Page 25
“Dallas McCrea Wallace, I swear if you jump out from behind something and try to scare me I’m going to—AHHHH!”
Sevyn’s words morphed into a shriek as she was hit with something cold and wet. She barely had time to register what was happening when she was hit again.
Dallas’ laughter found its way to her ears, inciting her. Stepping around the deck, he tossed another snowball at her, which she dodged.
“Okay,” she huffed. “This is what you wanna do? Bet!”
Despite the freezing temperature of the snow, she quickly scooped some up and created a ball, slinging it in his direction.
“Ouch!” she heard him call. “Damn Sev, that shit hurt.”
“I guess you forgot who used to be out on the baseball mound with her brother helping him perfect that MLB pitch,” she grinned, forming another ball. She only had about one left in her before her hands went numb, and Sevyn knew she had to make it count.
Letting it fly, she smiled in triumph as Dallas released a slew of curses.
“Fuck this!”
He lunged for her, lifting her up and over his shoulder. Squealing with laughter, Sevyn held on to him for dear life.
“Dallas put me down right now!”
“Say sorry! That last snowball hurt like a bitch.”
“No!” she shouted, giggling so hard that she snorted. “You started it!”
“And if you don’t apologize, I’m about to finish it.”
“I will not! And either put me down or take me in the house, it’s cold out here.”
“You’re about to be colder than that.”
Realizing his meaning, Sevyn tightened her grip on him.
“Dallas I promise if you drop me into this snow I will—FUCK!” Sevyn shrilled, as they both landed in the snow.
Laughing, Dallas untangled his limbs from hers and sprinted towards the house. As soon as Sevyn managed to dig herself out of her icy prison, she did the same. With her mouth fixed to give him the curse out of a lifetime, she pushed the door closed and immediately removed her wet socks.
Marching through the kitchen, Sevyn stormed into the dining room to give him a piece of her mind. Opening her mouth, her tirade began, only to falter when her eyes landed on him.
Clothes didn’t do him justice. Shirtless, in the middle of the room, Dallas was balling up his shirt while shooting her a sheepish grin.
“My bad, I wasn’t expecting the joke to go that far.”
Speechless, Sevyn meticulously studied every inch of his bare skin. He wasn’t a skinny man by any means. The defined broadness of his shoulders should have been a telltale sign that both his chest and abs were thick, solid muscle. Yet somehow, Sevyn was still caught off guard. And, she was still staring.
“I—” was the only thing she managed to get out before snapping her mouth closed.
Not only were her eyes betraying her, but her mind also seemed to do the same. She couldn’t think of anything to say to smooth over the awkward moment or ease the budding ache between her thighs.
“Do you mind if I use your washer and dryer? I think I have some sweats in the car,” Dallas continued as if he were oblivious to her plight.
Shaking her shoulders to release herself from her stupor, Sevyn finally found her voice. Forcing a smile, she replied, “Yeah, that’s fine. You can take a shower to warm up if you want. You can use the guest bathroom.”
“And you should probably change too,” he suggested. “The last thing I need is you pretending to get sick and trying to cheat your way out of our deal.”
“Ah-ha, ha, ha,” she stuck her tongue out at him. “There’s a good possibility of it since somebody wanted to be petty and play in the snow.”
Winking at her, Dallas strolled out of the room. Sevyn was thankful for the moment to breathe and clear her mind. Reaching for her wine glass, she downed the rest of it, attempting to pull herself together.
