The touch of his tongue sent tremors of pleasure dancing over her skin. How was she supposed to subtly find out whether he knew about a ghostwriter when he was brushing the doughnut against her lips, making the sugar cling to them so he could lick it off?

“Your kisses are always sweet,” he murmured before he sucked on her lower lip. Her body reacted as though his mouth was between her legs, making heat and arousal bloom inside her.

She put her hand on his chest and pushed at the hard, warm surface. “You promised we would work like dogs.”

He put the half-eaten doughnut in his own mouth and chewed slowly before swallowing, his strong throat muscles working. “Drink up your hot chocolate, and then we’ll see how interested you are in keeping our noses to the grindstone.”

His gaze went to the windows again. Allie took one more sip before putting down the mug. “Let’s go outside,” she said. “Fresh air will inspire you.”

“A walk on the beach?” He grinned suddenly. “I have a better idea, but you’ll need to bundle up.”

“Will we be back in time for Pie’s arrival?”

“We’re not leaving the grounds,” he said.

After a quick trip to his bedroom to collect warm clothing, he escorted her through another wing of the house and out a side door, where they followed a winding path through fallow winter gardens. Gavin swung open a gate set into a high, arching hedge and waved her through. His eagerness vibrated in the air between them.

“Are you kidding me?” Allie said, as she took in the huge sheet of perfectly groomed ice spread before them, a hockey goal at each end. “You have your own skating rink?”

“And skates.” He strode toward a small shingled building that sat at the side of the rink. It was stocked with skates in all sizes, hockey sticks, blankets, and a hot-chocolate machine. Sliding glass doors provided a view of the rink as well as the stone patio furnished with lounge chairs and a fire pit. Allie gaped at it all while Gavin rummaged around for skates.

“Does anyone use this except you?” she asked as he handed her a pair of figure skates.

“My guests.” He sat down and looked up at her as he pulled on hockey skates. “The local high school hockey team practices on it when the weather allows, if that makes you feel better.”

She plunked down on the bench beside him. It was weird that his owning a helicopter didn’t shock her, but having a private skating rink seemed like the height of extravagance.

“I played on the hockey team in high school,” he said, lacing his skates with swift efficiency. “It was one of the few frivolities my father allowed. Hockey practice meant I didn’t have to work in his store.”

So he had built this to remind himself of the happy times when he had escaped his father’s grim control.

He secured the laces with a couple of abrupt movements before he straightened. “Skating means freedom to me. Now let’s get your laces tightened.”

Her heart twisted at her imagined picture of a younger Gavin shedding the misery of his loveless home life as he skimmed across the ice, tossing wisecracks at his teammates. Maybe that’s where he’d begun to hone his cutting wit.

She felt his strength when he snugged her skates around her feet and ankles and tied the laces tight. As he leaned forward, she rested her hand on his broad back, savoring the flex of muscles under his jacket and offering comfort to the boy curled inside the man.

He kept a firm grip on her hand as they waddled along the rubber-surfaced walkway to the rink. Once they stepped on the ice, Gavin put his arm around her waist and swept her along beside him over the glassy surface, the powerful strokes of his legs propelling them faster and faster as they circled, their skate blades hissing beneath them. The cold rush of air whipped through her hair while the length of Gavin’s lean, muscled body against her side kept her secure.

It reminded her of the Bellwether Club, where she had been the one supporting him. Here, though, he was letting her lean on his strength.

“Hold on!” he said, speeding around a corner, his thighs pumping as he fought the centrifugal force.

As they hit the straightaway, she threw back her head and laughed, letting all her barriers down.

“You love it, too!” he said.

The boyishness of his excitement made her heart contract before it flooded with warmth. This was the sweetness, the joy, she sensed in him beneath the sarcasm and pain.

As they sped around the next corner, he said, “You move with me perfectly.”

She turned a sly smile up at him. “I’ve had some practice moving with you.”

“You’re playing with fire, my sweet.” He slowed them to a stop and sandwiched her between his body and the side of the rink.

“Two-minute penalty for boarding,” she said just before his mouth came down on hers.

He cradled her head in his hands while he used his weight to keep her body pressed against his. The kiss began as a tease of his lips against hers, a flicker of a touch, but the exhilaration of the skating turned to desire sizzling through her veins, and she pushed into him to feel the heat of his mouth.

“Minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct,” he murmured against her lips before driving his tongue in to meet hers.

Liquid flame licked through her, so she grabbed his arms to bring him even closer. He groaned into her mouth and pushed his thigh between hers, lifting her onto her toe picks, the solid bulge of his rectus femoris muscle hitting exactly where she yearned for it.

“We can’t make love on an ice rink,” she said, even as she panted with the longing to do just that. She wanted to give him everything she was feeling.

“It’s my rink, so we can do anything we want to.” He wedged his thigh farther between her legs, making her gasp outright when the added friction sent a shock of electric delight surging through her.

She giggled. “It’s a medical fact that cold makes it more difficult for certain parts of the male anatomy to function effectively.”

“When you’re around, my anatomy is quite capable of functioning at subzero temperatures,” he said. “However, I’d prefer not to suffer from frostbite, so we’re going where the water is in a softer state.”

Chapter 21

“I’m not going in the ocean!” Allie protested. “Those Polar Bear Club people are crazy.”