Day Two

I was deliciously warm.

Oh, and comfortable. Very comfortable in fact, his body heat radiated through my pyjamas and into my skin, warming me from the inside out. I enjoyed the feel of his arm around my waist, the way I snuggled against his hard chest, the steady beat of his heart echoing my own.

I never wanted to leave.

But then, the bulge nestled against my ass grew larger. Tim never had a bulge like that. Not in the morning. Not ever. Not that fucking huge. Wait a minute. Tim never snuggled. He was a: ‘I need my space when I'm sleeping' type of guy.

My eyes flew open and I found myself staring at an unfamiliar wall, the bedding far luxurious than anything I had on my little bed. My breath seized in my throat as my brain comprehended where I was. And who I was with.

Oh my god. It was not Tim at all. It was the cocky bastard I was being forced to share a room, and now a bed with! And where the hell did all the pillows in the middle of the bed go?

"Mmm," Nick mumbled, his breath close to my ear. "God, you're killing me with your wiggling. Quit it or I'm going to have to do something about it."

I wasn’t sure if he was awake or still asleep, thinking I was someone else. How I wished I was still asleep as well.

Still, I couldn't deny the fact that it was nice to feel a body pressed up against mine again. Nick's heat-seeker trying to burrow into me. Between my thighs I was pulsing. Wanting more. Needing more.

What was I thinking? I didn’t know this guy and the last thing I needed was some convoluted affair on what was supposed to be my solo trip, with time to myself to get my head straight! A man was never supposed to be in the picture. Spa treatments, chocolates and lazy days. That was the plan. Don’t deviate from the plan, Angel!

But deviating wouldn’t be all that bad, right? He was hot and I had places that needed scratched.

But I didn’t do flings…

I thought about kicking him hard with my foot, but I was scared I might break it on his solid calf muscle. Instead, I attempted to move his arm from around my waist. Stopping for a second, eyes wide, as I felt the thick muscle of his forearm. Nick worked out for sure.

He mumbled something against my ear and I stilled again, the delicious warmth of his breath causing my stomach to do a funny flip. Who was I kidding? Whole teams of gymnasts were doing cartwheels, backflips and putting on a breath-taking aerial show inside the stadium that was my tummy.

How long had it been since Tim had held me this way? Had he ever?

I clenched my jaw. Nick was not Tim. And I was not going to think about him. I had come to forget about Tim, not drum him up at every turn. So what better way to forget him than to indulge in a casual fling? He was already in my bed after all…

God woman! Have some self-restraint! I was not going to start something up with this guy, no matter how much my body enjoyed being curled up next to his. No, Angel, don't do it.

And yet I lingered. Felt myself wanting to move, to wiggle my behind again. To encourage him to do something about it. I longed for my stranger, for Nick, to blink the sleep from his eyes and run his hands down my body, to dive under my waistband and sink his fingers into me…

“Good morning, Sunshine,” he whispered. “I told you so.”

I could hear his cocky smile even though he was behind me and that just infuriated me. Way to ruin the moment!

“Get off me,” I said, and threw his arm away from me. He jerked as I sat up, my attempts to extrapolate myself barely missing his face in the process.

“What the hell?” he croaked as I scrambled out of bed, backing against the wall. Oh my god, he was delicious in the morning, his close-cropped hair haphazard on his head, his bedroom eyes the colour of warm cocoa. Why oh why did I want to climb back in that bed again?

“You were, I mean, we were.”

He rubbed a hand over his face, clearly attempting to wake himself up. “Listen, I was asleep.”

“Liar.”

"Okay, maybe the last few seconds I was coming to… but come on you were practically begging me with those little shuffles, your ass backing up into me. You wanted me to take you as my dirty valentine, didn't you?"

I knew that, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to know that! I scowled at him and wrapped my arms around my middle. Desperately trying to stop the funny feelings swirling around my stomach at the memory of him curled around me. Instead of saying anything, I pursed my lips and bolted to the bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind me.

Pressing my forehead against the door, I groaned softly. I was acting like a scared rabbit. I’d felt sorry for him last night and allowed him to sleep the bed. After all, it wasn’t his fault that we were stuck like this. But that didn’t automatically mean I would sleep with him.

"Ugh, why couldn't he be ugly?" I whispered, pushing away from the door. It would be a heck of a lot easier to ignore him.

Thirty minutes later, I shyly emerged from the bathroom, feeling a little bit better about the day. I didn’t need to beat up Nick about this morning. He was right but still there was nothing between us, nothing at all.

Nick was standing the living room when I sauntered through, my confidence and resolve coming back with each stride. I saw that he had ski bibs on, the straps hanging down to show off his tight thermal stretch across his torso underneath.

“Good morning,” he said for the second time that day, a hint of a grin on his handsome face. “I was wondering if you were going to stay in there all day and hide. You know I won’t bite. Unless you ask me to.”

I shot him the dirtiest look I could muster and spat, “Bite me, Nick!”

“Mmm, well someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

I took a breath counted it for five beats and waited for him to say something more, to elaborate that perhaps we should’ve stayed in bed. I probably would’ve been in a much better mood had I let myself relax… and take advantage of the situation. But no, I had to be me and all awkward about having the sexiest man alive in my bed.

“Sorry,” I grumbled and pulled my hair up in a bun on top of my head. “About to go skiing?”

He nodded, stretching his arms over his head. His shirt rode up and I caught a glimpse of his taut abdomen in the process, turning away before he caught me staring. “Aren’t you?”

I glanced back at him, the words on the tip of my tongue. I didn’t know how to ski, nor did I care to make an idiot out of myself and fall into the cold, white snow. No, I’d planned on curling up near the large fireplace in the lobby with a juicy thriller for a good long while. I would sear all thoughts of him from my addled brain.

But I didn't want him to think I was weak in any way, and the way he was looking at me, it was almost as if he was daring me to say no. Challenging me. To tell him that I didn't have what it took to go out there.

“Um, sure I was just getting ready to put my ski clothes on.”

He glanced over my outfit, a cute set of leggings and a warm, chunky sweater and chuckled. “Are you sure? You’re not exactly dressed for the part… I mean I can show you what you need if you like—”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I said I was sure, didn’t I?”

He held up his hands, backing up. "Hey okay, no need to get defensive. I'll go downstairs and see about getting you some equipment if you want? That is if you're still up for some company?"

I nodded and held my stance until he exited the room, rubbing a hand over my face as soon as the door shut and I was alone.

What was I thinking? I couldn’t ski, let alone ski in front of him. I’d never even set foot on an ice-rink never mind a ski slope before and he looked like he was a pro.

“Way to get yourself killed, Angel, or worse make an utter fool of yourself,” I muttered, stalking back to the bedroom for something more fitting for the weather. I mean surely it couldn’t be that hard. Everyone here seemed to be doing it, so why couldn’t I?