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Destiny was looking forward to a bit of solitude in the north.  She figured surrounding herself with her two besties at an expensive spa retreat would beat away the winter blues.  That was the plan.  Destiny liked plans.  But plans don’t always work out the way you want them to.

–

Skylar never expected to find three ladies trudging through the snow.  But after finding them stranded, in the middle of nowhere, during the biggest snow storm of the year, he’s forced to invite Destiny and her friends back to his cabin.  Though he tried to ignore what was subtly unravelling between them, he couldn’t discount their attraction.  The way Destiny could read into his thoughts and the way his jealousy raged at the thought of his brother taking her to his bed, he knew he had better stake his claim.

–

But when tragedy strikes, torn from her arms at lightning speed, Skylar’s left to wonder whether he would ever find his destiny.

Matty took a swig from his open beer, polishing off the bottle.  After tossing it into a nearby snowbank, he turned back to Destiny.  “Our cabin is close.  You’d better hold on tight, sweetheart.  I like to drive fast.”  His smirk told Destiny that she had better get a grip.

It was then when Destiny realized what a sweetheart Skylar was.  She had already thought it was pretty adorable when he offered her his helmet, but now that she realized it was to protect her from Matty’s maniac driving, she appreciated it that much more.  She pulled on the helmet and was instantly flooded with the most sensual scent that had to be Skylar.  She took a deep breath, inhaling the scent like it was an erotic elixir, and linked her arms back around Matty’s waist.

When Matty took off, she let out a squeal and squeezed onto him a little tighter.

“That’s more like it,” he hollered back to her.

All of his comments seemed to be playful and had a lewd intention tacked onto them.  For some reason that didn’t even bother her.  Matty appeared to be the fun, edgy one in the bunch.  He didn’t mind getting into a little trouble and it seemed like he did his best to do just that.

Destiny held on tight, as they flew past Skylar and sped alongside a deep, snow-covered ditch.  Without warning, Matty dipped into the ditch and raced up the other side, nearly losing her off the back.  He had done that before.  Destiny knew Matty was only trying to show off but, when they were the first ones to slide up to the cabin, she couldn’t wipe the grin off her frozen face.

The ride was exhilarating and when Matty said he was going to drive fast, he wasn’t lying.  He noticed her smile when she tore off Skylar’s helmet.

“You think that ride was fun, just imagine how much fun we could have in the bedroom.”

When he waggled his eyebrows, Destiny couldn’t help but giggle.  He made her laugh, and he was a good-looking man, but it was Skylar who caught her eye the second he pulled up with Natalie in tote.  His hair was all wayward and sprinkled with snowflakes, but it was sexy.

Natalie appeared to have a good, tight hold on him.  Destiny wondered why that bothered her, as she shook out her long blonde hair behind her and propped Skylar’s helmet onto her hip.  Destiny continued to watch Skylar, as he helped her friend to her feet.  He looked like the boy next door, but he exuded a mysterious sex appeal.  She wanted to call him your average nice guy, but those whisky colored eyes couldn’t be categorized with average.

She imagined what it would be like to run her fingers through that messy, brown hair and to see that smile appear on his face because of something she said.  She imagined what it would feel like to have those big hands smooth over any part of her body.  She wondered why she found herself drooling over this man who she hadn’t even said a single word to.

Destiny tried to focus.  She distinctly remembered her goal for this weekend, which excluded men and all of the outlandish antics associated with Valentine’s Day.  And yet here she was mingling with three good-looking guys she didn’t even know, with one striking her interest way beyond any of the men she had considered dating lately.

When Skylar stepped toward her, she noticed how his eyes slipped down her body and landed on his helmet braced firmly on her hip.  She held her breath, thrilled by the sensual scrutiny, only to realize that she had a death lock on his equipment.  What an overreaction.  The man just wanted his helmet back.

He looked up, and into her eyes, then reached out to her.  She gasped, thinking he was going for her hand, but then he only slapped his visor down.  “That might have helped you out a bit,” he said, with a wink.  He scooped the helmet out of her hand.  “Fun, right?”

Destiny nodded slowly, trying to pull herself back together.  But that scent was making it difficult to breathe.  And those eyes.  “Thank you.  For the helmet.  For letting me borrow it, I mean.”  She couldn’t even form a complete sentence, a suddenly shy smile gracing her lips.

Though her knees were weak, she managed to keep her feet steady.  She was stunned and appalled by her body’s reaction to being close to this man, but those eyes… damn.  Her breaths had quickened and she felt the way he made her heart start to thump like a bass drum.  There was just something about this man that had her all scatterbrained.

She struggled with her conscience, trying to determine what was most important to her.  He probably has a girlfriend.  That thought alone gave her the answer she was looking for.

She had not been looking for a man.  And she was most certainly not looking for this man, who drank beer, lazed around cabins and took off for weekends with the boys.  He was probably an uneducated, unemployed bum, who still absorbed off his parents.  But he seemed so nice (and sexy).  And she couldn’t help but notice the way he looked at her.  It sent tingles down her spine.

That man managed to pull off a nonchalant charm that called out to every inch of her inner woman.  She smiled at him, when she realized that he had caught her staring.  Can you say awkward?  She quickly turned her eyes away, being uncomfortable with how he made her feel with something as simple as a glance.

Then she set off for the front door of the quaint log cabin, carefully stepping in the large boot prints pressed deep into the snow by Matty.  She let herself in the small front room, where Matty had already kicked off his snow boots.

“Ladies first,” Matty said, once she pulled off her own.

She reached for the door handle and twisted the cold knob.  When she entered the cabin, heat washed over her, stinging her nose and cheeks.  She was surprised when she had found the door unlocked, but after a quick survey of the room, she noted that they really had nothing much of value for the taking.  She also recalled the fact that they hadn’t passed another human in hours, apart from the three of them, which might have had something to do with their lax habits.

Destiny unzipped her jacket and pulled off her hat, gloves and scarf.  After hanging her things up on an old wooden coat rack, she quickly smoothed her hands over her hair to right herself.  With another glance around the small room, she was relieved to find that the sparse furniture was at least clean.

The whole place was tidy, actually, and charming, but it lacked a woman’s touch.  Though it looked plain, and country, it felt safe and it was quite warm inside.

Matty walked up next to her, with an arm-full of logs, having already ridden himself of his snow clothes.  “Have a seat.  Stay a while.”

As if there was anywhere else for her to go.

She watched Matty toss a couple of logs onto the floor, then he carefully added the others to the fireplace.  She felt her legs start to prickle, from the extended bout of walking in the snow.  Deciding to take Matty up on his offer, she started toward the limited seating.  But before she could settle down onto the sofa, she realized that Skylar had already torn off his boots, peeled off his snowsuit, and took a seat right where she was heading.

Her heart began to patter erratically in her chest, when she saw that he was a lot better built than he had appeared in his snow gear.  Without showing him how much that attracted her, she casually took a seat next to him and took a deep breath.  She really wanted to have a peek at him, but she knew she shouldn’t when he was sitting that close to her.

Defying her own promise to herself, she stole another glance.  That’s when Skylar smiled at her.  And oh, that smile was going to stick with her for a while.    COPYRIGHT 2014 Christa Simpson

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