“So…?” Kai was watching her expectantly.
She frowned. “So what?”
“I have just given you a one-of-a-kind mind-blowing Christmas present. Where’s mine?”
Clara smirked. Busted. “You seriously think I have one?”
“No, but I seriously think you know how to improvise.”
She rationalized that if he had acted this way anywhere else on this island, she would have been more annoyed. But right here, on the top of this mountain, she didn’t feel like being rational.
Before she could rethink it, Clara leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Kai was so surprised he just stared at her with wide eyes. She shrank a little, still in his arms, suddenly wondering if she had misread something.
He suddenly snapped to attention. “That’s it?”
Clara flushed with embarrassment and tried to shove him off. “What more do you want?”
But he didn’t let her go. “Thank you for asking.”
Then he gave her a kiss that was so much more than a peck; so much more than teasing or playfulness; and so much more than she expected from the annoying lifeguard who constantly bothered her.
One arm was secured around her waist, the other tangled in the hair at the base of her neck. His mouth, oh, his mouth was open and pliant and very warm. He didn’t kiss like some hormonal teenager, which is how he acted most of the time. He kissed her like she was something precious and delectable.
His mouth moved slowly over hers, tasting and exploring with no rush. He shifted his weight and Clara found herself being pushed back against his car. The blanket, still miraculously around her, kept the cold metal from her skin. Abandoning reserve, she reached up and tangled her hands in that hair that she had seen tousled far too many times. She was going to see just how tousled it could get and her fingers tightened to bring him closer.
Kai broke the kiss briefly, but before Clara could moan for more, he had attached himself to her neck, sucking and biting. Her head fell sideways and she gasped for breath. His teeth rasped against her skin and she didn’t feel the cold anymore. All she felt was a deep, thrumming warmth pooling in her abdomen. And while he was distracted, she decided it was time to get a feel for those muscles he flagrantly displayed.
Underneath woolen blankets and a thin t-shirt, his skin was hot and his muscles drawn tight. He gasped against her skin as her fingers flickered over one nipple. Kai pulled back to look at her and she grinned wickedly at him. Clara leaned forward and placed a soft kiss at his neck. This was nice. This was more than nice. But the sky was already getting light...
“I’m thinking,” she murmured against his skin, “that we are on top of a mountain.” Another light kiss. “It is some ungodly hour of the morning.” Another. “And we both have work tomorrow.” She leaned back, letting her arms slide away. “You should probably take me back to my car.”
“Really?” Kai exhaled.
“Yes, really. It’s late and I need at least a couple more hours of sleep before making any more important decisions.”
Kai leaned back, eyes glimmering. “Are you saying I’m an important decision?”
Clara bit her lip, suddenly feeling shy. “All I’m saying is that it’s been a long rollercoaster kind of day. And now it’s probably near dawn at the top of a mountain and I can’t feel my ankles.”
As if to emphasize the point, a rather strong gust blew up and they nearly lost the blankets. Kai looked at her seriously. “Alright, I suppose we could start being reasonable humans now.”
Clara smiled and let herself into the passenger seat. She sighed appreciably that the cold wind was blocked and there was also apparently more blankets in the backseat. “Oh, this is heaven,” she breathed and began pulling them over her frozen body.
“Hey, don’t take all of them! One of us has to be functional enough to drive!” Kai had come around the car to the driver’s seat. Instantly, he began grabbing blankets from her, trying to bundle himself up.
Clara could feel a giggle rising—oh God, had she really turned into a giggler?—and barely resisted letting it out. She didn’t even know why.
Kai was laughing too, as he wrapped himself up. “Well that’s good.”
Clara wiped her eyes with a corner of one of the blankets she managed to keep. “What is?”
Kai started up the engine, trying to coax the heater on. “Your laugh.”
“What about it?”
His lips quirked as he looked at her sideways. “It’s the second time I’ve heard it tonight. Didn’t know if it was going to be a one-time deal.” He twisted the knob and hot, stale air filled the car. “Warmer?”
Clara had looked away, not quite able to meet his eyes, and looked up at the sky. “Much warmer.”
As the car began to make the slow descent down the mountain, Clara curled up further in her seat. She had the sudden thought that the coziness she felt right now was not totally dissimilar to how she felt at home on Christmas Eve. All today, she had been internally bemoaning how she missed just even sitting down with her mother at midnight, sharing a cup of tea before bed.
And though she could really kill for a cup of hot tea…right now, sitting in Kai’s car and feeling the hot air wash over her numb legs, her ears popping from the altitude change, hearing him hum absently as he navigated the steep roads… it was almost better.
In the silence, she murmured, “We’re going to be useless tomorrow.”
“Damn straight.” His voice was just as soft.
Clara smiled, content.