Page 28 of Hotter on Ice

“It was a long time ago,” he said, softer, stroking her hair.

“Where is the guy who did this?”

“Prison. I was off the force by the time they caught him. Probably better that way.”

She lifted her hand and pressed it against one of the scars. He sucked in a deep breath and stiffened, as if she was causing him pain, so she pulled her hand away. But the moment she did that, the pain in his expression seemed to get worse.

“Don’t stop,” he said, his voice heavy. “It’s just been a long time since anyone has touched me this way.”

He took her hand and laid it over his scars again. She had so many questions, but she could see it was a painful subject for him. And this was about making him feel good. She’d ask later...whenever that was.

His hands were back on her legs, slowly caressing, moving higher with each stroke. The pull between them was growing stronger, bringing her attention back to where this was headed.

“Your turn again,” he said. “What makes you hot, Alya?”

“The way you’re saying my name right now is making me hot.”

Henning’s crooked smile broadened, but he shook his head. “Doesn’t count. I need something to work with.”

She wrinkled her nose, searching for a good answer. “Big,” she finally said. When Henning chuckled, she added, “I’m not talking about what’s between your legs. Regular size gets the job done nicely, too.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Lots of things get the job done. We’re setting the bar higher than that.”

“Gladly,” she said. “But I meant this.”

She found his hand and lifted it up, matching it with hers so they mirrored each other. But it wasn’t a mirror at all. Henning’s hand outsized hers in every way. His long fingers stretched above hers, and his hand showed on both sides, so much broader.

“It turns me on. To feel the size of your hand when you touch me. The way you touch me is...”Protective.She paused, not sure how far she wanted to go on this topic. But he had taken a risk when he talked about his scars. It was her turn. She laced her fingers with his and continued. “I’ve been wary of this appeal since Nick. It also makes me feel vulnerable.” She took another breath and let the rest come out. “I broke up with him in a restaurant, in public. I guess somewhere inside, I knew he could be dangerous. But when we got in the car afterward, he wouldn’t let me out. He just kept driving, and when we finally got to his house in the mountains, he wouldn’t take me back. He told me that I didn’t get to break up with him. I was scared, but before things took a turn for the worse, I snuck out. And I ran, straight to the police.”

He nodded slowly. “But he wouldn’t leave you alone.”

“Exactly. He came to my work, showed up at our door.” That part was common knowledge at Blackmore Inc.

He was quiet for a while. “You’re worried that because you’re turned on by someone with physical power, something like that could happen again?”

“At first I was really worried about that,” she said quietly, “but I know what happened with Nick wasn’t my fault. And I would never be with someone who intimidated me again. Now it’s more of a wariness about myself. I don’t have the best relationship track record. Is my attraction to big, powerful guys part of the problem?”

He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled away a little, staring at her, as if he was taking in what she had just said. Weighing it. Finally he took a deep breath.

“I was really hot for you the day we finally met,” he said. “But I will never, ever make you feel like this is a risk. Protecting you will always come first for me, but I can see why that could make you feel wary. The moment you feel like this isn’t working, I’ll walk away. It’s your call.”

His eyes were intense, and she could feel how much he meant it.

“I wouldn’t have told you all this if I didn’t believe that, too,” she said. She moved her hands over the thick muscles of his biceps. “So I’m just going with it for now.”

“I’m glad you are,” he said. “I’m still getting my head around the fact that this is really happening. All these things I’ve wished I was doing with you.”

Wished.He had been thinking about this for a while...when it was his job to watch her. The question she had asked herself the day before came back to her, when he mentioned getting off to photos of her. He had had all-access permission to her feed, but when she and Stewart, her ex, had messed around in sight, it had been off-hours.

She licked her lips. “Did you ever watch?”

She didn’t have to say more than that. The flare of lust in his intense gaze told her he knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Yes.”

“Did you get yourself off when you watched?”

His breath was sharp, harsh.