“Lovely people.” She virtually danced along the path, a feat in itself given the ice.
Ethan held her hand tightly to stop her slipping. “I don’t know what’s happening to you, but I love it.”
“What’s happening is that I nailed today’s challenge. I did not run out the door.” She punched the air with her free hand and saw that he was grinning.
“I’d say you kicked your challenge in the butt.”
The moment they stepped through the door of the cabin, he caught her to him and kissed her.
“I’m proud of you. You’re incredible.”
She kissed him back, feeling powerful and capable of anything. Anything. When she lowered her hands to the zipper of his jeans, he raised an eyebrow.
“Miss Knight, are you doing what I think you’re doing?”
“I am.” She closed her hand around his erection and heard the breath hiss through his teeth.
“The bedroom is—”
“No.” She pushed him back and they both tumbled onto the rug in front of the fire. In less than ten seconds both of them were naked. It wasn’t the first time they’d made love, but it was the first time she’d been in charge.
She kissed her way down his body, taking her time to explore, allowing her mouth to roam. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this way before, having this fierce craving to discover. She wasn’t just discovering him. She was discovering herself, and it was a heady experience. Up until recently she’d tiptoed through life, careful not to draw attention to herself. Now, there was no more tiptoeing, and she definitely had his full attention. She went where she wanted to go. Did what she wanted to do, and what she did drew a rough sound from somewhere deep in his throat.
She felt the sudden acceleration of his heart under her hand, felt the hard muscle of his abs tighten as she moved lower and took him into the heat of her mouth. She heard his breathing grow heavy and felt a whole new powerful feeling that came from knowing what she was doing was driving him wild. He fought for breath, moaned her name and she gave and gave until his hands hauled her upward and she finally moved over him, straddling him.
In the firelight she could see the bunched muscle of his shoulders and the glitter of his eyes as he focused on her face. She knew she was flushed. She knew her hair was tangled from his hands. It didn’t matter to her. It certainly didn’t seem to matter to him.
Murmuring that she was beautiful, incredible, driving him crazy, he gripped her hips and entered her with a slow upward thrust that filled her completely. The sheer intensity of it stole her breath. She felt her body yield to the demands of his and the thrill of the masculine invasion made her heart race and her tummy tighten. All she was aware of was him, and the hot aching need that spread through her body.
She closed her eyes.
Sex with Ethan was an intimacy she’d never known before.
And then he started to move. He moved with a slow, relentless rhythm that sent pleasure coursing through her. With each stroke he went a little higher, a little harder, urging her close and closer to the edge until there was nothing in her mind except this. She didn’t care about the past. She didn’t care about the future. There was only now. And he made the most of now, driving into her until her body was screaming for more, until sensation after sensation crashed down on her and the contractions of her body rippled along his shaft, taking him with her.
Somehow, much later, they made it up to the shelf and lay together looking at the snowy forest, luminous in the moonlight.
She felt dazed. Drugged. And happier than she could ever remember feeling.
Ethan stroked her arm. “I was afraid you were going to find this evening daunting. I was worried that by putting you in a room with a large number of strangers, I wasn’t being fair on you.”
“It was great. And I’m glad I stammered. Falling and discovering that you can get back up is good for confidence. Right now I feel as if I can do anything.”
He pulled her closer. “And now you’ve discovered you can do anything, what’s next for Challenge Harriet?”
“No idea. But I’m tired of not doing things because I’m afraid of screwing them up. I really wanted to meet your friends. Your godmother. And I loved them. I love the O’Neils.” She snuggled closer. “I can see why you come back here whenever you can.”
“It’s a great place. At one point I even considered getting a job here.”
“In the hospital where Sean works?” She tried to imagine Ethan away from the frenetic pace of New York City. “Why didn’t you?”
“I enjoy where I work. The ER in a place like this would be different.”
“You mean like skiing accidents and injury by moose encounter.”
“That kind of thing.”
“I can’t believe the whole family run this business together. It’s wonderful.”