“I hate you.”
“I know,” he acknowledged. “You’ll always hate people who tend to be better than you.” He gave her a consoling pat on the hand. “You’re terribly competitive, sweetheart, but it’s okay. I love that about you, too.”
Aaaaargh.
There really was no winning over him.
It was a rather long ride to the park, followed by a thirty-minute trek in freezing temperatures before they could make it to the hot springs.
“Why are we doing this again?” she heard Daria groan as they huffed and puffed in the snow.
“It’s part of the engagement party, sweetheart,” her husband replied.
“Oh.” Daria grunted. “Remind me not to ever attend any of her other parties again, okay?”
Alyx’s shoulders shook at the conversation, but when she glanced at Nathan to share her amusement, she was surprised to find a rather grim look on his gorgeous face.
She automatically reached for his hand. “Nathan?”
His expression cleared, and he smiled down at her.
“Is something wrong?” she persisted.
He shook his head. “Nothing can be wrong.” He pocketed her hand in his, saying, “I love you.”
Ah. How easy it was for this man to say the words now.
“I feel the same,” she mumbled.
He laughed.
Alyx’s cheeks burned. “Maybe when we’re married, I’ll get better.”
The ex-model tightened his hold of her fingers inside his pocket, saying cheerfully, “I doubt it.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Yeah.” She kinda doubted it, too.
“I don’t mind. It’s also what I love about you.”
She sent him an exasperated look. “Seriously? It’s like you love every bad thing about me.”
“I do, indeed,” he agreed without hesitation. “I’m perfect, you see, so all your imperfect traits are unusual and fascinating to me.”
Aaaargh!
Yanking her hand out of his, she bent down, scooped snow into a ball, and threw it at him, just because she had to hit him or she’d go crazy. But Nathan being perfect, he only laughed and retaliated by brushing his lips over hers.
Oh. Her toes curled inside her snow boots.
I love you, his kiss said.
She curled her arms around his neck. I love you, too. But when she tried to pull away, he held on to her more tightly.
Alyx protested against his lips, “Nath---”
His tongue slipped in.
The kiss became torrid in an instant, and all thoughts about the travel review she had to write about the snow monkeys for the Nagano Tourism Board completely faded.
She vaguely heard Reid Chalkias say with a sigh, “Let the lovebirds freeze their asses if they want. Let’s just get going.”
“Hell, yes,” she heard Nick Christakos agree, with his twin echoing his sentiments. The Christakos twins were children of the sun, making winter their least favorite season.
As the sounds of their footsteps faded, Nathan lifted his head. “It took them long enough to get the hint.”
Before Alyx could reply, he whirled her around, making her face the path leading up to the hot springs. She could still make out the figures of their friends, who had gone on trudging forward.
“Do you have the foil blanket with you?”
“In my knapsack,” she answered, confused. A company had sent it for her to review, and she had planned to test the blanket during their winter vacation.
“Good.” She heard the ex-model rummage for the blanket inside the knapsack. A moment later, he had whipped it out and placed it around them, making Alyx twist her head around as she asked him, “What are you doing?” She was even more bewildered now.
“Curing my jealousy.”
She gaped.
“Now face forward my love…”
Alyx obediently turned forward, occupied at trying to dissect his words. Jealous? Nathan was jealous over what?
“Could you hold the edges and keep it around us?” She did as asked and heard Nathan shift behind her. Was he that cold?
He then pushed her towards the railings erected for trail safety, still walking behind her.
“There’s nothing much to see here,” she warned. “The snow monkeys are way up there.”
“I know.” Nathan made her bend slightly over the railing.
Figuring that he had spotted something interesting, she obediently looked down while keeping the foil blanket secure around them.
Behind her, she heard Nathan shift again, and Alyx frowned. Seriously, he was acting so weird---
And then she felt it.
Alyx jerked. “Nathan.”
But he kept pulling her thermal pants down.
“NATHAN!”
And then he was thrusting his cock into her, slowly and deeply, and Alyx shuddered and swallowed back a moan.
So this was what the foil blanket was for.
Nathan bit her ear from behind, and she shuddered anew. “I told you. I’m jealous.”
“O-over what?” Her voice was a breathless stammer, and Alyx couldn’t stop herself from bending over the railing just a little more, allowing his cock to push deeper into her.
Oh God.
“I just realized that Nik Alexandropoulos also calls his wife ‘sweetheart.’”
“O-oh?” She had no idea what that meant, and frankly, she didn’t really care. The way he was pounding into her oh so beautifully was taking over her mind fast.