Page 63 of Season's Schemings

It’s too much for a red-blooded woman to take, I tell you.

“Still!” I manage to force out, trying with everything in me to seem as unaffected as possible right now. “You can’t just manhandle me like that, you big—”

“Sexy manly man?” he interrupts, that cheeky grin of his spreading wide. “World-class hockey player? Stellar husband of the highest order, purveyor of the happiest, most satisfied wife in the entire world…”

“I was going to say you big jerk!” I laugh. “But now, I’m changing it to you big, cocky a-hole.”

“How dare you talk about your husband like that,” he responds with a mocking wag of his finger.

Quick as a cat, I grab said finger and use my other hand to send a wave of water at his face.

He roars like a lion, throwing his head back, and then pounces on me, tickling me as I squirm and shriek and splash around. The hot tub water is flying in every direction and my bun has come unraveled to create a lovely drowned-rat look, but I don’t care. He pulls me onto his lap, his chest to my back, and his fingers move over my slippery body for a few dreamy moments before he locks both my arms in one big hand in front of me. But I kick at his shins and he relents, clearly letting me have the upper hand before those arms wrap around my midsection in a bear hug, effectively pinning me against him.

We’re still for a few moments, pressed against each other and breathing hard and fast. His skin is hot, and I feel his heart thump against my back. He puts his mouth close to my ear. So close that I can hear the hitch in his breathing, see his words curl like clouds through the night air. “You fight good… for a girl.”

Of course, this is fighting talk, and it’s immediately on again.

And oh my gosh, who knew that hot tub wrestling with a hockey player was on my sexy bucket list? Not me, I tell you.

But in a matter of moments, it’s shot straight to the top.

It feels good to be this close to Seb, this free and uninhibited. I have more fun with Seb than with anyone else, but he simultaneously makes me feel like my heart is ablaze and my veins are pumping full of hot, liquidwant.

And from the way he looks at me… touches me… I think he might feel the same way towards me. Which is a wild thought in itself.

I whirl around and he catches my hips, pulling me onto his lap once again, but this time, facing him. We’re scuffling and wrestling and laughing, our wet limbs tangled, our hands sliding over shoulders and torsos, and the sounds of our laughter filling the night.

Then, a throat clears.

We both freeze—like we’re kids with our hands caught in the candy jar—and look at each other before turning towards the noise. That’s when I spot the shadowy figures of Adam and Elizabeth peering out an open window upstairs like a pair of weirdos.

Seb sighs with exasperation and touches his forehead to mine. His hands are still on my hips, holding me in place on his lap.

“Guess we were being too loud,” he says softly.

“I didn’t realize this cabin had quiet hours,” I whisper back. “Let’s just pretend we don’t see them?”

“Deal,” he responds immediately, his thumbs gently stroking the soft bare skin of my stomach. “I can’t see from here. Are they still looking?”

I check. “Yup.”

“I think they’re jealous,” he mutters into my ear, which makes me laugh and shiver all at once.

“Well, my mom was pretty sure earlier that we were putting on a show,” I say, boldly sliding my arms around his neck. “So maybe it’s good for Adam to see us together so he doesn’t think the same.”

“They want a show?” His hands tighten on my hips. “Let’s give them a show, love.”

And with that, his mouth is on mine. Hot and needy and sexy and oh-so-perfect.

Exactly the way I hoped—okay,fantasized—that Sebastian Slater would kiss.

This kiss fills all of my senses, and Adam and Elizabeth are soon entirely forgotten. The only thing I can possibly be aware of in this instance is this.

Him.

The kiss is soft and sweet for a few tantalizing moments, before it turns scalding. I moan into Seb’s mouth as his hands expertly move into my hair, one tangling at the nape of my neck and the other dancing down the ridges of my spine. He slants his mouth and deepens the kiss, and when his tongue slides against mine, my whole body arches at the sensation. Prickling shivers run over my skin as I kiss him back with everything in me, completely lost in him.

Our surroundings only heighten everything that’s unfolding between us—the cold sting of the wind makes my lips all the more sensitive, the searing heat of the water makes my body feel more on fire. Seb’s fingers tighten on my waist, digging deliciously into my bare skin like they’re holding on for dear life.