Page 26 of Everything In Between

TWENTY

hayes

“You want me to sit on that”—Jersey points at the sled—“and let you catapult us down the hill?”

I laugh. “Yes, exactly that. It will be fun, I promise.”

The world around us goes silent as she mulls it over before glancing at me with a hesitant nod. “Okay, just don’t let me die.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I say, feeling victorious as I lean over to kiss her cheek.

After getting in the workout this morning and running through a few hours of tape, I was in desperate need of stress relief. Given that Jersey is a Southern Cali girl, and doesn’t get to enjoy snow, I thought it would be fun to go sledding.

I didn’t expect her to be absolutely petrified.

She’s been a good sport. Eagerly bundling herself up in an extra winter coat, hat, and gloves my sister left here, she was enthusiastic about the whole thing.

Until I situated us right at the top of the hill and told her to get onto the sled.

“Okay, hold on tight.”

“Hayes, I don’t know about this.” Jersey’s voice is a little shaky as she grips the handles of the sled for dear life.

I laugh into the side of her neck and wrap my arms around her middle.

She’s practically shivering in my arms as she stares down the big hill on the back of my property.

I have her pressed up against me, my arms banded against her belly and her back tucked comfortably against my chest. It’s cozy, for sure, and I’m thinking that sledding with her is going to become one of my favorite winter activities.

It’s hard for me to imagine growing up and never having gone sledding before—but I’m happy to be her first.

“Here we go!” I shout and push us off the hill.

The sled crunches against the snow as we inch forward.

It’s only two heartbeats before we’re plummeting down the hill at increasing speed.

Jersey holds on tightly to my legs, her arms wrapping around my thighs.

I band my arms tighter around her and draw her closer to me so she feels secure as I toss my head back and laugh right alongside her scream.

This is the ideal sledding hill. There are minimal trees I have to watch out for, so we can slide down the slope without worry.

By the time we make it to the bottom, Jersey pushes herself away from me and stands up before bending over and bracing her hands on her knees.

Her shoulders are shaking, and I eye her with a hint of worry, but then she looks up at me, cheeks flushed and eyes glittering.

“Let’s do it again.”

Together, we haul the sled back up the hill. Jersey stands with her hands on her hips, staring down the slope once again. She’s sucking in deep breaths from the hike, but she turns to me with a devious expression.

“I want to sit in the back.”

Wariness settles in my belly, and I shake my head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

When I proposed this idea to her, she told me she’d never been sledding before. There’s zero chance I’ll let her take control of the reins on her second run.

“Come on, buzzkill. I think it’s only fair that you get a face full of snow too!”

“It doesn’t make much sense for me to sit up front. I’m a lot bigger than you.” I land a kiss on the tip of her rosy nose. “If I’m in front, I’ll topple the sled without the weight balance from the back. How about we give it a few more goes this way?”

She arches her head toward the sky, annoyed, but even then she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. “Fine. Come on!”

Jersey settles into her seat, and I position myself behind her, wrapping my arms around her middle and hauling her back into me again. She wiggles her bottom a bit, getting comfortable, and it sends a flash of desire straight through me.

I clear my throat and tighten my arms around her.

Pushing off again, we fly down the hill.

Snow flies up around us at every angle. Jersey’s twinkling laugh hits me straight in the heartstrings and I decide I could listen to that sound for the rest of my life.

I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that Jersey never stops laughing when she’s around me.

Finally, when Jersey’s teeth are chattering and her nose is bright red from the biting cold, I call it a day. “We should get you inside.” I rub my hands up and down her arms. “You’re freezing.”

Jersey vehemently shakes her head. “One more. And I want to sit in the back. Please, Hayes?”

She sticks her plump lower lip out in a pout, and there’s no way I’m going to be able to resist her. The girl has me wrapped right around her finger without even realizing it.

“Okay, fine. Just one go, all right? Then inside.”

She nods and claps her gloved hands excitedly. Groaning internally, I situate myself on the sled first, noting how Jersey slides in behind me and wraps her arms around my broad middle. I know this is a terrible idea, but it’s too late now.

Jersey kicks us off the slope and we begin our descent.

We make it barely halfway before we’re toppling over in a loud oof from me and a slightly surprised yelp from Jersey.

The two of us sprawl in the snow, the sled continuing its slide down the hill without the unbalanced weight limiting its path.

I sit up, wiping the snow out of my face, and search for Jersey, laying on her back in the snow, staring up at the sky and laughing her cute little ass off.

Fighting off the smile, I crawl toward her, crunching through the snow on my hands and knees until I’m looking down at her.

“I told you that was a bad idea,” I say with a laugh, unable to fight off the infectious humor that she’s experiencing.

“You should’ve seen your face!” She squeezes her eyes shut, consumed again with the giggles. “Oh my gosh, that was so fun!”

Unable to help myself, I lean down and kiss her. Jersey responds by throwing her arms around my neck and tugging me down until most of my weight is resting atop her.

I lick across the seam of her lips, begging her for access. She opens for me like a flower blooming in the spring, her enthusiasm seeping through her kiss. Her arms tighten around my neck and she makes a soft mewling sound in the back of her throat.

Despite the bitter cold, my body heats with a need for her.

But even that’s not enough to deter me from some common sense.

I somehow find the strength to pull away from her and scoop her up in my arms and carry her up back toward the house. Her eyes sparkle for a second, her nose still rosy from the cold. Looking over my shoulder, she glances back down the hill.

“What about the sled?”

“Screw the sled,” I say firmly before bending down to kiss her again.

As much as I’d like to kiss her the entire way back to the house, I’m worried I’ll trip over the uneven, snow-covered terrain. So against my better judgement, I pull away from her and focus on the walk back.

Once we’re inside, I disrobe down to my boxers, and Jersey follows my lead until she’s in a tank top and her panties. Her nipples are hard, poking through the flimsy material of her top.

Fucking sexy.

After taking a moment to appreciate how irresistible she is, I lead the way to the living room and tend to the fireplace, tossing a few logs on to get it going before grabbing a blanket and a few pillows off the couch.

“Come here and get warm,” I instruct Jersey, who’s only a few feet away from me, watching the process with interest. She hops over and takes the blanket from me, wrapping it around her shoulders and sitting down on the floor right in front of the fireplace as I situate the pillows around her.

Settling myself next to her, I lean in and kiss her again, needing to feel her against me.

She arches languidly against my side, her covered breasts pressing against the bare skin of my chest. When I pull away, her eyes have dilated in such a sexy way with the flames of the fire flickering over her face. “You’re so beautiful, Jersey.”

She sinks her front teeth into her lower lip—which is a seductive sight, that’s for damn sure. Outside, the sun starts to set, and we’re basked in the glow of the fireplace and the lingering light from the kitchen around the corner.

“I really had so much fun today,” Jersey says, snuggling closer to me. “And this is the perfect way to end a day in the snow.”

I shake my head. “I can’t believe you’ve never been sledding.”

She shrugs a shoulder. “My parents never had the thought to take us. We’ve been around snow before, done the snowball fights and snowmen and whatnot when we went to the mountains, but never sledding. I bet Roman would have loved it growing up.”

“Well, I’m glad you had a good time. I was a little worried there for a minute.”

She laughs. “Me too. I thought I was going to throw up looking down the hill the first time.”

“Thank goodness you didn’t,” I tease her. “I don’t think we’ve hit that milestone in our relationship.”

She shakes her head. “Hopefully we’ll never hit that milestone.”

I gently nudge her shoulder. “I want every milestone with you, Jersey Matthews.”

Her brown eyes find mine, and they soften in the dim lighting. Unable to keep this distance between us any longer, I lean forward and press my lips to hers in a gentle kiss, once, twice, before pulling away and resting my forehead against hers.

“Are you cold still?” I ask when she shivers again.

She takes a moment to open her eyes again, breathing me in deeply. “Maybe a little, but I think I know a good way to warm up.”

Then, with no further warning, Jersey reaches for the hem of her tank top, pulling it over her head, revealing her perfect naked body to me.