by Heather Long
But the moment his gaze lifted and the naked lust in his eyes became visible, all my qualms crushed under an answering wave of heat.
“We’re okay,” I whispered.
“Yeah, Angel,” he said, smiling so gently, it wrenched my heart. “We’re more than okay.” He did another pass with the washcloth, then leaned down to press a kiss to the inside of each of my thighs. “We’re okay.” He tossed the washcloth aside and then began to run his hands up and down my thighs as he studied me.
Head tilting, I had to fight the urge to lift my hips at his caresses. Ian stroked me like he owned me, and right now, I thought he just might.
They all did.
Owned pieces of me, and I didn’t plan on taking any of them back.
“What are you thinking?”
“Thinking about all the ways I could do this,” he told me, his gaze leaving fire everywhere he trailed it over me. “I wish like hell I had some silk ties or this bed had slats in the headboard.”
Like his.
I swallowed. Maybe it was playing with fire, or maybe it was the fact that this side of Ian really did turn me inside out, but I stretched my arms above my head and then locked the fingers together. “I can keep them here if you want.”
His eyes flared, and he leaned down to bite the underside of my breast. It was just a hint of teeth, and then a long, deep suck that had me squirming. Hickeys were really becoming a way of life at this point.
“Yeah?” he asked, sliding one hand under my thigh and pushing my leg up until my ankle was against his shoulder.
I nodded.
“You can keep them there?” It was like the question warned me a second before he cupped his hand against my ass and delivered a firmer, more stinging slap that had my hips arching upward. Fuck, that hurt and felt so good at the same time.
I had to be white knuckling my hands to keep them still, but I nodded, a little breathless as he massaged the heat out. “If you want,” I told him, then licked my lips. Ian’s gaze never left my face as he urged my other leg up, and then he was kneeling in front of me, my toes almost touching behind his head as he began to run his dick up and down along my pussy.
“I have one question for you,” he said, teasing me, or maybe teasing us both as he rubbed the tip back and forth, but always skating around my clit like he had to know I was already on edge.
“Okay.” I mustered out the two syllables with some serious effort. Considering the fact that I’d woken up to mind-blowing sex and kisses and now faced more and I hadn’t even had a drop of coffee, I thought I was doing damn good. That, and I was faced with all that golden muscle on his chest and shoulders.
He really was just awesome to look at, and I’d always thought he was good looking, but he was so much more than that.
His smile lit me up as he murmured, “You paying attention to me or my dick, Angel?”
“I can multitask,” I whispered, and he laughed as he nudged inside of me, and I sucked in a breath. I was almost too sensitive, and at the same time, I wanted more. I would have pushed my hips up, but he pinned me with one hand on my hip.
“Yes, you can,” he agreed, then his smile faded and his expression sobered. The rawness in his eyes had me holding my breath. “You know that I adore you, right, Frankie Curtis?”
My heart squeezed as I stared up at him. “I love you, too.” It was almost impossible to ease the words past the lump in my throat, but Ian stilled so utterly at the admission, and then he pushed into me with a relentless thrust as he dropped down to cage me in and his mouth was on mine.
There were no words. There was barely a breath, and I wanted desperately to put my hands in his hair or to hold onto him the way he did me, but I told him I could keep my arms up there, so I did. As it was, I met his kisses and held on as he pounded into me. Every thrust just lit me up. He shifted to wrap my legs around his waist, and I arched my lower back, pushing up until he was striking that sweet spot every single time.
“Scream for me,” he beckoned in between sucking on my tongue. It didn’t take long for me to completely unravel, and when he slid his hands up to clasp mine, I held on, anchoring myself as I fell apart.
The scream that ripped out of me didn’t even sound human, but he felt so damn good, and when his whole body shuddered and he came, his fingers threaded through mine as he slammed home and stayed there. Heat bloomed deep within me, and we were both shaking. The taste of his breath was on my lips, the kisses breaking up for each of us to gulp in oxygen, and then he’d kiss me again.
A knock on the door rifled across my consciousness, but I was boneless and pure liquid, held together only because he was gripping me. Ian kissed me again, slower and deeper.
At the second knock, he lifted his head long enough to say, “Fuck off,” before he captured my lips again. A laugh eddied up through my languor, and I could almost feel him smiling in between little licks of his tongue as he sought entry again.
“Dude,” Jake called, amusement echoing in the single syllable. “Breakfast is almost ready.”
Ian ground his hips against mine. Even if he was softening, I was still fucking sensitive, and my back arched at the contact and a little hiss escaped me. He chased it with another kiss.
Another knock.
“Seriously, Jake,” Ian growled. “I will kick your ass. Go. The. Fuck. Away.”
Coop’s laughter joined Jake’s, and I couldn’t help giggling. They were being all of twelve. “We have coffee,” he taunted.
Head raised, Ian stared down at me, and some of the rawness in his eyes had relaxed, but there was a kind of glow there I wanted to capture forever. He freed one of my hands as I tugged on his, and I lifted it to cup his face. When I skated my thumb over his lower lip, his smile grew.
“There’s breakfast burritos, fried potatoes, and some clever bastard made sure there were fresh baked bear claws and apple fritters.” Coop was the devil. My stomach rumbled.
“And coffee,” Jake added, I could almost picture them snickering and elbowing each other.
Licking my lips, I pressed my fingers to Ian’s mouth and raised my brows. He gave me a slow nod, curiosity sparking in his eyes.
“Boys,” I called. “I have a mouthful right now, so it’ll have to wait.”
The dead silence that greeted that declaration had Ian burying his face against my neck as he began to laugh.
“Fuck,” Jake swore, but it was more a groan than anything else. “Baby Girl, find me if you’re still hungry after.”
Ian’s shoulders shook even harder, and there was a pair of thumps in the hallway before the guys moved away.
When he finally lifted his head to look at me, he smiled so hard, it actually made my heart hurt for how happy he seemed. “A mouthful?”
“Well,” I told him, “I definitely need a shower, and from everything else I’ve felt, you’d be more than a mouthful.”
The heat in his eyes burned vibrantly. “Is that an offer?”
“No,” I told him slowly, then rubbed against him, and his cock twitched against my thigh. It might take some persuading, but I had it in me, even the boneless mess I was in. “It’s a demand.”
He kissed me again, slow and sweet, and I gave into temptation and twined my arms around his neck. A minute later, he dragged me upward, then scooped me into his arms as he walked us both toward the shower.
It took a minute to get my wobbling legs under me, and by the time we stepped under the hot spray and I pushed him back toward the tile to kneel down, he said, “You don’t have to…”
But I glanced up at him, even as I wrapped a hand around his semi-hard stiffness. “Who said anything about have to?”
I didn’t wait for his answer before I closed my lips around his tip. Ian’s groan was a beautiful thing, and he leaned his head back as his whole body tensed. I had the best view in the house.
It definitely took some persuading and we were late to breakfast, but Ian looked far more wrecked than I did by the time we finished washing up an
d dressed to go downstairs. The bed was a definitely messed up, but he helped me fluff out the sheets and leave the blanket back so the very damp spots could dry.
I made a face, and he laughed.
Downstairs, the guys were still in the kitchen, and the knowing looks coupled with the good morning smiles and kisses just left me feeling warmer than embarrassed. Jake tugged me over onto his lap, while Coop bounced up to grab food for me.
“I can do it,” I argued, but Jake chuckled.
“We know, Baby Girl, but we want to spoil you.”
The plate Coop made me was piled high with all my favorites, including the apple fritter. Archie brought me coffee, and Ian just grinned at all of them as he got his own. “Not feeling the love here, guys.”
“Not gonna get bent over a table by us either,” Archie told him. “I gracefully bowed out and left you with Frankie this morning. I think I did my fair share.”
Ian chuckled. “After you two woke me up.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining,” Archie snarked back, and I followed the byplay with fascination. Jake rubbed one of my thighs, just petting it in a slow soothing motion. It was sweet, but Archie and Ian weren’t fighting. Not really.
“Nope,” Ian told him as he poured his own coffee. “Definitely worth waking up to watch that.” He tracked his gaze over to me, and I clenched up at the heat in his eyes. “Even better to play after.”
And that did it—my face flamed, and I stuffed food in my mouth.
The huff of Jake’s laughter before he pressed a kiss to the back of my neck helped. So did Coop’s wink. They were really all okay with this.
I needed to stop freaking out or worrying. We were all on the same page.
We could do this.
Relaxing, I dug into my food and just soaked up the conversation as they kept teasing each other.
I reiterated my earlier opinion. I never wanted to leave this place.
After breakfast, we decided to decorate the trees, and then the guys wanted to check out the video games. I was fine with that. Archie had us booked for skiing the next day, and there were other plans in the works. I caught more than one secretive glance. The boys were plotting, and I was content to let them.
The game room also boasted a fireplace, so while they got set up for whatever marathon session, I curled up in the chair nearest the fire with my e-reader. Rachel had texted that she sent me an early present and to check my email. Sure enough, there were books waiting for me to download.
She was getting on a plane today to head off to deal with her family, but she insisted I needed to read all four books in the series.
Trust me, you can thank me later.
With the crackle of the fire and the guys snarking at each other as my soundtrack, I delved into the world of the Wolf and the assholes she went to school with. By the time I got to the end of the first one, I didn’t want to pause for lunch. The guys had to drag me into the kitchen, and after a quick round of kisses, I buried myself in book two.
At the end of the second book, I was laughing aloud and texting Rachel—even if she was on a plane.
Bitch, I know why you wanted me to read this. But I’ll take it. Ride or die.
She didn’t answer, but I didn’t expect her to, and I definitely needed to know what happened next. Coop quirked a brow at me as I cackled, and I waved him away. Jake wasn’t so easily put off, but when I promised him a blowjob later if he’d let me finish the next two books and keep the others off my back, I got a series of protests from the others.
I tuned them out and went back to reading.
I had to know what happened next.
Chapter Nineteen
Runs
“Wedge,” Jake ordered as he glided along beside me like king the hill. I didn’t mind. Archie, Ian, and Jake were more than comfortable on skis. Thankfully, I had Coop to share my skill level at the lesson all five of us took. Well, technically, only Coop and I were taking the lesson. The other guys came to hang out with us and supervise. Jake’s incredulous look accompanied by Ian’s easy grin and Archie’s teasing smirk had been great, right up until the instructor, Josh, showed up.
Maybe a couple of years older than us. Maybe. He was easily as big as Jake and Ian, with a laughing smile and an easy demeanor. And he was an outrageous flirt. His walking me through my first lesson on how to wedge and position my legs and subtle adjustments to my hips lasted for maybe all of five minutes.
Archie and Jake sent him away to help Coop, and they took over my ski instruction. So far, I could go down the hill without landing on my face. I called that a win. I glanced over to where Josh had Coop going a lot faster. He didn’t make him wedge all the way down the hill.
“Eyes front,” Jake reminded me. I snapped them ahead to where Archie waited for us. They took turns going down the hill, not that they even needed the stupid poles. I thought those looked sexy on television. They were irritating as fuck in real life while trying to figure out where to put my hands and how to hold them without whacking myself or them. “You don’t worry about the people behind you. You worry about who is ahead. You have to avoid Archie, so how do you do that?”
I did a plough-turn. Almost like I knew what I was doing, and it slowed me enough that I angled away and around Archie. The bunny hill was not that long a course. An hour ago, it seemed to take forever to get down, but I was getting faster.
Coop hit the runout before I did, and he glanced back at me as I skidded and turned. Only instead of coming to a stop, I pivoted and used the momentum to get me back to the rope tow. My least favorite part of this whole thing. There’d been some definitely uncomfortable humiliation the first time I’d attempted to use it. The idea was to grip the rope and let it pull me up to the top of the bunny slope where I could ski away from it and down.
Yeah, it hadn’t really worked the first time. Even in gloves, I couldn’t grip it for crap. Jake had skied right up behind me and pushed me up the hill as it towed him. That happened the second and third time. On the fourth, Archie suggested I shift my grip, which helped. Still needed one of them shoving me.
It kind of sucked, but they never complained, and the humiliation wore off. My wrist was still a little weak, and Ian had scolded me when I bitched.
Okay, that wasn’t fair. He hadn’t scolded me so much as given me a sympathetic squeeze and reminded me I had been out of a cast for like a week. Then murmured I needed to be nicer to myself or I’d get a spanking.
I had to admit, the grin I gave him was probably not remotely discouraging. Particularly with how his eyes had lit up. Playing with fire was apparently my new hobby.
This time, I grasped the rope tow, left hand right on the rope just above the knot and my right hand in front of it, and I kept my skis parallel as it tugged me to the top. Thrill skated through me as I skied away from it at the top like I knew what I was doing. I didn’t even mind the seven-year-old who bypassed me and shot down the hill like an Olympic-level skier.
You go, girl.
Josh and Coop were right behind me, but to my shock, Ian, Jake, and Archie stayed at the bottom.
“Looking good,” Josh complimented me. Then he nodded to Coop. “You two ready to do this on your own?”
An hour of instruction, and we were experts? The sun was out today, and I’d started out in my ski pants, zipped up snow jacket, gloves, a fuzzy knit cap, neoprene facemask and goggles. I’d felt ridiculous, but the guys kept grinning at me, so what did I know?
I’d already unzipped my jacket because despite the cold, I was hot. The neoprene mask was in my pocket. I kept the hat, the gloves, and the goggles. Exhilaration fountained at the idea of making the run down the slope all by myself. Well, as by myself as I could be with the kids blowing past us like we were tree stumps and the other novice skiers who seemed to be taking to the task like a duck to water.
Thankfully, Coop had fallen almost as much as I had in the beginning, even if he’d done at least two of them on purpose. I didn’t feel like an idiot. Gl
ancing at Josh, I raised my eyebrows. “Together or individually?”
Coop chuckled.
“You guys can go down together,” Josh told me with an easy smile. “You both have the hang of it. Contrary to what a lot of people think, sixty percent of this is learning to stop. You can stop. You can turn. You have control. Everything else is at your own pace.”
Snorting, I said, “Right.” But at the same time? If I graduated from the bunny slopes, that meant we got to ride on the ski lift. It would probably be more fun for the guys if they weren’t trapped with us here, too. Not that they’d complained once. With that in mind, I glanced at Coop. “Race?”
“Winner gets?” Coop asked as he adjusted his grip on his poles, but the gleam in his eyes was impossible to miss, even with the sun shining on the snow.
“Winner’s choice,” I teased with a wink, and he whooped, but I was already pushing off.
I’d learned more than just how to stop. During one of my first runs, I’d learned how to go so fast, I’d ended up crashing into the barriers at the bottom because I hadn’t quite mastered stopping.
Time to test the theory of whether Josh was right about stopping being the key to everything.
Shouts of encouragement and cheers came from the guys as I whipped down the hill. The tension and the low-grade fear bubbled in my stomach. As with every other time I’d done this, I worried I wouldn’t be able to stop. Images of skiing accidents would dance across my brain. The idea that I could tumble and break something didn’t fill me with a lot of confidence.
But halfway down the slope, all of that melted away. Earlier, a kid had zipped past me, arms out wide as he skied past yelling, “I’m flying!”
I was flying.
Riding that adrenaline, I zipped right down to the runout and wedged, then plough turned to a stop mere feet away from the guys, with Coop reaching me and performing a similar stop seconds later.
A wild grin stretched my lips, and I held up my hands. “I win!”
“Yes, you do,” Coop said with a laugh. A second later, Josh joined us, and he gave Coop a high five before he turned to me. I smacked his hand, though to be fair, I hadn’t really gotten to work with him much.