Page 96 of High Seduction
Gentle contact with the back of her hand pulled her from her ponderings. Tim stroked a second time lightly with his fingers. “You get this. It’s powerful to be in charge, isn’t it?”
“High-test adrenaline shot straight-up into a vein.” Erin grinned. “Okay, I’m ready for the next challenge. One sunny day—what shall we do with it? And don’t suggest cliff jumping because you already did that at Matt’s.”
“Spoilsport.” Tim filled his plate a second time, then started spouting off the wildest and most insane suggestions. Everything from spearfishing to building a massive labyrinth in theoutdoor entertainment areaand setting up a paintball fight.
Erin bantered with him and enjoyed every minute, right up until reality kicked in again.
This exercise was supposed to show her why she could trust Tim all the time, in all the places. And even though they were having fun, she still wasn’t sure where their worlds overlapped. How to take the trust she had for him into the real world and move it into this other place.
What they had still seemed more suited to a fantasy realm out of normal time and space. Somewhere her sexual desires and urges toward submission didn’t seem so contradictory to everything she admired in the women she worked with. Everything she’d fought for over so many years in becoming a pilot. In dealing with the naysayers who didn’t like her sex. Who didn’t like her skin colour. Hell, who didn’t like the friends she kept.
She liked who she was, and no matter how much fun it was, and how much she...caredfor Tim, this couldn’t become a forever thing if she had to give up everything that made her tick. Hopefully this exercise would be the final proof that would let her move forward with confidence.
Because her independence and strength were too important to be abandoned even for out-of-this-world sex. Even for a man with whom she was beginning to think she was falling in love.
CHAPTER26
She was holding back. It was subtle, but it was there, and Tim fought to keep his damn mouth shut. If this exercise was going to work, she had to figure this out by herself.
If it didn’t work? It was probably for the best. He wanted her, but he wanted her fully onboard, and if he couldn’t havethat, he’d have to let her go.
Like. Fucking. Hell.
He chuckled at his own internal dialogue. He wasn’t going to give up, but it would be so much simpler if Erin got the message now than down the road, because he had no intention of going anywhere.
She was stuck with him. Letthattruth soak in.
They’d spent the last hour tromping through the beautiful winter scenery, snowshoes strapped to their feet. They’d traveled a fair bit already and had reached the giddy-with-fresh-air stage of the afternoon.
Matt laughed as he ducked to avoid the snowball Erin beaned at his head.
Then they both turned their attention in his direction, and he swore, racing for the protection of the trees as Erin and Matt ganged up on him. A flurry of snowballs flew around him.
“Cheaters,” he shouted over his shoulder.
“All’s fair in love and war,” Matt retorted, a hard-packed snowball accompanying his words, smacking Tim in the back of the head.
“Oh, nice one,” Erin said.
Her encouragement turned to a scream, and Tim whirled to discover Matt had tripped her, following her to the ground and pinning her under him in the snow.
They rolled a few times as Erin struggled to get away, laughing far too hard as their bulky snowshoes interfered with a normal romp. Matt paused, staring down at her, and for a moment Tim held his breath.
The violent urge to knock off Matt’s head wasn’t there. It wasn’t that jealousy had no place in his life, but with both Erin and Matt, there were issues he’d already taken into account.
Instead of the green-eyed monster sweeping in, the ideas buzzing through his brain were far different. He hoped she’d have seen what he’d seen. That she’d have the courage to take one more step...
She reached up with gloved hands and caught Matt around the neck, pulling him down for a passionate kiss. Tim paced back, watching closely as flashes of tongue and clouds of heated breath fogged the air around them. Matt eased his elbows to the snow on either side of her head, stretched over her while their snowshoes tangled together awkwardly.
They broke apart when Tim stopped beside them, Matt rolling off and grinning happily skyward. No guilt there, either—which was good. Tim offered his hands to them both, and had two hard clasps wrap around his wrists a second later.
Oh shit, he hadn’t thoughtthissituation through very well.
An instant later he, too, was in the snow, Erin chuckling madly as she scrambled on top to pin him down in the field of icy white.
Matt’s bold laughter echoed off the trees. “I can’t believe you fell for that,” he taunted.
Erin tilted her head to the side, smiling contentedly. “I’m glad he did.”
