AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Oh. You in charge. I like it.’
He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. ‘If you want me to keep my mind out of the gutter, you’ve got to stop saying things like that.’
But he dragged himself away, and she reached for the teapot in the middle of the table, topping up her mug and wondering what he was planning.
He returned with a grin on his face and his hands behind his back. ‘Close your eyes.’
‘No way. God knows what you’ll do to me.’
‘Close your eyes or you won’t get your surprise.’
She narrowed her eyes. ‘I’d better like this.’ Then she let them fall closed, waiting with her breath held. She started when she felt his fingers touch her foot, but he stilled her.
‘Trust me.’
And how could she not, after everything that they had shared here? And then her foot was being pushed into a stiff, unyielding boot. She snapped her eyes open and was faced with the sight of Rufus trying to wrestle her foot into a neon pink rollerblade. ‘Oh...my...were these yours?’
‘My sister’s,’ Rufus replied. ‘Mine are right here.’ He pointed behind him to where a pair of black skates with fluorescent green laces sat on the tiled floor.
‘Please tell me you know how to use them,’ she gasped, excited at the thought.
‘I know what I’m doing,’ he said, tightening the ratchet at her ankle and making her gasp. ‘Do you?’
‘Nope. Not in the slightest.’
Rufus groaned slightly as she leaned down and helped him with the second skate.
‘Then this is going to be interesting.’
* * *
Rufus left his skates off and pushed Jess by the hips through to the great hall. He’d rolled up the rugs and pushed the furniture to the walls, leaving them with a decent-sized rink in the middle of the room, with the Christmas tree towering at the centre.
‘Oh, my God,’ Jess said when she saw it. ‘Rufus, this is amazing. I can’t believe you made me an ice rink.’
He couldn’t ignore the warmth that grew in his chest at the pure delight in her voice. Really, if he could just spend the rest of his life making her happy... No. there was no place for thoughts like that. This had nothing to do with his life. This wasn’t his life any more. He wouldn’t have been able to offer this even if he’d wanted to. This wasn’t his home any more. He was an interloper here now, just like her. He shook his head. This was fun. He was meant to be remembering that. Fun.
He spun Jess around, and caught her when she wobbled, her knees turning inwards as she fought for stability.
He grinned. ‘Ready to try on your own?’ he asked. Jess fixed an expression of determination on her face.
‘Depends. Are you ready for me to skate rings around you?’
He laughed out loud.
‘Come on, then. Show me what you’ve got.’
She pushed away from him, wobbling across the floor towards the fire, finding her balance and gliding with more and more confidence as she turned to face him. Of course she was a natural. He pushed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and leaned back against a table, not taking his eyes off her as she skated towards him, and then pinned him against the table with her hands beside his hips.
‘This. Is. Amazing,’ she said, punctuating each of her words with a kiss. He curled a hand to the nape of her neck, trapping her against him while he leisurely explored her mouth, only breaking off when he felt her start to slip away from him. She laughed as he caught her by the hips and pulled her back in.
‘Maybe skates weren’t such a great idea.’
‘Skates were an amazing idea. Now come and race me.’
‘Okay. You asked for it.’ He pulled on his own skates, watching as Jess glided round the room, wobbling less and less as she found her feet.
With his boots firmly laced, he skated up beside her and reached for her hand.
