Married to the Dragon

by Selina Coffey

  Jess swallowed hard.

  “Yes, I do ski. I haven’t done any snowboarding though.”

  “Well, it’s no big thing; I’ll teach you.”

  “I’m sure you will, but I don’t think I can blow off work to run away with you for the weekend.”

  “You can bring your work with you; I will as well. That way we can both work and play. It’s kind of my mantra.”

  Jess smiled. The guy was so slick. It was almost impossible to say no to him. It had been forever since she had been away anywhere for a weekend. And the thought of hitting the slopes again sounded like a blast. She used to go skiing all the time with friends from her sorority when she was in college.

  “Ok. I’ll go.”

  Dean smiled and gave himself a chuckle. “Great. I can’t wait.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Dean.”

  “Goodnight, sexy.”

  Jess tried to hide the excitement in her walk as she stepped out of Dean’s office and walked down the hall. The more she thought about it, the more amazing it sounded. It was all very romantic and sweet. She planned to get some work done, but she planned to get more play done than work. That meant she had to pull a couple of all-nighters over the next few days, which wouldn’t be too hard; she was totally used to that.

  There were some things in life worth making sacrifices for.

  Chapter Six

  Jess was in shock at the size of the “cabin” that Dean owned in Chesterville. It was actually a two story log cabin-type house, which he’d obviously had custom made. It had four bedrooms, two and a half baths, a huge kitchen and large dining room—complete with a long table that was capable of seating twelve, a sauna, a billiard room with a beautiful pool table, a dartboard, and a poker table. And Jess’ favorite—a big Jacuzzi on an enclosed deck outside.

  After Dean gave her the nice tour, they decided to waste no time in hitting the slopes. Jess had not skied in a few years, but she heard it was very much like riding a bike, where you never really forgot how. She doubted this was completely true. She had not ridden a bike since she was ten and if she got on one now she would no doubt get hurt and have to relearn everything all over again. But she was no coward and she was ready to get out there and rock out. Plus she didn’t want to look like a geek in front of Dean.

  “God, it’s great to be back out here,” Dean said as he prepared to get set up for his first launch.

  Jess had to agree. The crisp air and the snow beneath her feet felt very familiar. The air tasted and breathed so much easier than the city air she was used to and it felt so refreshing to be out among nature and to get back in touch with human roots.

  “You want to go first?” Dean asked.

  “No, I’ll let you. I don’t want to get in your way,” Jess said.

  “No problem,” Dean replied.

  He started his ascent down the mountain. Jess was impressed at the masterful way that he held his skis under control, letting the momentum take him where he needed to go and moving his body just ever so slightly along with it. She found herself laughing at the rush that had to be going through Dean’s body right now. She wanted to go so badly, but she was a bit terrified. Would her body remember how to do everything? Would she crash into a tree? She guessed there was only one way to find out.

  She pushed off and began to move downhill. Her skis found the snow and began to cut through it and pick up momentum. Within seconds her body found the groove and everything came flooding back to her. The cold air whipped against her face, but not in a punishing way. It was very sweet actually, like the cold lips that belonged to a good friend, but warmed as they brushed the skin.

  Her heart was beating fast in her chest, increasing with the increase in speed. She thought about slowing down, but the rush was too great and she found herself wishing that she could go faster. She pushed harder, even though it was against her better judgment.

  She could see Dean waiting for her at the bottom, having just finished his run. He was clapping and cheering her on. She was laughing so hard from the giddy feelings rushing through her body that it was affecting her stability slightly. She tried to calm down a little bit, but to no avail. She just wanted to ski.

  She finished the run and came to a stop without stumbling or falling over. She considered that to be a huge accomplishment. Dean rushed to her and wrapped her in his arms.

  “Way to go!” Dean said.

  “Wow! That felt so great. I can’t believe I’ve stayed away from it for so long,” Jess said.

  “That’s what being a workaholic does to you,” Dean said. “You have to take a few minutes out to enjoy life sometimes.”

  Jess was starting to agree with him. She wondered about all of the other things that she was missing out on.

  As they walked over to get on the lift Dean grabbed her hand in his, even through the ski gloves it was nice, even if it was a bit weird. But that was Dean; he was not afraid to do awkward or insane things to have fun. She loved that about him.

  They sat down on the lift and enjoyed the ride back up the mountain. Jess had forgotten what this view was like and how it felt to ride so high up above everything. It really put the scope of the world into focus. The world was so beautiful and Jess was so glad she had accepted Dean’s invitation.

  They hopped off the lift, and once again Jess was impressed with her own ability to stay on her feet, and then she prepared for another run. This time they decided they were going to go together. It would be more fun that way. Jess was determined to beat Dean down the mountain. He was going to eat her dust. And maybe later he will eat something else of mine, she thought. She was surprised at how extreme and exhilarating things always turned her on. It was weird, but she was happy to embrace her weirdness sometimes.

  “Hey, you got room for one more?”

  Jess couldn’t believe it.

  Alex Mathers came up behind them right then. She had to do a double take. It was so surreal that he was there right then and there.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Dean asked through gritted teeth.

  “Good to see you too, buddy,” Alex said.

  Dean, realizing that he had allowed his anger to shine through turned on a charming smile and tried to recant. “This is a hell of a surprise, man.”

  “I know, right?”

  Jess wanted to hug him, but she did her best to restrain herself from mauling the man. She looked between him and Dean. It was so odd that both of them were here right now and she wondered how this was going to go down. She was Dean’s date for the weekend. Had Alex come up here to interfere? Did he just want to spy on them and make himself an awkward third wheel?

  “You just happened to be in the neighborhood?” Jess asked.

  Alex laughed. “No, I heard you guys were coming up here, and it sounded like a great plan. I haven’t been up here for a few months. It’s been too long. I was starting to go a little stir crazy back home.”

  “You just came up here by yourself on a whim?” Dean asked, trying to hide his condescending manner. Jess noticed he wasn’t doing a good job of that. She had to laugh at it.

  “No, I brought a date. She was right behind me,” Alex said.

  “You lost her already? Guess you need a tighter leash,” Dean said.

  “Now boys, play nice,” Jess said, goading the situation. She knew it was wrong to pour gas on an open flame, but she was finding the whole thing hard to resist. It was so hot having two sexy men fighting over her. She wanted to see this date of Alex’s. It was cute how he was trying to make her jealous and ruin her date with Dean all at the same time. It was like something she would see on a soap opera, only with better dialogue.

  “I may have,” Alex replied.

  A few seconds later a woman appeared in the distance behind him, moving across the snow. She was pretty and Jess immediately felt a twinge of jealousy as the woman grabbed hold of Alex’s waist and leaned in close to him. Chelsea had long blonde hair, and curves for days. She reminded Jess of a you
nger and sexier version of Pam Anderson. Even in a ski suit the woman looked stunning. Jess instantly hated her and it made her intensely angry to see the woman pawing at Alex that way. She wanted to rip the bitch’s hair out, but she held it together. If Alex wanted to play that way, then that was fine with her.

  Alex introduced Chelsea to Dean and Jess. Jess did her best polite “nice to meet you” smile, and Chelsea did the same. Both women secretly glared at each other. The animosity was not hard to feel, but Jess wondered why Chelsea felt animosity towards her. It was unlikely that Alex had told Chelsea that he was also dating Jess. Was it just something the other woman felt intuitively? Jess herself had always had that ability, but she had not known it to be a common thing for all women to have. Chelsea was probably just a typical stuck up princess who secretly hated all women, and was intimidated by any attractive woman being near her man. Jess was used to the syndrome. If the bitch so much as looked at her cross eyed she was going to take her down a peg.

  But if she did that she would be playing right into Alex’s game. He wanted to make her jealous and make her realize that she could easily lose him, or worse yet, that she did not have any real designs on him to begin with. That wasn’t news to Jess; she and Alex had not made any commitments to each other.

  “Well, let’s get this party started,” Alex said.

  “Ready when you are,” Dean replied.

  “I agree,” Jess chimed in.

  Chelsea didn’t say anything, but she got her game face on anyway. They all got settled in and then without a hitch they were off, racing down the mountain. Jess found that the second run was even easier for her than the first. She wasn’t sure if it was just practice and everything coming back to her, or if it was the thrill of the competition.

  Dean and Alex were off to a strong start in front of Jess and Chelsea. Jess expected this and she wasn’t even trying to race either one of them, but she wanted to beat Chelsea. There was an unspoken feud between them. Even though a simple ski race meant nothing in the long run, it was somehow becoming a symbol in Jess’ mind. Alex and Dean both wanted to be with a winner, and if she didn’t win this ski race then she was going to lose points in both of their eyes. She knew it somehow, although the whole thing sounded ridiculous.

  This ski race really had nothing to do with her as a romantic partner, but Jess hated to lose at anything and if she lost this race it was going to affect her confidence in other areas of her life. She realized this was an obsessive and unhealthy attitude, but she had always been that way. She wanted to win and win at any cost no matter what undertaking she decided to partake in. It was on.

  Chelsea was neck and neck with her at first, but then Jess easily pulled ahead of her. Jess shouted in victory as she passed Chelsea and left her far behind her, but Jess didn’t even think about slowing up or resting on her laurels; that was how you got beat in the end. You could never take your opponent lightly.

  Jess could now see that Alex and Dean were neck and neck, and neither one seemed to be in any danger of falling behind. They were pushing as hard as they could, both of them flying at breakneck speed. If one of them messed up just a little bit they could end up flying into a tree or at least wiping out and breaking some bones rolling down the hill.

  Jess tried to gain speed so she could see better, but they were both just too fast. They were strong, athletic men, and both were advanced skiers. It was impossible for her to even hope to catch either one of them, but she was going to try. At least it would give her something else to push for to make sure she stayed far ahead of Chelsea.

  She was tempted to look back to see where Chelsea was. She was pretty sure the girl had fallen off the planet, but she didn’t dare trust her skill level enough to glance backwards. She could just see that ending horrifically bad.

  They were almost at the end of the run when Jess saw it happen. Dean stuck his pole out a little bit, just enough to trip Alex’s right ski. Alex immediately went down as he tried to correct himself. He tumbled the rest of the way down the run, but luckily it was almost to the flat at the bottom when he fell and he landed on snow the whole way. There were no trees or jagged rocks in his path. If there had been he would have been in so much trouble.

  Had Jess really seen that? Did Dean really trip his friend and business partner so that he would lose a ski race? She still wasn’t sure she had witnessed that taking place. It was like waking from a strange dream where you didn’t know if you were awake or asleep.

  It was possible that it was an accident and even possible that it only looked like Dean tripped him. It might have just been close. His pole might have just moved a bit too far away from his body. They were too far away to tell what had actually happened.

  Jess came to a stop as Alex was standing to his feet.

  “Alex, are you alright?”

  “Oh, I’m just fine. I’m going to kill that bastard,” he said.

  Dean rode up beside them and came to a quick stop. He seemed genuinely shaken up.

  “Alex! Dude, are you ok? I have no idea how that happened,” Dean said.

  Jess actually found herself believing him.

  “What? Are you going to try to say you didn’t just trip me on purpose?” Alex was getting up in Dean’s face.

  “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about. You think I would do that?”

  “I know you would. I’ve seen you do worse,” Alex replied.

  “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” Dean asked.

  “What do you think? Do I need to come right out and say it? I was being coy about it,” Alex said as he turned away and began skiing towards the lifts.

  Dean was glaring at him with an intensity that Jess had never seen in him before. It was kind of a sexy smoldering look, but it was also scary as hell if you were the one he was focusing his stare on. Jess actually felt for a moment like Dean might actually go after Alex or at least he was plotting something for later. She wondered what sort of animosity had been brewing between the two men for a while. This couldn’t all be because of her, as flattering as the thought may have been.

  What was Alex talking about? What had Dean done? She was beyond curious now and she desperately wanted to ask, but knew he might bite her head off if she did. There were certain things that you just didn’t push with guys; buried secrets between bros were pretty high on the list. She had figured that one out long ago.

  Chelsea moved in line behind Alex, following him. Jess had not even noticed she had finished her run and was standing quietly a few feet from them. Jess stared at Chelsea’s impressively athletic and lean body. She sometimes wished she had a body like hers. She would be an even greater athlete than she was now. She wondered how she had beaten Chelsea. It had to be all a matter of skill, because Jess was a good forty pounds heavier than Chelsea and probably not much stronger. It made the win that much more satisfying.

  “We gonna go for another run?” Jess asked. She was hoping they would do a few more, but now she wasn’t so sure that Alex was in the mood. He had very nearly gotten hurt a few minutes ago and even though he wouldn’t show it or admit it; he was probably still a bit sore and shaken up.

  “Sure, let’s do it.”

  Dean was instantly cheerful again and acting as if nothing had happened at all. He had that look of a champion back in his eye and he was ready to roll. He moved off towards the lift. Jess paused a moment just staring at him. Who was he? How was he able to just change his whole mood and attitude that way? That was probably why he had such a great poker face. In his line of work you couldn’t compete if you got rattled easily. You had to have nerves of steel. Jess liked to think she had nerves of steel, but she knew that hers paled in comparison to Dean or Alex. The men were both superhuman. The way they were able to compartmentalize their emotions was staggering. She envied that; it was a rare talent.

  The next run turned out to be the last one of the day for them, but it was nonetheless fun. It actually was the most fun run of all, because it seemed that De
an and Alex both simmered down and just enjoyed themselves without getting all psycho alpha male and going crazy.

  Jess was even finding that she tolerated Chelsea for a bit, but she still hated the girl. She was the poster girl for all of the things that Jess was against as a woman. She was superficial, shallow, and lazy. She was a princess and she expected everyone to treat her that way because her rich daddy had. Jess hated those types of women because she knew they never appreciated anything and they expected everything.

  That night at the cabin Dean was rather quiet. As they sat on his couch watching some old John Hughes DVDs from the eighties, he didn’t utter a word. Occasionally he would grunt a laugh when something silly happened, but he was content to be quiet. He just sat and sipped his bourbon.

  Jess was absolutely beat. She had forgotten how much skiing took out of you and she was in very bad shape compared to the shape she used to be. I’ve got to start working out, she thought.

  She was starting to get a bit bored, so she decided to see if she could draw Dean out of his shell. He looked like he really did not want to be bothered, but she didn’t care. Sometimes it was fun to just push people to see how far you could get away with pushing them. It often ended badly, but it also sometimes ended splendidly. She was hoping it would end in the bedroom. For some reason she was really hot tonight and Dean was looking extra delicious.

  It might have been the way he was being all standoffish and aloof. She had always been attracted to the strong silent type. There was something about a man who was stoic and spent a lot of time inside their own minds, as if separating themselves from the rest of the world.

  “So, what’s on your mind?” Jess asked.

  Dean looked somewhat annoyed for a split second, but quickly popped a huge smile across his face as he looked over at her, flashing those sexy eyes at her. That was such a huge turn on, but she held her poker face. She had to make sure that he didn’t’ catch onto the game yet. She had to make him squirm a little bit.