It's All Relative(95)

A few hours later, Kai was sharing a hearty laugh with his cousin, and any earlier tension between them was forgotten. While April and Harmony had left to take turns on the more advanced slopes, Jessie had stayed on the “kiddy” slopes with Kai. She was teaching him the basics of skiing, which basically meant she was laughing her ass off.

When he fell for the umpteenth time, landing on his ass that was starting to feel numb, she giggled. She swooped in to help him up, like gliding across the snow was easy. Kai frowned at her, and at the eight year olds who were whizzing past as effortlessly as if they were walking. Nothing like being surpassed by people a fraction of your age.

Sighing as he took Jessie’s hand, he let her pull him upright. She continued to laugh as she brushed the snow off his back. Shaking his head at her joy, he adjusted his poles and experimentally slid his feet back and forth. Kai had been so certain he would pick up skiing easily; he’d thought it would be similar to surfing. He was wrong. But still, he was determined to make it down an adult slope this weekend, and that would be easier to do if his cousin didn’t find the whole thing so amusing.

Smirking at her, he said, “You just wait until I get you in the ocean. Then I’ll be the one laughing my ass off.” Grinning at her, he adjusted his goggles.

Jessie gave him a sweet smile, then chucked a fistful of snow at him. She hit him squarely in the face with the loosely packed ball and it exploded into a fluffy white cloud that coated him like baking flour. She bent over in hysterics, then expertly darted away, sliding along the banks fluidly as if she were a bird gliding among the clouds.

Kai shook the snow off him then awkwardly started out after her. He teetered on his skis, feeling like he was either going to fall on his face or his backside, but eventually he caught up with her. Laughing as she glanced behind herself, Jessie bent low over her skis and pushed for speed on the slight hill. Kai’s eyes locked onto the perfect ass she was putting on display for him. Damn. Grinning, he pushed harder to catch up.

When he was close enough that he could almost reach out and touch that luscious backside, Kai felt himself begin to lose control. The hill had taken a sharp dip and he hadn’t been ready for it. Feeling off balance, he racked his brain, trying to remember if it was the V that slowed him down…or if that made him go faster? Was it the other way? Not knowing what to do, Kai resorted to what he would do if he weren’t wearing skis—he picked up his feet and tried to walk. Floundering, he lost his balance and fell over again, forwards this time. Jessie had slowed when she’d noticed he was in trouble, and feeling like a jackass, he plowed right into her.

The force of the hit sent them both tumbling into a thick snow-bank along the side of the run. It cushioned their fall and covered them in a powder-fine blanket of white. Gulping icy air, Kai ripped off his goggles. His legs, arms and skis were all tangled up with Jessie’s. He was feeling the ache of the impact, so there was no way he hadn’t hurt her.

She was lying beneath him, a light layer of snow hiding her beautiful face. She was so completely still that dread began seeping into Kai. Maybe she’d hit her head. Or maybe she’d broken something, and she was in shock. Jesus, was she seriously hurt?

Worried, he yanked his gloves off and cupped her face. The chill of the snow pricked his warm fingers but he ignored the pain as he gently pulled off Jessie’s goggles and brushed the powder from her cheeks and mouth. “Jessie?”

Lying perfectly still, she made no response. Kai wasn’t sure much he should move her if she did have a head injury. He tried to gently disengage from her body, but they were tangled so badly, he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began.

Fear leeched into his voice. “Jessie, talk to me.” He leaned into her, trying to feel the warmth of her breath on his cheek. He couldn’t feel it; he couldn’t feel anything. Starting to panic, his hands brushed over her face and hair. “Jessie…please talk to me. Baby?”

Her eyes snapped open, and she looked up at him with eyes full of wonder. Kai engulfed her in a hug. “Oh, thank God.” Pulling back, he anxiously examined her face. “Are you hurt?” After searching her, he searched the snow around her; everything was still fluffy and white—no red, no blood.

Jessie’s lips curved into a huge smile as she started to chuckle. Kai paused in his search for injuries. “Were you f*cking with me?” he asked, dumbfounded.

She laughed even more at his language. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

Kai twisted his lips into a scowl and did the only reasonable thing he could think of to retaliate. One hand drifted down to the edge of her jacket and lifted it up, while the other grabbed a fistful of pure, icy snow and plopped it onto her stomach. Her eyes went wide, and she sputtered for a second before letting out a blood curdling scream. Kai started laughing as she squirmed beneath him; they were still so entangled she couldn’t get away.

Laughing so hard her eyes were watering, Jessie begged him to let her get up. His frozen hand, cold from handling the snow, slid up her shirt. Jessie screamed again, then begged for mercy as she laughed. Kai laughed with her. “You promise to never do that again?” he asked between chuckles.

She tried to push his hands away, but he was so much stronger she actually lost ground and his fingers slid even further up her clothes. “Yes, yes, I promise,” she giggled, her words coming out between screams.

Kai leaned over her, stilling her frantic movements. Grinning down on her, still breathing heavy from the exertion and the fear, he said, “Good, because you scared the crap out me.”