I arch a brow.
“You looked good taking pictures,” she adds, teasing.
We reach the benches and pull two pairs of rental skates from the rack. Jessica plops down, lifting her foot so I can help slide the boot on. Her foot wiggles, testing the fit.
“Tighter?” I ask, looking up at her.
She nods. “Yeah. I think.”
I tighten the laces a little more, keeping my grip steady, my gaze flicking to her face. She watches me, bottom lip caught between her teeth.
“You’re enjoying this,” I mutter, standing when I’m done.
“Watching the great Captain Dominic Moreal kneel at my feet and lace me up like the figure-skating princess that I am?” She waves her arms dramatically.
I grab her hand and tug with a small smile. “Then let’s see how long you stay upright, figure-skating princess.”
I lead her to the rink and note she’s tense—shoulders tight, every inch of her pretending she’s not about to panic. We step onto the ice together. Her skates hit the surface and immediately start to shift.
She grabs at me. “No, no, I changed my mind, I’m not an ice princess.”
I wrap an arm around her waist and tug her flush to me. “Easy. I’ve got you.”
She breathes hard, arms tight around me. “You’re not letting go, right?”
“Not yet,” I say. “But you’re gonna learn.”
She looks up at me. “You’re not allowed to laugh if I fall.”
“I’m not gonna laugh, ice princess.”
She slaps my chest and loses balance again, hands clamping to my shoulders.
“Get through twenty minutes without falling and maybe I’ll compliment you.”
She scoffs.
I move behind her, still holding her waist. “Bend your knees a little. Weight forward.”
She does. Sort of.
I press my hand to her lower back. “Not that far forward. You’re not diving.”
“You said forward!” Jessica straightens.
“I didn’t say face-first.”
I slide closer, gliding behind her, chest brushing her back. My hands skim down her arms, then land on her hips. “Bend your knees again.”
She doesn’t move, so I lean in. “You hear me?”
“Yeah.”
“Then bend.”
She exhales and reluctantly sinks an inch. Her knees flex and her ass tilts back into my hips. The contact is instant. So is my cock’s reaction.
“Good,” I say, voice lower. “Now keep your weight forward. Not on your heels. You’ll slip.”
