Page 61 of Ice To Meet You

“No, I want you to lie to me. Of course, honestly.”

He crossed one leg over the other, like he was settling in for the night. “By zip lining over a gorge in Peru.”

I blinked. That didn’t seem like something a million people would find impressive.

He pulled his hand along the back of his neck again. “I may have climbed to the top of the wire … without a safety rope.”

My gut lurched. “What?” Was he mad? Was I zip lining with a certifiable maniac?

“Relax. It’s called free soloing. I haven’t done it for a while, but it’s the purest way to climb. Just you and the rock.”

“And the ground.”

He sent me a lopsided smile. “Ideally not. But that was how I started. I continued on from there—doing things most would consider a bit crazy. You know … extreme sports.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what that would even look like.”

He grinned at me. “It would look extreme.”

I huffed. “And that’s your content? People follow you to see whether you’ll slip off a cliff or not?”

He reached around me, making sure the safety wire had no kinks. “They’re more interested in the climb's technicality, not the …”

“Dicing with death?” I finished. Seeing the cheeky look onhis face right now, I wondered if half of his followers were more interested in his good looks.

“Most of what I post nowadays isn’t so edgy.”

I threw my hands into the air. “Oh, do tell. Just a little light base jumping on the weekends? How about floating over Niagara Falls in a barrel whilst strapped into a straitjacket?”

He chuckled, setting a tingle low down in my belly. “Now you’re just being ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous? I’d never have come here with you if I’d known. Not only am I dealing with the fact that you must be out of your mind, but it's like walking down the street with a movie star. With the effect you’re having on people, should I throw petals before your feet?”

He grinned at me—the most irritatingly gorgeous grin. “Now you’re being dramatic.”

A spark flared in my chest. I was beingsane. I stepped towards him and poked him in the chest. “I’m … not … being … dramatic.”

Matteo looked down at my finger and, with a flourish, took one of his carabiners and linked it to somewhere at the back of my harness. “Yes, you are. And you’re staying attached to me until you calm down and be more reasonable.”

I tried to step away, but whatever strap he’d attached me to had locked us tightly together. I looked down at his chest and then his lips. They were in a full smirk and looked soft enough to kiss.

My heart skipped a beat. Kiss?

“Take it off,” I said. “Undo us.”

He chuckled again, his warm breath glancing at my skin. “Only when you give me that gorgeous smile of yours.”

My heart skittered again. His mouth was so close to mine. So, tempting. Flashbacks from the chairlift barrelled into my brain and I don’t know if he read my mind, because his eyes darkened. I let out a shaky breath. “Please.”

“Please what?” he murmured, his lips just millimetres away, his sweet breath mingling with mine. My heart hammered against my ribs as I battled the urge to melt into him. To bury my face in his neck and never let him go.

Just then, an icy wind rustled through trees buffeting us together. Dust blew up from the ground below and Matteo closed an arm around me, sheltering me against his chest.

He was warm and solid against my cheek, and his cologne wrapped around me in a delicious mix of apple and body heat. His heart pounded almost as fast as mine and I prayed the gust of wind would last forever.

After thirteen of his heartbeats, the wind subsided. All I heard was the sound of his pulse and birdsong. I took a breath, waiting for him to release me, but he didn’t. Instead, he brought his mouth to my ear, our safety helmets scraping together.

“Okay. Are you ready to move on?” he asked.

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