I oblige, chasing the edge. She meets me thrust for thrust, body arching, nails digging into my shoulders.
"I'm falling for you," I confess against her throat. "I'm falling so hard."
"I already fell." Her voice breaks on a moan. "Nick—"
She comes again, clenching around me, and I follow her over, her name a shout in the small space.
We collapse together on the narrow cot, tangled and breathless. I smooth her hair back from her damp face.
"You okay?"
"I'm perfect." She traces the tattoo on my shoulder—a mountain peak with coordinates underneath. "What's this?"
"The first mountain I ever climbed. Did it after a nasty breakup, needed to prove something to myself."
"Did you prove it?"
"I thought so. But I think I was just running." I kiss her forehead. "I'm not running anymore."
She snuggles closer, fitting against me like she was designed for it. Outside, the storm is passing. Inside, everything has changed.
"What happens after the retreat ends?" she asks.
"I don't know." Honesty is all I have. "But I don't want this to end."
"Neither do I."
We lay in the firelight, stealing time while the mountain settles around us. Eventually we'll have to get dressed, ski down, face the real world and all its complications.
But for now, there's only this. Only us. Only the certainty that I've found something I didn't know I was looking for.
And I'm not letting her go without a fight.
Chapter 5
Daria
I wake up smiling for the fourth morning in a row, and I take a second to remember why.
Nick.
The warming hut. His hands on my body, his voice in my ear, the way he looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
We made it back to the resort late that night after the storm cleared. He walked me to my door and kissed me until I was dizzy, then made me promise to meet him for breakfast.
That was yesterday. We spent the whole day together—"officially" for a ski lesson, unofficially because we couldn't stand being apart. He found excuses to touch me constantly. I found excuses to make him laugh. And when we said goodnight, the promise of more hung between us like a vow.
Now it's the next-to-last day of the retreat, and reality is creeping in. Tomorrow I return home. Back to my crampedapartment and my job and my regular life where magical mountain men don't exist.
But maybe—maybe Nick and I can figure this out. Long distance isn't ideal, but Evergreen Lakes is only a one and a half hour flight from Phoenix. We could make it work. We could try.
I check my phone. No messages.
That's fine. It's early. He's busy with morning lessons.
I get dressed and head to breakfast, scanning the dining hall for him. He's not there. Devon's behind the coffee station, and when he sees me, something flickers across his face.
"Morning, Daria. Coffee?"
