Page 102 of Ice To Meet You

I nodded, threading my arms around his neck, our skin gliding together. “How are you going to cool me down? Roll me in the snow?”

“Nothing so brutal. You forget, the window in our room is wide open. I think the altitude might have taken care of the temperature for us.”

With that, he picked me up and slung me over his shoulder like a caveman. I giggled, pummelling his solid back with playful punches. “Put me down.”

We bundled into the bedroom, me squealing and him laughing hard at my hip.

“Only if you ask nicely.”

“No chance. You know I’m scared of heights. I’m surprised you’d be so cruel.”

He dropped me onto the bed, the mattress sinking under me like a marshmallow. He raked his eyes over my body. “I think I know how to cure you of your fear.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Tell me?”

“You forget …Dono di Dio. I told you before, I’m a gift from God. That means I have the power to bring about miracles.”

I curled my lips, winding a strand of hair around my fingers. “Like what? Water into wine? Raising the dead?”

Matteo reached over to the side table, found his wallet, and pulled out a condom wrapper.

“Raising heart rates is my speciality. Let me remind you, if I may?”

Damn him and his good manners. “Considering you asked so nicely. Who am I to stand in the way of divine intervention?”

“Good girl,” he said, bringing the condom wrapper to his mouth and tearing the corner with his teeth.

I watched him roll on the rubber, the muscles in his arms and chest contracting as he moved. By the time he finished, Matteo wasn’t the only one who was ready to explode.

He stood over me, eyes on mine, the side of his lip gripped between his teeth. “Are you ready for the second coming?”

I giggled. “Matteo, if past experience is anything to go on, we’ve only just started.”

Three earth shattering miracles later, we lay in bed wrapped in fur as our breath made tiny plumes in the air. The fire had all but died, and neither of us had the energy to get up and close the window.

My stomach rumbled. After our adventures, I was ravenous. I hadn’t eaten on the plane—my stomach had rolled at the thought of flying and food combined.

I laid back, stretching my arms over my head. “What’s the number for room service? Please don’t tell me I have to ski back down to civilization to eat. I doubt I’d have the strength.”

Matteo crawled up my body, stopping level with my hips. He pressed a slow kiss to my belly. “I hate to break it to you, but nobody’s coming to save us.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

He grinned. “I left strict instructions and a threat of instant dismissal if anyone disturbs us in the next twenty-four hours. Even if we were attacked by bears, no one would come to our rescue.”

I leaned up on my elbows. “There are bears here?”

Matteo joined me on the pillow, his body warm and all too delicious. “It’s unlikely, but I have a pot of honey on the bedside, just in case. I’d throw it out the window to lure them away.” He paused, one eyebrow raised, and a blistering smile on his face. “You could eat that! No need for room service, then.”

I batted his chest as he lay next to me. “Speaking of wild beasts, Claudette will be happy to see you again.”

His eyes glowed, but then his face dropped. “Claudette! Who’s looking after her? Does she have enough blankets? Enough kibble?”

My heart pulsed. I loved that he cared so much. “Relax, Iris is still in town. She and Luc agreed to drop in and feed her.”

He took my hand, bringing my knuckles to his lips. “Is she okay, though? I kind of miss her little face.”

Again, my heart surged. It was time to consider my adoption of Claudette as a co-parenting situation.

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