And with that, she was gone. Totally trusting, believing in him, confident in her own abilities to make this thing happen.
She had to be the most amazing woman he'd ever met in his entire life. But that thought would have to because he now had her hanging off a sheer, icy cliff in questionable weather, her life in his very hands.
How many times had
He sent down her board, then pulled up the ropes, gathering them so that he could ski with them looped over his shoulder. When he took another look over the edge, Lily and her rescue vie were already gone. Safe, he hoped, knowing they were moving down harsh, unwelcoming terrain not meant for humans.
Logan quickly taped off the area and shut down the light. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the growing twilight, and then began his own descent, on the regulated, patrolled slope closest to the rescue, stopping only half a minute later when an odd flicker of reflection came from the cluster of trees to his right. Skiing off the trail, about five feet in, between two tight trees, he found three signs.
Three 'out of bounds' signs. He gathered them up, tucked them under his arm and, with the ropes still looped over his shoulder, headed down again, not stopping until he was at the lodge, standing in front of the first-aid cabin to its right, listening to the radio conversation between a patroller on a snowcat and Lily.
He was relieved when he heard she'd been picked up, but had to wait another fifteen minutes before she came into view, looking tired and in some pain.
'Hey,' she said in surprise at the sight of him hanging out on the covered deck. She lit up with pleasure, which froze on her face when she saw the signs lying at his feet.
'The area's taped off-and I found these just off the trail,' he said.
'So some punk really moved them on purpose. Damn. Hard to remember if I was ever that stupid. Thanks for putting the tape up-and bringing these down.' Sh? picked up her walkie-talkie and asked someone to come get the signs and put them back where they belonged in the morning, before the hill opened to the public.
'You okay?' Logan asked when she was done.
'Sure. You didn't have to wait for me. I don't want you to waste your ski time on me.'
Hadn't anyone ever waited for her? Made her feel like she was worth waiting for? 'I just wanted to make sure your knee was okay-'
'I'm a big girl.'
Yeah, he was getting that. Getting that she had to be. She was also intelligent, quick-witted and strong as hell.
She stepped off the covered deck into the lightly falling snow, then turned toward him, opening her mouth to catch a snowflake on her tongue.
A tongue he suddenly, desperately, wanted in his mouth. 'You're sure you're not hurt?' He moved off the deck to stand next to her. They were alone, and because of it, he stepped even closer.
'What are you going to do if I am?' she asked in a daring voice as she caught yet another snowflake on her tongue. 'Kiss it better?'
'Maybe.'
'I dare you.'
Without hesitation, he hauled her up against him to do just that and covered her mouth with his.
Her surprised murmur filled his head, along with the ensuing heat when the kiss went instantly hot and sweet all at once, sending hunger and desire skittering through his veins. He rocked against her, and with another surprised murmur, she opened her mouth to his, clutching him close.
Close was good, even if they were separated by clothing and gear. The material was designed to insulate, but none of it was a match for the heat that zapped between them. The pressure of her body, the, glide of her tongue with his, gave him a glimpse of both heaven and hell. Heaven because he couldn't remember a better kiss than this, hell because he wasn't going to get much more, not out here in the open as they were.
But God, she fit against him so absolutely, as if she'd been made for him, and he fisted his hand on her jacket, low at her spine, rather than explore her curves and heat in public. After one more slow exploration of her delicious mouth, he forced himself to pull back, letting out a groan when her lips clung to his before letting go with a little suction sound that made him even harder.
Mouth still wet, she stared up at him, her eyes soft and aroused and touchingly unsure, as if she, too, knew that this was different-and far more terrifying because of it. Then the expression was gone and her cocky grin flashed. 'Thanks for the help today, ace. It's always nice to work with another adrenaline junkie. You ever want to change locations, you're hired.'
His heart was still threatening to burst out of his chest but he managed to answer. 'I'm not an adrenaline junkie.'
That made her laugh. 'Anyone who willingly throws himself into a situation like you have- twice-is an adrenaline junkie.' She smoothed her fingers over his jaw with a smile. 'Don't look so unsettled. You should know, we can't help ourselves.' Leaning in, she bit his lower lip. 'I gotta go.'
The snow felt cold on his hot skin. 'Your knee-'
'Feels better already. Have fun tonight.'
And then she was gone.
Logan skied hard the next day, wanting to clear his mind. The day before had been interesting, educational and, to say the least, intriguing, and he had a whole new appreciation for what someone like Lily did for a living.
He also had a whole new appreciation for the woman herself. Curvy, small as hell and with guts to boot-he couldn't get her out of his mind. The wild kiss hadn't helped. She'd thrown herself into that, too, as she apparently threw herself into everything.
Did she have any idea how incredibly arousing that was? Since he hadn't seen her once since, he had no idea but he suspected she'd felt it, as well, and had backed away from both that and him. He didn't miss the irony of that-a woman unnerved by nothing being unnerved by his kiss.
By the time late afternoon settled in, it looked more like twilight, with the sun behind the clouds. Snow drifted down, reflecting off the already white mountain. Around him the landscape took on a surreal feeling, almost as if he was standing on a movie set where everything had been painted white, with low lights added to make it all glow. It was also incredibly quiet, eerily so, because the snow hit with no sound at all, muffling all the other normal noises.
In that oddly beautiful winter wonderland, Logan skied to the lodge steps and removed his skis. For the second night in a row, he had absolutely nothing ahead of him to do, no one waiting on him, no paperwork, nothing. He could hardly wrap his mind around that.
He took the time to admire his surroundings. He loved the look of the lodge, a two-story sprawling cabin-style building wrapped in dark wood siding above a brick base, with at least one large outdoor patio off the east side. The myriad of windows were all trimmed in white with open shutters, giving the lodge a gingerbread-house kind of charm and personality. As he walked up the steps and under the hanging Bay Moon sign, stomping the snow off his boots, the doors opened and several skiers spilled out. So did the scent of all sorts of foods from the cafeteria, and his stomach growled, reminding him he'd skipped lunch. He stepped inside.
Off to the right and down a wide stone staircase was a wing of guest rooms. Straight ahead lay the wide, open common room, and to the left, another hallway, where he could head into the cafeteria, the bar or the ski rental shop.
In the common room, a wide variety of people sat around the crackling flames contained in the huge stone fireplace. Several of the loungers were of the hot-ski-bunny variety that Wyatt had figured he'd be spending time enjoying.
