Out of Character. Diana Miller

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      “Thank God I’ve got this.” He pulled a foil packet from the pocket of his jeans and ripped it open with his teeth. Then he was back on top of her. “I’m sorry, I can’t go slow. I need you too much.”

      She closed her hand around him, felt him shudder. He was huge, thick, and hot. Because of her.

      Her entire body was trembling with want and need, her heartbeat rioting out of control. “Not slow. Now.” She positioned him against her.

      He surged into her. “So good.” He thrust over and over.

      She met his urgent rhythm. Then the world exploded, engulfing her, shooting through every nerve with a force that left her limp.

      “Jillian.” Mark bucked hard then collapsed on top of her. He raised his head, his face only inches from hers, his eyes nearly black and impossibly warm. “So damn good.” He kissed her fiercely then collapsed again.

      * * * *

      Jillian lay underneath Mark, his heart and lungs keeping the same double-time rhythm as her own. So damn good. That’s how she felt. Spent, satisfied, and sensual.

      Mark swore softly. “I must be crushing you. I’m sorry.” He rolled off her.

      She forced her eyes open. “It’s okay.”

      “You’ve also had your back against that scratchy carpet. I didn’t even take you into the bedroom. And I had all the control of a teen boy.” He started to get up.

      Jillian circled her arms around his neck. “I said it’s okay. Actually, it was a lot more than okay.”

      He searched her face, looking slightly anxious before his features relaxed. “It was, wasn’t it?” He tucked her securely against him. “I usually manage a little more finesse, but this time it overwhelmed me. You overwhelm me.” He kissed her again, gently. “Stay with me tonight? Please?” He stroked her arm and the outside of her breast, activating nerves that should have been comatose.

      “I shouldn’t.” Her words lacked even the slightest iota of conviction.

      “For a little while, then?” Mark rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him. “I can’t give you up yet.” He touched his lips to her neck, licked her jaw. She shivered.

      “Stay?” His hands skimmed over her body, making her simmer as his eyes coaxed her.

      She needed to be reasonable. She needed to say no. His lips touched hers again.

      She forgot all about being reasonable.

      Chapter 3

      Lumbering through the colorful crowd in front of the lodge as fast as possible in clunky ski boots, Jillian glanced at her watch. 12:24. She was usually neurotically prompt, but today she was more than twenty minutes late.

      Kristen was waiting inside the glass front door. “So?”

      “So why am I late? I’m sorry, but—”

      “So how was it? How was he? Are you seeing him again?”

      Jillian walked over to the window to buy a lift ticket. “Dinner was excellent. You should try Zenith.” For some reason it didn’t feel right to give details about last night, not even to Kristen. She took the ticket from the cashier and stuffed her Visa card and receipt into her jacket pocket.

      “Tell me more. About Mark, not the restaurant.”

      Jillian zipped her pocket shut and attached her lift ticket. “He’s a nice guy, and I had a nice time.”

      “Nice.”

      “Yes, nice. We’re having dinner tonight, but I’ll be home early.” Jillian put on her sunglasses then walked out of the lodge to the rack where she’d stashed her skis. Although the temperature was in the twenties, the bright sunlight warmed her face and melted puddles on the concrete. She grabbed the skis between the end pegs. “Now I’d like to go skiing.” She set her skis on the snow.

      “I can’t believe you used the words ‘like’ and ‘skiing’ in the same sentence,” Kristen said. “At least one that doesn’t also include ‘don’t’. I was shocked when you told me last night that you wanted to ski with me today.”

      Jillian positioned her right boot on her binding. “Stranger things have happened.”

      “Yeah, like you spending the night with a man you just met. I’ll get my skis.”

      * * * *

      “It’s amazing how much better you are,” Kristen said as they traversed the packed snow toward the lift to repeat the run they’d finished. “What happened?”

      After doing two green runs, they’d tried a blue one, which Jillian had not only handled, but enjoyed so much she’d suggested repeating it. “I took wide, slow turns until I got over being scared.”

      “That’s never worked before. Why this time?”

      “Because Mark skied right above me so I didn’t have to worry about being hit by another skier and could concentrate on skiing.”

      Kristen rested a hand on Jillian’s jacket sleeve. “I thought you took a class with Mark.”

      “He only took my class because he hadn’t skied since he broke his leg,” Jillian said. “He realized he didn’t need a class, so we skipped out early. It was no big deal.”

      “This man not only convinced you to spend the night with him but also got you over your fear of skiing? It’s a very big deal.”

      “It isn’t.” Jillian slipped into the lift line, wishing she’d lied and given credit to a super instructor. “For some reason, skiing clicked this time. I did the other because I’m on vacation. I’d appreciate you not announcing it to the world.”

      “Baloney,” Kristen said, but at least she’d lowered her voice. “You know how they say being drunk won’t make you do anything you don’t secretly want to do? Same thing with vacations. You’re so damn conservative about men that even deep down you don’t want a vacation fling. Which means you must think there’s a possible relationship there.”

      “I’ve only known him for one day.”

      “You still could have fallen for him.” Kristen punctuated her statement with her turquoise ski pole. “That you did it so fast means this could be major.”

      Jillian skied up beside a teenage snowboarder standing directly ahead of them in lift line. “Can I ride up with you?”

      The boy shrugged. “Whatever.”

      Jillian got onto the next double chair with him. Much as she loved Kristen, she could be a real pain sometimes.

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