Page 29 of What About Us

Reluctantly, Ivy sits and takes her shoes off, and I help her get the skates on, frustrated that I can’t kneel or squat in front of her so I can lace them.

“I’ve got it,” she assures me. “Just walk me through it.”

“I fucking hate being injured,” I mutter, but between the two of us, we get her ready to go, and she clings to me as we walk to the ice.

“I want to hold on right here while you skate for a minute,” she says, her voice not wavering at all. “Seriously, I need you to make sure that your knee is ready for this.”

With a nod, I step onto the ice, take a deep breath, and fuck, this feels good.

The cold air, the smell of the ice, the glide of my skates.

“How does it feel?” Ivy calls out to me.

“Like I could take on Dallas.”

I glance over and see her grin. She looks like a wet dream in her black leggings and blue coat. And I knew the skates would be sexy on her.

After taking a few minutes to simply glide up and down the rink, I return to her and hold out a hand.

“Come on, Red. Your turn.”

“I will make you fall.”

I snort. “Baby, I don’t fall. If I can’t hold you up on this ice, I have no business being in the league. Now get your pretty ass out here.”

“That’s a whole lot of unprofessional language,” she says, narrowing her eyes, but there’s no heat in it.

“Report me.”

She bites her lip and shakes her head, then reaches for my hand, and now she’s on the ice with me, those blue eyes full of pure fear.

“Okay, I’ve got you.” I move in and hold her face in my hands, making her look up at me. “Just look at me.”

“I don’t like trying new things,” she admits softly, and it makes my chest ache because I may not know her well, but I know that Ivy doesn’t like to let people in and see her underbelly.

“You’re great.”

“No, I don’t like being embarrassed. It never ends well for me.”

Frowning, my eyes dip to her lips. “It’s just the two of us.”

She doesn’t answer, and I try another tactic.

“I’m going to hold your hands, and I’ll skate backward and pull you with me. You don’t even have to do any of the work.”

She nods and takes a breath when my hands drift down her arms to her hands, holding her securely as I start to move backward.

Ivy bites her lip, but her eyes look determined now as we move, and this might be the most fun I’ve had on the ice.

Okay, winning the Cup was better, but this ranks up there.

“You have to breathe for me, Red.”

“Can’t. I’ll fall.”

God, she makes me smile. “Nah, no falling allowed, remember? Those are your rules.”

She finally takes a breath and starts to loosen up just a bit, until I drop one of her hands and she squeaks.