“One. Two. Three.” Lucas propelled us forward down the hill.
We laughed and shouted as we sped down. As we approached the flat part of the bottom, a kid in a snowsuit ran across the path to chase his escaped sled.
“Watch out!” Lucas shouted.
The kid turned to us and then froze. Shit. We’d collide if he didn’t move out of the way.
He didn’t. We swerved to the right to avoid hitting him, only it sent us barreling out of the track. We shot the rest of the way downhill with precarious balance, and when Lucas attempted to stop us, we both spilled out of the tube.
Landing on my back in the snow, I grunted and stared up at the blue sky. A wispy cloud looked like it could be a fire-breathing dragon. As the coldness of the snow registered on my exposed body parts, I laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation.
Lucas rushed over. “Zoe, are you okay?” He kneeled over me, eyes wide with concern. Snow clung to his wild blond hair and face. Tracks of snow trickled down his cheeks, leaving a wet trail, before falling into the snow.
“Me?” I pointed to myself. “I’m fine. But it looks like you face-planted in the snow.”
“Guilty.” That mischievous grin spread across his face.
The familiar tingles returned. I reached up and brushed snow from his hair and then wiped it off his face. My hand lingered on his cheek. He stared down at me, and his pupils darkened. He turned into my hand and kissed the palm. My heart ceased. I didn’t care that the snow soaked through my clothes. All I wanted was more of this, never wanting this moment to end.
When he stared down at me again, gaze caressing me, my heart fired up again with a rapid tempo.
“Sorry about that. Maybe it was a bad idea coming here.” He frowned.
“No, it was great.”
He scrunched his brows with skepticism. “Even after crash landing into the snow?”
“Even so.” I pointed up to the sky. “Come look, doesn’t that cloud look like a dragon?”
He lay on his back beside me and stared up. “Yeah, kind of.” Then he turned to his side and propped his head onto his elbow. “Wait, did you hit your head?”
“No.” I grinned. “I’m not hallucinating.” I moved onto my forearms. “Maybe I have dragons on my mind.”
“Dragons?” He arched his brows.
“Dragon,” I clarified. “One in particular.”
“Good, I don’t want to share you with anyone else.” He stroked my hair, sliding snow down and off the strands. “Your hair is wet.” He then traced his fingers along my cheek. “Thanks for coming with me today, Zoe.”
My pulse fired up again. “Thanks for bringing me.”
“Next time, I’ll think of something less—snowy.” He laughed.
“I’m having a great time.” I stared into his bright eyes. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d probably be working right now.”
“I’d much rather you be here with me.”
“Me too.”
Our gazes locked once more. A shot of self-consciousness speared me, and I blurted out, “Is this a date?”
His gaze lowered to my lips. “I hope so.”
My breath came in shorter pants. Damn, this shifter affected me so.
“I’ll leave that to you,” he uttered, his voice lower and even more decadent.
My heartbeat pounded, eclipsing the sound of everyone else. “Yesss.” My voice trembled as I finally admitted what I wanted.
