With a slam from the bristles of his broom, he dead-stopped the puck and dashed away. Swiftly moving the broom from side to side, his body was hard at work, and so was his fine ass. It was hard not to look. Flexing his muscles, he was smooth and graceful, as if his body was one with the ice. I now understood what Lexy meant when she said he was really good. I couldn’t peel my eyes off him. With a quick sideways turn, dodging a broom that was meant to trip him, he scored.

Elijah

“Score,” I hollered, giving high fives to my friends around me. Feeling the rush and the excitement, I looked for Alex. Without thinking, I ran to her and swung her around. “That was a perfect pass for a newbie,” I said out of breath, giving her a kiss on the cheek. That kiss was so spontaneous that I was shocked at myself. Oh hell. It was an innocent kiss. I’m sure she’s had guys kiss her cheeks many times before.

When I placed her down, her cheeks flushed. I couldn’t tell if it was because she was cold or…was it from my kiss?

“That was awesome, Ellie,” she nudged me.

Before I could remind her not to call me by that name, I heard someone yell, “Watch out!” Too busy paying attention to Alex, I didn’t realize the game had started again. Next thing I knew a puck was headed our way. Someone had hit it way too high. Out of instinct, I grabbed Alex. I think she was trying to get me out of the way, too. We were both pulling on each other, but in opposite directions. We both lost traction and I fell on top of her.

On our way down, I managed to support her head and bent my knees in an effort not to crush her. That didn’t feel good to my knees or my hands at all. Since Alex didn’t move a muscle, I didn’t know how much of my weight landed on her or if she was hurt. All I felt now was my upper body touching hers.

“Alex, you okay? Did I hurt you?” I murmured, looking at her.

She didn’t answer. Instead, her shocked eyes stared back at me. Those angelic blue eyes sucked me in so deep; I became lost in them. I was hypnotized, spellbound by her beauty and the eyes that held so much mystery, making me want to get to know her.

When her eyes shifted to my lips, I could feel my dick straining against my pants. Cool, small breaths escaped her mouth into mine, and I swallowed them up—every single breath. Her body entangled in my arms, her breath became ragged. Her chest rose and fell quickly, and mine was doing the same. I’d like to think I was the cause of her rapid breathing. In that moment, I lost all sense of time…space…and reality.

I don’t know how long we were connected like that, but I almost lost my self-control when my lips headed towards hers as if they had a mind of their own. Fuck! I wanted to kiss her. We were in another world and everyone around us disappeared, but then, a part of my conscience reminded me that she was off limits. God I really hated that voice right now!

Thank goodness Seth broke our link. “You guys okay? And would you stop molesting her on the ice?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Shut up and help me. I hurt my knees,” I said out loud, so the crowd around us could hear me. I had to make an excuse as to why I stayed on top of her so long when I could have gotten up.

Seth rolled me over, and Lexy helped Alex up. Sprawled out on my back, I took in the cold. No amount of ice would have cooled down the heated feeling I was trying so hard to avoid with her. I had even been trying to stay away from our place as long as I could, so I didn’t have to be around her too much. Finally standing up, I rubbed and stretched my arms. The numbness disappeared as I walked off the rink.

I didn’t understand this hold she had on me. I didn’t like it one bit. Not only was she seeing someone, but I didn’t want to have a relationship; she was making me so confused. A part of me felt like I wasn’t good enough for her. And a huge part of this was that she was Jimmy’s cousin. If I screwed up, it would just be too weird for our friendship, for all of us.

“I’m sorry, Elijah, are you okay?” Alex sat next to me on the sideline bench. She was sorry for something she didn’t do. Another indication she had a kind heart.

“Alex, I’m fine. Go back to the game. Our team needs you,” I said sternly. Actually, I didn’t want her to sit next to me. I was having a hard time controlling myself with her being so close. I didn’t want to get used to the comfort she brought me, so I wasn’t going to feel guilty for telling this little lie.

“Should I get some ice?”

I needed to calm my tone. “I just need a minute.”

“They’re taking a break, so I’m going to get some hot cocoa. Do you want one?”

“No, thanks.” I was short and to the point.

I was proud of myself for not looking at her ass when she walked away. Now that was good self-control, but it didn’t last long. When Dean wrapped his arms around her, like she belonged to him, I stood up. So much for my hurt knees. A few of the other guys tried to get their dirty paws on her too, but when I stood nearby, they scurried away.

“You better now?” Seth laughed.

What was so funny? “Yeah, I’m better.” I gave him an evil eye. “Next time, make sure we’re all in our starter positions before we continue.”

“Looks like you didn’t mind your position.”

“What? Shut up. I hurt my knees.”

“Whatever you say. Just remember, she’s your roommate and she’s not one of your one-night stands.”

“Don’t worry. She’s seeing someone.”