Page 35 of Back On Ice

I agree, and we walk to the coat rack. “Why aren’t you staying with your mom?”

“Oh… it’s just easier for her this way.” He rubs the back of his neck and won’t meet my eyes, but I let it go. Maybe it has to do with everything else he hasn’t told me yet.

Chapter Fifteen

SOPHIE

We getan Uber and ride back to my place in silence. The space between us is charged with so much heat, I’m afraid one look at his face will have me going up in flames. My heart pounds in anticipation. If he makes a move… what will I do? A shiver runs through me at the memory of the way we danced together, and in response, his hand slides on to my bare knee.

“Cold?” His voice is slightly husky.

Before I have to answer, we pull up to the curb in front of my house. Carter rushes out of his side of the car to get to my door, and then walks me up the steps of the front porch as the driver idles on the curb.

“Just want to make sure you get inside okay,” he murmurs.

I unlock the door. It pushes open easily, and I turn to face Carter, who is looking at me intensely.

“I—” My words catch in my throat as his hand moves to cup the back of my head. He moves slowly, giving me every chance to back away.

I don’t want to. I want to give in, even if it’s just for the night.

When I don’t move, he leans down, capturing my lips with his. The kiss is nothing like the one at the Twin Rinks.

That one was urgent—desperate, even. I had gotten swept away in the intensity.

This one is slow and deliberate, claiming.

He tastes like whiskey and oranges.

Like stargazing and late-night phone calls.

Like holding hands while you watch the first snow of the year and sneaking kisses behind a lake house.

But he also tastes like jumping into the deep end.

Skydiving.

Something familiar yet new at the same time, and damn, I need to learn it all.

His tongue explores my mouth with intention, and I welcome him in, heat pooling low in my belly.

When he pulls back, both of us breathing hard, I turn my head to look at the Uber driver waiting, and wave him off. With a rev of the engine, the car drives off, and Carter and I move into the house, shutting the door behind us.

“Tom and Jordan?” he asks breathlessly

“Camping for the weekend. We have the house to ourselves.”

The door shuts, and Carter is immediately on me again, my back against the wall as both his hands cup both sides of my face. He tilts it up for better access, and I grip his shirt roughly.

“Do you want this, Angel?” His hips grind into mine.

Do I want this? Hell yes, I want this.

“I do.” My voice is husky, my breathing heavy as I hold onto his shirt for dear life.

With that, he moves his hands, putting both of them under my ass and lifting me against him as he continues to dominate my mouth. My dress rides up as I wrap my legs around him, causing my center to press directly against his stomach, my thong the only thing separating us.

“Up the stairs, last door on the left,” I groan into the kiss.

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