Authors: Elizabeth Moynihan
“Without even thinking about it. I told you, she totally freaked!”
Sergei ran one hand through his dark hair, shaking his head back and forth. “She seemed fine when we got home from the hospital.”
Sergei offered, trying to think of what could have happened between then and now.
“Yeah, she did. But then about the same time you upset Chloe, Mom started acting weird,” the look Dani directed at him might as well have been a judge banging down the gavel and yelling
guilty
.
“I didn’t do anything to upset Chloe and I haven’t even seen Mom since we got home and I carried Chloe upstairs,” he stated, embarrassment suddenly flooding his cheeks with color as the thought of his mother having witnessed what nearly happened between he and Chloe crossed his mind. Without a word, he grabbed a glass from a cabinet and headed for the refrigerator for milk.
“Well, something sure upset the two of them,” Dani stated, watching her brother gulp down the milk and take another brownie from the plate.
“Well, don’t look at me!” He growled, leaving his empty glass on the counter, and headed for the stairs that lead to his room. Each step up the long staircase brought back visions of Chloe in his arms: the warmth of her body, the gentle scent of her perfume, the softness of her curvaceous body. With a low oath, Sergei bound up the final steps into his room and closed the door firmly behind him.
Dani cast a furious frown over her head as she listened to her brother’s heavy feet pounding the stairs and mumbled quietly to herself, “My ass, you didn’t do anything.”
A
fter two days of Sergei literally carrying her from her bedroom to the kitchen, from the kitchen to the family room, or out to the gardens and back again, and then back upstairs to her room, was more than enough for Chloe. As much as the two of them tried to pretend the near-kiss had never happened, each time Chloe found herself in Sergei’s arms she also found herself trying to concentrate on anything but how good his arms felt around her. When she caught herself silently reciting her multiplication tables, she knew she was in trouble and refused to be carried around anymore. Judging from the relieved look in Sergei’s eyes, and his immediate acceptance of her decision, she wondered if he was also fighting the same feelings.
It took her longer to get up and down the stairs, so once she was down, she stayed down, but it still felt wonderful to be doing things for herself and not be totally dependent upon all the Rocmanov’s, Dani, of course, always seemed to be within shouting range. When Dani went to the rink to practice, Chloe sat in the stands, wrapped up in a blanket and wistfully watched her friend glide effortlessly about the ice. Occasionally she’d cast hateful glares at the offending cast, threatening to take a Roto-Zip to it and end the torture she was feeling. Being off the ice for so long was killing her and she wondered how she was ever going to survive the wait. It had only been a week– a week!–and already she felt her body going slack. It just wasn’t fair!
Unbidden, tears filled her eyes, tears of what might never be, tears of what she’d lost, tears of the unknown. Biting the inside of her lip to keep from totally falling to pieces, Chloe didn’t notice Sergei’s presence until his quiet question startled her.
“You planning on sitting there all afternoon or are you interested in getting back on the ice?”
“Right!” Chloe grunted, pulling the blanket off her foot and lifting the hated cast up for his view. This time her toenails were painted as if a bright caterpillar was crawling across her toes. Sergei shook his head in amusement.
“You’re going to let a little cast keep you off the ice? Sounds like you’re wimping out to me.”
Chloe lifted her chin defiantly, opened her mouth to say something and then backed down at Sergei’s daring look. “What if the doctor finds out?” Chloe asked softly, tucking the blanket back around her bare toes.
“Do you plan on telling him you’ve been skating against his orders?” Sergei asked, a devilish light glinting brightly in his dark eyes as he reached for his skating bag and began the process of putting on his skates.
“Of course not, I’m not a complete idiot!”
“Well, neither am I. Although I can’t vouch for the anyone else in the building,” Sergei stated, directing his gaze toward the ice where his sister still practiced.
“She won’t tell anyone!” Chloe stated confidently, wistfully watching as Sergei banged the heel of his blade against the rubbed-padded floor as he set his foot in his boot and speedily criss-crossed his laces and then tied them off.
“You sound very sure of that?”
“Quite sure, unless of course you’ve given her a reason recently to see you in front of a firing squad.”
“How
recent
would recently have to be?”
“I don’t know, have you done anything in the last day?” Chloe asked.
“These days I can’t seem to go fifteen minutes without saying or doing something to piss her off. The only way I could make it an entire day is if I were on another planet!”
“Well, then I can’t say our secret will be safe. She’d wouldn’t purposely expose me, but if it meant seeing your head on a platter, she might not be able to resist letting something slip–innocently, of course,” Chloe explained.
“Dani never does anything
innocently
,” Sergei argued then heaved a dramatic sigh. “I suppose I might just have to play by the same dirty rules.”
“Don’t tell me–you’ve got dirt on your sister that you would use to keep her silent?”
“I’ve got enough ammo on her to keep her grounded until she’s thirty-seven!” Sergei stated conspiratorially.
“Really?” Chloe asked in an amazed whisper, her eyes wide and a sparkling blue.
“No, but after all the years of telling her I do, I think I may have finally convinced her I just might. So, if you don’t mind, kindly keep that little piece of information to yourself.”
Chloe’s nod confirmed her promise and she looked at her new partner, “You know, that’s a very wicked thing to do to your sister. Some might consider it blackmail. You should be ashamed of yourself,” Chloe scolded lightly, trying her best to maintain a stern expression even as her lips twitched in suppressed mirth.
“Yeah, well, with Dani, it’s survival of the fittest.”
“So much for Marquis of Queensbury rules,” Chloe added drolly.
“I play to win,” Sergei stated deeply.
“Does everything have to be about winning?” she asked softly, both her tone and question causing his attention to leave the skate he was lacing and his gaze to return to her own. The moment his dark eyes met hers, he melted into their sapphire depths. Dizzily, he realized he couldn’t take a full breath, his heart suddenly seemed to beat wildly in his chest and he could actually feel his blood coursing madly through his veins. Everything around him faded into a hazy fog, but Chloe shone through like a welcoming beacon, his place of sanctuary.
Chloe’s mind swirled just as dizzily, and she settled for quick shallow breaths as she fell under the spell of Sergei’s bewitching dark eyes. For just a moment, it was the two of them alone in the world as outside noises faded into oblivion and all they could hear was the beat of each other’s hearts. Chloe’s eyes darkened as the whisper of Sergei’s fingertips brushed over her cheeks in a soft caress, his touch sent tiny bubbles rushing through her blood and she couldn’t decide whether to simply melt away or find herself a marathon. How could such a simple touch evoke such opposite feelings? How could one feel like they were filled with enough energy to explode yet perfectly content to slide into oblivion both at the same time? Her mind refused to put a coherent thought together so she simply quit thinking. It was so much better to let someone else do it for her, even if only for this split second.
Chloe’s skin felt like silk beneath Sergei’s fingertips and a deep sigh of pleasure escaped his lips before he could stop it. Never in his life had he ever felt this magical connection to anyone. He gave up trying to understand how this slip of a girl, he’d known most of her life, could bring forth such emotions. It was too hard to think right now, and in all honesty, he didn’t feel like thinking; it was so much better to simply feel. Ebony and sapphire gazes locked, lost in a world of their own, oblivious to everything around them. Time moved a fraction of a second at a time as the two slowly leaned toward each other. Sergei lowered his head as his lips moved towards hers, Chloe raised her chin slightly as she watched his gorgeous mouth beckon to her own. Their breaths blended in shallow puffs, little clouds in the cool air of the ice rink. Chloe’s breath caught and held as Sergei’s lips drew so close she could almost feel their heat; was dying to feel their softness.
“Oh, God, Chloe,” Sergei’s breath whispered against her mouth, his simple words touching her heart as no one ever had.
“Sergei,” she pleaded softly, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks as she closed the space between them.
Their breaths blended as their lips whispered together…
Dani’s scream and the solid thump of a body hitting the ice hard immediately separated the two and they both looked to the ice to find Dani rubbing her bottom as she got to her feet, swearing loud enough to bring down the roof.
Sergei shook his head, both in frustration and at the amusement his sister offered. Running his hands through his hair, he cast a sidelong glance at Chloe, and watched as Chloe’s cheeks blushed a deeper pink at his close scrutiny. Quickly he finished lacing up his other boot and holding out his hand, he asked his partner, “So, you skating today or not?”
Chloe looked at the hand only inches away from her, steady and strong and open in offering, not closed in anger, and best of all, it offered her a way back on to her beloved ice.
Chloe cautiously put her hand in his, her eyes widening as their palms slid across each other’s, surprised at the quick shock of electricity that flared between them. Sergei held his hand open and didn’t close his fingers around hers until she had wrapped her fingers around his palm. For a moment she had sat frozen, watching their hands together, as if waiting for the grip to suddenly become painful. The small frown that appeared between her eyes made him realize it was yet another example of Manning’s torture she had had to live with and he wished him to hell, yet again.
“Well?” Sergei asked patiently
Chloe lifted her eyes from their joined hands and looked into his eyes to find understanding and patience and a calmness she could only hope to attain. Her softly voiced, “Where do we start?” caused a wide smile to break across his beautiful face and with a devilishly sexy look, he offered, “This way, little girl,”
Carefully he helped her to her feet, draping the blanket over the back of the chair and frowned as he noticed her bare toes peeking out the end of the cast. Nudging her back into the seat, and ignoring her questioning look, he pulled an extra pair of socks from his skating bag and slipped both of them on over her cast, hoping the double layer of cloth would keep her toes fairly warm.
Her softly voiced, “Thanks,” and the hesitant smile that accompanied it made his heart skip a beat and he did his best to ignore the emotions that rolled over him again.
“Have you ever seen frozen caterpillars? Nasty things!” he teased lightly and again pulled her to her feet.
Chloe’s breath left her in a whoosh as she found herself suddenly in Sergei’s arms and without even thinking about it, she wrapped one arm around his neck. The warm firm muscles that held her beneath her knees and around her back so effortlessly made her again realize just how strong he really was.
Carefully he settled her in his arms, her light weight barely noticeable, but the warmth of her body and her soft curves reminded him he most definitely held a precious cargo. “Ready?” he asked softly and at her affirmative nod, stepped on to the ice.
“I hope he at least gave you a pair of clean socks to wear!” Dani yelled across the ice at the pair as they slowly made their way around the rink.
“Stuff it!” Sergei yelled back.
Chloe’s light laugh brought Sergei’s attention back to her and their eyes met, only inches apart, “Yeah, I can see how hard you try not to upset her,” she stated, her voice filled with laughter.
“She started it,” Sergei argued.
“So it’s up to you to finish it?”
“Of course!”
“Ahh,”
“What’s ‘
ahh
’ mean?” Sergei growled quietly, lifting one brow in the typically sardonic Rocmanov-male gesture his father had invented.
“Nothing, just ‘ahh’,” Chloe offered, a gentle shrug lifting her shoulders and making the one which rested against his chest graze up and down over the steely muscles of his broad chest. The simple contact suddenly made her tingle all over and her eyes took on a glazed look, her expression dazed.
“Ahh,” Sergei nodded in understanding, having felt the same tingles race through his own body at her gentle gesture. His knowing smile made her blush all over again.
“Oh, hush up!” Chloe demanded, her eyes flashing brightly as she found herself caught up in his teasing. “You’re hopeless,” she stated, shaking her head, a smile curving her full lips.
“You’re wrong–I’m very hopeful,” Sergei stated softly, his voice a study in sensuality, his eyes searching. The gentle squeeze he gave her reaffirmed his words.
Chloe’s smile turned shy and it was almost impossible to pull her gaze from his, but Dani’s headlong charge toward them and her abrupt hockey-stop that sprayed ice particles over her brother’s feet had her screaming in laughter as Sergei abruptly turned and shielded her from Dani’s antics.
Two hours later, the three-some were still on the ice, their laughter bouncing off the high ceiling as Chloe found herself being pushed, at high speed, across the ice in a metal chair, then passed back and forth between Sergei and Dani, much like a hockey puck she reasoned. Her screams carried through the open rafters and echoed loudly in the cold air.
Whittaker and Aleksei walked along the path leading toward the ice house, discussing upcoming skating benefits, plans for expanding the ice rink and just generally chatting when Chloe’s loud screams rent the air. As the two of them charged through the double set of doors together, ready to face whatever–or whoever-was causing Chloe to scream in such distress. They skidded to a halt and watched as Chloe was spun in circles, in the middle of the ice, by Sergei and Dani, her screams turning to laughter as she slowed to a stop.
Whittaker shook his head in disbelief, bending over and resting his hands on his knees as he tried to slow his racing heart. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered breathlessly.
Aleksei wasn’t so subdued, “What in the hell is Chloe doing on the ice?” his deep voice boomed, sounding like thunder in the tall rafters.
The three offenders looked at each other, tried to look suitably contrite and failed miserably when subdued laughs turned into attempts at throat clearing and coughs.