Lahat ng Kabanata ng Breaking The Ice Between Us : Kabanata 81 - Kabanata 90

James leaned in, his chin resting on his palm like he’d been waiting for some sort of drama. “Who’s that?”I held up the screen for him to see, the name COACH bold and annoyingly judgmental.“The coach,” I muttered, already feeling the buzz of alcohol begin to evaporate. “Didn’t know the fuck he wants to nag about now.”James chuckled, lifting his glass. “Maybe he wants to congratulate you for finally learning to pass the puck.”I flipped him off without looking. “That was one goddamn time.”“You screamed at a freshman,” he reminded me. “In practice.”“He skated into me!”“He skated past you.”“Aggressively.”James just snorted and waved a hand, like he was done trying to convince me I was the problem. I stared at my phone again. The damn thing was still ringing, vibrating on the sticky bar table like it was trying to rattle out of existence.“You gonna pick up?” James asked.I stared at it for another second. My instincts screamed to ignore it. I was in a good mood. I’d just spent th

I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t fucking sit still either. My head was spinning, my skin buzzing like I’d just walked through a goddamn thundercloud. That voice on the phone—it shouldn’t have meant anything. It was just a phone call. But no, my brain had to go full meltdown the second I heard “Richard Stone” said in that clipped, cold voice only cops ever fucking have. Richard Stone. Even thinking the name made my stomach turn. I hadn’t heard it in a while. Not unless it was court-related mail or my fucking landlord trying to be formal. Everyone else in my life called me Captain. It was easier that way. Cleaner. Safer. The old name carried too much. It was the name attached to things I’d buried, mistakes I’d made with people who should’ve never had that kind of power over me.Yeah, I had terrible friends growing up. Real charming assholes. The type that smiled at you while setting your shit on fire behind your back. Got me in trouble more times than I could count. Put me in situat

ANDREW ~ “Richard Stone,” Mason said, leaning against the wall of my studio apartment, arms crossed like he’d been holding onto that name for days. I paused halfway through lacing up my shoes, one knee braced against the bench I dragged in from the corner. “Who?” “That’s the name,” he repeated, slower this time, like he was letting it settle in. “That’s the person who’ll lead us to the people responsible for your mother’s accident.” I blinked at him. “Richard Stone.” I tested the name in my head, hoping it would click somewhere. It didn’t. “Never heard of him.” “Yeah, you wouldn’t have,” Mason muttered. “He kept himself clean. No major records, no accidents under his name. But after I started digging… it led me right to him.” I exhaled slowly, brows pulling together. My fingers, still wrapped around my shoe laces, stilled as I leaned back and looked at him. “Mason… what are you talking about? I thought this was just a random guy who ran a light.” “That's what we all thought,”

His hands found my sides, fingers curling into the hem of my hoodie like he needed to anchor himself there. I gasped into his mouth, and that seemed to spur him on, because the next second he was pulling me closer—flush against him.I froze for a beat. The cold brick wall behind me met the heat of his body against mine, and it was overwhelming in the worst and best way. My brain stuttered. My hands, dumb and unsure, grabbed at his jacket, trying to keep up.His kisses weren’t soft.Far from it.They were hungry, pressed with purpose, like he was trying to say something without speaking at all. My lips parted beneath his, and I swear I forgot how to breathe properly.Captain’s hand slid up the side of my neck, thumb brushing under my jaw, and I shivered so hard I thought my knees would buckle.How the hell did I get here?We were in a public lot. Behind the rink. I still smelled like sweat and ice and sports tape. My heart was threatening to jackhammer its way out of my chest, and I co

“You brought me here, Captain,” I said, arms still folded loosely across my chest, trying not to let my nerves leak out into the air between us.He chuckled under his breath—deep, quiet, and way too attractive for my peace of mind.“I did that, didn’t I?” he breathed out, voice dropping just a little lower. Just enough to send a ripple across my skin.He stepped forward.I instinctively took a half-step back, hitting the edge of the wall beside the front door, nowhere left to retreat. My breath caught as his hands found my hips, thumbs brushing just beneath the hem of my hoodie.Then he dragged me closer, chest to chest, our noses barely an inch apart.And he kissed me.Not with the heat and desperation from earlier—but slower. Firmer. Like he had all the time in the world and wanted to savor every second.His lips were warm. Confident. The kind of kiss that unraveled you gradually, not all at once.I sighed into it before I could stop myself, my hands instinctively finding the edges