Christmas Candy(78)

“Blues are fine by me. If you remember, dark blues are my thing.” He winked, devilish and handsome.

“Are we back to the rowing again?” I laughed. “Blue versus blue?”

“Indeed we are. I’m glad things can always come back around to what’s most important in life.” He stood and readied his poles. “After you, my lady.”

I took off, gliding up the slope until we reached the open ski lift. After a short wait, we hopped on and sailed up the mountain a bit further. The sun was high and bright, the snow beneath us blinding.

“Perfect day to ski.” He put his hand on my knee and massaged it, his long fingers splayed against the white of my pants.

“I know. Brent and Mom should have saved shopping for later.” I didn’t know what I’d actually said. I could only think about his hand on my knee, his fingers, the way they’d been inside me not that much earlier.

“What slope are you thinking?”

“Pussyfoot,” I answered, once again, without thinking.

He laughed and moved his hand further up my thigh just a bit. Thank god I had clamped my oversized Jackie-O sunglasses on or he would have seen the intense red blush that crept into my cheeks.

“That’s one of my favorites, as well.”

I know.

Reality was muffled, the only sound the wind and the only sensation his hand on my leg, rubbing circles against my inner thigh. I slid from the lift and onto the platform, and he followed. We skied to the top of the run.

Before I could start down, he tightened up the scarf around my neck. Then he pulled a tube of lip protectant from his pocket and smoothed it along my lips. Strangely erotic, he looked into my eyes as he did it. I should have felt ridiculous – a grown woman getting babied like that – but I felt protected, happy even.

Once he was done with my lips, he quickly smoothed some on his own and stowed it back into his pocket.

“Ready?” he smiled and my breath caught.

“Yes.” He was melting me bit by bit, just a snowman on a hot day.

I broke my gaze and looked down the slope. The snow was perfect, still smooth from a recent grooming.

I pushed my poles into the powder and stroked lightly down the slope. Niles was at my elbow in a moment, both of us gliding easily down the curving trail of white. The wind hummed through the trees along the edges and chilled the few spots of exposed skin on my face. I didn’t care. The feeling of easy speed was exhilarating. There were only a few other skiers around us, leaving us in our own little bubble.

“Never knew simply sliding down a hill could be so much fun, yeah?” he said over the sound of our skis.

“I’ve never really thought about it like that, but I guess that’s what we’re doing.” I laughed.

He returned my smile before digging in his poles and shooting out ahead. He looked back and waggled his eyebrows. A challenge. He may have been a double black diamond skier, but he wasn’t going to beat me on my favorite run.

I dug my poles in and shot down after him. He turned back forward and got serious, pushing himself farther out in front. I tucked in, and flew down, right on his tail. He glanced over his shoulder, a look of surprise on his face at how close I’d already gotten. Then he dug in harder and faster, both of us flying past other skiers as Niles called out “on the left” or “on the right” as we went.

I had always been competitive. In school, in soccer, in anything that I felt I excelled at. I didn’t excel at skiing, but I would be damned if I would let Niles beat me.

I pumped my arms, digging the poles in even as they skittered along the surface. We were racing down the mountain, the scenery blurring in a green and white wave of speed. My heart was pumping and my knees started to burn from the tension. I bent them further and leaned into it, barreling ahead and getting to Niles’ elbow.

He glanced to me, a smile plastered in his face. There was a matching one on mine as we stopped pushing and simply let the hill take us. We glided over the snow, the whisper and whir of our skis the only competing sound with the wind.

We reached the part where the hill turned slightly to the right and joined the main run. He looked over at me, now neck and neck. He didn’t see the skier in red who’d eased into the run only a few feet ahead of him. I screamed, but it was too late. The impact sent the red skier onto his back and Niles went flying.





Niles





I didn’t pass out. I wished I had, but I didn’t. I slid down the snow on my back before friction finally made an appearance and slowed me down. My sunglasses were long gone and the sun was blinding me. Pain radiated from my left leg, along with less intense aches from other parts of my body.