Heat it Up: Off the Ice - Book One (19 page)

I kiss my way to her perfect rose-colored nipple, hard and ready for me to savor. I tease it with my tongue, drawing tight circles around it. Then I close my lips around it and alternate between sucking and nipping it with my teeth. Sofia gasps. Her fingers trace the same circles in my hair that I drew with my tongue against her breast.

Needing to touch more of her, I let my hand wander over her body. She giggles and squirms as I hit her ticklish spots, and I mentally catalogue them for when I’m not about to make a claim on her. I switch to her other breast and tease it like I did the first. My fingers skim along her body, across her smooth stomach, and down to my favorite spot—between her legs. I slide my fingers between her folds, slick with need. “God, babe, you feel so good. So ready for me.” I dip a finger in and press it against her heated lining, then pull it out and rub it against her clit. “Do you feel how wet you are, how ready you are for me?” I growl, returning to her mouth.

Sofia whimpers and I pinch her clit. Her whimper turns into an erotic moan against my lips that pushes me further to the edge and promises me a free fall to rival all others.

I’ve had sex with many girls. I’m not ashamed to admit it. But sex with all those one-night stands is nothing like sex with Sofia. Maybe there’s something to be said about our relationship. It’s not just about sex.

It’s about friendship and trust.

And that makes a huge difference.

Sofia wraps her hand around my dick and squeezes lightly. I suck in a breath and will myself not to come in her hand like an inexperienced fifteen-year-old. Her grip slips up to the head and she runs her thumb around the tip, and all my plans for what I want to do her body check the wall. I pull away and spread her knees apart before shifting so I’m kneeling between them. With her eyes dark and hooded, her blond hair fanned around her head, she watches me, curious what I’m going to do next.

“God, you look so beautiful,” I husk. “I want you to watch me. I want you to see how much you affect me.” That should push aside any of her doubts about what she does to me.

She nods, her eyes darker pools than before, not at all embarrassed by my words. If anything, she’s more turned on, and I didn’t think it was possible. I slip on a condom from the night table and hoist her legs onto my shoulders. Her eyes widen.

I plunge deep into her and she moans that erotic sound of hers that has me almost coming. I still for a moment, doing my best not to close my eyes. I want to see her as much as I want her to see me.

I press my thumb against her clit. She bucks against me, letting out another sexy sound.

“Oh God, Kyle! I want you to…to fuck me…Now.”

I pull out slightly and slam back into her. I swirl my thumb over the delicate tissue and slam back into her again. I continue the pattern until I’m certain we’re both close to coming, then I pick up the pace until Sofia’s softness grips tightly around me and she lets out a satisfied, “Oh, God, yes!” I wouldn’t be surprised if the people in the next cottage heard her even over the storm.

That’s the last thought I have before I come, and a guttural sound falls from my lips.

Once the intense tidal wave has crashed through me and some level of coherency returns, I remove her legs from my shoulders and lower them onto the bed, then remove the condom and collapse next to her. I pull her to me and whisper in her hair, “You’re mine now and only mine.” The words slip out so naturally even though they aren’t technically true. Our friends-with-benefits arrangement doesn’t make her mine.

Not even close.

“And you’re mine,” Sophia murmurs sleepily before drifting off to sleep.

I watch her, purposefully ignoring the slight thrill her words gave me.

Normally after I finish work on Mondays, I head to the sports center to work out, have a sauna, then spend time with Sofia. But because she’s working in the physical therapy clinic this week, I won’t get to spend time with her until the weekend.

I contemplate dropping into the clinic to check on her, but that’s the last thing she needs. So, I spend longer in the sauna than I normally would and head back to the apartment.

“
Hei
,” Nik says from the couch, a beer in his hand. The TV is on, with what looks like an American soap opera I’ve seen Mom watch from time to time. I’ve never seen Nik watch it before. “You want to go out tonight?” he asks. “I need a drink and some action.”

“Sure,” I say even though I shouldn’t. I haven’t been out since the first night I went down on Sofia. I’ve been too busy hanging out with her. But Nik really does look like he needs something. “You okay?”

“Nothing getting laid won’t cure.” He finishes his beer and gets up to leave.

We enter the sports bar and no sooner than we sit down, the waitress appears at our table. We order beers and she leaves, with Nik studying her ass as she walks away. I check out the menu. Nik does the same once the waitress is out of sight. A soccer match plays on the large screen TVs throughout the place. Unlike most of the patrons here, we don’t bother watching it. It’s just background noise for us.

The waitress returns a few minutes later with our drinks. As she places the beers on the table, she leans over, flashing her ample cleavage from above the low cut t-shirt. Nik practically drools on the table.

“Would you like anything else?” she asks, making eye contact with each of us in turn. We tell her our orders. I expect her to leave but she doesn’t. “Where in America are you from?”

“Minneapolis,” I say.

She nods. “You’re Nikolas Tikkanen, aren’t you?” she asks Nik.

“Depends if that’s a good thing or not.” But he says it in a tone suggesting ‘your place or mine?’

She giggles. The sound is nothing like when Sofia laughs. It reminds me of a hyena. “It’s a good thing.” She looks me over. “You play for the Bears too, no?”

I open my mouth to answer but Nik beats me to it. “One of the best on the team.”

I don’t bother to correct him. There’s no point.

She leaves to put in our order and I gulp back some beer. A few minutes later, it’s no longer just Nik and I at the table. Two other girls join us. Like the waitress, they’re pretty with large tits and tight, low-cut t-shirts. Typically, I don’t care either way about breast size. Small, medium, large, they’re all good. But for some reason my mind goes to Sofia and her perfect tits.

I chug back more beer as cheers break out throughout the bar.

“Are you in Helsinki for long?” Taala, the brunette, asks me. Laina is busy talking to Nik.

“Till the end of the month.”

That makes Taala happy. She scoots closer to me and leans in as the waitress returns with the food. Before Taala can get close enough to touch me, the waitress’s arm shoots between us and she lowers my plate onto the table. Her hip nudges Taala away from me in a move that’s clearly intentional. I do my best not to laugh.

She places Nik’s plate in front of him and asks if we need anything else. Nik and I order more beer. Taala’s and Laina’s glasses are still full. They excuse themselves for the bathroom.

I check the time on my phone. Sofia should be getting off her job anytime now. I text her:
How did your 1st day in clinic go?

She responds a minute later.
Loved it! Much more fun than cleaning toilets.
I laugh. Just about anything is more fun than cleaning toilets.

I type:
You want to come over?

Have to pass. Need to go to bed
.

This doesn’t surprise me. I dropped Sofia off at her grandmother’s apartment around midnight last night, after we spent most of the day on the island. It wasn’t until early evening that the lake calmed down enough for us to return to the mainland.

Sweet dreams. Talk to you later.

Good night. :)

I slip the phone back in my jean’s pocket as Taala and Laina return. The bar is busier now even though it’s Monday night. Busier and hotter.

Fortunately, the beer isn’t hot. It’s refreshing and cool. And before I realize it, Nik and I have had several more rounds. Taala talks but I can’t hear her over the noise of cheering soccer fans.

She leans closer to me, but she doesn’t repeat what she said. Her hand moves to my thigh. Nik and the blond have been making out for the past hour, and don’t look like they plan to stop any time soon. His hand is on her tit and it doesn’t take much imagination to know what will happen between them soon. The question is will it be her place or ours?

Taala’s hand isn’t content where it is, and she traces her fingers up my leg until her hand cups my package. Any other time this wouldn’t be an issue, but now that Sofia and I have progressed to friends with benefits, I have no idea what the boundaries are. If she was my girlfriend, touching, kissing, sex would all be off limits. But what are the rules when it comes to friends with benefits?

The one thing I do know as Taala’s tongue invades my mouth is her kisses do nothing for me. They’re nothing like Sofia’s kisses.

I pull away and remove her hand from my crotch. It doesn’t matter what the rules are when it comes to friends with benefits and screwing other women, I’m not into Taala. I make a big deal about checking the time on my phone. “Looks like it’s time for me to call it a night,” I tell everyone at the table. From the way Nik and Laina are going at it, they either didn’t hear me, or didn’t care, or all of the above.

Taala pouts, which doesn’t look half as adorable as when Sofia does it. “I can come with you if you want.”

I fake a yawn. “Sorry, I have to get up early for work.” Nik doesn’t help my case since the women know we work together. I can see it in Taala’s eyes as she looks over at him and her friend.

I indicate to the waitress that I want to settle my bill. She returns a few minutes later. I pay her and say goodbye to everyone at the table. Still in a lip lock with Laina, Nik waves. I push myself up from my chair. It’s only then that I notice someone who looks like a blurry Joni. Shit, I’m more tired and drunk than I realized.

Except this blurry Joni is glaring at me in the same way I’ve caught the original doing.

Ignoring the warning bells in my head, I leave the bar and walk home.

I’m an idiot.

The pounding in my head fully agrees with that assessment. I should have known better when I went out with Nik last night. I thought I could handle it.

I was wrong.

But at least I’ve had more sleep than Nik, who looks like shit. Luckily he went to Laina’s apartment last night instead of bringing her to our place.

“Okay, guys,” I say to the boys after they’ve warmed up on the soccer field, “new coordination drill.” I get everyone to partner off and grab a tennis ball. “Stand next to your partner, and toss the tennis ball back and forth between you.”

They glance around, wondering if they’re missing something. This drill is easy. I’m not known for easy drills. I let them practice for a few minutes. “All right. Now you’ll do the same drill, but this time you’ll run while tossing the ball back and forth to your partner.”

The best part about being the coach is I don’t have to demonstrate the skills. Especially ones like this. Which is a good thing given Nik’s state. Okay, my pounding head wouldn’t have appreciated it either, but I would’ve lived.

The boys get to work. I chuckle to myself at their missed attempts, but one of the best parts about the drill is that the boys have to learn to work together. It’s not about screwing up the other person so you can win.

They continue the drill for a few more minutes. Once they’re finished, Nik gets them to form two lines. I ask Kai to help me demonstrate the drill. I suspect my reaction time is currently a lot sharper than Nik’s.

I have Kai hold the clear plastic ruler at the top. I place my hand so the ruler is between my thumb and index finger, but they’re not touching it. “Drop it whenever you want and I’ll catch it.”

Kai does exactly that, and I quickly bring my finger and thumb together, effortlessly gripping the ruler. I calculate the distance between where my hand started and where I caught the ruler. I’ve done better, but it’s been a while since I’ve performed the drill.

“During a game, you need to pay attention to so many different things. The puck. Your teammates. The opposition. The blue lines. The faster you can react to the appropriate stimuli, the better. We’ll be working on that for the rest of the month. But first, Nik and I will measure your reaction times, so we have a before and after picture of your progress.”

Nik translates for those who didn’t quite get what I was explaining, then we proceed with the test. Afterward, I have the boys line up on the sideline and give them each a euro.

“Extend your arms with the coin clenched in your hand.” I demonstrate and drop the coin. Then catch it. “The goal is to catch it before it hits the ground.”

By the time the morning training session is over, I don’t feel so drained and sluggish, and my brain is no longer pounding. Thank God for that.

The boys head to their summer school classes, and I finally have a chance to check my emails. First, I send Sofia a text.

Thinking about you
.

Which is true. While the boys were busy with the drills this morning, I thought about her—and about how she feels with her legs wrapped around me.

Refocusing my thoughts, I read my family’s emails. My original plan of coming to Finland for a break from their watchful eye hasn’t worked nearly as well as I had hoped. Mom’s email involves the usual mom questions. Am I getting enough sleep? Am I eating well? All the standard crap. I email her back and tell her the abbreviated PG version of what I’ve been up to. I haven’t mentioned Sofia to her and I’m not about to start.

Next is my father. He’s as subtle as a pissed off bull in a china shop. He tells me about a junior level marketing job I should apply for. “Great,” I mutter, “if I’m interested in gardening supplies.”

I avoid mentioning the two positions I did apply for. There’s no point saying anything about them. I’m not the only qualified candidate, and I’m up against candidates who are more qualified than I am. Plus, I don’t want to risk him saying anything to Mom and Cody.