Page 5 of Falling Over You

His fucking hands were actually shaking.

All from touching this woman. Albeit, a beautiful, feisty, out-of-his-league woman.

When she'd fallen over him at the bottom of the hill, he'd been pissed. The second he took his goggles off and saw her, that had changed. She was gorgeous. Rosy cheeks from the cold and sensual lips just made for kissing. That was all before she took her own goggles off.

Seeing her eyes had floored him. Bright blue and full of rage and annoyance. Was there anything hotter? He didn’t think so.

The urge to protect her and make sure she was okay had taken over. He might have come off a little demanding and forceful, but he needed to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

Being in her presence for the last ten minutes only made him want to stay by her side longer. His brother wasn't wrong. He rarely came out of his cave. But for Eve, he’d willingly change that.

“Aren’t family vacations usually spent doing things together?” Not that he would know. His mom and dad were always trying to get him to join them on trips, but he always turned them down. Gordon was the only person who could drag him away from his work, and even then, it was a couple of days at most. And that was because he only lived two hours away and he loved to ski.

“If that were true, I’m not sure I would ever vacation with my family.” She sighed and closed her eyes, giving him a moment to study her without her looking.

Her skin was still flushed, this time from the warmth of the lodge instead of from the cold. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but he could tell it was long, with shades of red scattered throughout. She was tall, something he knew from carrying her, and also curvy in all the right places. When he’d had her shirt lifted to look at her bruises, he’d ached to raise it just a little more and get a good look at her tits.

Shit, he was a fucking pervert. He should not be thinking about her tits. Or her ass. And definitely not her pussy.

He cleared his throat making her eyes pop open. He needed to talk about something or else he was afraid he’d do something stupid like blurt out how much he was dying to kiss her. “You said you come here a lot. Do you live in Pine Cliff?” Pine Cliff was where he’d grown up and where Gordon had decided to use his inheritance from their grandparents to open a ski lodge. Theo had gone the other direction and used the money to open a practice. But not in Pine Cliff. He’d wanted some distance from his family and had chosen to live in the city two hours from his hometown.

“I live in Roanoke, but this is my favorite ski spot, and has been for years.” She sounded wistful, making him want to ask all sorts of follow-up questions.

The first was wondering if he’d heard her correctly. “You live in Roanoke?”

She nodded. “Yeah. My dad and I used to come here when I was a kid. Back before your brother owned it. When it closed, I was so sad, but then a few years later, Gordon got it back up and running and my happy place was back.” She looked up at him. “Do you live here in Pine Cliff?”

He shook his head. “Uh no. Oddly enough, I also live in Roanoke.”

Shock covered her face. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Wow, that’s a strange coincidence.”

She wasn’t wrong. Here was a woman he was interested in, for the first time in forever, and she just so happened to live in the same city as he did. If he believed in something as crazy as fate, he’d think this was it.

An awkward silence fell over the room. “I should probably go find my family and let them know what’s going on.” She stood up, struggling, just a little, with her bruised side.

He wanted to reach out and help her, but he also knew that touching her again was a bad idea. “You need to ice your ribs and maybe wrap them.”

“I can grab what I need from the medical staff.” She had taken a few steps toward the door but turned to face him again before opening it. “Thanks for all your help.”

Something in him told him not to let her go, to beg her to stay, but he didn’t listen. “Anytime.”

“Let’s hope I don't take you up on that.” She gave him an adorable, yet sexy smile, and then walked away.

What was wrong with him? He was letting a woman who intrigued him walk away. He might be on the verge of being a recluse when it came to anything but work, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be alone. He was just choosy and Eve made him feel like he hadn't felt in, well, forever. She made him willingly want to be social.

He was just about to go after her, and say what, he had no idea, when the door to the office swung open and Gordon stood there staring at him.

“I see you ran Eve off. I know you don’t interact with people who aren’t sick very often, but you could have been a little bit nicer to her.” He moved to his desk, slapping down the papers that were in his hands. “She’s one of my best patrons. I can't have her bad-mouthing this place.”

He hated when his brother was right. He shut the door that Gordon had left open and sat down in the space on the couch that Eve had just occupied. “What do you know about her?”

Gordon raised an eyebrow. “This is interesting.”

“Can you maybe just answer the question and not be a fucking ass?” All around him was the lingering smell of Eve. Apples.

---