Page 47 of Pivot Point

I wasn’t sure, but I did know one thing: I would be forever grateful for their grand entrance into my life. The two of them had cemented themselves along with Rafael inside my heart for good. Those three men were all I needed.

Jasper chugged the rest of his water and crinkled the cheap plastic bottle. “We’ve got ten more minutes of ice time. You wanna squeeze in a little more practice or head out now?”

Niko cocked his head. “You two have been working really hard lately. Maybe loosening up on yourselves wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

Before I could answer, my ears picked up on a sound that now instinctively set me on edge—Quentin’s laugh, ringing through the door at the top of the steps. Chock full of arrogance and spilling over with disdain. Something sharp twisted in my chest.

My jaw clenched. “Are you serious? What the hell is he doing here this early?”

Jasper sighed. “He probably found out we booked the time before his slot and figured he’d take the chance to mess with us. You know what he’s like.”

I grimaced. “Well, we can’t stop even ten minutes early now. He’ll say we’re running away from him.”

A second later, Quentin pushed past the door with Jess at his heels. Their coach and her other trainees were nowhere to be seen.

The two of them sauntered down the steps and lounged on a bench near the ice as if they were there only to watch. Which I guessed at this point they were.

Quentin’s eyes glittered, hard with condescension and challenge. Jess simply wrinkled her nose at us.

I rolled my eyes as I turned back to Jasper. “No point in letting them see the little changes we’ve made. Let’s go through the first lift a few more times.”

He dragged his eyes away from the stands, his hands fisted at his sides. “Right.”

“And here I thought you two were preparing to blow us away now that you’ve got a second chance,” Quentin called. “Awfully boring performance so far. Oh, I’m sorry, am I distracting you?”

“Shut it, Wolfe,” Jasper growled, his shoulders tensing more. He nodded to Niko to start the music.

As the opening notes pealed from the speakers, we glided through the first section of our routine. I tuned out all thought of the jackass watching us, focusing on the beats of the music and my connection with my partner.

But Quentin had always gotten to Jasper more than he did me. When Jasper raised me into the air, I could tell right away that his arms were a little too rigid. They wobbled slightly on my dismount, and my skate jittered against the ice before I fully caught my balance.

A snort followed us as we circled around to start over from the beginning. When I glanced at the stands, Quentin had slung his arm around Jess’s shoulders, and she’d tossed her legs right over his lap. She nuzzled the side of his neck, and he tipped his head to the side encouragingly.

Excuse me while I barfed.

“I think I’m seeing your problem,” Quentin said in a mockingly languid voice as Jess trailed her fingers down his chest. “No passion. Saint Jasper here doesn’t know how to handle a woman—big surprise.”

I had half a mind to stomp over there and see how well Quentin could “handle” me when I slammed my fist into his face. From Jasper’s expression, he was gritting his teeth to hold back a hostile retort.

I set my hand on his bicep, ignoring the jerk. “Hey, don’t worry about that prick. Nothing he says matters.”

Jasper gave his broad frame a little shake. “I know,” he muttered. But frustration still radiated off him.

If he tried again all wound up like that, he was bound to make a mistake, and then he’d only get even more upset.

My words weren’t enough to distract my partner from his long-time rival, but as Quentin had just reminded us, that wasn’t all I had to offer.

He wanted passion? I’d show him passion.

The idea set off a crackle of electricity down the center of me. I pushed myself forward, grabbing the front of Jasper’s tee, and bobbed up on my skates.

Every thought featuring Quentin or Jess was erased from my mind as I curled my fingers into my partner’s auburn hair, twisting the strands around my fingers.

“Lou —” Jasper started, but I cut him off with an eager kiss.

My mouth melded to his perfectly. His arm came around my waist, tugging me closer. At the flick of my tongue against his lips, he parted them so our breaths could mingle.

As I kissed him more deeply, reveling in the attraction and affection I felt with this grouchy but mesmerizing man, the stiffness released from his muscles. He stroked his fingers over my cheek and delved his tongue into my mouth in the start of a playful duel.

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