‘Can we do the lake run now?’ Jonas asked. ‘I’ve been waiting for ages.’
‘You want me to go with you, or do you want Kitty?’
Kitty took a step back, holding up her hands. ‘Oh no, this is all on you, Klein.’
The corner of his lip twitched, and he reached out to ruffle Jonas’s hair. ‘What do you say, shall we do it?’
‘Yeah, but I want Kitty to go next.’
Wonderful.
‘Sure.’ Adam nodded sagely.
‘And I want her to go with you. You make it go the fastest.’
A slow smile spread across Adam’s face. Jonas was right, Adam’s weight really did make the sled fly down the hill, and Kitty felt weak just thinking about it. With the two of them on there, it would go faster still. ‘It’s OK, I’m happy up here.’
‘No way, you’re going next, Shakespeare. Don’t wimp out on us now.’
She watched as the two of them flew down the hill, the sled barely touching the snow as they went. They stopped just short of the lake, with Adam tumbling out to the side, Jonas laughing like crazy as he clambered over his uncle. Her heart clenched to watch them. Isn’t this what every kid wanted – adults who paid attention to you, who wanted to spend time having fun? Why was it that Jonas had everything that money could buy, except his parents’ attention?
As the two of them climbed back up the hill, Adam pulling the sledge behind him, she felt the anticipation building in her stomach. Not just at the fear of the ride ahead of her, but at the thought of squeezing onto that sledge with Adam, his legs tight on her hips. She’d been bad enough before the two of them had sex, her body always reacting to his closeness. Now she knew what he could do with it, she could feel herself blushing all over again.
‘Your turn,’ Adam said, bringing the sled to a stop beside her. ‘You want to get in first?’
She nodded, still feeling the hot burning spots on her cheeks. ‘Jonas, you don’t move an inch, OK? Don’t come near the lake or you’ll be in trouble.’
‘OK,’ Jonas agreed, wiping a dusting of snow from an old tree stump. ‘I’ll just sit here and wait. Then it’s my turn again, right?’
‘Right.’
She sat down on the sled, stretching her legs out in front of her, and Adam climbed in behind her, his long legs either side of her waist. His chest was pressed against her back, and he leaned forward to grab the rope that was lying tangled between her legs. She felt completely caged by him – his chest and limbs pinning her to the sled. His mouth was close to her ear, his breath tickling the sensitive skin just below. ‘I’m going to have to wriggle to get this thing going,’ he whispered. ‘Try not to get too excited.’
‘In your dreams,’ she scoffed, even though her heart was racing.
‘You were in them last night.’
The next moment they were sliding down the crest of the hill, the sled picking up speed as it careered down towards the lake. She felt Adam circle his arm around her waist, pulling her tightly against him, his other hand holding tightly to the rope. She opened her mouth to shout – partly in fear, partly in exhilaration, but the rush of cold air took her breath away.
‘When I yell “go” you need to jump to the right,’ Adam shouted, his voice barely audible above the howl of the wind. ‘Don’t stay on the sled whatever you do.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because of the lake,’ he shouted louder. ‘Now go.’
She tipped her whole body to the side, feeling Adam do the same, their movement causing the sled to flip over. Then they were tumbling into the deep virgin snow, their bodies sinking into it as they came to a stop.
She was breathless, her heart pounding like a racing horse, her whole body shaking at the sudden stop. By the time she’d managed to scramble up to her knees, her hair was soaked by the snow, wet tendrils hanging down her back.
‘Are you OK?’ Adam jumped onto his feet, offering her a hand to pull her up.
‘I’m, I’m…’ She shook her head, not knowing what the hell she was. ‘That was the second most irresponsible thing I’ve ever done.’
She started to laugh, not sure whether she was hysterical or not. Her heart was still racing like a thoroughbred. ‘I can’t believe you made me do that.’
‘If that was the second most irresponsible thing you’ve ever done, then what was the first?’ he asked, forever the interviewer.
‘You. Definitely you.’