The corners of his mouth turned up a little. I took a long breath and let my shoulders fall.
“If it makes you feel better, I thought you were equally sexy when you leaned over me to switch my aperture setting this summer.”
Niklas moved toward me faster than I thought wise, but he managed to curve around so we spun instead of colliding. I looked down to find myself gripping the front of his jacket a little too hard. I regained my balance and brushed off some imaginary lint.
Niklas laughed but didn’t let go. Instead, he pulled me up close and brushed his lips against mine. I could feel the heat from his body against the cold air of the rink, even through all our clothes. I gave in and kissed him back, trusting him to keep me steady.
He let me go and smiled. “Can we try this again?”
“Yes, we can.”
*
The moon shone brightly through the French doors and onto the bed. I rested my head on Niklas’s chest, watching the light ripple over the planes of his muscles as he breathed in and out.
“Are you still awake?” I whispered.
A low grunt came from his chest.
“Things are so good when it’s just us,” I said.
I felt his silent chuckle. “Even when we’re skating?”
I propped myself up and glared down at him. “Hey, by the end, I was getting pretty good.”
He lifted his hand and let the backs of his fingers run down my arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps.
“You were better than good,” he said, his voice warm and without even a hint of teasing.
“Niklas?”
“Mmm?”
“Maybe we could go to Sweden for a month or so, just to try it out.”
Niklas’s hand froze along its trail, and then he dropped it. He didn’t say anything at first. Then he propped himself up on one of his elbows so we faced each other. He lifted his other hand and cupped my cheek.
“If we go back to Sweden together, you can’t just test the waters.” His voice trailed off for a moment, and he took a deep breath. “I couldn’t take it if you left as soon as things got hard. If you come with me, you need to be all in.”
I wanted to look away, but his hand still caressed my cheek, his thumbs stroking my jaw. The light glowed on the rounded muscles of his shoulders, but his face was hidden in the shadows.
“No halfways, Caroline,” he whispered.
