Effie put down her romance book and stretched her neck. Outside, flurries continued to fall.

“I’m dying to go outside,” she told King. He looked up at her from across the kitchen table where he nursed a cup of steaming hot coffee.

“We should be able to.”

“What do you mean?”

“We still have the snowmobiles out back.”

“Are you serious? Why are you just telling me about this now?”

He shrugged. “It’s not like we can take it into town, it’s just for playing around here.”

“Well, then come on! Don’t you have cabin fever yet?” Effie jumped up.

King laughed at her excitement. “Okay, okay. I think my mom has some spare snow gear in the mud room closet. Go find something and I’ll get ready.”

She rushed towards the closet and began to pull out the slim pink snow pants and matching puffy jacket. His mom’s boots were half a size too small, but the pinch would be worth it.

King appeared in the hallway in perfectly fitting all-black gear. “You look like a snow bunny,” he said.

“At least you didn’t say I look like your mom.”

“That’s a blessing for both of us.”

She rolled her eyes and punched him lightly.

“Hey! I like your mom,” she said. “And you can’t say she doesn’t look fantastic for her age.”

He wrinkled his nose as he held the front door open for her. “Please don’t talk about my mom that way.”

Effie delighted in the sound of the frozen top layer of snow that crunched beneath the boots. She followed King around the side of the house to the little shed that was built to look like a miniature version of the cabin. He kicked a pile of snow out of the way and eased open the door to reveal two snowmobiles draped in cloths.

“I totally forgot about the snowmobiles,” she said.

“Well, in your defense, the times we spent up here weren’t exactly spent on outdoor recreation.”

Effie felt herself blush, but pretended not to notice his words. Instead, she watched as King easily fired up one of the snowmobiles. The other he struggled with while it remained silent and cold.

“Sorry, looks like you’ll have to ride bitch,” he said as he hopped on the purring machine and patted the seat behind him.

“Hey! Why don’t you ride bitch?” she asked, but dutifully climbed on behind him.

“My cabin, my rules,” he said.

She nearly slipped as she made her way onto the machine and grabbed King’s waist to steady herself. Even through the thickness of their snow gear, she thought she felt a spark of heat between them.

Effie was thankful for the roar of the motor. As she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek into his back to protect her skin from the cold, she felt drunk as she breathed in his scent. It was so natural, so normal. She’d forgotten how easily they fit together.

She watched the stunning scenery fly by. The trees heavy with sheets of white provided an almost unbelievable magical backdrop. Effie squealed as she watched a deer race between the trees.

She had to admit, this was something she’d missed. Just being with King, the ease of it, and how it felt like they had the world to themselves.

Effie snuggled into his back and took deep breaths. King smelled the same as she remembered, a manly musk with just a hint of salt. She remembered that he tasted like his scent, crisp as the ocean.

Thorne was always marinating in cologne, she thought.

In fact, Effie didn’t have a clue of what Thorne’s natural scent was. All she knew is he was nothing like King.

King brought the machine to a halt near the ridge they used to hike in high school. When he killed the engine, she could still feel the vibration between her legs. Effie hadn’t realized how turned on she’d become on the ride.

He slid off the snowmobile and held out his gloved hand to help her. For a little too long, they kept their hands interwoven. He dropped her hand right as they approached the ridge, just before she could mistake it for actual hand-holding.

“I forgot how beautiful it is,” she said as she peered down.

Below them, a veritable winter wonderland unfolded. The snow was pristine, perfectly untouched. The snow glittered in the sun. A thick, taupe wild rabbit loped from one bush to the next.

“It really is,” he said, though she thought she saw him sneak a look at her as he spoke. “It reminds me of a Vivaldi piece.”

Effie grinned and looked at him. “You always did like that kind of stuff.”

“It’s classical,” he said. “Everyone likes it.”

“I don’t.”

“Just because you haven’t given it a fair shake. Too busy with your nose buried in those books and singing Diana Ross songs.”

“Something doesn’t have to be old to be beautiful,” she said. Effie nudged him with her elbow. “You should be grateful for that, old man.”

King laughed.

“You’re just a year behind me,” he said. “Be careful.”

They enjoyed the view in comfortable silence. Effie watched for another furtive leap from the rabbit, but all was frozen and still below them.

“Come on,” she said and tugged at his arm. “This is too perfect.”

“What do you mean?”

“Doesn’t the perfection of the snow make you just want to mess it up? It’s like opening a fresh jar of peanut butter. Nothing should be this perfect.”

She ran down the hill and delighted in the sounds of her boots in the powder. At the bottom, she threw herself onto her back and gazed up at the soaring trees overhead.

A few fat flurries still tumbled to the earth. Effie stuck out her tongue to catch one as she made slow, lazy angels in the whiteness.

King loped towards her with a grin on his face and one hand behind his back.

Effie stopped suddenly, her legs splayed and arms overhead. “King, don’t you dare!”

“What? I’m not doing anything.”

“I know what you have! You’d better not—”

Before she could finish, his hand shot out from behind and he lobbed the snowball right at her chest.

“Ow!” she cried out with a laugh. “That’s so not fair.”

Effie pulled herself up and made her own snowball while King backed away. She shot the ball directly at his head and laughed as the snow exploded across his knit cap.

“Damn, Effie!” he said. “I forgot not to start something with a former softball player.”

“Former all star softball player,” she said.

The tight boots slowed her down, and King got two more sloppy shots in. Effie managed to pack together a loose snowball and catch him before he could re-fuel.

She jumped on his back and stuffed the ball down his jacket while he howled—but he didn’t let go of her thighs that were wrapped tight around his waist.

King threw himself onto his stomach in the snow and forced her to topple on top of him. Effie found herself straddling him as he wiggled beneath her and turned onto his back.

For a moment, she didn’t fully realize their position. She tried to pin his arms over his head as he brushed up snow in the air to ward her off. And then she felt his hardness between her legs.

His cock was right there, and as hard as it had ever been. She glanced up at him, trying to ascertain just what that meant.

Before she could react, King took advantage of her moment of pause and flipped her onto her back.

He was on top of her, positions reversed. His hips pinned her down, and with one hand he clasped her hands above her head. In his other hand, she could see a clenched snowball.

His cock pressed against her made her so horny that she couldn’t stop herself from pushing slightly against him. She watched his eyes travel to her mouth.

Briefly, he leaned down and she instinctively closed her eyes. He was going to kiss her, she was sure of it. There was a pause, and then Effie felt him roll off of her.

“We should get back,” King said. “Who knows when the storm will pick up again.”

“Yeah. Sure,” she said.

Effie stood up and brushed the snow off her pants and jacket. King had already started back up the hill towards the snowmobile. As she went after him, she felt a constant sharp pinch in her right boot. Effie was thankful for the impending blister.

At least it will give me something else to focus on.

She held her breath as he fired up the ignition and she had no choice but to wrap her arms around him once again. This time, she held on as loosely as she could. Effie let the cold wind slap her face instead of leaning against his back for comfort.

“Go on in,” King said as he pulled the snowmobile into the shed. “I’ll get this covered up.”

Effie slid off the boots in the mudroom and pulled off the jacket. She pulled off the pants and tossed them into a corner. In just borrowed long johns and King’s old college sweatshirt, she made her way into the kitchen and started to paw through the cupboards.

The front door opened and closed with a slam. She heart King curse and mutter under his breath as he loudly put away the snow gear.

“Hey!” she called as she heard him pass by the kitchen. “Are you hungry? I can make soup—”

“You go ahead,” he said curtly. “It’s freezing, I’m going to build a fire in the bedroom.”

“Are you sure?” she called. Effie was still, one can of soup in each hand, as she listened to him toss kindling into the fireplace in the bedroom.

“Yeah!” he called. “I’d prefer not to freeze my ass off like I did last night. Unless of course you have a problem with me sleeping in my bedroom?”

“Nope, no problem at all,” she said quietly.

Effie slammed both the cans back into the cupboard, her appetite gone. They’d had such an amazing time out in the snow, so good that she’d nearly forgotten what year it was. Or that King was no longer hers.

What did I do wrong now? she wondered as she cracked the romance novel open and sank into the heavy kitchen chair.