“Hmm… I can see my trainee has been practicing.”
“What if I have?” Steven asked, even doing a little fancy footwork.
“You better be careful that your teammates don’t catch you ice skating.”
“It’s worth the risk.” He skated in front of me, spinning in a circle then doing a little fancier footwork.
I’d be damned if he didn’t take me into his arms and suddenly, we were ice dancers, moving around the perimeter of the ice as if we owned it. When he held my hand, skating away from me, I dipped into a backwards arch. His control in spinning me was as if he’d been trained to do this.
The moment was amazing. He lifted me seconds later, pulling me against him. We slowed while he held me, the look in his eyes carnivorous.
Then he dropped to his knees, holding me in place.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small box. “I should have done this weeks ago.”
I backed away by a foot, startled he’d chosen this moment to give me a ring. “What are you doing?”
“Christine Carrington, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
With a frown, I tapped my lips. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“That when we’re finished, you’ll shift for me.”
“Here?”
Shrugging, I glanced around the arena. “Why not here?”
“You’re a slave driver.”
I gave him a lust-filled look, leaning over and whispering all the naughty things I would do with him tonight if he was a good boy.
Steven whistled. “Here is just fine by me.”
As he placed the ring on my hand, a series of tiny shudders rolled through me. We were no different, the two of us. We wanted joy and love in our lives, willing to sacrifice to make that happen. It didn’t matter that he was a shifter or that I wasn’t.
And it shouldn’t to anyone. Love was love no matter who you chose to be the only person in your life. For me, that person was a wolf, a man with a heart of gold and a wicked personality.
“I also have a surprise for you.” He pulled away, giving me one of those mischievous looks that meant he’d been up to something.
“This isn’t enough?” I asked before noticing two people standing just off the ice.
“Go,” he commanded.
“This time I’ll follow your rules,” I told him.
“You’ll learn.”
His smirk pushed me toward the two people, one a stiff looking older man. “Can I help you?”
“You’re Christine Carrington?” the woman asked.
“Yes, I am.”
“I’m Elle Barker with the Tampa Bay Gymnastics Team. We’re very impressed with your skating and would like to offer you a position on our team. Now, we’re up and coming, but I think you’ll make an excellent addition and with any luck, you could be at the nationals within a year.”
“What? You’re kidding me.”
