Page 60 of Offside for Christmas
What have I done?
But then Cole's arm tightened around her waist, pulling her back against his chest, and his breath was warm on her neck, and Ellie thought:Oh. Right. This.
She shifted carefully to look at him, expecting him to wake, but he stayed asleep. In the soft morning light, with his face relaxed and that permanent scowl erased, he looked younger. Vulnerable. Beautiful in a way that made her chest ache.
Her eyes tracked down to his right shoulder—her shoulder, the one she'd been working so hard to heal. The scar from thesurgery was still pink, still healing, and without thinking, she reached out to trace it gently.
Another few days. Then he'll be cleared to play.
The thought sent a spike of panic through her chest.
Cole stirred, his hand catching hers against his skin.
"You're thinking too loud," he mumbled, voice rough with sleep.
"How do you know I'm thinking?"
"I can feel you spiraling." He opened his eyes—those impossibly blue eyes—and looked at her with an expression that was far too knowing for someone who'd just woken up.
"I'm not spiraling."
"Ellie." He pulled her on top of him in one smooth movement, his hands settling on her hips. "Look at me."
She did. Her hair fell around them like a curtain, creating a private world where it was just the two of them and the pale morning light.
"Whatever you're worrying about—stop."
"I slept with my patient," Ellie said, the words coming out more panicked than she'd intended. "And I'm about to clear you to play. Your shoulder—Cole, you're almost ready. Soon you’ll be back on the ice."
His hands stilled on her hips. Something flickered across his face—too quick for her to read.
"That's good, right?" His voice was carefully neutral. "That's what we've been working toward."
"It is. But it means—" She stopped, not sure how to finish that sentence.It means I was an idiot to let myself fall for you.
"It means I'll be playing again," Cole said quietly. "Doesn't mean anything else has to change."
"Doesn't it?" Ellie's chest tightened. "You'll be cleared. Teams will call. You'll get your life back."
"Maybe I don't want that life back."
"Cole—"
"Technically, I slept with my physical therapist. We're both breaking rules." His thumbs traced circles on her hipbones, distracting and grounding at the same time. "But I'm not sorry about it."
"This is serious—"
"It is serious." He rolled them suddenly, pinning her beneath him, settling between her thighs like he belonged there. "That's why I'm going to do it again."
He kissed her before she could protest, deep and thorough and achingly good.
Ellie's brain tried to mount a defense—they should talk about this, establish boundaries, figure out what this meant—but her body had other ideas. She arched up into him, hands sliding into his hair, and kissed him back with everything she had.
When he finally pulled back, they were both breathing hard.
"Wait," Ellie managed. "Cole, wait—"
He immediately stopped, pulling back to look at her with concern. "Too much?"
