Sleigh Bells in the Snow(100)
“Thank you.” Kayla shivered as her boots touched the snow. “That was the best experience of my life.”
“Top that, Jackson.” Dana winked at her cousin. “Want me to run you back to your barn?”
“I do not.” A smile touching his mouth, he strolled over to his cousin and hugged her. “Thanks, Dana.”
Her eyes twinkled. “You could invite me in for a coffee.”
“I could, but I’m not going to.” He strolled away from her and took Kayla’s arm while Dana gave a dreamy sigh.
“Okay, but just remember I do engagements and weddings. Champagne extra.”
Jackson didn’t turn his head.
* * *
SHE WAS SHIVERING, and he realized with a tug of guilt just how wet she was. “We stayed out too long. You’re frozen.”
“I loved it.” Her teeth were chattering. “That’s how I want to commute when I get back to New York. Thank you for arranging it.”
Cursing softly, he tugged off her gloves and warmed her freezing hands. “Stay there and don’t move. I need one minute, that’s all—just one minute.”
He’d been planning it all evening, but hadn’t expected to use it as a first aid technique.
He did what he needed to do and returned to find her standing where he’d left her, the melting snow sliding off her jacket.
“We need to get you out of your clothes—”
“You have to be kidding.” Her hands covered his as he tried to unzip her jacket. “I am not removing a s-single layer. You may be hot, O’Neil, but even you’re not hot enough to make me part with layers.”
“You need to be naked for what I have in mind.”
Her teeth were chattering. “Jackson—”
“Hot tub.” He ignored the grip of her chilled fingers and pulled down the zip. “We need to get you out of this wet clothing and into the warmth.”
“I c-cannot take my c-clothes off.”
“I’ll do that part.”
“You’re all heart, O’Neil.”
“Not true. I have other parts.” He pulled off her fleece top, steadily undressing her. “Parts you’re about to discover.”
“Are those parts frozen?”
“Definitely not. Want me to prove it? I’ll leave you your underwear, Green.”
“Why bother?” She was still shivering but her eyes were dark as she looked at him. “Don’t tell Alice, but my underwear isn’t thermal.”
“In that case it’s serving no purpose and has to come off.” Resisting the temptation to start the warming process right there and then on the hardwood floor, Jackson relieved her of her underwear and wrapped a warm bathrobe around her. “Come with me.”
“I am going to die of hypothermia. Or frostbite—” Her muttered complaints lasted until she slid into the steaming hot tub. “Or maybe I’ll just die of bliss—” She closed her eyes and sank down to her neck. “Oh, this is perfect.”
Jackson slid in next to her, the heat of the water a luxurious contrast to the freezing air.
She leaned her head back against the side of the hot tub. “I want to stay here and never move. I’m going to make Brett install one in the office for lunchtime relaxation sessions.”
“You don’t take lunch and you don’t relax.”
But she was relaxing now, her eyes closed, her long lashes creating a dark shadow against her pale skin. “Now I understand why you installed a hot tub on the deck of each cabin. It’s genius.”
“You’ve never used a hot tub before?”
“Never.” Her eyes opened and she looked at the forest and the frozen surface of the lake that glistened in the moonlight. “I bet there aren’t many hot tubs with a view like this one.”
“I’ve tried to persuade my grandfather to try it.”
She smiled. “I can imagine his response.”
“It wasn’t polite, but the gist of it was that he thinks it’s an unnecessary extravagance.”
“Which probably defines my perfect holiday.”
“You never take holidays.”
“Maybe it’s time I did.”
“Are you telling me you’ve fallen in love with Snow Crystal?”
Her smile faltered. A tiny frown appeared on her forehead.
“Maybe. Does that count as being involved with a client?”
“No. But this does.” He tried to take it slowly, to savor each moment, because the last time had been a desperate blur of hunger and need and he wanted this to be different. He fought the surge of raw primal lust, tensed muscle to prevent himself from hauling her close, tried to ignore the madness, until holding back became the biggest challenge of his life. She was naked, her skin gleaming wet from the snow and the water. He’d never seen a woman more beautiful. Never wanted a woman more.