He pulled her closer and bent at the knees slightly to lower his head toward hers. He studied her for any sign that he should stop, but she tilted her head slightly to the right as he went left. She wanted this.

“You two friends ready for another run?” Garrett’s voice interrupted the moment and Erika backed away slowly.

At the end of the day, Reed was filling out a customer complaint card. He forced a deep breath as he nodded. “Yep.”

“We sure are,” Erika said, but her look told him to try that kiss again.

She didn’t have to worry. He had every intention of trying as often as it took to get a taste of those vanilla-flavored lips...and any other flavors she might taste like anywhere else.

* * *

BY LUNCHTIME, ERIKA HAD had enough of Reed and Garrett’s dick-measuring contest. Flattering at first that the twenty-two-year-old guide found her attractive, it was quickly turning unprofessional.

And Reed should really know better than to put his safety at risk, with his breakneck pace down the slopes, to try to impress her or win her attention.

He didn’t need to try. The more she got to know him, the more time she spent with him, the more impressed she was. She was attracted and interested and having a hard time focusing on skiing. Their almost kiss after the first run had her longing for another opportunity. His hands on her waist and the way he’d looked into her eyes had weakened her knees and filled her with anticipation.

“Here you go... One hot dog with just relish,” he said a moment later, handing her the barbecued hot dog and joining her at the picnic table on the outside patio of the small ski hut at the base of the mountain.

The outdoor lunch setup was beautiful, and the midday sun shining against the snow-covered mountains cast a glistening effect over the terrain. It was an experience she wouldn’t soon forget and it seemed Reed had gone all out to make sure of it. No one had made such an effort for her before.

“Thank you,” she said, unwrapping the foil. She took a bite, savoring the taste. She was starving, having worked up an appetite on the slopes. And she’d forgotten how much better food tasted in the outdoors. She swallowed the bite, then hesitated before saying. “You know you don’t have to compete with him, right?”

He turned to face her. “I’m not having to work that hard to match him on the slopes,” he said.

“I meant for my attention,” she said softly, touching his bare hand on the picnic table. His skin was warm below her cool flesh and he looked surprised by the gesture, but immediately took her hand in his.

“But you said we were just friends.”

“We are...but...” Her eyes couldn’t decide where to look. His crystal blues held a question she didn’t know the answer to and his full, pink, wind-chapped lips beckoned. He’d looked so sexy racing down each new, slightly more challenging slope. The unexpected intimacy that came with taking on these challenging trails had her struggling to resist the urge to touch him, kiss him all morning. The short helicopter runs back to the top of the mountain had never felt long enough, yet with each one, new undeniable sparks had gone off between their bodies.