I feinted right, then pivoted left, nearly catching her as she ducked between two decorative candy canes.
But she was quicker and slipped through my grasp like water.
She squealed as she spun away, enjoying this as much as I was. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the cold and exertion, making her honey eyes seem even more brilliant in the Christmas lights.
"Can't catch me," she called out breathlessly, darting between two decorative reindeer.
The chase continued through our winter wonderland, past the hot tub where steam rose in ghostly spirals, around the fire pit covered in snow.
Every step sent fresh powder flying, every breath created clouds of vapor that the wind scattered into nothing.
She was magnificent in this world—wild and free, and utterly fearless.
Her lips were parted as she breathed hard from running, and I wanted nothing more than to claim that mouth with mine.
Near the cabin's back corner, she made her crucial error.
There was a patch of ice hidden beneath a decorative snow drift, and when she planted her boot wrong, she stumbled. It was just for a heartbeat, a tiny slip that she quickly recovered from, but it was enough
I was on her before she could regain her footing, my arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her back against my chest. She gasped at the contact, her body fitting against mine like she'd been made for this exact moment.
"Got you," I growled against her ear, my voice rough with victory and barely contained hunger.
"Jax," she breathed, and the way she said my name, soft and needy and full of anticipation, made me groan.
I spun her around so she was facing me, pressing her back against the cabin's log wall. The wood was cold and dusted with snow, but I could feel the heat radiating from her body where our fronts touched.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, making the emerald silk stretch across her little tits in ways that made my mouth water.
"Look at you," I murmured, my hands framing her face as I drank in every detail. "My beautiful princess, all wrapped up just for me."
The ski mask felt like a barrier between us, but I couldn't remove it. It was part of the game, part of what made this feel so wild and primal and completely separate from our normal lives.
My thumbs brushed across her cheekbones, feeling how cold her skin had become during our chase. But her eyes were burning with heat, pupils dilated with desire that matched the fire burning in my chest.
"Cold?" I asked, though I was already working to remedy that.
"Not anymore," she whispered, her hands finding my pecs and spreading across the overheated skin. "Not with you here.”
My hands found the gold ribbons wound around her body, and with careful precision, I began unwrapping my present.
Each ribbon that came loose revealed more of her perfect skin, and I worshipped every inch with my hands.
The emerald was next, peeling away to reveal black lace underneath that was so sheer it might as well have been nothing.
She whimpered as I traced the edge of her bra with one finger.
The lace joined the silk in the snow, leaving her beautifully bare from the waist up. Her breasts were perfect with nipples that had tightened to sharp points in the cold air.
I shoved up the mouth of my ski mask and couldn’t resist taking one into my mouth, sucking and laving until she cried out and arched against the wall.
"So exquisite," I breathed against her satin-soft skin, my voice barely recognizable even to myself. "Always so absolutely breathtaking for me, princess."
Every nerve in my body was alive, crackling with electricity as I traced my hands along her curves.
The ribbons had pooled around her snow boots like liquid starlight, leaving her bare except for the gossamer-thin emerald lace that might as well not have even been there.
I slid my hands beneath her thighs, lifting her against the rough log wall of the cabin. Her legs wrapped around my waist, ankles locking behind my bare back as she settled into my arms.
