He came to his feet and kissed the tip of her nose. “You look like a sex goddess.”
She tried to run her fingers through her matted sex hair. “I must look a mess!”
His features softened. “I don’t think you’ve ever looked more beautiful.”
She cupped his cheek and brushed her thumb across his lips. He held her gaze and rested his hand over hers. He parted his lips to speak, but nothing came out—because there was nothing left to say. What happened here last night was over. Done.
The man feast had ended.
The hum of the sled grew closer.
“We better get cleaned up,” he said, but those didn’t sound like the words he wanted to say.
The longing in his gaze. The curl of his lips pulling into the saddest smile. Did Jasper want more? Could they extend the man feast? There were no set rules. For Christ’s sake, it wasn’t even a real thing. Excitement surged through her until she remembered what was at stake.
Her career.
Her livelihood.
Her ability to help her mother financially.
Her heart.
Elle’s stomach dropped. She’d screwed the CEO of the company she was contracted to work for on every flat surface of the cabin six ways from Sunday.
She released a shaky breath. “Yeah, let’s get dressed. They’ll be here any minute.”
She found her bra and long underwear then pulled on her snow pants. Silently, they worked their way around the cabin, righting chairs and sweeping up cookie crumbs. Jasper slid the tequila bottle behind the end table, and she repositioned the rug—the place where their lovemaking had started and ended. Jasper had climbed up to the loft and brought down all the bedding, and that’s where they’d stayed, cocooned in blankets and pillows, illuminated in the fire’s orange glow.
“Toss me those pillows, Elle.”
She glanced up and saw Jasper in the loft.
She nodded and got herself back into the game. “Sure thing,” she said, running her hand over the rug’s feathery surface one last time.
She threw him the pillows just as a gentle knock came from the cabin’s front door.
Jasper climbed down the ladder and came to her side. He cupped her face in his hands, and she leaned in, pushing up on her tiptoes.
“One last kiss,” he whispered.
A rush of joy and relief flooded her system. He bent, his lips hovering a breath above hers when another knock ricocheted through the cabin, and they froze.
“Elle! Jasper! It’s just us,” her cousin said with another gentle tap.
“What the hell happened to the snowmobile?” Brennen added, less gently.
Elle swallowed as Jasper released his hold, and she lowered herself down.
No last kiss.
“We should open the door,” he said.
“Yes, we should,” she agreed.
The door was only two steps away, but opening it felt like ending something that hadn’t been given the chance to begin.
She glanced at Jasper, gave him a little smile, then turned the knob.
“Thank goodness you’re all right! That storm was really something!” Abby said, giving her a hug.
Brennen followed his fiancée into the cabin. “What happened next to the sled?”
“What do you mean?” Jasper asked.
“Well, for one thing, you banked it pretty good. And for another, it looks like an animal ripped something apart next to it.”
Elle nodded. “That’s exactly what happened.”
Brennen cocked his head to the side. “What happened?”
“Bears,” she answered.
Abby’s eyes went wide. “You saw bears?”
“Yeah, a mother and her two cubs.”
“That’s awesome,” Brennen exclaimed.
“Were you scared?” her cousin asked.
“No, but they came up pretty fast, and I wasn’t able to get my backpack. It fell off just as one of the cubs was coming over to investigate the snowmobile.”
Abby walked into the cabin’s kitchenette. “And you guys had to hole up in here. This place is adorable. What did you do all night?”
Elle glanced at Jasper who’d reverted to stony CEO mode. She shrugged. “Not much. The power went out, so we hit the sack early.”
“We missed you both,” Abby said, walking around the cabin. “We had quite a feast last night!”
At the sound of the word feast, Elle glanced at Jasper just as he looked at her. A spark ignited between them. A delicious secret. A hidden encounter. She felt her cheeks heat then turned her attention to Brennen, who seemed to be sizing them up.
“Harriet outdid herself on the menu,” Abby went on. “We had pan roasted filet and seared scallops. Salad with pears and goat cheese with this amazing dressing. And dessert was to die for. There’s this little German bakery near Kansas City that makes the most amazing strudels and sticky buns. They had tons of it overnighted to us.”
Brennen picked up the carcass that once contained a few dozen Oreos. “Looks like you guys weren’t completely without food.”
“We survived,” Jasper said in his boardroom voice.
“I’m sure you did,” Brennen replied, leaning against the wall with a smirk.
If anyone was going to call them out, it was Brennen Bergen. Pre-Abby, the dude was a womanizing douche canoe. But just because he’d changed his ways didn’t mean he couldn’t suss out two people who’d spent the night screwing each other’s brains out.
Abby went over to Brennen, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him.
“We should probably get back. Cadence and Bodhi just arrived, and we have our girls’ spa appointment. Cadence is so excited for it.”
“That’s right!” Elle said. She had to shake this sex haze. It was time to work. She’d invited Abby and her cousin’s teaching colleague, Cadence Lowry, to try out Bergen Mountain’s new ladies’ spa package as part of her work on the rebranding. Cadence worked full time and was a single mom to her sweet five-year-old son, Bodhi. If anyone deserved a spa day, it was her.
“Not a bad deal, getting paid to go to the spa,” Jasper replied, but there was a naughty twinkle behind his judgmental glare.
A beat passed as Abby and Brennen seemed to be waiting for the Jasper and Elle catfight to begin.
“A girl’s gotta make a living, and it sure beats staring at spreadsheets,” she threw back.
Fighting with this man used to get her hot around the collar. Fighting with him now got her hot in other ways—far south of the collar.
Brennen clapped his hands. “My fiancée is right! We need to get back. There’s a ton of fresh powder, and Gram, Grandad, and I are taking Bodhi out on the slopes. You’re welcome to join us, Jas.”
Jasper stiffened. “I’ve already lost a day of work. There’s no way I can spend today on the slopes.”
“Suit yourself,” Brennen said, then gazed down at Abby, tilted her chin up, and pressed a whisper-soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Maybe we don’t need to leave right this minute. We should think about spending some time up here.”
Abby bit down on her lip. “It is quite cozy, and there’d be nobody around for miles.”
“Think of all the things we could do here,” Brennen added.
“Oh, I’ve already got a mental list going,” she purred.
“Where did you come from?” Brennen asked, staring down at her cousin like he was ready to eat her for breakfast.
She tapped his chest. “You know, silly. Florida.”
Abby and Brennen had fallen into a full-blown newly engaged post man fast love fest. Elle turned away. It was far too early to watch another couple’s PDA and caught Jasper’s gaze. He rolled his eyes, but a flash of amusement graced his hardened expression.
Jasper cleared his throat. “Bren, we get it. You snagged the sweetest girl in Denver, and now you guys are crazy in love. Can you put whatever this is on ice until we get back to the cottage? I’ve got a conference call in an hour.”
“Doubtful, but I’m very happy for you both, nonetheless,” Jasper replied.
“Come on,” Brennen said, taking Abby’s hand and leading her out of the cabin. “We left our snowmobile down next to yours. We’ll meet you guys there.”
Elle waved to Abby. “Let me just make sure I didn’t forget anything. We’ll be down in a second.”
She stood next to Jasper. “Thanks for always being so kind to Abby.”
“I owe her. You know what Bren was like. Jesus, I should probably buy your cousin a mountain. That’s how much money she’s saved me in paying PR to clean up all of Brennen’s messes.”
“You called her the sweetest girl in Denver. I didn’t think you liked sweet?”
The corner of his mouth raised into the hint of a smile. “I don’t. I thought I proved that point five times last night.”
“And don’t forget about this morning,” she chimed, her body buzzing.
His expression softened. “I’ll never forget this morning.”
“Are you guys coming?” Abby called from just outside the cabin.
Jasper gestured for her to walk in front of him. Elle’s chest tightened, and her nose twitched. Was she about to cry? She was not a crier.
She and Jasper had one great night of amazing sex.
One man feast ordered up, and one man feast served. And served. And served.
She blinked and willed back the tears threatening to fall. It was good sex, and it was over. She glanced at Jasper. Placid expression. Stiffened posture. He was back to his old robotic self.
She sighed and passed through the doorway, listening as Jasper closed and locked the door behind them.
She worked her way down the slope toward the snowmobiles when Abby met her gaze and frowned.
“Do you want to ride with Brennen?”
She held her cousin’s gaze as an eyeball conversation ensued.
Abby’s gaze darted toward Jasper and then to the snowmobiles. It didn’t take a genius to decipher her message. Her cousin was trying to give her an out if she’d had her fill of the eldest Bergen brother.
But the butterflies in her belly signaled she hadn’t. Not even close. Not even another week locked inside that cabin, eating cookies and making love, would have been too much.
Elle wasn’t about to reveal that, so she reverted to her snarky self.
“I’ve survived one night with tall, dark, and boring. I think I can make it through one more snowmobile ride with him.”
“You know I heard that,” Jasper said, passing her with a smirk.
“Yeah, I wanted you to hear that,” she tossed back.
Brennen started his snowmobile, and Abby nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I’ll take good care of your cousin, Abby. Don’t worry. I’ll get her back to the cottage in one piece,” Jasper said, gifting her cousin with a gentle smile.
Elle sucked in a tight breath as those damn tears threatened to fall again. Jasper Bergen shouldn’t get bonus points for acting like a human and showing kindness to her cousin. Everyone should be kind to Abigail Rose Quinn. Abby was the closest thing to a saint she’d ever met. But seeing that softer, gentler side of Jasper didn’t help her rein in her wildly fluctuating emotions.
The buzz of Brennen and Abby’s sled heading back to the cottage pulled her from her thoughts. She joined Jasper at their snowmobile and surveyed what was left of her backpack.
“Looks like they enjoyed the honey,” Jasper said, handing her a helmet.
“That it does.”
“Was there anything in there that was important?” he asked.
She nudged a scrap of leather with the toe of her boot. “No, just paper, pens, my toiletry case, and you know, a jar of honey.”
He nodded and got on the sled. “Are you ready to head back?”
Did he want her to say no? And what if she did say no? Would he toss her over his shoulder and carry her back inside the cabin? She swallowed hard and pushed the thought aside. Thanks to her father and then to Tate, she knew better than anyone not to believe in fairy-tale love stories.
She nodded and got on the snowmobile as Jasper brought the vehicle to life, the steady hum of the engine a welcome distraction. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and they set off, following Brennen and Abby’s tracks.
After a good twenty minutes making their way through the snow, they rounded a bend, and the resort came into view. The snowmobile ride went by more quickly than when they’d headed up yesterday, and now that was all in the past as a blanket of fresh powder covered the evidence of their trip up. Jasper remained quiet during the ride, focusing on driving the snowmobile, his hands never leaving the grips.
Elle sighed. He’d made peace with the end of their man feast. She had to, as well. That was all there was to it.
She loosened her hold around his waist and was about to let go when he took his hand off the controls and pressed it to hers, keeping them in place, keeping her close. Despite their gloves, she could feel the heat of him. The warmth that had embraced her all night. She leaned her head against him as he tightened his grip, and that little squeeze set off a contagion of tiny explosions, causing her head to swim with memories of his touch, his lips, the scruff of his beard against her neck as he took her from behind.
They pulled up to the cottage and parked the snowmobile in the lower garage. She started to get off when Jasper turned around, doing a complete one-eighty to face her, and guided her body onto his lap. Elle gasped as their helmets bumped together.
Jasper took off his helmet, and she removed hers.
He gave her that wolfish grin. “I figure we have about three minutes before anyone comes looking for us.”
She swiveled her hips. Even through their snow pants, his rock-hard erection pressed between her thighs.
She licked her lips. “What all did you have planned for these three minutes?”
He kept his expression neutral. “I was going to propose an extension to the man feast.”
“A three-minute extension?” she asked, heat pulsing in her most sensitive place.
He inhaled sharply and dug his fingertips into her ass. “The number is open to negotiation. Three minutes is what’s available now. I’d suggest we capitalize on that and continue negotiations, ideally with my cock buried deep inside you.”
Wow! She’d given him a lot of grief for his boardroom skills, but that monotone commanding voice had her wet and ready for him within seconds.
Lust clouded his steel-blue eyes as he stared at her lips. “What do you say, Eleanor? Do you agree to an extension?”
She rested her hands on his shoulders. “I should probably consult my attorney regarding any contract, verbal or written.”
His gaze glittered with lust. “That’s my kind of dirty talk.”
He slid her body flush with his and pressed a kiss beneath her earlobe when the door to the house flung open.
7
Elle
“That’s the wrong way to ride a snowmobile!”
Elle looked over to see Bodhi Lowry, Cadence’s son, staring at them, face scrunched together.
“Thanks for that tip,” she answered, trying to scoot off Jasper’s lap in the least obvious way possible—which there really wasn’t.
The boy’s face lit up. “Brennen just told me that he can ski backward! Can you drive a snowmobile backward?”
Jasper shook his head. “No, buddy, you should never drive a snowmobile backward. That would be very dangerous.”
Bodhi cocked his head to the side. “Then, what are you doing?”
“Not what I’d like to be doing,” Jasper answered.
The boy’s eyes went wide. “You guys should come have breakfast. It’s not the kind of oatmeal and banana breakfast Mom always makes me eat. It’s like cake breakfast!”
A faraway look flashed in Jasper’s eyes. “I’m sure it is. M
y grandparents eat pretty healthy until it comes to celebrations, and then they go a little overboard.”
“I just ate a sticky bun the size of my face!” the little boy added.
“Case in point,” Jasper replied, easing himself off the snowmobile then helping her down.
Bodhi turned and ran up the steps to the main house. “I’m going to get another before my mom tells me to stop.”
“So much for that extension,” she said, grazing her fingers over his erection hidden beneath his snow pants.
A twist of a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Don’t worry. Our man feast negotiations are ongoing, and I’m confident we’ll find a way to reach a satisfactory outcome for both parties.”
Holy hell! That sexy boardroom talk really did it for her.
He pressed his hand to the small of her back and guided her toward the steps leading into the cottage. They passed through the mudroom, left their snow gear there, and headed toward the voices coming from the kitchen.
“There they are!” Harriet said, standing in front of the kitchen island teeming with pastries. “Darlings, what a night you must have had!”
Elle bit back a grin. Very few people could pull off the whole “darlings” bit. Decked out in ski gear that cost as much as most people’s mortgages and diamond earrings that probably cost as much as a lovely starter home, Harriet Livingstone Bergen could.
“What did you think of our rustic cabins, Elle? Did Jas show you all the energy-saving features?” Harriet’s husband, Ray Bergen asked through a bite of strudel.
“Ray, darling, let them get something to eat! Come on, you two, there’s plenty.”
“There’s enough strudel here to feed half the resort,” Jasper said, passing by the pastries and taking a plain yogurt from the refrigerator.
“It’s not every day that one of my grandsons gets engaged,” Harriet crooned, squeezing Abby’s hand. “Now eat, you both must be as hungry as a bear!”
“Funny you mention bears, Gram. Jas and Elle saw some around the cabin,” Brennen said, cutting a thick slice of apple strudel and handing it to Bodhi on the down low.
“A real bear!” the little boy cried, his mouth stuffed with the pastry.
Man Feast (Bergen Brothers Book 2) Page 9