Release: New Adult Sport Romance (Fire and Ice) by Violet Vaughn Read Free Book Online Page A

“Do I want to know?”
    He lets out an exasperated noise. “I was two. I suppose my mother let them because she thought it would make great ammunition for when I was a troublesome teen.” He pops the last bit of cookie in his mouth.
    “Ah, but did they bring home hot girls when you were an underclassman?” He chews as I see his eyes light up, and he nods.
    I don’t wait for him to speak. “I don’t have any brothers and sisters. I would’ve loved to have grown up in your family.”
    “I used to want to be an only child. Nobody to fight over the remote and a bathroom to myself was my idea of heaven.” He sighs.
    “It’s lonely.” I begin to clean up our snack.
    He reaches for the garbage and takes it from me. He stands, and in one quick movement throws it in the can with ease. Holding out an arm, he looks at me. “Let’s go take a few turns around the rink.”
    We walk to the ice, and I don’t let go. The echo of excited voices marks our exit from the hut. We match strides as we skate slowly around the edge. “Do you miss Christmas with your family?” I ask. I notice the stars twinkling in the background. I’m amazed that they can be seen over the floodlights.
    “A little, but by the time I was in college, it wasn’t the same. My sisters have their lives, and we stopped getting together as a whole group.” The rhythmic motion of our feet scrapes out a steady beat. “What about you? Is this your first holiday away from home?”
    A painful memory floods my mind. “No. I had a couple of years when training got in the way. But my mom came to me, and we had a nice time together.” If you call being rescued from hell a nice time. “This year will be my first year without seeing my mom, though. I guess that makes me a grown-up, huh?”
    “I have a feeling you had to grow up a long time ago.” Kaleb pulls me in a little tighter, and I breathe in his salty scent. I have the urge to tell him everything. But I can’t.
    “I didn’t lead the normal teenager’s life, it’s true. I never went to a prom.” I position myself in front of him and skate backward as we continue to move. I’m overcome with the desire to kiss him, but realize he’s too tall for me to do it easily. I take his hands instead. “Be my prom date and dance with me?” I put on my best coy face.
    Kaleb pulls me into a hug. His heartbeat pulses against me, and mine seems to answer. “I only know how to slow dance. Is that okay?” His voice is low, and I tingle at how it gets deeper when he speaks quietly.
    I reach a mitten-covered hand up to his face. “That’s perfect.” My lips throb, and his eyelids get heavy.
    We stop and warm hands hold my face. He leans down and whispers, “You know slow dances are just an excuse to kiss your date, right?”
    I close the distance between us. I taste a hint of chocolate as I lightly suck his lower lip. His tongue caresses mine as passion begins to simmer. The kiss is gentle and true. The kind of kiss one does in public. Pulling away, I’m struck by the sincerity of this man. I breathe deeply and sigh. “Way to catch me up on the prom thing.”
    “My pleasure.” He has a big grin on his face. He takes my arm again, and we continue on as before. “Any chance I can get you to teach me a jump?”
    “Really?” I ask. “Wait, you don’t have the hockey-boy secret desire to be an ice dancer, do you?” I snicker.
    “No, I don’t think grace is my thing. It’s the power behind it that appeals to me.” He sends me a sideways glance. “Although my sisters would say I look pretty good in sequins.”

Chapter 9

    Snow swishes as it slides under our skis. Kaleb and I are riding the T-bar to ski the bowl. An upside-down T made of wood, it’s attached to a retractable rope, and the top part of the T rests under our butt cheeks to drag us up the hill. It’s awkward for me, being new at this, and I fight the trepidation that threatens to overcome me. I’m a fidgety mess, unable to find a