Claimed by the Alien Bodyguard - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,59

started, retreating into cover, where she shook her head and wiped the snow out of her face.

“Mason, you can’t get me,” Ana taunted.

He growled, and Gabriela eased around the trunk just enough to see him give chase to Ana. Gabby grinned and followed. It wasn’t easy maneuvering between trees and the deep snow when her legs were so much shorter than his, but she was patient. And her patience—along with the fact that he wasn’t moving anywhere near as fast as she knew he could—allowed her to catch up just as Mason was throwing a snowball at Ana. Her daughter ducked to avoid it with a giggle.

Gabby launched her own snowball. It struck exactly where she’d intended—Mason’s ass.

Mason spun to face her, and only then did she notice that he still had snow in one hand. That wicked grin returned to his face, accompanied by a heated gleam in his eyes, and for a second it was hard to tell whether he meant to throw the snowball at her or lay her down right here and have his way with her.

He raised the snowball.

“I’ll save you, Mom!” Ana plunged both her arms into the snow and swung them up, sending a geyser of powder into the air—and all over Mason.

He tensed, momentarily obscured by that cloud of snow, and was left covered in white—his hair, his coat, his pants. He looked like he’d just awoken from a nap in a snowdrift. “Ah, that went down my back,” he grumbled.

Ana threw her hands in the air. “We did it! We—”

Gabriela’s next snowball struck her daughter in the chest.

Ana turned shocked eyes toward her mother. “We’re supposed to be on a team!”

Gabby stuck her tongue out. “I never said that.”

Laughing, Mason bent down, scooped up some snow, and rose to charge at Gabriela. She screeched and ran, though she wasn’t sure whether she truly wanted to escape him.

They played for some time, their laughter filling the forest, until they were exhausted and covered in snow. Even though Gabriela knew they’d all be freezing pretty soon, she felt good. She didn’t feel like she’d just lost everything—she felt like she’d found the piece of her life that had been missing all this time.

Both she and Ana dropped back into the snow, panting, and stared up at the trees for several seconds. Gabby’s cheeks, nose, and chin were so cold they were partially numb, and her legs burned with exertion, but she didn’t care.

Ana swept her arms and legs in wide arcs over the snow, making a snow angel. How the girl still had the energy to do that, Gabriela did not know.

With a gentle smile on his face, Mason leaned back against the trunk of a tall tree, his eyes shifting back and forth between Ana and Gabriela. If he was tired, he wasn’t showing it, even though he’d run around just as much as Ana had.

Gabby met his gaze and smiled. “I guess we should find our tree before we all freeze.”

His eyes darkened, and his expression grew serious. “I’ll warm you, female.” His eyes roved over her. “All night long.”

He warmed her all right. That seductive look, combined with his words, sent a burst of heat straight to Gabriela’s core, and her skin flushed.

“Gross,” Ana said, putting her gloved hands over her ears. “There’s a kid here!”

Yup, The Talk is coming.

Mason laughed, pushing away from the tree, and strode over to Gabriela. He held his hands out to her. He didn’t need to say anything for her to know what he was thinking—and she had a pretty good idea that he knew her thoughts were similar.

Gabby placed her hands within his, and he helped her rise, lifting her easily out of the snow and keeping an arm around her until she gained her balance. She looked up at him and smiled. His tousled hair hung all about his face. She reached up, intending to tuck his hair back, but he caught her wrist and gently halted her arm.

They stared at one another, and the world around Gabriela was so peaceful and quiet that it fell away from her perception. She didn’t know why he’d stopped her from touching his hair. He’d done so once before, and she couldn’t help but wonder at his reasons. His action seemed so at odds with the way he was looking at her, with the desire in his eyes.

Perhaps, given a few more seconds, she might’ve brought herself to ask him about it. Perhaps she might’ve