Page 21 of Heat It Up (Off the Ice)
I return to Nik and gulp back some beer. He glances at the two bottles in my hand but doesn’t say anything. The girl who tried to talk to me earlier asks him a question. He nods and they head for the dance floor. Her friend asks me if I want to dance, but since the Gabby lookalike is there, I shake my head and go back to drinking. She quickly loses interest in me and chats with her friends. In Finnish.
As I contemplate the pros and cons of bailing on this fun-filled evening, my gaze catches a familiar blond. A familiar blond who looks…different. Her long blond hair now swings just above her shoulders. She looked pretty before, but now she’s hot. I blink, positive it can’t be Sofia. It must be another look alike. The universe hates me that much.
She’s with a girl and a guy, and is laughing. My eyes scour the crowd near her. If Joni’s here, I don’t see him. I let out a slow breath and the tension that’s been building trickles away like a water from a faulty faucet.
I continue staring at Sofia until she must’ve sensed me watching her and looks over. She smiles and everything instantly feels better with the world. Without saying anything to the girls, I walk over to her, bumping into people as the alcohol kicks in. Shit. Not how I want Sofia to see me.
I stop in front of her. Her smile wavers and she glances at the dance floor, her mind spinning over something. She then grabs my hand. The warmth of it seeps into my skin and sobers me a little.
“Let’s dance.” She pulls me toward the crowded space.
We don’t get that far. As if summoned by my thoughts of her earlier, Snow White steps in front of me and rests her hand on my chest. The seductive curl of her lips makes it clear she wants a repeat of the other night. “Hi, Kyle.”
Chapter Twelve
Sofia
The woman steps closer to Kyle, her manicured hand still on his chest. Everything about her is the opposite of me—if you don’t count my newly manicured fingers and toes.
She’s about my age, but her chin-length black hair and slim fitting red dress scream sophistication. Her long legs appear never ending, especially with her stilettos and short dress. She’s obviously not living out of a suitcase with only a limited supply of clothing.
I glance down at my short skirt and the white tank top that Kyle has seen me in before.
“I’ve missed you,” she purrs and my stomach twists. “My bed’s been lonely without you.” Her hand moves south, stopping just above the waistband of his jeans. She either hasn’t noticed me standing next to him or just doesn’t care. Clearly I’m not much competition as far as she’s concerned.
And she’s right.
I step away and return to Maija and her boyfriend. Guys like Kyle aren’t interested in girls like me, not when they can have women like the one now whispering in his ear about all the hot positions they can do tonight.
My stomach pinches at the thought. Silly stomach. But really, what did I expect? He knows I’m not interested in a boyfriend and that my last one cheated on me. Kyle’s probably already guessed why Ian did that. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out I wasn’t all Ian had hoped for. This woman knows how to please a man; I’m a million miles from there.
“Hey,” Kyle says, catching up to me. “I thought we were going to dance.” His words hold a slight slur.
“You were busy.” I cringe inwardly at how petty that sounded. Kyle doesn’t seem to notice.
“Sorry about that. She surprised me by showing up like that.”
“Who is she?” I glance around but can’t see her anywhere.
Kyle doesn’t say anything. He reaches for my hand and tries to pull me to the dance floor. I hold my ground.
“I’ll still dance with you,” I say, “But I just want to know who she is?” And if you’ve slept with her.
He releases my hand. His shoulders slouch forward, my words knocking the wind out of him. “She was a one-night stand. Nothing more than that. I haven’t seen her since then. At least not until tonight.”
“Okay.” I smile, the movement small but genuine. “Thank you for being honest with me.” I place my hand on his biceps, the muscle hard from hours in the gym. “And I believe you owe me a dance.”
We manage to find a spot on the crowded dance floor, our bodies pressed together. I wrap my arms around his neck and move my body with his. It’s been a while since I last went dancing. I’ve missed it. I just didn’t realize how much until now.
I turn around, my back against his chest, my arms around his neck. My tank top raises, exposing my stomach. His fingers trace the skin above my waistband. Tiny shivers glance across my skin at his touch and I suck in a sharp breath.
I move my body to the beat, the song fast yet sensual. The limited space keeps me against Kyle, and he takes advantage of the situation. His slight state of drunkenness has to do with that, too. His lips press the skin on my shoulder. Then his tongue flicks lightly against it, turning my legs into molten lava. It’s a good thing his arm is around my waist, keeping me upright; otherwise, I’d melt onto the sticky floor.
The feel of Kyle’s lips on my skin triggers the memory of them on my mouth, all of them good, which is part of the problem. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him since the kiss. I haven’t stopped craving him since the kiss. Even at Linnanmäki, when he challenged me to face my fear of heights, I wanted to kiss him, really kiss him. But I couldn’t.
His lips continue their path, marking their way along my shoulder. He pushes my hair aside, and his mouth is back to teasing me. As if it has a will of its own, my head drops to his shoulder, encouraging him to keep going. My brain tells me to stop this from continuing further. My body says to hell with it. I deserve this just once.
The song slows, but we stay the same, moving in a way that makes me dizzy with want. His hands slide down my hips. I sway against him. His breath is raspy in my ear and he moans, the sound barely heard over the loud music.
