Ice Cold Chemistry – Kendall Ryan

Does she think about anyone when she does? Does she ever think about— No. Stop. Don’t go there. I dry my face with the towel, adjust myself as discreetly as possible, and take one more deep breath. I can do this. I can walk out there, sit on her bed, and act like I didn’t just discover something that’s going to haunt me for the rest of my natural life. I’m a professional athlete. I have discipline. I have control.

I open the bathroom door. Winnie glances over at me before she turns back to the TV, oblivious. I lower myself onto the edge of the bed—carefully, very carefully—and fix my eyes on the screen without truly seeing anything. Shiplap. They’re talking about shiplap. I will think about shiplap. I will think about nothing except shiplap for the rest of the night.

But the image is seared into my brain now. The purple toy. The rumpled hotel bed. Winnie’s hand sliding down her stomach, disappearing between her legs— I grab a throw pillow and put it in my lap. “Cold?” she asks. “Something like that.” We watch another episode of the renovation show. She explains why the kitchen layout is inefficient and which design choices will age poorly. I finish the fries she left behind. Neither of us mentions that it’s getting late or that we both have early mornings.

Somewhere around the second episode, she starts to fade. Her blinks grow longer, and her commentary becomes quieter. She tips sideways until her head rests on the pillow, eyes half-closed, still facing the TV. “Win.” “Mm.” “You’re falling asleep.” “‘M watching.” “You’re not. You’ve missed the last ten minutes.” She doesn’t argue, just curls tighter into herself, a small smile on her lips. I should leave. I should have left an hour ago. But she looks so peaceful, so soft, and I can’t bring myself to move. Her hair is loose, strands falling across her face.

Without thinking, I reach out— And stop. My hand hovers inches from her cheek. I want to brush those strands away, tuck them behind her ear, let my fingers linger on the curve of her face. But that’s not part of the arrangement. That’s not what she signed up for. I pull my hand back. “I should go,” I say quietly. “Mmkay.” Her eyes flutter open briefly. “Thanks for the company.” “Thanks for the burger.” She laughs sleepily.

“Goodnight, tough guy.” The nickname hits me the same way it did on the phone— right in the chest, right where it matters. “Goodnight, Win.” I stand up carefully, trying not to jostle the bed.

Copyright © 2026 by Kendall Ryan All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination.

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or localities is entirely coincidental. First edition This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy Find out more at reedsy.com OceanofPDF.com Contents Ice Cold Chemistry About the Book Quick FYI because I love you… Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Chapter Thirty-Seven Epilogue Knights Like These Acknowledgements OceanofPDF.com Ice Cold Chemistry Off the Ice, Book Two Kendall Ryan OceanofPDF.com About the Book Winnie Garrett is done with men.

After a toxic relationship left her second-guessing everything, she’s focused on one thing: her dream job as the New York Knights’ new yoga instructor. Banks Callahan doesn’t do relationships. Or feelings. Or anything that requires letting people get close. Growing up in the foster system taught him not to need anyone—and definitely not to want something he could lose. So when the team’s new yoga instructor becomes an unexpected locker-room distraction threatening their playoff focus, Banks comes up with a solution so ridiculous it just might work.

Fake dating. If the guys think Winnie is his, they’ll back off. It’s simple locker room code: you don’t touch what’s claimed—like calling dibs on the last slice of pizza. The problem? Nothing about Winnie Garrett is simple. She’s warmth and laughter and everything Banks has spent years convincing himself he doesn’t need. She makes him want things he can’t have. Makes him feel things he doesn’t understand. He was never supposed to fall for her. But somewhere between fake hand-holding, pretend nicknames, and very real late-night moments, the line between “just for show” and “dangerously real” starts to blur.

Ice Cold Chemistry is a slow-burn hockey romance featuring fake dating, a grumpy hero, a sunshine heroine, and the relationship neither of them planned—but both might need.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: e08e0248f02c8dc3
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 2,868,125 bytes (2.735 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 318
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 372.3 minutes
• Total Words: 74,459
• Total Characters: 418,075
• Average Words per Page: 234.15
• Average Characters per Page: 1314.7

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