Laurie’s Wolves(5)

Chapter Three


Laurie held Zach’s hand as they slid off the ski lift for the third time. Carlie had been right. The east slope was perfect. At least as far as Laurie knew. She didn’t exactly have anything to compare it to. But the sky was clear and the sun was shining and the temperature was high enough by that time she could stuff her hat in her pocket and feel the sun on her face.

Zach held her hand tighter as they slid to the right to get out of the way of the next skiers to exit the lift. “You made it.” He beamed.

Yeah. She’d fallen on her ass the first time they exited the lift, causing the man working the lift to have to stop it until she could get out of the way. It was humiliating, but Zach didn’t seem to think so. He insisted it happened every few minutes, even to the experienced skiers.

She doubted that. But she appreciated the way he handled her clumsiness.

The second time she exited the lift, she went flailing forward until she crashed into an embankment, her arms winding, her poles dropped on the ground en route.

This third time was a charm. “See? You’re going to turn me into a skier yet.” Lucky for Zach, she found herself enjoying the sport. It was invigorating, and she thought she’d caught on fairly quickly. Zach insisted she was a natural, but she couldn’t exactly trust his praise.

“Think you can make it to the bottom this time without the snowplow move?” He skied backward in front of her, wiggling his entire body back and forth in a choreographed dance that looked as natural as walking for him. She loved looking at him. His face lit up with happiness. His body was incredible. She had no doubt underneath all that ski clothing was a rock hard chest and abs she could run her hands over all day…and night.

“Maybe…” She was finally getting the hang of sliding both feet to one side or the other in order to stop. She’d even managed to stay upright almost the entire run the second time down the hill.

“I’ll take you on a longer run the next time if you make it all the way to the bottom without falling.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a threat or a promise.” She adjusted her poles and started down the hill behind him.

“I’ll even feed you lunch at the top. We have another lodge higher up the mountain. We’ll take the longer lift and stop for a while.”

“Sounds good.” Her stomach growled as if the mention of eating had awakened it. It was almost one o’clock. She was amazed by how much she’d accomplished in three hours. “Are you sure you don’t have to be somewhere else today? I know when you agreed to give me a lesson, it was intended to be for an hour, not a full day. And I’m sure you have better things to do than babysit some newbie all afternoon.”

Secretly, she hoped he stayed with her for the rest of the day, the night, and tomorrow too. But she also reasoned he had a job he was ignoring.

“Laurie, you hardly qualify as some newbie I’m forced to babysit. Besides, you heard my mom. She has things covered.” He stopped, and she plowed into him dead center. He tipped her face back before she could catch her breath from the unexpected halt. “Do you honestly believe I could simply walk away and go teach someone else to ski this afternoon? Or rescue people from slopes they had no business attempting?”

She shook her head. “No. I was just being polite.”

He smiled. “Good. Because you aren’t getting rid of me that easily. Now, let’s make our way to the bottom and take the center lift to the lodge. I’m starving.” He kissed her lips briefly and released her.

It was the second time he’d touched her mouth with his. And her entire body jumped to attention both times. How did he expect her to concentrate after that level of intimacy?

They’d immediately fallen into sync with each other from the moment they met. To anyone observing, they undoubtedly looked like a couple who’d been together for months instead of hours. And it felt as if that were the truth.

Comfortable. Easy.

Arousing.

She had tamped down her body’s reaction to him for three hours now. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold back from jumping him. Thank God the slopes were a bit crowded because if the world ceased to exist for even one moment around her, she would probably drop to the ground, feign some sort of injury, and force him to hover over her. Mouth to mouth would be the best ticket.

More kissing wouldn’t hurt her feelings at all. The two brief times her lips met his had melted her insides.

Now, shaking from lust and lack of fuel, she concentrated on the task at hand and skied down the slope in his wake as though she’d been doing so for a decade. Well, perhaps a few days, but to her it seemed she was on top of the world.