That Snowy Night (Into The Fire Book 11)

by J. H. Croix

  Delilah took another breath. When I felt the tight peaks of her nipples press against me, my mouth was on hers again. My body was strung tight with a need so fierce I forgot where we were. I devoured her mouth as her tongue warred with mine. I didn’t even feel the elevator shuddering to a stop until the doors opened, and I heard a voice.

  “Oops!” a woman’s voice exclaimed.

  A soft giggle followed from someone else. Delilah and I broke apart, and I caught myself just before I sagged against the wall in the elevator. The shockwave of kissing her slammed into me. Glancing to the side, I found a pair of women who were politely turned away.

  “Sorry about that, ladies,” I said as I leaned over to snag Delilah’s bag.

  “We’re sorry to interrupt,” one of them said. Her eyes flicked from me to Delilah. “Girl, I’d pay money to have a man kiss me the way he was kissing you. You’d better hang on with both hands.”

  “Yeah, that was a kiss for the ages,” the other woman offered.

  Delilah bit her lip and chuckled, her cheeks flushing a deeper shade of pink. She stepped out of the elevator in front of me, and I rested my hand on her lower back, needing to touch her. While she had my engine revving so hard I was practically spinning inside, she was also the only thing for me to cling to in the madness of a need that rushed so fiercely I could barely think.

  Chapter Five

  Delilah

  The subtle, mellow flavor of the wine slid across my tongue. Setting my glass down, I glanced sideways at Alex and tried to catch my breath. I idly wondered if it was possible to end up having a heart attack for being turned on for too long.

  My pulse had been idling on high ever since our kiss in the elevator. I’d sort of pulled myself together after the shock of seeing him before that. Then I lost my damn mind.

  That kiss had nearly incinerated me, inside and out. I was surprised I didn’t collapse after we got caught in the middle of it by our unexpected audience.

  My insides were still liquid molten, and my lips tingled. All the while, my pulse galloped along, revving here and there with nothing more than a glance from him. We were having dinner with Holly and Nate, and I was trying to convey a sense of normalcy. I didn’t want his sister to think I was crazy.

  Alex’s question echoed in my mind. So tell me, Delilah, did you ever wonder what might happen?

  Oh boy, did I ever wonder. I chalked it up to hazy summer memories and convinced myself over the years that I had put way too much stock in them. Why couldn’t I forget Alex Blake and those smokin’ hot make-out sessions?

  What were the chances that a girl from decidedly humble roots in the nooks and crannies of the Blue Ridge Mountains would luck into a scholarship for two weeks at camp? I could answer that. Not good. Even less likely was the fact that Alex—a teenager from Alaska, a land which seemed like practically another planet to me—would end up there for the same two weeks.

  A shiver ran down my spine as the reality of my current situation slammed into me. Of all the people to find me on the highway in the snow, it was Alex Blake.

  Even if he hadn’t found me and I’d driven myself here, I still would’ve seen him. Those two short weeks that summer had been some of the best of my life. It wasn’t as if we had a grand romance, but he’d been handsome and nice, and I’d crushed on him hard. We had a few hot kisses, and they’d been divine.

  Hours before camp ended and I boarded the bus to take me to the airport, I’d given him my address, and he’d promised to send me a letter. As bad luck would have it, my dad got us evicted from that apartment while I was away at camp. I didn’t have the kind of parents who were organized enough to arrange for mail to be forwarded. If Alex ever sent a letter, I never knew.

  “And for you?” a voice asked, intruding into my reverie.

  Looking up, I smiled at the waitress. “I’m sorry. Excuse me?”

  “I was just asking what you would like for dinner,” she said politely.

  “Oh, right. I’ll take the sesame salmon with asparagus,” I replied, glancing down at the menu in front of me.

  “Any appetizers?”

  “We already ordered the mini crab cakes and halibut strips,” Holly offered helpfully from across the table.

  “Are they to share? I don’t want to assume.”

  “Of course,” Alex replied.

  “Okay then, I’m all set,” I said as I handed the menu to the waitress.

  Once the waitress hurried away, Holly pinned her sharp brown eyes on me. “So, it’s convenient that Alex found you on the side of the road. I find it hard to believe you had no idea he would be here this week,” she commented.

  I so did not have the energy for this. But I supposed I had no choice but to deal with it. After taking a fortifying sip of wine, I met her gaze head-on. “Look, think whatever you want. Alex and I did meet once before at camp many years ago. It was a complete surprise to encounter him again, but I don’t have any ulterior motives. My friends gave me this ski trip because something came up for them.”

  Alex slid his arm over my shoulders, pausing to take a swallow from his beer. “Seriously, Holl. Don’t make this something it isn’t. I admit, it’s crazy to run into Delilah, but I sure as hell don’t mind,” he said easily.

  Nate, with his boyish charm, nudged Holly in the arm. “Cut them some slack. It’s almost Christmas.”

  I shrugged, fighting the urge to swat Alex’s arm off my shoulder. Not because I actually wanted it gone, but rather because I loved the feel of it. I wanted to burrow into him, and I hated feeling weak and vulnerable. I’d had more than enough of that in my life.

  Holly sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just a little protective. Who’s the friend who gave you the trip?”

  “It’s actually Shay Martin. Her brother, Remy, who’s also a friend of mine, lives in—”

  Holly cut in with a wide smile. “Oh, my God. Remy? Our Remy?”

  “Well, I don’t know if he’s your Remy, but he grew up where I did in Stolen Hearts Valley, North Carolina. His sister, Shay, lives there. When Remy and his wife couldn’t use this trip, he told Shay, and she told me, and here I am,” I explained.

  Holly slapped her palm on her chest and sighed. “Remy is the sweetest guy.”

  Nate rolled his eyes and chuckled. “I’m not so sure Remy would appreciate being described as the ‘sweetest.’”

  Holly elbowed Nate in the side. “Whatever. It’s just wild that Delilah knows Remy.”

  “So y’all live in the same town as Remy?” I asked.

  “Yup. Willow Brook,” Alex said when I looked at him. “That’s where we’re from. Remy landed there a few years ago. Solid guy. He’s one of the hotshot firefighters based out of there.”

  I nodded, my mind spinning over how small the world could be. “That’s Remy. Shay misses him like crazy. I kind of can’t believe he and his wife gave up this week here. This place is really nice,” I said as I let my eyes roam around the restaurant.

  It was an upscale ski lodge. The restaurant had glossy wood floors with a high ceiling and exposed beams crisscrossing above. The ski slopes glittered in the darkness through the windows facing the mountains. “I can’t wait to see outside in the daylight,” I added.

  Holly nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, it’s gorgeous here. As far as Remy giving up his week here, don’t feel bad for him. I know for a fact he and Rachel have already been down here twice this winter and have another trip planned in February.”

  “Well, it’s sure nice. I guess, in the end, they didn’t give me their week, seeing as the room wasn’t even available,” I said with a little laugh.

  “I hope you’re giving Delilah the bed,” Holly said with a pointed look at Alex.

  His fingers were lightly teasing the hair at the nape of my neck, sending little shivers down my spine that were swirling into the ache building between my thighs. My body’s reaction to Alex was off the charts, and here, I had his sister’s protective gaze trained on us. I sensed her claws would come out
if she thought it necessary.

  “When did you two meet before?” Nate asked after the waitress arrived with our appetizers.

  “Remember that camp I went to for a few summers?” Alex said between bites of the crispy and delicious halibut strips.

  “Oh, yeah. You loved that. You got to go fly-fishing and whatnot on the lake in the mountains. I don’t even remember where it was,” Holly said.

  “Colorado,” I offered, my mind spinning back to one afternoon. Those two short weeks lived in my memory as a haze of sunshine and warmth. The heat in Colorado was nothing like the heat of North Carolina where the humidity was so heavy it clung to your skin sometimes. I loved the cool waters of that lake in Colorado and Alex’s rich brown eyes.

  My heart leaped when the cold water splashed on my skin. I was sitting on a dock by myself one afternoon almost halfway through my time there. Plenty of kids attended the camp, but it wasn’t too hard to get away. I loved to hide away and read and had found a floating dock tucked off to the side of the main swimming area. The voices of the other kids frolicking in the water carried over to me, but I felt as if I’d found my own special sanctuary.

  Alex smiled at me as he rose from the water. “I thought that was you,” he said.

  His hands curled over the edge of the floating wooden raft as he pulled himself onto it. It rocked slightly with his weight. I closed my book and rolled up from where I’d been lying down.

  Alex was handsome, the kind of handsome that was almost too much. His body was lean and muscled. He smiled again as he ran his hand over his wet hair. A few droplets landed on my legs and sent shivers chasing through me.

  “Do you like to read?” he asked.

  “I do. It’s my favorite thing, actually.”

  Guys usually left me tongue-tied, especially guys as handsome as Alex, but there was something about him. He was just easy to be with. He was also so removed from my life back home that I didn’t have to worry about what he might think about me.

  He had no idea that my parents were poor, and my father screamed at us most of the time. Or that the stolen moments alone with him were the only ones I’d ever had with a guy. Most guys back home steered clear of me. Fashionable, I was not. I often wore the same clothes over and over because I didn’t have enough to get me through the week.

  When my best friend found out I won the scholarship to camp, she had promptly handed over every single pair of cutoffs she had. Between the two of us, I had exactly enough to get me through these two weeks at camp.

  It was a lucky accident that cutoffs were in fashion this summer. It was also lucky that it was totally okay to only have two bikini tops and a few tank tops. Most girls wore the same tops over and over at camp.

  Alex angled toward me, hooking one foot under his knee. “I bet you’re a straight A student.”

  I totally was, and almost no one ever cared.

  I flashed a shy smile and shrugged. “Maybe. So tell me where you’re from.”

  “Alaska.”

  “Really? Wow. That’s crazy.”

  “It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Where are you from?”

  “North Carolina.”

  “Alaska is beautiful, but the mountains here are beautiful too. I bet the mountains in North Carolina are pretty too.”

  “They are, just a lot smaller.”

  I didn’t realize it, but somehow, we were sitting pretty close together. When he leaned forward, a hum of electricity zinged between us. Alex had already stolen two kisses from me, and just now I saw his gaze lingering on my mouth.

  “You make me a little crazy, Delilah,” he said, his voice low and husky.

  Butterflies spun in my belly, and I felt shivery all over. “Kiss me again,” I breathed.

  “All you had to do was ask.”

  He leaned forward, his lips brushing across mine. That electricity centered on our lips now, the force sizzling between us. I heard a sound coming from my throat and then Alex was leaning closer, pulling me into his lap. Although I knew I should think what we were doing was naughty, it didn’t feel that way with him.

  As I straddled his knees and rocked my hips over the hard ridge of his arousal, we kissed like the crazy young teenagers we were. There wasn’t much skill to it. It was wet and messy.

  Alex was the one who broke away. “Delilah,” he murmured, his hands sliding down my sides to grab my hips and hold them still. “We have to stop.”

  “But I don’t want to.”

  Chapter Six

  Delilah

  That memory flashed through my mind as I glanced up when Alex said something. I had totally lost track of the conversation.

  My smile seemed to be enough to gloss it over. “So what do you do?” Holly’s question punctured the haze left behind by my old summer memories.

  Looking toward her, I replied, “I’m a bartender. I made it through college, but not as fast as I wanted, mostly because I’ve been working the whole time. I’m doing online nursing classes now. Hopefully, I’ll get my nursing degree someday.”

  I waited for a hint of disapproval. I was accustomed to people not thinking much of what I did, but my cynical expectation was proven wrong. Holly’s eyes widened. “Oh, that’s great. I’m a nurse. That must be hard, trying to do classes online while you’re working. I have nothing but respect for anyone who can pull that off. I’m so glad to be done with nursing school. If you need any pointers, ask away.”

  “When it comes time for my nursing exam, I just might take you up on that,” I said.

  While I attempted to have some sort of normal social conversation, all the while, Alex’s fingers were brushing back and forth just above the collar of my shirt on my neck. That tiny patch of skin was on fire with streaks radiating through my body. I could feel the wet silk between my thighs. If he kept this up, I was going to tackle him in the elevator. We hadn’t discussed it, but I’d made a decision after that crazy hot kiss earlier.

  I might never see Alex after this, but I was going to see things through in the way I’d never been able to before.

  I got through dinner with polite conversation and even sat through a round of introductions to a bunch of people Holly, Nate, and Alex knew from Diamond Creek. They were on a friendly basis with the owners of the lodge, the woman who managed the restaurant, and a few others who stopped by to say hello.

  By the time we got to the elevator, I was contemplating whether I could actually orgasm merely from sitting beside Alex for that long. Once the elevator doors closed, I reached for Alex’s hand and reeled him closer.

  “Okay, here’s the deal. You were such a fucking gentleman back when we were at camp that you never let anything go too far. It’s been over a decade, and now you have no excuses,” I said, lightly tapping my index finger on the center of his chest.

  Alex’s gaze darkened, and he ran his tongue across his teeth as his lips kicked up into a half smile. “It sounds like we’re on the same page. Gotta say, though, I never thought I’d get a lecture for being a gentleman. We were young.”

  “I guess I can appreciate that. Then, but not now.”

  At that, I tugged him closer. He didn’t hesitate to fit his mouth over mine. We dived right back to where our kiss left off before, and Alex took control almost instantly. The not as experienced young man he’d been before had given way to a demanding, commanding man, and I loved it.

  Chapter Seven

  Alex

  Delilah was warm and soft, and her mouth held a lingering plum flavor from the wine. Her scent spun around me like a drug. A drug just for me, and I’d been hooked for years even though I hadn’t seen her in all that time.

  Her tongue slicked against mine, and I tightened my grip in her hair as she arched into me. When she let out a little moan, I growled in return.

  Delilah stripped away any artifice, taking everything down to a pure, elemental level.

  I needed her closer. Now. Stepping back slightly and breaking free from our kiss to gulp in air, I lifted her against m
e. She didn’t hesitate, winding her legs around my hips as she trailed a fingertip along the stubble on my jaw.

  “Just one night,” she murmured.

  “Oh, Delilah, there will be far more than just one night.”

  We stared at each other. I knew what I felt. Back when I was barely a man, and she was barely a woman, I had no doubt about the way I felt when I was with her. It was just right. Years passed, and I figured I’d never see her again. All along, I occasionally wondered if my memory played tricks on me.

  Until I saw her again, then there was no wondering anymore. My memory had been spot-on. Maybe only an evening had passed since our worlds collided again, but it felt as if a missing piece in the puzzle of my life had clicked into place.

  Holding her and turning to press her back against the wall, I adjusted her in my arms. I lifted a hand to trace my thumb along the elegant slope of her cheekbone and down around her plump lips. “I know it’s not just me. So let’s not pretend this doesn’t feel the way it does,” I rasped.

  The Delilah I remembered had a guarded, careful sense to her. That quality had hardened a bit, and she had an almost harsh quality to her defenses now. While I didn’t know the story of her life, I knew her, the person underneath, the woman who called to me all those years ago and who called to me even more powerfully now.

  Vulnerability flickered in her gaze right when I felt the elevator come to a smooth stop. Without ever looking away from her, I reached to the side and jammed my thumb on the center button to keep the doors closed. I wasn’t letting this moment get cut short because it was too important.

  “Alex,” she breathed, the husky sound of her voice only serving to spin the lust driving me even tighter. “That’s crazy.”

  I shook my head. “No. It’s not. I was half in love with you then, and I never forgot you, Delilah. I know our lives are worlds apart, but I refuse to pretend this is just a quick, hot night. I know you feel it too,” I insisted.