Free Fall

A woman poked her head out of the cabin and grinned broadly at Lily before she vanished. She appeared a moment later wearing a snowsuit, a beanie and that same grin. 'It's a perfect day for this.'

'I know,' Lily said. 'You too busy?'

'I have three reservations, all for later, so you're in luck. Come on.' She eyed Logan up and down and then back again. 'What, about one-ninety?'

'One seventy-five,' Lily said, and the two women exchanged a look and then a grin.

Logan realized they were talking about his weight, and looked curiously to Lily, but she just smiled and led him around the back of the cabin.

There were two long kennels there, filled with what looked like wolves but turned out to be an intriguing mix of huskies and malamutes.

'You ever been dog sledding before?' Mary asked him, as the three of them walked toward a long sled that was sitting between the kennel buildings. The noise level rose even further, accompanied by the dogs trotting around in their individual indoor-outdoor runs, jumping up on the chain-link fences that separated them from the sled and doing a damned good imitation of a bunch of teenagers trying out for a baseball team.

He shook his head. 'No, never.' A new experience. Rare. 'You know, it's like they're all yelling, 'Pick me, pick me.''

Lily and Mary laughed, and he looked over at Lily. She was smiling at him, excited and happy, and he felt a surge of that himself. Sure, the dog sledding would be a new experience-but so was whatever he was feeling for Lily.

He and Lily paused beside the sled as Mary chose the dogs, speaking quietly to each in turn. She harnessed them one by one, hooking them up to the long leads that were stretched out in the snow in front of the sled. When two of the dogs already harnessed began to bicker, snarling at each other, she quickly stepped between them giving their collars a little shake, and then talking them down.

'They're so eager to go that their energy spills over,' she explained. 'And there's always one that wants to better its position in the pack.'

'Kind of like people,' Lily said, sharing a grin with him that warmed him right through.

As soon as the six dogs were in place, Mary unwrapped the end of the reins from where she'd staked them, holding them tight as the dogs jostled, tails and ears held high, straining against the leather straps.

She handed the reins to Lily, who held them similarly tight. 'You know the drill. Enjoy yourselves!'

He and Lily sat on the sled, low to the ground, with Lily's back snug to Logan's front, her hips between his, their legs stretched out in front of them.

Nice, he thought, and wrapped his arms around her, slipping his hands beneath her jacket and sweater and indeed finding another soft camisole. He slipped beneath that, too, and felt the bare skin of her stomach tremble at his touch. Everything within him trembled right along with her.

'Put on your gloves,' she said.

'Why?' He let his hands roam, enjoying the way he affected her breathing.

'Trust me,' she managed. 'You'll need them.' She adjusted the reins and said something to the barking, excited dogs, but his mind wasn't on the leisurely dog sled they were about to take, it was on Lily's warm, beautiful body so snug to his, and he slid his hands up and covered her breasts.

Her back arched, her head grinding into his shoulder as she thrust her soft curves into his hands, her nipples boring into his palms while her bottom rocked to his crotch.

Oh, yeah. She wanted him every bit as crazily as he wanted her. This was going to be an extremely nice, leisurely, seductive ride.

Then she yelled a command and the dogs leaped forward, barking like a frenzied wolf pack. The sled jerked into motion, faster than any roller-coaster ride, made all the more stomach-dropping because of their close proximity to the ground, which rushed by Logan's eyes so fast he couldn't even take it all in.

And she just laughed, his fearless warrior. It was all he could do to let go of her breasts and wrap his arms around her, holding on for dear life. 'My God, does this thing have brakes?'

'Brakes? We don't need no stinkin' brakes!'

He would have sworn his heart was in his throat as they took the narrow, windy trail, and he gripped her with white knuckles, making her laugh some more.

But truthfully, her joy spilled over, catching him up in her exuberance. With the wind in his face, his arms full of a slim, strong, lovely woman and the emerald forest whipping past them at staggering speeds, he felt his own laughter bubbling up as they climbed the trail.

They came to a small lake, the surface made of smoothest ice, circled on all sides by awe-inspiring peaks. On the north shore was a waterfall, frozen solid. It felt as if they were alone in their very own world.

When Lily steered the dogs onto the frozen water, he held his breath. She slowed down, and all around them a silence reigned, suddenly broken by an earth-shuddering crack, which echoed between the mountaintops like bullet fire.

'What the hell?' he gasped.

'It's just the ice cracking.'

'Oh, is that all?' His arms tightened on her reflexively, and she turned her head and bit his jaw.

'Scared?' she asked.

Spitless . 'Nah.'

'Don't worry.' She grinned. Grinned. 'It'll hold us.'

'That's good,' he managed. 'Can we admire this from the shore now?'

'Baby.' But she steered them back. Logan didn't let out a slow breath until they were once again on the trail.

'You okay?' she asked.

He slid his cold hands back beneath her clothes. 'I am now. How about you?' He plucked at her nipples.

Her hands jerked on the reins but as he well knew, she couldn't possibly let go, so he did it again. 'I can't think when you do that,' she said unsteadily.

'Thinking is overrated.' And again… 'Feel out of control?'

'Y-yes.'

'Good.' He bit her ear. 'Now you know how it feels.'

She wriggled her butt, the motion having a desperate feel to it. He slid one hand down her tummy and between her thighs, loving the sound that ripped out of her.

'Keep us on the road,' he said gently when she started to lose track of the reins. Then he pressed his fingers against her.

'Ohmigod.'

'The tree, Lily. Watch the tree.'

She managed to steer them clear but let out a strangled sound of desire and a shiver when he slid his fingers inside her loose pants.

'Warm enough?' he asked, dipping beneath her panties to find hot, wet flesh that made him groan.

'I don't think I'll ever be cold again,' she managed.

One hand between her legs, the other up her shirt, wanting her so badly he couldn't see straight, he looked around them for a place to stop.

She let out a choked laugh and took them back to the small cabin. As they climbed out of the sled Lily handed the reins back to Mary, thanking her with a hug. Once out of Mary's hearing, she nudged him with her shoulder. 'You were thinking we could get a little action out there.'

'We got a little action.'

'I meant real action.' Her eyes were filled with wicked intent as she danced a single finger down his chest and hooked it into the loose waistband of his ski pants.