Frostbite

by Moira McTark

  “Stay right here.” He withdrew his hand and reached for the condom at the side. He tore the wrapper open with his teeth and put it on, quickly repositioning himself behind her. “Can you feel that?” he asked, testing the flow of water that rushed between her legs.

  “Yes. Feels good.” She rocked her hips forward and back against the increasing spray of water, her breasts dipping beneath the bubbling foam.

  He shifted behind her, bent one leg, and planted his foot at the outside of her knee on the shelf, notching his cock head at her opening. The rush of water from between her legs lapped like a thousand tongues over his shaft.

  She tried to rock back against him, but he steadied her with his hands at her hips.

  “Tell me you want me,” he whispered into her ear.

  “I want you,” she moaned.

  He pushed his cock into her an inch, making her gasp and pant as the jet whooshed over her clit. “Just to fuck you?”

  She tensed against him, and then answered, “No.”

  His cock throbbed, begging to enter. But he had to know. “Just while we’re trapped on this mountain?”

  Letting go of the edge with one hand, she reached back over her shoulder and sifted her fingers through his hair. “No. Not just here, not just now. I want you, Ryan.”

  His heart slammed against his chest, and relief flooded through him. He bowed his head against her neck and kissed her smooth, creamy flesh as he gripped her hips and pushed her down over his cock. She clenched around him as he bore into her and held the first stroke while the jet massaged the point of their union. Then, gripping her hips, he pumped her up and down over his cock, so her clit entered and left the spray of the jet with every stroke.

  She cried out, moaning, her knuckles white against the concrete ledge she gripped. She pulsed around him, her inner walls hugging with increasing strength until her entire body tensed and her orgasm ripped through her, squeezing his cock like a vice and milking him to completion.

  He buried his face in her hair. “You’re mine.”

  Chapter Eight

  Bethany leaned back against the warmth of Ryan’s chest and lifted her mug to her lips, savoring the richness of the hot chocolate as it coated her tongue and heated through her body. She couldn’t think of a better way to spend an evening than being made love to by the sexiest man alive and then having him hold her in front of a roaring fire.

  She was safe. Secure in his arms, in his heart.

  At the realization, her throat tightened, and she had to pull her bottom lip between her teeth to keep it from trembling.

  “You okay?” His voice was low, comforting.

  She nodded. She’d been so afraid, so resistant, such a fool. This man wouldn’t let her down.

  Ryan cleared his throat in a way she’d only heard when he was nervous.

  He stroked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You know, I’ve got some exciting news that I’ve wanted to share with you but just couldn’t find the right time before now.”

  Bethany noted the tension his chest and shifted to look back at him. “Why do I have the feeling you’re about to sell me a car?”

  He smiled a little sheepishly but didn’t offer up any explanation. So she waited.

  “It’s really exciting actually—”

  “So you said,” she answered slowly, bristling at her tone. Oh crap, why was she on the offensive? What was happening here? “Tell me about it.”

  Ryan swallowed and bit his cheek as he studied her face.

  “Ryan, wha—”

  “I’m leaving the company.”

  The air sucked out of her lungs. The floor dropped from beneath her. She was losing him. So fast…. So stupid! How could she have been so stupid?

  She was on her feet in an instant, arms crossed over her chest. God, no wonder he’d been willing to breach the professional boundaries. He wouldn’t be her partner anymore. Steeling herself for whatever came next, she asked the appropriate questions. “When? Where are you going?”

  He reached for her hands. She let him hold them but was numb to his touch.

  “Beth, don’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what?” she bit out.

  “Like I’m some schmuck who tried to bag you the night before he skipped town. You have to know it’s not like that. I want you to come with me.”

  She didn’t know what to say. One side of her was elated, thrilled that their bond was real. The other side started to back away, anxious about the threat to her security. She’d devoted years of her life to Tracestone. To throw it away would be crazy. Ryan had seen her work, knew how she thought. He had to know she wouldn’t leave.

  Trying to keep her voice even, though the exaggerated rise and fall of her chest gave away her emotions, she asked again, “Where? Who hired you?”

  “No one hired me. I’m starting my own firm. Jared is great, but I’m going out on my own. It’s something I’ve always wanted, and I’m ready to do it. It’ll happen in six months. I won’t be competing with Jared...” He paused, let out a short laugh. “...except maybe for you. Our services sort of work hand-in-hand, so many of our clients will benefit from using both of our companies. I’ve got several lined up—”

  “You’ve only been with the company for a year and a half. How can you leave so soon? Isn’t this rather a large risk you’re talking about taking?”

  “Bethany, I’m not talking about it. I’m doing it. It’s on paper already. Jared knows. I think it’s one of the reasons why you and I are here together. He wants the relationship—working relationship—between us solidified to keep the companies united when the time comes…”

  Her head spun. Ryan was a job jumper, she’d known it from the start, and here he was doing it again. So what was the surprise? What was the problem? That inability to stay in one place, that restlessness, set off alarms in her head. He would always be looking for the next big score, the next high. His thrills came from corporate adventures rather than sporting, but the business world had pitfalls, too, with dire financial consequences.

  Just like her father, he’d made her think there was nothing better than being along for the ride. But this time she wouldn’t stick around for the crash and burn. She wouldn’t be the one left to pick up the pieces of a broken life again.

  He was still talking, but she wasn’t paying attention. “Stop, Ryan. Stop.”

  He took a step back, crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Look, I’m happy for you. You’re going after what you want. Best of luck to you in all your future endeavors—”

  “Damn it, Beth, don’t talk to me like I’m some rejected job candidate. This is about us. I want you to come with me.”

  A dark thought crept into her consciousness. No, it wasn’t possible. He wouldn’t have seduced her to lure her over to his company. She swallowed down her doubts and insecurities. It was too cruel, impossible. It was something she didn’t want to know the answer to.

  The armor slapped up around her heart and mind. She could feel herself closing off to him. “Let’s not kid ourselves. There is no us.”

  He looked as though she’d slapped him, hurt enough her resolve faltered.

  “Ryan, can you really say I’m wrong?” She half hoped he’d fight her, tell her she was crazy, but he just stared past her.

  Uncomfortable, she shifted her weight. “Without question, I’ve enjoyed our time together, but fundamentally you and I approach life differently. Honestly, this is the very reason I was apprehensive about working with you in the first place. You’re always ready to jump.”

  His eye fixed on her hers then shifted away again. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I know exactly what I want. I’m driven to go after it, just like you. We take different paths, but our goals are the same.”

  She wanted to laugh. “I don’t think you know me well enough to understand my goals.”

  Disconcerted by his split focus, she turned and followed his stare to the window where two cars were pulling
to a stop in the drive. Her mouth went dry, her mind blank. Blank of everything beyond one simple fact. It’s over.

  From behind her, Ryan’s voice was low, gravely. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re wrong. We need to talk more.”

  The front door burst open and Bethany spun toward the entrance where a man in a parka with a walkie-talkie in hand filled the doorway. She swallowed down her disappointment and confusion and offered the only greeting that seemed appropriate. “Thank God you’re here.”

  Chapter Nine

  January 25

  Alone on her couch, Bethany stared at the emptiness of her life. A sparsely furnished apartment filled with impersonal exercise equipment and completely devoid of all sentimentality. No snapshots littered her walls. No nick-knacks cluttered her counters. No calendars scheduling get-togethers with friends, birthdays or anniversaries lay on her desk.

  She was hollow. So how was it that the void of her heart hurt so much?

  The day passed like every other. No calls from her mother. No visits with family or friends. Not that there ever were, but today it hurt more than ever before.

  She was lonely. How had that happened? The answer was obvious. Ryan. He’d made her experience life, not from a safe distance, but intimately. Made her feel, made her connect, made her love. And she’d thrown it away. What was wrong with her?

  The hiss of the gas fireplace and push of forced air from the fan were a poor substitute for the heat and sound of the roaring fires at the lodge, but she settled for what was available. Nothing really mattered without Ryan there to share it with her. She understood that now, when it was very likely too late to matter.

  She’d refused to listen when he’d wanted to talk to her. She’d been too stubborn and scared to give him the chance to explain his plans or where she fit into them. Too afraid he’d say something she didn’t want to hear, confirm her fears that he was reckless with his life and future.

  So she’d clammed up, turned cold, and tuned him out. Hell, she hadn’t even ridden down the hill with him. She’d gotten in the car, where her precious bag rested, and waited for the driver to take them back down. Ryan came out and stuck his head in the car, asking if she’d let him talk to her some more. But she just shook her head and told him she’d see him at the office. He nodded and let her go. Back to her chosen life of loneliness.

  Well, she could be secure in her solitude now. Secure in the knowledge that she wasn’t putting anything at risk, because she had nothing she cared about.

  Looking down at the empty spot next to her on the loveseat, her heart ached as it had since they’d pulled away from the lodge and the man who showed her what living was.

  She clutched the phone in her hand, her knuckles turning white. The battery was charged, the signal full strength. All she had to do was dial.

  She’d been a fool to push him away. Yes, it scared the hell out of her that he was moving on again, but he’d said he wanted her to go with him. He didn’t want to leave her. He hadn’t used her, betrayed her, or broken her trust. All he’d done was tell her he was following his dream and he wanted her to follow with him.

  And she hadn’t even ridden down the hill with him. She was a coward, and the only person wrecking her chances for a happy future now was her.

  Her stomach twisted in an anxious knot. There was no reason Ryan should give her another chance. Not after the way she’d treated him. But she dialed the phone, punching in his number with trembling fingers, regardless of the risk of rejection. She couldn’t let him go without telling him how wrong she’d been and how much she wanted him.

  The call was sent, and the line began to ring. She could almost hear the digital trill of his phone. No…she actually could hear it.

  She spun to the front door of the apartment, where the signature sound of Ryan’s phone filtered in. Her chest tightened around her pounding heart as she shot off the couch, tripped on the leg of the table, and ran to the door.

  Jerking it open, she stared, breathless, into Ryan’s stern face.

  He flipped the phone in his hand closed and stuffed it into his pocket. “I’ll call them back.” His hard stare fixed on her eyes as he moved a step forward. “Before you tell me to get lost, you’ve got to give me a chance to talk to you.”

  Tell him to get lost? He couldn’t be serious. Wasn’t the look of stark desperation clear enough on her face? “I’m not telling you to get lost. That was me who called just now. I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t tell me to get lost. I was praying you wouldn’t.”

  The air around her seemed thin as she waited for his response. Some sign of either relief or revulsion. She didn’t know why he was here, yet, didn’t want to get her hopes up.

  No, she couldn’t let her fears guide her. It was time to rush in without thought of consequence. “I love you. I’ve been so stupid, and there aren’t enough sorrys in the world to make it up to you. But I’m begging anyway. Give me another chance.”

  The ease with which the words poured out was startling, a steady flow, straight from her heart. It felt good to be honest with him, with herself.

  Ryan’s chin pulled back, and the stunned expression frozen on his face did little to reassure her. Finally, he set down the backpack slung over one shoulder and straightened. She hadn’t noticed the pack before, or, looking around, the rest of the file boxes that surrounded him in the small hallway of her apartment building.

  “What is all this?” she asked, motioning to the clutter.

  Shaking his head as if to break out of a spell, he took a step forward and grabbed the back of her neck to pull her into a brutal kiss. His arm around her shoulder, his solid chest against her breasts, his lips and tongue meeting and mating with her own, told her everything she’d prayed to hear in words. Only this was better.

  Ryan broke away first, holding her back so that she could see his eyes. “I brought all of this to convince you I wasn’t a risk.”

  “What?” It came out as a choked whisper, but the smile tugging at her cheek found its way into the tone.

  “I’m not reckless. I don’t jump jobs because I’m bored. I’ve been working toward the same goal since I was in college. I’ve built the resume, gained the experience, made the connections I’d need. I’ve done all of it with this final goal in mind. I’ve been honest with my employers from the start, always letting them know where I was going, what I was bringing, what I hoped to take from my employment with them. It’s been mutually beneficial. And now, my company is finally becoming a reality. I have clients lined up. I have investors begging to get in. I have everything I’ve built towards. But since you walked away from me, I feel like I have nothing. Nothing that matters.”

  Bethany blinked back her tears. Her limbs were numb, her throat tight. “Ryan, all I care about is you.”

  He let out long breath and ran his fingers through the hair draped over her shoulder. “I know how much security means to you. I’ve got the numbers to prove I’m someone you can count on. I’m not rushing decisions. I’ll never let you down—”

  Closing the scant distance between them, she snaked her arms around his neck, drawing his face down to hers so their brows touched. “I don’t give a lick about the numbers. I’m going with my gut on this one, and it’s telling me I should never, ever let you go.”

  “I love you, Beth.” A sexy smile curved his lips just before they met her own. It was a slow, sweet kiss. At least until he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her from the ground, carried her into the apartment, and kicked the door closed behind them.

  The End

  Author Bio

  Moira McTark lives with her husband and four young children in a small town in Minnesota. She can most often be found enjoying a spot of imaginary tea, crashing Hot Wheels, and building elaborate railways over the Island of Sodor.

  When Moira needs a sanity break, she slinks off to her office and writes.

  You can find her at www.moiramctark.com or www.moiramctark.blogspot.com. She loves to hear from
her readers.