God, I feel like a three-year-old instead of twenty-three-year-old grown ass woman. But I really don’t want to get in to this now. Or ever. I’ve put up with it for this long, I can handle a few more months.
“She’s upset that you switched disciplines and you won. That’s all.”
“Dean it’s more than that. She’s…” I don’t have proof that she’s behind the pictures. Though I can’t imagine it would be anyone else, I can’t blame her without proof.
“Just forget it” I tell him.
“Sage, it isn’t you. She’s upset with me and she is taking it out on you. I’m sorry.”
“Why is she so upset with you? And why do I have to be the one to suffer for it?”
Dean places his hand on my shoulder and gives it a firm squeeze. “It’s complicated.
“I’ll talk to her.”
“Don’t.” I sigh. “Forget that I brought it up.” I clear my throat and pull my hair back into a bun.
I give Dean a faint smile and set the CD’s on the counter. When Colleen gets in, she can decide what she wants to do with them. I’ve suddenly lost my motivation to sift through them all.
“Yuri came by last night. I invited him.”
I nod and start my stretches. “Yeah, he told me.”
“He spent some time with Kennedy in the trophy room.”
“That’s great.”
He seems to be leading into something. Or trying to figure something out from me. Was I supposed to have a reaction to Yuri and Kennedy being alone together? Maybe that’s what he thought. Because looking at him now it’s clear he wants me to have some sort of a reaction.
“It is.” Dean nods and stuffs his hands in his pocket. “Are you sure the two of you are just friends?”
I blush and roll my head down into a stretch so that I don’t have to meet his gaze.
“He’s my friend and my partner. Why do you ask?” I throw the spotlight on him. And just as I expect, Dean grows increasingly uncomfortable.
“No reason.” He mutters.
“Do you not like him?”
“I don’t think he’s good for you, if that’s what you mean.”
“Oh.” I stretch my arms over my head. I feel the need to defend him. “Yuri’s always been really good to me. And I think maybe down the road there could be something there.”
“Sage, I’ve always done my best to protect you. And I let you carry on this little friendship with him even though he was a few years older. I wish I hadn’t.”
“Why? He hasn’t done anything to make you question him.”
“He’s manipulating you. I know that you don’t want to believe it, but it’s true.”
“No it isn’t!”
“You know I’m right. He’s trying to isolate you, Sage. He wants you to think that what he says is what’s best for you.”
“Yuri wants me to get help for my illness. How can that be a bad thing?”
“If you had an illness it wouldn’t be.” He says to me. “But telling you that you’re sick when you’re not is manipulation.”
I shrug him off. “And what do you call making me believe that I’m not sick when I am?”
Dean shakes his head. “I’m not the bad guy here. I don’t care what he says. But once he separates you from the ones that love you he wins. And from the sound of it, he already has.”
“This isn’t about winning or losing!” I shout. “It’s about me and my health. Why doesn’t anyone see that?”
“We do see it, Sage.” He replies grabbing me at the shoulders and shaking me. “For ten years he’s kept you in his back pocket. If he cared about you, he’d get you off this damn leash and let you live your life.”
He shakes me harder and I don’t think he realizes just how hard. Until I’m yelling at him to stop.
“Dean! You’re hurting me!”
“I’m not going to lose you to him. I’ve worked too hard to let him come in and take you away from me.”
“Stop it!”
“There is nothing wrong with you. Nothing!”
Through the thin material covering my arms, Dean’s fingers cut into my skin. The harder he squeezes the more I cry out. I lift my fists, but his hold prevents them from getting higher than my waist. I’m forced to look into his eyes and see them flaming with anger as he hurls words at me.
“He wants a slut at his beckon call, Elizabeth! Why don’t you see that?!”
“I’m not…ahhh! I’m not Elizabeth! Dean!!! Stop!”
I watch the realization light up his eyes. I’m not her. I’m not my mother. I’d heard the rumors too. I’d heard that he was in love with her. But I never believed it until now. I’d never seen the anger and jealousy in his eyes before.
“Sage, I’m s-s-sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
I hear his apology but I’m already backing away from him. He sees it and I’ve never seen him look so hurt. He backs out of the room just as Colleen strolls in. She’s none the wiser to what just happened. She greets me in her usual sing-song voice. I go back to stretching despite the tears falling at my feet. By the time Yuri arrives, I’ve buried the pain and confusion down. Enough so that I can make it home and cut it out there.
Yuri helps me to my feet. He smiles his handsome grin and I don’t see anything that Dean claimed. I see his warm blue gaze and I feel so loved in his eyes. Loved and seen.
Sage
After practice I’m feeling more and more confident about our next competition. You would think that after a win like ours we could take a break from practice. But we have just a few weeks left until we’re competing again. Skate America left us both hungry for more. I’ve got my eyes on the Winter Games in Pyeongchang. I want that Olympic gold medal like I want to take my next breath. I never saw myself as a Pairs figure skater, but Yuri is challenging me physically and mentally.
In two days, I’m going to meet with the psychiatrist. I am taking control of my health. I don’t care what anyone says. I have to do this for me. For my own sanity.
I hobble down to the lockers, feeling every ache and bruise. Although, I’m exhausted I stuck around late to have a private skate to myself. Also, to avoid seeing Dean. He stayed for the first half of practice and then disappeared. We haven’t spoken since our fight. I want us to move past what happened earlier, but I don’t know if it’s possible.
I stop outside Dean’s office. The door is closed, and the lights are on. He’s here and I believe he’s been here the whole time. I can hear voices coming from his office. They sound angry although they’re all muffled. I raise my hand to knock on the door and realize that I’m still holding on to Yuri’s jacket.
We sat for an hour going over Colleen’s remarks on the routines. I was cold and he gave it to me, to warm up. I should return it to him before he leaves for the night. Behind the office door the arguing continues, and I don’t want any part of it. It’s best to return Yuri’s jacket. There were things I wanted to talk about with him as well.
I gather the leather jacket closer to my body as I make my way toward the Men’s locker room. I’m thinking of all that we’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time. We’re America’s favorite duo. We’ve had offers to do interviews on every major network. Most we’ve turned down. Yuri wants me to focus on school and my upcoming appointment with the doctor. For that, I’m grateful. Without him here, I would have felt the pressure to do what my aunt asks. But he is determined to help me keep everything in perspective. Even if that means telling my Auntie Carrie no.
Down the hall, I can smell the masculine soap lather even before I hear the shower going. My heart throbs in my throat as I stand outside the door. On my right is a perfectly good chair that I can leave the jacket on. No one else is here to take it. There really isn’t a need for me to walk inside. Yet, I feel compelled to do so.
The steam rushes against my face as the door swings closed. I lock it quickly and press forward. Now I can hear him. His feet splashing against the stone floor. I hear the sound
of his wet skin touching the rest of his body and I can’t help myself. I’m following the blazing drum of my heart and the pulsing need building in my core. And after each step I’m losing a piece of clothing. Until finally, I’m at the shower wall, watching as water jets down his muscular back.
He has both palms pressed into the wall. His ass is tight and firm, I want to feel it in my hand. I clench my fist as he suddenly goes rigid. A shiver snakes down my spine and I hold my breath. Yuri turns his head beneath the spray. The water temporarily blinds him. But when he opens his eyes again, he knows just where to find me.
His left hand extends to me. My heart stops. “Come here.”
Yuri
I knew she was there. Even before her presence brought a slight breeze that changed the air, I knew. I felt her eyes watching me and I just knew it was her. And when I opened my eyes and saw her beautiful naked form, I became transfixed. Caught once again in her simple and feminine beauty.
I beckon her to me. “Come here.”
Sage studies me with bright, curious eyes. I was hard before she came in, but beneath her intense gaze my dick throbs painfully. A smile clings to my lips as she hesitantly places her hand in mine. I have to smile. I’ve been starved for her since our first time together. And since Skate America, I am becoming a feign for her. If I don’t smile, I may open my mouth and devour her in one gulp.
Her free hand dips down the curve of my back and slips over my ass.
“Hi,” she whispers, right before she looks up at me and introduces her lips to my chest.
I groan at the feel of her hand exploring the slope of my waist.
“Hi.”
“I want you.”
I close my eyes and savor the feeling. He lips skates over the expanse of my chest. My fingers interlock in her hair. Her full sensual mouth will be my weakness until the day I die.
“You want me?”
“Yes. And I want you, Yuri.” She claims pressing her body into mine.
Her tongue swipes across my nipple. My grip tightens in her curls and I shudder. I feel her teeth when she smiles at my reaction.
She teases me with the flutter of her wet lashes and the warm look in her hazel eyes. “Do you want me, still?”
Sage touches her lips to my shoulder, the highest point she can reach. I wrap my arms around her waist and wet her skin with mine. Then I pull her beneath the spray, crushing our lips together. I rock my hips into her, pressing the proof of my desire between the slicker skin of her legs.
We only come up for air because it’s a necessity. Her dark chestnut curls are plastered to her head and face. They stretch down her shoulder and neck. I move the soaked tresses from her eyes.
She looks at me expectantly. She’s so terrified of the answer that the fear is bleeding through her gaze.
“I want you more than I have ever before.” I admit. “But you know that, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Say what you want, Sage.” I utter drawing us even closer. “Say it to me.”
She sways in my grasp. Her hands roam my body and I fight the effect it has on me.
I tell her again. “Say what you want.”
The hardest thing for her, is admitting her needs. Seeing them and acknowledging that they are there and should be taken care of. So, I am asking a lot. But she didn’t come here to be coaxed into fucking me. She came here because she has a need. A desire that she wants me to fulfill.
“You want it. Say it.”
I tease her lips with mine. Then I take her bottom lip and swipe my tongue across it.
“Yuri, I—,” she moans into the steam. “I want you to make love to me.”
She’ll never know exactly what those words do to a man like me. How they weaken me and at the same time strengthen parts of my body that I can’t seem to control around her.
I don’t care if this is temporary. It doesn’t matter if she is caught in the moment. I kiss her lips one more time and then I take to my knees on the hard shower floor.
Beneath her gaze, I stroke the inside of her thigh. First with my fingers, then my lips and tongue. I spread her open for me and suck her in to my hungry mouth. I rotate between the use of my fingers while she grips my hair, panting and unleashing her essence into my mouth. And if I weren’t starving that would have been enough. But I need more, and I take it. With a burning fever, I dip two fingers inside and scoop out every drop of what I’ve earned. The taste of her on my fingers leaves me aching for more. I suck her essence from my left hand while thrusting into her again with my right. My action sets off a round of shattering moans. I thrust deeper and she sings higher until she’s coming for me again.
On my feet she drags me to her and we share her taste. With one arm I lift her around my waist and I enter her, gripping the wet stone wall behind her head. I propel into Sage, diving through her folds. In my head, I tell myself that I need more from her. Even if the words aren’t true, even if she doesn’t believe it; I want her to say them. Give me a piece of her, even if it’s not meant to last beyond this moment.
I grab her by the chin and look deep into her eyes. “Who are you moaning for?”
She lets out a few breathless moans before crying out. “You.”
“What’s my name, Sage?”
“Yuri.”
“Say it again.”
I bounce her on my dick making sure she covers every inch of me each time. Then I plant kisses down her throat, kissing her pulse where I’d felt it race for me during practice. Her nails scratch along my scalp and down my neck. Her mouth falls open and cries my name over and over.
“Yuri, Yuri, Yuri.”
Fuck. I love the way she says it. I’ll be hearing this for days. I bite into her neck and in turn her pussy grips me harder.
“C-c…cum—please.”
“Is that what you want?” I edge out of her, dragging out her agony.
She grabs on to my ass and drags me back to her, like her life depends on it. I chuckle into her throat and she groans.
“You’re teasing me.”
“Maybe.” I acknowledge with a quick nip to her neck. “Maybe I’m owning you.” I claim her succulent lips and feast on her mouth. “Maybe I’m showing you where you belong.”
“Mmmm,” she moans into my mouth. “With you. I belong with you.”
“Always.” I tell her.
“Forever—Yours.”
That admission causes the inferno to erupt. Sage takes my hand and covers her breast. I squeeze. She bites her lip and holds my gaze. Three pumps later she explodes for me. I capture her mouth for a moment before I give in to my own release.
“I’m yours.” She sighs, happily. “Yuri, wherever you go, take me there too.”
I cum turning her nipple between my fingers and drinking those words from her lips.
She’s mine.
Chapter 22
Sage
I giggle stepping out of the shower with Yuri’s towel around me. He takes an extra one and wraps it around his waist. My clean clothes are in my locker room. So, I gather up the ones I tossed on the floor and head there. Before I reach for the locked door, Yuri pulls me back into his arms.
“You have exam this week. I’ll give you time to prepare. But give me something to dream about.” He grabs my chin and moves his lips over mine.
We kiss deeply. So deep that he ignites another flame in my chest. I fumble with the lock. I’m partly giving in to him. I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to be anywhere without him. But I have homework that needs to be finished and an essay that won’t write itself. If I’m getting on a plane to Washington in the next week, I’ve got a lot to do.
I pull away from him. I can work the lock a lot better if I actually see it. Yuri places kisses down my neck. Then his mouth opens. I moan at the feel of his tongue catching beads of water over my shoulder.
If I don’t get this door open quickly, I’ll need to drop my clothes back on the floor so that we can at least have a soft surface to work with.
With some luck, I manage to pull the door open right as Yuri starts to leave another mark on my neck.
My heart freefalls to the floor. Standing there with her arms crossed over her chest and a disappointed scowl is Auntie Carrie. Before she can get out a word, Yuri pulls me backwards and slams the door closed.
“Get dressed.” He says urgently. “Now.”
**
I’m back in my training clothes standing in front of the door. Yuri got dressed faster than me. He’s watching me and I can tell he’s not totally certain how to proceed. I didn’t want Auntie Carrie to know about us. I know that I’m not a child anymore, but that wouldn’t stop her. She’d still find a way to ruin this.
“Sage,” Yuri says dragging me to him and kissing the top of my head. “We didn’t do anything wrong. It’s okay.”
“I know that.”
“But you don’t believe it. I’m telling you, you didn’t do anything wrong.” He assures me with his lips still brushing my forehead. “Little bird, look at me.”
Look at him. I crane my neck and will my gaze away from the door. Those are the bluest of blue eyes. I think about the first time I ever looked into them. They were so kind, patient and loving. They still are.
“I’m right here.”
I nod and gather myself for a moment. Then I pull the door open. Dean is the first person I see this time. I blush at the predicament. He doesn’t look happy either but at least he isn’t as pissed as Auntie Carrie.
Before I can get a word out I feel Yuri’s hand be torn away from mine as Dean rushes him. Together they hit the cement wall where they struggle with one another. The fight doesn’t last long, Yuri is younger, taller and stronger. He easily gets the upper hand on Dean and he pins him to the wall.
“Don’t touch her.” Yuri seethes.
I get between them. “Stop!”
I can see Yuri putting added pressure to Dean’s sternum with his forearm and I can hear the way it affects his breathing. I grab hold of Yuri’s arm and fight to pull them apart.
“Yuri stop it. You’re hurting him.”
“That’s the least of your worries.” Auntie Carrie says disgustedly. “You’re going to the doctor right now.”
Black Ice Page 18
