Riven’s head is bowed low, the ends of his hair brushing the collar of his jacket, and his fingers work slowly, precisely. There’s something almost reverent about the way he handles me, like I’m made of glass, but he’s not afraid to hold tight.

I watch him, my breath catching. He glances up briefly, and our eyes meet. The heat in his gaze turns my spine liquid. He laces me into my skates, then shrugs off his own coat and sits down on the old bench, and that’s when I notice the other pair of much bigger skates in the snow.

He works quickly and then takes my hand. Without a word, we step onto the ice together.

It takes a second to find my balance. My blades scrape awkwardly at first, and I feel like a baby deer learning how to stand. Riven steadies me without hesitation, his hands bracketing my waist, thumbs grazing just under the hem of my borrowed jacket.

"Easy," he murmurs, his breath warm against my temple. "I’ve got you."

And the words have so much more meaning than what’s on the surface.

He nudges us into motion slowly, guiding me forward as he skates backward with ease. His body stays close to mine, just enough space to tease me into craving more of his touch, his heat.

“You haven’t changed,” I whisper. He really hasn’t. He feels like the most peace I’ve ever known in my life.

He leans in closer, his nose brushing along my neck, his mouth grazing my jaw.

"Neither have you. Still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he tells me reverently, and I believe every single word.

My heart twists when he presses a kiss behind my ear and breathes, “Fuck, I missed you so much. You have no idea.”

I let out a laugh, “You’re joking, right? I think I have some idea, big guy.”

I expect him to glower down at me for my teasing tone, but he doesn't. “I can’t stop thinking about taking you inside,” he says suddenly, voice rough with heat and want. “But if I do it now, it won’t be gentle. You deserve gentle. You deserve perfect.”

I blink up at him, startled. I open my mouth to say… I don’t know what I want to say, but it feels like I need to reassure him that I want him in any way that I can have him.

He shakes his head as if he knows what I’m thinking. “I don’t want to fuck you. Not for our first time. I want to take my time with you. Make you comfortable, make sure you enjoy it enough to let me have you again. I want you every hour of every day, baby. I’ll never get enough of you.”

I suck in a breath, heart thudding in my chest.