."

"You'll be late for work."

"And you’ll be late to practice."

"Worth it."

She laughs but lets me pull her toward the bathroom.

"Your mother's going to hate me," she says as I turn on the water.

"My mother's going to love you. Everyone does."

"Everyone?"

"Natalia already does." I step under the spray, pulling her in with me. "Julia obviously does, since she's being annoyingly smug about this."

"And you?"

The question is soft, almost lost in the sound of water.

I look at her—really look at her. At how she fits perfectly against me, how she makes everything brighter just by being here.

How she makes me want things I'd sworn off years ago.

"I..." The words stick in my throat.

"It's okay." She kisses my chest, right over my heart. "We don't have to define it."

But maybe I want to. Maybe I want more than stolen moments and secret smiles. Maybe I want...

My phone buzzes from the bedroom. Then hers.

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