by LR Potter
She swallowed and blushed at his words, wanting to look away, but finding herself unable.
“Spend the night with me,” he demanded in soft, commanding tones.
She blinked at his words. The bravado of her earlier thoughts fell away. No matter how magnificent he was, she’d just met him, and the fact of the matter was, they had a working relationship. “No,” she responded.
He hesitated at her answer, obviously surprised.
He gave her a small grin, “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
With his looks, she was sure he wasn’t used to being turned down. With a heavy sigh of regret, he leaned forward and lightly pressed his lips against hers.
“Meet me for breakfast,” he demanded.
“Okay,” she replied.
“Dress warm,” he warned.
“I will.”
“Let’s say I’ll meet you in the lobby at seven,” he said.
“Seven,” she parroted.
He hugged her tight once more and brushed his lips against her forehead.
Chapter 3
Sundra pounced on her the second she entered the condo. “Oh, my God! You are so lucky. Rush Drayton is an absolute babe! Did you sleep with him?” she asked with a grin.
“No, of course not,” Trinity scoffed. “I just met him. Actually, it’s weird, really. I met him for the first time a couple days ago when he brought a painting to the gallery, and then I saw him at the museum right before I left Savannah for here.”
“Maybe he’s following you,” Sundra said with a grin.
“Right,” Trinity scoffed again. “Rush Drayton could literally have any woman he wanted, and he’s going to follow me around town and then all the way to Vail? I don’t think so.”
Sundra clasped her hands to her chest. “How romantic would that be? Are you seeing him again?”
“We’re spending the day together tomorrow, if that’s okay with you?”
Sundra gave her a ‘Don’t be stupid’ look. “Of course it’s okay. Do yourself a favor and sleep with the man. I don’t know how or why you’ve held on to your virginity this long. He’d definitely be worth giving it to. I bet he’d make it memorable.”
After her shower, Trinity lay on her side and thought about Rush Drayton. He was a marvelous contradiction of hot and cold; he made her feel off-kilter. He seemed both close and distant all at the same time. It was very confusing. Maybe she just wasn’t good at reading sexual signals… it wasn’t as if she had much experience… or any, really.
***
The condo filled with five young women was strangely silent as Trinity crept around getting ready for the day with Rush Drayton. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Not knowing what the day would bring, she dressed in layers, borrowing, once again, clothes belonging to Sundra. She grimaced a little at the clothes; they weren’t things she’d normally wear – or anything of which her father would have approved. She smiled at her defiance and tugged on the white snug-fitting ski pants. She topped it with a rainbow striped sweater and grabbed a jacket.
Rush was waiting for her when she stepped out of the elevator. She’d half wondered if maybe he wouldn’t show. He seemed kind of a in the moment kind of a guy. Her smile faltered when she looked up into his hard eyes. He blinked at her expression and the hardness was gone instantly when he smiled at her.
He wrapped his arms lightly around her waist and brought her closer to him.
“You look lovely,” he murmured, as he brushed his lips lightly against hers.
The soft touch of his lips made the butterflies beat their tiny wings frantically against the walls of her stomach. Almost involuntarily, she slid her hands up his chest to further the contact. He pulled his lips away from hers and wrapped her tighter against his chest. It was then she became aware of the people swarming around them. Color infused her cheeks.
“Sorry,” she mumbled against his chest.
“Don’t be,” he whispered in her hair. “Come, let’s go get breakfast. I know a place close to the ski lodge. Then how about a little skiing? You okay with that?”
“Of course,” she smiled up into his beautiful face.
“Excellent.”
“So how did you becoming interested in art restoration?” he asked once their food was placed in front of them.
“Umm. That’s a tough question. I’ve always been interested in art; I’ve always found the beauty in it.” She hesitated as she thought about her answer. “But really, I guess, because it was a profession my father found suitable for me.”
“Your father found suitable for you?”
“He’s a little… controlling,” she answered slowly.
“What does your father do?” Rush asked.
“He’s a Judge in the District Court.”
Rush’s lips thinned at her answer.
“Do you know him?” she asked.
He lifted his eyes to hers and flashed a quick smile, which she found suddenly insincere.
“No. I mean, I’ve heard of him, of course. But I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him.”
Again, while what he said was appropriate, Trinity couldn’t shake the feeling he wasn’t being truthful in some way.
Nerves fluttered in her stomach. “Rush, is everything okay?” she asked softly.
He lifted quizzical eyebrows at her. “Of course. Why do you ask?”
She studied him for a moment and smiled hesitantly. “No reason, I guess.”
“What could possibly be wrong? It’s a beautiful day and I’m having breakfast with a beautiful woman.” He paused from buttering his toast to grin over at her. “In fact, the only thing that would have made this day better was if I’d woken up with said beautiful woman in my bed this morning. But we can’t have everything,” he jested.
She blushed at his words. “Thank you, I think,” she said with a small laugh.
As he continued tucking into his breakfast, he asked, “Do you paint?”
Trinity thought about the stacks of painted canvases stacked in the closet of her bedroom. “Some, just not very well. My philosophy is: those that can’t paint – restore the works of those who can.”
“I’m sure you don’t give yourself enough credit.” He paused as he looked down to pour cream into his coffee. “What does your father think of your paintings?”
She gave a mirthful laugh. “He’d be the first to tell me not to quit my day job.”
His lips hardened at her response. “That’s not very supportive.”
“He only wants what’s best for me,” she said, feeling the need to defend him for some reason.
Changing the flow of conversation, he said, “I’d like to see them sometime.”
“Of course,” she murmured, happy to think that he’d maybe want to see her once they were home. As she cut into her pancakes, she said, “So, it seems you know an awful lot about me, but I actually know nothing about you.”
“What would you like to know?” he asked.
“Gavin told me you were in business, what is it that you do?”
He leaned back in his seat and sipped his coffee before responding, “I’m the CEO of DrayCo. I took over when my grandfather retired about five years ago.”
Immediately, a picture of the DrayCo’s impressive multistory building flashed in her mind. It was housed in the industrial park of Savannah. The building’s exterior was completely comprised of bronze glass. “I’ve seen your building in the business district. It’s very beautiful.”
“Thanks. We have to keep up with the times. I never could talk my grandfather into moving from the old building, but once he left, I thought it was indeed time for a change.”
“What about your parents?” she asked.
The same hardness she spied at the elevator returned to his eyes. When he felt her stare, he lowered them to his cup. “My parents… died long ago,” he responded softly. He lifted his eyes back to hers, seemingly to gauge her response.
She reached a hand over to lay it on to
p of his. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured, before removing her hand and looking away, embarrassed at bringing up such painful memories.
“It was a long time ago.”
“My mom was killed a long time ago as well, so I know the pain continues to linger. I’m sorry for bringing up something so private,” she replied softly.
He stared into her eyes for a long time – looking for something – she wasn’t sure what.
“May I ask what happened to your mother?”
Trinity cleared her throat before glancing back down at the breakfast she no longer found appealing. “When I was young girl, my mom and I were abducted and she was killed,” she answered quietly.
“Wow! That’s awful,” he exclaimed softly.
Staring down into her cup, she asked, “Do you remember your mother?”
After a beat, he answered. “Yes.”
In a whisper, she said, “Sometimes I can’t remember my mother’s face. I think if I didn’t have her picture, I’d eventually forget what she looked like.” With a wry twist of her lips, she raised her eyes back to his. He was staring at her with such an odd expression, almost as if he didn’t understand her words. “How does someone forget their own mother’s face?” she scoffed quietly.
This time it was he who leaned over and placed a hand on hers. “You were a child, and unfortunately, memories fade.”
She glanced down once more into her coffee. “But not the pain. It hurts just as much now as it did the day she died.”
“I know,” he murmured.
She lifted her eyes again and gave him a sad smile. “Yes, I guess you do. What happened to your parents?”
A mask of passivity fell across his features. Leaning back in his seat, he eyed her speculatively before responding. “It was a long time ago. Let’s talk about more pleasant things, shall we?” he asked with soft smile that didn’t entirely reach his eyes.
***
Once they’d finished eating, he took her hand and led her over to the ski-lift which would take them up the white powdered mountain.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked with a grin.
She was glad his earlier good mood had been restored. “It’s been a while. I might be a little rusty.”
He tugged her close to his side and murmured next to her ear, “Don’t worry, we’ll take it nice and slow.”
From his tone, she wasn’t sure if they were still talking about skiing.
It took only a few practice runs before Trinity got her ski legs back. It was exhilarating to feel the wind whip around her face and feel the swish of snow beneath her skis. While she wasn’t as skilled as Rush, she felt she held her own quite nicely. The morning passed all too quickly.
They were standing once more at the top of the mountain. “How about one more run then we’ll break for lunch? Sound good?” Rush asked.
She smiled exuberantly up at him, enjoying herself. “Sounds great. I’ll race you down,” she shouted as she pushed off. “Loser buys lunch!”
He grinned and pushed off. Trinity grinned in response as she swished side to side. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rush just off to the side of her. She was determined he would not beat her! Angling her body down for speed, she leaned over her skis and narrowed her swishing motions to instigate momentum. She turned her head to see where he was behind her. She laughed at his surprised expression. As she turned her head back around, it was then she saw the jutting rocks, but it was too late; she didn’t have time to correct her path. Her right ski caught one of the rocks, causing her to spiral out of control. She tried to right herself, but was unable. She began to tumble over and over until she landed in a heap at the bottom.
She lay dazed as the wind was knocked out of her. She tentatively moved her limbs to see if she’d broken anything, but she thought she was okay. In mere seconds of landing, she felt the spray of snow as Rush came to an abrupt halt next to her. Snapping off his skis, he moved quickly to her.
“Trinity, are you okay?”
She grinned sheepishly up at him. “You’re so buying lunch.”
He hesitated before throwing his head back and laughed. “Okay, deal. Let me help you up.”
Her muscles groaned underneath her skin as he leveraged her up against his body. “Oh, that’s really going to hurt tomorrow, I think,” she said.
He grinned. “You can count on it. I certainly wouldn’t be opposed in giving you a little massage later.”
She blushed as she thought about his hands rubbing oils into her flesh. He stared down at her for a long moment with an odd expression before lowering his lips to hers. With soft, easy licks of his tongue, he eased into her mouth. He rubbed his hands over her shoulders and down her back. As he investigated every inch of her mouth, he lowered his hands to slide them over the tight skipants covering her bottom. He lifted her up into him as he groaned. As she had in the hotel, she slid her hands up his rock-hard chest and up around his neck. He kissed her slowly and leisurely. She was panting when he pulled back. She was afraid to open her eyes – wanting the feeling to continue.
“We… need to get back,” he said softly against her ear.
“I know,” she whispered.
Rush tucked her hair behind her ears and studied her face intently. “You are quite unexpected,” he murmured. With a shake of his head, he reached down and retrieved their skis.
He seemed lost in thought as they made their way back to the lodge – somber even. He gave her an encouraging smile as they waited to be seated for lunch. The dining room was situated in front of a massive fireplace which covered the entirety of one wall. The roaring flames contained within it supplied the room with a coating of warmth.
“I was thinking after lunch, once we’ve allowed our food to digest, we could rent a snowmobile and hit the trails,” he said as he perused the menu.
The thought of pressing her body up against his as they rode, made her stomach muscles clench. “That would be fun.”
“Was there anything else you wanted to do?” he asked.
“No.”
Without raising his eyes from the menu, he said, “Then later, we could order dinner in; maybe rent a movie.”
Her breathing became ragged as she took in his words. Beating down the fluttering butterflies, she replied, “Okay.”
He lowered his menu, stared into her eyes, and smiled, “Okay.”
The afternoon skies were clear and the sun caused the snow to sparkle. As Rush guided the snowmobile over miles of trails, Trinity happily sat behind him, hugging her body close to his. She loved the feel of the muscles in his back against her face and the muscles of his taut abdomen under her fingertips. The day was perfect, and while nervous about the evening coming, she was excited. She remembered Sundra’s words from earlier that morning, Do yourself a favor and sleep with the man. Could she really do this? When she thought about how it felt when he kissed her, she thought she could.
Once the sun began to drop into its resting place in the western sky, they returned the rented snowmobile and headed back. He pulled into his reserved parking space, and, as with the night before, he opened her door and caged her within his arms. She leaned back against the car and looked up into his angular face. He smiled down at her before lowering his lips to hers. His kiss was soft and gentle.
Pulling back, he said, “Don’t be long.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
“I’ll meet you in the lobby in an hour, okay?”
“You don’t have to do that. I can walk over to your place,” she replied.
“That wouldn’t be very gentlemanly of me, would it?” he scoffed.
She gave him a wide-toothed smile. “A gentleman, you say?”
“Why, yes, ma’am, in true Southern style,” he said in his best southern drawl.
She laughed and he grinned down at her. He pressed his lips to hers once more. “An hour,” he reiterated.
As she entered the lobby, she turned and entered the condo’s small boutique found off
the lobby’s entrance. She sorted through the meager selection of lingerie and picked up several items. She grimaced at the prices, but was happy to have her own clean underthings.
Trinity was surprised to find the condo empty. She found a note from Sundra stating they’d met Hunter and had gone ice skating, and from there, out on the town. She smiled at Sundra’s last line, …don’t do anything I wouldn’t, but do everything I would! With a squeal of excitement, she ran into the bedroom and removed her clothes before jumping into the shower. She took extra care with shaving her legs and washing her hair. She wanted everything to be perfect. A small fission of fear threatened to weave its way into her belly, but she fought it back.
She slipped on lacy black panties before blow-drying her hair. When satisfied, she turned to Sundra’s closet to find something to wear. She flipped through the various items until she came upon a little black dress which had a fitted halter-top bodice and flared skirt. She found black stilettos to pair with the dress. Overall, she was happy with the effect when she stood before the mirror. Her hair was shiny and smooth. She’d left it down instead of clasping it at her nape as she usually did. When her hour was up, she took a deep breath and headed downstairs.
Her breathing became rapid as she rode the elevator down. She smoothed a hand nervously down her dress and pulled her black wrap a little closer around her shoulders. She swallowed when the elevator’s ping announced its arrival to the lobby. She stepped carefully into the lobby and looked down as she moved in the unaccustomed high-heeled shoes. A sharp intake of breath had her lifting her head to stare into the fathomless hazel eyes of Rush Drayton.
“You… look sensational,” he said. Ignoring the people moving around them, he placed her face in his palms and pressed his lips against hers. He lifted his head and stroked his thumb against her bottom lip. “So very beautiful,” he murmured. She blushed at his words.
Clearing his throat, he said, “Are you ready?”
Her heart jumped in her chest. “I think so.”
Without another word, he took her hand within his and led her through the lobby and out into the clear night air. She pulled her wrap a little closer to her body.