The Sweetest Seduction, Breakaway Hearts (28 page)

“I can see why. He’d make one hell of a checker.”

“That’s what we’re hoping.” She pointed to his gear. “Here to tend the goal for us?”

His insides tightened. “No, not today. But I did want to take a few laps when you’re done.”

She raised her brows but said nothing before she skated back to Moose. After a whispered conversation, they started picking up the cones. “Time to get those skates on, Ben,” she shouted.

He fished them out of his bag and took a deep breath. It wasn’t a game. There wouldn’t be any contact. It would just be a chance to test out his knee and see how it handled on the ice. He gave a bitter laugh as he laced them up. He used to jump at a chance to put his skates on and get on the ice. Now it was almost akin to bungee jumping off a high bridge into a deep ravine.

Moose stopped in front of him as he got off the ice, blankly staring at him in a way that made Ben wonder if he wasn’t called Moose for a reason other than his size. After half a minute, he gave a grunt and sat down to take off his skates.

Ben kept him in the corner of his eye in case the brute decided to charge.

“Ready?” Hailey asked, pulling his attention back to her.

He stood up and checked his balance on the thin blades. So far, so good. “Ready.”

“Then come on out.” She offered her hand to him and waited.

A torrent of emotions warred inside him. Embarrassment and anger at the fact she thought he needed help. Fear that it might be too soon. Bruised pride. And finally, a tiny spark of gratitude that she wanted to help.

He took her hand, telling himself that it was only because he wanted to touch her, to hold her close. Then he gathered up his courage and stepped out onto the ice.

His ankles immediately wobbled, and he grabbed the boards.

A deep laugh came from the bleachers. “Bender,” Moose said with a snort.

Ben’s skin burned as he stiffened and regained his balance. He’d show that little punk.

“Careful,” Hailey whispered in his ear, her words as soothing as her concern. She squeezed his hand. “It’s been a few months since you’ve done this, and it’s going to take time for your body to adjust to being on the ice again. Just take it one step at a time.”

He nodded and let go of the boards, but not her hand. Dear God, it felt like he was three years old all over again, and his dad was teaching him how to skate. He pushed off with his good leg and glided forward. Then he pushed off with his bad leg.

The sting from his knee made him suck in a breath through clenched teeth.

Hailey tightened her grip on him. “You okay?”

He closed his eyes and nodded. “Just got to push past this.”

“If your knee is hurting—”

“It’s fine,” he growled, and kept moving forward. The stiffness lessened with each stride, and by the time he got to the opposite side, the pain was next to nothing. He leaned back against the wall and took some of the weight off his knee. “There.”

Hailey guided his face toward hers. “What are you trying to prove?”

“I don’t know. You’re the one who wants me back in front of the goal.”

Her blue eyes softened, and she ran her finger along his jaw. “Not at the expense of you hurting yourself again.”

He gave a rueful laugh. “So does this mean you’ll go out with me without me having to block one of your shots?”

“Not likely.”

“Then you leave me no choice but to skate.” He let go of her hand and started skating along the corners.

Hailey pulled up beside him, matching his slow pace. “Gus told me about your offer.”

“And I suppose you’re going to tell me not to bother.”

“Actually, I wanted to thank you.”

He skidded to a stop, his pulse jumping. “You mean you’re actually going to be nice to me?”

Her dimple appeared in her left cheek. “Don’t get all excited, Kelly. There’s being nice, and then there’s being polite. We Canadians are masters of both.”

“But you’re not going to be nice enough to go out to dinner with me.”

The other dimple appeared as she shook her head. “I don’t want to make things too easy for you.”

“Good, because I don’t want this to end like it did last time.”

Her smile fell, and he knew he’d trodden upon a sore spot for her. Her voice was a haunted whisper when she replied, “Yeah, neither do I.”

She added some distance between them. “Care to pick up the pace?”

“I’m not ready for speed drills, but I can try to go a little faster.”

He lost count of how many laps they made around the rink. Hailey stayed by his side, her eyes down. Neither of them said a word. Moose had long since departed by the time he looked up in the bleachers and realized they were alone. “You don’t have to stay, you know.”

“Yes, I do.” She pointed to the Zamboni. “I have to clean up the ice before I leave.”

The muscles around his shins and ankles ached, but he wanted to give himself one final push before quitting for the day. “Care to do a sprint with me?”

She cocked one brow. “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” He glided to the back of the rink and stood in front of the goal line like a speed skater waiting for the starting gun. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

Hailey matched his posture on the opposite side of the net. “You’re on. Ready. Set. Go!”

He dug his blades into the ice and bolted forward. The sounds of metal scraping the ice and sharp pants of exertion echoed through the barn. He swung his arms to propel himself forward, his eyes fixed on the opposite goal line. At first, he was neck and neck with Hailey. Then she turned on the gas and passed him with a blur of her blond ponytail.

But it didn’t matter that she won their informal race. A rush of joy pounded through his veins as he put the brakes on to keep from crashing into the boards. He was back on the ice, and that was all that mattered to him.

“Not bad.” Hailey came over to him, her cheeks pink, her eyes sparkling as if she knew exactly how he felt. “Not bad at all.”

The burning in his lungs suggested otherwise, keeping him from saying anything.

“You surprise me, Ben.”

She gave him a playful hip check that threw his weary muscles off balance. She reached out to steady him, but they both toppled onto the ice. He pressed his body against hers, thankful for her lack of pads today, and forgot all about his fatigue. The swell of her breasts pushed into his chest, and his blood rushed straight to his groin. His mouth went dry. He froze, not wanting to move away from her. Time hadn’t dulled his physical reaction to her one bit.

Her pupils widened as she stared up at him, and she licked her lips. Her fingers gathered the front of his shirt into her fist. Instead of pushing him off, she drew him closer with a subtle nod of her head.

The cold sting of the ice evaporated when his lips touched hers. He held back, letting her take the lead this time. At first, she seemed hesitant, like she was scared to take things too far. But with every brush of their lips, every flick of her tongue, the timidity faded. She grew bolder, more passionate, as she opened up to him.

Heat sizzled through his veins. Yes, this was what he remembered. The one woman who made him hard with just a kiss. The one woman who made his heart pump until his fingertips pulsated. The woman who awakened desires he’d never known he had.

A low moan came from one of them, and her legs shifted as though they were already naked under the sheets. His hips rocked, grinding his erection against the junction of her thighs. He wanted her more ever. His hands yearned to slide under her jersey and caress her silky skin, to cup those round breasts and firm ass.

And yet he didn’t take things further. He was content to let her call the shots, to tell him how far she was comfortable taking things. If he pressed too hard for sex, he risked losing her completely. Just like with his skating, he had to take it one step at time.

His cock throbbed, forcing him to end things before he lost control and pushed things too far. “If we’re not careful, we’re going to melt the ice.”

She nodded, her breath ragged. “Yeah, I can’t feel my bottom.”

He grinned. Nothing felt frozen on him. He was alive and burning after that kiss. Maybe he wouldn’t have to accept her challenge to take things to the next level. Who needed dinner when they could go straight to dessert?

He got up and offered her his hand. Now it was her turn to wobble on her skates. Her eyes were dark and wide, as though he’d just awakened her from a dream. The delicious flush in her cheeks told him their kiss had aroused her just as much as it had him. He did a little mental victory dance as he guided her to the boards. “You okay?”

She nodded and lowered her eyes. “You?”

“Fine.” For now. But if she continued to kiss him that way…

Yes, he’d definitely made some progress today.

“Good.” She rubbed her arms and backed away, her gaze still not meeting his. “I need to get the rink ready to open before heading over to Pop’s.”

She was asking him leave. A pinch of defeat tempered his good mood. He’d made progress, but she was still pushing him away. “And I probably need to ice my knee after skating.”

“Definitely.”

His tongue felt twice its normal size as he worked up the nerve to ask, “Can I come back and share the ice with you tomorrow?”

She finally lifted her eyes, the wariness in them dousing the last of his desire. But she nodded before turning around and skating toward the Zamboni.

Ben stepped off the ice and removed his skates, his movements hindered by frustration. He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a slow breath.

Just take it one day at a time
.

Chapter Eight

Hailey looked up from the bar just as Ben walked into the Sin Bin. He gave her a brief nod of acknowledgement before heading to his usual booth.

“Should I let you take care of table twelve?” Cindy asked, her eyes dancing with mischief.

“I don’t know—you’re the one who got the eighty-dollar tip from him.”

“Yeah, and I spent the rest of the night trying to convince Sam not to string him up by the gullet.” She tittered like a girl half her age. “I never realized how jealous he could be, especially over nothing.”

“Then perhaps I should take one for the team to keep you and Pop in the land of happily wedded bliss.”

“Don’t play coy with me, sugar. I’ve seen the way you two look at each other.”

The back of Hailey’s neck grew uncomfortably warm. “What are you talking about?”

“As if you don’t know.” Cindy leaned on the bar and grinned. “Seems like someone has a new training buddy at the ice rink.”

“I hate this town sometimes,” she muttered and threw her towel under the bar. Of course someone would notice the Land Rover parked next to her Jeep Cherokee at the barn. Ben had come in every morning for the last two weeks to work on his skating and stick handling with her. And every day, he made progress. But he still hadn’t donned his goaltender’s gear.

He also hadn’t kissed her like he had the first morning. Practice with him had become as neutral as practice with Moose, and she suspected it had something to do with the growing number of gawkers who hid in the seats for a chance to meet the great Ben Kelly. It hadn’t taken the town long to recognize him, even though he’d tried to clean up his appearance.

The heat along her neck turned into an irritating prickle. As much as her head told her that was a good thing, she still craved the taste of his lips, the heaviness of his hard body on top of hers, the warmth of his arms around her. Doubt nagged at her. Had he lost interest in her?”

But when she approached his table, desire simmered in his eyes, and her doubts lifted. No, he definitely hadn’t lost interest in her.

“What brings you in tonight?”

“You.” His sexy grin forced her to lock her knees to keep from melting right there. “And of course, dinner.”

“They have several fancy restaurants in the resort, you know.”

“I know.” He stared at her as though he were starving and she was the only thing on the menu that would satisfy him.

He was laying every ounce of charm he owned on her, and so far, it was working, much to her displeasure. Getting involved with him meant more trouble than she was ready to deal with. She cleared her throat and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “So, what would you like?”

“No meatloaf tonight?”

He was teasing her, damn it. How could he go from cold and businesslike on the ice to warm and seductive here? “I can ask Cindy to whip up a batch.”

He shook his head, his grin widening. “I’ll just settle for a Rueben and a beer.” He dropped his voice and added in a low tone that sent a tingle down her spine, “And perhaps a few minutes of your time when you get a break.”

She nodded, not knowing what to say to that. It wasn’t until she’d retreated behind the bar that she realized she’d forgotten to ask him which beer he wanted. She poured a pint of the last beer he’d ordered and waited for her pulse to drop back to normal.