by C. J. Lake
“And how would you do that?” Sky asked, grinning into the semi-darkness.
“By distracting you. You know, perception is everything,” Jamie said confidently.
“How is it that you’re glib even when you’re half-asleep?” Sky remarked dryly. “That’s what I want to know.”
“C’mere,” he urged.
“I’m already here,” she replied with a little giggle.
“Closer,” he said, turning her over in his arms until she was all wrapped up in him.
“They’re calling it Hurricane Mabel, by the way.”
“Oh, jeez,” Jamie muttered. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, why?”
“No, it’s just…” Shaking his head, he explained, “I hate when they name ferocious storms after sweet old ladies who just baked you cookies, that’s all.”
“Hmm, I guess ‘Mabel’ is sort of grandmotherly,” Sky conceded.
“They need to give it a name like Vixen or Arabella—you know, something that sounds unpredictable—exotic, wild.”
“Maybe they’re going for irony,” Sky ventured.
“Well, if they’re going for irony, they should call it Prudence,” Jamie suggested. “Or Patience. Or Grandpa Fred.”
Mockingly, Sky said, “Okay, now you’ve added ‘Grandpa’ so you’ve taken all the subtlety out of it.”
Coming up on his elbow, Jamie challenged, “Wait, are you insulting the way I do irony? Because…this feels like our first fight.”
Sky laughed at that. “Okay, sure,” she said, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. “By the way, we’ve already had our first fight—a couple of times, I think.”
Soon he was kissing her. Then he was rolling on top of her, totally enveloping her in his warmth and strength. Her mind lost its focus and her voice lost its words. With a soft sigh, Sky snaked her arms around Jamie’s neck and kissed him back eagerly. It felt like their kissing took on a life of its own, becoming carnal and relentless. She rocked and pushed against his erection, making Jamie groan and reach over to the nightstand to grab a condom.
He slid into her slowly and gently at first, moving carefully until she whispered, “Yes… more.” Grunting, Jamie pushed deeper and harder, making her cry out—and soon Sky was coiling her legs around his waist and rocking with him until her hips were arching off the bed and the headboard was banging against the wall. Thunder and lightning cracked as rain continued to pour loudly outside; it felt almost dangerous to be making love during a wild storm, yet Sky felt so safe with him, and suddenly, Jamie’s mouth was on her ear and he whispered thickly, “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she managed. Rolling off of her, Jamie turned her onto her side—so now he was spooning her. It would have been a sweet, affectionate pose if he wasn’t still rock-hard and Sky wasn’t still rubbing against him, urging him on. Then, Jamie brought one hand to Sky’s hip, holding her steady as he slid his cock into her again. By this point, Sky was so wet, they both groaned aloud as he entered her. He drove harder until she was crying out and panting and in those frantic, overheated moments, he was possessing her completely, electrifying all her nerve endings—something about this angle, she thought vaguely—and then his hand came around front to touch her. With him rubbing her clit, she lost all sense, as her body exploded in a violent climax.
“Jesus, Sky…” Jamie uttered hoarsely, obviously turned on by her orgasm, then pounded harder, and in seconds, was rumbling with his own.
They breathed hard against the rabble of the storm until Jamie finally spoke. “Sky? Are you…okay?”
Sky smiled at that; she couldn’t help smiling, because he was always so sweet to her. “Yes,” she told him. She still had her back to him, feeling weak and depleted and utterly satisfied.
Jamie’s voice was playful as he said: “Well then…why don’t you make like an apple and turn over?”
With an enervated laugh, Sky found the strength to roll onto her other side, now facing him. Suddenly a crack of lightning shone across the bed, lighting up Jamie’s face, which held an expression of affection—and that adorable crooked smile of his.
When the rain gushed harder, Sky said, “Everything must be so flooded. We might be trapped in here for days.”
“Oh, that would be horrible,” Jamie said with mock concern. “We’ll be stuck here together. Trapped naked in this bed.”
Slanting him a wry look, Sky said, “I meant trapped in our building. And why would we have to be naked the whole time?”
“Look, obviously Mabel’s not messing around here. We can’t take any chances.”
Giggling, Sky pushed the covers off. “Well, I’m going to have to get up, sorry.”
“No…” Jamie groaned. “Where are you going?”
“My mouth is dry; I need water.”
“Yeah, me, too, actually. Let’s go,” he said and followed her. When she mentioned she was cold, Jamie handed her one of his sweatshirts, then slipped on boxer-briefs. As soon as they reached the kitchen, they realized they were starving. “Fortunately, I picked up groceries earlier, with you in mind,” he told her. “By the way, I wanted to show you something.”
“What?” Sky said as she took a bag of 100% Pure Veggie Chips off a pantry shelf. “Hey, I love these!”
Grinning, Jamie said, “Somehow I figured. Anyway…open that cabinet.”
She followed his gaze and crossed to the cabinet above the sink. Her mouth dropped open when she saw a shiny, obviously new single-serve coffee brewer. “Jamie! What is this? Do you drink coffee now?”
Coming up behind her, he said, “No…but you do.”
As he slid his arms around her waist, hugging her, Sky said, “You mean it’s just for me?”
“Yeah. So you can always stay for coffee in the morning.”
Touched, Sky turned in his arms and smiled warmly at him. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“Sure. Now, besides coffee, is there anything else you need here?”
Her heart swelled as she looked deeply and tenderly into his eyes. His sincere expression filled her with a kind of contentment she had never experienced with another person. She rested her head against his chest and sighed. “Oh, Jamie… With you, I don’t need anything.”
Chapter 30
It took three full days for Hurricane Mabel to tire of her mischief and for the sun to venture out again. Sky was back at work, scrolling through a pet-adoption website, deciding which dog might need her most, when her phone started buzzing.
Incoming call from…Remy?
“Hello?”
“Hey, Sky, how are you doing?” Remy said affably.
“Good, how are you, Remy?” Her tone was warm but cautious, because, though she’d never detected any romantic interest from him, she didn’t want to be overly bubbly and encouraging in case she’d missed it somehow. Especially since she hadn’t yet mentioned to him that she had a boyfriend.
“I’m great,” he said. “Listen, Sky, I can’t talk long, but I had an amazing opportunity come my way—for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes, remember how we talked about your ski career? And how you were kind of spinning your wheels right now, not sure about your next step?” True, they had discussed Sky’s background when they’d first had drinks at Grendel’s. The subject was a natural choice given Remy’s love of skiing—evident immediately by the collection of ski lift tags on his coat.
“I recently talked to a friend,” Remy explained. “He’s actually more a friend of my father’s. His name is Luc Lapointe. He’s originally from Northern Quebec, and he’s living there again.”
“Luc Lapointe,” Sky repeated thoughtfully. “That name is really familiar.”
“I’m sure you’ve heard of him,” Remy supplied. “He’s been a competitive ski coach for years. Anyway, he’s between assistants right now and I thought of you.”
“Assistant coach?” Sky said, feeling both intrigued and conflicted. The idea of teaching others how to ski, rather than doi
ng it herself, had never held much appeal. On the other hand, assisting Luc Lapointe would be a major gig, nothing like giving amateur lessons on the bunny slope.
“No, that’s the thing. The position is for a personal assistant. Now I know that’s not something you’ve done before, but obviously you are capable, and you said yourself that you’re in transition right now. The reason I thought of you was because, well, Luc is extremely connected. I thought an in with him…maybe it could lead somewhere for you. If nothing else, you’d be back on the competitive ski circuit and you could network—you know, figure out where you belong in that space now.”
“Wow, Remy, thank you.”
“Sure. Money-wise, the pay would be pretty good—definitely more than you’re making at the dog daycare—and you get to live in his guesthouse.”
“Wow,” she said again.
“Like I said, I definitely wouldn’t see this job as my endgame,” Remy said with a brief laugh. “But as a real stepping stone. Maybe Luc could even help you with your own skiing, if you wanted to try again.”
Sky knew that that ship had sailed, but she kept it to herself. Remy didn’t need to know just how much the pins in her leg impaired her skiing. Besides, why be negative when this opportunity had just been dropped into her lap? Really—there was no way to say no. Obviously she missed the ski life; she hadn’t skied competitively long enough to make meaningful connections, though, or to carve out any kind of place for herself once she could no longer compete. Feeling discouraged and bereft after the car accident, she didn’t see any clear way back in—to get her life back to what it had been.
Her heart pounded harder. This could be a major turning point. Maybe it was meant to happen this way, and at this time—not back when she was still such a crybaby-wreck about things, but now, when she was more coolheaded and could appreciate an opportunity like this.
Still, she didn’t want to come off desperate for the job, so she kept her tone calm. “When would I be able to interview?”
“You don’t have to,” Remy replied simply. “If you want the job, it’s yours. Like I said, my dad and Luc are friends. If I vouch for you, that’s good enough.”
“Really?” Sky said, surprised.
“Sure, plus—honestly? Luc is way too busy to interview people. He sees it as a waste of his time, which is why he has had a revolving door of personal assistants so far.” Hmm, so he was a diva, Sky thought, reading between the lines. “I’ll send you all the info, his contact information, etceteras. The only things is, if you want this opportunity, he’d need you there before the end of the month.”
They talked a bit more and Sky thanked Remy again for thinking of her. It was only after she hung up that she realized she’d been partially holding her breath. God! How could this have happened so fast? Her chest was fluttering with excitement, even as her stomach knotted up, and after another moment of processing, she lifted her phone to call Jamie.
Then she realized something—an extremely obvious detail that should have already stopped her cold. Northern Quebec.
Uncertainly, she set her phone down on the desk. Suddenly she wasn’t sure an excited call to Jamie was the best way to tell him this news, because the job would mean that they’d have to be apart. Far apart, indefinitely—and after they had just come together.
Chapter 31
Later, Sky intended to tell Jamie about the job as soon as she saw him, but then she got swept up in the romantic evening he had planned. “We always eat in; let’s go out,” Jamie had said. Though he seemed casual about it, he was dressed nicely and looked particularly handsome. It turned out that he had made reservations at Bentley Tavern, an elegant steakhouse downtown. The restaurant practically glowed, the votive candles casting a gleam on the rich, dark wood. With the red wine flowing, Sky kind of forgot about Luc Lapointe. Almost. She was still absorbing the news, she supposed, and her mind was heavily focused on Jamie.
She loved him. She felt it deeply in her bones, in the very heart of her. Whatever was the deepest, realest part of her—that was where she could feel how much she loved Jamie. Surely he would be happy for her; he would understand. And, of course, they would make this work, because…what else could they do?
“So, what’s on your mind?” he said now, reaching for Sky’s hand on the table. They were seated in a half-moon booth, their thighs almost touching and now their fingers laced together on the white linen tablecloth.
At first, Sky just looked at Jamie’s hand holding hers, and how small her hand was wrapped up in his.
“Um…not too much,” she managed. “Just thinking how great this night has been.” He smiled at her and leaned over to kiss her cheek, softly and romantically. She tipped her head so she could brush her lips against his.
“You look really beautiful,” he murmured. “I mean, you normally look extremely gorgeous and way too good for me,” he remarked matter-of-factly. “But tonight, you look so pretty it hurts my eyes.”
“Jamie…” Sky began, feeling almost choked by emotion for a second.
“I love you,” he whispered, tightening his fingers on hers.
With a sigh, Sky began, “Okay, listen…”
Her phone chimed. She ignored it at first, but then recalled Remy saying he would reach out to confirm if the Luc Lapointe thing was a go. She hesitated, eying her bag. Another chime sounded. “Hang on…”
“What is it?” Jamie asked casually, reaching for his wine.
“A message from Remy,” Sky told him. When she saw his jaw tighten, she immediately reminded him that he had nothing to be jealous of, saying, “Wait, it’s not a social thing. Jamie, I have to tell you something.”
At this point she recapped the call from Remy, and detailed the whole opportunity. She hadn’t noticed, but she’d unlocked their fingers to gesture with her hands, as she tried to convince Jamie how great this chance was.
“A personal assistant?” Jamie said doubtfully.
“No, wait—I know how it sounds. But think about it,” Sky said. She searched the ceiling for a moment, trying to think of a good analogy. “It’s like if you wanted to work in the movie industry. Let’s say you started as an actor, but you couldn’t act anymore for some reason. Yet, you still wanted to do something in the movie business—you just didn’t know what. If you then got a chance to be a personal assistant to an established director in Hollywood, of course you’d do it, right? Then you could really learn the industry better and network and figure out exactly where you belong—”
“I get it, I get it,” Jamie said a bit impatiently. “But you’ve never tried to do anything like this before…”
“I know. I think after the accident…I just sort of froze,” she told him truthfully. “But when Remy dropped this on me today…I don’t know, Jamie, I think it sort of rebooted me. Maybe things were meant to happen this way!”
He cast his eyes down toward the votive candle on the table. “So…you’re leaving then,” he said when he finally spoke. His tone was disturbingly flat and his shoulders were tense. Gone was Jamie’s normal happy-go-lucky, easygoing demeanor.
“Well, yes,” Sky said reluctantly. “Obviously I don’t want to pass up this chance.”
“No, of course not,” Jamie agreed tonelessly.
“Jamie? It wouldn’t be forever.”
“How do you know?”
Darn, she hadn’t expected him to call her out on that part. She supposed she was just assuming she’d be back in Boston in a reasonable time frame (though she had no basis for that assumption). The job was in Quebec; Luc surely traveled a lot, which meant Sky would probably travel, too. And once she was part of his world, who knew what connections she’d make or where she’d end up?
Still—she couldn’t tell Jamie goodbye. Never going to happen. There was just no way she could stomach that. She had to believe that she could take this chance and not lose him. “You know, people have long distance relationships all the time,” Sky said, forcing a lighthearted laugh, like this was all so obvious
and un-concerning. “They just figure it out as they go,” she added, surmising that part.
“Sure, sure,” Jamie agreed, but she felt crushed, sensing that his heart wasn’t into what he was saying. In fact, he appeared to be phoning in his agreement, which made her panic.
“We’ll be in touch all the time and we’ll visit each other a lot,” she promised, making a promise she probably had no right to make because: who knew what her schedule would be? Remy had already told her that Luc was demanding. Still…what else could she do to get Jamie on board? She wanted him to be happy for her; she wanted him to feel that, in a way, they were in this together. Maybe that was asking too much. “I need to do this,” Sky stated finally.
At that, Jamie frowned slightly, appearing disappointed. “I thought with me, you didn’t need anything.”
Sky winced—she truly felt the stab on that one. She also felt that he was being unfair and unsupportive. But yelling at him was hardly going to sell him on the idea of a long-distance relationship. Instead, Sky took his hand again and said, “I love you, Jamie. Please say that you understand.”
“I do,” he admitted after a painful moment. “And I love you, too.”
Chapter 32
When they got home from the restaurant, whatever romantic mood had been embracing Sky and Jamie at the start of the meal was pretty much lost. Jamie had been quiet in the cab—so not like him—though Sky supposed she had never seen him react to bad news before.
Except…was it really so bad?
Yes, she was leaving. Yes, it was far away, and yes, it was for an indefinite amount of time, but… Okay, maybe it did sound pretty bad.
On the one hand, she was touched that Jamie cared that much, but on the other, she didn’t know how to get him excited for her. The taxi ride home had been gloomy enough without Remy texting several more times with Luc’s contact info and other details. Each time her phone sounded, Jamie seemed to become more sullen.
Once they were inside his apartment, Sky reached for him. Automatically, he hugged her back, sighing softly into her hair. “Jamie…” Sky began, maybe gripping him too tightly. “You’ve been so quiet. You’re not mad, are you?”