Lock down on Ice

Chapter 7

Perri woke up with an uncomfortable sensation in his belly. He turned around and covered his head with a pillow as he remembered how annoyed Vanessa was with him over his rubbish adulting skills. It's not his fault that his talents lie elsewhere he thought. He had eaten his meal in the dining area hoping Vanessa would come out of her room but he didn't see her until after he had finished when she brought her empties back to the kitchen. He had told her he would clean up and she looked at him as if that was ever in doubt. His phone chimed his alarm. Time to get up and spend a whole day with her at the rink. He stayed put, hoping everything would disappear. It was working until a loud bang at his door made him jump.

"Time to get up Pel!" Came the annoyed voice. 'Is she still angry with me?' He thought with dread. Each room had its own bathroom so when he joined her in the lounge he was fully dressed and ready to go. She didn't smile, just nodded when she saw him and grabbed her bag and the keys. Perri watched her leave the apartment and decided that it would be the last time she would be angry with him, at least for today anyway. Operation charm was underway. He thought.

At the rink he had got his skates on and warmed up in double quick time and was waiting for Vanessa to join him in the middle of the rink. He was usually much later than her so she was very surprised to see him standing there with an odd smile on his gorgeous face. She approached him with suspicion. "If you're thinking of doing a prank, I can tell you right now that that would be a very bad idea." She warned sternly. Perri stood his ground and widened his smile. Vanessa placed her hand on her belly as if to still the fluttering that had started as he met her eyes. He closed the gap between them and placed his hand gently on her back.

"Do you want to start with lifts?" he asked. Vanessa dropped her jaw. He hated lifts, now she knew something was up. Before she could question his intention, Perri slipped both hands under her armpits and hoisted her as high as his long arms could reach, he spun 360 degrees and lowered her steadily back to the ice. It was a stunning display of strength and control. She had been lifted thousands of times in her long professional career but nothing felt quite like the sensation she felt when he picked her up. She chuckled nervously to try to distract herself from her raging hormones.

"You might regret that." She replied and pulled him over to the side. Let's practice here first as we need Steve with us to do it on the ice for the first time." She took him through the tricky moves that she wanted to put in week 1 and 3's performances. He concentrated better than he had ever done and didn't complain once. He also absorbed information like a sponge. Vanessa couldn't help being very impressed by him. She realised that every time Perri placed his hands on her body, her heart rate skyrocketed. Every time she felt his strength, she weakened. She was getting frustrated with herself but she was determined to hide it because her charge was trying so hard to please her.

"Am I doing it right?" Perri asked nervously. Vanessa turned away from his gaze and bit her lip in anger, she clearly wasn't trying hard enough.