Heat it Up: Off the Ice - Book One

by Stina Lindenblatt

  I break the surface as Sofia leaps in. She reappears a moment later, shrieking, “Oh my God! It’s cold!”

  I swim over to her and wrap my arms around her. Shit, she’s as sexy as hell with her wet hair pulled away from her face and her hard nipples pressing against the wet fabric of her bikini top. “I can warm you up.”

  She shivers. “Trust me. Nothing can warm me up. I’m ready to go back in the sauna.” She squirms out of my arms and swims to the dock before hoisting herself up the slippery wooden steps. The weight of the water pulls down on her bikini bottom enough to fuel my fantasies for a month.

  I follow her, grabbing my glasses from the dock on the way up, and we run back to the sauna. Fortunately compared to the water, the late afternoon air is a lot warmer. I have no idea how Finns manage this in the fall or winter. They must be crazy.

  Sofia and I repeat the cycle of sitting in the sauna and jumping into the lake a few more times. We don’t make out in the sauna again. It’s too damn hot for that. But we do tell each other stories about when we were younger, while continuing our game, and share about things we have in common. Even after we’re finished with the sauna, and we’re sitting around the fire, cooking our dinner, we share about our life. Yet, I can’t bring myself to talk about the accident and how I used to play for the NHL. I don’t have any regrets about keeping the truth from her. It has nothing to do with Sofia, and I want to keep it that way, to keep our memories happy.

  Sofia bites into her sausage. “Mmmm. I wish we could get these back home. I’ve been craving them since the last time I was here.”

  She’s right. They are amazing. “When was the last time you were in Finland?”

  “I was fifteen. It was just before my father cheated on my mom and the student went psycho bitch on him.”

  “Did your mom ever remarry?”

  “No, but she recently started dating someone.”

  “Do you know him?”

  She shakes her head. “She started dating him after I left to come here. She seems pretty happy but she didn’t want to tell me much else, in case it doesn’t work out…It just feels weird knowing she’s ready to move on.” A wistfulness sneaks into her tone.

  Just like I need to move on after what happened to me. But like Sofia, I’m not sure I’m ready to yet.

  I drink back some beer. At least with Sofia I don’t have the burning urge to get lost in the buzz. She does that for me. She’s like my guardian angel, sent to help give me a second chance at life. Too bad what we have between us is only for the summer.

  Sofia glances at the beer and sadness washes over her face. “Are you okay?” She nods at the bottle in my hand.

  “I’m fine.” I stare at the fire crackling in the pit. Its flickering warmth mirrors the same warmth in my veins from sitting so close to her. Even with the smoke drifting in our direction, I smell the occasional whiff of her apple scent. “I have no reason to get wasted tonight.” I press my lips against her temple, telling her she’s enough for me. For now.

  A small smile curves on her mouth then vanishes. “Someone I once cared about let alcohol destroy him.” She places her cool hand against my face and strokes my cheek with her thumb. Her eyes lock with mine and I could get lost in her beautiful blue eyes. “I don’t want the same to happen to you.”

  “It won’t,” I whisper.

  The flicking light catches on her pendant. I reach out and finger the delicate silver swan.

  “My parents gave it to me,” she explains. “We were visiting Santa’s Village in Lapland when we found it. Swans have always been my favorite bird. I used to want to be one.”

  “Santa has a village in Lapland? I thought he lived in the North Pole.”

  Sofia laughs. I fight a grin but lose out in the end and finish my sausage and beer. The wind picks up, sending the flames into a frenzied dance, and raindrops splash on our skin. We’d been so busy talking and eating, I hadn’t noticed the storm clouds sneak in.

  We jump up from the thick log we’d been sitting on. Sofia grabs our food and I douse the fire with the bucket of water. Then we hurry back to the cottage as the clouds release their load. The distance isn’t far but that doesn’t matter. We’re soaked within seconds.

  While Sofia changes in the bedroom, I search for something to keep us warm and for something to occupy us. By the time Sofia emerges from the bedroom, I’ve hunted down playing cards, a flashlight, plus oil and matches for the hurricane lamps.

  “Your turn,” she says, wearing a skimpy tank top and shorts with cartoon puppies on them. Her breasts press against the tight fabric and her legs are endless. My dick twitches against my zipper at the sight of her.

  Shit. The beer and her outfit are making me want to rethink keeping our friendship simple.

  She spreads a blanket on the couch. “I figured this would at least keep us warm.”

  Compared to the fire in my blood from thinking about all the things I want to do to her, the blanket has nothing on it. And I suspect being under it with Sofia will only lead to trouble for me.

  “I found some cards. We can play poker.” Except we don’t have any chips, and strip poker isn’t going to work. Not if we want to play for long. At most, she’s wearing four pieces of clothing—five if we count the blanket—and unless she’s a card shark in disguise, this game won’t last long before I have her naked.

  Not a good idea.

  She nibbles her lips like she did earlier. “I don’t know how to play.”

  Yep, definitely not a good idea.

  “Can you play Go Fish?”

  She nods.

  Okay, Go Fish it is.

  While I fill oil in two hurricane lanterns and light them, Sofia lays out our unfinished meal on the coffee table. She then snuggles under the blanket. I go to the bedroom and change into my shorts and t-shirt.

  When I come out, Sofia’s shuffling the cards. Her technique is a long way from Vegas ready. I sit next to her and shake my head at her offer to join her under the blanket.

  Sofia deals the cards and we begin a heated game of Go Fish. The wind and rain battle against the windows and the roof. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Now we just have to hope the cottage stands up to whatever Mother Nature plans to hurl at us.

  “Do you have eights,” she asks, not the least bit nervous about the weather.

  “Go Fish.”

  She makes an adorable face and pulls a card. We keep playing. Sofia wins the first five games. She might not be a card shark when it comes to poker, but damn the girl is good when it comes to Go Fish.

  Growing tired of my losing streak, I remove the cards from her hands and place them on the table.

  A sly smile breaks onto her face. “Does that mean I get my prize now?”

  “What prize?”

  “Well, I won five games. Five out of five. That means I’m the winner. So what’s my prize?” She holds her hand out to me.

  I kiss the palm of her hand. But I don’t stop there. I keep moving up her arm, trailing kisses as I go.

  She laughs. “Not quite what I had in mind, but it’ll do.”

  It’s not what I have in mind either. I’m aiming for a much bigger prize. Something that will ensure the largest of carnival prizes shrinks back in shame. Her laugh is cut off as my mouth finds hers.

  I knot my fingers in her hair and deepen the kiss. She doesn’t resist. She welcomes me in. Our tongues glide against each other and all I can think about is exploring her body even though that’s the last thing I should be doing. My free hand pushes away the blanket from her shoulder and my fingers glance down the thin straps of her tank top. She shivers at my touch.

  “Are you cold?” I ask against her lips.

  “No, I’m perfect,” she murmurs back.

  Yes, she is.

  I pull the straps of her tank top and bra down, my fingers brushing against her soft skin. I kiss her shoulder in the same spot she kissed me in the sauna, the location of my scar. I plant kisses along her shoulder, up her neck, and s
top at her ear. My tongue travels along the outside of it before I nip the flesh between my teeth.

  She moans and the heated sound of it is all the encouragement I need. I release her hair and skim my hand down her back. At the hem of her tank, I slide my fingers under the fabric and trace along the top of her shorts. Sofia’s breaths come in rapid bursts, barely heard above the noise of rain pelting the roof. The sky fills with a bright flash of light followed by a loud crack of thunder.

  Sofia leans back against the cushions. I readjust my body so I’m lying on top of her, my arms supporting my weight. Her leg skims mine and wraps around my hips, bringing me closer to the part of her that I long to touch, taste, tease. But instead, I rock against her, my entire body cheering me on. I want her so badly, I’m positive I’m going to explode.

  I push her tank top above her belly button and swirl my tongue around it. A whimper falls from Sofia’s lips and I smile inwardly at how she responds to the subtlest of moves. I continue pushing her tank top up and expose her bra. It’s light pink and it suits her. While I can tell she’s no virgin—she’s not shy in the same way she would be if she were—I can also tell she hasn’t had a lot of experience.

  Sensing what I want, Sofia sits up and removes her tank top, drops it to the floor, then unhooks her bra. It quickly joins the tank top, as does my t-shirt.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Sofia

  Kyle’s t-shirt joins the party on the floor with my bra and tank top. But then he hesitates, as if deliberating what we’re about to do. What the heck is there to deliberate? I want this, and judging from the bulge in his shorts, he wants this, too.

  He pulls away and my body screams in frustration. I’m doing something wrong. That must be it.

  I shift to sit and Kyle does the same. “What’s wrong?” I ask him.

  Am I doing something wrong…or…are you feeling guilty because you’re still love in your wife?

  He picks up the stack of cards forgotten on the table and shuffles them, not at all affected by the fact that I’m sitting next to him topless. Which I’ll admit, if nothing else, is an arrow straight through my fragile ego.

  “Nothing’s wrong, Soph. It’s just you’re my friend.” He continues shuffling the cards, his attention on them and not me and my breasts. “I don’t want to fuck that up.”

  “Why do you think you’ll fuck that up?”

  “If we have sex, it will only complicate things.”

  I think on this for a moment, then remove the cards from his hands and straddle him. I place the cards next to us on the couch. “It doesn’t need to complicate anything. We’ve got a month left together here. If we become…” Become what? Not boyfriend and girlfriend. Not with only a month left here. A fling? “…Friends with benefits. It won’t be complicated at all. This only has to last while we’re in Finland.”

  There will be no strings attached, no hearts at risk of being broken. It will only be about having fun. And fun is exactly what the doctor prescribed for the new and improved me.

  Something deep inside me cheers on this sudden burst of confidence. A month ago, I never would have considered doing something like this.

  “You sure about this?” he asks, his gaze taking in everything about my face. My eyes. My lips. My desire.

  “Positive.” Please say yes.

  He doesn’t say anything, but there’s no missing the want in his eyes. He needs this as much as I do.

  Instead of saying it with words, he shows me. His hands cup my breasts, and his thumbs draw dizzying circles around the hard nipples. He lightly pinches one. The nerves between my legs go berserk with need. “Oh God,” I groan.

  Then his mouth crashes against mine. His kisses become frantic, filled with the same need coursing through my body. His hands—large, strong, warm—caress and explore my exposed skin. Every part of me he touches begs for more. I beg for more.

  His thickness, straining in his shorts, presses against my super-charged center. I moan against his mouth, the sound barely heard over my pounding heart and the distant rumble of thunder.

  He pulls away. “If you’re sure about this…” he says, giving me one last chance to change my mind about what we’ll be after this.

  “I am. Do you have any condoms? I—I have some in my bag.” Because that doesn’t make it look like I was planning to have sex with him this weekend, even though we were staying here with five other people.

  His lips curl into a sexy, one-sided smile. “Didn’t think I could resist your magnetic attraction for long, huh?”

  Heat rises in my cheeks. Not the look I was going for. He’s used to confident, experienced women. I’m not exactly the poster girl for that.

  “There’s nothing about you, Sofia, I can resist. You had me the first day in the sauna, when you blasted me with the water.” He threads his fingers through my hair and pulls me to him. His lips gently kiss me, setting free a crate of butterflies in my stomach. I want this moment to be perfect, but what is that exactly? Hot sex? Knowing all the positions and being adventurous? Or pouring everything you have inside you and hoping it’s enough?

  Even though I don’t want to leave his embrace for even a second, the condoms are in the bedroom and I can’t exactly levitate them over here. I scoot off his lap and offer him my hand. He takes it and I pull him off the couch, then lead him into the bedroom as I mentally go through the steps of how to put the condom on him.

  I retrieve several foil packages from my bag and with shaky fingers, place the condoms on the night table. Kyle places the hurricane lamp next to them.

  Okay, now what?

  Kyle answers that for me. He comes up behind me and wraps his arm around my waist. His mouth blazes a trail of hot, wet kisses along my shoulder, and with his free hand, he nudges my hair back, exposing the skin on my neck.

  The kisses continue along my neck to the shell of my ear and he nips it between his teeth. My panties grow damp.

  As his tongue tastes and explores the outside of my ear and my jaw, his fingers do some walking…to the waistband of my sleep shorts. They slip beyond the elastic waistband and travel south, teasing my skin with their light touch.

  They continue over my satin underwear, the ones Maija had recommended that I get, until Kyle reaches the throbbing part between my legs that has been cheering him on, remembering what happened last time he touched me here. Begging for an encore.

  Kyle groans loud against my neck, sending an erotic hum through me. My body jerks back, pressing my butt against his hard length. Unable to help myself, I wiggle against him, tormenting him like he’s tormenting me. His answering moan makes me grin.

  He removes his hand from my shorts. The throb between my legs pouts and cries no fair. But it changes its mind when Kyle shifts focus and slowly peels my shorts and panties down my legs. If he coaches half as well as he’s seducing me, his players are bound to become great hockey players once day.

  Once my shorts and panties are around my ankles, I kick them to the side and turn around. I’m naked. He’s not. I plan to level the playing field. With clumsy fingers, I unfasten his shorts and slide them and his boxer briefs down his legs. There’s nothing seductive in my movements. Kyle doesn’t seem to care. He peers down at me, his eyes dark in the dim light of the hurricane lamp.

  A sudden shyness overcomes me at seeing him naked, with his cock standing at attention. It’s not like I’ve never seen a naked guy before, but right now it feels like my first time.

  Before I can do anything else, Kyle’s arms are around me again and he’s kissing me. The shyness and nervousness melt away at the touch of his lips against mine.

  He walks me backward to the bed and the next thing I know, I’m laying back on it with Kyle leaning over me. He traces his lips against my jaw, tasting me with his tongue. His thumb strokes my cheek then his hand drifts to my shoulder and slides to my chest. It stills over my rapidly beating heart. “You’re so beautiful, Sofia. So, so beautiful.” His voice is both husky and filled with warmth.


  I spread my fingers over his heart, and relish its equally rapid beat against my hand. I’m affecting him the same way he’s affecting me. That thought gives me a confidence I haven’t felt since Ian’s cruel words. Even before that. Kyle makes me feel like the woman I’ve wanted to be.

  Kyle’s fingers slide away from my heart and dip to an aching nipple that pleads for him to touch it again. Echoing what he did earlier, his thumb circles it, the circle growing smaller with each rotation. He pinches it again, and once more the nerves between my legs go berserk. I groan. Every cell in my body screams for more. My teeth gently sink into his shoulder, something I’ve never done before, but with Kyle it feels so right. So good.

  “Fuck, babe,” Kyle groans, and I’m more turned on than I ever thought I would be at his words. “That feels so fucking good.” He kisses me once more. “I want to taste you again, Sofia. I’ve been wanting to taste you again since the first time.”

  I nod, unable to talk. I want that, too. I want everything.

  Craving to touch every part of him, I wrap my fingers around his warm length. Kyle sucks in a sharp breath but doesn’t say anything. He lets me continue to stroke his velvety hardness.

  His fingers engulf my wrist, stilling my movements. “You need to stop now,” he husks, “before I lose control. I’m not ready for that yet.” I love that I have this effect on him.

  He doesn’t give me a chance to miss the contact. His hands brush against my inner thighs and spread them apart. He plants kisses along my skin until he gets to the throb between my legs. His tongue swirls around the swollen flesh and I gasp. Then he sucks on it and my gasp becomes a moan.

  He slides a finger between my folds. “You’re so fucking wet for me.”

  God, I never thought someone talking dirty to me could be such a turn on. I almost come right there.

  His finger pushes inside and presses against me, setting off a new round of fireworks in my nerves. I grab hold of the sheet with both hands, afraid if I don’t, I might explode.

  Another finger joins the first and I’m beginning to think holding onto the sheet won’t be enough.