Bunny Hills and Bikinis

by Heather Thurmeier

  Suddenly, her direction changed and she rushed directly toward him. She must have shifted her weight, successfully turning her skis to the side instead of straight down the mountainside like they had been a moment before. Thankfully, she’d managed to turn without flipping herself over and crashing instantly, but now she was even more out of control and headed straight for him.

  There would be no time for her to stop. They were going to collide. The only thing he could do now was brace himself for the impact and try his best to break her fall. Hopefully she wouldn’t break her neck—or his.

  Nate braced for the impact of Amelia slamming into him. He welcomed it actually. Anything would be better than watching her sail past him with his hands tied behind his back. At least if she ran into him, literally even, then he’d be able to make sure she was safe. He’d be able to find a way to get her down off this mountain. Then he’d kick her stupid boyfriend’s ass all the way back to wherever the hell it was he’d come from. How could anyone be stupid enough to think that Amelia was ready to ski on her own when she was so obviously unprepared?

  Before he could dwell on the stupidity of her boyfriend for too long, Amelia came smashing into him. The force of her body’s momentum pushed him back a couple of feet and he wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to keep her from falling. But the impact of the collision and gravity pulling on them was too much for even Nate’s strong frame. Together they tumbled backward into the snow bank beneath the branches of a tall pine tree.

  She landed on top of him with a thud, forcing the breath from his lungs in one hard push. Her body rested firmly on his and he could feel her chest rising and falling against his own as he tried to steady his nerves and take in their new surroundings. He pulled his arm from the snow and gently moved the hair covering her face so he could see if she was okay.

  He had to know she wasn’t hurt. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she were. He hardly knew her and already he wanted to protect her from harm. What was it about this girl that got to him on such a primitive level?

  The tip of his glove scratched against her cheek as he pulled her hair back. She mumbled something incoherent and twisted her head so she peered directly at him.

  “Sorry,” she said. Her eyes were half-lidded and still finding their focus as she peered at him.

  “It’s okay. Are you alright?” he asked, unable to peel his eyes away from hers. Gazing into hers was like gazing into warm pools of honey—soothing and comforting. The kind of eyes he could get lost in for an entire night, maybe even an entire lifetime.

  He didn’t think it was possible for her cheeks to get any rosier after being out in the cold, but he could have sworn she blushed at the sound of his voice.

  “Oh god.” She moaned, putting her head straight down onto his chest. She shook her head back and forth against his body and a little spark of fire flashed inside of him. “No. No, this isn’t happening.”

  What was she talking about? Was she okay or had she actually hurt herself? Maybe she’d hit her head in the fall. Panic began to rise inside of him and his pulse pounded in his ears as he realized she might actually be really hurt.

  “Hey,” he said a little more forcefully than before. “Are you okay? Do you need a medic?” He put his hands on her sides, tapping his fingers gently on her back so as not to risk hurting her further if she was injured. He hoped she would look at him so he could see for himself if she was okay.

  She shook her head against his jacket. “No,” she mumbled into his chest. “No, I don’t need a medic.” She raised her head and peered at him again. Even disheveled and laying bundled up in snow gear on top of him, she looked absolutely stunning. How was it possible that a woman could be so damn beautiful after a terrible fall like that?

  “You’re okay? Are you sure?” he prodded.

  “Very. Nothing’s broken except maybe my ego and I’m afraid there isn’t a doctor in the world who can fix that problem.” She laughed then.

  Hearing her joke sent a spark of something indescribable through him. The vibration of her laugh reverberating against the length of his body was damn good too. He couldn’t help but stare, slightly mesmerized by her.

  She smiled at him now, proving she wasn’t hurt. He let himself relax a little, falling easily into her laugh and adding his own.

  “Good. I’m happy to hear that,” he said sincerely. “I worried I’d have to chase you down the hill and somehow figure out a way to stop you from crashing at the bottom. I hadn’t planned on using my own body, but hey, it worked in a pinch.”

  “Oh god. I’m so sorry. Really, I’ll get up now.”

  She pressed her palms into the ground on either side of him and raised herself a fraction of an inch off of his chest before her arms gave out and she crashed back down onto him again. He laughed at her attempt to extricate herself from him.

  “Ouch.” He joked, not really meaning it. It was just fun to tease her.

  “Sorry. I don’t know how to get off of you. Ugh, why do I continue to make such a fool of myself in front of you?”

  His heart ached. So she did remember him. Good to know. He wasn’t sure he’d made any impression on her yesterday in the elevator even though she’d made a huge one on him. Maybe he’d made more of an impression than he realized.

  He gripped her sides to stop her from trying to climb off of him again. It was fun when she tried, but that way wasn’t going to help them get untangled.

  “Hey, it’s fine. You haven’t made a fool of yourself.”

  “Really? Knocking you into a snow bank and landing on top of you isn’t too much for you? It doesn’t strike you as being completely humiliating for me?”

  He liked a girl who wasn’t afraid to make fun of herself or her situation. “Honestly, I could think of worse places to be right now rather than lying pinned underneath you.” He sighed and attempted to shrug although it was challenging in his current position. “All things considered, this really isn’t so bad.”

  It was one hundred percent true. There were many worse places he could imagine being, and not one of them had to do with the girl lying on top of him. It felt so good to have her pressed against his body like this. It had been a while since he’d been intimate with anyone—no one at recent workshops had interested him much lately.

  Amelia interested him plenty.

  As it was, he knew he’d be thinking of this precise moment long after Amelia finally removed her body from his. He wasn’t going to forget the weight of her pressing against him in all the right places any time soon—that he was sure of. He was almost certain his body would yearn for contact with hers again the instant they were out of this snow bank.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying this, but I really should get off of you,” she said, bringing his thoughts back to the present as she wiggled on top of him again as if trying to find a way to shift her body off of his.

  “True. Your boyfriend wouldn’t be too happy if he saw you getting this close and personal with the workshop host, would he?” He hoped he sounded indifferent as he tried to peek down at their skis to see what the problem was. The skis were so crossed he could barely tell which were his own.

  She stilled. “What boyfriend?” Her head tilted to the side.

  “The one who keeps putting his arm around you every chance he gets.”

  “Like he’s a dog marking his territory, right?” She laughed. “He’s a dog alright, but he’s not my dog. He likes to act like he’s my boyfriend, but trust me, he’s the furthest thing from it.”

  “Good to know I was mistaken,” Nate said, relief filling him as he realized there was no reason why he couldn’t be with her this weekend. She was free and he was interested. Time to find out if she had any interest in him too. “Then perhaps we should hang out here a little longer and get to know each other a little better now that I know you’re not taken.”

  She didn’t say anything for a moment and he held his breath waiting for her response. “I think I’d rather get to know yo
u when I can feel all the parts of my body.”

  He grinned and raised an interested eyebrow at her. He liked where this was headed. In fact, they could head there right now while everyone else was still busy skiing. That would be fine with him.

  “Wait. Crap. That’s not how I meant it to sound.” She blushed again.

  Deep red filled the apples of her cheeks. He wished he wasn’t wearing gloves at that moment so he could touch her rosy skin and feel the heat radiating from her. Or he could kiss her cheeks—and mouth and neck softly until her cheeks were flushed pink for another reason.

  “I meant I’m cold. My body is going to be frostbitten very soon. That’s all.” Then she shook her head and groaned again. “I don’t want us to die of hypothermia while we get to know each other, that’s all.”

  She was very cute when she was flustered.

  As much as he wanted to stay with her here, to see how many more times he could make her blush, to continue to feel her body on his, he knew they needed to get inside. Reluctantly, he decided it would be in both of their best interest if they got themselves out of the snow bank. The sooner the better or they would end up with a serious case of frostbite. After these last few minutes with her, that was the last thing he wanted to happen to either of their bodies. No, he had better things planned for them. Hotter things.

  He reached for his ski pole, which luckily lay beside him and used it to try and pop his boot from the binding of his ski. With a quick hard shove, his boot came loose and he kicked the ski aside. He dropped his pole and took hold of her sides instead. “Okay,” he started with his plan, “I’ve got one leg free, so I’m going to roll us over and then I’ll be able to reach my other ski. Got it?”

  “Is there a plan B?”

  “Nope.”

  “Okay then. Let’s get rollin’ over.” She grabbed onto his shoulders with her gloved hands as though to brace herself for the impact of him on top of her.

  He lifted her slightly and shifted his body under hers. Parts of him rubbed against fabric, creating a very pleasant reaction to his current predicament. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to think about things like that. In one fluid movement, he gently pushed her to the side and rolled himself on top of her, carefully keeping his body lifted so he wouldn’t accidentally crush her into the snow.

  Hovering over her, Nate was overcome with the immediate desire to be in this exact position with Amelia another time—one when they were hot and sweaty somewhere instead of freezing in a snow bank. The urge to kiss her, to feel her body against him—her lips hot and wet on his own—made his head spin. His arms grew weak as he lowered himself on top of her, but not because they couldn’t hold his weight, simply because as his desire grew, his defenses to resist her dissolved.

  His lips inched closer to hers. His pulse raced through his body, awakening areas that had been sleeping too long. Her chin tilted up toward him and her lips parted slightly. Her tongue flickered beneath the opening like a secret waiting to be discovered. Her eyes never left his, but they grew heavier with every agonizing second that passed.

  He could kiss her—right here, right now. His body begged him to. His mouth opened as he subconsciously mirrored her lips and he lowered himself further until he was a breath away from her beckoning lips.

  Yes, he would kiss her and then he could die a happy man.

  Chapter Five

  “Hey, you guys need help?” someone yelled near them, interrupting the path of Nate’s lips finding Amelia’s tempting mouth.

  No. Damn it. No help needed.

  Reluctantly breaking his gaze from hers, he turned his head in the direction of the voice that had just interrupted their very intense moment. A moment he desperately wanted to continue but couldn’t. Not now at least. Later was a different story. Who knew what could happen later with Amelia now that he knew she felt the same things he did?

  “We’re okay,” Nate yelled back, waving his hand. “Just got a little tangled up.”

  He hoisted himself up onto his knees, straddling her thighs. He took a moment to take in the view of Amelia still laying in the snow beneath him, looking at him with what he now knew was mutual desire in her eyes. He wanted to remember this moment until they had a chance to continue what had just been cut short. He hoped to see her in this position again sometime soon—very soon if he could do anything about it.

  Pulling his gaze from hers, he reached back and popped his other boot free of its ski, then stood and reached a hand down to pull her to her feet. She stumbled on her skis, getting them straightened out before finally finding her balance again.

  “Thanks.” She tucked a tangled clump of hair behind her ear and pulled her knit hat back onto her head. “I think I’ve got it now.”

  He shook his head. “Uh-un. I’m not letting you go anywhere near the slopes again on your own. You’ll ski with me to the bottom.”

  “Okay,” she answered without an ounce of hesitation in her voice. “If you insist.”

  “I do.”

  His boots snapped easily back into his ski bindings and he was ready to go. He took her hand and together they made long crisscrosses back and forth down the slope of the hill. It was slow going but safe, which was even more important to him now than it had been when he’d started out his day. Amelia had taken a piece of him with her after their almost-kiss, and he wanted to protect her claim to him.

  They glided down the last ten feet of the run easily before being confronted by the guy who should have been on the hill with her. It was douche bag, non-boyfriend himself.

  “Where have you been?” Douche Bag demanded. “I’ve been worried sick about you.” He pulled her into his arms in a tight embrace. Too tight in Nate’s opinion.

  Annoyance filled him. How could he make it sound like she was the one who’d done something wrong?

  “She was stranded at the top of the mountain, where you left her.” Nate couldn’t help but challenge him, unable to resist the urge of answering for Amelia. “Well, at least she was before she went careening down the hill out of control.”

  “William, I’m fine.” Amelia pushed free of his arms. “I totally wiped out up there after you left though. Thankfully, Nate caught me and helped me down the rest of the way.”

  “What were you thinking leaving her up there like that?” Nate glared at the guy who’d put Amelia in danger, more pissed off than he expected. If William didn’t have the decency to protect Amelia, then he had no problem being the one to take over that role. William better get the hell out of his way.

  “I thought she was behind me. I didn’t know she’d fallen or of course I would have stopped to help her,” William replied.

  “And how exactly would you have even seen her fall when you went zipping past me while she struggled at the top of the mountain? Great job on the instruction too, by the way. Did you even watch her ski a little before you took off?”

  Amelia swatted him in the shoulder. “Hey now. I’m right here, and I’m fine, so let’s forget about it, okay? Everything is fine—there’s no need to fight.”

  Nate stared at William, trying to decide if he could let it go. He couldn’t remember ever being this annoyed at someone he’d only just met. He wanted to smack William upside the head for being so careless with Amelia. But if she insisted that she was fine, he couldn’t do anything about it. Besides, he didn’t want to look bad in front of her by carrying on like a child. So he’d let it go if that’s what she wanted. This time anyway.

  “If you’re positive you’re fine, I should go check on the others and make sure everyone else is enjoying themselves,” Nate said to Amelia, hoping she might still need him so he’d have an excuse to stay with her longer.

  “I am.”

  “Maybe you should stick to the bunny hills from now on,” he said with a grin.

  “Don’t worry. There won’t be any more hills of any kind for me on this trip. I’m going to grab a hot chocolate and plunk my butt in front of the fireplace until lunch. I’ll see you th
is afternoon in the conference room.”

  “Yeah, I’ll make sure she gets inside okay.” William stepped toward Amelia and put his hand on her back, guiding her in the direction of the chalet.

  Way to step up and help. God I hate that guy.

  “You do that.” Nate caught Amelia’s gaze one last time before she left. “I’ll see you later.” The words he said were innocent enough on the surface, but he hoped she caught the undercurrent of his tone. The one that tried to convey to her how much he wanted to see her later. And he didn’t mean in the conference room. He hoped he could meet her somewhere else, where they could finish what had started on the side of the mountain.

  She smiled in a way that let him believe his message had been received.

  * * *

  Amelia eased onto the couch and pulled her boots off, dropping them onto the floor with a loud thunk. She cradled the hot chocolate in her hands, savoring the heat penetrating through the mug. She couldn’t help but sigh as her body relaxed into the softness of the couch. The aches from her earlier fall started to take shape along her body and even sitting was marginally painful at this point.

  “Listen,” came William’s voice from beside her on the couch. “If I’d known you still needed so much help, I would’ve stayed with you. I might be stupid, but I swear I’m not a total jackass…at least I don’t mean to be.”

  Amelia smiled despite the fact that his earlier behavior still made her incredibly annoyed if she thought about it too hard. She knew he meant his words. Better to let it go now that she was safe and sound and warming up back in the chalet. Besides, if he had stayed with her, she never would have run into Nate, and he wouldn’t have almost kissed her, and she definitely wouldn’t have almost melted right into the snow in a steamy pile of hormones.

  Everything had worked out fine in the end.

  “I’m not going to say I wasn’t totally pissed at you while I flew down that mountain going a hundred miles an hour, but I know you weren’t being a jackass either. It was just a silly mistake. It’s okay.”