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He watches from across the rink as Tessa furiously kicks at the boards and lets loose a string of expletives.
“You’re a good influence on her,” Marina says flatly. She just shrugs at his confused expression. “This tantrum will be over in five minutes, better than ten from last week.”
“She’s having some trouble with the pattern,” he explains, as Tessa stops kicking but keeps swearing. Marina’s right, she’s already losing her steam.
“She’s having trouble understanding that she’s a part of a partnership, no longer a single. You will help her with that.” She puts her hand on his shoulder in a way that’s both menacing and comforting. “But with your words, not with your body.”
She doesn’t need to worry, because they’ve been following the “no sex with your partner” rule so well that they haven’t even accidentally touched each other since her return to the rink. Neither of them have even acknowledged that they used to have sex with each other before they were partners. Sometimes he wonders if he dreamed it.
Tessa’s done swearing, just standing at the boards, her arms crossed, something resembling a pout on her face, so he skates over to her.
“I think we’re taking five,” he says, and she scowls at him.
“I don’t need five. Let’s try it again.”
He doesn’t bother to point out that she already had her five, instead he nods and takes her hand.
He waits until she runs out of things to throw at the wall, before he enters the change room. She’s breathing heavily, her cheeks are red and her eyes are ablaze. He wants her, maybe more now than he ever has. But he buries it deep in the place where he keeps all the desires he’s not allowed to acknowledge.
“Go away,” she growls at him. He really wishes she wouldn’t, it makes forgetting that much harder.
“Would you like to go out for dinner?”
She stares at him, obviously caught off guard before spitting out, “What part of go away, did you not understand?”
“I’ll rephrase so it’s not a question. We’re going out for dinner, so stop throwing things around like a child and get ready to go.”
Her eyes burn for him but she just nods, and he has to leave the room before he embarrasses himself.
“I pictured something classier.” It’s the first thing she’s said to him since they left the rink.
He takes her to a greasy spoon that he and Charlie used to go to all the time. Their cleaning practices and their clientele might be questionable but they serve the best burger and fries in town. He orders for her, gets the order to go and then drives them to a secluded spot near the river that he likes to go to when he needs to think.
He doesn’t bother to answer her, having decided to ignore her complaining. Plus it really annoys her when he does and he’s in the mood to get her a little riled up. She watches him eat for a minute, before huffing and taking a bite of her hamburger. She moans when she does, and the noise goes straight to his dick.
“I shouldn’t be eating this,” she says when she’s almost finished. There’s ketchup on her upper lip and grease on her chin and his fingers twitch with the desire to wipe it off.
“Eat what you want.”
“You won’t be saying that when you can’t lift me,” she answers automatically, frowns at the remainder of her hamburger and puts it down.
“Then I’ll get stronger. You don’t need to worry about that,” he answers and hands the hamburger back to her. She doesn’t say anything, but she does finish the hamburger, a faint smile on her lips as she eats.
They watch the boats go by for a bit, before she finally cracks and asks him, “Why did you bring me here?”
“You looked hungry?”
“Nice try.” She throws a fry at his head, which is an inexcusable waste of a fry. “For real now.”
“Wondering when you’re going to stop being a bitch at practice.”
He can tell from her face that she’s shocked he said it.
“You knew I was a bitch when you decided to be my partner,” she shoots back and another fry comes sailing at his face. This one was intended to harm.
“Tess, it’s me, you can drop the act.” He doesn’t look at her, focusing on a slow moving boat instead.
She stands up and walks down to the river's edge, where she finds a rock and passes it between her hands. He’s not entirely sure if she’s going to throw it at him or into the river, suspects that she doesn’t either until she finally chucks it into the water. “I don’t like not being good at things. And I hate that you’re so much better at it than me.”
“I’m better than you because I’ve been doing it for longer.” He walks down to where she is, even though he’s a little afraid she might start throwing rocks at him instead of in the water.
“We both know you’re some kind of prodigy.”
“I fucking hate it when people say that.” He grabs both her wrists and makes her look at him. The temper that he keeps locked away in the same place he keeps his need to fuck her into oblivion, breaks loose. “I’m the best because I work harder than anyone else on the ice. Don’t make it sound otherwise.”
She drops the rock she was holding and they both watch as it falls between their feet. She takes a step forward, and then another. His finger nails dig into her wrists and her eyes blaze. If only she didn’t like him for the worst parts of himself, he might be able to some day let her go.
She presses her lips to his, not kissing him, just pressing and then says, “Tell me what to do.”
He kisses her. Claims her mouth until she moans, her whole body up against his as if she can’t be near enough. He stops kissing her long enough to walk her backwards up against a tree, uses one hand to hold her hands over her head, and the other to work his way down her body. He teases her nipples, stops to play with that goddamned belly piercing that haunts him, before easing his hand into her pants, finding her wet and hot. He wants nothing more to be inside her, but his fingers are all he’ll allow himself. She moans into his mouth, but keeps her eyes locked with his.
“You are going to stop having temper tantrums at practice. If you get frustrated then we’re going to talk about it.” She starts to protest and he stops stroking her. She whines and bites her bottom lip before he starts again, working her clit the way he wished she was working his cock.
“We’re going to break down every step like we’re both learning for the first time and we’re going to practise longer and harder than any other team out there.”
She’s already starting to shake as he thrusts two fingers inside her and starts to pump, his thumb taking over the job his fingers left behind. She sucks and bites his neck when he won’t let her near his lips. There will be marks there and he doesn’t care, he’ll wear a turtleneck to hide them from Marina. Admire them in the mirror when he gets himself off later.
He waits until she’s close before he speaks again. “You’re going to follow when I lead because we’re partners, but also because you fucking love it when I do. And we’re going to win. We’re going to win it all because we are the best. There will never be anyone better.”
She comes around his fingers with a gush and her legs shake so hard he has to hold her up. Only then does she close her eyes.
“Do you understand?” he asks when she comes back to him and her eyes flutter open.
He stares her down until she nods. There’s a smile on her face when she does.
He lets her wrists go and she gasps. He almost kisses her again, wants to take her hard against the tree, instead he walks back to where they were sitting and watches her take a couple of deep breaths before she joins him.
“We can’t do that again.” He tries to keep the regret out of his voice, so she doesn’t know he would give up everything to be with her again. All she has to do is ask.
“I know.” Her eyes have gone back to their normal green, no longer the tempest that threatens to consume him whole.
She misses a twizzle attempt for the fourth time at practice the next day and he can see the anger brewing, building just under her skin.
Both he and Marina hold their breaths, perhaps the entire arena does.
But she just looks at him and winks. “I just need a sip of water and then we’ll try again?”
“Better,” Marina says and claps him on the back. “You used words only.”
“Of course.” She believes him because Marina still doesn’t see the beast inside of him. He adjusts his turtleneck and feels the marks burn through it.
Tessa skates back over to him and he grips her hand just a little harder than he should and she sighs. She sees the beast inside and doesn’t shy away from it.
That fire is the reason they’re going to win it all, he just hopes they can keep it from consuming them.