Page 43 of The Dating Dare

The graceful flow of her movements proved his thoughts right. She skied beautifully. He stayed close to her and didn’t pick up speed. He was serious about not being separated from her. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight. As though she was testing him, Tara swooshed downhill, suddenly picking up speed. With a hoot, he sped up to join her.

She curled herself tighter as they approached the bottom of the hill, and he couldn’t help himself. Maybe he wanted to show off like a peacock during mating season. He zoomed past her and stopped in a smooth arc at the bottom. Quickly, he pulled out his phone from his jacket pocket and pretended to scroll through messages.

Tara slid expertly to a stop beside him a few seconds later. He glanced up from his phone with surprise. “Oh, there you are. I thought you’d gone for some refreshments.”

“Show-off,” she said, and laughed. “You really can ski like James Bond. I thought maybe it was just The Ego talking.”

“And you’re no intermediate skier.”

“I really am. I’ve never skied on the advanced slopes.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Seth cocked his head to the side, truly puzzled.

“I have this irrational fear of sliding off the chairs, and landing on the snow way below like a crumpled doll,” she said, staring down at her boot-covered toes. “That’s why I get so scared getting on thelifts. But to go to the diamond courses, you have to take multiple lifts, going even higher.”

“But it’s not the heights because you did fine on the gondola ride.”

“Because it’s fully enclosed. The lifts are so… open.”

“What if I promise you, I’ll never let you fall? I’ll hold you tight the entire ride and not let go.” He leaned closer to her so she would look at him. “I’ll be your personal seat belt.”

Her eyes widened and her lips parted, and she seemed almost mesmerized when she said in a breathless whisper, “Okay.”

He’d had no ulterior motive other than to make her feel safe, but her reaction heated his blood to a quick boil. The depth of emotion she brought out in him was unnerving, yet thrilling. He wanted to laugh with her, to protect her, and make love to her with an intensity that surprised him. But he liked it, and hungered for more than a little taste of it.

Suddenly, the beginning of hisnew chapterin Paris loomed like a ticking bomb, ominously counting down the time he had left with Tara.

CHAPTER NINE

“Oh, my Groot. We’re up so high. So very high,” Tara squeaked. Seth was sitting right beside her with his strong arms wrapped around her. Her personal seat belt. So romantic. Yet, her freak-out kept climbing. “Are you sure you’re not defective?”

“Tara.”

When she turned to face him, he crushed his mouth against hers. One moment she was scared and the next moment, she wanted nothing more than to climb onto his lap. She opened her mouth wider to give his tongue easier access. She moaned softly. Then she was rudely—but gently—set apart from him.

“Ready to jump?” he asked in a husky voice.

“What are you talking about?” she said, completely confused why he’d stopped kissing her.

“We’re almost at the top.”

“What—oh.” She’d forgotten she was even on a lift. He’d kissed her to distract her from her fear. And boy, had it worked.

“Ready?” he asked again.

“Yeah. Sure. I’m ready.”

Then they dropped together onto solid ground. Well, not exactly solid. The snow was softer up here since they didn’t groom the slopesand fewer people ventured up this high. She loved how her skis sank into the powdery snow.

The air around them felt eerily calm. There were other skiers and boarders on the slopes, but their voices sounded far away and muted. The anxiety she’d felt moments before melted away, and anticipation raised goose bumps on her arms.

“Oh, Seth. It’s so beautiful here,” she whispered. The tall, viridescent trees behind them stretched to pierce the crisp blue sky, and the glistening powder down the slope cast a crystal-like glow to the entire picture. It was as serene and magical as a dormant snow globe.

“I knew you’d like it.” He chuckled softly. “Let’s take this one easy, so you can get a feel for it.”

“After I get a feel for it, I’m going to redeem myself and beat you to the bottom.”

“Sure, you will.” His smirk was all cocky arrogance. It was so annoying how much it turned her on.

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