Moonlight over Manhattan (From Manhattan with Love 6)

Her heart pounded a little harder. She put her mug down and stood up. “So what are we waiting for?”

The rest of the sled ride was as idyllic as the first part and for a moment Harriet seriously considered giving up her job and coming to live here. She had to remind herself that she knew nothing about handling sled dogs, and that her life was in Manhattan.

And so was Ethan. He was there too.

And she was determined to make the most of their last day.

They barely made it through the door of the cabin before falling on each other.

Trying to remove ski gear wasn’t easy, and there was much laughter and some swearing before finally their warm outer layers hit the floor.

He pursued her up the stairs to the shelf.

“It’s still daylight.”

“Good. I want to see you.” He reached out, stripped off her underwear and tumbled her back onto the bed. “I love you naked. You should never wear clothes.”

“You want me to show up at a wedding naked? That would be a first.”

And she wasn’t sure about making love in daylight. Not because she wanted to hide her body, but because it would make it harder to hide her feelings.

He buried his mouth in her neck and then followed a trail down her body, discovering secret places. Sensation swarmed though her, and she wriggled under him but his hands and his mouth were everywhere. He paid attention to every movement she made, every quiver, every tremor, every moan and every gasp. He drew out the pleasure until she was shivering and shaking with desire and then he was inside her, filling her. He surged into her, his hand beneath her bottom as he drove into her with a slow, relentless rhythm. His forehead dropped to hers and then he kissed his way to her mouth. His breathing was unsteady, his shoulders slick with sweat. She felt the rough scrape of his jaw against the sensitive skin of her throat, and then the erotic stroke of his tongue as he teased the corner of her mouth.

He demanded everything and she gave everything, not because she’d planned it that way but because she couldn’t help herself. It wasn’t possible to give this much and still hold back.

“I love you.” The words left her lips without thought or design. She breathed the words against his neck, and then his mouth. “I love you.”

She felt the tension rip through him. Felt the sudden rigidity of his shoulders as he absorbed her words. If she’d said it at another time it might have changed everything, but they were too close to the edge for him to stop now so he simply thrust deeper, drawing her closer, kissing her and smothering the words until they came together in a rush of heated pleasure.

Afterward he gathered her to him and held her tightly.

She waited for him to speak. To say something. Anything.

But he said nothing, and any secret dream she might have had that he felt the same way, that their relationship might have changed for him too, died right there and then.

HE FELT GUILTY, leaving the bed before she was even awake.

He also felt like a coward. After what she’d said to him the night before, she deserved an answer. She’d taken a risk, put her heart out there, willingly making herself vulnerable. She deserved something in return, but he had no idea what to give her. All he knew was that he couldn’t give her what she wanted.

He trudged through the snow to the farmhouse, opened the door of the kitchen and the heat hit him, melting away the cold.

It was early, but the room was filled with delicious smells of baking.

He saw bread rolls and small pastry cases. Gingerbread Santas lay in uniform rows on the cooling rack, waiting to be iced. He was transported back to a time when he and Tyler used to tumble into the kitchen, cold and elated after a day on the slopes, and eat their way through whatever treats Elizabeth had cooked.

The food and the cozy atmosphere were as much a part of his memories of Snow Crystal as the snow and the skiing.

Elizabeth was in the process of removing something from the oven. She placed it on a rack and turned.

“Ethan! You’re up early.”

“So are you.”

“I have things to do.” She pulled off her apron and gestured to the table. “Sit down. I’ll make us a coffee.”

And suddenly he felt guilty. It was her wedding day. The last thing she needed was his problems. “I’m disturbing you. I shouldn’t have come.”

“Having a chance to catch up with you is more important than anything I’m doing now.”