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“You’re steadying,” Aiden says, the growling rumble of his deep voice hitting the sensitive skin of my neck. “I’ve got you. Now all you want to do is push from side to side. Don’t try and walk, that’ll just put you off balance.”
“Okay,” I choke out.
“Good girl, Vanessa.”
A warmth takes over my body from his praise. I should be concentrating right now, I mean, I could end up with a fractured nose if I’m not fully committed to the situation I find myself in right now.
But all I can think about is the man who’s holding me so tightly.
“Push. Sideways. Right, then left.”
I listen to his command. My body, my heart, mysoulwants the reward of his acclaim again. I want to hear my name on his lips. I want that deep, heavy drawl grunting against my ear, telling me all the good things that make me tingle inside.
Why did I react like that? Is my life that sad that I’ll take even the smallest amount of adoration? All he said wasgood girl.I should get a grip. Something so small shouldn’t set my world alight, but the fact of the matter is… It did.He did.
“You’re doing it,” Aiden croaks. “Princess… Baby, you’re doing it!”
My cheeks are freezing cold, but when I look down, I see the line of the ice hockey arena moving beneath my body. With the warm embrace of Aiden behind me acting as a shield of indestruction, my teeth beam beneath a broad smile pulling across my entire face.
“Oh my God… I’m doing it! I’m skating!”
Aiden chuckles behind me and slowly, as I push from side to side, I feel his hands move away from my hips.
I keep skating. Over the NHL logo. Over the sponsorships branding frozen in the ice. Over the field markings and red lines.
And I do it all by myself.
“Look at you go!” Aiden slides up in front of me, skating backwards with his arms folded over his chest. He makes it look so easy. I’m here with clenched fists, watching my feet move with every slide I make and he’s twirling and whizzing around in front of me like a fucking Olympic figure skater.
“Get out of the way before I take you down with me!”
Aiden winks. “Maybe I want you to…”
He jumps on the ice, does a weird, yet sexy, pirouette looking thing and lands again. I shake my head, trying not to laugh when he bows and blows kisses to the empty grandstands. The sneeze was bad enough, I can’t afford to be laughing right now but I can’t help it.
This man. This man!
We move around the rink, chatting as we go. Aiden continues showing off, telling me all about his hockey career and the games he’s been involved in on this very arena. I manage to stay on my feet and gape at him as he talks. He’s a proper professional, having lived and breathed hockey for his entire life.
I stare at him, and our eyes meet. He smiles and although I’m enjoying skating for the first time, part of me just wants him to hold me again.
How is he not dating already?
He’s handsome. And funny. He’s attentive, and man oh man, he knows how to show a girl a good time.
After ten or so minutes of flawless skating, Aiden whirls by me and the speed at which he passes has my arms flailing about. It’s a haphazard mess of frantic limbs. By the time I gather my composure, I twist on the ice and see him speeding towards me with two sticks in one hand and a puck in the other. I squint at what looks like a red jersey slung over his shoulder.
“What is this?” I eyeball the stick he’s dropped to the ice in front of me.
“That’s yours,” he says, pointing to the stick on the ice. “And so is this.”
He plucks the shirt from over his shoulder and passes it to me. I hold it out and shake my head at the sight of a bright red Vikings jersey. The name above the number is my own –‘Hill’. The number sixteen that’s centered in the middle is the number my brother wears proudly every week when he plays for the Vikings.
“If you’re going to act like a Viking, then you should look like a Viking. And luckily for you, I found one of your brother’s old jerseys.”
My nose crinkles. “He didn’t wear this, did he?”
Aiden shrugs his shoulders before shaking his head. “I doubt it. Maybe he warmed it while sitting on the bench… He hasn’t made a first team line up in months.”
