I stroke the material and inhale it. It smells like new, like something that will be mine and won’t have even a trace of Jake.
I turn around after rubbing the material some more. It is nice, very much so. A higher grade than the one I’m currently wearing, too. “But I like yours,” I blurt out, pulling Jake’s scarf from under the new one and inhaling it in. “It smells nice.”
Jake’s eyes go wide and his hand freezes mid-lift. I think he was reaching for the old scarf. The loveliest flush tints his cheeks as he lets his hand fall down, and for a few moments, he looks like he has no idea what to say or do. It’s refreshing, considering I’m the one usually gaping at him with my jaw hanging.
“Oh,” he says eventually, sounding a little breathless. His eyes shimmer with something that sends goosebumps down my arms and back. “Okay. Then I guess we don’t need a scarf if youare happy to use mine.” Biting on his lip, he stifles a smile. “And keep it. You can totally keep it.”
“Maybe I will.”
He blinks at me. The shop owner laughs. I’m with him. I don’t know what I’m saying, but, well, I don’t feel like taking it back either. I can be spontaneous too. Brave. I blame it on Jake’s easy confidence rubbing on me.
Jake looks happy in a new way as we bid goodbye to the older man. He leads me down the street to the corner, where we turn left. We pass a few more shops and I even hear the buzz of Christmas songs. Strangely, I don’t mind them as much as I did when I arrived.
Another block, and we reach the edge of the village. Fields of pure white stretch before me, untouched and wild. Jake vaults over the wooden fence where they start and offers me his hand. I take it, mirroring what he did. Instead of letting go of me, he uses the strength advantage he has and pushes me against the fence, effectively caging me between it and himself. I prop my ass on the top rail, losing track of everything but him as his beautiful face with its wild halo of curly hair fills my vision.
There is no one around. It’s just the two of us and the snow. He took his cap off at the clothes shop and hasn’t put it back on, so a thin sheet of snow has accumulated on his head. I reach out and ruffle his locks until it’s gone.
His eyelashes flutter and he hums. Then he shakes his head to get rid of anything I might’ve missed and leans forward, placing his hands on both my sides. He’s completely boxed me in, standing so close I can feel his warmth seeping into me. It causes little zaps of pleasure across my entire body.
“You meant what you said in the shop? About my scarf?” he says, his whiskey-brown eyes imploring. His hand grips one end of the scarf and pulls gently.
I dip my head and inhale into the cloth. Spices, cream and Jake, that’s what it smells like. It’s intoxicating, sending desire through me. “Yes. I like it,” I breathe out and hold his hypnotizing gaze. “A lot.”
“I really want to kiss you right now,” he whispers, his voice like honey and silk.
“Who is stopping you?”
Nuzzling his nose against mine, he smiles. His hand clasps the back of my neck and tilts my head up as our lips meet. I can taste the mocha and the berry cake on him. Slowly, he pushes his tongue past my teeth. It’s hot and slick and I welcome it, tangling mine with it as he takes charge of the kiss. I love that he does. I can feel how hungry he is for me as he licks every inch of my mouth, as he swallows my gasps and lets out tiny moans of his own. I’m on fire despite the cold as I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer so I can feel more of him.
The dance of our tongues turns into a gradual chase, but even so, it retains that underlying gentleness that Jake exhibits in everything he does. He’s greedy, but deliberate, thoroughly exploring me as I explore him in turn. His free hand roams, dipping under my shirt just like I fantasized about. He’s somehow lost the glove and the feel of skin-to-skin contact unleashes an onslaught of tingling pleasure across my back that assaults my core.
I will combust from how good it feels to be touched by him. I could kiss him forever. But we do part eventually, both of us gasping for air.
“When was the last time you made a snowman?” he asks, kissing the corner of my mouth.
I pull back a little and lift an eyebrow. “Asnowman?”
Grinning, he shrugs and takes out a carrot and two old buttons from the pocket of his coat. “Yep, a snowman. I promise it will be fun.”
I shake my head and let him drag me further into the field. I haven’t made one in more than a decade. I haven’t even thought about it, and not only because I live where the temperature doesn’t fall below sixty-five. But as he starts rolling snow for the base, a thrum of excitement awakens in me.
So I join him, hoping I won’t embarrass myself with how bad my snowman-making skills are.
Chapter 8
Jake
Ethan is adorably clumsy,but it supplies an endless stream of excuses for me to touch him so I can demonstrate how to shape the snow. He doesn’t seem to mind.
The same goes for the kiss I steal when our snowman is finally standing, ready and proud and sporting the crooked carrot I snatched from the kitchen for his nose. It was meant to be my snack, but this is a way better application for it.
“It’s kind of cute,” Ethan says, scrunching his mouth in an adorably cute frown.
I wrap my arms around him from behind and pull him close. His warmth mixes in with mine, sending a series of delicious shivers across me. “It is.” I peck his cheek. “But you are cuter.”
He chuckles and spins around, meeting me in a quick, sweet kiss. “This was fun. Thank you. Building a snowman wouldn’t have even crossed my mind.”
“That’s what I’m here for. To come up with all these crazy ideas you wouldn’t normally even consider.”
