He pulled her closer again. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Her heartbeat echoed on the mountains as his lips inched closer.

She was so ready for this kiss. He looked and smelled so great and he was saying all the right things, touching her and looking at her the way she longed to be touched, admired. She closed her eyes, feeling his breath against her mouth.

“You two better eat, we have more skiing to do,” Garrett said, leaning over the picnic table, his face suddenly just inches from theirs.

Seriously?

Luckily, he moved away, laughing again before Reed could deck him. “Son of a...” he muttered.

Erika silenced him by placing a small peck to his lips. Not the passionate, desire-filled one raging inside of her, but a soft, tender hint of what she hoped was to come.

“That was hardly enough,” he said, his voice husky.

“Well, maybe you can convince me to try again later,” she said, a flirty adrenaline soaring through her as she moved away and continued to eat her hot dog. Not that she was hungry anymore. She could survive solely on this incredible feeling forever.

“You better count on it.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“THANK YOU AGAIN for today,” Erika said as Reed pulled to the side of the road outside Cassie’s place. The sky was dark and the light snowfall that had started on their way back now blanketed the village with a pretty, glistening effect. Holiday lights on the lampposts and in the closed store windows created the perfect Christmas card scene.

Exhausted but rejuvenated from the day on the slopes, Erika was disappointed that it was coming to an end. Reed had held her hand in the helicopter several times during the afternoon runs, but as they’d moved to more challenging terrain, their focus had turned to the mountains, and while kissing was still in the back of her mind all afternoon, they’d both resisted.

Now that her safety was no longer at risk, the temptation of Reed’s lips was forefront in her mind.

“You’re welcome. You killed it out there,” Reed said, turning in his seat to face her.

He’d removed his jacket, and the way his black crewneck sweater hugged his biceps as he rested his arm against the steering wheel almost made her mouth water. Watching him expertly move his body down the rugged terrain had her on fire.

“When did you learn to ski like that?” he asked, obviously as reluctant to end the day as she was.

“I took lessons for years. It was the only sport my dad thought was a good use of my time.” She hoped her strained relationship with her father wasn’t evident in her voice. She really didn’t want to end the day on anything other than a high.

“Your dad must be a great role model,” he said, and she heard a longing in his voice. No doubt getting through the troublesome, confusing teen years without his was tough. Reed had been close to his dad and his disappearance had hit him the hardest. She remembered the brief stint of rebellion he’d gone through—skipping school, getting in with the wrong crowd... Luckily his mother had been strong enough to set him straight again.