Page 12 of Meant To Be

“But…”

He rested his hands on his hips as he studied me. “I promise. Just level trails. Maybe it’ll be a good experience.”

I blinked. “Okay, fine.”

As we were walking out a few minutes later, I glanced over. “I thought you would tease me.”

Dylan glanced down. “Not about that. I’ve done a lot of guiding over the years. Everybody has their fears, and it’s not cool to tease. If you really don’t want to go, we don’t have to.” He stopped by the rental car.

“Let’s do it!”

His grin sent my belly into a dizzying swoop, and off we went.

A short while later, cross-country skis and gear rented, Dylan stood beside me. He leaned down to check that I was secured to my skis. “You’re good.”

He kept his promise. We stayed on flat, easy trails with nothing more than gentle slopes here and there. We stayed out for more than two hours. By the time we were done, I felt bracingly alive in the crisp winter day and not the least bit anxious.

When we skied to a stop at the trailhead by the parking area, I glanced over with a smile. “Thank you.”

Dylan looked over at me, lifting a hand to remove his hat. “For what?”

“This.” I swung my arm toward the trail behind us. “It isn’t that I haven’t skied at all since that fall, but not very much. This was fun.”

“Anytime. I prefer cross-country skiing to downhill. Once we’re in Alaska, I'll go with you if you ever want to go. We can stick to the flat trails or find something a little more challenging.”

My belly swooped as his gaze held mine, and my pulse started to buzz faster. I kept trying to tell myself this super-inconvenient attraction to him would fade. But it wasn’t. Not at all.

I could hardly even bear to think about how I’d felt waking up during the night deeply aroused, beyond hot, and bothered. I’d been plastered to his side. I’d been so relieved it was close to morning that I practically leaped out of bed and raced into the bathroom.

“Let’s get back to the inn.” Dylan removed his gloves and checked his watch. “We’ve got time for an early dinner before the first concert tonight.”

I told myself the rush of seeing one of my favorite bands live in a small setting like this would distract me from Dylan. Between skiing today and the concert tonight, I would be exhausted.

Chapter Ten

PIPER

The band’s performance was even better than I could’ve imagined. Guests crowded the pub. Dylan and I were off to the side, dancing with most of the small crowd.

Maybe it was getting into the spirit of it—between the holiday, the band, the pure adrenaline of it, along with being surrounded by couples—but somewhere along the way, I looked over at Dylan. Our gazes linked and it felt as if electricity zapped through the air between us, sizzling straight through me.

I instantly burned up inside. Seconds later, someone bumped into me, shoving me into Dylan. He steadied me with an arm around my waist. The next thing I knew, we were dancing together. The band shifted from a rollicking tempo to a slow, bluesy song at that moment.

I had stripped out of my blouse and left it on the back of my chair. I was down to a silky tank top because it was hot and crowded. When I met his eyes again, seriously caught up in the moment, I impulsively leaned up to kiss him.

We were laughing as our lips met. My brain cells went poof. His lips molded to mine as I let out something like a whimper and arched up against him. His palm slid down to curve over my bottom, pulling me flush against his body. I was suddenly aware of his arousal. OMG.

Our kiss went on and on and on as we swayed together. We finally broke apart, staring at each other with wide, stunned eyes.

“Oh my God,” I rasped.

I felt the gust of his breath. “That’s one way to put it.”

I scrambled for composure, for any semblance of sanity. Before I could pull myself together, his palm stroked my spine, and his fingers laced into my hair. “Piper,” he growled just before his mouth claimed mine again.

This time, his kiss was purposeful, masterful. I was burning up, nearly shaking with need. This kiss was like gasoline poured on an already raging fire. The flames burst skyward inside.

We were beside the wall and stumbled against it. Without it, I probably would’ve fallen to the floor, weak-kneed in a puddle of pure desire.

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