SWNOVELS Break My Heart: Chapter 21
I balance the steaming cups in one hand as I rap the knuckles of the other against Ava’s door. My heart’s already pounding, nerves tingling as I wait. After about fifteen seconds, I knock again.
It’s possible that I already missed her.
Just as I raise my hand to knock one last time, the door swings open, and I find Ava blinking at me from the other side of the threshold. Surprise flickers in her eyes. She’s wearing tiny sleep shorts and a tank top, her blonde hair tumbling down her shoulders in loose, messy waves.
My mouth dries.
She looks incredible.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice is thick with sleep.
I shrug, trying to act casual even though my pulse is racing like I just finished a sprint. “I know you usually practice at six, so I thought I’d drive you to the arena.”
Her gaze dips to the travel containers. “Is one of those for me?”
“Yeah.” I hand over a cup, watching as she lifts it to her lips.
Fuck. The way her mouth curves around the lid sends a wave of heat straight through me. I shift my weight, trying to focus on something other than how much I want this girl.
I promised we’d take things slow.
“Thanks.” Her eyes linger on mine before she takes another sip.
For a second, I think about how good it would feel to kiss her again, but I shove that thought aside.
Slow, Hayes.
Glacial.
I clear my throat. “Why don’t you change, and then we can head out? I wouldn’t want you to miss your ice time.”
She glances down at her outfit, as if only now remembering she’s still in her pajamas. “Give me five minutes,” she murmurs, turning toward her bedroom with her coffee in hand.
As she disappears, I force myself to stay rooted in the living room and take in her private space. It’s neat, minimalist. There’s a small couch, a table, and a few pictures on the shelf. I pick one up and study it closer. It’s a black-and-white photo of her mid-spin, three or four feet above the ice, with her arms tightly pressed against her chest.
She looks powerful.
It’s a stark contrast to the vulnerability that lurks in her eyes.
“I’m ready.”
I turn, startled from my thoughts.
She’s transformed in minutes. Black leggings, a fitted pink sweater that clings to her curves, and her blonde hair pulled up into a tight bun. The change is almost jarring, like a mask she wears to keep everyone at a distance. All I want to do is strip it away, layer by layer, until she lets me in completely.
She tilts her head. “You good?”
I clear my throat and force a smile. “Yeah. Let’s go, Tink.”
I hold out my hand, hoping she’ll take it.
Her gaze drops to my fingers, and hesitation flickers in her expression. After what she’s been through, I don’t blame her for being cautious.
It feels like an eternity before she finally slips her hand into mine. It’s a small gesture that has something in my chest loosening.
I pick up her duffel bag, slinging it over my shoulder as we head downstairs to my truck. The arena is only a five-minute drive from her apartment building, and the morning is still pitch black as we pull into the empty parking lot.
As we reach the arena, Ava walks ahead, her movements sure as she unlocks the door to the rink and pushes it open. We make our way through the building until arriving at another set of glass doors. Once inside, the air hits me—the cold, familiar smell of ice.
When she drops down onto a bench, I jerk my thumb toward the men’s locker room. “I’ll grab my skates and be back in a minute.”
She nods, already slipping off her shoes and pulling her white skates from her bag. I cut across the space to the locker room before shoving inside. The lights automatically turn on, illuminating the echoing area.
When I return, Ava’s already gliding across the ice with that same effortless grace I caught a glimpse of in the photo. I can’t help but stop and soak in the sight of her. She’s poetry in motion—spinning, twisting, floating across the ice like she’s weightless.
I’ve only caught glimpses of her like this when I watched her from a distance. This isn’t the guarded, careful girl who looks at me with uncertainty. This is the real Ava. The one who comes alive on the ice.
It pisses me off all over again that her former coach stole something so precious from her. That he tried to ruin this part of her life.
She deserves to have the future she worked so hard for.
I skate a few laps around the perimeter while she practices jumps and spins in the center. My eyes stay locked on her, mesmerized by the way she moves. The determination etched into her face is sexy as hell, and it makes me want to pull her off the ice and show her exactly how I feel.
She transitions into a spin, pulling her leg up until the blade of her skate is over her head. The skill and flexibility it takes to execute that trick is mind-blowing.
I move closer, drawn to her like a moth to a flame.
When she finally comes to a stop, I find myself unable to hold back. As soon as my fingers nab hers, I tug her toward me with measured movements, wanting to give her enough time to put a stop to the intimacy. My arms wrap around her, pulling her against me. For a second or two, her muscles stiffen. Just when I consider setting her free and stepping back to give her space, she relaxes, her body melting into mine.
“You’re too talented not to compete,” I murmur, my voice low. “You realize that, right?”
Sadness floods her eyes as she looks away. “There’s no longer a place for me in that world.”
I lift her chin, forcing her to meet my gaze. “I don’t believe that. And deep down, neither do you.”
Before she has a chance to respond, I brush my lips across hers. It’s a gentle kiss, slow and teasing, but it’s enough to set every nerve ending on fire. Her palms settle on my chest before sliding upward until her arms tangle around my neck.
A groan rumbles up from deep within my body as she presses against me.
This is what I’ve been waiting for.
This connection.
The feeling of being so close to her that nothing else matters.
My hands tighten around her waist as our tongues brush, and I sink deeper into the kiss.
Somewhere in the distance a door opens, and a voice rings out. “Ava?”
We splinter apart, our eyes wide.
Coach.
I grab her hand and tug her toward the bench. We barely make it to the edge of the ice when she stumbles, crashing into me. I twist at the last second and take the brunt of the fall as we hit the rubber flooring. She lands on top of me with a soft grunt. Our bodies are flush as my arms tighten around her.
“Ava?” Coach’s voice echoes closer, sending a jolt of adrenaline through me.
We’re a mess of limbs, tangled up together, and I’m pretty sure the massive hard-on I’m sporting isn’t helping matters. Even with her dad seconds away from finding us, all I can think about is the way her lips felt against mine.
Heat floods her eyes, turning them a deep cerulean hue. The situation turns dire when she wriggles against my groin, creating friction.
Instead of giving in to the pleasure flooding my system, my fingers tighten around her slender hips. “You need to stop, or we’re going to get caught. I don’t think either of us want that.”
Humor flares to life in her eyes, mingling with the arousal.
Have I ever seen them spark with such laughter?
When she continues to squirm, her breath catches and her pupils dilate, the black swallowing up the blue. It makes her look even sexier than before.
“That feels so good,” she whispers, her voice turning smokey.
“Way too damn good,” I groan in agreement. “Keep that up and I’ll come in my sweats.”
Her teeth scrape across her lower lip. “I’d like to see that happen.”
Her hips continue to gyrate as the flush in her cheeks grows and a dazed quality enters her eyes. Each movement forces me closer to the precipice.
I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d come in my pants. My cock is impossibly hard, and my balls are tightening, drawing up against my body. It wouldn’t take much to shove me over the edge.
How embarrassing would that be?
I release a steady breath, attempting to get a hold of myself. I have no idea how this situation spiraled so far out of control.
She releases a soft whimper as she continues to shift against me.
The tortured sound is like a punch to the gut.
Fuck.
My hands tighten around her again, trying to stop what now feels inevitable.
When her eyelids feather closed, my grip intensifies.
“Look at me, Ava.” Her name comes out sounding more like a growl.
She cracks her eyes open just enough to meet my gaze.
It’s only when I have her complete attention that I mutter, “As much as I want to make you come right here and now, I don’t want it to be like this.” I pause for a beat. “The first time I give you an orgasm, I want to take my time with you and draw out your pleasure. You deserve nothing less than that.”
Her teeth scrape over the plump flesh of her lower lip. “I’m so close.”
Now it’s my turn to squeeze my eyes tightly closed against the way her blue depths plead with mine. Part of me wants to give her exactly what she’s begging for.
But… after what she’s been through, I want her thinking clearly and making good decisions for herself. The man who took advantage of her innocence and abused his position of power didn’t give her that choice.
I refuse to be anything like him.
It would fucking devastate me if she regretted anything we did together.
“I know, baby. But you told me that you needed to take this slow, and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do.” I search her gaze as it begins to clear. “No regrets.”
Some of her arousal fades as she releases an unsteady breath. “No regrets,” she repeats.
When a door slams in the distance, the sound echoing in the cavernous space, I realize we’re once again alone, but it won’t last much longer. Pretty soon the place will start to fill up.
“Ready to get out of here?”
With a nod, she brushes her lips across mine. Just as my resolve snaps, she pulls away and rolls to the side before rising to her skates and stepping onto the ice. I release a slow breath, willing my boner to deflate, before doing the same.
Already I know that I’ll be rocking a pair of blue balls for the rest of the morning.