by Adele Niles
I did get the master key from her, though, and checked his cabin.
It was empty. Most of the dresser drawers looked like they’d been picked through, clothes packed.
Had he left?
What had happened?
I kept calling, too, trying to get him on the phone.
He never answered.
I started leaving voicemails—some frantic, some angry, some begging him to just call and tell me he was alive.
But there was no response.
Jacob Reed had just… walked out of our lives.
Maybe Dad had said something. Maybe Jacob had realized that he’d made a mistake, getting with me.
Maybe he was just a dirtbag.
Even if that was the case, I still wanted to know that he was alive. I just wanted him to be okay.
But he never replied.
And I was left worrying on the top of the mountain.
Chapter Eleven
Jacob
Maybe disappearing wasn’t the best move, but it was what I needed to do. I had to sort some shit out and get everything in order before I could come back to the lodge.
And when I did, I needed to find Maddy first.
I kept my hood up as I walked across the parking lot and let myself inside. Thankfully, she was standing at the foot of the stairs.
But Melody was with her.
They were talking, possibly arguing about something.
I hoped it wasn’t me.
I approached slowly, only lowering my hood when I was close to the two women. I cleared my throat.
They both looked at me.
Maddy gasped. “Jacob!”
Melody turned to face me, pointing an accusing finger at my chest. “Do you have any idea what you cost this place?! How dare you just leave like that?!”
“Melody, I—”
“Shut up, Jacob! Dad was right about you! You’re just an arrogant prick who thinks he can do whatever he wants! If it was up to me, I’d fire your ass right now and make you pay back the cost of every lesson we had to refund because of you!”
“Melody.”
“If our dad hadn’t hired you after you tore your knee up, you’d have nothing. You know that, right? You should be on your knees begging our forgiveness, do you understand?”
God, she never shut up.
I turned my back on her, looking at Maddy instead. “Hey. Can we talk?”
Maddy nodded.
I took her hand. Together, we walked away from Melody.
“Maddy, I’m sorry. There’s a lot that I don’t think you know, and I want to set it all straight. Now. So we can move on.”
“Okay, I… are you all right? Jacob, I was scared to death!”
“I know. I know, and I’m sorry. And I’ll make it up to you, but… we have to do this now.”
I turned and gestured to the man at the front doors of the lodge.
Andrew Lowe, the reporter, was waiting there.
I led her to him and nodded. “I’m good to go if you are.”
Andrew nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”
As his crew got the camera and mic in position, I looked to Maddy. “I just can’t keep going with things how they are. I want to make it better. For us.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I… I just don’t understand.”
“You will.” I smiled. “Give me a minute, and you will.”
Andrew nodded. “Mr. Reed, we’re recording in five, four, three…”
He turned toward the camera. “This is Andrew Lowe with Channel 2, and I’m here with Jacob Reed, Olympic medalist and current skateboarding instructor at the Sutton Lodge Resort. Jacob, you asked for this interview?”
I nodded. “I just wanted to come clean about some things, and this was the best way I could think to do it. I need to thank one of the owners of the resort, Mark Sutton, for his support. He believed in me when I was a nobody. He was the first person to help me on the road to going pro, and he was there for me when I suffered an injury that ended my career. I owe him a lot.
“However… I also need to come clean about some things. Mr. Sutton put me in a bad position. When I was young and didn’t know better, I let him handle a lot of finances for me. Because I trusted him. And I know now that Mr. Sutton accepted a lot of money on my behalf that he shouldn’t have. This was done without my prior knowledge and without a full explanation of the fact that this money violated the rules of every competition and tournament I participated in, including the Olympics.”
Maddy gasped softly and squeezed my hand tight. I squeezed hers back.
I continued, “I have earned a lot of endorsements over my career and, once I was able to understand the weight of that kind of money, I turned to bankers and investors who knew how to handle it properly. But I understand that some of what got me to where I am now was against regulations and against the ethics of the athletic community.
“I understand that admission may cost me my good standing in the community, and that I may have to forfeit medals and titles. I accept this. I also accept that some of my sponsors may want the be repaid for the money that they gave me. And I am also prepared to do that.”
I squeezed Maddy’s hand again and took a deep breath. “I’m prepared to do this because I’ve invested my money wisely. Now is the time for me to step forward and give a message directly to Mr. Sutton. Part of my investment was into your resort, the place where I learned how to snowboard and started my career. I am the silent partner in the company. If I need to sell my share, I will. But now is the time for me to put myself first, alongside the woman I love.”
I turned to Maddy. She was looking at me, mouth half-open.
I leaned in and kissed her.
The yelp from behind us told me that Melody had seen it all happen.
I couldn’t find it in me to care.
When I broke away from Maddy, she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around me. I looked at Andrew and smiled. “That’s it. I’m good.”
Andrew stared at me for a moment, stunned. Then, he turned to the camera. “Well… that was Jacob Reed, with a shocking announcement. Thank you, and back to you.”
The camera shut off. Andrew looked back at me, shaking his head. “You know that’s going to go viral, right?”
I nodded. “Kinda what I’m banking on.”
“Okay. Just… wow, man, that was intense.”
I laughed. “Sure was.” I shook his hand and he left.
Maddy was still with me. She looked up at me. “Jacob, I… What’s going on?”
I hesitated. “Let me handle one more thing, and then we’ll go talk. Okay?”
“Okay.”
I took my phone from my pocket and dialed Mark.
“Jacob.” His voice was cold. “I’ve heard about your little escape from the resort. I hope you’re calling with an explanation.”
“Kind of.” I smiled at Maddy. “You should watch the news tonight. And be ready for some calls. It’s going to get interesting.”
“What?”
I’d never heard nervousness in Mark Sutton’s voice before, but I liked it.
“Yeah. The whole truth is out now, Mark. I’m done. The money, everything. Oh, and the part you didn’t know. I’m the silent partner in the company.”
“What?” he repeated.
It was hard not to laugh.
“Yeah. Surprise! So you can sell your share to me, or I’ll sell mine to the other partners. I’m not giving you shit. Oh, and one more thing. I’m in love with your daughter, and I’m done following your rules.”
I hung up and dropped the phone back into my pocket.
Maddy stared at me, mouth open.
I looked at her and grinned. “C’mon. Let’s find somewhere to lay low.”
Chapter Twelve
Maddy
I barely had time to pack an overnight bag before he whisked me away in his truck. We went to Jacob’s apartment in town.
We watched the news together. As soon as it aired, it went national. Articles started to po
p up on all the major news sites; Jacob’s phone started to ring incessantly, to the point that he just turned it off.
I barely slept that night, overwhelmed by everything that had happened.
Part of me couldn’t believe that my father had done something like this, especially with somebody else’s money.
But he’d always been a little… controlling, now that I really thought about it.
As I talked to Jacob about what my dad had been like with him, it all started to make sense.
Of course, he’d used Jacob for his own gain. Of course, he’d done something so underhanded. He’d accepted the money and put some of it into Jacob’s account and some of it into his own-- a finder’s fee, so to speak.
It was infuriating.
And then for him to use it against Jacob was… too much.
But the other part that was overwhelming hit me as we lay in bed the next morning. Jacob was reading one of the news articles on my phone, his still turned off to avoid reporters.
“Jacob?” I rolled to face him. “Do you… mean it?”
“Mean what?” he asked.
“You said you loved me. On TV. And to my dad. Do you mean it?”
He put my phone down and turned toward me, one hand on my hip. “Absolutely.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
“You don’t have to say it back.” He rubbed my hip slowly.
It was turning me on.
“I just wanted you to know.”
I bit my lip, looking at him. “I… um…” I shifted in to kiss him.
He pulled me on top of him.
I loved how our hips fit together.
I lifted my head from the kiss, looking down at him for a moment. He was handsome, kind, and sincere.
Exactly the kind of man I could imagine spending the rest of my life with.
I pulled my pajama shirt off and tossed it to the floor. Immediately, Jacob reached up, cupping my breasts in both hands.
I felt his cock twitch under me.
I wanted him. All the time.
“Maddy,” he murmured. “God, you’re gorgeous.”
After a lifetime of being compared to Melody, he made me believe it.
I reached down, pulling the tie on his sweatpants loose. He shifted, helping me to wiggle them down his hips.
I took his cock in both hands, giving it a slow stroke.
Jacob moaned, his eyes on me. He watched every move, holding his lower lip between his teeth.
“I want you.” I looked up at him, meeting his eyes as I stroked him erect. “Every day.”
“God, I want you, too.”
I smiled. “Condoms?”
“Nightstand drawer, left side.”
Still holding him in one hand, I reached into the nightstand and withdrew a condom. He took it and tore it open, then put it back in my hand.
I rolled it on slowly, listening to him moan.
I was so wet already. I looked up, letting go of him with one hand to untie my pajama pants.
Jacob reached to tug them down, laughing quietly. “You gotta get off me.”
“I gotta start wearing nightgowns. It’ll make this easier.”
He laughed again, patting my hip. “Get up. Let me help.”
I groaned quietly but rose. He reached to pull my pajamas down, leaving me naked in front of him.
The way he looked at me still made me blush.
“This isn’t gonna last long,” I warned him.
“That’s fine.” He grinned, shifting to lean back on the pillows. “Don’t keep me waiting.”
I laughed and climbed back on to him, holding his cock in place.
He watched as I guided it inside me, sinking slowly down on top of him.
I’d never felt more beautiful in my life.
My head tilted back as I rocked slowly, enjoying the sensation of having him inside me. He was so thick, filling me completely. I bit my lower lip, just rolling my hips for a moment.
I felt him twitch inside me.
It was so fucking hot.
I shifted, putting my hands on either side of his waist. His hands came to rest on my hips, helping me balance.
I lifted up on my knees, then dropped back down.
“Shit, Maddy,” he whispered, eyes half-closed already.
I grinned and did it again.
The pleasure rolled through me, white-hot and almost electric. I’d never had this kind of chemistry with anyone, and I never wanted to let it go.
I loved Jacob Reed.
I moaned with the realization, moving just a little faster. He started to rock his hips up to meet me, gasping my name with each movement.
I really wasn’t going to last long.
My movements became frantic. I was desperate, chasing the next wave of pleasure with each motion.
Jacob’s fingers dug into my hips.
He was close, I could tell.
He cried out my name, pulling me down on top of him. I stilled, head tilted back as my own orgasm hit, making me shiver.
I couldn’t stop saying his name.
Breathless, I dropped forward, laying on top of him. He was still inside me.
I didn’t mind.
I looked up at him and smiled shyly. “Jacob?”
“Hm?”
“I love you.”
Epilogue
Jacob
As much as I had loved the mountain where the resort was, I loved this one more.
Selling my share in the company had ended up being the better option. It freed me and Maddy from any ties to her dad and also gave us an enormous amount of money to start our life together.
The wedding was private and small. We got married in our house with a few friends in attendance, but no reporters, no other celebrities. My parents and her mom were there; her dad and sister were pointedly not invited.
The less we had to deal with them, the better.
And really, there was nothing left to do with Mark or Melody. An investigation determined that Mark was responsible for mishandling the money, not me. I didn’t have to give up any of my titles or medals, but he was out a lot of money.
Unfortunately, nothing else came of the investigation, but it still worked out in my favor.
And now I had what I wanted—my own mountain, Maddy, and the promise of a life together.
I came in from the cold, glad for the warm cabin we’d built up here. Maddy was on the couch, drinking hot cocoa and watching a movie.
She looked up at me and smiled. “Cocoa’s in a pot on the stove. It should still be warm.”
“You’re the best.” I hung up my gear and went to the stove, ladling hot cocoa into a mug. I joined her on the couch, pulling a blanket down from the back to wrap up in.
“How was class?”
“Good.” I nodded. “Thomas is getting better at his jumps. He’s shaping up to be something good one day.”
Teaching kids was way more fun than teaching adults. And in addition to teaching kids how to snowboard, I’d been approached about some coaching positions for a few guys who had just gone pro.
All of them were talented. And all of them were appreciative, grateful for the time I spent training them.
“Great. I’m excited to go to the next competition with you.” Maddy shifted to lean on my shoulder. I wrapped an arm around her, grateful for her warmth.
She may have majored in marketing, but she was smart and understood business and money way better than I did. She’d taken over managing our money, including handling all my endorsements.
I didn’t have to worry about anything inappropriate happening with my money again.
I grinned and slid my hand under her shirt. She yelped, sitting up quickly and sloshing cocoa on the blanket. “Dammit, Jacob!”
But she was laughing.
And so was I.
Epilogue
Maddy
Two Years Later
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon! Yeah, that’s it!”
Jacob l
aughed as he swept our son up into his arms.
Matthew had just made it down his first snowdrift on a tiny snowboard.
“I didn’t know they made snowboards that small,” I said, still filming on my phone as Jacob danced with Matthew in his arms. Matthew squealed happily, waving his chubby little arms.
I grinned, lifting the camera. “Matthew! Did you have fun?”
“Board!” Matthew shouted, pointing at the snowbank again.
Jacob laughed and carried him back to the top of the bank, putting him down on his snowboard. “Ready? One-two-three-go!”
He let go.
Matthew slid down the little hill, shrieking with delight.
“He’s gonna be a pro, just like his dad!” I said, laughing.
Jacob looked up at me. “I hope so. And if he’s not, I hope he’s as smart as his mom.”
He leapt down from the snowbank and pulled me into a kiss.
I didn’t even care if half of the video was a close-up of his parka.
We were happy, and that was all that mattered.
Autumn’s Coming
Seasons of Seduction
Book 4
Chapter One
Autumn
This wasn’t going to cut it.
I’d busted my ass at the pub last night, and then I’d only walked away with fifty bucks in tips.
It wasn’t my fault when people didn’t like their food, but they still took it out on me. Did they know they were affecting my ability to make rent?
Or did they just not give a shit?
Sitting on the floor with Jessie while she counted stacks of tens and twenties next to my crumpled-up ones and fives, was even more disheartening.
I sighed, watching Jessie arrange her bills into neat stacks.
It had to beat least five hundred.
She lifted her head, looking up at me with a tired smile.
I’d spent a lot of my life looking down on strippers, but now that I lived with Jessie, I understood—sex workers busted their asses, too, sometimes in less-than-ideal conditions. They deserved the money they earned, every cent of it.
Honestly, if I had the body for it, I would’ve turned to stripping, too. But I was too curvy, and probably too tall, and definitely not a good enough dancer to turn anybody on the way Jessie and her coworkers probably did.