AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Skating?” I frown, slowly releasing the grip I have on her arms.
“Yes.” She nods quickly. “I promised the Fenton's boy that I-I'll take him skating after this is over. Wh-why don't you come with?"
"Not really a skater. I'll pass."Is she seriously asking me to hang out after the way I just acted?
"Oh, come on, Ryder. Don't tell me you're nothing more than a well-built handyman?” she says, shocking the life out of me as she goes right back to the flirty girl she was only moments before I turned into a horny devil.This girl is either crazy, or she’s my perfect match.“Come on. Give it a go." She nudges me with her shoulder and gives me a cheeky smile. "I'll even hold your hand if you need me to."
Looking into her deep brown eyes, I lose myself.Like, I actually tumble on in there and start swimming around as if it’s somewhere I have a right to belong.I want her. I want her so much it hurts to breathe around her."Well, when you put it that way…maybe I'm not too bad of a skater, after all."
“Excellent,” she squeals, just as the tree lights up. Everyone around me gasps at the splendor. But not me, I’m looking at the only thing of splendor I care to. And she shines brighter and more beautiful than any tree ever could. And she’s not crazy at all. In fact, I think she might be my perfect match.
BELLA
"Again, Bella, again!" Little Alex Fenton screams with absolute joy as I spin around with him for the umpteenth time. Saying I'm out of breath right now would be an understatement. This little boy has more than enough energy for the two of us.
"Phew! Give me a moment to catch my breath, Alex," I say, spotting Ryder still sitting on the sidelines, skates on. That’s been as far as I’ve been able to get him, which is kind of adorable since he was so alpha and growly at me before. That innuendo of his almost had me creaming my panties. But now he seems timid like he’s afraid of a bit of ice. I’m digging seeing this side of him. "Why don't you go over to Gina and Teddy there and play with them for a little bit while I help Ryder? I don’t think he skates much."
"Aww, OK, Bella." Alex pouts but still skates off to the other kids to play. "Hey, Gina, Ted! Wanna play gliders?"
I can't help but smile as the kids line up then push off the ice three times, gliding to see who goes the farthest. They’re all so adorable together, and I find myself dreaming about bringing my own children here one day to teach them how to skate.Maybe Ryder can help me with that…Speaking of…I turn and skate effortlessly toward the object of my desire.
When I think about the conversation we had earlier, the way he went all over the top animalistic at me, has me feeling hot enough to remove my sweater. That guy has more game than I expected—not that I really know what I expected when I was saying all that stuff to him. It was like my mouth was working faster than my brain could comprehend, and all these things I’d never normally say kept pouring out of my mouth. I have literallynevertalked dirty like that to another human. Although, did any of that really constitute as dirty? Or was it just cheeky? Unfortunately, I’m a little too naïve to know these things, but I do know it felt good to bounce back and forth like that. Better still, to have him hit a point where it felt like his control slipped, and he was but a moment away from making all of my dreams come true. Why, I had to close my eyes and calm myself down or I’d throw myself at him then and there in the town’s square! Now, wouldn’tthathave been a giant piece of fodder for the town gossips?
"Come on, Ryder,” I say as I come to a stop in front of him. “It's not considered skating if you're just sitting on your ass all night."
"Maybe I just like watching," he says, his eyes traveling down my body and pausing in places that tingle and heat. “The view from where I’m sitting is quite good.” He lifts his gaze to mine, and I lick my lips, my entire body tense and wanting.
“I didn’t take you for the type to look and not touch,” I say, gliding just that little bit closer that I’m standing between his open knees and looking down at his upturned face.
“Is that an invitation, honey?”
“Get off your butt, and maybe you’ll find out,” I say as I grab his hands and tug him onto his feet.
“Whoa. Not so fast,” he says as he wobbles and grips my forearms. I’m about to make a crack about his sudden absence of bravado, but his eyes lock with mine and fear flashes across his features, so all I want to do is help him, be what he needs.
"I've got you. Don't worry," I say while gliding backward, keeping his arms locked with mine while I guide him around the rink. It’s not long before he finds his balance and I’m able to increase our speed slightly. "There we go!Nowyou're skating!"
He chuckles, his green eyes softening. "Barely."
"Just don't think about it too much. Let your feet guide you across the ice." I move his arms left and right and bring him forward. "Glide left, lift, step. Glide right, lift, step. There we go, you're doing well! Glide left, lift..."
He follows my instructions, mimicking my backward movement as he drifts forward. It’s like a dance, our feet and bodies moving in harmony, our breath and focus on each other and the movement. I smile at him, impressed as our eyes meet again. All I want to do is pull him in close and have him wrap his arms around me, kiss me deeply—maybe go back to his place and do alot morethan kiss—and it doesn’t escape me how crazy and over the top this is. How can one man make me feel this way in just one afternoon? I’ve never in all my years had this kind ofneedto be with someone. It's exciting and unsettling at the same time. Like, I'm under some sort of spell, and my actions and my thoughts are no longer my own. I feel utterly obsessed by him.
“Bella?” Ryder’s full lips forming my name is a thing of beauty. I’ve heard my name all my life, said by so many others. But it’s his mouth speaking my name that feels right. Like it’s the first time someone said it the way it should be said. “Bella!”
“Huh?” I shake my head slightly to clear the lusty fog and find my way back to the present. And while Ryderissaying my name, it’s not quite as sexy as it first seemed. No. It’s alarming, in fact, because the next word out of his mouth starts with F and ends with u-c-k.
“Fuck!” His grip tightens around my forearms, and he jerks me against him, his arms wrapping around my middle as I collide with his chest. The motion sets us spinning in a circle, and we try to hold on, we really do, but it’s ice and one of us can skate and one of us can’t, so it’s only a moment or two before our feet lose traction and we’re going down like an unsecured Christmas tree with a cat attacking its baubles.
Oof!
Time seemed to stop for a moment. I land smack bam on top of sprawled out Ryder. Our eyes meet, my face hovers just above his, and our lips are almost touching. He seems lost for words—as caught up in this moment as I am—while he looks back up at me, barely even breathing.Is this it? Is this our moment?
Ryder sucks in a ragged breath before he rasps out my name. “Bel-la.”
"Y-yes, Ryder?" I murmur, dropping my gaze to his lips.ShouldImake the first move?
“You-you’re crushing my balls.”
