by Jaci Burton
"Years of practice. Plus dance and yoga."
"In other words, you work your ass off. And your legs. Which, by the way, are gorgeous and now I know why."
"Thank you. It does take a lot of practice to perfect even the most rudimentary position."
She pulled up some speed, then moved into a spin that made him feel dizzy.
"Damn, woman."
She came over to him and put her arms around him, breathing heavily but smiling widely. "It's all about practice. Same as what you do. I'm exhausted just watching how hard you work during a hockey game. I skate for four and a half minutes, max. You're at it for several hours. That takes so much stamina."
"Yeah, but all I'm doing is pushing a puck around. You're jumping, performing complicated tricks and dancing on the ice during those four and a half minutes. That's equally as hard."
She pressed her lips to his. "Thank you for saying that. Now show me what you do."
He held his hands out. "No stick. No puck."
"So, we'll pretend."
He liked that she was so eager to play at playing hockey. "Okay. You be the offense. I'll be the defense. Skate fast and I'll defend." He pointed to the other end of the ice. "The goal you're trying to get to is on that side."
Amber crouched down, a make-believe stick in her hands, visualizing where the puck would be. Her obstacle was the big hunk of sexy man in front of her.
She mentally planned her strategy, leaned right, then dug into the ice with her skate, pushed off, and shot left, moving around him and skating for all she was worth toward the other end of the ice.
She felt Will behind her, heard the whoosh of his skates and knew he'd catch up to her in an instant. It was likely he wasn't skating to his maximum speed in order to give her an advantage. She intended to take it. She pushed harder, but suddenly he was in front of her, blocking her way. She skated to the right, toward the edge of the arena.
Will was right there, grabbing her around the waist. But instead of slamming her into the boards, he eased her there, slowing both their speeds until he had her pinned between his body and the glass.
She took a moment to catch her breath, to enjoy the feel of having Will on the ice with her. This was home for both of them. It was where they both worked.
But now she wanted to play. She splayed her hands across his chest. "Now that you have me pinned, what do you intend to do with me?"
His hands roamed down her sides and behind her, cupping her butt. "I have a few ideas."
"You do? Care to share them?"
The heated look he gave her promised something hot. The ice felt cool around them, but she was plenty warm, nestled up against Will.
"I thought I'd start out by making you come. You're all pent up and you need a release."
She looked around. They were all lit up, bright lights showcasing the ice. "Here?"
"We're alone, Amber. Emile is the only one who knows we're here, and he's got the keys. He's also outside. No one's coming in."
"How do you know he's not coming in?"
"I know Emile. He's from Chicago and now makes his home here in Vancouver. I trust him."
If Will trusted in Emile's discretion, then so would she. She relaxed against him. "Okay, then. Back to what you had in mind."
"I've got a lot of things in mind." He caressed the nape of her neck and moved in to kiss her.
His lips were soft as they brushed across hers--the kiss easy and gentle at first. And then he pressed in, sliding his tongue along hers, ramping up that adrenaline she'd barely been able to keep at bay. Will got closer, lifting her butt to tilt her against his erection.
She was damp and excited as she rubbed against him. She couldn't believe they were grinding against each other on the ice.
But when he slid his hand between them to cup her sex, she moaned, giving up any pretense of shock or dismay at their location. All she wanted now was an orgasm.
So when he slid his hand inside her leggings, and then her panties, his rough palm making contact with eager, throbbing flesh, she widened her stance. Will had a grip on her and she had hold of him. He rubbed her sex with expert precision, using the sweep of his hand in all the right ways to take her to the edge.
She hovered, taut and expectant, waiting to fall. And then Will shocked her by dropping to his knees and dragging her leggings down.
She barely had time to say a word when his mouth was on her, his tongue hot and wicked. She felt off balance, her world tilting sideways as he licked the length of her, then put his lips over her clit and sucked.
The ice was cold, but she felt steam rising all around her as she quivered with her impending orgasm.
"Ohh, yes." She screamed out with her climax, feeling as if she was drowning in a sea of epic sensation. He let her come down gradually from that orgasm, and when she could take it again, he brought her back up, taking her so high her legs trembled.
She came again, raising her arms high to grab onto the glass for support. She panted hard as pulses of delicious pleasure shot through her.
While she was recovering from back-to-back orgasms, Will backed up, shrugged his track pants down, and pulled out his cock.
Amber breathed deeply as he pulled a condom packet from his pocket.
"Ever prepared?" she asked.
"Hell, yeah." He skated forward and slipped his hand between her legs. "I have to be ready around you. You never know when opportunity could--pop up."
She reached for his cock, sliding her hand up and down the shaft. "You've definitely popped up."
"You make me hard every time I'm around you."
Hearing Will say that made her sex convulse. "I'm ready. Let's do this."
He pressed her up against the glass. Then he bent, grabbed her butt and slid into her.
She gasped and used the toe pick of her skate to plant herself on the ice as he thrust upward. She tilted her head back against the glass, letting her body feel . . . everything.
Everything was so, so good. Since she was still wearing her pants, it forced her legs together and squeezed Will's cock, his pelvis rubbing deliciously against her clit every time he drove into her.
The ice beneath them was cold while her entire body was drenched with the heat of friction, of desire, of the wanton need to feel every thrust from Will over and over again.
She grabbed onto his shoulders, arching against him, needing more of that heated contact.
She made eye contact with him. "Ever done this before?"
"Fucking?" He teased her with a half smile, then withdrew halfway, then slowly eased into her again, making her breath catch.
She lightly teased her nails along his jaw. "No. This. On the ice."
His gaze was dark, intense. "No. Never thought about it before. Until you."
"Everything with you is a first time for me. But this--Will, this."
"Yeah, I know."
He powered into her, increasing his pace, the friction he caused every time he rubbed against her a sweet torment.
"I'm going to come," she said.
"Yeah. Make me come inside of you, Amber. Squeeze my cock and make us both come."
She was so close, and watching Will's face, the way he looked at her as he moved within her, was going to take her right over. His fingers dug into the flesh of her butt and he ground against her, sending those fierce sparks of pleasure right to her clit.
Her body quaked with the force of the orgasm that slammed into her. Will gathered her close, took her mouth in a deep, forceful kiss, then shuddered against her with his orgasm. He rocked her hard against the wall. It was wild and amazing and made her orgasm go on and on until he stilled, pressing his lips against her collarbone, breathing heavily against her.
She was glad she was pinned between Will and the wall, because she could no longer feel her legs. Will kissed her neck, her jaw and her lips, then leaned back to search her face.
"You have one hell of a smile on your face," he said.
"You do realize I've now l
ikely had sex where no one else has."
"I don't know if no one else has ever had sex on the ice. But you're probably one of a few."
She grinned. "And here I am, still a novice."
"Babe, I wouldn't call you a novice at this." He disengaged and she righted her clothing, her legs still feeling a little wobbly. While Will left the ice for a few seconds, she pushed off the wall and skated a few rounds, trying to get feeling back in her legs. By the time he returned, she'd skated over to the gate and off the ice.
She sat and unlaced her skates, occasionally glancing over at Will to give him a grin.
"You're pretty satisfied with yourself," he said.
She slipped her skates in her bag. "How could I not be? I came three times. On the ice. I don't know that I'll ever look at an ice arena in the same way again."
He leaned over and kissed her. "Good. I've always wanted to be memorable."
She braced her hands on either side of his face. "Will Madigan, you are definitely memorable."
It was possible she had feelings for Will that went beyond just fun sex. He was exceedingly charming and amazingly handsome, not to mention creative and sexy and sweet.
Was this love? She wasn't sure she could recognize it even if it was.
She had to talk to someone about love. But who?
TWENTY-FOUR
AMBER KNEW IT WAS THE WRONG TIME TO HAVE THIS conversation. Lisa was getting ready to run the half-pipe, and she was sure her nerves were on edge. Though you couldn't tell it from the relaxed expression on her friend's face. Lisa looked as chill as ever. She was braiding her hair and talking about wearing her "lucky underwear."
"What exactly is lucky underwear?" Amber asked, taking a seat on her bed.
Lisa turned to face her. "The underwear you have on when great things happen to you." She pulled out a pair of black lacy panties and twirled them around her finger. "I met Blake wearing these. I won the World games wearing these and qualified for the international games wearing these."
Amber tilted her head, then cracked a smile. "Ah, I see. Clearly they're your lucky underwear."
"Right?" Lisa slipped them on, then resumed getting dressed.
Yes, she was definitely in a good mood.
"Have you ever been in love, Lisa?"
She straightened and looked at Amber. "If you had asked me that a few months ago, I would have said no. Today the answer is yes."
Amber felt a warmth spread all over her body at Lisa's answer. "You're in love with Blake."
"Yes."
"Tell me how you know it's love."
Lisa sat on the bed next to Amber. "I was someone who loved playing around. I liked dating different men. The thought of settling for just one was inconceivable to me. Guys are fun, you know? They're like donuts."
Amber arched a brow. "Donuts?"
"Yeah. Some days you want chocolate creme. The next day you might crave rainbow sprinkles. The day after that you might be in the mood for a maple bar. Why settle for glazed every day of your life when there's so much variety out there in your donuts?"
"Oh. Gotcha."
"But now, the idea of being with another guy just turns me off. All I want is Blake. All I think about is Blake. I want to be with him all the time, and when I'm not with him, I miss him. And that's so unlike me. As soon as I realized that, I knew I was in love with him." Lisa shrugged. "He's my favorite donut and no other donut will do for me now."
Amber laughed. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you, honey. I'm happy about it, too."
"Is Blake in love with you?"
"He is." She sighed. "He told me, and it was sweet and romantic, and oh, God, Amber, I'm not the mushy romantic type. What the hell has happened to me?"
So this was what it was all about. "You've fallen in love."
"I guess so. The weird thing is, I used to make fun of people like me. You know, the gushy, 'Oh, look at me I'm so in love' type. The ones who couldn't stop talking about themselves and their perfect partner. And now I am that person. It's disgusting."
Amber squeezed Lisa's hand. "You are not disgusting. It's sweet. You've found someone to have feelings for. Feelings that go beyond one night of hot sex. Someone you click with on an emotional level. Who wouldn't want to celebrate that? You deserve it, Lisa. You're one of the nicest people I've ever met. You embraced me when I was closed off, not wanting to make friends. You dragged me into your circle and made me open up and enjoy the experience of the games. You didn't have to do that and I'm so grateful. I can't think of anyone who deserves love more than you."
Lisa's eyes filled with tears. "Dammit, Amber. I have to go be a tough bitch on the half-pipe soon. And now you're making me feel all soft on the inside. How could you do this to me?"
Amber moved over to Lisa's bed and put her arm around her. "Oh, somehow I think you've got it in you to kill that half-pipe, even if you are mushy and sweet and in love."
Lisa laughed. "You're right. I do. And I will."
"Plus, you have your lucky underwear on. How could you possibly lose?"
"You are so right." Lisa stood. "Now I'm pumped. And I need to get my ass out there."
After Lisa left, Amber texted Will.
Where are you?
She went into the bathroom to put on makeup and fix her hair. Her phone buzzed so she picked it up.
Game room with the guys. You?
She texted back. In my room. Heading to watch Lisa soon. You going?
He replied quickly with, Yeah. I'll meet you at your apt. What time?
They made plans to meet, she finished getting ready and left the apartment to head downstairs.
Will walked into the lobby a few minutes after she got there. Even though she'd seen him every day for the past couple of weeks, she still got that gut punch whenever he entered a room.
"Some of the guys are coming, too," he said after he drew her close for a kiss.
"Same with several of the skaters. We should have a good crowd."
"More fun that way."
They started out the door and toward the lift that would take them up the mountain. "How was your practice today?" she asked.
"Intense. Coach worked us hard. But we're ready for tomorrow night."
"I'm so excited to watch your game."
He took her hand. "And then you skate the following night."
She inhaled and let it out. "I can't believe it's already here, that it's almost over. These two weeks have flown by. Well, almost three weeks since we both got here early."
"Yeah. Feels like I've known you forever."
It did feel like that. Maybe because they'd spent so much time together since that first night. She felt like she knew so much about Will. That probably had to do with their situation, of being together here at the games.
She wondered if it would be different if they had met under different circumstances, like at a party or through Lisa or something. And if they'd liked each other--which they would have, of course--and started dating.
But how would that even have worked with her living in Long Island and him in St. Louis? He'd already tried the long distance thing once and it had failed.
And why was she even pondering this? She already knew what she had going on with Will was just a temporary thing that would last only for the duration of the games. Once the games were over, so were they.
That thought left her feeling decidedly unsettled.
"You're sure quiet," Will said.
She lifted her gaze. "Thinking about skating."
He smiled as they entered the lift. "Yeah, it's hard to turn that off, isn't it?"
It was hard to turn off thinking about Will--thinking about the two of them and where they were going together. But she wasn't ready to broach that subject. Things were going well between them and she intended to take it day by day.
Because she was happy and content. So why worry about the future when the right now was perfect?
She laced her fingers with Will's and laid her head
on his shoulder, enjoying the ride up the mountain. The sun was a shimmering gold disk over the mountain, making the snow sparkle. Amber took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air as they reached the top. It would be a perfect night for Lisa's event.
She spotted Blake as they got to the seats. He was already surrounded by some of the hockey players and several skier friends of Lisa's. Telisa and Robbie were there, along with Rory and Tia and Brandon and Sergei.
Lisa would have a large cheering section.
They watched as all the snowboarders warmed up. They would go through qualifying first, and then as the field narrowed, semi-finals, until the final six ran two rounds. In Amber's opinion, they were all good. She could barely ride down a straight ski slope on a snowboard let alone fly through the air doing the kinds of loops these talented athletes managed. As far as she was concerned, they were all winners.
Of course, that's not how it worked. There was an intricate scoring process, much like that in figure skating. Lisa had explained the scoring to her one night four years ago when the two of them had stayed up late talking and getting to know each other. They'd shared information about each other's sports.
In the end, neither of them had understood the others' scoring process. Which wasn't a surprise since judging was always complex. She understood the scoring in figure skating, but that was it. So she'd just watch the scoreboard and see how it went, with ever-high hopes that Lisa came out on top.
The three US competitors also had very good chances to medal as well. It was going to be an exciting competition.
Amber cheered on the US team, who performed exceptionally well. One had just finished, and her loops and rotations had impressed the crowd.
"Wow," Will said as Patty Jones's score came up. "That's impressive."
Patty currently sat in first place, with Chloe Masterson, the other US competitor, in second. An Australian athlete was currently in third by the time Lisa came up for her turn.
Amber leaned forward, grasping Will's hand.
"You nervous?" he asked.
"I'm always nervous when my friends compete."
"But not when you compete."
She smiled. "No."
"Anyone ever tell you that you're a little odd?"
"All the time."
Blake stood and yelled, "We got you, Lisa! Let's do this."
The excitement was palpable. Lisa dropped in and immediately swept up into her first rotation. She flew high, did a backside 540 mute that was perfectly executed and went right into her next movement.