If there had been a fainting couch nearby I would’ve collapsed onto it from the tenderness in his voice.
In my everyday life I would never,everopt to go sledding in a snowstorm, but Ben kept gentling me into unexpected scenarios. It was an adjustment to shut off my training brain and allow fun to take the wheel for a change.
“Move back,” he ordered. “We need to shift the center of gravity for maximum speed. I’m not letting those two dorks beat us.”
I took a deep breath and pushed myself backward until I was pressed up against him. He braced his legs against mine, solid and strong, and then wrapped his arms around my waist. He gave me a squeeze.
“You hold on to the handles and I’ll hold on to you.”
I melted the moment he tightened his grip around me. I didn’t realize how hungry I was for real, welcomed physical contact until I was embraced by it. Ben’s arms felt as trustworthy as a seat belt, vital since I couldn’t risk an injury.
Ben, for his part, seemed more focused on winning, which, nosurprise. He and Neil worked out the timing of the countdown and I realized I was giggling before the sleds even moved, half from nerves and half from the sensation of being pressed against Ben’s shockingly warm body.
“Ready... set...go!”
Ben let go of me to paddle his hands through the snow to give us an advantage, then circled me in a vise grip again as we started to descend.
And then we were flying.
I could not only hear him laughing behind me as we sped down the hill, I couldfeelhis entire body shaking with it, which made me giggle along with him. His laugh was loud and from his belly, a full-throated, joyful sound that magnified the magic of tearing through the snowy darkness. We careered down the hill, coming close to running into Neil and Hailey.
She raised a fist at us as we pulled ahead.
The snow felt like little ice pellets hitting me in the face, which meant we were now dealing with a wintry mix. I forced myself to be in the moment and not think about what it would do to our travel plans the next day.
Neil and Hailey started to catch up to us so Ben let go of me to paddle again. The sudden weight shift made us fishtail, and when he tried to straighten us out he overcompensated, sending us flying through the air, ass over head.
We landed hard, but I’d spent my life falling on ice so the impact didn’t even register. I wound up with a face full of snow as Neil and Hailey flew past us. The shock of the spill left me laughing and disoriented, until I realized that I was pinned beneath him.
“Are you okay?” Ben asked. He gently swept his gloved hand over my cheeks and eyes to clear the dusting away.
He was heavy on top of me, but I welcomed the sensation. His warmth grounded me, like he was a weighted blanket. But the way he was looking down at me made me feel like we were still cartwheeling through space.
“I’m fine,” I agreed softly, even though my nerves were now humming with a need I’d been working hard to suppress.
“No injuries to report?”
His face was dangerously close to mine, scanning me with his usual ground-shifting intensity that never failed to leave me a little breathless.
“All good,” I managed.
“I guess we lost,” he said, still focused on me.
I no longer sensed the cold, and I wondered if the snow was melting beneath our bodies.
“Doesn’t seem like it,” I murmured, feeling bold.
I’d had the chance to study him up close once before, right as he leaned in close to kiss me by the bonfire. This time around I felt like I had the luxury of time to catalog his features, since there was little chance of a repeat performance of that fateful first kiss thanks to our agreement. In a few seconds we’d be back to sledding buddies.
But for now I could relish drinking in the way his beautiful face looked as he stared at me.
Ben’s handsomeness was undeniable, but his real gift was his ability to mesmerize, like a sea creature that dazzled prey right into its mouth. I felt powerless to do anything but let him lure me closer.
“You’re cold.” He gazed down at me.
“I’m not,” I insisted.
Our little puffs of icy breath air mingled between us.
