Thank god the temperature tonight hovered around forty degrees or her cheeks would betray her internal temperature.
Which was getting way beyond overheated.
“I thought we could eat first and then skate,” Dane said. “I think I’m going to need a little fortification before I make a complete fool out of myself.”
“Sure.”
She looked down the street both ways but saw nothing that resembled a restaurant.
And he kept walking toward the rink.
When she looked up at him with a question in her eyes, he smiled.
“I found out about this place when one of our local papers did a feature on the chef here. She used to run a four-star restaurant in Paris before she moved to Philadelphia for a job at one of the hotels, but she was fired when her drug habit got out of hand. She got arrested in a sweep for possession and intent to purchase. She did community service in the neighborhood at the Boys and Girls Club, teaching cooking classes to the kids. One day, one of the kids told her she should apply for a job at the rink because they’d just lost their cook and she made really good grilled cheese and the kids all loved her.”
“Do you know her personally?”
Dane nodded. “I’ve met her a few times. She’s a cross between Julia Child and . . . that woman who cooks on TV and can’t talk without her hands. I can’t think of her name. Anyway, I’ll introduce you. You’ll like her. She’s one of a kind.”
Obviously Dane liked her. He had a fond smile on his face while he talked about her, and Talia had a moment to wonder if that tight feeling in her chest really was jealousy.
Then she dismissed the thought out of hand because if she didn’t, she might have to admit something she wasn’t sure she wanted to even consider.
Then Dane opened the door and the smell hit her.
She took a deep breath. God, there really was nothing like the smell of a roller rink.
If you’d never been in one, it’d be difficult to describe. Old leather and well-worn wood and rubber and popcorn.
The aroma skated the line of being offensive, but for someone who’d spent hours upon hours in a rink, it smelled like the next best thing to being home.
The inside of the building was huge and the rink took up only half of the space. A wall with several openings separated the rink in the back from the front half of the building.
In the front, the food counter ran along one side, the skate rental area was on the other, and between them, mismatched tables and chairs covered the rest of the open area interspersed with benches to put on your skates.
They stopped at the lockers along the front, where Dane stowed their coats and her purse, then led her to the food counter.
“Oh, my god, the menu’s huge,” she commented when they stopped just beyond the counter. “And it has lobster mac and cheese on it.”
“Which is fantastic, but personally I like the cheesesteaks. Not traditional at all, but they’re fucking amazing.”
She laughed at the fanboy awe in his tone, and they agreed to order both so they could share, along with a couple of locally brewed root beers.
As they sat and waited for their orders to be delivered, she propped her hand on her chin and stared at him.
“This isn’t exactly what I expected tonight,” she admitted. “When you said casual, I figured you meant sports bar and a basketball game or something like that.”
Resting his arms on the table, he shook his head. “I could have, but I wasn’t sure if you liked hockey. I’m not a big basketball fan, but I’m a lifelong Flyers fan. They’re not in town tonight, but they will be later this week. I can get us tickets.”
There was a hint of a question in his voice, but not much, and Talia wasn’t sure she should let him get away with planning out more dates than she’d agreed to. But there was something about Dane that made her want to agree.
“Let me check my schedule. I’m not sure when I might be able to fit that in.”
He didn’t look at all put off by her hesitation. “No problem. They play Saturday and Sunday. We’ve got season tickets but I’m the only one who uses them regularly.”
“So you’re a hockey fan?”
“Played a little in high school and college but never really had the time or the inclination to take it any further. So tell me how you got into Roller Derby. Have you ever been to this rink before?”
“I’ve never been here, no. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this place so they probably have never had a team. There aren’t that many teams around anymore. It’s not a hugely popular sport.”
“So how did you get into it?”
Ah, tricky subject. “After my mom moved my brother and me to Adamstown to live with my grandparents, I was . . . kind of angry. My dad had left”—huge understatement—“and my mom cried a lot and my brother was getting picked on all the time.”
She didn’t mention the death threats or the slashed tires or how many times their front door had been egged or spray painted or had other, grosser things thrown at it before they’d left Kentucky.
“Sounds like it was a bad time.”
A bitter smile curved her lips. Bad didn’t cover it. “It was. Still, lots of kids’ parents split up and they get through it. We did. But my mom thought I needed a hobby. I saw a flyer at the school for a Roller Derby exhibition at a rink about twenty minutes from our house. Since I was pretty much a raging bitch at the time, I figured my mom would never agree to me being in Roller Derby. But she caved, and I was hooked after the first practice.”
Talia looked around the space with appreciation. “This is such a great place,” she said.
“It’s pretty much a community effort. The building was an abandoned warehouse that was attracting lowlifes and criminals until a few of the neighborhood parents banded together to get the building donated to the local community group. With donations from local businesses and a few grants, they were able to put this place together. They started a foundation to run it. Then Estella took over the kitchen and people started to come here just to eat, and things kind of snowballed. The kitchen funds most of the expenses now and the neighborhood kids have a safe place to skate.”
Their dinners arrived then, and the next two hours were the most fun Talia had had with a man. Ever. Okay, maybe they were a close second to the hours she’d spent in bed with Dane.
And maybe they’d take a backseat to the hours she might spend in bed with Dane tonight.
When it was time to put on skates, she started to smile the second she stood and felt those eight wheels beneath her feet.
The sense of motion was like nothing else she knew.
Standing, she pushed off toward the rink then back to find Dane on his feet, looking pretty steady.
“I thought you told me you didn’t skate very much?”
He smiled. “I said it wouldn’t be pretty. I’m more used to roller blades. Played roller hockey in college for a few years. These skates seem like they should be more stable because you have four wheels each, but it takes some getting used to.”
Yeah, it did. But Talia wasn’t thinking about skating at the moment. She was thinking how she was getting used to him. How easy it was. How easy he made it.
“Come on, Dane. I’ll hold your hand. But if you fall, you’re on your own.”
“I won’t drag you down with me, sweetheart. Trust me, I don’t want to bruise any part of that gorgeous body.”
Just that easily, he made her breath catch and her body flush with heat. And she wanted so badly to tease him back.
So, pushing off from the wall, she turned and smiled at him, a hint of exactly what she was feeling, and encouraged him to chase her.
And he did.
***
“I don’t think my ass is ever going to be the same. Jesus, I must be getting old.”
From the passenger seat of his car, Talia laughed, the sound making his cock harden, even though the pain running down his flank made him wince.
“You did go down pretty hard, but you were doing really well up until then.”
“Says the woman who didn’t fall once.”
She shrugged, her expression haughty and fucking hot. “What can I say? I’m just that good.”
“Yes, you are.”
He knew she understood his double entendre because she blushed. Even though it was too dark in the car for him to see it, he knew she was. He could tell by the way she glanced away and then back again.
“So can I take you out for a drink?” The rink didn’t serve alcohol and Dane didn’t want the night to end yet. “We can go to the hotel bar, or tell me what you’re in the mood for and we’ll find a place.”
She hesitated, as if weighing her options. Had he pushed for too much, too fast?
“Would you like to come up to my room for a drink? A bar stool probably wouldn’t feel too great on your abused backside right now.”
“I’ll be sure to thank you for that tomorrow morning.” Hopefully after spending the night in her bed again. Which he was smart enough not to say out loud. “And the bruises were worth it if you had fun.”
Her lips curved again. “I did. I miss skating. Thank you for tonight, Dane. I had a great time.”
“I’m glad.” He reached for her hand resting on her leg and lifted it to his mouth to press a kiss against the inside of her wrist.
It was an unconscious gesture but one that felt right. Especially when she shivered but didn’t pull away. Her skin felt soft against his lips and her scent made him want to brush the hair away from her neck and bury his nose there.
Christ, if he didn’t watch it, he’d wind up a love-struck fool like Jed. And Tyler. And Greg.
Holy hell, his friends were dropping like flies. And if he wasn’t careful, he’d end up just like them.
Or maybe he’d just be very, very lucky.
They made the rest of the drive to Haven in silence, which didn’t have a chance to get awkward because they were only minutes away.
They took the elevator to her floor and Dane fought the urge to pin her against the elevator wall and kiss her until she melted against him.
He realized he wasn’t used to this sense of vague insecurity creeping into his gut. Especially not when it came to women.
He’d always been good with women. He knew what to say to them, how to get them to smile or laugh or fall into his bed.
He was especially good at getting them to cry out his name when he fucked them.
Talia made him work for every sigh. And damn, that made him so fucking hot.
But he’d already told himself not to push her because she’d run.
He had no idea why. His rudimentary background search had turned up her Roller Derby past, the fact that her mom had moved here with her and her younger brother when she was younger, and where she’d gone to high school and college.
He hadn’t dug any deeper because he’d felt it would be a breach of privacy. And frankly, he wanted her to tell him. Wanted her to talk to him. Wanted to find out everything there was to know about her.
This was new territory for Dane, and he loved new experiences. It was one of the reasons he and Jared had started the Salon.
And thinking of the Salon made him that much more determined to get to know her better. Because he wanted to invite her into the Salon.
When they reached her floor, she huffed out a quiet laugh. “I feel like I’ve been staying here so much I should just take out a lease.”
“Are you getting a lot of work in the city?” He followed her down the hall, realizing this was the same room she’d stayed in before.
“I am, actually. More than I expected.” She pushed open the door and stepped inside, waited until he walked through, then closed the door behind him. “Since it’s just me, I thought I’d have trouble getting my name out there, but a lot of people are looking for a smaller operation, which means a lower price tag.”
“And the fact that you do an amazing job doesn’t hurt.”
She turned to flash him a smile over her shoulder as she headed for the kitchenette, but he saw nerves in her expression.
Was she nervous? Or just anxious? Did she expect him to drag her off to the bedroom and ravage her?
While that sounded like a hell of a good idea, he still didn’t have a good enough read on her to do it. And that only made him more determined to find out all he could.
“Thank you. It helps that I really do love what I do.”
He followed her, stopping on the other side of the breakfast bar. “Were you in charge of the bachelorette party, as well?”
She pulled out a bottle of wine from the fridge and held it up. He barely glanced at it before he nodded. He didn’t care if she held up a bottle of Wild Turkey. He’d drink it because she gave it to him.
“Actually, Kate handled most of that. We’re spending the night at the retreat. Manis, pedis, personal chef, massages. I cannot wait. What about the boys . . . what are you doing?”
“Nothing half as exciting. No strippers. We’ll be at Haven. We hired a dealer. Jed likes poker, so we’re playing poker.”
She handed him a glass of wine. “Sounds like you don’t like to play.”
“Actually, I love to play. Just not with cards.”
He loved the paleness of her skin. She couldn’t hide a flush of heat to save her soul. And he loved how her gaze dipped for a second, as if she could hide what she was thinking.
But she couldn’t.
The heat in her cheeks reflected the heat in her gaze, and he heard her breath catch.
“And what do you like to play?”
“Do I really have to answer that question?”
She shook her head but he wanted to hear her voice, so he figured now was the time to test the limits. Or, at the very least, push at them a little.
“Talia. Say it. Do I have to answer that question?”
She didn’t say a word but her eyes opened wide at the commanding tone in his voice, and he very nearly cursed himself out loud for forcing the issue.
The heat in her cheeks could be either arousal or anger and he so hoped it was the first. Because if it wasn’t, he could lose her right now.
A split second later, her gaze latched onto his. “No, you don’t.”
Fuck.
There it was. That combination of submission and defiance that made him harder than a damn fencepost.
“Tell me, Talia. What do I like to play?”
Come on, baby. Don’t back down on me now.