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Afew days later, I took great pleasure in bursting through Eva’s door early in the morning on the one day she normally slept in. “Wakey, wakey, Princess.”
She shot up in bed with a gasp, her hair wild around her face. “Is Henry okay?”
“She’s fine. Having breakfast with Cole. I’m calling in the date you owe me.” I crossed my arms and leaned against her doorframe, already dressed and ready for the outing I’d planned.
Eva shoved her hair back and glared at me. “Unless you have coffee on you, get out.”
I grinned and pulled the chilled glass bottle from my back pocket. “This coffee?”
With a growl, she crawled off the bed to snatch it out of my hand. Feral Eva might be my favorite version of her. Well, second favorite after the version where she’s naked and wild underneath me.
She popped the lid and took a long drink, then met my eyes with slightly less murder in her expression. “You want to go on a datenow?”
“Yes. You have this morning off, and the rink is free.”
Her brows drew together. “The rink?”
“We’re going ice skating.”
Eva blinked like she hadn’t heard me right, and her lips parted in a silent question.
I couldn’t resist dropping a quick kiss on her surprised mouth. “Get ready. I have a breakfast sandwich and another coffee waiting for you downstairs.”
A pretty pink flush started at the top of the shirt she slept in and crawled up her neck. “What if I say no?”
I booped her nose. “Can’t. You lost the bet fair and square, Princess. If you can’t skate, I’m happy to teach you, but we’re spending the morning on the ice.”
Her lips pressed together, and her chin lifted. “Fine, but I’m not dressing up for you.”
“Just wear something you can move in,” I told her as she closed the door in my face.
Stephen had warned me the key to getting her to agree was to spring it on her at the last second. She excelled at finding loopholes, so I needed to minimize the time for her to react.
I’d give her ten minutes, then come back up.
She was ready in eight, and I should have realized then I’d already lost. The living room was empty when she came downstairs in sleek gray leggings and a cropped white sweater. Every time she moved, I got a flash of her tight abs and tanned skin.
“Let’s get this over with,” she grumbled.
I handed her the napkin wrapped breakfast sandwich and the second coffee. “Don’t get too excited. I’m not sure I can handle your enthusiasm.”
“You know,” she started in an innocent tone. “You could handle me just fine if we were upstairs and naked.”
I chuckled. “Watch it, Princess. You almost sounded like you were willing to risk a messy relationship.”
She scoffed. “Who said anything about a relationship? I recently decided I was willing to risk a messy couple of hours in bed.”
I reached for her free hand and dropped a kiss on her wrist before leading her out the door. “When I finally get you naked in a bed, it’s going to be days, not hours.”
Eva tilted her head in my direction, awarding me the point in our battle of wills. I ushered her into my car, and she stared out the window, methodically eating her breakfast over the short drive to the arena.
She excused herself to use the bathroom once we got inside, and I had a few minutes to stand at the edge of the rink and breathe. I loved the ice. The quiet stillness of a fresh rink touched something inside me, allowed me to let go of all the shit holding me back and fly. At least, it used to. Before every move I made was weighed and judged.
When Stephen suggested I take Eva ice skating for our date, I’d thought he might be kidding—until he laid it out for me. Eva couldn’t be seen dating anyone not approved by her father or she’d lose her funding, so we needed to go somewhere private. Somewhere she could relax and have fun. Somewhere I had an excuse to touch her at will.
I got my wish. The rink hadn’t opened to the public yet, but the Zamboni had already flooded the ice. Most of the lights were off, leaving the stands dark and only the ice lit. I already had a space set up with my bag, my skates, and a pair I’d borrowed from the equipment room for her.
When she emerged from the women’s locker room, her gaze locked onto me, and I saw the way her lips tipped up. Eva had complained about the early hour, but anticipation lit her eyes. And she couldn’t look away any more than I could.
