Page 147 of Corrupted Pleasure

She rolled over, sprawled over the ice. I turned off the camera and got on the ice, careful not to fall. I knew if I got caught on ice without skates, someone would ream my ass but it’d take too long to change.

I lowered to my knees, right next to her.

“Wynter, how about you take a break?” I suggested. “No sense in bruising your entire body. We had a long night yesterday. You just need a good day of rest.”

She stared up, her face tilted to the ceiling. The rink at Yale had her name up there. More than a few banners. FLEMMING. FLEMMING. But here, the evidence of her amazing career on ice was non-existent. I wondered if she even noticed because it was clear she had something on her mind that was messing with her usual concentration.

“Yeah.” Her eyes remained glued to the ceiling, something sad crossing her expression.

Taking her face between my palms, my fingers cold, I made her look at me. “What’s the matter?” I asked her. “Is it the money we stole?”

A heavy sigh breathed through her red lips and a cloud of hot breath dusted through the cold air. It was warm and beautiful outside, but cold as fuck in here. She always dressed in leggings for her practices, but I’m the idiot that never dressed appropriately, even as many times as I’ve done this with her. And I wasn’t pumping my heart rate like her. As a consequence, I was always freezing my ass off whenever we were at the rink. Every. Single. Time.

“Is it about your guy?” I whispered, glancing over my shoulder to ensure nobody was around. Not that anyone was sane enough to be in this freezing rink on a beautiful Sunday morning.

When she didn’t answer, I continued questioning her. “School? About what happened yesterday?”

She nodded. “I’m glad it all worked out yesterday. And we met your sister.”

Shifting her head, she focused on the ceiling again, worry still etched on her face.

Last night, we searched the internet for large properties on the east coast. Aurora seemed just as excited as we were as we scouted the possibilities. Locations, acres, buildings. We came to the determination that the school would most likely have to be built on a large piece of land rather than buying an existing building.

“Tell me, Wyn,” I pleaded with her. “I’m worried about you.” Something was clearly bothering her and I hated to see her like this.

She sighed, her skates picking at the ice as she folded her legs. “I don’t want to go back to California,” she finally mumbled. “My mom won’t come-”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but I understood. She remarked a few years back that her mother refused to step foot in New York. Now that Liam gave me some of the history, I understood why. Wynter wanted to stay for love, but her whole skating career depended on her mother. In California.

Those two were close and finding another coach wasn’t an option. Wynter skated as much for her mother as herself. Both her parents were ice skaters. Her father died before she was born and her mother’s career ended at the same time.

“I see.”

Slapping her hands on the ice, she grunted softly as she got onto her feet, balancing on her blades. Her eyes traveled behind me and they lit up. I followed her gaze to the man in a three-piece-suit with coal dark hair.

“Your Bas is here,” I told her, smiling. At least something made her smile. Her eyes glinted with happiness.

She nodded, her eyes never leaving him. She was head over heels for this man.

“Well, at least he can get you off the ice,” I teased her. I shuffled over the ice, with her right alongside me. “Your triple Salchows can wait.”

We headed towards the short wall surrounding the rink and Wynter winced. I guess the pain was slowly registering now that she was no longer pumped full of adrenaline.

“Ouch,” she muttered under her breath, rubbing her left hip and butt cheek. She kept falling onto her left side and I was certain it hurt like a bitch.

“You're taking my Jeep, right?” she asked right as we approached the gate, where her skate guards were. And where the object of Wynter’s infatuation stood in all his glory.

“Yes.” She never even spared me a glance. “He’s hot,” I commented under my breath.

“He’s great,” she whispered.

She radiated under this man’s gaze. Her face glowed like candlelight and her eyes shone like precious stones.

Once we reached him, I tilted my head in greeting. “Hello.”

“Hello,” he greeted me back in a deep voice, but his eyes never left Wynter. These two would burn down the world together. I had no idea where the thought came from, but it was a conviction I’d stake my life on.

“I’ll talk to you later, Wyn.” I pressed a kiss on her cheek.