She climbs down, grumbling, and immediately points at Grayson. "You. Tall one. Help with the banner. Seth, those lights on that tree are completely wrong?—"
"I hung those yesterday?—"
"They're wrong NOW!" She's spiraling, and Seth moves closer, his hand on her shoulder, grounding her.
"Tessa. Breathe. What specifically is wrong with the lights?"
She blinks at him. "They're... the spacing is uneven on the left side."
"Okay. I can fix uneven spacing. Can you show me?"
Just like that, she calms down. Seth's got this easy authority now—he knows how to handle crisis situations, including Tessa's decoration emergencies.
River's hand finds mine, warm and solid. He leans down, grinning. "Want to escape before she conscripts us?"
"Please."
We sneak behind the gazebo, both trying not to laugh. The snow falls harder, muffling everything. River's scent is stronger here, away from everyone else.
"We abandoned them," I say, breathless from laughing and running.
"They'll be fine. Grayson loves being bossed around, he just won't admit it." River's grinning, pulling me against him. His hands settle on my hips. "And Seth's in full deputy mode. He could probably talk Tessa down from a literal ledge right now."
"What about you? Don't you feel bad ditching?"
"Not even a little bit." His grin gets wider. "Besides, I wanted you alone for a minute."
"Oh?" I step closer, my hands on his chest. "What for?"
"This."
He kisses me—no hesitation, no tentative exploration. His hand slides into my hair, angling my head, and his mouth moves against mine with the confidence of someone who's already had me, who knows exactly how I taste.
I kiss him back just as eagerly, fisting my hands in his jacket. His pine-snow scent surrounds me completely, stronger with his arousal, mixing with my cinnamon-apple until we smell like us. Like pack.
"Missed this," he murmurs against my lips.
"We literally kissed only three hours ago."
"Three hours too long." His hands tighten on my hips, pulling me flush against him.
I'm laughing when my boot hits ice. I'm falling backward and River lunges, catching my wrist, but the momentum takes us both down.
We land in a snowbank with a softwhump, me on top of him, both of us covered in snow.
"Smooth," he says, laughing.
"Very smooth." I'm giggling, brushing snow off his face, and he catches my hand, pressing a kiss to my palm.
His hands settle on my hips, holding me in place. Snow melts where our bodies press together. "Not sorry at all."
The laughter fades. We're hidden from view, the snow falling around us, and the way he's looking at me makes every nerve ending wake up.
"River—"
He rolls us so I'm pressed into the snow, his body covering mine, his weight perfect and grounding. His hips settle between my thighs and I can feel him—hard and wanting through too many layers.
"Tell me to stop," he says roughly, his hand sliding under my coat.
