by Krista Wolf
Ten
MORGAN
He was breathtakingly handsome, even in the semi-darkness. Jet black hair. Crisp, manicured goatee. And of course, those amazing crystal blue eyes. Honestly, I couldn’t stop looking at him. He was exactly the type of guy who made me nervous.
Morgan!
Hell, he was the type of guy who made all girls nervous.
“So what do you mean?” Shane was asking eagerly. “Are you saying you know where we are?”
“Sort of.”
“Well… where?”
My hand was still up. I realized it and put it down, feeling mortified.
“We’re at the original resort,” I told them. “Back before it was called Cervigno. Back when the lodge was located here, on the back side of the mountain, rather than where it is now.”
Jeremy took a step closer, and my heart started beating that much faster.
“Are you saying we’re on the opposite side of the mountain?”
“Yes.”
“Clear across from where we should be.”
“Exactly.”
“And you know this… how?”
His question wasn’t the least bit snide or rude or condescending. He was asking it out of genuine interest, rather than challenge.
“My parents came here,” I sighed, “a long time ago. Back in the 70’s or 80’s. Back before they shut this place down and built the new one.” I couldn’t look at Shane anymore — he was just too pretty. Still hyper-aware of those stunning blue eyes on me, I turned to Jeremy. “I had some dog-eared trail map,” I said. “My father gave it to me before we left. Well, he gave it to Faith, actually. And she…”
My heart sank as I thought of Faith again. Jeremy looked wholly confused.
“Faith is her friend,” Shane explained. “She lost her on the trail, back when… you know…”
“Oh shit,” Jeremy swore. He finally looked down. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I said quickly. “Faith is fine — she was way ahead of me. And if I survived, I’m sure she made it.”
My confidence was probably misguided, but it was all I had so I clung to it. It was still my best hope of seeing my friend again.
“Yeah, sure,” Jeremy said sullenly. “Makes sense.”
“Anyway, this place was built in the 1920’s or 30’s. It’s old. It was called something else first… I think something with a ‘A’, or maybe an ‘F’ or—
“Alta Fiume.”
Shane and I both turned toward Jeremy, who only nodded.
“It’s written on an old sign above the front desk,” he said. “In Italian, it means—”
“High River,” I finished for him.
Jeremy grinned at me and nodded, looking obviously impressed. I blushed beneath his scrutiny like the schoolgirl I was. Truth be told, I was just as impressed. If not more so.
“Does the front desk happen to have a telephone?” Shane asked.
“Bro, come look at this place,” said Jeremy. “It’s old. We’re lucky there’s even a front desk at all.”
He led us backwards, deeper into the old hotel. It was probably just a figment of my imagination, but everything seemed colder. Darker.
Spookier.
“Damn,” Shane swore. “Just look at this place…”
To call the hotel old was an understatement. Everything about it was ancient, from the peeling turn-of-last-century wallpaper to the smooth, worn finishes that were cracked with age. Three-story columns rocketed skyward, looking bowed and strained under the weight of the roof. The front desk was likewise spider-webbed with deep fissures and crevasses.
“Look,” I said, pointing. A huge, sweeping fireplace dominated the back end of the lobby. At one time it was probably magnificent. Now it was a frost-covered hunk of petrified wood and marble. “Maybe we could—”
“Did you lead us down one of the trails on your old trail map?” asked Shane suddenly.
I nodded without thinking much of it. A half-second later, my eyes went wide.
“Yup. That’s why we’re here,” he confirmed. “That wasn’t even a trail.”
“Not anymore anyway,” Jeremy added. “We were all hurtling down some unmaintained, long-abandoned trail. No wonder the powder was so deep.”
“Nothing at the bottom either,” said Shane. “No gondola. No lift…”
A queasy thought twisted in the pit of my stomach. “Think we caused the avalanche?” I asked. “Going down the old trail, the snow all deep and—”
“No,” said Shane. “Whatever triggered it happened much higher. Way above where we were skiing.”
“Or snowboarding,” said Jeremy.
“More like trying to snowboard,” Shane jabbed.
Jeremy chuckled and nodded. “Ouch man.”
“Hey, if the shoe fits…”
We wandered apart for a bit, following the curve of the ancient, graffiti-covered walls. The back half of the lodge seemed built right into the mountain. There were no windows. No doors. And yet at the front…
At the front, most of the giant, once-picturesque windows had been smashed in by cascades of snow. Caked with ice-covered versions of previous avalanches, from long ago.
The whole place was absolutely freezing. Like some big, dark refrigerator, with the door closed and the light turned off.
And us trapped inside.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. My legs went weak as I realized it was Jeremy’s.
“So you really think we came down on the other side of the mountain?” he asked.
I nodded mechanically.
“Then they wouldn’t even be looking for us here, would they?”
Slowly I shook my head. “Probably not.”
“Well fuck,” he said defiantly, and the word itself sent a bolt of electricity through my body. God, he was gorgeous. Beautifully put together with a sharp, stubbled jaw and a deep, baritone voice.
And hey, why the hell was I noticing all this stuff anyway?
“Do you have any other frat-brothers on this trip that might be seeking us out?” I asked awkwardly. My lips were so numb I could barely form the words properly. “What did you guys call yourselves before… Delta Lambda… something?”
“Mu,” said Jeremy. “Delta Lambda Mu.” He shrugged. “And no, unfortunately not. Normally there would be six or eight of us on a trip like this, but this time around it was just Shane and I.”
“Too bad.”
“Yup,” he agreed. “It’s also too bad it took this long to finally meet you,” he winked. “Been around each other all week, and this is our last stop.”
Last stop…
The phrase was disconcerting. I decided to chalk it up to a poor word choice.
“Like I said, it’s too bad,” Jeremy went on. “Especially since you and I have a lot in common.”
I let out a genuine laugh. “Oh, I doubt that.”
“Really?” He squinted at me through the corner of one eye. “Sorceress or thief?”
I blinked. For a second the question didn’t register.
“Sorceress or… Wait, what?”
“I asked sorceress or thief,” he repeated nonchalantly. “You do play Dungeons and Dragons, don’t you?”
I paused for a moment, mouth open, throughly astounded. I couldn’t imagine what my face might’ve looked like.
“I used to, yeah. But how—”
“I saw you wearing your d20 shirt the other night, before you turned in.”
Oh.
My whole body flushed red with heat. Rather than resist, I welcomed it gratefully. He’d been watching me! Noticing me…
“Still, how would you know—”
“Like I said, I saw your shirt,” he said simply. “And I know you weren’t just wearing it to be some geek-chic fangirl, like other people.” He shook his head with a smirk. “Oh no, definitely not. You look like you play.”
Somehow I forced another laugh. “And you look like you don’t!”
“I know, I know,” he conceded. His smi
rk widened into a grin, one so devilishly beautiful it gave me goosebumps. “Everybody says that, of course. But just like them, you’d be wrong to judge.”
Shane, who’d gone left instead of right, was finally making his way back around. Jeremy elbowed me confidentially before he was in earshot.
“Warrior by the way,” he said, jerking a thumb at himself. He looked at me and shrugged. “Sometimes a paladin.”
I couldn’t believe it! He actually did play! And yet…
Yet I never would’ve guessed it. He was just too damned good looking! Too pretty.
And you’re not pretty?
I wanted to argue with the voice in my head. Tell it that no matter how pretty or ugly I thought myself, guys who looked like this couldn’t possibly recognize a twenty-sided die from a big red marble. But it was already too late. Shane was standing before us again, his beard partially iced over with glittering frost crystals.
“So what’s our next move?” he asked, blowing into his hands.
For a while there was silence, broken only by the sound of the wind. Luckily the storm was tucked safely outside, beyond the sanctity of the old hotel’s big walls.
“Night’s coming,” said Jeremy. He scratched at his sexy goatee. “It’s gonna get even colder. Our only choice is to bunker down. Wait for morning. Hope the storm blows itself out.”
Shane sighed. “And if it doesn’t?”
My stomach growled. I was famished! I didn’t even know it until just now. Standing there, I realized something else — I was thirsty, too. We’d been walking all day, sweating and freezing and exerting ourselves. But we hadn’t once stopped to drink anything. There was really nothing to drink, other than to stuff snow in our mouths.
“If it doesn’t,” said Jeremy, pointing to the fireplace with pure alpha confidence, “then we get that thing going and burn everything we can get our hands on.”
Eleven
MORGAN
I’d never dated a bad boy. Hell, I’d never even flirted with one.
And yet here I was in the dead of night, sandwiched between two of them. Snuggled contentedly between their lean, hard bodies — two of the strongest and most beautiful men I’d ever seen in my life — in an effort to keep from freezing, to stay alive.
Jeremy had been right about the bed. It was hard as a block of ice, and just about as comfortable. Still, it wasn’t the floor, and we had a whole nest of soft down sleeping bags between us and the frozen surface. Not to mention the four additional sleeping bags we’d zipped together, to create a cocoon of warmth and heat that felt orgasmically good after being so cold for so long.
“They’re a little moth-eaten but they’re warm,” Jeremy had told us. “And if we all slept together…”
I was placed in the middle of course. Being the girl it seemed only natural, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to complain. The guys had dropped off almost immediately, snoring blissfully on either side of me. Slogging through all that snow was wholly exhausting, and with Shane up front I knew he’d taken the brunt of it.
No, I’d never been around guys like this. Guys with muscles, and strength, and stamina. Guys who held contests to outdrink each other, or who competed in the Greek Week games of the bustling fraternity and sorority scene. The one event I’d watched on campus so many times from afar.
The men I’d always dated had been shy, geekier types. Matt, from our high school chess club. David, my prom date, whose only foray into the world of sports was a four-year stint on the varsity fencing team. Even my college boyfriend was going for a robotics degree, at least until he broke up with me for someone else who better understood his cosplay addiction. On one hand, dressing up was kinda fun. Dressing up for a con every other weekend though… not so much.
Still, I couldn’t say a word. I loved all of it, really. And that’s because, when it came down to it, I was a total geek at heart.
It began with my father, who imbued me with with a fierce, undying love of all dorky stuff. Movies, comics, television shows. From video games, to building scale models and painting miniatures, there was no end to the geeky things we did together. And yes, even Dungeons and Dragons. Hours and hours worth.
It was my father who gave me my first soldering gun when all my friends were still playing with dolls. Who bought me a chemistry set for Christmas, when all the other girls were getting makeup kits. I loved it all though, every single solitary thing. Since my mother had very little in the way of hobbies, his passions became my passions too. Except for skiing. As far as passions went, that was something we shared as a family.
And now look where it’s gotten you.
I stirred restlessly. Though my body was tired, my mind wouldn’t stop spinning. There was too much going on, too much at stake.
Besides, with two really hot guys on either side of me? It was nearly impossible to sleep.
“Hey.”
I turned, startled, and Shane was staring back at me. He smiled, looking wide awake, and I smiled back.
“Hey yourself.”
“Warm enough?”
Beneath the sleeping bags, nestled between the both of them, I was almost hot. We’d taken off our coats and jackets, and our combined body heat had been more than enough to keep us toasty. Especially for me, being in the middle.
“Oh yeah.”
He leaned in and kissed me sweetly, giving me a tingle. I suddenly became very aware of his body, hard and magnificent, molded against me.
“We’re going to get out of this you know.”
It was meant to be reassuring. We stared into each other’s eyes, as we’d done back in the snow shelter. Back when he’d been inside of me, instead of next to me.
“I know.”
Shane shifted, and I felt a hand slide upward, over my leg, skin on skin. I’d wriggled out of my ski pants half an hour ago. Below the waist, I was nothing but legs… and panties.
Morgan…
The excitement of last night came flashing back. The sweet stretch of Shane pushing my legs apart. The exquisite feel of him sliding inside me…
He kissed me again, this time with more heat. Our mouths opened. Our tongues intertwined, sliding against one another, delivering to my brain shivers of pleasure and lust. Memories of ecstasy.
Morgan!
The voice in my head was right, of course. We couldn’t. Not again. Not with Jeremy sleeping right beside me!
The idea was ridiculous.
“Shane… I—”
The hand sliding up my leg found its way along my inner thigh. I gasped sharply as two thick fingers pressed insistently against my sex.
“We can’t,” I whispered, even as I writhed into him. My hand closed over his. But for some reason, I still couldn’t push him away.
“Shhhhhhh.”
A thumb hooked my panties, pulling them to the side. His fingers pressed against my slick flesh now. Parting me. Penetrating me…
Stop it now, Morgan! This is insane!
I writhed again, almost wriggling away. But then my hand settled over Shane’s stomach, my fingertips tracing ridge after ridge of his hard, supple flesh. His skin was blissfully warm. The muscles just beneath the surface, hard and unyielding.
Before I knew it I was kissing him back. Convincing myself it was just kissing, and that kissing was okay, even as his fingers began their slow, delicious push and pull. Sliding into me. Gliding out of me…
“Shane, we can’t!” I gasped weakly. “What about Jeremy! What about—”
He kissed the rest of my sentence away. Without guilt, I let him. On their own, my hands began wandering the smooth expanse of his chest. My legs opened at his touch, spreading further.
Little by little I let go, floating in the delirium of just being touched. Drunk on the feel of his raw physical strength and power. My willpower drained away as I drank him in, every amazing ounce of him. His kisses were smoldering hot. I couldn’t get enough…
Suddenly Shane pulled his lips back, leaving me open-mouthed and breathless. M
y eyelids fluttered open. I stared back at his strange expression, which now held the promise of something sly. Something mischievous.
“What about him?”
Very casually, Shane nodded past me. I turned, and there was Jeremy — wide awake and propped up on one elbow! He was staring back at the both of us with a roguish grin.
“I…” My throat locked up. I couldn’t speak. “I—”
“He deserves some love too, no?”
Jeremy locked eyes with me, and my whole body melted. Almost in slow motion, he reached out and touched my face. He tilted my chin, swinging it over. Lowered his mouth to mine…
Oh my GOD…
My pussy flooded Shane’s fingers as his friend kissed me, long and deep. It happened so fast there was no time to think. No time to stop it, or—
You don’t want to stop it.
It was the most honest voice in my head all day. And I’d listened to a lot of them.
I moaned softly into Jeremy’s mouth. Kissed him back, hungrily, even as his hands roamed over my warm, writhing body.
This is going to happen, Morgan.
I couldn’t believe it. But it actually was.
Enjoy it.
“That’s it,” Shane murmured into my ear. “Really kiss him.”
I didn’t need the encouragement, but his lips against my ear made me even hotter. Shane brushed my hair back, kissing my neck. Chewing on my shoulder as he continued playing with my pussy, plunging his fingers in and out of me while I made out with his beautiful, beautiful friend.
OH. MY. GOD…
It was a while before I finally came up for air. When I did, I grabbed Jeremy’s head and held his face against mine. My pussy was throbbing. My whole body felt like it was engulfed in flames.
“This… this isn’t…”
“It’s okay,” Jeremy whispered, caressing my face with one hand. The other had gone up my shirt, settling over one round breast.
I bit my lip. Everything felt so fucking good!
“Is it really?”
I felt a shift, and Shane was spooning me from behind. “We’re fraternity brothers,” he chuckled sexily. He had both hands on my ass now, kneading me. “We share everything.”