“What am I going to do to get you warm?” he asks
My mind instantly drifts, imagining his hard body on mine, warming me with his mouth as
he kisses a path down my body. I shiver again, and angle my head to see him. There is a small grin curling up the corner of his mouth, and I get the sense he knows what I’ve been thinking. I haven’t answered him yet. This morning, when he said all I had to do was say the word, I was all prepared to answer. Only problem was, I had no idea what word was going to come out of my mouth.
“Hey, you made it.”
I glance up to see Becca waving us over to the group. From what I can tell, there are eight couples in total. When we reach our new friends, Becca looks me over. “No broken neck,” she says.
“There were a few close calls,” I say and laugh. “Actually, it was kind of fun. Though I’m not so sure I want to do it again.”
“We didn’t get off the bunny hill,” Luke says, and Becca and Trey laugh. I glance around at all the other couples, many who are snuggled close. “Then again, we didn’t come here to ski,” Luke says, and presses his lips to mine. At first the kiss surprises me—since when has Luke been into public displays of affection?—but when his tongue slides along my bottom lip, I sink in to him. I’ve kissed Luke before. But never, ever like this. Holy hell, what is he doing to me, and how come I like it so much? His hands slide around my body, and he deepens the kiss as he holds me to him.
The sound of sleigh bells reaches our ears, and Luke breaks the kiss. I inch back and Becca and Trey are grinning.
“Sorry,” Luke says. “I can’t seem to keep my hands off my beautiful bride.”
“I totally understand,” Trey says, as he pulls Becca close. “I feel the same.”
Becca hits him playfully, and I lean into Luke, go up on my toes and put my mouth to his ear. “What the hell was that?”
“Just playing the part,” he says. “Letting you try it on for size since you’re so anti-marriage.” He nudges me. “Not so bad, right?”
Not so bad?
Jesus, if he can kiss like that, what the hell would it be like to actually sleep with him on a regular basis? I’m not sure, but now, well, I’m a little more anxious to find out.
The horses and sleigh pull up in front of us, and the driver steps down. “Welcome everyone,” he says. He’s a jovial man, probably in his late fifties, dressed in a big red jacket and black boots. He almost looks like Santa Claus. “Tonight we’re going on a romantic sleigh ride around the village, and I’ll be dropping you all off at the main lodge for a bonfire and games.”
“Games?” someone in the group says.
He gives us a wink. “Let’s just say there will be fabulous prizes for the couple who knows each other best.”
I turn to Luke. “I want to win.”
He laughs. “Me too.”
I laugh with him. Neither of us know what the prize is, but we both have such a competitive nature.
“Now if you’ll all climb aboard.” Luke helps me onto the sleigh. I lower myself onto a pile of hay, and Luke sits on one side of me, while Becca and Trey settle in on the other. Once everyone is on board, the driver takes his seat and sets the horses in to motion.
“This is kind of fun,” I say, and rub my hands together to keep warm. We head down a snowy path, and I take in all the lights. I know I’m not the girl he wants here with him, and I feel a little guilty that I’m glad it’s me and not Arianna. She doesn’t deserve Luke after what she’d done. I mull that over for a second, then quickly remind myself she is what he wants. Little bells on the rein jingles and pulls me back to the present. Around me everyone relaxes as they take in the majestic sights. Luke’s thigh presses against mine, and I shimmy closer to absorb his heat.
The horses circle the icy lake, where families are skating and laughing and drinking hot chocolate. “That looks like fun.”
“We can do that tomorrow if you want.”
“I’m way better on skates than skies,” I say.
“Me too.”
“You should be, you are the Stick Handler.”
He leans in to me and his breath is warm on my ear when he whispers, “You think that’s how I got the nickname.”
I go still for a moment, then when he chuckles, the vibrations going right through me, I whack him. “Ohmigod, Luke. Spare me the details.”
He laughs again. “I’d rather show you.”