The Winter Games

by Sharp, Dr. Rebecca

  I wasn’t pissed that Chance had left. I wasn’t pissed that he was back. I wasn’t pissed about Wyatt or Channing. And I wasn’t pissed when Chance turned to me as we approached my truck and held his hand out expectantly, waiting for me to give him the keys. I didn’t care that Emmett immediately made for the passenger seat, leaving me to the back. I didn’t care about any of it. I had an incredibly long fuse—so long, most assumed it was never-ending. There was an end, an end with a very big bomb was just itching to be ignited.

  All I cared about was that we were going somewhere where the darkness could relieve that itch for the time being.

  “This lying low has been bullshit,” King muttered, walking around the car to the passenger seat. There was no question when I held my hand out for the keys to drive, leaving Nick to drop his keys in my hand and open the back door.

  I didn’t want to be back. I never wanted to come back, but for my sister I would do anything. Including returning to the place that held nothing but painful reminders of everything that I had lost.

  At least if I hung with these two, they wouldn’t ask me why I left, what had happened, or why I was back. They wouldn’t ask questions because that’s not what we did; we didn’t ask questions.

  King and Frost were desperate to keep us together—to keep me back here. We were the Three SnowmassHoles of Aspen. Together, we took what we wanted; apart, we were just three more rowdy snowboarders too full of themselves to matter. Channing had kept us at bay—more or less—and I’d always been slightly more inclined to her side of reason, but I had a feeling that she was going to have a different male figure on her mind than any of us assholes and the shenanigans that we got ourselves into.

  I saw where they were coming from; I saw what they saw—only it wasn’t the truth anymore. It wasn’t the truth because I was fucked. But maybe that was a good thing because I was no longer inclined towards reason. There was no meaning to my life which meant the only thing left for me to do was enjoy the fuck out of it. Go big or go home. Except my version of ‘go big’ wasn’t going to be fit for any fucking Disney movie.

  I wasn’t a snowboarder anymore. Definitely not a competitive one, probably not even an amateur one. When I’d picked up Channi—my board—earlier, it’d been like a fucking brand on my hand; it had been the first time I’d touched a board since the accident and all it did was taunt me—like handing a recovering alcoholic, three months sober, a glass with vodka in it. The board teased me, whispering my name straight into my soul, tempting me to ride her again. Not fucking happening.

  I sat almost as quiet as Nick, turning on the truck and heading away from the house; it wasn’t home anymore. And because I was almost as quiet, I realized just how far I’d fallen. It’s always the quiet ones that are the most dangerous. I may not know all his secrets, but I wasn’t fooled into thinking that he didn’t have any.

  “You weren’t serious that we were going to Frost’s, were you?” Emmett broke the silence again. And I shook my head. “Good. I need a hard drink or a good smoke.”

  “Both.”

  “And a hard fuck,” he finished, Frost murmuring his agreement.

  I floored it out of the driveway, heading towards Big Louie’s. I’d shown up at the mountain today, but there were too many tourists for any locals to have noticed. At Louie’s though, everyone would see that I’d returned. And everyone was going to see that this Chance Ryder was not the one they knew—I was not the one who’d left almost four months ago. I was no longer a Wonder Twin. I was no longer the mountain hero. I was, however, still an asshole—for better or for fucking worse.

  Aspen better look the fuck out—the SnowmassHoles were back.

  The End.

  Up in the Air EXTENDED Epilogue

  “IS EVERYTHING OK?”

  I didn’t bother with niceties when I saw Emmett’s number show up on my phone. There was no reason he should be calling me right now – no good reason, at least.

  “Hello to you, too, Lil,” his whiskey-soaked voice responded with a laugh.

  “Sorry. Thought something bad happened.”

  “Nope. Everyone’s fine. I… ahh… wanted to ask if you had your cousin, Tyler’s, phone number?”

  His words jerked my focus to the present.

  I’d been staring out the window of the suite that Wyatt and I were occupying at the Lake Louise Resort, watching the ice skaters on the pond. Suite was a poor choice of word for that this room was; it was more like its own little house… that you had to take an elevator to get to.

  Kitchen. Living room. Dining room. Master bedroom. Master bath complete with a huge Jacuzzi, a shower that fit two (I could prove it), and a walk-in closet with a sauna. But the view. Well, it wasn’t as nice as the view I woke up to every morning, Wyatt’s face sleeping in front of mine. But looking out over the lake and the mountains, especially as the sun set and the stars lit up the sky like diamonds, well, it came in a close second.

  “Yeah, I think so. Let me check.” Scrolling through my contacts, I found Tyler’s name. “Yeah, I do.”

  “Can I have it?”

  “Depends.”

  “Lil… not in the mood for this,” he growled at me.

  I bit my lip to not let my laugh escape as I wandered back through to the kitchen in search of a drink. Wyatt said he’d be back a half an hour ago and I was missing him already. He had some business to take care of this afternoon, but he’d scheduled me a massage and facial at the spa ‘to make up for it.’ I have to say, I went there thinking that this was not usually my kind of thing, but I left kicking myself for why it wasn’t. My body felt like a pile of mush, exacerbated by the hot shower I’d just taken to wash all the grease off.

  “I’m not going to give it to you without you telling me why you need it,” I responded sweetly.

  The silence on the other end of the line frightened most people in Aspen. But not me. Emmett ‘King’ Jameson was a lot of things, but at the heart of it all, he was painfully protective of those that he cared about. And luckily (some days unluckily), I was one of those people.

  “You’re just as frustrating as your sister, you know that?”

  Caught off guard at the mention of Ally, guilt washed over me that I was missing my baby sister’s twenty-first birthday. I hadn’t planned it this way, but Wyatt needed to go back to Canada to finalize the details for the school we were going to be opening – the sooner the better. It’s true, I let him convince me into the week-long stay after his business dealings were done, but what girl can resist a week at Lake Louise where winter sports are a way of life?

  “You haven’t killed each other yet, have you?” I was only half-joking. Ally and Emmett had basically been at each other’s throats since the first day they met.

  “There’s still time,” he teased.

  “Alright, so why do you need his number? Did Chance lose it?” I chuckled because that was definitely something my brother would do. Lately, he’d probably lose his head if it wasn’t attached to his body and honestly, with the way he seemed to be stuck in a downward spiral, he probably wouldn’t mind if he did.

  “Ahh… no,” he answered and then paused. “I actually wanted it because I want to invite him out for Ally’s birthday.”

  The sip of water that I took now sprayed from my mouth like I was the Fountain of Channing.

  “Lil?”

  “Son of a biscuit,” I grumbled, ripping paper-towels off the roll and wiping up my mess. “I just spit water everywhere.”

  “Why—”

  I cut him off with, “Oh no. It looks like a sprinkler system just went off in the kitchen of our hotel room, you don’t get to ask questions.” He laughed, knowing better than to argue with me after all these years. “You… want to invite Ty out to Colorado… for Ally’s birthday? Ally? My sister? Your arch nemesis?” I half-joked, half-choked out.

  “Actually, I want to fly him out.” Full-choke. I was full-on choking now.

  “I don’t… I want…” I blubbered, at a
complete loss for what I wanted to say. Emmett wanted to do something… nice… for my sister? What the heck was happening in Aspen while I was gone?

  “Lil. You can tear into me later, just send me the fucking number.” Click.

  I gasped.

  If he thought I was going to text him after he hung up on me… Oh, no. I was going to clean this and then I was going to call my sister and get the full story before I had another word with the ‘King.’

  My mind awhirl, I completely missed that Wyatt had come in until I spun and found myself flush against his chest.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” he said with that sexy smirk that immediately caused a rush of moisture between my thighs. This man…

  “Hey,” I said breathlessly… barely… before his lips captured mine.

  Dropping the towel I’d been holding onto the floor, I wound my arms around his neck and lost myself in the kiss.

  That was another thing I hadn’t expected – and had been nervous about. Living with Wyatt… being together for basically twenty-four-seven. What if it was too much? What if he decided he didn’t want to be with me after having to live with me?

  If Ally were here, well, first she’d groan and tell us to get a room even though this was our room, but then, she’d harass me about my crazy ideas. Like competing in the Winter X Games as Chance. She’d tell me to add ‘thinking there would ever be reason enough for Wyatt to not want to be with me’ to the list.

  After these past few weeks, I would agree with her.

  I sighed into his mouth, his tongue finding mine in the hot and demanding ways that he knew would set every inch of my body on fire.

  Spending all this time together only made what we had together even more. Deeper. More intense. More passionate.

  I groaned as his hands reached underneath the shirt of his that I had on and cupped my ass, his thumbs slipping under the edge of my boyshort lace panties. He tugged me hard against him, his tongue plunging into my mouth, licking every corner.

  These few weeks had entirely made up for the years I’d gone without sex – and then some. Still, I couldn’t get enough of him. And Wyatt? The look in his eyes whenever they caught mine said that he more than felt the same.

  “Missed you, gorgeous,” he rasped against my lips, tugging the lower one playfully into his mouth.

  “Then you should have come back sooner,” I said with a cheeky grin.

  “I should have,” he agreed. “But then I wouldn’t have presents to bring you.”

  My eyes widened. “Presents?”

  The desire on his face broke into laughter as his hands slid up to cup my face. Pressing a hard, fast kiss to my lips, he confirmed, “Presents for my girl.”

  “Why?” I mumbled. I watched as he turned and headed back towards the door. He’d dressed for business even though he didn’t really tell me what he had to go do. Fitted chinos, long-sleeve button-down, and a blazer. Meanwhile, I was traipsing around the hotel room in underwear and a t-shirt that was way too large for me. I bit my tongue the way my eyes were practically drooling over his ass as he walked and bent down to retrieve several shopping bags from where he’d set them on the floor when he came in.

  Picking them up, he continued into the bedroom, sending me a devilish grin over his shoulder.

  I bit back a moan the way my core clenched. The kiss had only been a tease. And even though presents were certainly tempting. They were nothing compared to how much I wanted him. Nothing compared to how much I loved him.

  Love changes people.

  Ok, maybe not changes changes. But it puts what’s important into perspective. It’s like a mirror that finally lets you see yourself clearly. And with Wyatt, I saw that I didn’t have to cling to snowboarding like it was my identity. Sure, we’d gone out several times while we were up here and of course, I loved it. But the love was different. It came to take a different place in my life. Because, at the end of the day, no matter how much I loved it, I’d give up snow and mountains as long as it meant I got to keep him.

  Thankfully, I knew that keeping him meant I would never have to.

  “Open them,” he instructed, looking to the three packages that he’d laid out on the bed.

  With an intrigued smile, I complied, stepping up to the first box. Tomboy or not – I would have had to be living under a rock (different from living under a mountain) to not realize that it was a shoebox.

  Popping open the lid, I dug past the tissue paper and pulled out one strappy heel. It wasn’t hooker-high. It wasn’t ornate. It was simple and classy – and because he bought it for me, I knew it would look sexy.

  “I don’t think these are going to strap to my board very easily, baby,” I teased him.

  “Well, it’s a good thing you won’t need your board for where we are going tonight.” His eyes warmed, flickering with excited promise.

  “And where is that?”

  He stepped towards me like he couldn’t stay away any longer, nuzzling into my neck, he replied, “I can’t give you all the surprises now.”

  “Why not?” I moaned. The feel of him, large and hard, pressed against my back reignited the need that had been temporarily paused to open his presents.

  He smiled against my neck. “Just keep opening, gorgeous.”

  My hands followed his instruction, reaching for the second package and popping off the top. My mouth fell open at the dress inside.

  Yeah, it was a dress.

  But, holding it up, it was a lot more than that. Deep purple. Short. Long sleeves with a dangerous V in the front. Ally would cringe at my description, but I wasn’t good at that stuff. All I knew was that I could appreciate sexy… and classy… at the same time. And if I was going to wear a dress, it would be this one. All tight and bandage-y. Since my curves were minimal, I liked wearing anything that looked like it was painted on. When Wyatt was around.

  I just… liked to drive my man crazy. And he more than returned the favor.

  “Don’t you think I’m going to be cold in this?” I said, biting back a grin.

  “I was hoping,” he chuckled, “because that means I get to warm you up.”

  We both knew I preferred kissing to clothes when it came to staying warm.

  “One more,” he rasped, his hand sliding up to cup my bare breast.

  Screw the present.

  My back arched into his hand and with a growl, his finger plucked at my nipple.

  “Open the last one, baby,” he bit into my neck.

  “You’re making me not want to,” I whimpered, rubbing my legs together. I gasped, practically shooting out of my skin, when his hand reached between them and firmly cupped my sex. “You’re making me… not able… to.”

  His groan overshadowed mine as he rubbed over my slit. Heat and moisture soaking into my panties, they began to slip between my folds and rub right over my clit.

  “Open. It. Now.”

  Open it, close it – at this point, I’d eat the damn thing if it meant he didn’t stop the agonizing circle his fingers made.

  Shaky hands peeled the lid off of the last box. I tore some of the delicate tissue paper in my unsteady rush to see what was inside.

  If the dress was sexy, well… the lingerie in the last box was like a classy porno waiting to happen.

  A black lace bodysuit. Sleeveless. The top reminiscent of a corset since it laced up the back and had a low V between the cups that matched the dress. The sides of the would ride up high on my thighs. But the lace… it was the softest thing I’d ever felt. Softer than snow. And it felt like it could melt just as easily underneath my fingertip.

  Fragile. Feminine. Beautiful.

  It was everything that I love to wear underneath my clothes. And Wyatt knew that. He knew beneath the short hair and lack of fashion-sense, the love of snowboarding and self-professed preference that I’d rather just hang with the guys than go shopping with the girls… was a girl who loved to feel like the sexiest woman on the planet in private. And to him, I was.

  My suitcase w
as filled with matching, colorful lingerie that he’d bought for me during our trip. It almost outnumbered the snow gear I’d packed, which was saying something.

  “Are you trying to turn me into a good girl?” I teased softly, eyeing up the beautiful things that he’d chosen.

  It was the way he picked these things out, knowing they’d be just for him, that made my body ache.

  I shivered when his lips pressed to the side of my neck again, planting kisses up along to my ear. I couldn’t stop my hips as they rolled back against his hard length. His hand froze and I whimpered, the pressure that had been building halted suddenly. Painfully.

  “Don’t worry, gorgeous, I’ll still fuck you like a bad girl.”

  Oh, God… “Wyatt…” I moaned.

  “How much did you miss me?” He bit into my shoulder. Hard. But his fingers resumed their flicks over my clit. I couldn’t even mumble an answer before he growled, “Can I see just how much that pretty pussy of yours missed me all day?”

  “Please.” I rocked back against him and he let out a low curse.

  Shifting his hands to my waist, he tipped me forward, my arms darting out to prop on the edge of the bed. I felt his absence as he stepped back and the gentle chill of the air as he slid his shirt up higher on my back, exposing my blue-panty-covered ass to his view.

  A deft hook of his fingers under the lace edge had them down around my ankles, my core bared.

  “So beautiful, Channing,” he rasped.

  More desire squeezed out of me. I’d never get tired of hearing those words from him.

  “Spread your legs.” Goosebumps ran over every inch of me as I stepped out of my underwear and stepped my feet to each side, spreading my legs apart. “Fuck. You did miss me, gorgeous.”