Chapter Seventeen
Itake time off from work for the rest of the week so I can help Nils around the house. He’s on doctor’s orders to stay off his feet for at least a few days.
God, he looked so sad when he made his way into the family lounge at the arena last night. I was damn worried after I saw that hit to his ankle. I feared the worst. Though a hairline fracture is nothing to take lightly, at least it’s not a break.
Still, he’ll miss some games.
Nils was in surprisingly good spirits on the way home, but only after I told him I was going to take some time off to help him. I caught him over in the passenger seat smiling when he heard that.
He was funny then too.
As I drove us home, he kept apologizing for smelling bad, telling me, “I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to shower at the arena.” Waving his hand around, he joked, “We’re probably going to have to air this thing out tomorrow morning.”
“For sure,” I teased, holding my nose. “I think so.”
“Heyyyy,” he retorted. And then, looking worried, he asked, “Is it really that bad?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Not at all. I was only joking.”
He seemed relieved, like he wouldn’t want to repulse me. But he was fine; he only smelled a little extra manly. To be honest, it kind of turned me on. So much so that once we were back at the house and he told me he was going to head upstairs to take a shower, I had half a mind to follow him, sneak in his bathroom, and “help.”
Yeah, I could have assisted him in soaping up his chest, trailed my hands down his sculpted abs, and then moved a little lower, lower—
“Ellie? Ellie, did you hear me?”
Oops, I forgot I’m currently sitting at the kitchen table with Nils, having breakfast.
“Wait, what?” I stare over at him blankly.
“Didn’t you just hear that?’ he asks, looking at me curiously. “The toast popped up.”
“Oh? Ohhh…” My face is hot, and I know I’m blushing, so I jump up as fast as I can to grab the toast to go along with the scrambled eggs and bacon I made for us.
I walk back over to the table and plop a toasted piece of bread on the side of his plate.
Then I sit back down.
Cocking his head and peering over at me intently, Nils asks quietly, “What were you thinking about?”
Shit, he looks like he really wants to know, and that he suspects it was something sexual. The tension between us lately has been ratcheting up, and the only things keeping it at bay are his hockey games and my work.
But now it’s just going to be the two of us, alone and together for twenty-four seven.
Help!
I’m going to need to stay strong and not just attack him. That’s why there’s no way I’m telling him I was imagining soaping him up in the shower.
He may suggest we try it.
And I may agree.
No, I know I would.
Waving my hand, I say nonchalantly, “Oh, it was nothing.”
He raises a brow. “Really? ’Cause whatever it was, you’re still blushing about it.”
Damn red cheeks!
“I am?” I croak out.
“Yeah, you are.” He takes a bite of toast and shrugs.
Swishing my hand in front of me, I say, “I guess my face is red because it’s kind of hot in here.”
Pausing, toast poised in his hand, he looks over at me.
Wow, though it wasn’t all that warm before, when our eyes lock, it does indeed go up a few degrees.
I guess he feels the heat, too, since Nils says, “You got that right.”
Before I say something I’ll regret, like “Freaking kiss me now or I may die,” I drop my gaze to my plate and pretend like it takes all my concentration to scoop up some scrambled eggs with my fork.
We eat in silence, which is exactly what we need, so the fire between us can cool to its usual mild simmer.
Now if we can just keep it this way for the next few days that I’m off.
Then we’ll be in the clear.
The rest of the week passes, and we do a pretty good job of keeping our usual flirtation under control.
Nils’s ankle is doing much better—no more crutches or limping around—but the doctor does tell him not to skate yet, which leaves him feeling bummed.
I feel bad for him, so I take a couple of extra days off. I’m having so much fun having Nils all to myself that it’s an easy decision.
Since the Thunder are out of town on a short two-game road trip, Nils and I watch both games on the big-screen TV in the entertainment room.
Man, I can tell he can’t wait to get back on the ice.
During the game we watched last night, the guy from the minors who got called up to replace him on his line was beaten really badly on a play, and the other team scored.
“I could have prevented that,” he muttered dejectedly.
“I bet you would have,” I replied, hoping to cheer him up. “Look at it this way: at least your job’s not in jeopardy.”
That got a laugh, but also a resigned sigh.
I wanted so much to scoot over and place my arm around him to comfort him, but I didn’t dare do that. We’re being extra careful now since we’re together all the time. One wrong move—or would it be a right one?—and we could very well end up ripping each other’s clothes off and going at it on the floor.
Yeah, there is that much sexual tension.
There was a time when I would have been fine with a quick romp, but I still want more. If something were to ever happen between us, I need to know it’ll mean as much to Nils as it will to me.
If it doesn’t, our whole friendship could be ruined.
I don’t want that.
Despite our best efforts, though, we’re reaching a point where something has to give. One of us needs to take a chance and make a move.
It may be me, and tonight could be my perfect opportunity.
Nils and I are going to a holiday laser show that’s out in a big farm field in the country. Though we’ll be parked in my car, as I’m going to drive my Jag, we’ve already decided we’ll have a better view if we get out of the car and lean against the bumper.
So, even though I’m planning on wearing hiking boots, jeans, a thick sweater over a turtleneck, and a jacket, I may still get cold.
And that right there could be my opportunity.
I just hope that if it presents itself, I’m brave enough to take it…and that it goes well.
Several hours later, Nils and I are parked in the farm field, watching different colored lasers blast across the sky in time to holiday music.
It’s actually pretty cool.
And kind of chilly, like, for real.
I don’t have to pretend I’m cold like I thought I might.
Brrr…
Nils and I are in front of my car, leaning back against it. We have the windows down so we can hear the stereo blaring out the music synchronized to the laser show.
There are several other cars in the field, but we are all evenly spaced. There’s actually plenty of room in between vehicles, so it doesn’t feel crowded at all.
The wind picks up a bit, and I start to shiver.
I move closer to Nils, narrowing the gap between us to mere inches.
I’m not making a move; I really do need his body heat.
Okay, and I do like being close to him like this.
Glancing over, he asks, “Are you cold?”
I shudder and murmur, “A little.”
“Do you want to get in the car?”
I think about it, but the view is so much better out here, so I say, “Not really.”
Nils sighs. “We probably should have brought a blanket with us. Do you have one in the trunk?”
I shake my head. “No, but I should.”
“No worries.” He slips off the khaki field jacket he’s wearing. “I have an idea.” Wrapping it around my shoulders, which helps a lot, he asks, “Is that better?”
“Much. What about you, though?” I jerk my chin to indicate how he only has a checkered flannel over a black T-shirt to keep his upper body warm.
Nonetheless, he insists, “I’m fine.”
Minutes later, though, he’s crossing his arms and blowing out a breath that is clearly visible.
His jacket is big over my shoulders anyway, so I hold out one arm of it and raise a brow. “Do you want to share?”
As he bites his lip, I see a battle raging behind his eyes.
But then he mutters, “Fuck it,” and slips under the jacket with me.
Only problem is, though his coat is large, it’s not big enough to cover across the back of both of our shoulders.
And it keeps slipping down.
I’m worried he’ll just give the jacket back to me and deal with the cold, but then he says, “Hey, if you’re okay with it, I have another idea.”
“Sure, what is it?”
Taking control of the situation with no more hesitancy, which I love, Nils positions me in front of him, wraps his coat around his back, then murmurs in my ear, “Lean back, Ellie.”
Oh my God, I do, and the warmth of his solid body alone is way better than the jacket by itself. I’m not anywhere near cold, especially when he wraps his strong arms around me, encircling my body.
Sighing, I relax back into him even farther.
I feel him breathing into my hair as he rests his chin on my shoulder.
And then he turns his head slightly, and his warm breaths are tickling my neck.
I sigh, and he asks, “Is this okay?”
“Uh-huh,” I breathe out.
He trails his nose up along the side of my neck to my ear, where he whispers, “What about this?”
Time stops.
I feel only him.
This is heaven.
The rainbow of lasers and pulsating music only add to the intensity of the moment.
I nod and croak out, “Yes.”
Slowly, he turns me around to face him.
Damn, I am putty in his hands. And I want him to mold me and shape me.
Blinking once, I look up into his eyes, the lasers reflecting back in his green depths.
But there’s more, so much more in his gaze—capitulation, surrender, and a sense that there’s no going back.
Good. I don’t want to go back.
I want to move forward.
I’m confident too. I know now, with my eyes locked with his, that if we take things to the next level, it’ll mean as much to him as it will for me.
Swallowing hard, he says, “I’ve wanted to kiss you for so fucking long. But I’ve never wanted to as much as I do right now.”
“So do it,” I breathe out.
With a growl, his lips touch mine. It’s a soft graze at first, a gentle brushing back and forth, like he’s testing me. Then he sucks in my lower lip, pulls, pushes back in…
I go with it, letting him set the pace, until our mouths are open and our tongues are touching.
Sighing, I snake my arms around his neck.
He pulls me closer, and I feel every muscle, every hard ridge, and every defined line.
Gah!
We break apart, gasping and breathing hard, and I tell him, “I want you.”
“Fuck, girl, I’ve wanted you since day one.”
“Then let’s get out of here.”
“Hell, yeah!”