Page 36 of Hotter on Ice

The cold. He had talked about the warehouse, lying on the cold floor, while he watched another man on his team die after the explosion. She was almost sure that’s where his mind had gone, even if he didn’t say it. That memory was there between them right now.

His eyes were still closed, the fear in his expression just starting to fade. She lifted her head and pressed her lips to his. He didn’t move or even kiss her back, but his lips were soft against hers. She did it again.

“Let me comfort you,” she whispered.

He shook his head and lifted himself, like he was going to move off her.

She frowned. “You don’t want that?”

Traces of hurt came through in her voice, and Henning froze.

“Oh, baby,” he whispered, lowering himself over her again. He brought his hands to her face, cupping her jaw as he looked down at her. “I want you so fucking badly right now.”

She shifted so her her legs were around his, his throbbing erection against her. “Then have me,” she whispered.

“Oh, hell,” he muttered, and he drove his hips against hers. She met his thrusts with a tilt of her hips so his cock slid right along her core. Oh, God, he felt so good, his big, hard body over hers.

He stopped, staring down at her, his eyes blazing with intensity. She moved her hands up and down over his biceps, feeling them as they flexed under his weight. She took in this connection, this man who was so many things to her, and tried to put it into words. “Right now, when you look down at me, it makes me feel like you’d do anything for me.”

“I would,” he said quietly.

“The way you made me feel when you called to check in with me for the last three years—I know it was part of your job, but I can’t tell you how important it’s been. I had never met you, and the only time you could see me was when I was in my apartment. But it was enough. That was the support I needed for a while.” She slipped her hand under his thermal shirt, the warmth of him filling her. “Tonight, please let me give you that feeling you gave me. I want to be what you need right now.”

He was still under her hands, as if he was just taking in what she said, so she moved her hand over his shoulder, tracing his scars, then kissed him again. “Let me.”

Some people talked while they were thinking, but he wasn’t one of those people, she was almost sure. Words were not what he needed. Henning’s cock pressed against her, and she tilted her hips, letting him know exactly how she wanted to help him right now.

He rested his forehead on hers. And despite all that she had said, despite all the evidence that he wanted her, she still had the feeling that he was going to turn her down.

“It will be good for both of us,” she whispered. “Let me want you, too. Even now.”

His erection jolted against her. A heavy breath. Another.

“Jesus,” he finally whispered. “God, yes.”

The sleeping bag didn’t give them much room, but after some shimmying, they were both naked from the waist down. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry, and she got the sense that he needed a little time to wrap his mind around this, so she threaded her hands into his hair and let him explore. He traced her body, first over her clothes, and then inside. His rough hand skimmed over her skin, sending shivers through her.

“Fuck, you’re so soft,” he rasped.

Lower, teasing lower until finally, finally he reached between her legs. Henning groaned.

“You’re so wet,” he whispered, his voice was full of awe and wonder. “Even right now, you want me.”

She closed the distance between their mouths and kissed him. “I want you, just like this.”

As those last words left her lips, he guided his cock inside her in a long slow thrust.Oh, God.It was pleasure and grief, longing and relief, all in one push as he sank so deep inside her. Their gasps filled the room, but he didn’t move, and neither did she. Then Henning positioned his hands under her shoulders, holding her to him, and he pulled out.

Her voice. It had broken through his half-waking nightmare, slow and sultry, changing all the buried memories and fears into something much, much different. Henning gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to fuck away every last vision of the warehouse and the blood and Sanjay’s body on the floor, the body that, for one terrible moment, his dream had transformed into hers.

He needed to get that image out of his mind, and fucking was a way to get his world back under control, to clear the slate. But this wasn’t some woman from that club, using him as much as he was using her. This was Alya. And he never, ever wanted to use her like that.

“Oh, fuck,” he muttered, and he drove his hips against hers, unable to resist. She met his thrusts with a tilt of her hips so his cock slid right along her core. Oh, God, she felt so sweet, her soft, slim body under his.

Her hands moved inside his shirt, slipping down over his bare skin, leaving a scorching trail of heat. She moved her hands around his ass, and he couldn’t resist. He thrust his cock against her, and her moan of pleasure was almost unbearably erotic.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth to ease the tension building inside him again. If he didn’t stop now, he was going to use her. He was no longer moving, and when he opened his eyes, Alya was looking up at him, glaring.

“I decide what I want, not you,” she said, like she knew exactly what was going through his mind right now.