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The cool air of the mine brought Carli back from where she had spent the last… two hours? She glanced at her watch. The wind had died down outside, but the snow continued to fall. Ethan had added more timber to the fire several times and now lay stretched out on their discarded clothes.
Propped up on one elbow, he seemed fascinated with her torso and occupied his ever-busy fingers by tracing the length and width of each rib. When he increased the pressure on a spot close to her armpit, she giggled and squirmed in an attempt to move away. He responded by wrapping his arm around her and pulling her back against his body. She sighed and relaxed, interlacing her fingers through his.
“I finally found a weakness in the tough Tanner exterior.”
“Being ticklish is not a weakness. It’s a sens
