Deeper (The Real Fling) (2 page)

“What the…?” Adriana’s heart reverberated in her chest. “Oh shit. She freakin’ left me.”

Adriana scrambled up. Skis and goggles on, she took their same path, into the woods. The snow was blinding and the path was narrow and steep with sharp curves and jutting branches.
Shit.
She was in an out of bounds area, going too fast, with no room to stop. She fisted her poles trying to find a spot to plant them, but…

“Ahh,” she screamed as she flew over a blind ridge. Adriana caught air. Her stomach somersaulted and she landed with a hard thud, upright on her skis.

“Whoa.” She managed to stop a few yards away from the crest of the ridge. “Where am I?” Visibility was low, but she seemed to be all alone, on an open, steep, slope, in deep snow past her knees. Definitely an expert-only area that probably had one of those obnoxious signs before it that read
If you have to ask, don’t even think about it
or worse, a sign that said
Out of bounds. Enter at your own risk
. Her insides twisted in knots while the hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and not in a good way.

You know how to ski.
Adriana leaned her head back, swallowing air.
But there’s no one around.
Snow battered her face, melting the instant it hit her hot cheeks.
Stop fussing and get moving.
You can do it.
Get to the lodge, toss back a few drinks, and you’ll figure the rest of the crap out.

Adriana pointed her skis downhill. Crouching into a tuck, she labored harder and went a few yards. “Ouch.” Her quads were on fire. She straightened up, to take the load off her thighs, lost her balance and fell.

Bam
,
crush
, the snow went flying as she went tumbling. Over and over she rolled.
Help.
Her body pounded with each crash into the mountain.
Please. Stop. Me.

Finally skidding to a halt, she was dizzy, disoriented, and buried in snow. White-hot pain cut into her shoulder so sharply she shook. Once she managed to shift onto her back, her agony ebbed enough for her to wail. Fired, abandoned, and hurt in the middle of a blizzard. Contorting sobs wracked through her as she cleared the blanket of snow off of her. This was too much.
How could she leave me?

“What’s next?” she yelled into the sky.

Snow fell into her eyes and Adriana sat up. Her poles were nearby, but she was missing her right ski, and her shoulder hurt like a son of a bitch. Nobody was in sight. Fear stiffened her spine. Yeah…this wasn’t good.

It had to be about three in the afternoon. The lifts would close in an hour, and it would take at least that long to get down this cliff. Then she had to take a lift back up to the summit and down the front side of the mountain to the lodge. That’s
if
she found her ski. Her chest trembled like a stampede of elephants was running nearby.

Her shoulder was throbbing but she could still move it.
Good.
She slid her butt down a bit and felt around for her other ski. It could be anywhere. Those brakes on the skis never worked well, and this powder was light, which meant very little friction to slow her ski down. It could be halfway down the mountain. Her heart beat erratically. “Now what?” She could try and hike back to where she came from, but it was steep and slippery and the rental place was going to charge her a ton for the missing ski.

Searching her pocket, she found a tissue to wipe her nose. “Stop panicking. You can do this.” Sniffling, she advanced down looking for her ski.
Nothing.
Shimmying sideways, she continued to search. “Please help me,” she prayed.

A large puff of snow swirling to her right caught her attention. Her heart leaped. Someone was here.
Thank you. Thank you.
“Help,” she yelled. “Help me. Please.”

“Hey, you okay?” a rich bass rumbled from high above.

She waved to him. “I lost my ski.”

Smooth and fluid, a purple blur, he skied as if it were as natural to him as blinking.
The blond guy, without a sweater, from before.

“I will find it.” He had the faintest accent.

“No, there’s too much snow. Get Ski Patrol.” She resigned herself to eat the cost of the ski.

Jackie was right—he did have killer legs, and a nice ass. He stopped inches away from Adriana and took off his goggles. “Hi.” His stunning cobalt eyes glowed, drawing her in. They were so much better close up, dark and deep despite the light color of his irises. There was no evidence of the sadness she’d witnessed earlier, but he had a tightly coiled energy beneath his quiet façade that was intriguing and hypnotic.

“Hi.” She wiped her cheeks, hoping all traces of her tears were gone.

“You okay?” He shed his gloves and offered her his hand. “I’m Val.” His gaze was intense. He took in every pore of her multiple times, as if he was trying to solve a puzzle.

“Adri…” Pain pierced through her right shoulder as she tried to take his hand. She ended up giving him her left. “Adriana.” A tiny shock trilled through her as his fingers swallowed hers.

He looked down at their hands, momentarily.
Did he feel it too?
“What happened?” His voice was thick. He was tan as though he’d been skiing a while. Either that or he’d just gotten back from some beachy place.

The wind blew strands of her hair onto her face. “I fell.” Without lifting her right arm, she gathered her long hair, twisted it and tucked it inside her jacket.

“I see that.” He raised his brows.

“I don’t even know how I got here.” She flexed her fingers. “I mean skiing’s fun with a few inches on the ground but this… This is feet. I’m lost in it. I want hard-packed snow. Even ice would’ve been better.”

“From New York.” It wasn’t a question; he knew she was from New York.

She tipped her head. “That obvious?”

“Oh, yes,” he deadpanned.

“Seriously?” She scowled.

“Yeah.” He scratched the golden scruff on his chin. It looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days. “Not a terrible thing, right?” He dusted some snow off her head, causing soft prickles of pleasure to course through her.

Chewing the inside of her lip, Adriana wiped more snow off her ski pants. “I’m getting buried. Please go get help.”

“I will find your ski.” Val crouched down in front of her and felt around for her ski.

“No, it’s getting late.” She tried to keep the frustration and anger out of her voice.

He was doing a grid search on his hands and knees. Up a few feet, a shift to his left and down the same amount of feet, another movement to the left and up again. “Exactly, there is no time.”

“Sure there is. They can radio for help at the ski lift.”

“I will not leave you.” He pursed his lips tightly.

“It’s okay, I want you to.”

“No.” The tone in his voice conveyed no doubt. The subject for him was closed.

Her face was burning. “So we’re both going to freeze to death because you’re too stubborn to get help? What kind of logic is that?” Her pulse was beating rapidly.

He sat back on his heels and chuckled. “No one is going to freeze.”

Great, the one person to help her was an obstinate…
what?
“Where you from anyway? Originally.” She jerked her chin up at him.

His brow lifted a touch. “Near Mount Elbrus.”

Ah, a bull-headed Russian.
“As in Russia?” If he wasn’t leaving, she might as well help him. She drifted to her side, feeling around for her ski.

His eyes widened as if he was surprised she knew where it was, but before she could react, he held up her ski.

“For real? You found it!” Joy rushed inside of her with the ferocity of Niagara Falls in spring. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

“I told you I would.” He grinned triumphantly, showcasing his exquisite smile and cleft chin. Whoa, he was handsome. A face carved from warm granite with high cheekbones and the haunted eyes of a knight at vigil.

He held the ski in place. She tried to get up, but her right shoulder wouldn’t hold her weight and her left foot kept gliding because it was still in her ski. She couldn’t reach back enough to disengage her bindings. The pain was too much. She needed to ice it or something. Ironic, she needed ice in the middle of all this snow.

“You hurt your right shoulder?” Val’s eyes narrowed, taking her in again.

Adriana flopped down. “That’s why I need Ski Patrol.”

Val dropped her ski and lifted her by her waist, as if she were as light as a snowflake. His bottom lip was slightly fuller than his top. “I got this.”

“Hey,” she protested, but melted at his touch. His breath was warm against her neck. She caught the faintest whiff of chocolate and coffee.

“What?” A wisp of a smile graced his lips.

Slowly she shook her head. She should back away from him and stand on her own, but damn, being in his solid arms was heaven.

Was he going to kiss her?
If he tastes half as good as he smells, then let’s go.

Where’d that come from? Must be her terminal relationship dry spell weighing in or maybe loneliness was finally getting to her. Whether or not she was love starved, this mulish Russian was magnificent. She inched her face back a bit to try and get her senses working correctly again.

It didn’t work. His clean, fresh, musky scent enveloped her.

She wet her lips without looking away from his. His grin magnified. He wiped snow off her lashes with his thumb while keeping his arm around her waist. The gentleness of his touch sent shivers rolling through her. Backing away from him was going to be near impossible.

“You are cold.” Releasing her, he took out his suede kidney-shaped wineskin without taking a step back. He unscrewed the top, downed a swig and offered it to her. “I filled it with something to keep me warm and loose.”

She regarded him with a teasing stare. “Well, you look both.”

“Try some.” There was a provocative flicker in his expression. “It will ease up your shoulder and help you ski.”

“That’s some panacea.” She rolled her eyes. “Seriously though, I can’t navigate skiing down this as it is, and you think booze is gonna help?”

“Always does.” Val drank more. “Besides, we will get down.”

“You’re that sure?”

“I am.” The raw sincerity in his expression was disarming.

“Are you ever wrong?”

His eyes flashed fire briefly before he lowered his lids. Whatever she’d just said hit him hard. After a moment he locked eyes with her, his brows were closer together but his gaze was clear and steady. He seemed to choose his words carefully. “I am not now. We will get down.”

Adriana frowned while motioning for him to give her the drink. It was tricky swallowing fast enough as he poured it in her mouth. “Tastes kinda like coffee and chocolate. What is it?” She licked her lips and smacked them together.

“Coffee-flavored brandy mixed with a little chocolate-flavored vodka.”

So that was why he smelled like that. “Pure, effin’ genius.”

He smirked and recapped the bag. “I know.”

She gestured with her forefinger for more.

“Now you are sure?” He opened it again.

“Bring it over here.” She squeezed another mouthful from the bag. “I like that.”

“I’m glad you are happy,
printsessa
.” Looking down, he tried to hide his half smile as he put the bag away. “We better go.”

Adriana’s cheeks burned at the endearment. A bewildering mix of emotions flooded her. On one hand Val’s overconfidence was reassuring, on the other it was as annoying as all get out. Regardless, she was intrinsically drawn to the enigmatic combination of his confidence, strength, and the haunted look that seemed to linger. There was a deep unbridled passion beneath his otherwise solemn reserve. She was sure of it.

The snow swirled around them as the wind picked up, dropping visibility. “Where are we?” It looked as if they were at the top of a huge crater.

His eyes widened. “Out of bounds off the China Bowl. You have never skied the bowls before?”

“Uh-uh.”
Oh shit.
Adrenaline surged through her and she began to shake. She’d read about the back bowls. Some of these slopes funneled into narrow, rocky chutes that were challenging for even the most elite skiers. This
was
one of those
Don’t even think about it
places.
No, no, no.
How was she going to get down? She put her hands together in prayer. “Please, please go get help.”

His expression cleared instantly. “We will get down.” He was emphatic. “Time to go.”

“I can’t.” The sky was getting darker and the snow was near-blizzard conditions now.

Moving downhill in front of her, he knelt in the snow. “Put your hand on my back so you do not move.” He helped put her ski on.

“You’re not listening to me.” Desperation clutched Adriana. “I can’t ski this.”

“I hear you, but you can do this. We will take it slow. Wide, side-to-side turns. Deep snow is where you have to turn with your thighs. Arms in front and knees over your ankles.” Val positioned himself downhill next to her. “No edges, yes? Catch the edge of the ski, and it will shoot under the snow, and you will wipe out.”

“Yeah, I know.” She jutted her bottom lip out.

“I bet you do.” His gaze scorched, as a half-smile floated on his lips. “We will go nice and slow.”

Her quads were not having anything near a squat. “My thighs are toast.”

“You lean too far back.” His hand was on her back. “That is why they are burning.”

She blinked at him. Was he right? “You’re kidding? How do I not know that? I’ve been skiing since I was eight.”

“Mostly on the East Coast, right?”

She dipped her head. She’d never skied in deep powder.

“Skiing in powder requires a different attack.” He tapped her arms with his pole. “Come, you want to get down, yes?” He arched his brow. “A couple of vodkas by a fire?”

That’d be nice.
She ogled his lush lips. Large snowflakes fell around them. Val caught a couple with his tongue. He looked around. “Why are you out here on your own?”

She shrugged. “Ow.” She’d forgotten her shoulder.

He took his gloves off, and touched her shoulder gingerly. “It hurts here?” His thumb was on the exact spot.

She winced. Her shoulder was getting stiff. Every time she lifted her arm the pain soared to a solid eight. The look of compassion and kindness in his expression took hold of her and her ache faded.