“I thought that was your job.” He grinned, leaning over to playfully bite my earlobe.

Guilt washed through me, sticky and uncomfortable. I’d resented him so bitterly and unfairly for years. It was hard to believe how quickly he’d proven me wrong in so many ways.

“What?” His left hand caressed my thigh, coming to rest there comfortably.

I wasn’t sure how to phrase it, and Theo opened his mouth to say something else but then waited. I slowed for another red light, the wipers thumping rhythmically, clearing the light snow that fell.

Finally, I said, “I don’t want to be your enemy.”

“I know!” He squeezed my leg. “It’s only skating. It’s not real life.”

I could only stare at him. “Skating is everything. It’s who we are.”

“It’s what we do. Green light.” As I refocused on the road, he added, “Yes, we’re skaters. We skate. It’s our job. But there’s a whole world out there that’s not this crazy bubble. There’s petty bullshit and kissing judges’ asses and all the politics. And we’re supposed to be enemies—sure, okay, whatever.”

“Mm.” Of course I knew there was more to life than skating—though it was difficult to imagine.

Theo leaned closer, dropping his voice. “If you want to get pissed off about how I’ve beaten you for the past two seasons, you should make me get on my hands and knees and fuck me so hard I’ll barely be able to stand tomorrow, let alone skate.”

I sucked in a breath, lust flaring. He shifted his hand to cup me as my cock swelled. “Driving,” I mumbled.

“Uh-huh.” He rubbed my shaft through my stretchy pants. “You’re such a good driver too. So responsible. I shouldn’t distract you.” He stopped stroking and rested his hand lightly on my hard cock. “I’ll stop talking about letting you punish me for all those gold medals I’ve taken from you. Those elephants are supposed to stay in the corner. I promise I’ll be good.”

I grunted, cursing as traffic slowed. We weren’t far from the condo now, but it seemed an eternity. Especially since Theo kept talking because that’s what he did.

“I really do try to be good, you know. But sometimes I can’t help being bad. Even if I beg you to stop, you have to teach me a lesson.”

I frowned. “If you tell me to stop, I will.”

He chuckled before kissing my cheek. “I know, baby. Don’t worry, I’ll never beg you to stop because I love it when you fuck my brains out. We should have a safe word, though. Let’s see.” He idly traced the shape of my shaft with his fingertip. “How about ‘Torino’?”

Memories of that rainy street, tiramisu, and falling asleep next to Theo for the first time unspooled. I nodded, affection threatening to choke me.

We managed to get into the condo without public indecency, although my erection had barely abated. I gave Esmeralda treats to tide her over until dinner and locked her in the bathroom, and when I turned back, Theo was already naked.