Champion At Heart (Sequel of Breaking Ice)

Chapter Sixteen

Brooklyn paced back and forth, fidgeting with her fingers as she looked out the window, impatiently waiting for them to come back into the house. She cleaned the kitchen after breakfast to ease her anxiety, but it didn't work.

Maybe Bexley could have another piece of advice for her.

Grabbing her cell phone from the counter, she dialed her sister's number and waited for her to answer, biting her nails.

"Hello?" Bexley answered the call. The sounds of what seemed like the hockey players skating around and hitting pucks into the net made her think they were up and early on practice.

Even on the off season, they didn't stop. They had to keep in shape and prepare for the next one.

"Hi, Bex. How are you?" Brooklyn asked, chuckling nervously.

"I'm fine. Just seeing the guys train and I'm here with the family of my new student. I started a figure skating school, seeing that I won't be able to skate again. But, hey, it's a big accomplishment."

"That's great for you. I am so proud of my big sister. Say hi to Jezzah for me."

There was an awkward silence between them, when she heard her sister excuse herself to the family she was with and the noise from the hockey rink had receded, giving them a bit of quiet time.

"Okay, shoot," Bexley ordered, giving Brooklyn her big bossy sister voice. She was hesitant, her nerves still at an all time high, when she heard her again. "Tell me what's going on."

"I can't do this, Bex. I'm here at his ranch, and seeing him is torture. He hates me, and I don't know how I can be here for longer than a week," Brooklyn rambled on.

"Okay, first of all, calm down, Brooks. Second of all, you don't mean to tell me you're going to be there for just a week. Abilene and Marshall need more time than that to get to know each other."

"I know! But as much as I tried not to react to him when I arrived, the heart won't lie."

"Oh, now you're quoting a song title..." Bexley teased, which didn't sit well with her sister.

"It's not funny, Bexley! I'm dying here. All I want to do is wrap my arms around him, kiss him senseless and bring him to my bed so he can do all those naughty things I've been dreaming of since I stepped out of that plane!"

At that moment, Marshall and Abilene walked in, the cowboy standing right at the kitchen doorway, his blue eyes staring straight at her as she held her phone on her chest, hearing her sister trying to get her attention. When she came to her senses, she put the phone back in her ear as Abilene headed to the fridge and opened it, taking a bottle of water and gulping it.

"I'll call you back," she whispered with a shaky voice before she hung up the call.

Marshall was still frozen on his spot, staring at her as she tried to look somewhere else, hoping to focus on anything but him. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Pretty much everything," he replied with a stern voice, taking his hat off before setting it on the dining table. His boots were stomping on the floor, and that sound made her heart beat, her nerves going haywire while he slowly approached her.

"Abilene, why don't you go to our room and find your tablet to entertain yourself? Mama and Mr. Marshall will have a grown up conversation," she ordered her daughter while smelling the musky scent coming from him.

"Yes, Mama. Bye, Daddy!"

"Don't call him Daddy, sweetheart. He might not feel comfortable..."

"It's fine," he interrupted as Abilene rushed to the guest room, the sound of the door closing echoed through the house, making Brooklyn wince, blaming it on how nervous Marshall was making her.

"You were not meant to hear that. I thought you were still out there. And you need to take your boots off. You'll get your kitchen dirty," she whispered. Feeling him stand so close to her, it seemed as if he stepped an inch or two more, they would touch.

"The Sugar Bug was thirsty, so we came for some water. And as for my kitchen, don't worry. I'll clean it later," Marshall moved in front of her, putting his hands on the counter on each side of her body. "Brooklyn, we agreed that this was about Abilene, and we wouldn't talk about us. So I don't understand why you insist on..."

Brooklyn glared at him, breathing heavily. "We did agree, and this trip was just for my daughter. Our daughter. But guess what, Mr. Grumpy Pants, I can't still stop feeling this way! I thought I was over you, and I thought this would be easy for me. But nooo!" she mocked, waving her hands like a maniac, careful not to hit his face as he was still too close to her. "One day, and I'm already going crazy!"

Marshall raised his eyebrows at her outburst.

"I had to call my sister to vent, because I can't stand this! Your smell, your brooding, your.... Your stupid sexiness that I can't get over, and you think it's easy for me?" she added, pushing Marshall away from her before she made her way to the sink, trying to finish washing the dishes while feeling his gaze on her.

"I can't."

Hearing those last two words had Marshall acting on them, and in one swift motion, he turned Brooklyn around and grabbed her by the nape of her neck, his other hand gripping her waist as he pulled her towards him, pressing his lips on hers in a demanding, hungry, wild kiss.

Brooklyn gasped in shock, which was his chance to invade her mouth, both of their tongues moving around in an erotic dance, fighting to see who could stand the longest.

"Marshall," Brooklyn breathed into the kiss, not able to say more as he kept attacking her with kisses, pressing himself against her, pulling away from her mouth before his lips traveled across her jawline, slowly and torturously sliding down her neck, making her groan softly while excitement coursed through her veins.

"Mama, my battery is dead and I can't find the charger!" Abilene shouted as she came running down the hallway with the pink electronic device in her hand.

Marshall pulled away just as quick as he had kissed Brooklyn, and stood by the counter, his hands pressed against the top as he tried to get his breathing to even. She turned to face her back to the little girl, trying to control her own heart as she took a deep, calming breath.

"Yes. I'll help you find it," she said and as she was leading Abilene to their room, Marshall picked up his hat and stomped out the door, the screen slamming shut behind him while she heard him shout out curses at the air.

"Is Daddy okay?" Abilene asked, concerned.

"He will be. Let's go," Brooklyn replied, but not even she was sure of it. The kiss had left her speechless, and if it wasn't for her daughter's interruption, she didn't know how it would end.

Smiling at the thought, she found herself remembering those moments he made her feel like she was on cloud nine, not even caring about the times he was as grumpy and as frustrating as ever.

And now it seemed that her plan to not fall for him once again had backfired on her, and she found herself on the edge of the cliff, debating whether to risk it and jump, or cower and walk away.