“Deep in the woods with three hungry wolves,” I noted.
Sawyer smiled and shrugged. “The devil you know.”
With that he shifted closer, pulling my legs over his own. His hands still worked their magic on my thighs, but now our faces hovered together, eyes locked. Each of us daring the other to make the first real move.
“But you’re the devil wedidn’tknow,” he teased softly. “Fishnet stockings. Amazing cleavage. A barbarian for a boyfriend…”
Our lips were practically touching now. I could feel the heat of his mouth, the softness of his touch. His fingers glided upward and outward; in the direction of my ass, as I inhaled the scent of his sweet breath.
Then he stood, scooped me up from the couch, and abruptly threw me over his shoulder.
“OH!”
His grip was strong, his strides smooth as he carried me away from the fire and down the hallway. But rather than take me back to my bedroom, Sawyer made a hard left into his own. He had one hand fully on my ass now, fingers spread, pinning me to his shoulder. My stomach was nothing but butterflies.
The soft down comforter was already thrown back. My body bounced as he dumped me unceremoniously into his bed… and then slid right in beside me.
“Hmmm…” I mused, as he turned me sideways. “I thought we were switching bedrooms?”
Warmth and comfort flowed over me, as Sawyer’s hard body pressed into me from behind. A strong arm slid around my waist, locking me in.
“I said you couldhavemy room,” he exhaled, his lips pressed hotly against the back of my neck. My body shivered as he chuckled gruffly.
“No one ever said I was leaving it.”
~ 9 ~
HAYDEN
“Last run,” I huffed. “Last chance to beat me.”
My breath was white frost, hanging in the late afternoon air. My heart was pounding, the sweat from my body creating a layer of wet insulation deep within my snow jacket. I should’ve been cold. I should’ve been exhausted.
But there was no way in hell I was letting any of them win.
“Remember the stakes,” warned Carter. “Three wishes. No excuses, no going back on—”
“Yeah, yeah,” I interrupted him with a wink. “You’ll each owe me one, once we reach the lodge.”
“Or we’ll eachgetone,” Sawyer pointed out. He adjusted his goggles, then scratched at his sexily stubbled face. “That’s the bet we made. That’s the—”
“Ready set GO!”
I shoved off, then snapped my back foot into its binding as I pointed my snowboard down the hill. I’d probably gotten a two second jump on them, but fair was fair. It was three against one, and they’d been riding my ass all day. One or two of them had even come close to beating me, that’s how tired I was.
Then again, I’d slept like a baby in Sawyer’s big, strong arms.
I’d expected a move. A kiss. A hot and heavy makeout session, nestled securely beneath the warm blankets of his soft bed. Instead, I’d woken to his hard body still draped protectively around me. We’d fallen asleep in exactly the same position. We hadn’t shifted an inch.
Well, that’s not entirely true.
I took the next series of moguls with a secret smile. Something had definitely shifted a significant amount of inches during the night, because I’d woken up to Sawyer’s absolute railroad spike of a hard-on, pressing deep into the soft flesh of my rounded bottom. He was still sleeping when I pulled back the covers and slipped quietly away, not wanting to wake him. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t squirm back against it for a minute or two, just for kicks.
“CHEATER!”
It was Sawyer’s voice that I was hearing now, somewhere over my shoulder, as I shredded the next turn in a fan of sleet and ice. The slopes were packed down now, after thousands of runs. The fresh powder had turned to fine granules of pure water crystals. Everything was faster now, especially on the steeper slopes. It made speeds like this much more dangerous.
Breakfast had been a feast of butter-soaked carbohydrates and crispy bacon, as well as a whole ocean of coffee. I’d endured sideways looks from Carter and Bodie, who seemed none too happy that I hadn’t slept in my room. I wondered how much of that was directed at me, for having ditched my bed, or at Sawyer for having broken some secret ‘hands off the new girl’ pact. Either way, I could only shrug and keep eating.
