Page 117 of The Last Inch Of Ice
“Don’t look at me like that,” Kai tells him.
Then, the day after the season officially ends — after the Wardens’ disappointing second-round playoff exit that Kaidefinitely doesn’t want to think about — his world tilts on its axis again.
He’s in his condo, hip-deep in a mountain of hockey gear that needs to be sorted and stored, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt he’s owned since college, when his front door buzzer screams.
Not rings. Screams. Someone’s leaning on it.
Kai looks at the security camera feed on his phone, and his heart stops.
Nazar.
Standing in his building lobby, looking up at the camera like he knows Kai is watching. His hair is a mess. He’s wearing jeans and a jacket that looks like he grabbed it off a chair without checking if it was clean first.
The knock on his door comes exactly ninety seconds later. Kai knows because he counted every single second.
He opens it.
Nazar doesn’t say hello.
He takes Kai’s face in his hands, those large, rough hands that Kai has felt everywhere, and kisses him.
It’s not gentle. Not a greeting. It’s a claim.
When he finally pulls back, his dark eyes are burning with something Kai can’t understand. “We need to talk.”
“Okay. Great!” Kai’s voice comes out breathless. “About what?”
“I want a serious relationship. I will not settle for anything less.”
Kai is so shocked his brain temporarily stops processing language.
“I—what?”
“A relationship,” Nazar repeats, his hands still framing Kai’s face like he’s afraid he’ll disappear. “Real. Public eventually, when it’s safe. I want all of it.”
The tension rolling off him is palpable. Electric. Kai can feel it humming through his skin where they’re touching.
“Is everything okay?” It’s a stupid question, but Kai’s brain is still rebooting. “Did something happen?”
Nazar looks him straight in the eye. His gaze is unwavering. “Everything is good. Better than good. I realized something.”
“What?”
“That I love you.” He says it simply, like he’s stating a fact. Like the sky is blue and ice is slippery and Nazar Rykov loves Kaisyn Callahan. “And that’s all that matters. Everything else… your father, the media, the league, all of it… we’ll figure it out. But I need you to know: I will only agree to a serious relationship. You’ll have to take the risk.”
The wordlovehits Kai with the force of a physical blow. He has to lock his knees to stay standing.
“I’m afraid,” he admits, the confession raw and honest. “Of what could happen. To you. Because of me. And I’m afraid… that you will abandon me.”
Something soft flickers across Nazar’s face. Tender in a way Kai has only seen a handful of times. “I know. But you have to trust me.”
“My father—” Kai’s voice breaks. “You don’t understand what he’s capable of. What he’ll do if he finds out we’re together. He already threatened to destroy your career. He has a file on you, Nazar. Photos. Evidence. He knows about us and he’ll use it to—”
“Don’t worry about him.” Nazar’s voice drops to a low, dangerous growl. “He won’t touch you again. That’s my problem now. I’ll solve it.”
“You can’t just—”
“Your father destroyed my brother.” The words are quiet but land like bombs. “And I think… I think you knew him. His name was Derek.”
