The weather was perfect—snow drifting down in just the right amount beneath a pitch-black sky weighed down by gray clouds. Around the rink, Excited, you laced up your skates and glided onto the ice. There was a decent crowd, enough to make it lively but still spacious enough for you to do your own thing.

You glanced down at your blades, admiring the way they cut across the ice—until bam. You collided with someone, though it felt less like a person and more like running straight into a wall. The unexpected impact sent you falling backward onto the ice. Shocked, you looked up, your breath hitching as your eyes locked with a pair of cold, steely ones.

The man you’d bumped into had jet-black hair and a lean build—utterly attractive, the kind of man you wouldn’t be surprised to see women fawning over. He looked too good, almost criminally so. Still, he was just a stranger, nothing more than someone you’d accidentally crashed into.

He barely reacted, simply staring down at you before extending a hand.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice soft despite his intimidating gaze. “I’m sorry—I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. It was my fault.”