All Chapters of On Thin Ice With You: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Mia's eyelashes are moving. He can see it from the doorway.She has been awake for at least the last five minutes and has decided, for reasons of her own, not to announce it.He gets a glass of warm water from the bathroom, stirs honey into it, and sits on the edge of the bed."You're not asleep," he says.A pause. Then one eye opens."Drink," he says, and slides a hand beneath her neck to help her sit up.She takes the glass and drinks too fast—takes a mouthful that immediately goes wrong. Elias pulls the glass back while she coughs, his palm moving in slow circles between her shoulder blades."Easy," he says."Don't—" she clears her throat—"say easy to me right now."He waits until she settles, then reaches across to set the glass on the nightstand. He's leaning over her to do it when she grabs his tie.Not gently.He comes forward, catching himself on one hand before their faces collide—close enough that he can see the residual flush on her cheek, the water still on her lip. Her ey

The air in the room is thick.It is only when Mia, her lungs screaming for the oxygen he's been stealing, beats a frantic rhythm against his chest that Elias finally breaks the kiss.They stay there for a long moment, chest to chest, their breathing ragged and synchronized in the heavy silence.The room is very bright for this hour. It makes everything too visible—his eyes, which have gone dark in a way that has nothing to do with the lighting, the rise and fall of her chest, the specific quality of his attention, which has stopped being careful.He looks at her the way you look at something you've been patient about for a very long time and have just been given permission to stop being patient about.Mia goes very still.He isn't touching her. He doesn't need to. The weight of his gaze moves across her throat, the line of her collarbone, the thin ivory silk—and she is acutely, completely aware that there is not very much between her and all of that attention."Stop looking at me like

Mia takes the clothes bag into the bathroom and closes the door.She stands at the mirror for a moment—slightly pink cheeks, hair loose, the look of someone who slept well despite everything and would prefer not to examine why too closely.She runs cold water over her wrists, straightens up, and begins methodically removing items from the bag.A white camisole. A soft apricot cardigan, V-neck, cashmere-weight.She changes, pins her hair up loosely, lets a few pieces fall at her neck. Checks herself once in the mirror. Good enough.When she comes out, Elias is already back with a tray—coffee, honey water, something that smells like eggs and toast and a pastry she hasn't earned but will eat anyway.He sets it on the low table without ceremony, like this is simply what mornings look like. "Drink the water first."She takes the glass without arguing. The honey hits the back of her dry throat."The cardigan fits," he observes."It does." She sits on the sofa. "I'm choosing not to think abo

Elias's back in the suite before she's finished clearing the breakfast tray."I need to go," she says, picking up the bag with her things. "Ellie's waiting."Elias doesn't move to stop her, as he fully intends to drive her himself. "Are you free tonight?"Mia blinks, "I'll have to see if I'm heading to the training center this afternoon. Why?""No," he says, his voice dropping an octave. "I already took care of it. I called in your leave this morning. There are no games for the next two days, just conditioning, and Anderson already reassigned your shift."What he doesn't mention is the look on Dr. Anderson's face when Elias made the call. The older man's worry had vanished instantly, replaced by a look so knowing it was almost lecherous.Elias has no intention of hiding it. He wants the world to know he has a claim on her. It saves him the trouble of having to constantly mark his territory against the vultures circling her."Oh," Mia says, completely oblivious to his internal power pl

Ellie settles back against the sofa cushions with the satisfaction of a case closed.Then her gaze drifts—lands on the jacket Mia still has on, the one that is quite obviously not from any shop Mia has ever set foot in."Wait." She sits up. "Mia. That jacket.""Hm.""You weren't wearing that last night."Ellie grabs her arm before she can take another sip of water."Wait. Lucas said Elias went to find you." Her eyes narrow. "And you just said he arrived at the end. So you two were alone. In a hotel suite. All night." She tilts her head. "Mia.""Nothing happened." Mia carries both glasses back to the living room. "He looked after me. I was drunk. That's the whole story."Ellie follows. "He didn't do anything? Nothing at all? Not even a little—"Mia drinks her water.Her ears go red.Ellie sees it immediately. "Your ears," she says."It's warm in here.""Mia."Mia looks at the ceiling. Then she puts her glass down, and says, very quietly and very clearly, "we're together."The apartment