Pinkie Promise (Carter Ridge Book 1)

Experiencing the ice for the first time with Fallon in her new boots is the cutest thing I’ve ever felt in my life.

It’s winter and it’s a Saturday so there are a decent amount of skaters at the rink, but I’m so focused on easing Fallon into this that I don’t notice the families moving around us.

I step onto the ice and spin on my blade to face her, holding out both of my hands so that I can keep a hold of her as she takes her first steps.

As soon as the tip of her blade touches the ice she immediately pulls her leg back up, squealing nervously.

I laugh and give her a little tug. “Baby, I’ve got you. Get your little ass over here.”

She lets out a shaky breath as she hesitantly slides one boot onto the rink, and when she’s got both of her feet on the ice I pull her easily against my chest.

She slides the one-foot of distance between us and nibbles at her lip.

“I don’t think that I’m going to be able to move my legs,” she admits on a nervous whisper, her brow pinched in pain as she looks down at her new boots. “How the hell do you do this every week?”

I begin slowly skating backwards, still holding her up against my body, and her fingers dig hard into the sides of my throat, securing herself.

Jesus Christ. I love it when she’s rough with me.

“It’s your first time on the ice,” I say hoarsely, my voice coming out lower than I was expecting it to.

From the look that Fallon flashes me it came out lower than she was expecting too.

“We’re getting you used to the feel of it, baby. We don’t need you to be doing triple-spins and split-kicks. You’re riding with me today.”

Unable to resist, I move my hands to her waist and turn her gently underneath my palms. She lets out a little gasp that has me wishing we were alone on the ice because, if that was the case, my hands would definitely be climbing higher.

I press her back up against my front and settle my chin onto her shoulder. I nudge her pretty boot with my big one and she breathes out a nervous laugh as she takes in the size difference.

“Bend your knees,” I murmur.

Her body shivers at the command.

“I don’t think that we’re supposed to do this on the ice,” she whispers back to me. “It’s a family place.”

I grin and tug at her earlobe with my teeth.

“You gonna be difficult?” I ask her, rubbing my thumbs into her back. The naughty smile on her lips tells me everything that I need to know. “Fine.”

I slide my hands down to her hips and push firmly, making her breathing hitch as I settle her into a slight squat position. My dick is wedged right against her ass, making my chest heave like a motherfucker as her body presses against mine.

“Now lean to the side on your blades,” I rasp. “I’ll move with you.”

“Which way?” she asks breathlessly.

“Either.”

She hesitates for a moment before crouching a little lower, and tightening her body as she leans infinitesimally to her right.

My voice comes out in a gravel scrape, too damn aware of how taut her body is under my palms. “Good. Do the other side.”

She slowly leans her bodyweight over to her left and I press myself up behind her, following her movements.

“Now we’re gonna go back to the centre and you’re gonna kick your blade off of the ice like you’re trying to pedal. Just a soft kick that’ll carry you a couple of feet forward. You’re light as fuck so you don’t need to do it too rough.”

We can save all the rough stuff for when we’re off the ice.

“Okay,” she breathes, realigning her body so that she’s almost standing fully upright. The only difference now is the slight bend in her knees. I keep my hands on her hips as she lifts her arms to balance herself and then she kicks slightly on her blade, scooching forward about half a centimetre.

I can’t help but laugh, pressing a kiss against her cool cheek. “Harder, baby.”

Her body shudders against my torso and my grip on her hips becomes a little less gentlemanly.

She kicks her foot slightly harder and this time she’s really moving.

“Keep doing that, baby. Both sides,” I tell her, even though she’s doing it naturally, only wobbling when she glances back at me over her shoulder. I can tell that she’s got this on lock, her core cheerleader strength meaning that her balance is unbelievable, but I keep my hands on her anyway for purely selfish reasons.

I don’t need to hold a squat to skate so I stand to my full height and move my hands just beneath her arms. She has both of them slightly extended and she’s kicking harder and faster, a pink blush nipping the tip of her nose. My digits are only a millimetre away from brushing over her breasts meaning that, out of the two of us, I’m the one who’s breathing unevenly.

“Fallon,” I murmur, gripping my fingers harder into her flesh.

She turns in a spin that I didn’t even teach her and she beams up at me, glowing with adrenaline.

“This is wild,” she says excitedly, somehow naturally skating backwards.

I roam my hands down over her ass and pull her flush up against my body. “You’re real good, baby. You’re a total natural.”

Her eyes sparkle and she squirms a little, preening.

“No way,” she says, lowering her lashes, even though I know she knows that she’s killing it.

We skate the rink for a good half an hour, Fallon anxiously pushing back against me when I press my arousal into her behind. I scrape my stubble up and down the side of her throat and she tenderly places her hands over mine. Her icy cold fingers have me holding her tighter against my chest, wanting to warm her up from the outside in.

By the time that we get back to the truck I really can’t get my hands off of her.

I wait until I’ve pulled up outside of her condo but, once we’re parked up, I can’t take it anymore. We can’t even climb into the back because I have all of my shit back there – all of the stuff I took home over the winter break that I’m now taking back to the hockey house.

I need her on me, her heat teasing my cock as she straddles my lap, riding my body like she goddamn owns me.

I know that she’s not about to let me have her for the first time in the front of my truck but I get her wrapped up in my arms anyway, leaning over the stick-shift and dipping down to take her lips with mine.

I kiss her slow and gentle, easing my tongue inside of her, and her little whimper is so sexy that I grunt straight into her mouth.

She’s squirming on her seat, kneeling to get better access to me, and it’s damned impossible to stop my hands from travelling past where I should be keeping them.

“Got an away game next week,” I murmur as I kiss my way down her neck. She leashes her fingers through my hair, tugging harder than I expected. I smirk into her skin and palm roughly at her ass. “You’re coming.”

I look up at her from my position in front of her breasts and I smile as she blinks down at me with dialled-out pupils.

“For an away game?” she asks, surprised and breathless. “Are you sure? How would I even get there?”

“There’s a bus.”

“For the team,” she says, glancing around like she’s about to be arrested.

I huff out a laugh and lean back up over her. “Sometimes we hire one for Carter U supporters. This is one of those games.” I decide not to add why this particular game warrants more significance.

“How much is it?” she asks quietly, looking sideways with a pink expression.

Something fractures in my chest.

I open up the glove compartment and pull out the slip for the coach. She chews on her lip as I tell her, “It’s on the house, baby.”

“How much was it?” she rephrases, looking up at me with those big eyes, staring nervously like she thinks she owes me something.

“Nothing, Fallon. Don’t even think about it.” It was forty-five dollars and it doesn’t merit a conversation.

She narrows her eyes on me, like she thinks she’s going to get me to confess. I decide to give her something else to help her understand where I’m coming from, as vaguely as I can.

“It’s not a significant game for the new players on the team, but I’d like you to be there,” I rasp.

My voice turns rough when her breasts brush against my chest. I swipe my tongue over my lower lip and let my gaze drop.

Those curves are so pretty my mind momentarily stills, the need to get my hands on her making my whole body turn rigid.

Just one touch, one handful. I’ve felt them before, but it was too damn long ago. I need a reminder of that fullness so that I have something to focus on tonight, when I brace my arm against the wall and fuck my fist in the shower.

“Will I have to stay over?” she asks, bringing me back to the present.

I make a gruff sound and quickly rub my palm over the swell in my jeans. “Don’t have to if you don’t want. The team’s got a whole motel booked but…” I glance away from her for a second, not wanting to tell her what I had in mind.

I’ll sort out the accommodations that I want us to stay in, but whether or not it ends up happening isn’t up to me. It’s up to Fallon. And I don’t want to freak her out by coming across as way too forward.

“Do you want me to?” she presses, settling down on her knees.

“Yeah,” I grunt, meeting her eyes. I want her beside me in every bed that I sleep in.

She nods up at me and then bites back a smile as she leashes her forearms around my neck, dragging me down so that we can kiss again. It sets off a fucking red diesel engine in my abdomen.

“That a yes?” I ask, squeezing her ass like she’s my damn property.

“Yeah,” she pants, laughing breathily when I groan.

I know exactly what she’s thinking. I can tell from the way that she’s letting me make out with her so damn dirty. She’s moaning into every tangle of my tongue, rubbing herself up against my hard and heaving pecs.

She’s telling me that she hasn’t forgotten our deal from December.

She’s telling me that, whereas the last semester was spent focusing on school, we’re going to spend the rest of the winter getting triple-figure Fahrenheit hot.