Free Three Little Words by Lauren Hawkeye Page A

like I was cheating on Mal or something.
                And  that made me panic. Finding out that Mal hadn’t abandoned me after all had thrown me for a loop, but I was no longer the kind of girl who could even contemplate a relationship... and I knew, deep down I knew, that Mal would settle for nothing less.
                But maybe... maybe I was ready to think about having sex again. Of touching, of being touched.
                After what I’d been through, surely no one could blame me for that. And so I found my gaze narrowing, zeroing in on the stranger in the stands.
                He was sex on a stick. No wonder Marianne had tripped over her own feet. I could feel my own interest percolating as I skated, no doubt an overflow of the lust that Mal had stirred up in my gut that afternoon, but still.
                I was feeling something other than the chill of the ice that had coated me for so long. I’d been cold for two years, and I didn’t think anyone could blame me for reaching towards the warmth.
                Still... if he was here watching practice, then he was probably somebody’s boyfriend. And you didn’t mess with a teammate’s man—derby girls were fucking vicious.
                Completing the last circuit of the drill, I skidded to a quick, neat stop beside the water cooler.
                Grabbing my bottle, I filled it and then chugged greedily, the icy liquid spilling down my cheeks as I drank.
                When the bottle was empty I slammed it back on the table and wiped my mouth off with the back of my hand. It was then that I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to find the hottie watching me intently.
                He was better looking than any guy had the right to be.
                Arching an eyebrow at his blatant stare, I bent to refill my water bottle. When I straightened back up, the blond god of sexiness was ambling over to me casually, a rakish smile curving his lips.
                Despite my own better sense, despite the confusing sensations that Mal had churned up in me only a couple of hours ago, I felt interest stir, hot and tangled in the pit of my belly.
                “You’re ace on those things.” He nodded to my feet, on which my skates were still tightly laced, edging into my personal space like he had every right to. “You look good.”
                Usually if someone moved closer to me than I liked I would give them a ferocious glare while retreating post haste.
                This guy, however... he wasn’t setting my nerves to screaming. And he smelled good. Like, really fucking sexy good. And he was eyeing me with undisguised interest.
                You’ve got to get back out there sometime, Adele.  And no matter that Mal was still able to peak my interest, there was too much history there. Heartbreaking history.
                Swallowing deeply, I turned and offered a cautious smile. The satisfaction that crossed his face was panty-melting in its intensity.
                “We don’t get many spectators at practice.” I tried to throw some flirtation into my tone, and the words felt heavy with rust. “Are you with someone?”
                He shook his head, running his tongue over his lips.
                “I like derby girls.” The stranger shrugged, unabashed, as heat shot straight to that space between my legs. “Actually I was walking by and saw the sign. Never heard of derby before and I was curious.
                Apparently I don’t get out enough... cause now I know that I like really derby girls.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me lasciviously. Damn it, he had an accent. British or Australian, I never could tell, but combined with the thick, messy gold hair that looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, the densely lashed