Mmm, she thought as a low moan slipped from her throat. She loved this feeling of being so close with a man, to hard muscles and heat that radiated all the way through her chilled body.
She looked practical on the surface, but at her core, Colbie was a true sensualist. She loved the finest silks and lace against her skin and happily spent way too much on the perfect, evocative scent. It had always been her dream to open a store that sold luxury products for women...but in the same way that she’d rarely been able to justify such luxuries for herself, she’d also never been able to justify giving up a good job to chase a dream. Not until last month, when in the wake of the disaster with her ex, she’d finally decided to take charge of her life and had signed the lease for her new store: Indulgence.
As the warm arms around her quickly melted her chill away and she instinctively snuggled in closer, it occurred to Colbie that she hadn’t been this close to a man since the last time she and Rob had made l—
A sharp sting of pain at her ex’s betrayal had her stiffening beneath the man who had pulled her out of the snow.
Hadn’t she vowed to keep her distance from men until she was strong enough to tell a good one from a bad one next time? It was not only completely inappropriate to be lying in such an intimate position with a total stranger, but she definitely shouldn’t be pulling him closer.
One, she didn’t know this man’s name.
Two, she didn’t even know what he looked like.
Three, she’d sworn off men!
She needed to get up, say thank you, somehow ski down the impossibly high mountain she’d so foolishly climbed in the ski lift…and then drown her complete and total embarrassment in a glass—or three—of wine back at the resort’s bar.
Forcing herself to unwrap her arms from the man’s neck when he shifted above her, she moved into a sitting position as quickly as she could, given the fairly deep hole they’d made in the snow.
Using her snow-covered gloves to brush away the ice crystals all over her face was messy work, and when she started to say, "Thank you so much. I hope I didn’t hurt y—" she finally got a good look at her savior.
Oh. My. God.
She’d never seen a man this good looking before. Ever. Maybe in a movie or magazine, but never live and in person.
Mortification rode her even harder at the complete and utter fool she’d made of herself in front of him. Her luck really was that bad. Not only because she’d fallen face first into the snow, but also because she’d been unable to stop herself from rubbing all over him like a cat in heat.
She may even, she suddenly realized with a huge flash of dismay as she blinked at his perfect face, have moaned aloud at the sinfully delicious feel of his body pressing hers into the cold snow.
Amazingly, he wasn’t looking at her with disgust. Instead, there was a smile on his lips and a sparkle in his green eyes. "Rescuing you was my pleasure. And no, you definitely didn’t hurt me at all."
Despite the depths of her mortification, her own lips were on the verge of turning up at the corners. "I’m not a very good skier," she admitted, before adding, "But you probably already guessed that."
"You thought that little girl was in trouble, didn’t you?"
She had to laugh at herself. "She’s probably been skiing since she could walk, huh?"
He nodded. "I’m thinking we should keep an eye out for her in the Winter Olympics in another ten years or so."
Something like this would have had Rob laughing at her the rest of the day. But this man was simply laughing with her.
"I’m Noah."
"I’m Colbie."
"Colbie," he repeated in that low, rough voice that sent shivers running across her skin as they shook hands...or thick ski gloves, anyway. Shivers that had nothing to do with the icy mountain they were sitting on and everything to do with him. His green eyes darkened slightly as he said, "That’s a pretty name. Unique, too."
She’d never, ever had to forcibly restrain herself from launching herself at a man to steal a kiss. A kiss she knew with one hundred percent certainty would blow her mind. But he hadn’t saved her so that she could maul him.
He brushed a lump of snow off her forehead and when she shivered, he said, "You’re cold."
She couldn’t tell him she was shivering at his nearness and from naughty thoughts of the things she wanted to do to him. Not to mention all the things she wanted him to do to her.
If she were Mia, she’d be wowing him by saying something sexy and witty about how he could keep her warm. Of course, since Colbie was feeling anything but sexy and witty right at that moment, all she could think to say was, "We should probably find our skis before they take anyone else down."
Without waiting for his agreement, she started to make her way back up the mountain, but they were close enough to the tree line that the snow was really soft and really deep, and a couple of steps were all it took for her to fall in again.
Noah reached for her. "Hold on to me."
Grateful—and more turned on than she could ever remember being with nothing more than a man’s arm wrapped around her waist—she moved back up the mountain with him until they found all four of their skis.
Ignoring his own, he picked up hers and said, "Sit, and I’ll put them on for you."
As the quiet one in school, she’d learned to excel in other ways. Everyone had always told her how capable she was and she’d done her best to live up to their expectations. When was the last time she hadn’t had to take care of everyone else? Even last night with her girlfriends, she’d tucked each of them into their beds, drunk and giggling, before cleaning up the cabin’s kitchen and living room and finally getting to bed herself. For once, it was a pleasure to let someone else take charge for a few minutes.