Fire on Ice (Fire on Ice Series) (13 page)

“I know,” my sister said as she gave me a quick hug. “And you’ve got it bad for the Hockey Hunk, don’t you?”

I frowned. “His name is Kian.”

“I know his name. I just like giving you a hard time. And there’s no denying he’s a hunk.”

“That’s not why I like him. Well, it’s not the only reason. And it’s probably not even in the top five reasons. But you’re right. He is hot.”

My sister gave a quick look around then said, “You know Blake is watching every move you make. You’d better go to the bathroom so he doesn’t think you’re lying.”

“Maybe if he realizes I was lying, he’ll figure out I’m not interested.”

“Let me tell you a few things about Blake.” My sister grabbed my elbow and led me toward the back of the house. “He’s from Scottsdale. His family is super
rich. His dad owns a bunch of companies. They hate the fact that he’s going into acting but Blake does what he wants. He’s extremely egotistical and extremely spoiled. I think he’s used to getting everything he wants, if you know what I mean, especially when it comes to girls.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I got that feeling.”

“Well, little one, the way he’s still eyeing you, I’d say you’re something that he wants—desperately.”

“Yeah, well good luck with that because he can’t have me.” The boldness of my words actually took me by surprise.

“You go, Taylor,” my sister said as we got in line for the bathroom. “I figured by the time we got to the front of the line we’d both be ready for a preemptive pee.”

Zelda and I didn’t stay very long at the party. She told me she was getting a little
ansty because two of her current lovers were there and even though they both knew about each other and knew she wasn’t monogamous, they still seemed to be itching for a fight. The guys both looked like theater geeks to me and I couldn’t imagine either of them fighting but my sister seemed concerned enough to want to leave. “Out of sight, out of mind,” she said.

I was glad to get away from Blake’s intense gaze. No matter where I ended up in the house, he ended up just a few feet away from me,
leering at me with his dark black eyes. I was starting to get a stalker vibe from him so I was glad to be out of there and away from his gaze. I was glad that my classes were all on the other side of campus, far away from the theater department.

When I got home, I checked my cell phone for messages. There was a single text from
Kian:
Looking forward to our date tomorrow
.

Me, too
,
I texted back.

Thirteen

Kian

I looked in my rearview mirror for what could have been the twentieth time to make sure I didn’t have anything on my face like toothpaste or shaving cream. I was fifteen minutes early to pick up Taylor and I didn’t want her to think I was too eager, even though seeing her again was all I thought about. Finally, when I couldn’t stand waiting one more minute to see her, I hopped out of the car.

I decided to bring her a live plant instead of flowers. The ol
der woman running the garden center in the market said the Azaleas would eventually flower. I hoped it would make Taylor’s room smell like a garden again since she said she liked it so much.

When I felt a few butterflies flipping around in my stomach, I couldn’t believe I was nervous again. I was turning into a real pussy.

Taylor looked amazing in her tight little jeans and sexy chest-hugging sweater. Part of me wanted to say: fuck the date, let’s just skip to the part where I tear those clothes off and make you mine.

But that would have to wait. I knew I couldn’t move too quickly with Taylor. I didn’t want to freak her out or scare her away. I couldn’t completely keep my hands off of her, though, so I pulled her close and gave her a kiss.

I could feel a shudder move through her as her body responded to mine. As I parted her lips with my tongue, I could hear her let out a little moan. I pushed my tongue into her mouth and deepened the kiss. I felt hungry for Taylor, starved for her. I didn’t feel like I could ever get enough of her.

It took every ounce of willpower I had to pull myself from her
,
then we both stood looking at each other, breathless. 

“We’d better go,” I said. “We’ve got a bit of a drive ahead of us.”

She smiled. “You’re still not going to tell me where we’re going?”

I shook my head. “No, but I think you’ll like it.”

“What if I guess?”

I frowned. “I don’t think you’ll be able to guess and I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”

“What’s that?” Taylor asked as she seemed to finally notice the plant I had brought in with me, which I had placed next to the door.

I picked up the Azaleas and handed them to her. “This is so you’ll continue to have flowers whenever it blooms.”

She gave me a big smile that tugged on my heartstrings a bit. “I love it,” she exclaimed. She carefully placed the plant on her dresser next to the window where it would get some sunlight.

When I took her hand into mine, all of my jitters and anxiety seemed to melt away. When I was with Taylor, when we were joined, I truly felt like I was where I belonged.

The trip took a little over two hours. On the way, Taylor told me about school and how her research was going and all of the places she had applied for graduate school. She was so smart and driven it was a little intimidating but also sexy as hell. There was something about a smart girl finding a dumb jock like me attractive that completely turned me on.

But then when she said, “There’s something I need to tell you,” and her tone turned serious, all of the anxiety I thought I had conquered returned.

“What?” I asked not sure I really wanted to hear what was next. My imagination started running wild as I thought about all the ways she could dump me and break my heart.

“You were right. Kyle’s motiv
es were a little more than just friendly. He wanted more from our relationship than to just be my friend.”

“He didn’t hit on you, did he?” I could feel my entire body tense with jealously and
my hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles began to turn white.

“No,” she said quickly.
“Nothing like that.”

I let out the breath I was holding.

“He just said a few things that were not appropriate or nice and I figured it out.”

“What did he say?” I asked between clenched teeth and I could feel my body growing tense again.

She frowned. “It’s not important. I just wanted you to know that you were right about him and that I’m reconsidering our friendship.”

I was glad she would be seeing less of pie-face but I also didn’t want her to be lonely or feel like I was keeping her from her friends.

“I decided to hang out with my sister a little more. I haven’t been the best little sis since we’ve been in college. She invited me to a cast party last night. It was okay. Theater majors are different. They’re a lot more off-beat and unconventional than I’m used to.”

I wanted to ask her if she was seeing other guys but we hadn’t really talked about being exclusive. I’d never thought about the possibility of having that type of conversation with a girl, so I didn’t even know how to bring up the subject. But the thought of her being with another guy made me outrageously jealous. I knew it was completely irrational because we just started seeing each other but I wanted her to be mine and mine alone and I knew I didn’t want anyone else but her.

When we pulled into parking lot for the Butterfly Wonderland, Taylor’s eyes went wide and she laughed. “You’re right. I never would have guessed you were taking me here. How did you find out about it?”

I didn’t want to tell her I had asked the ladies in the marke
ting department to recommend romantic locations to me. They gave me a list long enough to last for several months’ worth of dates but this one topped the list.

“Come on,” I said. “I need to get out of the car and stretch my legs.

Butterfly Wonderland was pricey but it was worth every penny to see the look of awe and pure delight on Taylor’s face as we walked through the conservatory. The atrium was about half the size of a hockey arena but it was like being in a tropical rain forest. Watching Taylor’s face as the butterflies flew past us was almost as much fun as watching the butterflies themselves.

“This is amazing,” Taylor exclaimed as she took everything in. “I think I could live here.”

“It is beautiful,” I replied. And I almost had to kick my own ass when I thought: But not half as beautiful as you. Talk about cheesy lines.

But it was the truth.

“Look at the waterfall,” Taylor squealed as she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the cascading water. “Incredible!”

She sat down on a bench and I sat beside her. I watched as she observed everything around her. Then she inhaled a deep breath and closed her eye
s for a moment. As she exhaled, she looked into my eyes. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Then she placed a soft kiss on my cheek and my heart skipped a few beats. I rose and put out my hand, which she grabbed and I pulled her up to join me. “Come on, there’s still lots to see.”

Two hours later, we were both exhausted and hungry as we exited the Butterfly Wonderland and made our way back to my car. “I thought we could try this downtown café that got rave reviews. When I looked at the menu online, it looked like they had all kinds of pitas and wraps and other girlie foods that you like.”

I could see that she was fighting not to laugh. Then she said, “Are you sure you don’t want to go someplace where you can get meat. And not just girlie meat. Real man meat.”

Now she was laughing and I had to admit she was pretty fu
nny. And she was also cute as hell when she laughed. I leaned down and crashed my lips into hers. We both got a little carried away as we devoured each other. When I grabbed her ass and pulled her into my growing erection, she gasped.

“Are you okay?” I whispered. I wanted to make s
ure I wasn’t hurting her.

“Yeah, why?” she replied softly.

“You gasped.”

“I was a little surprised you’re so—um—hard.” She seemed embarrassed to talk about my erection, which was growing ever more prominent with her hot little body pressed against mine.

I whispered into her ear. “That’s how much you turn me on, Princess.” I could see her face turn slightly red with embarrassment. “It’s not a bad thing, believe me. But we’d better slow down a bit. We are still in public.”

She nodded and we both got into my car.

As we headed toward the café, she asked, “Why do you call me Princess?”

“Because you are,” I replied.

“I can’t believe you still have me on a pedestal, even after you found out about everything that happened with Austin.”

“What happened with Austin wasn’t you
r fault,” I insisted. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

She tried to discreetly wipe a tear drop that had escaped down her cheek. I could see that her eyes were wet and she was blinking back tears. “You don’t think I’m used up damaged goods.”

“Why would you say that?” I could hear anger rising in my voice. She hesitated for a moment so I repeated the question. “Why would you say that?”

“Just something Kyle said. He implied that no one would tr
uly want me because of what happened.”

“Kyle’s a fucking asshole if that’s what he thinks and he doesn’t even deserve your friendship.”

“I don’t care what Kyle thinks,” she said. “I want to know what you think.”

I gave it a lot of thought before I spoke. I didn’t want to scare her or do anything to hurt her any more than she had already been hurt. I knew I had to choose my words carefully and be completely honest with her.

I cleared my throat then said, “I think I’m starting to have feelings for you. Real feelings. Feelings I’ve never felt before in my life. Feelings I never thought I’d ever feel for another person. I know we haven’t known each other very long and it probably sounds crazy but when I’m with you, everything feels right. It’s like we’re two pieces of some weird cosmic puzzle that somehow fit together.”

“It doesn’t sound crazy because I feel the same way,” she admitted.

We exited the car and we made our way to the café. I knew they would be serving nothing but rabbit food but also knew Taylor would just love it.

And I was right. She smiled her big beaming smile after she took her first bite of her organic gluten-free spinach and red pepper wrap. And the fact that I could recite what she ordered concerned me but not as much as the fact that I was eating one
, too. I wondered if I had to worry about growing a vagina.

“This is delicious,” she stated as she devoured her meal. “Do you like yours?”

I was so hungry I could have probably eaten the plate the meal was served on but I just gave her a nod and that seemed to make her happy. Making Taylor happy had become my new passion. Besides playing hockey, there was nothing that gave me more pleasure.

“I may be too hungry to taste it,” I admitted.

She looked up at me and asked, “So, tell me about your accent.”

I grinned. “So you noticed that, huh?”

“You’re definitely not from Arizona,” she stated.

“Runt and I were recruited to play for the Firestorm. That’s how we ended up out here but we’re originally from Boston. The south side, not a great neighborhood, as you can probably imagine, but we got lucky because we both could play hockey and we got out.”

“I guess you want to get to the national leagues someday?” she probed.

“Who doesn’t? But I know it’s a long shot. I’ve been playing hockey since I was a kid. I always felt like I belonged on skates from the first time I put a pair on. But it’s an expensive sport. Runt and I both showed talent and we were lucky to get sponsors at an early age. I never could have gotten to where I am today without my sponsor. That and pure drive. Playing hockey is all I’ve ever wanted to do. It may be all I’m good at, I don’t know. But it’s definitely what I’m passionate about.”

Taylor smiled. “I love it
when you talk about hockey. Your eyes actually light up. I can tell how much you love it.”

I’d never talked to a girl about my hopes and ambitions b
efore. But I wanted Taylor to know that I was someone who was worth her time, someone who could take care of her, not just some fuck up from a shitty Boston neighborhood who’d never amount to anything.

“I have a plan B,” I admitted. “If something happens and I never make it to the major leagues.
Or if I get injured and I can’t play professionally anymore. I’ve been saving almost every penny I’ve made since I was a kid. I’m going to open a sports bar.”

When Taylor looked at me, her eyes sparkled. “What is it?” I asked. I wanted to know what was behind the gleam.

“I admire you so much,” she said. “You’re not like any other guy I’ve ever met. You work hard for what you want. You don’t expect anything to be given to you. And you don’t take anything for granted.”

I nodded. “I definitely don’t take you sitting here with me for granted.”

She furrowed her brow. “Why would you say that?”

How could I say that I didn’t deserve someone like her? How could I tell her that she was so far out of my league it wasn’t even funny? How could I say that I would spend my entire life co
nvincing her that I was worthy of her love, if that’s what it took?

“You can have the pick of the litter, Princess, and here you sit with the straggly runt. And you’re asking why I would never take you for granted?”