by Tess Oliver
17
I'd gone in to take a hot shower and change while Holt took his snowmobile to the garage at the rear of the property. The garage was an outdated looking building that had most likely been built to house horse carriages instead of snowmobiles.
I'd washed my hair earlier, after my first brush with hypothermia, and was glad to skip that chore. After a long steamy shower, when I felt all my extremities had regained their circulation again, I dried off and pulled on some dry jeans and my favorite winter sweater. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail and headed out of the room.
The door to Holt's room was slightly ajar. I peeked through the opening and was surprised to find him inside. He hadn't heard me and continued with his task of pulling off snow gear. As the final layer of long underwear came off, I caught sight of a red ugly bruise across his shoulder blade.
I pushed open the door. "You did hurt yourself out there."
Holt spun around. "Snow angel, didn't hear you come in. It's nothing. Trust me, I've had a lot worse." He took a step closer. Instantly, heated air swirled between us. The physical chemistry between us was so profound, it took no more than being in the same room and the static charges would start clicking off as if we were a pair of wool socks coming out of the dryer.
Holt's shirtless chest seemed to be calling to me. I smoothed my fingers over his pecs. The light touch caused his breath to shorten. Knowing that I'd caused that kind of reaction with just my fingertips thrilled me, and I wanted to do more. I wanted his heart to race at the thought of me.
He seemed to read my mind. "Of course, if you think the bruise is bad enough—" He rubbed his callused thumb across my bottom lip. "I'll bet this mouth has a healing power all its own."
"Well, there's only one way to find out. Why don't you take off the rest of your clothes and take a hot shower while I check on the chicken pot pies. Then we'll see what I can do."
"I like that plan, but it would be even more perfect if you joined me in that shower."
"I just got out and there's this." I lifted my long tail of hair. "Takes hours to dry." I hopped up on my toes and gave him a quick kiss to erase the disappointed frown before heading downstairs.
The kitchen was warm with the aroma of buttery crust and savory gravy. The pot pies were baking in the oven, just as Coco had promised. She'd left a chilled bottle of wine on the kitchen island. I decided to have a glass while Holt showered.
I sat on the kitchen stool and sipped my drink as I stared out the kitchen window. The setting sun was at an angle that gave the illusion that the entire snowy landscape was covered with thousands of glittery diamonds. It was all so surreal, something told me that I wouldn't even be able to convey the story to Tanya without her rolling her eyes in suspicion and asking if I'd hit my head in the accident. I might not even believe it myself once I left the inn. And the man. How the heck was it going to feel to drive away from Holt? Misery was the only word I could come up with.
I took another sip of wine and lamented the notion that this was my last night in the inn. "What the hell am I doing? Hair too long to dry." I shook my head as I put the wine down and headed back upstairs.
I reached his room and walked inside. The shower was still running. Thin wisps of soapy steam curled around the half open bathroom door. My stomach tickled with a sudden case of nerves at the thought of my daring plan. I quickly took off my clothes and pulled my hair free of the band before I could change my mind.
I pushed open the bathroom door and closed it behind me. The fogged glass of the shower stall showed the massive silhouette of the man standing beneath the showerhead. He was turned toward the wall and had not heard me walk in. The click of the shower door alerted him to my presence.
His face popped up, and he looked over his shoulder at me.
I shrugged. "I figure my hair can dry, but I won't have this opportunity again."
Holt turned and pulled me into his arms. Hot water cascaded like thin, hot water rivulets down our backs as we kissed. My hands slid down his chest, still slick with soap and continued down to the erection pressing against me. His groan echoed in the shower stall as I wrapped my fingers around his cock.
I pressed my mouth against his rock hard stomach as I slowly dropped down to my knees. He tangled his fingers in my hair as I kissed the fleshy tip of his erection. I parted my lips and took in as much as I could of him. My hand grasped the remainder of his impossibly long shaft. I cupped his heavy sac with my free hand, a move that pushed another deep groan from his chest.
"God, baby, your mouth is so fucking perfect." His words rained down on my head like the streams of hot water.
I moved my lips over him and teased him with my tongue. His hips rocked gently, coaxing me to take in more. I could feel him against the back of my throat, but there was far too much of him. I ran my mouth along him from base to tip and caressed his balls.
"Jen," his voice was low and gritty and nearly muted by the roar of the water. "Let me fuck you. Now."
I slowly removed my mouth from him. He reached down and pulled me to my feet. "Let me feel all of you," he growled. It seemed any shred of control had been obliterated by my lips on his cock. His green eyes were dark like gems, and his jaw was set in firm determination. "I give you my word, I'm clean. Please, snow angel, let me fuck you without any barrier. I want to feel every inch of your pussy squeezed around my cock."
I nodded hesitantly, not as much from concern that we were doing this unprotected but from the intense almost feral look in his eyes.
"I'm covered." It was all I could squeak out before he had me in his arms and braced against the shower wall. He impaled me hard and I gasped in shock, but slowly, my gasp settled into a long string of satisfied moans. It would be days before my pussy recovered from this weekend. I would be saddened when the tingling tenderness was gone.
His deep thrusts brought me quickly to climax and as my body shuddered and my pussy tightened around him, his arms held me as if he'd never let me go. I'd barely caught my breath when his movements intensified. His groan rattled the shower door as he came inside of me.
Warm water had begun to turn cold, sparking us from the tranquil quiet we'd fallen into in each other's arms. I'd never felt so right in any man's arms as I did in Holt's.
18
I didn't need to reach to the next pillow to know that Holt was no longer stretched out next to me. After a romantic dinner, we'd climbed the stairs and started all over again with sex. Only this time we'd moved it to my bedroom just to mix things up. Not that it mattered. I was fairly convinced I could have incredible sex with Holt in the middle of a cactus patch. The surroundings and circumstances just didn't matter as long as he was there.
I was too tired at the break of dawn, when I heard him shuffling around and getting dressed, to ask him where he was off to. I wasn't sure what time my car would be returned. I hoped Coco wouldn't mind if I hung out for a few more hours. I didn't want the weekend or my time with Holt to end just yet. I needed to work up the courage to drive away first. Home and work tomorrow were going to be dreary and lonely for me after these past few, glorious days.
A knock on the door sent my heart into overdrive. I clutched the sheet modestly over my breasts, which was sort of comical considering. "Come in."
Coco walked in. I had to work hard not to show my utter disappointment at not seeing Holt on the other side. She was carrying a silver tray filled with goodies and coffee. "Thought you'd need a little breakfast before your drive home." She placed the tray on the table by the window. "Which reminds me—" She fished in her apron pocket and pulled out my keys. "Your car is all finished. Good as new. No charge. The mechanic owed Holt a favor."
"That is so nice. I'll have to thank Holt. Do you know where he is?" I asked with a light tone, even though deep inside my heart was breaking.
Coco poured coffee into the cup from a silver coffee pot. "He rode out early this morning. Barely had time for breakfast. His shift at the ranger station started this morning."
<
br /> "He's gone?" This time I couldn't even pretend a light and airy tone.
"Yes. His shift lasts three days, so he won't be back until Tuesday night. Let me know if you need anything else." With her usual cordial smile, she turned around and walked out, seemingly unaware that I was sitting like a stone statue in the bed trying to keep myself together.
I listened as her footsteps tapped the hallway floor and stairs, then peeled myself out of bed. My feet felt heavy as I tried to push them into my slippers. I grabbed the robe up off the chair and looked down at the tray of food as I pulled it on. It smelled wonderful and my stomach was empty, but I couldn't take one bite. I sat and drank the coffee, hoping it would relieve the heaviness in my head. As I drank it, I stared out the window and hoped really hard that a snowmobile would appear in the vast white landscape. But there was no snowmobile and no Holt.
I felt a little pathetic about it, but I lifted all the pillows and sheets hoping he'd left some kind of note, something that told me how I could contact him once I got back home. There was nothing. I had only myself to kick in the butt. It was a fun weekend. That was all it was meant to be. A man like Holt wasn’t going to tie himself down to one woman. I was being stupid. It was over and it was time for me to get in my car and drive down to the city, away from the snow, away from the inn, away from my fantasy man.
19
Tanya dragged herself into work, looking as if she'd just spent the weekend building a house with her two bare hands. The only sign of a ski vacation was the sunburn on her nose. The rest of the work crew trudged in one by one with the same dead as a zombie expression. Something told me it was going to be a long day of grumpy arguments and terse words. But it seemed everyone had come back in one piece. With the exception of the new girl, Jordan, who looked more angry than tired. She walked past Tanya and me without so much as a hello.
I shot a questioning look at Tanya. She got a sudden burst of energy as she grabbed my arm and pulled me past the offices and through the workroom to my station. I hadn't turned on my computer yet because I was a coward. I just wasn't ready to look into the all too familiar eyes of the video game character on my monitor.
Tanya took a quick peek around. "I guess the new conquest fell flat. Stan and Jordan did not hit it off at all. She is super whiny. You know how Stan gets that little tick in his cheek when something irritates him only he's far too cool to lose it?"
"I know the tick, yes."
"Well, that little twitch was going off all weekend. And it was because of Jordan. Apparently, a nice pair of boobs can only get you so far. There's tons more to tell you, but I want to hear about your weekend. I got your message from a strange phone number. Tell me everything."
"The strange phone number," I said to myself. "I could call him. No, I won't. He left without a word."
Tanya stuck her hands on her hips. "Hello, earth to Jen. Care to cut me in the conversation? Whose number and why the heck did he leave without a word? And what word would that have been?"
"Jen." Stan's voice echoed through the workroom and caused all the half-dazed techies to look up bleary-eyed from their computers.
"I'll tell you later, Tanya, if I can work up the courage to talk about it." I brushed past her to the hallway.
Stan hadn't waited for me. I found him already back in his office. He shut the door behind me as I walked in.
"Uh, I apologize for not making it to the lodge," I said quickly, worried that he might be angry or insulted that I didn't show.
"Yeah, Tanya mentioned that you had car trouble. Everything all right now?"
"Yep, it's all fixed."
He sat against the front of his desk. "You are the only person who looks rested and happy this morning. Don't get me wrong—it was an awesome weekend, but it's hard coming back to work. You know what I mean?"
"I do." I could have added that I, too, had an awesome weekend, but the last thing I wanted was to make small talk with the man. "Uh, is there something you needed?"
"Nope." He tilted his head and used what he seemed to consider his charmed smile. "Just missed you, that's all. I was disappointed when I heard you weren't coming." He pushed off his desk and reached for my hand. A month ago, hell even a week ago, my heart would have fluttered with excitement at the gesture. But all I could do now was take a step back, out of his reach. His charmed smile vanished.
"What's wrong? Jen, it's you that I want. I miss what we had together."
I shook my head. "We just didn't have all that much. I've moved on. I think it's a lot better for our work relationship, don't you?"
He looked shocked, and the tick Tanya had mentioned earlier flicked his cheek. "Right," he said curtly. "How are those final graphics coming?" He couldn't have sounded more cold and businesslike if he had been a robot.
"I'll be done by Wednesday."
"Great." Without another word, he circled around his desk, sat in his chair and picked up his phone to make a call.
I walked out and closed the door sharply behind me. It was not the way I wanted to start the week. I was already beside myself with heartbreak about never seeing Holt again. This had been the last thing I needed.
20
It was Wednesday, only the third day of the week, but it felt as if it should at least be Friday. My mood hadn't brightened as much as I hoped it would. Tanya had filled the gaps in our work day with stories about the weekend at the lodge. There had been a few surprising hook-ups and a few interesting arguments, but for the most part, it had been two days of skiing, drinking and hot tub soaks. It sounded as if most everyone had a good time, including Tanya herself, who had started a thing with Rocky, the big weightlifter guy on the game testing crew. He was a grown man who basically earned a living playing video games. A nice gig for someone who didn't want to do much else in life. Tanya had flirted with him on more than one occasion. It seemed the new blue bikini she'd picked for the sole purpose of sitting in the hot tub had finally sealed the deal. But I knew Tanya well. She'd be bored of him soon enough, especially now that she had him. She always preferred a challenge.
I hadn't said a word to her about the awkward moment with Stan in his office. I had also been putting off telling her about my weekend. I just didn't have the mental strength to talk about it yet. I was still grappling with the idea that I'd never see Holt again.
I pushed around the mouse, focusing on everything except the main character on the screen. Ziggy Holt had been there all week to remind me of just what I'd left behind on that snowy mountain. I was sure I'd never meet anyone like Holt again, which was a depressing thought.
Tanya came up behind me and watched me work over my shoulder.
"Why are you hovering? Don't you have your own work to do?" I asked.
"I do, but I needed to take a walk. I'm going down to the corner to get an ice cream. Interested?"
I shook my head. "Nah, I've got too much work to do."
"Yeah, me too, but I just can't get anything to come out of my drawing pencils. I figured a scoop of rocky road would get the juices flowing. Hopefully I won't run into Stan on my way out. He's been in such a shitty mood all week. Guess he still hasn't gotten over the weekend with his failed conquest."
"Guess not." I kept focused on my computer because Tanya was too good at knowing when I was hiding something. She stayed a few minutes longer but didn't say a word.
"Hey, if you keep breathing over my shoulder I'm going to get one of those ticks in my cheek too."
"I'm going. I'm going. Just admiring ole' Ziggy. We sure did a great job on him. If only we could make him real." With that, she walked away. I nearly called after her to tell her I'd found him, I'd found Ziggy in human form and he was even more spectacular and heartbreaking than the digital one. But I didn't.
Tanya shuffled through the workroom and disappeared down the hallway.
I tried to concentrate on my work again, but it wasn't easy. Maybe I should have gone for the ice cream break. Seconds later, Tanya's easy to recognize shoes slapped the cem
ent floor of the workroom. Her eyes were round with surprise as she raced toward me.
"Shit, what's the matter? Did Stan see you?"
She shook her head and swallowed hard to catch her breath. "He's here."
"Who is? Stan?"
Tanya shook her head harder. "No. Him."
"Who? Rocky?"
She grabbed my shoulders to shut me up. "No. Him." She pointed at my computer monitor. "Ziggy." She pressed her hand against her chest as if she might have a heart attack. "He's out there. In the hallway."
She glanced back toward the offices. I followed her line of sight.
He stepped silently into the workroom. An even denser silence fell over the room as people noticed the man standing in the doorway. To everyone in the room, he was a complete stranger and yet everyone knew him. Only they knew him as a Ranger in our latest video game. I knew him as the man I loved.
My stool scraped the cement floor as I hopped off of it. I left a stunned, breathless Tanya behind me as I raced across the room. Without giving it a second thought or taking the time to ask him why he left without a good-bye, I jumped into his arms.
We kissed, first, with a shocked hush surrounding us. The silence eventually erupted into cheers and yells, loud enough to bring the boss from his office. Stan's chin nearly clunked on the floor when he saw Holt standing there, me tucked securely in his arms.
The last thing I wanted was to talk to Holt in front of my curious workmates. "I'll be right back," I told Stan as I took hold of Holt's hand and led him down the hall to the back exit. Once outside, he pulled me back into his arms.
