Page 2 of Mountain Trial

They rolled down the slope in a tangle of arms and legs. His arms went around her in a protective hug. Her elbow found somewhere soft. She heard a sharp intake of breath, but the man didn’t release his hold.

Finally, all movement stopped, and the world was silent once again. Silent, and impossibly bright. She realized her goggles were gone. She was also cold all over, her suit having collected a shovelful of snow inside the neckline.

The arms surrounding her body opened up, and Kat raised her head, blinking a few times to dispel the dizziness. When her eyes finally focused, she found herself staring into eyes the color of a cloudless summer sky.

I didn’t make up that color.

She was also lying right on top of the owner of the eyes.

“Fuck.”

At first, because it was the same word that was echoing around in her mind, she didn’t realize it was the man speaking.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice deep and husky. He sounded surprisingly calm.

Kat took a moment to look at him. He was wearing a helmet, thank goodness. His goggles had slipped to around his neck. Below the black helmet, his face was clean-shaven, with a strong nose and chiseled jaw. A bruise was starting to show on his cheekbone, probably from when some part of her anatomy had struck him.

He was one of the more handsome men she’d ever set eyes on, and that was before even considering those clear, blue eyes, currently shining straight at her.

Kat swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.

“I’m the one who should be asking,” she said. “I’m on top of you.”

His mouth curved into a wry smile, and it suddenly seemed to Kat that tumbling halfway down a black run might have been worth it just to see the way the smile lit up his face.

“That you are,” he said, making no attempt to move.

She stared at him a moment longer, then realized he couldn’t move, of course, not with her on top of him. She was making a fool of herself.

“Let me move out of your way,” she said, embarrassed. She rolled off him carefully, looking around them. They’d ended up in a shallow part of the slope, close to the trees lining the side of the piste. Below them, the black run continued, steep and bumpy.

Thankfully, the run above them looked empty, but Kat knew that could change quickly. This wasn’t a good place to sit around.

“What were you doing―” She stopped as he arched his brow. She tried again. “Let me start again. I’m sorry. I know I’m the one who ran you over.”

He shrugged, and raised himself on his elbows, digging his elbows in, his hands up behind him. “It’s okay. I saw what those reckless teenagers were doing. You made the right choice.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked. Something about the way he was holding himself struck her as odd. “Can you stand up?”

He shook his head. “No. I can’t,” he said straightforwardly, his voice still very calm.

Shit.

Don’t panic. This is what you do on a daily basis.

This is just like any other rescue.

Except it wasn’t. The thought of this man being hurt―the thought that she’d been the one to hurt him, made tears spring to her eyes. She rubbed at them angrily.

With shaking hands, she went looking in her ski suit pocket for the radio she always carried with her. She realized as she stared at the radio in her hand that she’d lost a glove during the fall.

“Hey, hold on,” the man said, but she ignored him, bringing her naked hand to her mouth. Although her heart was beating fast, she spoke clearly and calmly into the radio.

“This is Kat Barreau, from the PGHM. I’m two thirds of the way down Pylones. There’s been a crash. One male victim.” She took a deep breath. “Likely back injury.”

She held her breath until the reply came. “Kat? This is Jens. Drake and I are ten minutes away. We’ll bring the stretcher.”

Kat sighed in relief. Jens was a doctor. The stranger couldn’t be in better hands.