and the snowball in her hand and his arrogant smile were just too much to resist. Without giving it much conscious thought, she let the ball fly from her palm. It whizzed through the air, aimed with deadly accuracy right at his incredulous eyes. But he turned at the last second and the snow exploded against the side of his head.
He lifted a hand and wiped the snow from his hair. “I can’t believe you actually threw that.”
She was already regretting her impulsive decision. She’d started a war with only one possible outcome, and that wasn’t her victory. Still, if she was going down, she’d do it fighting. First, she’d attempt escape, but if that didn’t work, it would be all weapons set on automatic fire.
“That was my pager,” she said, and she immediately turned and began running toward the side doors she’d come through earlier.
“Not gonna happen, Sage. Mine would be going off, too, but good try,” he yelled, his voice seeming to be only inches behind her ear.
She tried to pick up her pace but found herself sliding—beneath the fresh layer of snow was packed ice. She was going to fall flat on her rear if she didn’t slow up. Of course, she was going to fall if she stood still.
She’d take her chances with the snow. Speeding up, she saw freedom in her sights when suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her waist, spinning her around and stealing the breath from her lungs, and then she and Spence were launching into the air.
“We’re going down,” he said, stating the obvious.
Sage cried out, expecting this to hurt, but he somehow managed to turn them around before they fell, and his back landed with a splash in the snow while she bounced against his chest—his delectably hard chest.
“Mmm, now this isn’t bad,” he said as he brought his hands up to cradle her head.
Finally on the verge of feeling what it would be like to touch him, what his taste would be, what passion he could invoke, Sage almost took his mouth with hers. But before she lost complete control, her hands, almost of their own accord, scooped up another large mound of snow, which she dumped right in his face, leaving him sputtering. He released her in his attempt to clear his air passages.
She twisted off his body and was attempting to rise to her feet when he snaked his arms around her again and she landed in his lap.
“Let me go,” she said, but a giggle burst free. She couldn’t help it. She hadn’t roughhoused in the snow since she was a little girl, and though it was freezing out, she was having more fun than she could remember having in years.
“Not until I get my payback,” he said, and she found herself on her back, the snow making a crater around her body. Her ears grew numb with cold.
“Okay, okay, you win,” she cried as snow melted and slid into her ear canal. “It’s cold as sin out here!”
“I could douse you like you just did to me.” One of his hands pinned her arms above her head while the other gathered a huge handful of snow.
“No, no, no! You win!” She closed her eyes and waited for impact. Payback was terrible, but she knew she deserved it.
When nothing happened, she cracked her eyes open and looked up. With the fire that was burning in his gaze, she was amazed there was any snow at all left around them. It should have all turned into steam.
“I have to taste you.”
He bent down, and Sage thought about resistance for all of half a second. The moment his lips touched hers, she was lost in a pool of heat and desire so strong she didn’t recognize the feelings.
His lips demanded that hers part, and she complied, opening herself to him, tilting her head, squirming beneath his strong, solid, hot body. Oh, this was a first kiss to end all kisses. This man wasn’t messing around. When he released her hands, she grabbed his head, holding him to her, wanting more.
When his hand slipped up her side and rested on her shoulder, she pushed against him. Just a little lower, she thought. His tongue sank into her mouth, tasted her thoroughly before retreating, leaving her wanting more.
“Sage,” he whispered as he pulled back.
She moaned her disapproval, wanting this to go on, needing him to continue heating her from the inside out.
“Sage, you’re going to get frostbite.”
His head was too far