ledging experience. This attraction existed. No—it did more than that. Right now it burned...just like his gaze that was focused on her parted lips.
His pupils darkened; desire flared.
‘Ethan...?’
The question whispered across the snow-tinged air. Her heart pounded in her ribcage as her lips parted and she twisted round, propelled by an instinct older than time, her body no longer at home to the voice of reason.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ETHAN COULDN’T TEAR his gaze from her—she was so incredibly beautiful. Her cheeks flushed from the cold, her entire face animated by desire. And, heaven help him, he couldn’t help himself—couldn’t stop himself.
Leaning forward, he covered her lush lips with his own as precipitous need overcame all capacity for thought. It felt so right. He could taste Ruby—the tang of almond with a hint of chocolate. Her lips, cold at first, heated up and she gave a small mewl. The sound triggered a further yearning for more and he pushed his fingers under the hood of her parka, tangled his fingers in the silk of her hair. Her lips parted and her tongue touched his in a tentative flick. And he was lost in a desire to block out the world and kiss her until...
Until what?
The knowledge that the universe could not be ignored was one he carried with him every second of the day; there were always consequences. Problem was at this instant he couldn’t care less—which was dangerous beyond belief. He mustn’t let her close. For both their sakes. Ruby wanted a family and she deserved to have that—she might believe now that she wanted single parenthood, but he hoped that one day she would find love with a man who could give her everything she deserved. Ethan was not that man—and he would not mess with her head.
With a supreme effort of will he pulled back and for a long second they gazed at each other, puffs of breath mingling in the cold.
‘I...’ Her voice trailed off as she lifted her fingers to her lips again. As if they stung in sheer frustration.
Well he could empathise with that. All of him was tingling with spikes of unfulfilled need.
‘I...um...what now?’
‘I don’t know.’
What could he say? There was no point trying to dismiss what had happened. That kiss had been off the Richter scale and it had changed everything. Which was a problem.
‘But I apologise.’ From somewhere he pulled a smile—this Christmas Day would not be ruined by his stupidity. ‘We need to forget that happened. And whilst we try to do that let’s keep sledging.’
Truth be told, he couldn’t think what else to do. The alternative was to hotfoot it back to the chalet and haul her into the bedroom.
A silence, and then she essayed a small, determined nod. ‘Okay,’ she agreed. ‘This is such an amazing place to be, and I am having a wonderful Christmas Day, so don’t apologise. We can chalk it up to an inevitable moment of foolishness.’
* * *
To his surprise there was no awkwardness in the next few hours—Ruby took to the snow like the proverbial duck to water, and swerved and dipped and dived over the slopes. They raced each other and laughed over the results, argued with mock ferocity over a handicap system, and sledged until dusk hit.
‘Time for the next stop,’ Ethan said. ‘Gaston should be back with the carriage and then it’s time for Christmas drinks and dinner in town.’
The knowledge was a relief, because despite all his efforts the air still hummed with the undercurrent of attraction and they needed time before they returned to the problematic fairy tale chalet, with its solitude and adjoining bedrooms.
‘Great.’ Ruby clapped her hands together to get rid of the last vestige of snow and leant with natural grace to pick up her toboggan.
The carriage journey into town was silent—but not a silence of an awkward or grim calibre. Ethan would have classed it as one infused with an undercurrent he wasn’t sure he grasped. Every so often Ruby would glance at him with a sideways sweep, her eyes wide in thought as one finger curled a tendril of dark hair that escaped from her red bobble hat.
And then the horse came to a halt and they disembarked into the Christmas card scene of the Alpen town. The atmosphere was lively, and the artful array of high-end shops was combined with an olde-worlde charm.
‘It’s gorgeous...’ Ruby breathed.
As was she.
They walked down the snow-dusted street, illuminated by the glow of lights from the multitude of bars and restaurants and the twinkle of lights that decked the air. Next to him Ruby had subsided back into silence. She broke it with a quick look up at him.
‘Where are we having dinner?’
‘A Michelin-starred restaurant owned by the resort. We’re a bit early, but we can have a drink before.’