Chapter 17 - Daniil
The woman was driving me crazy. Paisley was on my mind day and night, not even sleep freed me from thoughts of her. And thoughts were all I was getting, because she wasn’t giving me the time of day unless she was forced to or I snuck in.
What was it about her? She was meaner than hell, but only to me. I was so far gone I didn’t even mind her dirty looks. Oh, I wanted her smiles, her soft sighs, her laughter. But damn, it, I was taking whatever I could get, and that wasn’t like me at all.
It pissed me off, and all I wanted was to get out and enjoy some fresh air and the newfound sport I had come to love. I was supposed to be getting her out of my head, but the moment I saw her, everything changed. I had to follow.
And now it looked like I had to keep up. Damn it, she really knew exactly how to injure my pride. Slamming doors in my face, scowling at my jokes, pretending she didn’t have the time of her life with me on more than one occasion, and now leaving me in a spray of snow.
I watched her until she took a hard turn on the treacherous looking trail and she was out of sight. But I could still hear her cry of triumph at leaving me behind.
There were probably a dozen available women at any of the resorts in town who wouldn’t treat me the way Paisley treated me. When did I become such a slavering dog for any woman? I glanced at the warning sign.
Expert only, and on top of that, a weather advisory.
And Paisley had whipped onto the trail without hesitation.
Of course she was an expert, and while I had taken to the new sport and felt confident in my ability, this was steep.
And rocky. And dotted with trees that looked like they reached with snowy, outstretched arms, inviting someone to slam into them.
Did she think I’d chicken out because of a warning sign? Hell no.
In another second, the scenery was speeding by and it took all my strength and concentration to stay on the trail, switching this way and that to avoid those sinister trees.
Light snow began to fall and it was both peaceful and exhilarating.
After only a few minutes, I caught sight of her, looking almost leisurely while I was sweating in my snow gear.
She was damn good and a wondrous sight to behold.
And then she just disappeared.
I heard her shout and leaned forward to speed up, realizing too late it was a shout of joy. She’d taken a jump and as I neared the edge, I could see her land gracefully, swishing to the side to stop and look behind her.
“No,” she shouted as soon as she saw me heading closer to the precipice. “Stop!”
Holy shit, the jump looked high, but there was no way I’d throw myself to the ground and inch down the side with her watching.
I hurtled over the edge, feeling like I was one with the sky for about three seconds.
Then I crashed to the ground in a heap, hurtling ass over elbow until I lay in a pile at her feet.
When I opened my eyes, she looked down at me in abject terror, probably certain I was dead.
“That was fucking amazing,” I said, then groaned. It hurt like hell hitting the hardpacked snow, but what a rush. I was ready to get up and do it all over again.
“That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever witnessed,” she yelled, looking down at me with fury and concern, though she was no longer scared I was dead. “Are you crazy? Can you move? How the hell do you think I’m going to get you the rest of the way down the mountain if you’re broken, you big—”
“I’m fine,” I said, rolling over to start the process of getting up.
“Do you know how dangerous that was?” she asked, begrudgingly helping me, then vigorously dusting the snow off me with hard slaps. “You wouldn’t be the first idiot getting himself killed for being such a—such a—”
“Crazy idiot?” I helpfully supplied, grabbing her hands to stop her from thumping the hell out of me. She bit back a smile. “Your concern is touching,” I said, meaning it.
But no, I was mistaken, she was just pissed, as usual.
She turned away, shaking her head. “There,” she said, pointing.
“Take that way down instead, it’s an easier trail and you might just get to the bottom of the mountain alive.
” She pushed herself forward onto the trail she meant to continue down.
“Don’t try to follow me,” she said. “I may be trained in first aid but that doesn’t mean I’ll use it on you. ”
Here I’d gone down the hard trail to repair my dinged pride and it was more battered than ever after falling on my ass and being berated by this little girl. All while she looked so utterly gorgeous all I could think about was grabbing her and kissing her.
I shoved ahead of her and started down her chosen trail, turning to give her a grin.
There were a lot of things I would do if she demanded them, but letting her get away from me wasn’t one.
This time she’d have to try to keep up. Picking up speed, I soon left her behind me, shouting more rude names at my back.