Chapter 1

KIERA

“My god, Kiera, I think you’re practically drooling.”

I quickly turn my head to my best friend while automatically bringing a hand to my mouth which makes her laugh and clap her hands in glee.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you actually checked!” she manages to say between laughs. “You’ve got it so bad, girl.”

I groan because she’s not wrong. Looking back at Coach Dean Sutton, I have to admit that drooling isn’t beyond the realm of possibilities. I watch as he glides effortlessly over the ice, demonstrating a pass to one of the guys on my brother’s hockey team. God, he’s so fucking gorgeous. The team is all geared up, but Dean is in jeans, a gray sweater that hugs his body to perfection, black-and-white hockey skates, and hockey gloves.

When my brother skates ahead and passes the puck, Dean is right there ready for it, shooting the puck into the net, easily avoiding the team’s goalie. Dean instructs the offensive players to practice the move while he skates over to work with the defensemen.

“What the hell are you going to do when your brother turns 16 next month and he no longer needs you to drive him to practice?”

Melissa’s words drag me back to reality. It’s something I’ve been secretly worrying about for quite some time.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “Maybe I’ll just offer to do it anyway.”

“Yeah, that won’t look weird.” She gives me a grin to soften her words. “Or,” she says with an even bigger smile, “you could just tell the sexy coach of your dreams that you’d really like to have him inside you.”

I can’t help but laugh at her words. She knows how obsessed I am with Dean. Hell, I’ve been taking my younger brother to all of his practices and games since I turned 16, all just so I could be close to his coach. Now that I’m 18, I’m about to burst from keeping myself so damn pure for him. I’ve never even been kissed. It’s beyond pathetic, but I can’t help it. Just the idea of letting some scrawny high school boy touch me makes me want to gag.

No, I need a real man. I need Dean. No one else will cut it.

When the sound of a whistle cuts through my thoughts, Melissa gives me a smile and stands.

“That’s my cue. No way am I going to interrupt your few precious moments with Sex on Skates.”

I laugh at the nickname she’s been using for Dean for years. She’s certainly not wrong I think as I look over right as he’s giving one of the players a big smile. His dark hair is short with just a hint of gray coming in, a few days’ worth of dark stubble on his face, and the world’s most beautiful green eyes. That’s not even mentioning his insanely killer body. The man is pure muscle, and I’m so distracted that I barely register Melissa’s laugh as she pats my shoulder before walking off.

My breath catches when he turns his face to me and raises one gloved hand in a wave. Maybe I’m kidding myself, but I swear his smile grows even bigger when he sees me. I wave back, knowing I’m grinning like an idiot, but I can’t help it. He just makes me so damn happy. Being near him is like being given a shot of pure happiness. Everything seems right in the world when he’s near, but happy isn’t the only thing he makes me. I’ve yet to have a dry pair of panties when I’m around him, and today is no different. I squirm a bit on the hard metal bench, willing my body to calm down. At least I can blame the ice for my hard nipples.

When the players start to skate off the ice, I grab my purse and head toward the locker room area. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to catch Dean alone before he goes in. Most of the other families just pick their kids up outside when practice is over, so it’s not busy at all as I walk around the rink never taking my eyes off Dean who’s still picking up equipment.

Melissa’s right. I need to be bolder. Taking a deep breath, I walk over to the players’ bench and give Dean a big smile when he comes back to dump off some more pucks.

“Hey, Kiera,” he says, coming to a stop right outside the boards.

“Hey,” I say, stepping into the box.

He looks so fucking gorgeous, and for one awkward moment all I can do is stare. He gives me a sexy smile and steps off the ice, pulling his hockey gloves off and stuffing them into a bag. I start to gather the extra hockey sticks just so I have something to do instead of gawking at him.

Sitting down on the bench, he takes off his skates and pulls on a pair of shoes before running a towel over the blades to clean and dry them. When he’s done, he tosses the skates in a big duffel bag with his gloves, the extra pucks, and tape.

“You’re an absolute lifesaver,” Dean says when I’ve gathered all the sticks. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” The wink he gives me sets my body on fire and makes my panties even wetter than they already were.

“You’ve been helping me for years, Kiera. You’ve got to give me some way to return the favor. Is there anything I can do for you?”

His green eyes search mine. I’m on the verge of asking him if he can help me with my virginity problem, but I chicken out at the last minute and shrug my shoulders.

“Oh, come on,” he says, leaning in closer. “There’s got to be something I can do for you.”

“Well,” I say, hesitating, “I’m kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I actually don’t know how to ice skate.”

“Are you serious?” he asks with a laugh. “With as much time as you spend at the rink, you never learned?”

“No,” I admit. “I’ve always wanted to, though. I guess I’m a bit embarrassed to jump on the ice now. Afraid I’ll fall on my ass and embarrass myself.”

He rests one of his large hands on my shoulder. “I promise I’ll keep your ass nice and safe,” he says with a wink.