by Tawny Taylor
“Why are you being so stubborn about this skiing thing?” Jenna grumbled as she fiddled with the pants fly. What the heck were these? They looked like blue jeans but they had an extra black, stretchy waistband above the regular one. And there were black flames painted down the legs, encrusted with sparkly crystals. “I’m going to fall on my ass. I might even break a bone. Who will that impress?”
“You’ll be fine.” Nichole tossed several more articles of clothing onto the bed. Several long sleeved pullovers, socks, hat, gloves, goggles and a jacket. She winked. “Rafe respects a woman who can stand on her own two feet. But he also loves it when she falls and trusts him to catch her. Get it?”
She did. She got it. Rafe liked to be the hero. But if she could avoid falling, she was going to. This girl did not fling herself recklessly off her feet for any man. Even a prince. Especially a certain prince who wasn’t interested in her.
She bundled up in the clothes Nichole gave her, not exactly thrilled by how snug everything fit. Were they meant to be that way, to cling to her boobs and butt like that? Or were they too small? Trying to ignore the row of stodgy people glaring at her from the old portraits lining the hallway, she trundled out to the great room with the big fireplace to find Rafe was dressed similarly, though with a few less layers.
And there was no way to ignore how delish the snug shirt and pants looked on him. His jacket hung open in the front, showing off those scrumptious t-shirt clad pecks. And when he turned, she got a drool worthy look at the world’s most perfect butt.
Who knew ski apparel could be so sexy?
His gaze flicked her way but his apathetic expression didn’t change.
Nichole’s wrong.
Jenna forced a smile. “Well, I guess this is it. You won’t let me kill myself out there, right?”
“Of course he won’t,” Nichole responded, answering for the glowering Rafe. She motioned to the door. “Go, go! The weather’s perfect! I’ll change and meet you in a few.”
Perfect weather.
Perfect prince.
The perfect chance to totally kill herself.
What fun.
27
Jenna
Ohmygod, I’m going to die.
Jenna was standing at the top of the world’s deadliest ski slope, poles gripped in her hands, heart thumping so hard it hurt.
Okay, it probably wasn’t the world’s deadliest ski slope. But to her it was. There was a slope. A gentle, rolling slope. Big enough to kill her, by her estimations.
Okay, so maybe the word slope was an exaggeration. It was more a bump. A tiny one. But still deadly.
It was bad enough she was going to plummet to her death on a mole hill, did she have to do it with Rafe watching?
“Okay, Jenna,” Rafe coached. “We’ll start with the basics. How to stand.”
Jenna’s feet started sliding apart. “Ohhhh!” she screeched, alternately stabbing at the ground with the pointy poles and flapping her arms like a deranged bird. She was moving! And her legs were stretching wider and wider apart. Holy crap, she was going to be ripped in two.
She flung herself at the ground. Her skis popped off, thank God. They were instruments of torture. “I think I failed lesson one. Time to go inside for something to drink. Where’s Nichole?”
Rafe chuckled. That sour puss face lifted, and those naughty glimmers returned to his eyes. Jenna’s heart started pounding for a whole other reason. “You don’t want to give up yet, do you?”
Damn it, why did he have to be so freaking adorable? Now she’d do anything for him to look at her like that again. Including stand back on those death traps.
He circled around her back, bent over and hooked his hands under her armpits and in a blink she was back on her feet again. He steadied her with one hand and helped her snap her skis back onto her boots.
“Okay, let’s try this again.” He positioned her so her skis were angling across the slope instead of down it. “Let’s give you a feel for the motion of skiing.” He bent over, planted his poles in the snow and pulled, gliding forward. That looked simple enough.
Jenna tried.
She wobbled, struggling to keep her balance. This whole sliding thing wasn’t working. She felt like she was out of control, like her feet would slip out from under her at any moment.
“That’s it. You’re doing great!” Rafe encouraged.
Jenna smiled. Rafe said she was doing great! She pushed harder, trying to go a little faster.
Mistake.
One leg went one way, the other the other way, and there she was, on her ass yet again.
“Dammit. So much for impressing you,” Jenna said as she fought to get back on her feet, and failed, twice.
Rafe set her back on her skis. “You’re doing spectacularly. Everyone falls at first. That’s part of learning. An important part.”
Jenna wasn’t buying that. Though it was nice of him to try to sooth her bruised ego. “Really. There’s no need to fib.”
“I’m not. If you don’t know how to fall properly, you can really hurt yourself. I didn’t know how to fall the first time I skied, and I broke my leg.”
“Ohmygod!” Jenna snapped. See? Skiing was dangerous!
“No worries. You’ve got the falling part down pat. Now all you need to learn is the rest.”
“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.” She slipped and he caught her by the waist. Their gazes connected, and all the oxygen on that mountain evaporated into outer space. An invisible electrical current zapped between them, and Jenna sucked in a little gasp, jerked backward, lost her balance, and yes, she landed on her butt again.
“Or you could say I’m just not cut out for skiing and head inside for something warm and yummy to drink?”
“No, I can tell you’re not ready to throw in the ski poles yet. You’re a fighter, Jenna McCall. You don’t give up. I like that.”
A fighter. Great. She flopped backward, lying in the snow. “I may be a fighter, sometimes, but I’m going to be a real test of your patience when it comes to this,” she proclaimed.
Rafe merely smiled, not the least bit discouraged. “My dear, I’m a lot more patient than you realize. Far more patient than the man who taught me how to ski.” He extended one gloved hand. “Let’s try it again.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “In one hour, you’ll be gliding down that hill over there. I promise.”
Jenna placed her hand in his. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you it’s unwise to make promises you don’t know if you can keep?”
It didn’t take long for Jenna’s butt to bruise, less than an hour, she would guess. In those forty or fifty-something excruciating minutes she had fallen on her ass more than any time in her life. Probably even more than when she’d been learning to walk for the first time.
This skiing thing… yeah, impossible.
And Rafe’s promise? Yeah, didn’t happen.
While she’d been worried she would zoom down a hill and break her neck, when they’d first come out here, she saw now that had been a silly fear.
In order to zoom, she had to stand.
She was much better at sitting.
Or lying down.
And, as far as worrying about making an idiot of herself in front of Rafe, well, she’d gotten over that after the first one hundred times she’d fallen. Now, she just laughed.
She sniffled, nose runny and eyes tearing from all the hardy-har-har-ing she’d done after the last fall. “Forget it. I can’t do this.”
“Of course you can.” He offered a hand up, once again.
To his credit, he still showed no sign of frustration or irritation. If the ski boots had been on the other feet, so to speak, she wouldn’t have been so patient with her clumsy student.
But no, he didn’t look upset at all. Unlike Nichole, who’d rocketed away the instant her skis hit snow, he stuck by Jenna’s side. He laughed with her, not at her. Those tiger eyes twinkling adorably.
For the gazillionth time, she lined up her skis and
tugged on his hand to pull herself up, but unlike every other time, she caught him by surprise. He lost his balance, grunted then crashed on top of her.
The air left her lungs in a breathy guffaw. And then her gaze met his.
He was lying on top of her, arms braced on either side of her head.
His mouth, those scrumptious lips, were right there.
Frozen in place, he stared into her eyes. His tongue darted out, gliding along his lower lip.
Was he… going to kiss her?
Wow, was she hot now! Burning up.
Her heartbeat thundered through her. Waves of lust blasted through her veins, making her skin tingle. His head dipped lower and she sucked in a breath.
He did want to kiss her! He did want her here!
His head angled lower. His warm breath, so sweet, caressed her face. She ached from head to toe, not because she’d fallen so hard in the snow, but because she’d fallen so hard for him. Every cell in her body was buzzing with electricity.
Closer.
He jerked up. “I’m sorry.” He propelled himself off her, landing on his skis. His gaze jumped around like a skittering rabbit. “I should have been ready. Did I hurt you?” He reached for her.
Her pride, yes. He’d bruised that a little.
“No. The snow’s soft.” Her gloved hand gripped his and in an instant she was on her feet, her toes pointed toward each other, the tips of the skis a fraction of an inch from crossing again and tripping her. Still holding onto him, she lifted one foot to straighten it out a bit.
Success.
She actually felt steady. For the first time since she’d been dragged out here.
“Okay?” he asked.
She nodded and released her death grip on his hand. “Did I break any fingers?”
“Maybe one or two.” He winked as he handed her the pair of ski poles, pointy, stabby things facing down at the ground. “Ready to try it again?”
“I don’t know. I think the real question should be are you ready for me to try it again?”
They shared a laugh, and Jenna’s heart lightened.
So he’d stopped the kiss. That didn’t mean he didn’t like her at least a little. He’d been out here for more than an hour, standing on what could barely be called a hill, laughing with her, helping her, practically holding her up.
Didn’t that mean more than one little kiss?
To her it did.
It meant he hadn’t been as upset or angry as he’d made her believe earlier. That was huge!
There was plenty of time for kisses later.
This time, as she pushed on her poles, setting herself in motion, she squatted and let herself glide, screaming, of course, the entire time. All… three seconds or so.
Rafe zoomed around her side, skidding to a stop in front of her.
She beamed at her teacher. “I did it!”
“You did,” he said, looking so very proud… and kissable.
So she did what came naturally in the moment. She flung her arms around his neck and planted her mouth on his.
Right move!
He swept her off her feet, skis dangling weirdly, and kissed her like it had been a lifetime since he’d kissed a woman. His tongue and lips did things that made her head spin. Or were they really spinning? She just held on tighter and kissed him back, letting him know how much she’d missed him since she’d left the island.
This was the moment she’d dreamed of since that dark, sad day. This one right here. She was finally back in his arms, where she had been afraid to even hope to be. And he was glad too. She could tell by the commanding way he kissed her.
When the kiss ended, she was so breathless her head was buzzing. She laughed, and he laughed with her. So happy. She was so freaking happy at last. Whatever had been bugging him earlier wasn’t important anymore. He was living in the moment. And so was she. And whatever happened after that, well she would deal with it later.
“I take it you enjoyed your first ski lesson?”
She slanted her brows at him. “Do I really need to answer that question?”
“I suppose not.” He gently, slowly set her down on her skis. “Ready to go inside and warm up?”
She was pretty darn warm as it was, but the thought of cozying up with Rafe in front of the fire was making her tingly all over. “Sure,” she said, slip-sliding on her skis. “At least I’m going in on my feet, instead of a stretcher.”
Gliding over the snow gracefully, he said, “I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you.”
Such a sweet man.
Who obviously loved skiing.
If only she could do better, so they could actually enjoy skiing together. Even on fairly level land, she was having a hard time staying on her feet.
And as far as asking for a second lesson… well, it might have to wait a bit. She had a feeling she would be really sore tomorrow. Her arms were trembling from the workout they’d had. Propelling herself with those pointy poles wasn’t a total piece of cake.
“You couldn’t stop me from falling,” she pointed out.
“If you’d been in any danger of hurting yourself, I would have stopped you.”
“How gallant. Would you have thrown yourself in front of me?” she joked, chuckling.
“If that was what it took to keep you safe, yes.”
Had he meant that? Truly? Would he do something so brave? For a girl he barely knew?
Their gazes locked.
He did. Ohmygod, he did.
She swallowed hard. Her heart was pounding, practically beating its way out of her chest.
Maybe Nichole wasn’t so crazy after all!
“Thank you,” she said, her voice muffled by the huge lump of joy lodged in her throat.
He offered his hand and smiled. Together they made the journey back to the lodge. Hand-in-hand.
It was magical.
She owed Nichole. Big time. Wherever she was.
Inside the mudroom, Jenna shed all the ski gear except the pants and bottom shirt layer. The air felt stifling and heavy compared to crisp chill outside. It stung her face. Her fingers and toes burned too.
Rafe cupped her cheeks. “You have a little windburn. I’ll get some lotion.”
Was that what was causing the heat in her face? Here she thought it was from the thrill of being in this beautiful place alone with Rafe. Of feeling his touch when she’d been so sure she’d never feel it again, and of hearing his voice when she’d convinced herself she would only hear it in dreams.
How would she ever pay Nichole back for what she’d done?
Speaking of Nichole…“Where’s Nichole?” Jenna asked as she followed Rafe down a hallway.
“I don’t know. I don’t see any sign she’s been back here.” In a luxurious bathroom now, he opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle. “I’ll text her. If she doesn’t respond in ten minutes, I’ll go out looking for her.”
“I hope she’s okay.”
“I’m sure she is. She’s just trying to… to stay out of the way.”
Ah, so he not only saw through Nichole’s machinations, but he’d cooperated with them.
“She’s quite the matchmaker,” Jenna said, plucking the bottle from his hands.
“She wishes she was a matchmaker.” He stole the bottle back, squeezed out a small dollop into his palm and rubbed his hands together, coating them. “I’m glad to see you.” He placed his fingertips on her cheeks and her face warmed even more. “And I had a good time today.”
Cupping her cheeks, he lifted gently, forcing her to look into his eyes. “But nothing has changed. Nothing can… I won’t… If anything, we need to be more cautious than ever,” he finally said. Those words knocked Jenna off the fluffy, cushy cloud she’d been floating on. It felt like she landed on her ass. It hurt a little.
“We’re not… a couple. We don’t need to feed the rumors. Besides, the press have been bastards to you.”
That last part was true. They had been bastards, publishing ugly photos o
f her and accompanying them with headlines like, “What Does He See?” and “Is the Prince Hiding a Secret?” Staring into his eyes, she blurted without thinking, “Yes, the last article cost me the job at the GLC.”
“It did?” He jerked his hands away.
Mistake! She shook her head. Why had she told him that? Had she expected him to do something about it? Even if he did, what kind of hellish pickle would that put her in? Everyone would know why she got the job.
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” she grumbled.
“Of course you should have. Those articles weren’t your fault. They shouldn’t have been held against you.”
She needed to change the subject, now. Before he vowed to do something about it. But she was a little (okay, a lot) curious about one thing. “Do you think you’ll ever find out who sold the story?”
“Probably not. It’s done. We need to move forward. The individual I believe was responsible won’t have that opportunity again. And, as far as your situation at home, this trip should help it die down. All should be quiet by the time you return.”
She glanced down. The lotion, now sitting on the counter, provided the perfect distraction. Suddenly, she felt uncomfortable in the closed-in space. She pumped out a dollop of silky lotion and smoothed her hands together. The air filled with the scent of coconut. “I hope so.” She gently pressed her palms to her cheeks.
“I will get in contact with Sharon at GLC—“
“No. Please don’t.” She interrupted. “That interview was a nightmare. I wouldn’t work for them if you paid me a million dollars.”
He studied her for a moment before nodding. “Fair enough. Can I help in some other way?”
“Not at this point. Nichole’s paying me a lot to be here. I can make the money last a long time. I’m good at living on a tight budget. I’ve been scraping by for years.”
“Very well.” He gently nudged her hands away, smoothing the cream on her cheeks with the pads of his fingers.
