Page 47 of Breaking the Ice (Denver Stampede #6)

Four months later

DANI

“ T his is such a bad idea. I haven’t skated in years.

” I struggled to stand on the rubberized floor in my skates, still unsure as to why I’d agreed to come to the practice arena today.

Who was I kidding? He’d just returned from a five-day away trip and I’d missed him, so I’d said yes to hanging out before I’d known there would be skates involved.

There was no one else here and Gabe wanted to get some content with me and Pucks on the ice. Said it would be funny and adorable, and I couldn’t say no to him.

Gabe skated to a stop in front of me on the other side of the boards. “You’ll be great. Just like riding a bike.”

“Yeah, if that bike is on sharp as hell blades and my ankles wobble when I try to make it move,” I muttered.

Pucks took that moment to bark from his spot on the ice. It wasn’t fair that he didn’t have to wear skates. I snorted. A dog on skates was just a ridiculous thought.

“You okay?” Gabe asked, quirking a brow. “You do knowhow to skate, right?”

“Of course I do. It’s just been a long time and it was never something I was great at.” Much to my father’s disappointment. Asshole.

I took a step onto the ice and Gabe was right there, ready to catch me. He was always ready to catch me.

Not that I needed him to regularly, but I’d realized it was nice to have someone to lean on.

Someone who just got me. Dammit, I loved this man, even when he annoyed me with his adorkable goofiness.

Add in Pucks and it was like getting two golden retrievers for the price of one.

Gabe was endearing, sweet, loving, but then he could scramble my brains with just a kiss.

The last four months had been better than I’d ever imagined, especially with dating a goalie.

It was still hard to believe—of all the strangers I could’ve asked to kiss me, I’d magically gravitated to another goalie. Mal continued to not let me live that down, the bastard. Younger brothers were the worst.

“Don’t send a video of wobbly me to the group chat,” I ordered, holding onto Gabe’s arm.

“I would never. You know you always get to approve them first.”

Mal had added Gabe to our group chat very soon after we’d confessed our love, and as much as I’d blustered about it, I loved how seamlessly Gabe had fit in with my brother and Rick.

“If you don’t want to get on the ice, we can do something else.”

“What?”

He waved his hand in front of me. “A bunch of emotions just went across your face. Irritation, then dreamy, then turned on, then annoyed.”

I chuckled. “You saw all of that?”

“Of course. I love watching your face. Wait, is that creepy? Are you annoyed about being on the ice?” He skated closer and ran his fingers over my knuckles. “We could get off the ice and work on getting that turned-on expression back. Want to make out in the locker room?”

I laughed. “Has that always been a dream of yours?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Although if we do, I’ll never be able to get focused before games. I’ll be too busy thinking about how you gasped my name when I made you come.”

I sucked in a breath. “Seriously?”

“Ah, there’s that turned-on look again. Dani, Dani, Dani, what dirty thoughts were going through your head?”

“You keep teasing me like that, we won’t live out any of your fantasies.” I pulled my hand from his and crossed my arms over my chest.

And wobbled on my skates.

He instantly tugged me into his arms and leaned down to kiss the spot behind my ear, the one that always made my knees wobble even more than skating. This man did not play fair.

“Dani, you’re my fantasy. Haven’t you figured that out already?” he murmured, kissing along my jaw. “And by some miracle, I get you as my reality, too. It’s a good thing I let you share my fries, or you never would’ve asked me to kiss you.”

“You’re ridiculous,” I said with a laugh.

“And I’m yours.” He pulled back when I groaned. “Too cheesy?”

I grinned. “Maybe a little, but you’re growing on me.”

“Damn right I am.”

I rolled my eyes and he rocked his hips against me.

“Do we really have to skate right now?” My voice was a bit raspy and it was all his fault.

Then something wet nudged my hand and I glanced down at Pucks giving me a puppy grin, his tongue hanging out. Pucks barked and Gabe chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah. We didn’t forget about you, buddy.” Gabe reached down and scratched Pucks’s ears. “It’s hard to resist her, right? She’s very tasty. I totally get it.”

I groaned.

“Uh-oh, that was an annoyed groan, not a let’s go makeout one.”

“You two are goofballs.”

“And you love it.” His wide grin made my heart race. Pucks barked in agreement.

“No, I don’t,” I muttered, unable to stop smiling.

“And I love doing everything I can to keep you smiling like that.”

Then he lifted me off my feet and sealed his lips to mine, making my entire body spark with need.

Never did I imagine that asking a goalie to kiss me would be the best decision of my life.

Thank you for reading Breaking the Ice.

We’re not done with the Stampede boys just yet!