Beak Performance (Fangs on Ice #3)

30. Thirty

Thirty

Max

I knew exactly what Arne meant. In eight months, I would hopefully have signed my contract with the Pumas. That’s when we wanted to tell the team, Jerke, and our fans.

Damn. What will Marie say?

My sister is three years younger than me and has always been my best friend. It sucked to lie to her. But I wasn’t ready to share Arne with the rest of the world, especially since my ex-boyfriend lived in the same tiny village on the border between Germany and Austria as my parents. They had always loved Tobias. He came from a wealthy family, and they had liked the idea of me being with the son of someone influential.

They had never stopped me from playing hockey, but in their opinion, it wasn’t a proper career. Almost twenty years ago, when I’d gotten hooked on the game, nobody could have foreseen the popularity hockey would gain in Central Europe.

For the last two years of my career, I had played an hour southeast of where I’d grown up. Being scouted by Jerke, and getting the chance to play in Veitsreuth, had been an enormous accomplishment in my career.

The Pumas were one of the country’s top teams. It had been a no-brainer.

Hockey still wasn’t as popular in Germany as it was in other countries, yet I earned three times more than I had before. Games sold out quickly, merchandise was popular, and our fans were great.

Let’s not forget that they have the hottest captain in the league.

Just like Austrians, Danes celebrated Christmas on the 24th of December.

Christmas hadn’t bothered me much in past years. But somehow spending this time with Arne made me giddy with excitement.

“Good morning, Yndling.” My gorgeous viking woke me with a soft kiss.” I have a surprise for you. Is that all right?”

“Good morning, Princess.” I yawned and cuddled him closer to my chest. I loved to feel his naked skin on my feathers. If I could, I’d crawl inside him. “Why wouldn’t that be okay?”

He shuddered when my lips found his neck.

“Well, I read a lot about autism. One article said that neurodivergent people often struggle with surprises.”

“You read articles on autism?”

“Yes?” He sounded uncertain.

“Princess.” I pulled him around and took his mouth in a deep kiss. “You actually read stuff about autism?”

“I did.” Arne gasped for breath. “I thought I could find some things that would help me be a better partner for you…”

Tears blurred my vision but I managed to find him.

“I love you, Arne,” I sobbed into the kiss.

“I love you, too, Max. Shh, baby. You are important to me. If there’s anything I can do to make life easier for you, I will.”

Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks. I buried my face in his chest and cried for way longer than my partner trying to accommodate me should require.

Nobody ever had. Not to this extent.

“Okay, let’s go.” I freed myself from his embrace and sat up.

“Are you sure, baby?” Arne sat up, too. He tilted his head at me, a soft smile on his lips, and reached out to brush the curls off my sweaty face.

His chest hair was plastered to his skin.

“Yes! Is it a good surprise?”

His smile widened, crinkling the corners of his eyes. “I hope so. Put on warm clothes, yeah?”

We got dressed and got into the car. My boyfriend—Goddess, I loved calling him that—kept his hand on my thigh the entire time.

“Oh, is that what I think it is?”

“It’s a Christmas tree farm. I thought you’d like to pick our juletr?et.”

“Say that again.”

“What? Juletr?et?” He grinned at me.

“Yep, that sounds so cute.”

“What is that in German?”

“Christbaum,” I told him.

He contemplated me for a moment.

“What?”

“I don’t know… it’s hot when you speak German.”

“Don’t even think about it.” I snorted and unbuckled my seat belt. “German dirty talk makes my skin crawl. It’s not happening.”

We got out of the car, laughing our asses off. We got a saw from the guy at the entrance who recognised that Arne had grown up nearby, and then we looked for our Christbaum.

Snow crunched under our boots and dusted our heads. It was perfect.

“Princess?” My voice made him halt and turn around. His soft lips were cold under mine. Not for long, though. Arne opened, inviting my tongue into his mouth, our hot breaths mingling in the frosty air.

“This is the most romantic surprise I’ve ever had,” I told him, caressing his cheekbones with my thumbs. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, Raven.” He smiled and leaned in for another kiss. “I have another surprise for you, but only if you want.”

“What is it?”

“You seem excited, baby. Can I take it that the first surprise was a success?”

“It was.” I grinned widely.

“There’s an ice rink behind the barn. Want to go ice skating with me?”

“Oh my God, Viking! Rhetorical question.” I poked him in the ribs and sneaked my arm around his waist.

We borrowed skates and put them on in musty lockers between a bunch of families and older couples, then set out.

“I can’t remember the last time I skated just for fun,” I told him, skating backwards so I could keep looking at him.

A few kids gaped at me, and I shot them a wink.

“I mean, it’s always fun to skate but…”

“It’s our job. I get it.” Arne sped up, forcing me to transition forward. By the Night Goddess, watching this man move on the ice was so hot. He blocked my path, ever a defenceman. “But you’re right, this is fun.” His cheeky grin made my heart flutter.

I feigned left and overtook him again. I then found myself with my back pressed to the boards a moment later.

His bright white teeth dug into his bottom lip. The smile won. “That’s the best date I ever had, baby. Don’t turn into a raven now, okay?”

The laughter burst out of me, and I freed myself.

“Come on, catch me, Viking!”

I sped around the rink that was surprisingly large for one in the middle of nowhere in Denmark.

Some people whooped when they watched us play. Two or three had smartphones in their hands. Damn. Drawing attention to us hadn’t been my plan.

But all we had done was talk and chase each other.

An hour later, we had to leave to be on time for lunch with Arne’s parents.

“That was great, Raven. We should do that more often.”

“Oh, you can try to catch me every day at training.” I grinned and leaned across the middle console to steal a kiss before he started the car.

“Does that count as primal play?” Arne returned my grin.

“Mm, I don’t know, Princess. Did chasing me make you hard?” My hand dropped to his dick.

“Maybe a little.” Arne hummed. “You are so hot on skates. I love to watch you move.”

We took our Christmas tree to his parents’ house.

“Happy Lillejuleaften!” Ida greeted me with a hug. “Get in here, boys. You can set the tree up straight away. Your father is in the shed getting the ornaments.”

We took off our boots and coats. I followed Arne into the living room. It was a clean and minimalist place and looked a bit like a showroom for a Scandinavian home. It was so freaking cosy, though, and not just because of the fire burning in the wood burner.

“Ah, Max, hello. It’s good to see you again.”

Arne’s dad entered the room, two large plastic containers in his arms.

Everyone sounded genuinely happy to see me, even…

Arne plopped to his knees to greet a wriggling short-haired dog. The animal yipped and licked his ears, then it noticed me.

“Baby, this is my parents’ dog, Lasse.” Aksel Bendixen shot me a glance when his son addressed me thus.

“Hi.” I extended my hand to the animal, and it sniffed it cautiously. His tail resumed its wagging until the entire dog shook with excitement. Lasse licked my hands and jumped up to get closer to my face.

“He likes you.” Arne squeezed my shoulder. “Want to help me deck the tree?”

“Oh, yes.” I didn’t know why it made me happy that the family dog liked me, but it did.

We had a lovely lunch with his family. I thought it couldn’t get any better.