Life on the Edge (38 page)

Sergei continued to shower me with kisses. He nestled me to him, and I delighted in just staring at his face and seeing my love reflected in his eyes.

“Why don’t we stay here the rest of the weekend?” he whispered in my ear.

I giggled at the tickle of his breath. “That would be heavenly, but I have to be there for my friends tomorrow. Aubrey and Nick are so close to making the team.”

Mentioning Aubrey brought the unpleasant thought of Viktor and his disgusting smoky smell to mind. I wrinkled my nose and pressed my face to Sergei’s neck, breathing in his clean, spicy scent. I wanted to forget about Viktor but knew I had to let Sergei know my suspicions.

“I need to tell you something that happened while you were gone.”

“What is it?” He stroked my cheek.

“I think Viktor might know about you and me.”

Sergei’s hand froze on my face. “How?”

“I don’t know, but he said something . . .”

“What did he say?” The softness in his eyes sharpened into concern.

“He got a little too . . . close to me, so I told him to back off, and he said ‘You wouldn’t say that to Sergei.’” I shuddered at the memory of Viktor’s scary knowing smile.

Sergei’s body became rigid and his jaw clenched. “What do you mean, he got too close to you? Did he touch you?”

“Just my arm.”

“If he touches you again, I’m going to break every one of his fingers.” His eyes burned with anger, and I feared what might happen the next time he saw Viktor.

“You can’t confront him. That’s probably exactly what he wants, to bait you into doing something crazy.”

“If he knows about us, why hasn’t he exposed us already?”

“I don’t know, but I got some bad vibes from him,” I said.

“I never should’ve let him go with you to the Final.”

“You had no idea he was going to act this way.” I grasped his hand and intertwined our fingers.

“We only have a few weeks until the Olympics. We need to be extra careful when we’re together.”

“He can’t mess this up for us.” My voice wavered and I shook my head. “Not after everything we’ve gone through to get here.”

Sergei locked his eyes on mine. “I’m not going to let him.” His arms tensed around me, and he repeated with even more firmness, “I’m not going to let him.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

I linked my arm through Aubrey’s, and we followed the signs to the smallest of the Biltmore Hotel’s numerous ballrooms. We passed the Grand Salon, site of the big closing bash for all competitors, where music thumped inside. Headed in that direction were Courtney and three friends, giggling and talking in the hyper way young girls do.

“You guys look hot!” Courtney exclaimed.

Aubrey and I laughed. “Don’t you love
Em’s
gold dress?” Aubrey asked and showed me off like I was a prize on a game show display.

The halter neckline and slim-fitting skirt hugged the slight curves of my petite figure. I’d hesitated on buying the dress because of its color, but Aubrey had convinced me to be confident rather than superstitious.

“It’s awesome, but you’re a little overdressed for the party,” Courtney said.

“We have to go to a cocktail party first.” Aubrey smoothed an invisible wrinkle on her purple dress. “We’ll join you after we hang out with the stuffy crowd.”

One of the federation’s biggest sponsors was hosting the soiree. As Olympians, we were expected to hobnob with the upper crust of the sport. Aubrey and I had made a pact to escape after we did the required mingling.

We entered the ballroom and snaked through the party-goers, accepting congratulations and accolades along the way. Two older Hall of Fame skaters engaged us in a lengthy chat, and we listened to them relive their Olympic glory and offer words of advice for our upcoming experience at the Games. The more people congratulated me on making the team, the more the accomplishment began to sink in. My feet itched to get to the closing party and dance in jubilation with my friends.

Sergei arrived while I moved between conversations, and we simply exchanged smiles as we passed each other. I stopped at the bar and fell into a daydream, imagining us one day attending parties as a couple, freely able to share an affectionate touch or glance in front of everyone.

“Hello, Emily.” Viktor shook me from my fantasy and back to unpleasant reality.

“Hello.” I moved left and he copied me.

“Nice dress.” His eyes shifted downward just long enough to make me want to scrub my skin. “Very. . . appropriate.”

Down the bar, I caught Sergei watching us. He took a step forward, his knuckles white around his drink. Low at my side where Viktor couldn’t see, I put up a stop sign with my hand to keep Sergei at bay.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I said and went on the hunt for Aubrey. I found her entertaining a couple of former champions. She gracefully bowed out of the conversation and asked, “Ready for the real party?”

Viktor eyed us from across the room. I grabbed Aubrey’s elbow and steered her to the door. “Never readier.”

****

After a couple of hours of high-energy dancing at the party, my friends and I gathered in Trevor’s room for more celebration. I downed multiple cocktails and found myself waltzing around the room with Aubrey, who’d enjoyed just as many drinks as I had.

“Lady Marmalade” came on the clock radio, and Aubrey boosted the volume, bounded onto the bed, and pulled me up with her. We sang loud and off-key, belting out Christina Aguilera’s high notes with screechy enthusiasm. Chris and Nick sat on the edge of the bed, doubled over with laughter.

In the middle of the chorus, Aubrey gripped my arms. “We’re going to the Olympics!”

She jumped up and down, and I joined her, creating a trampoline effect on the bed. The bouncing started to make me dizzy, so I let my legs crumple beneath me. I bumped into Nick and shook him.

“We’re going to the Olympics!”

He signaled for a high five. “Team Cape Cod!”

I smacked his hand and fell against the pillows. As I stared at the ceiling, I thought of the person who I most wanted to celebrate with. The blood coursed through my veins at a rapid rate and filled me with a powerful sensation. I had to see him.

I rose from the bed and almost toppled over. Halfway to the door, I realized my feet were bare.

Marley saw me searching the floor. “What are you looking for?”

“My shoes.”

She crouched next to the desk and pointed to a pair of peep-toe heels. “Are those yours?”

I hugged her and she let out a
tinkly
laugh. “Thank you, my love.”

With deliberate steps, I made my way to the elevator and two floors up to my destination. Sergei opened his door and stuck his head out into the hallway with a nervous glance.

“What are you doing here?”

I stumbled past him. “I thought it should be a tradition that I bust into your hotel room at Nationals.”

The bedside lamp shed faint light on the room. An open newspaper lay on the bed, and a pillow was propped up against the headboard. Without the television on, the room was silent, a stark difference from the scene I’d just left.

I pivoted to face Sergei and lost my balance. He grabbed me before I crashed into the doors of the TV armoire.

“You are so drunk.”

“I’m not that drunk. I just feel really, really good.” I circled my arms around his waist.

“You’re feeling good, alright.”

He still had on the white dress shirt he’d worn with his suit earlier, but he’d
untucked
it and removed his tie. I tightened my hold around him. Through the thin material of his shirt, the heat of his body brought mine alive with passion. I needed to be even closer to him. I wished I could crawl inside him.

“No one knows I’m here. And I won’t tell if you don’t tell,” I whispered.

He caressed my hair. “I think you should get some sleep.”

“No, let me stay.” I pouted. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”

His face relaxed into a little smile. “Somehow I doubt that.”

“You won’t regret it. I promise,” I said, low and smoky.

I covered his lips with mine. At first, he didn’t respond, but before long he returned my kiss with equal fervor. I moaned softly into his mouth and brought my hands up to his chest, where I unbuttoned his shirt.

Sergei broke from our kiss. “
Em
.”

I continued to fumble with the buttons. “I don’t
wanna
stop anymore,” I said breathlessly.

He gently grasped my wrists. “You’re drunk, and you don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I know what I want.” I reached up to kiss him.

He stepped back, still holding my wrists. “
Em
, we can’t do this. You’d regret it, and you’d hate me for letting it happen.”

I jostled my hands away from him and spoke with a shaky slur, “You say you want me, but now you’re pushing me away.”

“You know how I feel about you.” He cradled my face, his thumbs brushing my cheeks. “Sometimes I think I might lose my mind I want you so much. But not like this.”

The love in his eyes only made me desire him more. I slid my arms around him. “I just
wanna
be close to you.”

His shoulder made an inviting pillow for my spinning head. We stood quietly as Sergei rubbed my lower back, his strong hands so tender. I couldn’t ignore the heat stirring within me.

Lifting my head slowly, I touched my lips to Sergei’s jaw and trailed a line of supple kisses down his neck to his chest. Resting against his smooth skin was the pendant I’d given him. I ran my fingers over it and slipped my hand inside his opened shirt.

“
Em
, we can’t do this.” Sergei’s voice held much less conviction.

My palm skimmed across his chest, his heart pounding under my touch. I was dizzy with emotions I didn’t know how to control. The vodka had washed out the connection between my brain and my body like a flooded road in a storm.

Sergei buried his face in my hair, whispers of my name on his lips. I lowered my caress to the tight muscles of his abdomen and felt the unmistakable response of his body. The burning flame of desire in my stomach exploded into a raging wildfire.

Without warning, Sergei pulled away and showed his back to me. “You need to go.”

The sound of our heavy breathing filled the quiet room. Sergei stood with one hand on the back of his neck, and his shoulders rose and fell with each breath. I waited, hoping he would turn around and tell me everything was okay.

Receiving no such reaction, I walked on unsteady legs to the door. I hesitated in the doorway, but with still no movement from Sergei, I continued forward.

The warmth of the hallway suffocated me. I rode the elevator down to the lobby with the goal of fresh air. A group of people streamed out of the bar, but their faces were a blur. I ducked my head and weaved toward the double glass doors of the hotel’s front entrance.

The chilly night air slapped my face. I steadied myself against the stone wall and ambled down the sidewalk away from the lights of the entrance. The concrete base of a large planter looked like a good place to sit. I collapsed onto it and bent over. The spinning in my head slowed to a lazy whirl, and my senses regained some of their clarity.

A siren wailed in the distance, the only sound to hit my ears until footsteps shuffled on the pavement. A figure stopped in front of me, and I raised my head.

Viktor’s eyes pierced through the darkness. “You don’t look so good, Emily.”

I massaged my temples and groaned, “Why are you always around?”

“I saw you in the lobby and thought you could use some help.” His sinister tone told me I wouldn’t like the kind of help he was offering.

“Please leave me alone.” I stood up and swayed, and Viktor put his arm around me. I pushed him with my forearm, but he didn’t budge. “I told you not to touch me!”