“River, you don’t ever have to ask me if you can kiss me,” he told her, voice lowered and husky with desire. Reaching for her hand, Easton gave her gloved fingers a gentle tug, an open invitation. “Consider this a yes for whatever.”

“Hold on there, buddy.” Her bright, pretty smile stole his breath away, the way a hard day’s climb couldn’t. “I’m not offering whatever. Just a kiss.”

Leaning down to make his face more accessible, Easton waited. And waited.

“Well, we’ve overtalked it now. You’ll have to wait for the moment again.”

With a playful growl, Easton snagged her around the waist. River burst out laughing as he spun her in a circle. Her booted foot hooked behind his knee for balance, her arms grasping his neck. Face-to-face, Easton stopped, holding her up with one arm, his free hand carefully threading into her hair.

“I think we’re back in the moment,” River whispered, her cold nose brushing his.

“Are you sure?” he rumbled, because her breath was warm on his skin, and he was ready to know if her lips were as soft as they looked.

“So sure. Super-duper sure.”

“Extra sure?” Easton started to tease her, but River had already pressed her mouth to his.

It should have started soft, sweet. A first kiss, to see what this was between them. But the moment their lips met, it was like fire and cinnamon, sweet and hot and burning him up from the inside out. Just like she was…perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

Chapter 12

Naps were almost as good as kisses above twelve thousand feet.

Both Easton and Ben were tired from their much longer day. Being used to the altitude didn’t mean exertion in lower oxygen didn’t get to them. After a quick hot meal, both crashed out in their tents. And if River ended up snuggled next to Easton’s side, sleeping beneath the heavy, reassuring weight of his muscled arm, that was purely for logistical reasons. He was warm. She was cold. See? It made total sense.

The marmot threw an absolute fit at being left out in the cold, but River knew there was a perfectly warm dining tent where the marmot was more than welcome. She felt bad about the ousting, but the marmot was getting aggressive in its determination to win Easton as its mate. River refused to get bitten out of jealousy, especially when the fluffy adorable thing had started getting a murderous look in its eyes every time Easton stepped anywhere close to River.

“This is the first time I’ve woken up in days without a marmot butt in my face,” Easton told her when he woke up a few hours later. It was early morning, and River could have stayed asleep a few more hours easily. Well, if the marmot wasn’t still crying its heart out at being ousted from the tent.