by Kelly Alexis
New arrivals were being shown around, and guests who were checking out were getting into limos and leaving. I reached the lobby and looked around for my luggage.
"Miss Ingalls!" Nicole called out and approached from my left. "I'm glad I caught you before you left."
"Oh, hi." I smiled and gave her a hug. "Thank you so much for all you did for me."
"It's my pleasure. I hope you got some rest and had a chance to recharge your batteries before you go back into everyday life."
I nodded and answered thoughtfully. "I feel much better, thank you. I'm ready for my family and friends to see me. No, check that, experience the new me. As for rest, why do I get the feeling that you know exactly why I didn't get much rest?"
Nicole didn't pretend to not know what I was talking about. "Blake and many others worked hard to assure your stay here had the proper mix of rest, recreation, and fun. The sparkle in your eyes tells me we got it about right."
I nodded, a little ruefully. "You have the best staff in the world. Please let them know that I've got what I need to guide my future relationships." Without coming out and saying it, I wanted to commend Frisco for all the good he'd done. I looked around at a few of the new arrivals and wondered which one of them would be his next assignment. Lucky girl!
I held out my key, and Nicole took it.
"I would say to hurry back, but I'd rather wish that you find your happiness and not need to come back to Breathless alone," Nicole said as she slipped the gold key into her pocket. She gave me another hug then moved away.
As I headed toward the doorway, part of me was a little envious of the new arrivals. They had so many experiences ahead of them. Lovely days and long, wonderful nights.
Suddenly, I stopped dead in my tracks. Frisco stood only ten feet in front of me. His back was turned, and he was engaged in an animated conversation with Blake. My indecision made me panic. My heart wanted me to rush ahead and catch him before he disappeared forever in the crowd, but my mind reminded me that he had said his good-byes, however abrupt. What else was there to say between us?
When Frisco started to turn, I took a sideways step so I was hidden behind a large log pillar.
"Frisco! Frisco Thorne," a man called.
I peeked out and saw Carl, the attorney we had met during our dinner at Highland Manor. He seemed determined to catch up to Frisco, who seemed equally determined to avoid a conversation. What in the world would they have to talk about? Maybe Carl was a fellow gigolo?
"I thought I knew you," Carl said as he threw his arm over Frisco's shoulder.
"Hi, Carl." Frisco glanced toward the waiting limo.
"Dobson, Myers, and Burnett. Right?"
Frisco nodded. "Three years now. I heard you were in the running for my job. Hey, sorry they picked me."
"Man, I wanted it so badly. Do you like it there?"
"They're a great company. But I'm a little tired of dealing just with divorces. I think we as attorneys are too focused on winning and not as aware of the consequences to both parties."
"Sounds like I may still have a chance at the job."
Frisco shrugged. "Give them a call in a week or two. I'm going to look into a couple of options."
"How about that receptionist? What was her name?"
"Ahh, Shari." Frisco rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's just say that she's the reason I was here."
"Fuck, man, that's a shame. I heard she was really into you."
"Turns out she was into every lawyer in Denver. I'm surprised you haven't already experienced her affections." Frisco shook his head. "I should have let you win that one." He spread his arms wide in a shrug. "Take your best shot."
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
"Let's get together next week and catch up." Carl patted Frisco on the back as they walked out the front door.
Now I was really confused. None of this made any sense. Frisco was a divorce lawyer and a gigolo? He had a real job in Denver. Somehow, I'd been under the impression he worked here at Breathless.
"Is everything all right, Miss Ingalls?"
I looked up to see Blake standing next to me, his handsome forehead wrinkled in concern.
"Uh, sure, I guess," I answered automatically.
"Excellent. I trust your time here fulfilled your needs and expectations." His smile was confident and filled with pride for his spectacular resort.
I barely heard him as I glanced over his shoulder to confirm that Frisco was truly gone.
"Are you all right, Miss Ingalls?" Blake asked in a warm, soothing voice.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ryan. I was distracted."
"Well, you're a charming young woman, and you're welcome to come back anytime. Your limo will be here in a moment." He started to turn away, and I grabbed his arm.
"Mr. Ryan, tell me something."
"Anything, Miss Ingalls."
"How well do you know Frisco Thorne?"
"Mr. Thorne? He's a very interesting man. But privacy is important to us, and we can't discuss our guests. They arrive here with the understanding that their files will be held in strict confidence. We will not share his personal information nor yours with anyone. I am sorry." He smiled. "It is my hope that your time here will help you figure out what matters in a relationship. I don't think you need Mr. Thorne as much as you need to understand who he really was and what he meant to you."
"Guests? Was Frisco a guest?" I echoed. That one word had popped out, and I had barely heard the rest.
"I hope you have a pleasant trip back to Denver." Blake completely ignored my prompting, gave me a dazzling smile, and turned away.
Guest? Not employee? Everyone was talking in riddles, and I knew I didn't have all the pieces. Frisco was an attorney? But why would he lie about being a gigolo? Who was he hiding from, and why had he taken advantage of me? For that matter, had I let him take advantage of me? Or had I taken advantage of him?
I put on my coat and followed my luggage out to a limo. As it was loaded into the trunk, Nathan opened the door and smiled as he extended his hand.
I let him help me climb into the rear seat of the limo. It was dark inside, and it took my eyes a few seconds to adjust after the brightness of the snow. The door shut behind me, and I took off my coat and placed it on the seat beside me, only to find that it wasn't empty. Great, I was going to have to share a limo. Four long hours with a stranger.
"What are you doing here?" a man asked.
My head snapped around, and I realized the stranger was Frisco. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm going home. What about you?" he demanded.
"Me, too."
"But I thought you worked here," Frisco stated.
"Why would you think that?" I asked, astonished.
"Because I came to Breathless to fulfill my fantasy of finding the perfect woman," Frisco explained, "and there you were."
I shook my head, trying to make sense of it all. "You thought I was there for you?"
"Weren't you?"
"No, I was a guest, trying to get a little R and R." I tried to catch my breath. This was all too crazy, and then I remembered the cash. "You thought I was a prostitute?"
He shrugged. "What was I supposed to think? I wanted to have sex with the perfect woman, and I thought Blake provided you—you know, the whole Pretty Woman fantasy."
"I've never…I mean…never had sex for money. In fact, I haven't even had very much free sex…until this weekend."
"You mean the whole story about your ex and the divorce was true?" Frisco seemed as shocked as I was.
"Yes, everything I told you was the truth," I sputtered. "Apparently, you can't say the same."
Frisco shrugged. "I was playing a role. It was part of my fantasy."
"So, you're not a gigolo?"
"No, I'm a lawyer, which, in some ways, is similar. I guess you could say we fuck people for money all the time." He gave a crooked grin. "But being a gigolo is every man's fantasy, so after I kept striking out at love, I thought it would
be fun. Blake told me I had to come up with a complete backstory, and that was mine."
I slumped back against the seat, totally overwhelmed with this flood of information. He thought I was his fantasy? How could I be completely mad at that? And yet there were a lot of things yet to be explained. Before I could speak, I noticed Frisco was studying me with the same confusion I was feeling.
"So, if you were there as a guest, what was your fantasy?" he asked.
I had to think about that for a moment. "I guess, going in, I didn't have a fantasy. I just wanted to hide out and recover from the humiliation of my marriage. But after I met you—or the gigolo you—my fantasy became to find a man who was as kind and caring, not to mention as hot and sexy, as the man I knew as Frisco." I shook my head. "But now I don't know who that was."
We stared at each other silently for a moment. I knew all the features of his face so well, not to mention every inch of his magnificent body, when, in fact, I didn't know him at all.
Or did I? Had it all been an act? Or was the Frisco whom I had gotten to know really the man I had started to fall in love with? I could see by his eyes that he was struggling with the same emotional conflict.
The privacy window lowered silently, and Jimmy spoke up. "I thought you two might have a few things to talk about on the way back to Denver. Relax and settle in for a long ride. It's snowing up by the tunnel, so we may be delayed a little. Help yourself to the bar. I'll give you your privacy." The window slid back up and sealed with a snap.
Frisco turned back to me. "I really did have the best time of my life. You're incredible."
"I was your fantasy?" I repeated incredulously. After being so unceremoniously dumped, it was wonderful to be someone's wildest dream.
His light-blue eyes were warm, and I could feel that old familiar heat. "You were exactly the woman I've always wanted—beautiful, intelligent, funny, and sexy as hell."
"I've never been like that with any other man," I admitted, my cheeks reddening hotly. "Except for that note, which was really horrible, the whole weekend was amazing. I didn't want it to end."
This time, it was his turn to blush. "I'm sorry about the note. I just thought—well, you know—I thought it was all a big lie. I figured you'd laugh at me if you thought I'd taken any of it seriously. But I wanted you to know that you made me very happy."
"I left the money for the maids," I admitted.
"Sorry about that, too. I didn't mean to insult you."
"You thought I was a hooker!" I realized I could accept that now that I sort of understood the confusion.
"You were very convincing, but I quickly realized I didn't want to share you with anyone." He shifted so that he was sitting sideways on the seat, facing me. "I don't know if you're interested, but I'd like to start over."
My heart did a little happy dance inside my chest. "Yes, I think that would be great. But we have to be absolutely honest with each other about everything from now on."
"I agree. Okay, I'll start," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Hi, my name is Frisco Thorne. I'm a divorce lawyer, but I'm thinking of changing to family law. I live in Denver, all alone except for an Australian shepherd named Bronco, who will be so glad when I pick him up from the doggy-day-care place."
I loved dogs. That added immediate bonus points. "Nice to meet you, Frisco. My name is Samantha Ingalls, but my last lover called me Sami, and I liked it. All of it."
He reached over and took the pins out of my hair, letting it fall loose around my shoulders. He scooted closer and took my face in his big, gentle hands. "Did that lover tell you how beautiful you are, Sami?" He leaned over until his delicious lips touched mine, moving, tasting, as if for the first time. We slid down on the soft leather seat until we were lying with Frisco on top.
"He mentioned it once or twice," I whispered. "But I can never hear it enough from him."
He kissed me again. I felt his hand sliding under my sweater and pushing aside my bra so he could cup one of my breasts. I gasped at the exquisite electricity that streaked through me when he tweaked my nipple.
"Sami, I have this fantasy…"
He kissed me again, and I waited breathlessly for him to finish his statement. "Yes?" I prompted.
"Darlin', I want to wake up with you on Christmas morning, and every morning after that."
A sense of relief and anticipation swept over me. This was no fantasy. It was real. And I was the luckiest woman in the world.
I smiled with complete joy. "Do we have to wait for Christmas?"
I always liked to open my best presents early.
Fantasy Suite End
Master Suite
Chapter 1
"Fuck Valentine's Day!" Adam King swirled the ice in his glass of Red Bull then slammed it down on the bar. "It's a bullshit holiday to shame men into buying women presents."
Joshua, the bartender, shrugged and continued to load glasses into the sanitizer. "But they're worth it."
Adam snorted. "Don't get me started. All the women in my life are pathetic losers."
"That's too bad. I love women—all shapes, all sizes, all ages." Joshua filled a bowl with mixed nuts and slid it across the bar to Adam. "Women are the best thing about being a man."
"It's crap like that that keeps Hallmark in business." Adam scooped up a handful of nuts and popped them into his mouth.
Joshua moved down to the end of the bar to fill a drink order from one of the servers.
Adam tried to pay attention to a hockey game on TV, but he was too distracted to focus. His work was important, damn it! He should be in the lab, not here, hanging out in a bar in this luxury resort.
But then, he hadn't exactly been given a choice.
He looked around. There were certainly worse places to be. The building was magnificent, nestled into the White River National Forest at the top of a mountain. Far in the distance, the lights of Aspen provided a twinkling cluster in the darkness of night, almost like the Milky Way against a black velvet sky. Every time the Breathless Resort and Spa limo brought him here from the airport in Aspen, he couldn't help but be impressed at the sight of the four-story wood and stone building with dozens of chimneys jutting out of the weathered copper roof. Glass-encased balconies off each room offered spectacular views of the snow-frosted trees and jagged mountains.
There was a warmth and extravagance about the inside of the building that made the guests instantly feel comfortable and relaxed. The foyer opened into a great room with stone walls, a post-and-beam ceiling and skylights in the soaring metal roof. A massive fireplace with glass panels on each side dominated the back wall. Off to one side, a floating staircase curled its way to the top floor, accentuated with heavy wooden planks for steps and intricate wrought iron railings with outlines of mountain peaks, elk, deer, bears, and pine trees. A large chandelier decorated with elk and mule deer antlers hung in the center, and there were small spotlights on the walls casting irregular and interesting shadows up the rocks.
And everywhere, there were white twinkling lights, red velvet hearts, and gold cupids as yet another ridiculous reminder of the approaching holiday that was being crammed down everyone's throats.
To the right was a restaurant that was rated as five-star, where he had enjoyed a delicious meal. To the left of the great room, beyond the staircase, was a bank of elevators that went up to the rooms and down to the lower level bar and recreation area where Adam currently languished. If he had been in the mood, he could have sat outside, where large radiant heaters hung from the roof, keeping revelers warm. The view was amazing, but Adam didn't have any interest in the scenery. Not tonight.
He had just one thing on his mind right now. His cock twitched in his slacks at the thought of what he would be doing in just a couple hours from now. And it had nothing to do with any outdoor activity.
Joshua returned and Adam nodded, silently requesting another Red Bull. After a fresh glass of ice and liquid had been set in front of him, the bartender offered, "You want to order anything to ea
t?"
"No, I had dinner in the restaurant." He glanced at his Rolex. "I'm just killing time. I have an appointment at ten."
"You're working this weekend?" Joshua asked.
Adam chuckled. "If you can call teaching a new sub the ropes work!"
"I wouldn't," Joshua agreed.
"Actually, I'm sort of double dipping."
"Two subs?"
"I wish! But, no, nothing that exotic." He took a drink and grimaced. "Officially, I'm here on company business."
"I don't think you've ever told me what you do in the real world."
Adam shrugged. He'd been to Breathless four times in the last two years, but he had never done much socializing. And since privacy for both customers and employees was a Breathless hallmark, no one knew anything other than what a person chose to disclose. And even then, it wasn't always the truth. Breathless was all about making fantasies come true, and fantasies didn't always include reality.
But he didn't mind talking about his job. "I'm a doctor. I work for Dillon Pharmaceutical, in Houston, and I just had my six-month review."
A low, impressed whistle escaped Joshua's pursed lips. "Aren't doctors like gods? How bad could the review have been?"
Adam's laugh was humorless, and he shook his head. "You'd be surprised. I'm on my sixth company in eight years. Sixth!"
"I'm not that familiar with the medical field, but that sounds high," Joshua agreed.
"I love my job, if it wasn't for all those stupid people I have to work with," Adam grumbled.
"Not much of a people person?"
"I graduated from high school when I was fifteen, college when I was eighteen, and med school at twenty-four. I haven't had much time to develop relationships."