“Hmm.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Nothing,” she trilled, obviously stifling a laugh. “Nothing at all.”
I rolled my eyes as I packed my bag, trying not to let her comments get to me. A few minutes later, as promised, I heard the loud engine of a big pickup pull into the small driveway of the cabin. Dax got out and greeted me on the porch.
“All set?” he asked.
“All set.”
He led me to the passenger side and opened the door for me. He took my small bag from me as I climbed in, then reached up to hand it back. The truck cabin was filled with the soft aroma of his aftershave. It was a sexy fragrance and reminded me of how manly Dax was.
Putting the thought out of my mind, I gave him a brief, friendly smile as he pulled away from the cabin. He drove past the main resort buildings and took a left on a small driveway that led up the mountainside. The road traveled up a bit before leveling off as a string of structures came into view, one large house and four smaller wooden cabins. We passed the main house and the first two cabins before pulling in front of the third one.
“Home sweet home,” he said, grinning at me.
“This is lovely. You’re lucky to live in such a beautiful place,” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, I am,” he agreed, getting out of the truck and coming around to open the door and help me down.
I was surprised by his chivalry as he offered me his hand and helped me step down from the raised truck. He struck me as a total playboy, way too laid back to be such a gentleman. He continued to surprise me.
Dax led me up the front steps onto the large front porch and opened the unlocked cabin door. He stood aside and waved me inside. “After you.”
“Thanks,” I said, as I stepped through the wooden doorframe.
Taking my first look around the small cabin, I gasped at the exquisiteness. All pine logged walls, low hanging, exposed beams, and even a hand-carved stairway which led up to the second floor.
“Did you build this cabin yourself?” I inquired.
“Yes, me and my brothers and my dad,” he answered.
“Wow…look at all the small details,” I marveled, turning in a circle.
“Yeah, the cabins are all laid out the same basically, but the small details were my personal touch,” he responded, a note of pride in his voice. “Come on in to my office.”
I followed him to a small room, which could have been a second bedroom if he had kids. Instead, he’d decked it out as his home office. All sorts of tech equipment filled the room, most that I wouldn’t have any idea how to operate.
“I’m a tech geek. Have been since I was a kid,” Dax explained as I stared at the equipment dominating the room.
“Yeah, I can see,” I replied. I smirked at him as he pulled an extra chair up to his desk and computer.
“Let’s get started.”
For the next couple of hours, we viewed floral arrangements from various local businesses. With the Stone’s desires in mind, I selected a wide variety of arrangements from two different shops. I also chose the bride’s bouquet.
Working with Dax was astonishingly easy. I found myself giggling a few times at his senseless jokes, but I tried to remain professional and tried to avoid making eye contact as much as possible. More than a few times I sensed his gaze upon me. Making eye contact would be a big mistake.
As we were scrolling through the arrangement options, I reached for the mouse at the same time he did. Our hands touched, and an instant shockwave of excitement coursed through my body. I immediately moved my hand away from his and pretended nothing had happened. But the touch, as slight as it was, caused my center to tingle with desire for the gorgeous man sitting beside me.
Next was the catering menu. The Stone’s wanted an array of hors-d'oeuvres, salads, entrées, and desserts. Again, because of Dax’s mountain-man-ness, I was surprised at his knowledge of fancy foods. I expected to have to explain each dish to him. But again, his family did run an award-winning restaurant, and the menu planning went quickly and smoothly.
In no time, we were finished. Dax made sure all the orders for the flowers were placed and paid for. He printed out the receipts and the entire menu for me. With that, I thought that we were done for the day. It was all I had planned, thinking the task would take much longer to achieve. But to my surprise, Dax suggested we take the menu down to Head Chef Michael and also give his mom, Mary Beth, a copy.
“Michael will need it anyway, and my mom is his number one helper,” Dax explained, chuckling. “Not the line cooks or prep cooks. My mom.”
“I see,” I said, smiling. I loved the family aspect of the business. “It must be nice to work so closely with your family.”
“It is,” he said with a laugh. “My brothers drive me nuts sometimes, but I couldn’t imagine working or living anywhere else.”
“You have all of this tech experience,” I noted, motioning around the room. “You could probably make good money working in the IT business instead of being a Social Media Manager for a resort.”
“Yes, I got my college degree in IT. I used to want to catch hackers, but I could never leave the resort. And there aren’t too many other IT jobs around Blue Haven, Colorado,” he said, grinning.
“I bet,” I agreed. “The town we drove through to get here is about as small as the one where I come from,” I confided in him.
“Where are you from? If you don’t mind me asking.”
I had a feeling he already knew since he’d written that article about the Stones and me. But I obliged him with an answer anyway. “Alta, Utah. Home of 385 skiers,” I told him.
He smiled. “385 skiers, eh?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, there’s nothing much else to do there,” I said, thinking about my childhood skiing adventures.
“S, you’re used to the mountain life. I didn’t take you for a mountain girl,” he said, a teasing quality to his voice.
“A mountain girl?” I scoffed. “No, I live in town. Always have. I just go up the mountain to ski and stuff.”
“I see.” Dax smiled as he got up and gathered his things. Taking extra menu copies for Michael and Mary Beth, I followed him back outside to his truck.
Once again, he was a gentleman and helped me into and back out of the truck once we reached the main resort building. But out of the corner of my eye, I caught Dax giving me a sexy stare. I ignored him and walked into the resort, but not before seeing the confused look on his face.
I was sure Dax, as handsome as he was, was used to getting all the girls. With his toned body, that long, blonde hair, full beard and mustache, I imagined girls threw themselves at him.
Not me. I wasn’t the throwing myself at a man type. I was almost amused by the fact that he found me puzzling.
Dax led me through the common room, past the front desk, and through a narrow hallway. Heading back to the kitchen, I observed all the craftsmanship of the resort’s woodwork. Similar to his cabin, I could tell the work was that of his family’s. The railing of the stairs leading up to the guest rooms was similar. The front desk had beautiful etchings carved into it, and the hearth over the fireplace was exquisitely beautiful.
As we reached the kitchen’s double doors, a man came out of an office at the end of the hallway. Though the man had some grey sprinkled through his hair and beard and was a bit burlier, the resemblance to Dax was striking.
“Dax! How’s it going?” the man asked.
“It’s going.” Dax turned to me. “Oakley, this is my oldest brother, Brad Hunter.” He looked at Brad and said, “Oakley Padin, the wedding planner.”
“Miss Padin, it’s so nice to meet you finally. I’m sorry I haven’t come to introduce myself. I’m the resort’s Guest Relations Manager. With so much going on, I’ve been up to my ears in making arrangements and such.” Brad reached out to shake my hand.
I accepted his handshake. Like his brother’s, Brad’s shake was firm and sincere. “Call me Oakley, and I understand,” I
told him. “I know the wedding venue was decided at the last minute. I didn’t get a reason as to why the Stone’s waited so long to choose. I was just hired on Monday as well, so it was last minute for me also.”
Brad sighed. “Crazy, right? But even with the wedding date so near, there was no way I could turn away such a publicized event. Dax and I have already been bombarded by reporters all week. All this publicity is great for the resort.”
“Trust me, I completely understand. This wedding is huge for us too,” I agreed with him.
“Is everything going alright?” Brad asked me and then looked to Dax.
“Yes, Dax has been very helpful. We ordered all the floral arrangements, and here are the menu items for the chef and your mom,” I added, holding out the list and smiling at Dax.
Dax nodded at Brad and grinned that grin of his at me.
“Good to hear,” Brad replied. His phone began to ring in his office. “Gotta grab that. We should all get together for dinner one evening over the weekend,” he called out as he rushed to answer the phone.
“Sure,” Dax and I said in unison. We looked at each other and I couldn’t help but return his comical grin.
Dax chuckled. “Come on, let’s find my mom and Michael.”
He led me through the kitchen door, and we ran into an older, attractive, slightly plump lady wearing a long flowery dress with a white apron wrapped around her waist. Her bright blue eyes told me who she was: Mary Beth Hunter.
“This must be Oakley,” Mary Beth cooed. She wore a big, motherly smile ear to ear. I instantly felt at ease with her. What a wonderful family, I thought.
“Yes, this is Oakley Padin. Oakley, this is my mom, Mary Beth,” Dax introduced us.
“Nice to meet you.” We smiled at each other before I handed over a copy of the planned menu to her. She looked it over and nodded in approval. “Very good. This is a wonderful menu. Michael will be pleased.” She turned and called over her shoulder. “Michael, will you please come over here for a sec?”
There were some banging noises in an adjacent room which I took to be the pantry. A good-looking, tall, slender man wearing a white chef hat and coat ambled out of the room. He put down the pots and pans and bag of flour he was cradling in his arms and came over to greet us.
“Hello, there,” he greeted me, giving me a professional smile. “Dax.”
Perfect, I thought. This can’t get any better. Looking around the large, well-equipped, restaurant-style kitchen, I was beginning to understand why the Stone’s chose this resort. Not only was it picturesque, but it had all the amenities of a larger resort without all the hustle and bustle.
“Michael, this is Oakley Padin, the Stones’ wedding planner. She has the catering menu for you.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Padin. I’ve heard good things about you.” He took the papers from me and looked them over. “I love this. It’s nice to work with such a respectable planner. I like when things go smoothly.”
My cheeks heated at his compliment. Wow, I thought. How nice, coming from a well-recognized Head Chef. My hard work didn’t always get noticed –or complimented— and it felt good.
“Call me Oakley. And thanks for the compliment. It means a lot to me.” I nodded sincerely.
“Sure thing, Oakley,” he said with a pleasant smile. “I’m gonna get started ordering what we need and planning this all out. Thanks for getting this to me so far in advance. The press will be watching me as well,” he said, his voice trailing off as he walked away studying the menu.
Still smiling, I looked to Mary Beth and Dax. Mary Beth was still looking over the menu and Dax’s intense gaze was focused on me. Our eyes met by accident. Out of my excitement, I had let my guard down.
I felt that tingle of excitement again.
I forced myself to break eye contact with Dax and told Mary Beth what a great kitchen she had. Dax cocked his head at me. He rubbed his chin and scratched his beard as if he was trying to figure me out.
After a short conversation with Mary Beth, Dax suggested we get an early dinner in the dining room. I’d almost forgotten about Hailey. She, of course, wasn’t stuck inside but was probably wondering what I was up to.
I agreed to dinner and told Dax I had to call Hailey. She would be starving too. After a quick conversation with her, she agreed to head over to the restaurant to meet us.
Dax led me to a table and asked if I wanted a drink. Normally, I wouldn’t drink while working, but, technically, work was over for the day and I could relax some. A cold beer sounded really good.
“How about a beer?” I queried, smiling. “Hailey likes Merlot.”
“A beer and glass of Merlot it is,” he repeated and headed to the bar to grab the drinks.
Hailey arrived a few minutes later, and we ordered from the menu. I chose a Filet Mignon salad with homemade dressing and bread. Hailey got the homecooked stuffed bass, which apparently was caught fresh out of the Blue River.
The food was superb.
After dinner, we each had another drink and Dax disappeared and returned with a six-pack for me and a bottle of Merlot for Hailey to take back to the cabin with us.
“Just in case you’re still thirsty after you get back,” he said merrily. “Enjoy the sunset. It’ll be a good one tonight.”
We couldn’t say no to the gift and thanked him for the suggestion.
Dax drove us back to our cabin in his truck. I could see why he borrowed his sister-in-law’s car to pick us up at the airport. The truck did have a back seat, but it was a compact space for an adult. I was the smaller one, so I offered to squeeze into the back. With my knees touching the front seat, I was relieved the drive was a short one.
We said our goodbyes to Dax and had another drink while watching the sunset from our cabin’s porch. We watched as the blazing, orange ball disappeared behind the snow-covered mountaintops. It was beyond lovely. Afterward, Hailey settled into a movie and I told her I wanted a hot bath.
I turned on the hot water and added some bubble bath supplied by the resort. The bathroom was small but nice. I lit a couple of candles on the edge of the tub and slid into the steamy, bubbly water. I closed my eyes and thought of how well the day went. The Hunters, from the ones I had met so far, were such nice and professional people. Business came first, but I could tell they genuinely cared about their guests and each other. Dax was lucky to have such a loving family.
Dax.
Once Dax had crept back into my mind, he was there to stay. I saw him give me that sexy grin of his and any resolutions I had melted away. My groin ached for Dax Hunter, so I touched myself.
I imagined him taking off his flannel. Underneath, he was wearing a tight black t-shirt. His biceps bulged below the short sleeves. I watched as he slowly slid the t-shirt up over his head, revealing finely chiseled abs and rock-hard pecs.
I wanted to touch him. To run my hands over his toned, naked body. I imagined putting my hands on his chest, feeling the outline of his flexed pecs. I ran my hands over his tight abdomen to his belt.
I wondered how big his cock was? As thick and solid as the rest of his muscles, I presumed. Hard and erect, I imagined putting my fist around his dick and stroking it.
As I caressed his long, hard cock, my fingers found my clit and rubbed it. I wanted to feel Dax’s hard member inside me. As he slid into my wet pussy, I pushed my fingers into myself. With two fingers inside my tight walls, I massaged my clit with my other hand.
Soon, electric sensations began to build in my center. The vibration slowly traveled up my body and ruptured into an intense orgasm. I pumped my pussy with my fingers and squeezed my hard nipples with my other hand.
I arched my back, allowing the orgasm to take over my body, which shuddered uncontrollably. Then, with a sigh of relief, my body went limp and I slid down into the warm bathwater.
Dax
Over the weekend, I found myself spending a lot of time with Oakley. But something was wrong. The first day we’d worked together, everything had
gone well. I even thought I was growing on her. Maybe she even liked me? But she seemed to be giving me the cold shoulder. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong, or what I could do to remedy the situation.
We were in the lodge and I was giving Oakley and Hailey the official tour. She needed to get measurements of the main room so she could map out the seating pattern and aisle for the actual ceremony.
After an early ceremony, lunch would be served in the main restaurant dining room. While the meal was being served, the lodge would be transformed into a party room, dance floor and all. Hors-d'oeuvres would be served while the guests partied, skied, and participated in the other activities that would be planned.
After a day filled with activities, a formal dinner would take place in the dining room, with an after-dinner party and cake cutting ceremony taking place there as well.
All we needed to do was work out the final seating arrangements, who would be doing what during the transformation, how the guests would be transported up and down the mountainside, and all the special events that would take place. It was a lot more planning than I had anticipated, and now I saw why some weddings required a wedding planner.
While we were going over some of the arrangements, I tried to hit on Oakley subtly. I wanted to let her know I was attracted to her without coming on too strong. I didn’t want to put our business relationship at jeopardy, but I wanted her to know I was interested.
But she didn’t seem to notice. And it baffled me.
I was about to give up altogether and give Oakley her space while she mapped out the first seating chart. But I caught her glancing at me. She quickly looked away when she saw me look in her direction, but I saw her checking me out. So when I pretended not to be interested, she became more interested in me? She was so very different from any of the women I was used to dealing with.
But her game encouraged me not to give up. Not yet.
I had no idea where this obsession with Oakley was coming from. She wasn’t my type. I didn’t know if we could actually get along long-term. She lived out of state. But it wasn’t just that.
Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas: A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection Page 39