Icebound: Chapter 7

I’ve said a lot of dumb shit over the years, but those have to be the most ridiculous words to have come out of my mouth.

Nina swallows hard, and I can’t stop staring at the way her four-leaf clover tattoo shifts with the movement. I’ve never seen a doctor with so many tattoos.

What other ink does she have hiding under that jean jacket? I can’t take my eyes off her, and this woman’s clearly not impressed with me, so I need to keep it together.

“What do you mean you’re going to fake fuck me?” She speaks steadily over the obnoxious sex noises, and I’ve got to give it up to her for keeping her composure. “How does that even work?”

“We can mess with them. They want to be loud? We’ll be louder.”

My offer is stupid as hell, but I’m a pro at turning risky decisions into solid choices, especially on the ice.

If this gets Nina to agree to the event, I’ll do anything, and it gives me an excuse to see her again without having to beg for a date, but I would—I love getting on my knees for women .

The headboard banging shakes the dangling plants on the wall. I want to pound on the door and knock some emotional intelligence into them when her neck turns the color of a sunburnt tomato.

Everyone knows it’s common courtesy to shove a tie in a person’s mouth if you know they’re a loud fuck and people are in the house.

She looks like Patty when he got sun-poisoning in Costa Rica, but a much cuter version.

What kind of man sleeps with their ex’s sister? Pick another family.

“Keep going, just like that,” the cheating bastard shouts. “Damn, baby, you feel so good.”

I make a mental note never to call her baby, and glance at the knives. She’s got serrated blades. Nice. Those could slice through dick skin like butter.

Nina throws a glare at the bedroom door. “Okay, fine. I’ll go to the event with you. What do we do now?”

I’m tempted to kiss those pretty lips of hers, but I don’t want to come off like an eager teenager about to get his first blow job, so instead, I turn over her hand, stroking the lines on her inner palm.

She shivers, so I take that as a good sign. “Let’s start with limits. Is there anything you don’t want me doing?”

She bites her bottom lip, and I zone in on the little indent her teeth leave. It feels stifling as hell in this kitchen all of a sudden.

“I don’t know, don’t suck my toes?” she says.

I snort, tugging at the collar of my sweatshirt, but I make sure to keep my other hand in hers. “That’s random, and now I’m wondering if there’s a story there, but alright. No toe-sucking.

”

“Good. Is there anything you don’t want me doing?” she asks. “Anything off limits?”

I stiffen, surprised by the question. Most people don’t ask about my boundaries. The League demands everything, so boundaries are nonexistent.

I flash her my best playful grin, wanting to throw her off since her flat expression is giving nothing away. “You can do anything you want to me.”

“Including sucking your toes?” she deadpans.

Damn, what’s it going to take to make this woman smile? Maybe I need to try a different tactic. I flick my eyes over her sexy little body. Well, she’s not little, but I’m big. If we’re going to be faking, I might as well set the mood.

I lower my voice like I’m about to whisper dirty things in her ear. “You can suck anything you want, Nina.”

Her lips part.

Finally. A reaction.

“Yeah, right there, baby,” the guy yells again.

Her mouth snaps shut, but then she straightens in that same resilient way Patty does right before he goes in for a blistering slap shot.

She digs her fingers into the rim of my jeans and pulls me against her soft body. “Okay, let’s do this.”

My brows flick up in shock, but the way she takes control is hot as hell. I’m already half-hard. “Alright, then. Let’s go.”

She lifts her chin like she’s trying to reach my height, but all that does is bring her mouth closer to mine.

“I only have one rule,” she says like a challenge. “Don’t kiss me.”

“Why not?” I grip her hips, pulling her closer. “That’s the best part.”

Her breath hitches, but she strokes her hand down my arm, making heat prickle in my groin. “Because this doesn’t mean anything, and kissing means something to me.”

I’ve slept with a lot of women, but I haven’t kissed many, and I miss that intimacy. But if that’s what Nina wants, that’s what she gets.

No kissing.

I reach out to tuck a strand of golden hair behind her pierced ears. What I’m about to whisper is risky, but I want to knock her off balance like she’s done to me, so I’ll take my chances.

“Alright, no kissing, but let’s get one thing straight. When I kiss you, notice I said when, it’s not going to be because we’re trying to make someone jealous. It’ll be because you’re desperate to feel my lips on yours, and trust me, you will be.”

Her mouth hitches up, and that look’s enough to bring a man to his knees. “I’ve never been desperate for a boy.”

“Then you’ve never fucked a man.”

In a swift move, I take control and grip the back of her knees, lifting her easily on the marble counter thanks to decades of gym sessions.

She gasps. “What are you doing?”

I have no idea. All I know is she smells too damn good, and it’s been too damn long, but I’m not about to tell her I need her closer because I want to inhale her cinnamon scent. “Making this believable in case they come out. Now, wrap your legs around me. Arms around my neck too. Hold on to me.”

She clenches her legs around my waist, and the motion makes her denim jacket slide down, revealing a star tattoo on her bare shoulder. I don’t fix it.

“Are you really going to dry hump me on the kitchen counter?” she asks. “How’s that going to help? They can’t see us.”

I unbuckle my belt with one hand. “No, I haven’t dry humped since I was fourteen, but we’re pretending. You ready to put on a show for them?”

When she doesn’t respond, I look up. Her eyes are locked on my fingers as I unfasten my belt, and there’s this glint that looks a lot like anticipation in her hazels.

The edge of my lip curls up, and I slow my movements so each one is deliberate. Nina tracks every motion with heat in her eyes. The click of the buckle cuts through the space between us, and I think she stops breathing.

Hell, I think I do too.

“What are you doing there, Tremblay?”

I groan, fumbling my belt. “Please don’t call me by my last name. Makes me feel like you’re my coach or something. It’s Rhode or sex god,” I joke. “You choose, but to answer your question, I’m trying to get their attention, but if you keep looking at me like that, we’re not going to be pretending anymore.”

She widens her legs dangling off the counter. “Okay, Rhode. Fake fuck me.”

Damn, hearing her say that makes my cock jump in my jeans, but I do my best to play it off. “I’ll try not to be offended that you didn’t choose ‘sex god.’”

I whip off my belt, gather it in one hand, and then hit it against the counter with enough force to produce a loud smack.

She jumps, clutching her legs around my waist, and my dick gets all kinds of brilliant ideas—ideas that involve her, spread out naked in front of me, with her pussy ready to be devoured.

Alright, don’t get ahead of yourself, Tremblay. You’ll scare her off.

“You like that?” I shout, slapping the counter again with my belt. The headboard banging stops. Good, we have their attention. “Does my girl like it a little rough? I knew you were a wild one.”

Her eyes bulge.

I grimace. So much for scaring her off. “Too much?

”

She blinks, but after a moment, a slow grin drags across her lips. “No, actually, I think we can do better. Let me see the belt.”

I tense in surprise, handing over the leather. “You want to take the reins? Go for it. It’s all yours.”

She snatches my belt with a mischievous tilt to her mouth before attempting to snap it against the marble counter, but Nina misjudges the force, and the buckle smacks against my ass with a hard sting.

Fuck me, I want her to do that again.

I lurch forward into her heaving chest. “Damn, you’ve got an arm on you, don’t you?”

She clamps a hand over her mouth. The belt slips from her fingers, and a guilty expression washes over her face as it clatters to the floor. “Shit, sorry. I thought I had to whip it back, but that just whipped it forward. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, all good.” I rub my ass cheek. “Don’t worry about it.”

I’m standing so close that when she widens her legs, my dick accidentally hits her center, and goddamn, that feels good.

I wonder what she’d be like in bed. She’s got long nails, so I hope she’d scratch up my back. It’s been so long since I’ve been with someone that I forgot why I even started my self-inflicted celibacy.

Her brows shoot up when she feels me hard against her. “I didn’t realize you liked being whipped so much, Rhode.”

Is she flirting? I can’t tell based off her flat mouth, but I’m not passing up an opportunity to flirt back. “This tends to happen when I’ve got a beautiful woman grinding all over me.”

She laughs all bright and airy. Finally. I get a laugh from her. “Beautiful? Aren’t you charming.”

“Just you wait. My mom raised me well.”

This is moving at light speed, and yeah, back in my twenties, I would’ve already ripped off her panties and shoved my fingers inside her, rubbing her wet clit with the pad of my thumb, but I don’t want Nina to think I expect sex like the rest of the world. I force myself to lean back.

It’s difficult, but I manage.

I gesture to my rock-hard dick. “Just ignore it. It’ll go away in a decade or so.”

Her hazels bounce between mine, and then she sucks in this little breath that’s only for me. “What if I don’t want to ignore it?”

The breathiness in her voice has me moving closer. Does that mean she wants this? I rest my hands on either side, trapping her against the counter.

I drop my eyes to her lips. Her very wet lips. “Careful what you ask for, because I want to see you again, Nina, so this isn’t going to be a one time thing.”

Her eyes pop in surprise, but I don’t have time to beat around the bush. Over the years, I’ve learned it’d best to be direct and tell women exactly what I want. It used to be one night. Now, it’s forever.

Leaning forward, I shoot my shot and press my lips to the star tattoo on her bare shoulder. She snaps her head up, and suddenly, we’re quiet, caught in each other’s gaze.

I take in the details of her face—the freckles scattered across her skin like stars, the specks of gold glinting behind her glasses like a beacon. She digs her nails into my back, pulling me forward until my cock presses against her. Fuck. She feels incredible, and I’m not even inside her.

I brush my nose along her warm cheek because I need to know I’m not the only one feeling something here. “Do you like me grinding against you, Nina?”

She nods.

I grip her chin. Not hard, but firm. “Give me your words.”

She swipes her tongue along her bottom lip. “Yes. It feels good.

”

I roll my hips against her, and damn, that feels more than good. Why’d I ever stop dry humping? I circle my groin right over her clit, moving exactly how I would if I were fucking her slowly. I’m so hard it’s painful.

She must like what I’m doing because she starts grinding all over me like she’s trying to give me a lap dance. I’ll be thinking about this moment when I get myself off in the shower, replaying her raspy breaths.

I bet she’d take me so good.

She seems like the type who could give it right back. I’m tempted to lean down and pinch her nipple, bite her neck until I leave a mark, but I want more than sex. I need to slow the hell down no matter how hard she makes me, but it’s difficult to think straight with her fingers digging into my ass.

Part of me is worried I’m coming on too strong because I have a tendency to go all in, but she seems like she’s enjoying this just as much as me, so I roll my hips again, and again, and again until we’re both dry humping like horny goddamn teenagers.

Nina throws her head back, her caramel hair spilling on the counter, and the world blurs like I’m playing a game. Where we are, why we’re here—it evaporates.

She steals all my focus.

It’s just Nina and the contours of her body. I’m having trouble thinking straight. I don’t know what’s happening, but I want to rip off her jeans and shove my fingers inside her to feel if she’s wet.

I hope she’s drenched.

She squeezes her eyes shut, but when my hips instinctively roll against her again, she moans. I didn’t think I could get any harder, but she proves me wrong when her legs tighten around my waist .

“You like me rubbing my cock all over you?” I whisper in her ear, needing confirmation. “Does that feel good, Nina?”

She jerks me forward by the rim of my jeans, looking as lost in the moment as me, and now, I want to hear whatever noises she makes when she comes. “Yes, please. That feels so good, Rhode. You’re so good at that. Whatever you do, don’t stop.”

Holy fuck.

No one’s ever praised me like that before, and now it’s all I can think about.

She’s making these breathy little sounds that aren’t loud, but that’s even sexier because they’re real.

No pretending.

I imagine sliding into her, filling her, stretching her, fucking her hard, then slow. Dammit. I’m at risk of coming in my pants, which would be a travesty for a grown man, but the way Nina’s moving all over me has me close.

So close.

“Fuck.” I tug her forward by her hips, needing her closer even though her tits are already pressed to my chest. “You’re driving me insane. I can’t think right now.”

Her lips part at my words, and I stiffen. For a second, I’m worried that was too much, but then she inches forward. Her warm puffs of cinnamon breath blow against my mouth.

Call me desperate, but I want a taste of her, and from the way she’s staring, I think she wants that too.

Fuck it to hell, I’m kissing her.

A door slams.

“Oh my god! Nina?” a girl shouts. “What are you doing here?”

She lurches back, stumbling off the counter. I try to catch her, but it feels like I got off that roller coaster Cruz made me try when we had that team bonding weekend at Disney World.

That made the blood rush to my head, but right now, it’s all flowing south.

I forgot there were people in the house.

I forgot I was in a house.

Don’t even ask me to describe a house because I’d probably describe Nina’s freckles.

I squint at the people, trying to piece together what’s happening. The cheating bastard’s standing in black boxers and a white T-shirt with his arms wrapped around a woman in a sweatshirt. Her long blonde hair and green eyes look familiar, but I can’t place her.

“Oh, sorry,” Nina says, all sarcasm. “Were we being a little too loud? How inappropriate.”

“I didn’t think you were home.” The woman stomps her foot, and a vivid image of a horse cuts through my dry humping haze.

They start firing off insults. The vein in Nina’s temple is throbbing more than my dick. I need a distraction, so I wrack my brain, trying to figure out if I know the woman. Blonde hair. Green eyes.

The realization hits.

That’s the woman who shoved her tongue down my throat in the bar.

Is she Nina’s sister? Our eyes meet, and her brows come together, but there’s no sign of recognition. Does she really not remember that night? How drunk was she?

I stand behind Nina, positioning her in front of my erection while pulling her against my chest. I can’t keep my hands off her. The sister looks between us, and her gaze lands on me, narrowing slightly. I glare right back because she’s the reason my Hugo Boss shirt needed two trips to the dry cleaner.

“I’m sorry, okay, Nina?” the sister says. “I didn’t realize you were home, or we wouldn’t have done… that. I thought you were still in class.

”

Nina tenses against me.

“Class? What class?” I ask, brushing the hair off her shoulder. “Is that a brain surgery thing?”

“Brain surgery?” the sister asks. “Where’d you get that?”

The crease between my brows deepens. “Because Nina’s a medical resident?”

The guy booms out a laugh, and I glare at him. His laughter dies in an instant, but this uncomfortable ball of irritation forms in my chest at the thought of him laughing at Nina. I tug her closer to me, feeling this protective urge to show this asshole exactly what he’s missing.

His loss.

I’ve got her in my arms now.

Nina tries to pull me away. “Rhode, can we talk? Now?”

“What?” the sister says. “I don’t get it. Nina’s in art—”

“I’m not a doctor. I’m in art school,” Nina blurts over her sister like she’s trying to beat her to speak.

Art school? Nina?

I glance down at her. “What’s going on?”

She lifts her eyes, guilt all over her face, and the impact hits me harder than a body check to the boards. “Sorry, I was going to tell you…”

“Going to tell me what?” I demand, whispering low so our audience can’t hear.

She coughs. “That I’m in college. Art school, specifically.”

I drop my hands like her shoulders are made of fire. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-two,” she admits, cheeks turning pink.

It takes every ounce of self-control to keep my face neutral, especially in front of her ex because I don’t want to embarrass her. I take a hard look at Nina. The nose piercing, the backpack by the door—it all makes sense now .

How did I not see this? Damn, I really am gullible. I must be denser than Cruz after six tequila shots.

I can’t believe I’d been thinking about sucking her nipples into my mouth. I rake a hand through my hair, wishing I had on my helmet, so I could bang my idiotic head against the wall. Of course I’d be attracted to a younger woman.

It must be the curse of my DNA.

Sure, I joked about being a plumber when we first met, but I didn’t keep it going for two weeks. Is this all some game to her? She owes me an explanation for everything hidden in those stormy hazels. Eleven years might not be a big deal for some people, but it’s a big fucking deal for me. That’s an entire decade between us. I don’t want people thinking I’m some older asshole taking advantage of a younger woman.

Nina gulps. “Can we talk for a second?”

I cross my arms, looking down at her. “I think that’d be a wise decision.”

Great. Now I sound like I’m about to bend her over my knee and spank her. Not the visual I need when I’m still hard.

“Okay…” Nina sucks her bottom lip between her teeth. “Do you want me to get your belt?”

My lips twitch. Dammit. This woman.

No.

Not woman—girl.