Page 82 of Educating Arrogant Mr. Hunter

Beckett glanced at me. He pursed his lips, opened his mouth, and shut it again. His fingers flexed on the steering wheel, and I got the feeling he wanted to reach out to me. I stared at his hands as he put the car into park in a garage near The Amica Mutual Pavillion.

We all exited from the car and a shiver of apprehension slithered through me. I knew Beckett had read between the lines of what I said about my previous career. Would he want to discuss it? And was I ready to do that?

As we headed toward the event, Diana and Zoey pulled ahead, chattering about the event and what they hoped to see. When they were far enough away, Beckett took my hand in his, squeezed it, and then let go.

“I hate being unable to reach for you in public,” he growled. “Whatever happened back then that made you feel… less than...”

His anger on my behalf, soothed the raw edges of my former experiences the tiniest bit. “It’s been a long time, and I don’t talk about it much.”

He threaded his fingers through mine and held my hand tight. “Fuck it. If I can’t have you in my arms, I can at least do this.”

We were playing with fire, but I sensed he needed to touch me, to offer me comfort. Once we reached the end of the parking garage, I tugged my hand from his. Even if we weren’t exactly hiding our relationship from the world this very second, I didn’t want Zoey to find out this way.

He reluctantly released me, and we joined Diana and Zoey outside the garage exit. It was so close to the start of the show there were very few people outside milling around.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn’t notice anyone we knew. “Are you ready to have the best time ever?” I asked.

“Yes!” squealed Zoey. She let go of Diana’s hand and bound up the steps to the entrance. “Come on, you guys, we need to get to our seats.”

Her excitement was infectious, and I found myself grinning too. I hadn’t seen a show like this since I was little. And even then, I’d been so young I barely remembered it. This was like reliving my childhood but in the best possible way as an adult.

They scanned our tickets at the door and then ushered us to our seats. I’d been to plenty of VIP boxes, and it was never about having fun but being seen or schmoozing with a group of influential people.

Today fun was the only thing we had to do, and I loved it. We quickly plated our food at the five minute warning mark and took our seats. Beckett sat next to me, his mom on his other side, and Zoey beside her.

The lights were turned off with a faint glow from the light-up sticks and spinners sporadically blinking in front of us. The excitement in the air was palpable. Even as an adult, I couldn’t wait for the show to start.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls…”

Zoey squealed, and I might have let out a tiny squeak of excitement myself. I looked at Beckett and grinned. When I turned back, the ice skaters were already gliding across the floor. Princesses in their beautiful dresses, and princes in their dashing uniforms. The lights danced across the white of the ice, following the characters as they spun together and apart, creating a beautiful love story. The background, a screen filled with a castle, almost looked real.

When a curvy, plus-size princess in a pale blue, gauzy gown was lowered from the ceiling only suspended by fabric, the crowd hushed in awe. She spun, swirled, and flipped in the air—it was like a dance in the sky. With each movement, she captivated us and created a desire to do what she could do. As she spun back down to the ice below, I realized this was Ana’s sister, Elsie.

Beckett’s arm lightly circled my shoulders, and I let him. It was dark enough in here that, hopefully, we’d be hard to see. His fingers ran circles and figured-eight patterns over my shoulder and down my arm. All at once relaxing me and heightening the ever-present desire that lurked under my skin when I was with him.

My breathing sped up with each light touch, causing sparks to spread from my skin to my core. I bit my lip and forced myself not to moan. Whatever this man did was like some kind of sexy magic, and I wanted to rip off my clothes and beg him to take me.

Every move he made was seared into my senses. The rasp of his suit against the chair as he shifted, the soft puffs of air he released that showed me he wasn’t unaffected by our interaction, and the smell of his cologne swirled together to make me want to climb onto his lap and feel his hardened dick between my thighs. I had no idea how he could turn me on so quickly with nothing but a light touch, and I secretly loved it.

My nipples pebbled and chafed at my bra, almost begging to be released from their confinement. I had to stop shifting with the intention of forcing his palm to drop over my aching breast with the next swipe. Needing to do something with my hands, I clutched the armrest so tight I was surprised it didn’t crumble beneath my grip. Every instinct yelled at me to touch him, but I didn’t know how to do it and be discreet.

I squirmed in my seat enough that he had to know what he was doing to me. He confirmed my suspicion when his wandering hand lightly brushed the swell of my breasts. I pressed my knees together, working to assuage the need pulsing between the apex of my thighs. As the show progressed, concentrating became challenging, and by intermission I was ready to jump up from my seat.

Beckett discreetly slid his arm away before Zoey noticed, and we both stood.

“That was amazing,” Zoey screeched, and then her eyes widened. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

“I’ll take you, sweetheart. I need to go too.” Diana took her hand and motioned for Zoey to follow her.

“Can’t Ms. Winter come with us?” Zoey beckoned her hand for me to follow them.

“Let’s give her and your dad some time to relax. We’ll be right back.” She put her arm around Zoey and loudly whispered, “And if it’s just me and you, I can spoil you rotten. I think we both need a light-up crown and scepter.”

Beckett handed his mom money, and I was quickly forgotten at the thought of the new toys Zo was about to get. They’d barely made it through the door to our box when Beckett hit the light switch, plunging us into darkness. We could see each other with the glow from the partial lighting in the main arena, but we’d be harder to make out from those in the crowd below.

Beckett’s hand wrapped around the back of my neck and the other circled my waist as he shoved me up against the nearest wall. His hand cupping my head stopped me from slamming into it.

“You were driving me crazy,” I admitted, my voice low and raspy.

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