He stood watching her sexy hips swish back and forth expertly as she left a cloud of powder behind her. She looked like a natural on the slopes. Her hair trailing behind her was a sharp contrast to the glistening white snow, and he almost forgot she’d challenged him to a race.

Garrett was also checking her out.

Reed held a gloved hand to the guy’s chest, as he went to push off. “When she said friend, she meant...good friend.”

“But not boyfriend?” Garrett said. “Snooze you lose, man,” he said, taking off after her.

Unbelievable. Reed knew one thing, he hadn’t paid a small fortune to have his girl swiped out from under him. Pushing off on his right ski, he took off down the mountain, flying past the guide, surprising himself by his speed. He didn’t plan on snoozing or losing.

He also didn’t want to wipe out and roll down the hill. Looking like an amateur next to the snowboard god wasn’t the way to win Erika’s attention. He slowed his pace slightly and tried to enjoy the ride, but seeing Garrett quickly approaching on his right, he regained his lightning speed.

Garrett laughed behind him, and Reed was fairly certain the guy was letting him win. Didn’t matter. He’d take the nondeserved victory.

Out of breath and amazed he hadn’t died, Reed stopped several feet from the chalet, then made his way toward Erika.

“Wow! That was crazy,” she said, her windblown hair messy around her flushed cheeks as she raised her ski goggles up over her hat.

“Yeah, crazy...” At the moment he didn’t care about the run. In fact, on a mission, he’d barely paid attention to it. “Listen, if our guide is acting like a jerk or making you uncomfortable, I can see if there’s someone else who can guide the rest of the day,” he said, fighting to catch his breath. Someone older and married, perhaps.

Garrett had reached the bottom and stood chatting with another instructor near the chalet. Both of the men were looking at Erika. Suddenly, Reed didn’t like the idea of any guide helping them out that day. He wanted to spend the day on the slopes with her. Just her.

She shook her head. “No, it’s cool. He’s cute.”

Cute? “You know, Erika, these mountain ski resort guys are real players. You should be careful around them.”

She raised an eyebrow, but her lips curled into an amused grin. “You’re acting like a babysitter again.”

Screw that. He took several strides closer and reached for her waist, awkwardly gliding her skis into the space between his. “That wasn’t my intention,” he said, brushing the hair away from her face. He saw her swallow hard as her eyes flitted between his.

“What was your intention?” she whispered, staring at his lips.

The chill of the air disappeared as heat rushed through him. Damn, he wanted this woman. Right or wrong. Smart or stupid. Didn’t matter. She was stirring up cravings he hadn’t experienced in a long time. And that delicious scent of vanilla was definitely coming from her lips, he decided.