“Huh.”
“See? You have nothing to worry about.”
“Easy for you to say,” I grumbled. “I probably gave off the appearance of a mental institution escapee in that video.”
“For what it’s worth,Ithought it was adorable, and my opinion is the only one that matters.”
Laughing, I shoved at him. “Yeah, well, you were only looking to get into my pants.”
That had me peeking at his crotch, and my teeth dug into my lower lip at the memory of the weapon hidden by snug-fitting denim.
“Careful, babe,” he warned. “You’re gonna make me hard again, and there’s only so much temptation I can take before I cave.”
“You sure you don’t want to just take me home? I’m sure we could have a lot more fun on our own.” I made sure we were alone before I placed my hand on his jean-clad thigh, feeling the muscles twitch beneath my palm.
Sasha cleared his throat, but his voice still came out rough. “Nice try. How about this? You play nice with my friends for a bit, and then the two of us can play rough later?”
My eyes slid closed on a moan. The promise of him railing me hard, sending me soaring, was enough to get me to agree to anything.
His chuckle warmed my insides. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Chapter 16
Gemma
I lasted all offive minutes out on the open ice, my nails digging into Sasha’s forearms so hard that I’d no doubt left marks. The idea of crashing down on that cold, hard surface with everyone watching was more humiliating than I could bear. Especially after the spectacle I’d made of myself earlier in the locker room.
The attentive man, practically holding up my entire weight so my feet didn’t slip out from beneath me, guided me over to an area where I could sit. When I assured him that he didn’t need to babysit me and to have fun with his friends, he dropped a kiss on my lips and praised me for trying.
That’s how I found myself relegated to the ranks of the pregnant women watching on from the bench.
I fought the urge to cross myself to ward off that particular condition. Being this close to so many of them, I still wasn’t convinced it wouldn’t rub off on me.
Giggles rang out loud and clear across the ice, and I couldn’t stop the smile that stretched across my face when I saw Sasha chasing after a young boy. His little legs were no match for outrunning—or outskating, in this case—the six-six man, but Sasha made a big show of getting close before pulling back, cursing the child for being too fast.
“Do you like kids?”
My head whipped around to find a brunette woman—non-pregnant—had taken a seat beside me. Her sudden presence caught me so off-guard that it took a minute for my brain to catch up and realize what she’d asked.
“Oh, um.” Images of Bianca and Serafina flashed before my eyes, and I shoved down the pain of leaving them behind in a world that had chewed me up and spit me out. “Yeah, I do.”
The woman offered me a warm smile. “Gooseloveskids.” She tilted her head toward the man who’d brought me here, still in hot pursuit of the little boy clad in head-to-toe hockey gear. “He’s got a special connection with my son, Ollie.” She let out a soft laugh. “Couple of years ago, Goose dressed up as Santa to surprise him. Poor thing was terrified, hiding behind the Christmas tree. As soon as Goose changed back into street clothes, Ollie was all over him, back to being his best bud.”
I tracked the pair on the ice. The boy was skating with ease, but he seemed so small.
“How old is he?”
“Just turned four last month.”
“Wow.” I was impressed. “I could barely stand out there, and he’s zipping around like it’s as natural as walking.”
“Around here, they’re on skates the minute they can walk. It’s almost a prerequisite for being a hockey kid,” she remarked. Pointing to another man hunched over what appeared to be a green plastic walker with a tiny head popping over the top, sheexplained, “My husband, Asher, is over there with our two-year-old daughter, Bailey.”
“I could have used one of those,” I joked.
“The hockey player pushing you around the ice like you weigh nothing or the skating aid?”
“Both.”
