From Lukov with Love

by Mariana Zapata

“Why would you do that?” I asked, barely able to get the sentence out as we turned to the other side of the arena to do the same. His hand slipped into mine, linking our fingers together as we bowed in...

He squeezed my hand as we stood straight up and waved to the people throwing stuffed animals and flowers out onto the ice. I’d nev...

“Smile. We did it,” he said, still breathing hard. I smiled, but ...

“Stop looking at me like you want to kill me. We can talk about this later. Don’t be awkward,” he murmured, pulling my hand once we were standing stra...

I wanted to deny it. I really did. Mostly because I hated the fact that he sounded so smug. Bu...

Maybe I’d never said the words, but he knew. Like he’d known about my learning disability but never said anything. Like he knew chocolate was my weakne...

It was my turn to pull at his hand as I tried to lead him off the ice, whispering, angrily, “Don’t sound so smug ab...

the difference is that you never let anybody talk you out of it. You didn’t let anyone make you do something you didn’t want to do,

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I don’t want to ruin your high. So, tell me about that cute kiss Ivan gave you. When are you two going to get married, win all the awards ever, and have kids that

You two are so perfect for each other it gave me a toothache. No lie. Ask Aaron.”

the words Ivan had said to me while we’d been on the ice. I love you. He loved me. And he knew I loved him back.

I’d spotted Galina in the stands as we’d made our way to wait for our scores and had nodded at her, getting a nod in return, which from her was basically an I love you.

He pulled me in even tighter to his side, his hand going to my upper arm and rubbing up and down there. “You were amazing, Meatball. You really were... but don’t expect me to admit that to you again anytime soon.”

I pressed my head into his shoulder and smiled, glad he couldn’t see it. “You were pretty fucking amazing too.”

How the hell could I have fallen in love with this arrogant ass? Of all the billions and billions of people on the planet, this was who I fell in love with? This guy?

still rubbing my arm up and down.

I held my breath and got my words together before spilling them out. “Whenever you and Coach Lee get around to finding me another partner—” His hand stopped moving, and I felt him turn his upper body to look down at me. “What?”

It made me a coward for sure, but I kept my head on his shoulder, even knowing he had his total attention on me. “When worlds are over and you tr...

Now that tone had me glancing up at him to give him a crazy look, and the expression I faced was another version of crazy. “What?” He blinked. “You think I’m going to find you another partner?” It was my tu...

“I’m not going to find you another partner,” he said, his face and voice both telling me he was insulted. But I didn’t get why. “Why the hell would I do that?” “Umm, because that was the deal. Because you were the one that said like a hundred times that we were only pairing up for a year.” I almost added “dumbass,” but managed not to.

“You’re the best partner I’ve ever had,” he started. “There’s no comparison. Am I right?” I nodded because, yeah, I fucking was. “You’re my best friend.”

“If I had to choose anyone to help me bury a body, eat dinner with, or watch television with, it would be you, every time for everything.”

“I made up Mindy taking the season off when really our agreement had ended, and I hadn’t planned on going back to skate with her. Because even though you drove me crazy, I wanted to skate with you.”

“My family loves you.” I didn’t know… anything. I looked at him, watching as he tipped his head closer to mine and said, “And I love you.”

“I love you so much I spend all day with you, and it still isn’t enough for me,” he kept going. I stopped breathing. “I love you so much, if I can’t skate with you, I don’t want to skate with anyone else.” Holy. Fuck. “I love you so fucking much, Jasmine, that if I broke my ankle during a program, I would get up and finish it for you, to get you what you’ve always wanted.”

“You mean so much to me that that’s why whatever happens doesn’t really matter to me. Not like it used to. Not like it ever will again,” he finished, pressing his forehead against mine, his eyes intense and heartbreaking. “You’re not ever going to be anyone else’s partner. Not while I’m alive, Meatball. I will drag your stubborn, beautiful ass kicking and screaming back to me because nobody else will ever be good enough for you.”

I blinked. I blinked so fast I knew I was about two point five seconds away from losing my shit. And then Ivan ended me. He ended every worry I’d ever had about there being someone after him. He did it right there with the tip of his nose touching my own and his forehead against mine too.

“Because I’m okay with you having ten other people be your favorite. But you’re always going to be my favorite person,” he ...

I blinked so fast, I couldn’t help but let my eyes fill up with tears. “I… I’m not good….” His smile was so gentle, so sweet, it took half ...

he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me, the bottom of his chin going...

And he hugged me, and then hugged me for even longer, even as tears slipped out of m...

And while I was leaning almost all of my weight against him, he lowered us onto our sides and kept on holding me, pulling me so I was halfway on top of him, my head on his chest, one of my hands gripping his ribs, a leg over his own. We stayed like that until the tea...

He brushed his hand down my hair, alm...

I had thought earlier that night had been one of the best moments of my life, but this was. This was, and I loved Ivan so much, I didn’t thin...

Everything he had said to me, I felt the exact same way about, except I would have skated with someone else if he’d truly wanted to go back to his old partner, but I would have done it as a tribute t...

I wanted to give him all the shit and all the shit I couldn’t forever and always, because...

Not when his hands made longer strokes along my hair, not when his hand drifted to my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Or when his palm moved down my arm, gentle, gentle, gentle, his fingertips almost tickling me as he touched the thigh I had over him.

I wouldn’t have moved away for all the money in the whole world. Not for all the awards and all the medals either. Not for fucking anything.

What Ivan did was move his fingertips across my thigh and then, then to my knee. It took everything in me not to react as all but one of his fingertips disappeared, and that one sole, lonely pad began making circles o...

His fingertip made wider and wider circles, dipping down to the sensitive skin at the crease behind my knee before making its way back upward again to my quads, making that track-like pattern one more time. Then that fingertip made a trail down my bare shin and calf, making ...

One fingertip turned into four. Then the length of four fingers. Then an entire palm.

“You know, Jasmine,” he said, sounding almost distracted, “these things are so strong—” “Things?” I almost panted out. “Legs,” he clarified, still touching my skin. “Legs,” he emphasized. “They’re all muscle. I didn’t think—” He made a noise in the back of his throat as his palm swept up over my knee to land on the top of my thigh. “—they would be so soft.”

Ivan dragged his hand higher up my thigh, so high the fingers snuck beneath the hem of my shorts, his hands practically spanning the length of my entire thigh. It wasn’t like I had long legs or anything, and I was grateful. Because he could touch more. Touch everything. And I wanted him to.

he pulled me over his lap so that I was straddling him. The arm around my back crushed my lower body against his. And I felt it. All long and thick and hard.

He pressed our mouths together like they were meant to be like that.

I moved my mouth just enough so that I could aim it toward his neck, biting it instantly.

And Ivan, fucking Ivan, groaned, tipping his head back to give me more room. So I opened my mouth wider and took more of his neck into my mouth, the skin soft and just a little salty and smelling like that clean, expensive cologne I knew he wore on a daily basis.

“Beautiful, so fucking… beautiful,” he whispered, hoarse, his lips hovering over my chest.

“This fucking ass,” he hissed. “I’ve been dreaming of this ass for so long,” he claimed. “Perfect, perfect….”

But when I glanced up at his face, those cool blue-gray eyes were slits, and his cheeks were pink, and he looked….