Wicked Winters: A Collection of Winter Tales

by Lucy Smoke

  As we checked out with my new outfit, it was hard not to notice the disdainful look the girl ringing us up was giving us. There was no denying now that she knew what we’d been up to.

  I smiled at the girl, not the least bit ashamed of what I’d done with Ezra.

  6

  “Soft Reinforcement”

  I caught Ezra's eye a few times through the drive home, but he would only smile knowingly at me or occasionally poke my knee when I'd go silent for too long.

  I wasn't really sure what to do with myself and started wondering if it was a huge mistake. Sure, I loved every second of it and wanted to do it all over again, but would this make things awkward between us if nothing else happened from here. It was hard to believe, but I genuinely liked these guys. They were fun, and I could be apologetically myself around them. If nothing else happened with Ezra or even the others, I'd be okay with that. It would suck for sure, but they made pretty good friends.

  After we made it back, Tobi and Jasper asked to see the outfit we decided on. But after how Ezra reacted, I wasn't sure that was a good idea just yet. Instead, I played it off that they'd see when it came time to practice in it, but for now they'd have to settle for yoga pants and work out bras.

  Surprisingly, the promise of tight black pants and a sports bra excited them enough to drop it. I figured if it was that easy to get them off the subject, it'd be smooth sailing from here.

  I figured completely wrong.

  For the next three days after me and Ezra's sexual escapade, the guys turned into fucking slave drivers.

  I was made to drink protein drinks and tons of water during the work out regiment and dancing practice to keep my energy levels up. I may have looked like I was in shape, but I was far from it. The last time I did any semblance of exercise was when I ran down the steps of the cabin to the mailbox for a package containing sweets from my favorite chocolate company, then ran back up them to tear into the box. That was about six months ago.

  The guys had me spend the first hour of the day doing leg and ab workouts since those were the muscles I'd be moving. They said it was building muscle and stamina; I said it was cruel and unusual punishment.

  "You have to move a little faster and balance that turn a little more, Low," Tobi directed me.

  We were in hour two of practicing the routine. We had cleared our usual spot in their living room of all furniture to make room for all of us to move together. I'd apparently be passed around like a damn baton between the three of them throughout the routine. Tobi had stated this exact direction to me for the fifth time in a row and I was ready to punch him.

  Tobi may have come off as the strong silent type, but in actuality he was big, broody and bossy. We butted heads quite a few times the last few days more than I did with the others. Ezra was patient with me and Jasper just made me laugh off the mistakes. Not Tobi. He would just get more commanding with his orders to the point I'd started flipping him off when he wasn't looking. I knew it was childish, but it was better than yelling at him. He took my alcohol, my sweets, and expected me to jump when he said jump. Literally. I can't jump for shit.

  At first, I blamed it on sexual tension. Now, I was pretty sure he and I were just on the same level of dominance.

  "I'm moving as fast as I can! If I moved any faster, I'd twirl myself into next week. We don't want that because then I'd miss the show completely! Lay off, Tobi!"

  Okay ... I was being a bitch. I was just exhausted and so sick of feeling like I wasn't going to get the hang of this. It was a lot more complicated than I'd thought it'd be, and his nagging wasn't helping.

  "It's not that hard. You've done the spin right three times already, yet you keep slipping up every time you spin towards one of us. Why?" Tobi asked, giving me a suspicious look.

  I gulped, realizing that they had known what had happened in the dressing room between Ezra and me the other day. I wasn't ashamed, but it was definitely the reason I was probably holding back from spinning into the guys. The move was where Jasper would have my back to his chest, gliding his hands up my thighs to my hands; which would only make me wet with desire when his fingers would glide so sensually up my thighs. Then he'd grab my hands and bring them over my head to spin me in, then out towards Ezra. I'd land into him with my entire front pressed to his. I would trip up almost every time because my mind would immediately remember how that felt. It would get me even more hot and tense the second before I'd finish out the turn. I couldn't help my body's reaction. Having them continually touching me was driving me insane.

  "Um ... no particular reason," I lied.

  It was so hard lying when the real reason behind my fuck ups were the three of them standing there gloriously shirtless, sweaty and just so undeniably delicious in every way. They obviously knew about what had happened between me and Ezra, and I was starting to guess this was why I was the center of Tobi’s ire at the moment. Maybe he was mad that it happened and was jealous? I wasn’t certain.

  "Right. Look, we know what happened with you and Ezra. He told us, and we don't care. But you are letting it get in the way of getting this right."

  Well, that answered that.

  I looked at Ezra and he shrugged with a smile. "They could tell the second we got back, Low. We tell each other everything, so I didn’t deny it when they asked me."

  So, Tobi was mad.

  It was completely ridiculous for him to be mad about, though. I wasn’t dating any of them and could sleep with one of them if I wanted. He probably was getting jealous. That was the only explanation.

  "Okay, whatever. I don't care that you know. But it is not getting in the way of my dancing. I am just having a hard time landing the move." I lied again. I wanted to get this right and was just having a hard time figuring out how to control the urges.

  It helped very little that now my inner sex kitten was awakened, that crazy bitch didn't want to go back down. I was on fire the moment any of them touched me, but Ezra had done more than just touch me, so I reacted stronger to him. I lied rather than trying to explain how I just wanted to jump them all and it was fucking me up.

  "Why don't you just head back over to your side of the cabin and cool off. We'll pick back up tomorrow," Tobi grunted out.

  His tone was aggravated. One thing that sets my aggravation off easily, was when someone spoke to me in an annoyed tone. Unfortunately, I fed off the emotions of others a lot. It was a horrible trait to have, but it was one I apparently inherited from my mother from what Dad had told me. Him speaking to me like that pissed me off.

  "You know what? I think I will," I replied with snark, grabbing up my hoodie and shoes from next to the front door. I shoved my arms angrily into the sleeves and zipped it up.

  "Dude, you didn't have to say it like that," Jasper said to Tobi. "She's doing awesome and just needs a break. That's all."

  I adored Jasper for defending me, but I didn't want him sticking up for me if it meant he and Tobi would end up arguing. I got my shoes on and stepped up on my toes to kiss his cheek.

  "Thanks Jas, but I got this," I whispered to him before turning to Tobi who glared at Jasper. "But yes! I'm doing the best I can. I do need a break and apparently so do you. So, you guys rest and I shall dive into a bottle of Jack and decorate my Christmas tree."

  Tobi went to argue against the alcohol part, but I held up a finger. "If you don't want me to murder someone within the next week, you will leave me alone on this. It's just tonight then back to you being the perfect drill sergeant tomorrow." I threw my best smile out, showing him, I was not backing down.

  When I got angry at someone, I didn't scream or pitch a fit. I didn't throw punches or threaten them. I gave them the cold shoulder and became viciously sweet. People who didn't know me would think I was perfectly calm, but these three knew very well by now that I was beyond pissed. They read me like a damn book sometimes.

  "Low," Ezra sighed. "Don't go."

  "I will be fine tomorrow. You boys have a good night." I didn't give them a
chance to respond before heading out into the cold.

  Wind whipped the air around me hard, the ice in the wind burning my nose and cheeks as I made my way to the other side. Apparently, the storm we'd been expecting to hit was finally here. The weather reports yesterday had predicted we'd get slammed with a snow storm either tonight or tomorrow morning.

  Colorado blizzards were no joke. Our cars would be almost completely submersed in snow by morning if it was as bad as the weather channel stated it would be. Power outages were probable as well. Hopefully, I could get a fire lit in the fire place since there was a good chance even my shitty heater wouldn't last long before power cut out.

  I quickly changed out of my work out clothes into some fuzzy pajama pants, a long sleeve shirt and a sweater that fell to my knees.

  I fought to cool myself off the irritation from Tobi's words as tried lighting the fire. I ended up in a battle of wills with the matches and starter logs. I only managed to get the corners of the paper packaging around the logs to light before they'd all go out completely. I didn't know how my dad managed to make this shit seem so simple when he did it every winter. Maybe if I stuck a lasagna in there and lit it on fire it would work.

  I finally gave up and went to the kitchen, grabbing my stashed away bottle of Jack that I'd hidden from the guys. I actually grabbed a glass this time though, instead of drinking out of the actual bottle like I usually did. I figured I'd be less likely to drink too much if I rationed it in a glass.

  I'd just sat down with my glass and covered myself with my soft throw blanket, when my front door opened. I jumped in surprise, but quickly scowled when I saw it was only Tobi. He hadn't even bothered putting on a jacket or anything on. He closed the door hard against the thrashing wind outside, swiping the snow from his naked chest.

  I wasn't exactly sure what to say since my focus was completely on the fact that his skin was steaming. I hated how easily I could forget why I was mad at these guys when they were shirtless. It was an unfair advantage.

  "Look," he began as he stepped into the room. "I'm sorry I was an asshole. You just get under my skin sometimes and I'm not entirely sure how to handle it. No one aggravates me as much as you do."

  I snapped out of my daze and guffawed at him. "Me?" I set my glass down and stood up with my hands to my hips. "You are the bossiest person I've ever met. It doesn't matter how hard I try, you keep pointing out what I'm doing wrong instead of what I'm doing right like the other two."

  He huffed out a humorless laugh. "You want me to baby you? If you want sweet and instructive, you can get that from them. You won't get that from me."

  "Baby me?" I gaped at him. "Why the fuck would I want you to baby me? I don't need babying, Tobias. I need direction and to know if I did something right. You give me orders and commands. You demand perfection from me when I don't dance on a regular basis."

  He leered at me and stalked forward until his chest was only a few inches from mine. The move was so fast and sudden, I almost toppled backwards in surprise.

  "I don't want you perfect, Lowen. I want your best. You're distracted, and when you're distracted, you're clumsy. I won't point out what you're doing right, because you do almost everything right." He shifted closer; his face leaned down as he continued speaking in a hard tone. "I point out what's wrong so that you can see your mistake and we can fix it. I’m also the last person who can dictate what’s perfect and not. I had a mom who was a fucking drug addict and a step father who abused me every chance he got. I have the scars to prove it. There is nothing fucking perfect about me. I don’t give two shits about perfection.”

  His chest pressed to mine and he leaned even further down. His admission of his childhood threw me off, but the tendrils of steam rising from his body brought me back. My chest began to heave harder, no longer from anger, but with arousal at his closeness. His story had pretty much snuffed out any anger I had left. Instead, I was quickly becoming unbelievably turned on by this dominating and gruff side of Tobi. While it had irritated me earlier, now, it just made me want to tear what little clothes he had on off him.

  "You may think you need that soft reinforcement Ezra and Jasper give you, but I see what it is you really need in your eyes."

  I swallowed hard and flicked my eyes back and forth between his. Heat pooled between my legs as my lust for him kicked up a notch.

  "Oh, really? And what's that?" My voice shook. I had no idea what he was going to say or do, but that just excited me more.

  "Me."

  He bent and grasped my thighs, lifting me quickly. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist just before his lips sealed to mine.

  I moaned loud as his tongue slid against mine; one of his hands pushed roughly into my hair and pulled at my scalp as the other wrapped around my lower back to pull me tighter into him. My nails dug into his shoulders as his mouth ravished mine.

  Fuck! I wanted him to dominate me so badly. His hard body burned everywhere I touched it. I felt him start walking with me, not daring to remove my mouth from his. He tasted so fucking good. I didn't even care that the roughness of his beard dug into my chin as he violently kissed me. My back slammed into a door, hard enough to make a resounding crack. I pulled away enough to notice it was my bedroom, but he couldn't get the door to open.

  "It gets stuck sometimes," I breathed out between kissing him again.

  He pulled his mouth from mine. "Sorry about this. I'll fix it."

  I was about to ask what he meant, but then his foot lifted and he kicked open my door, breaking it from its hinges. It was the hottest shit I’d ever witnessed in my life.

  "Holy shit!" Was all I could get out before he sealed his mouth back over mine and continued walking us back.

  Since the door was broken, he pushed me hard into the wall next to the doorway, continuing his assault on my mouth. I stroked my hands up his rock-hard abs to his firm, broad chest. It was as if he’d been chiseled from marble by the gods. Seeing him and feeling him were two completely different things. The rough chest hairs felt amazing sliding through my fingers. He was all man and so fucking much more. I felt hints of scarring beneath the hairs, but they only added to the roughness that was Tobi.

  He wrapped an arm around my lower back and walked me backwards again. He stopped by the bed then grabbed me by my hips and plucked me from him, tossing me onto the bed hard. I yelped in surprise at the sudden move. He gave me a sexy smile before leaning down and crawling up my body like an animal going in for the kill.

  I shivered with ecstasy when his hands slid up my body as he crawled over me. When they got to the collar of my shirt, he tugged hard, ripping it right down the middle and exposing my naked torso beneath. I gasped as chilly air hit my body, only to gasp again when my arms were lifted above my head. He clenched my wrists in his hand, keeping me from moving them as he kissed me hard. I didn’t care if he left my lips bruised when he was done, I just wanted him to keep kissing me. He bit my lip and made his way down, kissing my jaw line and licking my neck before pulling away from me.

  Suddenly, my pajama pants were swiped off my legs.

  He bit his way up my legs, sliding his body against mine as he went.

  "I don't plan on being gentle with you, Low. If you need me to stop at any point, you tell me," he said against my stomach.

  I looked down at his beautiful muscular body lying between my legs. I would murder him if he stopped. I nodded my head, not able to find the words to answer.

  He smiled wickedly, nipping at my belly button just before his hands slid up to grasp the edge of my underwear. Instead of sliding them off me like I expected, he tore the sides of them and flung them from my body.

  I moaned when his hot breath blew against my core. My head fell back and my lower back arched with the sensation. I felt his tongue glide slowly up through my folds, sending shockwaves of pleasure through my whole body. But one slow lick was all I got before he feasted on me. He nipped, sucked and slid his tongue deeply into me.

  I was cli
maxing within a minute. His tongue was as magical as Ezra's fingers.

  After giving me one last nip to my sensitive bud, he kissed his way up my stomach and between my breasts, not stopping until his lips once again met mine. I could taste myself on his tongue, which only made me hotter for him. I wanted him inside me so bad; I was in physical pain waiting for him.

  I felt him move a hand between us just before he shifted himself off me. I watched with rapt attention as he slipped his pants from his hips then knelt next to my legs. He gripped my thighs and quickly turned me, helping me to my hands and knees. I felt him position himself behind me just before a hand wound into the ends of my hair. His hold on my hair was rough, yet only added to my arousal. He used my hair to pull my head back then leaned over me and kissed my neck.

  "You ready for me, Low?" He asked huskily.

  "Please." I begged him.

  With one powerful thrust, he embedded himself deep within me. My head flew back, and I moaned loudly. He managed to hit just the right spot and had me coming in no time. Every time he moved, it would bang the headboard against the wall by how hard and fast he went. His grip on my waist was iron tight, but felt fucking perfect. He never once let go of my hair as he rode me from behind, giving everything into each thrust.

  He was being completely honest when he said he had no intentions of being gentle with me. Sex with Tobi was hard and furious. It was as if our bodies were going to war, battling each other to give the other the most pleasure. He was in complete control the whole time. I’d never been so happy in my life to submit to a man so dominant. He was a force to be reckoned with, and damn it did he release some serious reckoning on my body. He moved me from my hands and knees to my back, throwing my legs over his shoulders just to continue his warfare on my body again. I was lost to the violent ecstasy.

  Tobi didn't make love. He fucked.

  He didn't waste time with pretty words that weren't needed or soft touches that left me wanting more. He just gave me his body and that was enough.