Even though this is my first class, I can’t keep my gaze from shifting in Dominick and Klaus’s direction. It’s not like me to get distracted on the ice. But since I met them, I’ve barely been able to keep my thoughts from drifting.
“EMBER! Look I’m doing it!” Avery is skating towards me without anyone holding her hand.
Clapping my hands, I give her the widest smile. “You’re doing amazing.”
I take her hand and raise it above her head, twirling her around. Giggling, she looks up at me, her face full of pride. Again, I look towards her father and uncle even though I’m telling myself I really shouldn’t. They’re both looking this way too and my breath catches in my throat.
“My daddy likes you.”
I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to say to that. There’s probably a grown-up answer that I’m supposed to know but I’m completely floored. I want to ask her about a thousand questions but I don’t think I’m supposed to encourage her.
She might be completely imagining it; in fact, she’s almost definitely imagining it.
“Daddy hasn’t liked anyone since mommy died.”
“Your mommy died?”
Avery nods her head. “Do you think she would like my skating?”
“Absolutely. You’re skating beautifully.” I point towards Dominick before saying, “and look, your daddy thinks so too.”
Dominick waves at Avery and the little girl beside me returns the gesture with more exuberance than should be possible in such a tiny person. When the class eventually finishes, Avery rushes into Dominick’s arms, her voice moving at lightning speed as she tells him all about her lesson. I’m bombarded by questions from various parents, but I keep looking their way.
I’m slowly inching my way towards them, every conversation bringing me slightly closer when Addie Ravenwood steps out onto the ice next to me.
“Fancy seeing you here, Feu. I didn’t realise you were planning on competing this year.” There’s a cruel glint in her eye. “I would have thought you’d lost enough times already.”
“Oh, I don’t plan to lose.” I refuse to let her get to me.
“Sure. That’s what you said last year too,” she says dismissively.
I’m supposed to have a comeback for that but I’m coming up blank, so instead I do what I do best and skate past her to perform the one sequence of moves that I know she can’t match. I’m showing off and Garrick would tell me off if he was here.
I’ve been practicing for months and I shouldn’t be showing the competition even a fraction of my routine, but Garrick says Addie won’t be able to perform this sequence even if she were to practice for a year. I’m not sure how he works that out, something about watching hours and hours of her past performances. Even so, I shouldn’t be showing off.
Gliding across the now empty rink, I leap into the air and land perfectly before performing a pirouette before dropping down and spinning with one leg outstretched before hydroblading with my face mere centimetres away from the ice. I come back up and skate a few meters before performing an axel jump. It’s not the jumps or the spins that make what I’m doing better than anything she can do. It’s the grace, that grace that I never have off the ice. The way my body moves like fire across the ice.
Cheers erupt around me from the children and their parents but the look on Addie’s face is pure loathing. And I breathe it in, skating back towards her.
“I’m going to beat you this year, Addie. You can say whatever you want but I’m a better skater than you are. I’m going to win and when I do, people will forget all about you.”
A Quiet Night In
Holden’s POV
I don’t know what’s gotten into my brothers. They’ve gone out and left me here to babysit. They were both distracted at dinner. It felt like it was only me bothering to listen to Avery as she told us about her skating lesson.
In fairness, I guess they were there at the rink but still, they could have at least pretended to be interested.
It’s too early to go to bed but there’s nothing on TV and Avery is fast asleep. Dominick thinks I’m a shit babysitter, but nobody can get Avery to sleep as quickly as me. They’re always dying to know my secret. But I’m not about to admit to my brothers that I promise her she can have ice cream for breakfast.
The house is quiet as I climb the stairs and enter my own bedroom. I’ve considered moving out thousands of times, but I can’t bear the idea of having to get up earlier than I already do to be at the brewery on time in the morning. And Dominick would slaughter me if I ever came in late.
I strip down until I’m only wearing my boxers and climb between the covers. Shutting my eyes, I release a heavy yawn. Even though it’s far too early to go to sleep, my body begins to relax. There’s a beautiful face in my mind’s eye. I recognise her as the woman from Vee. Ember… Ember Feu, I think she was called.
I’ve thought about her a surprising amount. Usually when I meet a woman, I enjoy her company and then forget all about her. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t slept with her yet. If I had, forgetting her would be easy.
Forgetting the women I sleep with is always easy.
But there’s something about the woman standing in front of me that tells me she would be harder to forget. Impossible even.
For some reason, I’m standing in the middle of Main Street in nothing but my boxers. I wouldn’t mind but the cobblestones are cold beneath my feet. The residents of Silver Springs don’t even react. You’d think it was perfectly normal to see a half naked man standing in the street.
Then again, this is Silver Springs.
Ember has definitely noticed though. Her eyes drift down from my face until they stop at the bulge in my pants. Thank fuck it’s not so cold that my cock and balls have shrivelled up.
Stepping towards me, she reaches down to touch me without a word. Her hand is hot velvet against my cock as she gives it a gentle squeeze. I bite back a groan as I pull her head towards my own and kiss her fiercely.
It doesn’t matter that we’re standing in the middle of the street as I begin to pull at her clothes. I need her naked. Her grip on my cock doesn’t weaken as she tugs at it with a steady rhythm. I’ve only just got her dress over her head when she drops to her knees in front of me.
She can’t seriously be about to give me head in the middle of Main Street.
Licking the tip of my cock, she looks up at me, her eyes vibrant and for a second, I swear I see fire in their depths. She runs her tongue along the underside and my fingers knot in her hair. Then my cock is engulfed in her mouth and she’s sucking on it, bobbing her head back and forth. I thrust into her mouth, fully intending to be gentle with her but completely failing.
Just as my balls begin to tighten and I think she might make me come like this, she pulls back, grinning up at me.
“Tease,” I murmur.
Her lip twitches but she doesn’t say anything as she grabs my hand and pulls on it. I don’t need any more encouragement to join her on the ground. Crouching down in front of her, I fall back when she pushes against my chest. She straddles me, rubbing her wet pussy against my now painfully hard dick.