Page 77 of Breaking the Ice

Nick blinked. Being in bed with Samantha seemed inherently dangerous but then, he couldn’t deny her, either. Which meant there was only one way to get through this – humor.

“Will that be with or without a happy ending?”

Much to his relief Sam gave a ghost of a smile. “How about never ending?”

“Greedy,” he said as he climbed on the bed. “Just the way I like it.”

Lying on his side behind her, he propped his head on his bent arm and went to work, stroking her lumbar region through her pajamas. She pushed back hard against his hand as if seeking more and he increased the pressure until she mewed a little and relaxed.

“Is there a particular trigger for the bad ones?” he asked, curious now as he massaged.

Much to his shame he’d never given a lot of thought to women’s cycles.

“Nope. Probably just my bloody eggs revolting on me. Haven’t found someone to stop their cheeping so they’re probably just being bitchy.”

Nick chuckled at the thought of Samantha’s eggs holding their own protest march in her ovaries and somehow it didn’t even seem strange that he knew more about Samantha’s reproductive situation than any woman he’d ever been to bed with. He’d heard about their biological demands so often in the last few months he felt like he could call each one by name.

“Demanding, aren’t they?”

“You have no idea. I pity the sperm that gets anywhere near. They’ll probably heckle him until he hits the jackpot.”

Nick laughed and made a mental note to never take the female body for granted ever again.

27

“Martha’s Teahouse won a stay of execution.”

“That’s fab, Sam. Looks like you get to feed your addiction for a little longer.”

“Yes, thanks to Nick. I’m sure his high profile helped.”

“Nick to the rescue, huh? He’s a regular knight in shining armor.”

“Bec,” Samantha warned.

“Not saying a word.”

Samantha snorted. “The most opinionated woman in the world suddenly struck mute.”

“What do you want me to say? I can only nag for so long. The rest is up to you.”

“I’m not so sure he wants me anymore. It’s been a week since the protest and having to deal with me in the throes of the worst period on record wasn’t exactly sexy.”

“Well that’s easily figured out. Get him to set you up with another blind date.”

Samantha groaned. “No. Enough already with the blind dates.” The thought of going out with someone other than Nick was depressing as hell. “I can’t take another one.”

“I didn’t say go on one. I said ask Nick to find you one. Watch how he reacts. If he comes over all no-freaking-way then you’ll know.”

Samantha frowned. “Hmmm, maybe.”

“Ha! That means yes. Let me know how it goes.”

The next morning Nick almost swallowed his tongue as Samantha strolled into the bookshop wearing an exceptionally tight tee. It was as if the world’s most powerful magnet had been imbedded into his eyeballs and Sam’s chest was made of metal. Round, soft, warm, squishy, tactile, jiggly, fascinating-as-hell metal.

Holy crap.

This was ridiculous. He’d never wanted to touch a woman so badly. Hell, he’d been celibatefor months. And, right now, with Sam in that shirt, his testicles were excruciatingly aware of every second. How was he supposed to go back to Canada and concentrate onhockeywith balls bluer than the Crabbers jerseys?

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