on, let’s get moving. The sun might be shining, but it isn’t the desert,’ he pointed out.
She laughed too. They were as far away from the desert as she could imagine. But as she was about to start off Mac caught hold of her arm. ‘I’ve got a better idea,’ he said. ‘Take off your skis.’
‘What?’ She looked at him in surprise. ‘You are joking?’
‘I’m perfectly serious. I’ll put them in the rack and arrange for them to be collected.’
‘And what do I do—slither down the slope on my backside?’ It might be faster, Lucy conceded as several people turned to stare at her in amusement.
‘Don’t you trust me?’ Mac murmured, holding her gaze until she blushed.
‘You know I do.’
He was remembering how his brother, Ra’id, had done this for him once—though under very different circumstances. He’d been about ten years old, and on his first trip to a ski resort. Eager to show his big brother he could keep up with him, he’d watched Ra’id take the lift up the glacier and had followed him. Ra’id’s instincts had saved his life. Sensing his foolish little brother was in trouble on the slope behind him, Ra’id had made a dangerous ascent of a perilous incline to rescue him. The weather had closed in, and it had taken Ra’id almost an hour in blizzard conditions to reach the snow bridge where Razi had been stranded. Even then Ra’id had been all patience, all control. He had checked for injuries, before taking him slowly down the slope to safety, as he would now take Lucy under much happier conditions. ‘Take your skis off,’ he prompted, seeing Lucy was still hesitating. Taking matters out of her hands, he snapped her bindings open so the skis fell away and she had no choice but to step out of them. He put her skis in the rack by the side of the slope and then beckoned to her. ‘Stand on mine.’
‘Now I know you’re joking.’
His stare didn’t waver. ‘Come on, my skis are stronger than you know. Come in front of me and rest against me … Closer … Yes, that’s right … Lean right into me.’
Was she really doing this?
‘Relax, Lucy. Let me do all the work. I’m going to show you what living in the fast lane is like.’
‘Please don’t,’ she said, suddenly anxious on a number of fronts. She’d broken so many of her own rules over the past few days—skiing fast might seem the least of them, but once again she was entirely in Mac’s hands.
And that was something new?
Maybe she had invested so much in her feelings for him already she was frightened to invest more …
‘I promise you—it’s exciting.’
She was tempted. She stared round at him. Exciting? Had Mac got the slightest idea how exciting her life had become since they’d met? She guessed not.
He nuzzled his face close so now they were sharing the same sparkling champagne air. ‘Don’t be frightened,’ he whispered.
She heard the smile in his voice and tried to relax.
‘I’m going to take you places you’ve never been before, and show you what travelling at speed through the mountains should feel like.’ With that he tipped her over the edge of the slope and they were off. She shrieked as her stomach flipped. ‘Relax,’ Mac yelled, tightening his grip on her. ‘I won’t let you fall.’
They started to build up speed and it gave him a buzz to know Lucy was gaining in confidence with every yard they travelled. Had Ra’id felt like this? That it wasn’t so much an inconvenience taking someone he cared for down the slope, but a sacred trust? ‘Feeling safer now?’ he demanded as they cruised some flatter ground.
‘Thanks to you.’
He tried to remember when he’d had so much fun outside the bedroom. Fun was in short supply when women had one eye on his throne and the other on his fortune, and anyway, he had no time to invest in relationships. He felt a hit of anger and frustration at the thought that this trip to the Alps would soon be over. He’d enjoyed keeping Lucy safe—perhaps more than he should have done.
Mac had asked her if she felt safe. She was safe. He kept her safe. With Mac’s arms around her and his body moulded tightly to hers, she wasn’t skiing, she was flying.
Mac’s arms were firm around her waist and his warm breath was on her neck as he steered her down the slope. She’d only felt closer to him when they’d been making love. As Mac took her into a wide, sweeping turn she even wondered if this was the most erotic experience of her life—out in daylight where everyone could see them moving as one, breathing as one—her body welded to his—feeling his muscles working and hers respond.
The steep descent to the village was over all too soon, and as Mac skied to a halt Lucy realised people were staring at them. Women were smiling; some of them enviously, but all of them a little dreamy-eyed at the most romantic sight they’d seen that day. She was sorry it had ended and wished they could start over when Mac nudged her off his skis.
‘So—did I convince you?’ he demanded, lifting off his helmet and ruffling his thick, wavy black hair. ‘That skiing fast is great?’ he prompted, dipping his head to stare at her.
Had it only been an adrenalin rush for Mac? With the sudden blinding force of understanding she knew the warm, pulsing effects of what had been a night of love for her had been sex for him. Mac was everything she wanted and more—and could never have. He was enjoying a brief affair—she had fallen in love.
‘I’ll take you back,’ he said, shouldering his skis.
‘Don’t you want to meet up with your friends?’ She wanted to give him an out and herself space and time to think.
Mac looked at her and frowned, his lips pressing down in his habitual amused expression. ‘We’re big boys now,’ he said, catching hold of her with his free arm. ‘Come on,’ he insisted, linking arms with her. ‘It’s time for an early bath.’
And the rest …?
Lucy’s heart bounced with joy as Mac put his arms around her and drew her close. She put her arm around him too, like any other couple in the resort, telling herself she worried too much. Maybe.
The rush of being in the mountains, the sheer glory of the scenery and the indescribable joy of being with Mac had left Lucy on the highest peak of the highest high.
‘You feel the charge too—don’t you?’ Mac challenged, nuzzling her cheek as they strode along.
‘Maybe,’ she admitted playfully, trying and failing to keep the smile off her face.
‘You do,’ he said confidently.
There was a sense of urgency to their stride—they weren’t running exactly, but it was purposeful and heading one place fast. The urge to be together, to be even closer than they’d been on the mountain, had infused both of them with unusual energy. Lucy felt like the most alive person on the planet—sight keener, hearing so acute her own heartbeat was hammering in her ears like a kettledrum, while the scent of Mac, deliciously spicy, clean and warm, filled every part of her with happy anticipation. It was as if every sense she possessed was keenly tuned
