“But you went without a shirt. Why aren’t you?”
“I don’t know. Genetics? And I only kept my shirt off for a couple of runs. I’ll go raid the medical office. We should have aloe vera there.”
“You do that. I’ll dip in the freezing hot tub after all. Maybe numb my stupidity.”
While she went to shock her skin in cold water, I scrounged up aloe gel and ibuprofen. A few minutes later, she shuffled back in, teeth chattering, wrapped in a fresh towel but with her shoulders bare.
“Come here.” I padded for her to sit on the couch, her back to me. “No more ski bunny days for you. Although the view of you plowing down my mountain bare-breasted like you did will stay tucked away in my fantasies forever.”
She settled carefully, hissing. I passed her the water and pills first.
“Hydrate, Frosty. Ibuprofen, now.”
She took them obediently, then watched as I squeezed aloe onto my palms.
“You have a gentle touch,” she said after the first cool glide across her shoulder.
“Surprised?” I asked, smoothing the gel over the reddest parts with slow, careful circles.
“After last night and this morning in the shower? Yeah. A little.”
“Hey, you were the one who said, and I quote, ‘Harder, Holden.’” I mimicked her voice.
She groaned and playfully slapped my knee. “I did not.”
“Oh, you absolutely did,” I said. “Might be my new favorite phrase in the entire English language.”
She snorted and then winced. “It hurts to laugh.”
“Sorry,” I murmured, meaning it. “Try to relax. Hopefully, you get better by the grand opening. I imagine shoulder mobility is imperative as a chef with all that chopping?”
With a nod from her to confirm, I finished rubbing both shoulders. I eased my hands down her arms, and across her chest, rubbing in what was left of the aloe. The intimacy of it caught me off guard—her trusting me, letting me take care of her, my big, clumsy hands trying so hard not to hurt this fierce, prickly woman who’d somehow snowballed into the center of my Christmas.
“Actually, a lot has surprised me about you, Holden.” She glanced back at me.
“Like what?”
Her gaze dropped to my mouth for half a second. “You’re gentler than I expected, and caring, and annoyingly fun.”
“You’re sexy as hell and a ton of fun when you let your hair down, Frosty. Not what I expected either.” She was more.
“Still think I’m sexy right now, burnt to a crisp as I am?”
“Oddly, yes. Maybe I like you being at my mercy,” I admitted. Blood rushed to my cock to prove it.
Her lips twitched. “Maybe I like you playing nurse.”
“Come here, then, and I’ll take even better care of you.” I patted my lap.
She hesitated only a second before swinging one leg over and straddling me, careful to keep her shoulders clear from brushing anything. I braced my hands at her waist, bringing warmth to her skin there.
With a gasp, she found my hard cock alive and well beneath her.“Holden?”
“What can I say? You have a certain effect on me, Frosty.”
In response, she ground against my raging cock.
“Careful,” I murmured. “Don’t want to hurt you.”
