Page 54 of Daddies on Ice

But man, the guy can kiss! And I didn’t stop him. Didn’t want to stop him. I’d let him kiss me again if he was standing here right now.

A sharp knock jolts me and for an instant, my heart gallops beneath my breast at the thought that Jake has come back to continue kissing me.

I open the door and my heart stops, then starts up again. Not Jake wanting to take me in his arms, then.

Instead, Ash, looking frustrated and angry, stands on the other side.

He pushes inside the moment the door opens.

The room seems smaller with him in it.

He doesn’t so much enter as fill it, shoulders set, jaw locked, his eyes throwing sparks.

The door closes behind him with a quiet finality that doesn’t match the bristling anger coming off his body.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he says, and it’s not a question.

“Nice to see you too,” I say with a wry smile.

He paces once, then turns on me. “Carl’s lost it if he thinks you’re playing girlfriend for Jake.”

A muscle jumps in his cheek and his hands flex at his sides.

“You don’t have to yell at me about it,” I say. “It wasn’t my idea.”

“Sorry. I know it wasn’t, but this is insane. It drags you into the mud for something that isn’t your mess.”

There’s no use pretending it doesn’t sting. “It’s temporary,” I say, keeping my voice even. “A few events to calm the sponsors and the blogs, then we call it quits.

Maybe it was Jake’s kiss that changed my mind because a small, reckless part of me is curious to see what happens when the most notorious player in the league is forced to stand still next to me and pretend I’m the only thing he wants.

But I can’t tell Ash that. He’ll lose his shit.

“What’s really bothering you, Ash?” I say instead. “You seem overly upset about this.”

It’s a moment before he answers, and when he does, his voice is low and tight. “Because I care about you, dammit!” His hands close around my upper arms, bringing our bodies so close I can see the golden specks in his brown eyes. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Heat flares under his grip and my pulse jumps so hard it feels like my heart is knocking on my ribcage.

His gaze scans my face then lingers on my mouth. A shudder ripples through him and my body responds in kind.

Ash glances up into my eyes, his own darkening with heat, then lowers his head. Slowly.

“Tell me to stop,” he says when his lips are so close I can feel their warmth and the heat from his breath.

“Don’t stop,” I say breathlessly.

His lips melt against mine, and the world tilts. For a heartbeat I freeze, stunned by the sudden heat of him pressed so close.

Then the shock burns into something hotter, something reckless that coils low in my belly. His mouth is firm, coaxing.

Ash’s palm slides to the small of my back and pulls me closer. My fingers climb his shoulders and lock there.

The heat of him is immediate and dangerous, and I lean into it like I’ve been cold all week.

His body cages mine against the wall without pinning me, and he deepens the kiss until a small sound breaks loose in my throat.

He swallows it, and the sound seems to fuel him.