Edge Work

Free with Kindle Unlimited

She said “good, strong girl” once. It rewired everything.

Saylor James is a wrecking ball. The starting defenseman for Lakeshore University’s women’s hockey team, she’s 5’11” of raw power, terrible skating fundamentals, and the unshakable belief that she’s too big, too loud, and too much for anyone to love. When national development team scouts announce they’re coming in February, her coach delivers the verdict she’s been dreading: her skating is the thing holding her back.

Katya Volkov is untouchable. A former Olympic silver medalist in figure skating, she’s spent fourteen years building a life of perfect control after a relationship in Russia cost her everything. She coaches with terrifying quiet authority, she hasn’t let anyone close since Moscow, and she skates alone at 5 AM because it’s the only hour she lets herself be human.

When a scheduling error forces them onto the same ice, Saylor destroys Katya’s training cones — and Katya destroys Saylor’s composure with a dressing-down so precise it feels like surgery. The next morning, Saylor is in the stands at 5 AM, watching Katya skate like she’s witnessing a miracle. The morning after that, she’s begging for lessons.

What starts as edge-work becomes something neither of them can stop. Katya’s hands on Saylor’s hips, correcting her posture. Katya’s voice in the dark: hold the edge, don’t fight it, good strong girl. The lessons become a container for something that’s building between them — and when Katya says those three words with her hand on Saylor’s hip, the ice between them doesn’t crack. It melts.

But Katya has spent fourteen years running from intimacy, and the last time she wanted someone this badly, it cost her a country. She’s not afraid of Saylor. She’s afraid of what Saylor represents: a door she sealed shut, opening. And the only thing more terrifying than walking through it is the woman standing on the other side, patient and steady and refusing to shrink.

You’ll love this if you enjoy:

✓ Age gap (36/21) with an ice queen who melts only for her
✓ Praise kink that migrates from the ice to the bedroom
✓ Coach/mentee adjacent — technically not her coach, but the dynamic is there
✓ An enforcer who hits like a truck and blushes when praised
✓ A former Olympian learning to let someone in after 14 years
✓ Slow burn that detonates against the boards at 5 AM
✓ D/s energy built on trust, not negotiation
✓ Size difference (she’s 5’11”, she’s 5’6”, the math is devastating)
✓ No breakup, no third-party drama — the conflict is internal and real
✓ Six escalating heat scenes, each one unlocking something new
✓ A guaranteed HEA earned on the ice and off it