Kai positioned himself next to me, on the opposite side from the chair. “Okay, we’re going to do this on the count of three. One…”
“Do what?” I asked quickly. “The same thing as before?”
“Two…”
“Do what?” Out of the corner of the eye, I saw movement. The chair was approaching like my worst nightmare, and I could practically hear the theme from Jaws playing in my head.
“Three!” Kai grabbed me around the waist and lifted me straight off the ground as I shrieked.
“Keep your skis level,” he growled, as I clutched at his shoulders. He took a huge step to the side and deposited me on the bench of the chairlift. “Scoot over!”
I tried, my skis dragging against the snow. Then the ground dropped away and I moved to the far side of the chair. Kai still was trying to get on.
He grabbed the arm of the chair and jumped, managing to get his ass on the bench next to me, but it caused the chair to swing wildly, and I yelped, grabbingthe arm of the chair on one side—and his thigh on the other.
Kai was panting slightly as he put his gloved hand over mine, patting it. “You did it.”
Since I very clearly hadn’t, I resisted the urge to scowl. “You could’ve warned me you were going to do that.”
“Yes, I could have.”
That was all he said, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see him smirking. Which was infuriating, but I had bigger things on my mind. Like the way the chair rocked back and forth. And it wasn’t even level to begin with, since it was very obvious that the ski god, with his extremely muscular frame, weighed a lot more than I did.
But when I was reasonably certain I wasn’t going to plummet to my death—yet—I took a moment to admire the view. We were higher now, floating upward past snow-covered evergreens. The mountain rose steeply, and soon we were higher than the trees, and it was like you could see the entirety of the Appalachians. It was beautiful. My jaw dropped open as I took it in.
So beautiful, in fact, that I kind of forgot I wasn’t alone until Kai shifted, making the chair rock again. I clutched at the arm of the chair but managed not to grab his leg again.
“Scared of heights?” he asked. “I always forget to ask that before we start out.”
“No,” I said truthfully. “Just scared of skiing.”
He chuckled. The sound was low and rumbly, and it warmed me somehow.
Except we were going higher and higher. Which meant that soon, we’d need to get off this thing—somehow. “Um… what do I have to do at the top?”
Absently, he swung his legs, and the blood drained from my face as the chair rocked back and forth. “Same thing we did at the base, only in reverse.”
“Which is?” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. The top of the lift was getting closer and closer. “All I did was to dive out of the way.”
“I meant the part where you let me manhandle you onto the lift.” He smirked, amusement in his eyes. “Ready for round two?”
Not even remotely.
6
KAI
The chairlift reached the top,and I didn’t bother trying to coax Zoe off. I just picked her up and set her on the ground, out of range of the lift.
I wish I could do that with all my newbie clients.
She started sliding down the gentle slope leading away from the lift, her arms windmilling. I caught up in two seconds flat, gliding alongside her. “Easy. You’re fine.”
Her eyes were wider than the mountain behind us, and I had to bite back a grin. The ground leveled off and she glided to a stop, somehow managing not to fall on her ass. It was a minor miracle.
Up here, the view stretched out forever—the valley below dusted with snow, pine trees dotting the edges of the slopes. A handful of trails branched off from the summit, each one marked with color-coded signs. Greenfor beginners. Blue for intermediate. Black for the good stuff.
A little color had returned to Zoe’s cheeks now that we weren’t moving. Maybe too much color. Her skin was flushed pink. It was interesting to see the color change in that creamy, pale skin I’d first noticed in the lobby. But her eyes and hair were still the same. I’d always had a thing for dark-eyed girls. The way they glared at you made you want to do things that would make those flashing eyes become dazed with pleasure.
