Unleashing Chaos

Chapter Twenty

I gasp and lift my hand, tangling in the little bit of hair at the nape of his neck that is visible under his hat. "Oh, how fascinating," I manage as he slides the onesie a little further down, exposing my lower abdomen and the black thong I chose this morning in the hopes he'd end up seeing it. "And what activities would those be?" I brace myself with a hand on his shoulder as he helps me step out of the garment that was already damp in places that would have likely been uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

He draws a wet trail with his tongue that starts at the waist of my panties and swirls around my navel. "The kind that will make us miss out on sledding."

I bite my lip and fight a battle in my head. I've never been sledding before and doing that with Jace sounds like a lot of fun. But his tongue on my skin is too tempting to resist. But he planned this day for us and I don't want to derail it. There will be time for this later.

"Okay, okay," I say, tugging on his hair. "No more licking. Let me go get dressed." But my voice is strained and doesn't sound very convincing.

"No more licking." He kisses the lace covering my center and stands. "Hurry before I change my mind."

I run up the stairs and tear through my clothes. Wearing winter leggings and a tight long-sleeved shirt, I grab a puffer jacket and return to Jace.

"Better?" I ask, holding out my arms and spinning around.

"Much. And I can see all those sexy curves now. Throw on your boots and let's get out of here."

After driving for forty-five minutes, we pull off onto a crude road in the middle of nowhere, and his BMW SUV cruises over every bump. Snow covers the pine tree branches, and the sun beams down on the ivory blanket, making it look like a million diamonds on the ground.

We park on the side of the road where several other cars are lined. Children with sleds and snowboards zip down the sides of what appears to be a huge white bowl. Parents stand at the bottom with their phones in hand capturing every moment. On the far side of the basin is a log cabin with smoke billowing from the chimney and people walking out with steaming cups in their hands.

"What is this place?" I ask.

Jace opens the back door to his SUV and pulls out the two sleds we brought from his garage. "It's private land. The owners were ski instructors at the top resorts for years. When they had grandkids, they wanted a safe place for them to learn snow sports. It's the perfect place for a beginner."

He picks up one sled and hands me another, then holds out his hand to me.

I thread my fingers with his and say, "That's amazing. How did you know about it? It's way out here in the middle of nowhere."

His eyes scan the area, and I can tell the memory is bittersweet. "My dad used to bring me out here every year on the first snow day of the winter. It didn't matter if it was a school day. We dropped everything, and it was just him and me. As I got older and had friends that wanted to learn to ski or snowboard, we'd head out here."

"I can't imagine how much you miss him," I say as we walk toward the edge of the hill. "Growing up, besides Mandis, my dad was my best friend."

"Yeah, he was the best," Jace says, and I can tell by the way he says it that he wants to change the subject.

I squeeze his hand and we both look over the ledge. The hill isn't the biggest one on the property by any means, but I've never gone sailing down a slope on a contraption made of wood and metal before, and I am a little terrified. This just doesn't look safe; not that I'm the most careful being in the three realms or anything, but this seems purposely reckless.