Chapter 17 – Breaking the Ice Novel (Easton & Caroline) Free Online

A crazy notion struck me, and I jumped on it before my analytical side counted off all the reasons my idea wasn’t a good one.

“Why don’t you go with us?”

Juniper frowned, her brow furrowing as she considered my offer. “Is there room where you’re staying? I mean, I don’t need much room, and I don’t mind sleeping on the couch. My job is dead-end, boring crap, so walking away wouldn’t break my heart.”

“It’d be an adventure,” said the least-adventurous person in this room, but I was gathering steam. If Juniper came with me, I wouldn’t feel so lost and alone. We could both use a fresh start away from the ghosts of our pasts and our dysfunctional families.

“I’m going to do it. You’re sure I won’t be an inconvenience?”

“I’m positive.”

We hugged each other and spent the remainder of the evening planning our escape to the great Pacific Northwest. By the time she left, I felt much better about the move.

I settled on the couch as a rare, blissful quiet surrounded me.

I was doing the right thing by starting fresh elsewhere. Well, maybe not totally fresh, since Easton was baggage from my teenage years.

My biggest problem would be resisting him, knowing he blamed me for missing the first six years of the twins’ lives. Seeing him brought back a flood of memories of some of the happiest moments in my life that didn’t involve my children. I refused to fall prey to the sorrow of knowing we’d never get a second chance. I didn’t need a second chance. I didn’t need a man in my life. I needed to get my nursing degree, get my career on track, and learn to live on my own two feet and not depend on others.

If Easton insisted on supporting his children, I’d accept his offer, but the last thing I wanted was to be dependent on any man indefinitely. Once I had my nursing career underway, I’d put any spare child support in trust or something for the kids’ college funds. I wouldn’t use a penny of it.

I had my pride, and I’d someday soon have the luxury of indulging in a few prideful moments.

I closed my eyes, letting peace wash over me for the first time in months. I was doing the right thing for myself, for Easton, and most of all, for Hailey and Heath.

I was lying in a field on a blanket looking up at the millions of stars in the sky. Easton lay next to me, his hands behind his head. In one week, his summer hockey program would be over, and he’d be leaving. We hadn’t talked about that particular elephant in the room. Both of us avoided the subject, and I didn’t want to be the first to broach the obvious.

Easton must’ve sensed me staring at him. He rolled over onto his side and propped his head up with an elbow. He reached for a lock of my hair with his free hand and turned it around his finger.

His dark eyes settled on mine. Every time he looked at me like that, my body came alive with an intense, driving need I had very little control over. I expected him to pull me into his arms and begin the initial stages of foreplay, followed by passionate fucking. That had been our normal MO for the past couple months.

This time, he surprised me. He appeared to be in a rare introspective mood. Easton was a doer, not a thinker. He lived by actions, not so much by words, while I was a planner and a worrier.

“Caro, I’m leaving in a week.”

There, he’d finally addressed the elephant.

“I know.”

“I’ve never really known what love is, except for the love of my family, but if I could love somebody, it’d be you.”

My heart soared with joy. Even though his hadn’t been an admission of love, I’d take it as such. I was a teenage girl, and I wore my emotions on my sleeve.

“I feel the same way.” I didn’t know what love was either, and I didn’t have the advantage of experiencing the love of a family like he had. In fact, my mother considered me an inconvenience, and my father barely knew I existed.

“I want us to enjoy this last week together and not worry about the future. I know you. You’re already fretting about it.”

I had to smile, and he smiled back, one of his smiles that made me all gooey and giddy inside. That same smile that made me drop my panties every single time he aimed the full force of it at me. This time wasn’t an exception. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and in seconds we were naked and fucking each other into mind-blowing orgasms.

The world ceased to exist outside of the two of us and this star-filled night.

Easton point of view

My teammates talked me into going out with them after the game. I wasn’t in the mood to party, but I wasn’t exactly in the mood to sit at home and lick my wounded ego either.

At least we were at a bar with a private back room rather than a loud nightclub. I definitely wasn’t in the mood for clubbing, but a few beers and a pizza wouldn’t be so bad. Beer might dull the ache in my chest at least for a little while, and talking hockey might distract me.

I took a chair at a long table and poured a beer from one of the many pitchers. Teammates drank and laughed around me. Some played pool; others hung in groups with and without their WAGs. Many of us were stag, like me.

Ice tapped Kaden on the shoulder and motioned for him to vacate the chair next to me. “Get your ass out of my chair, rookie.”

Kaden whipped around, ready to rip the asshole a new one. The look on his face was priceless when he realized that asshole was our team captain, the last guy on our team we had any interest in messing with. He scrambled out of his chair, almost tipping it over, and made a hasty retreat.

Ice claimed the recently vacated seat and sucked down water from many of the glasses placed on the table by our conscientious waitress. I’d never seen Ice drink anything with alcohol in it and had heard he was a recovering alcoholic. I didn’t know, and I wasn’t asking.

I avoided his gaze, wishing he’d go away and leave me alone. I didn’t know why he’d taken me on as his personal project. While I was flattered, I preferred flying under the radar right now.

In practice, he always made a point of skating with me, forcing me to go up against the best defenseman in the league. My game was steadily improving, even with tonight’s setback. Playing against Ice either improved a guy or broke him. I was proud to say I hadn’t broken, only become stronger.

“What the fuck happened to you tonight, rook?” Ice demanded, not holding back. He tapped on his glass with a fork for emphasis.

“Bad game. We all have them,” I muttered defensively and slouched down into my chair. I crossed my arms over my chest and glowered stubbornly, refusing to look our fearless leader in the eye.

He was quiet for a long time. Ice wasn’t one to waste words, which was why we listened when he spoke. Regardless, his silence disconcerted me. I chanced a glance his direction. He was rubbing his chin and studying me thoughtfully.

“Yeah, well, I guess you were due for an off night,” he conceded, much to my surprise. He waved his hand at the waitress. “Can I get a Coke, a chicken Caesar, and a T-bone, medium-rare? Oh, and add shrimp and a baked potato, everything on it. The rookie here is paying tonight. Put it on his bill.” He pointed at me with a rare twinkle in his eyes.

The waitress nodded and cast a sultry smile in my direction. I ignored her and hunkered down in my chair. I wasn’t in the mood for flirting.

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