Snowflakes kissed my bare flesh where they landed and melted as I tiptoed after equally underdressed Damon toward the hot tub. He laughed as he almost slipped on the melting snow and paused to wait for me. He stood outside in the cold by the steps leading into the tub, his arm stretched out and hand open for me to hold as I climbed in. I wouldn’t applaud him for being a gentleman. It would only feed his ego. Besides, he was getting rewarded plenty a little later.
I dipped one foot inside the bubbling hot water, the contrast making me feel like I was about to be boiled. A moment later, as I stepped inside a little deeper, the cold lifted off me, and a sort of relaxation I’d never felt before settled around me.
Damon followed me inside the tub, groaning the way he always did when pleasure caught him off guard. We lowered ourselves to the seats, and the water swallowed me to my shoulders.
Damon needed to slide a little further to cover his broad shoulders, his face flushed and hair damp from snowflakes and rising steam. He was so beautiful with his parted lips and a deep breath leaving him. “This, I tell you, is life we’re meant to live,” he said.
“You won’t hear me complaining. For once.” We laughed at that, and Damon got up to close the distance between us. Whenhe was near me, he threw his arm up and rested it along the back of my seat.
I settled under it, one hand holding my cocktail above the surface, the other moving playfully along Damon’s leg.
“You know what’s funny?” I said, tracing lazy circles on Damon’s thigh underwater. “Six months ago, if someone told me I’d be sitting half-naked in a hot tub with you, willingly, I would’ve reported them for psychological terrorism.”
Damon’s laugh rumbled through his chest. “And now look at you. Living your best life with your worst enemy.”
“Former worst enemy,” I corrected, taking a sip of my cocktail. The herbs mingled with the rum in a way that tasted expensive and slightly pretentious. “Current…what? Situationship? Catastrophe in progress?”
“I prefer ‘disaster with benefits.’” His fingers found my shoulder, drawing patterns that made my skin prickle despite the heat. “Has a nice ring to it.”
“Very romantic. You should write greeting cards.”
“Roses are red, violets are blue, I can’t stand you, but I’d really like to…”
“Finish that sentence and I’m drowning you,” I warned, but I was already grinning like an idiot.
Damon shifted closer, and suddenly, his face was inches from mine, steam rising between us. “You wouldn’t. You already admitted you can’t drive home.”
“I’d figure it out. Necessity breeds innovation.”
“Is that what we’re calling this?” His voice dropped lower, and I felt it somewhere behind my ribs. “Innovation?”
The snowflakes kept falling, odd ones surviving the rising steam and catching in his eyelashes, and I wanted to kiss each one away. Instead, I said, “We’re calling this a temporary lapse in judgment that we’re both too stubborn to end prematurely.”
“God, you’re exhausting.” But his hand slid down my arm to find my wrist, thumb pressing against my flesh like he was checking if I was real.
“You love it.”
The words hung there, dangerous and loaded. Love. Wrong word. Terrible word. I tried to backtrack. “Love that I’m exhausting. I mean, obviously…”
Damon kissed me, cutting off my spiral into panic. His other hand cupped my jaw, and the cocktail glass nearly slipped from my fingers. When he pulled back, his eyes were dark and serious in a way that made my stomach flip.
“Shut up, Kane,” he murmured against my lips.
So I did. I set my drink on the edge of the tub and wrapped my arms around his neck, letting myself sink into him. His heart beat against my chest, too fast for someone who was supposed to be relaxed. Mine wasn’t doing much better.
“This is so stupid,” I whispered.
“The stupidest,” he agreed, kissing my neck.
“We’re going to regret this.”
“Absolutely.” His teeth grazed my collarbone. “Worth it, though.”
And damn him, he was right.
THIRTEEN
Damon