“Are you sure? Because, she clearly didn’t get the memo.”
“You have no idea. About a year after she left, her money from the settlement ran out. She realized how good she had it with me and has been trying to worm her way back into my life ever since. Unfortunately, the word no is not in her vocabulary and she’s progressively gotten worse in her attempts to win me back or just make my life miserable. She’s bat shit crazy.”
“Why didn’t you just say that this morning?” She tugged her blanket around herself, preparing mentally for another rejection she wasn’t sure she could handle.
“Because honestly, I was afraid of what she’d do. I wouldn’t put it past her to burn the place down if she didn’t get her way. Of course, she’d do it after the Chief left, because she perfected the art of making her acts of vandalism seem like an accident.”
Cami’s eyes widened in disbelief. “She’s done this to you before?”
West nodded. “She hasn’t burned down my house, but I can tell you every body shop within a twenty mile radius of my home and their going rates to buff out key scratches.”
“Damn. She’s a bit on the crazy side.”
“You have no idea,” West huffed.
She really didn’t, but surprisingly, Cami believed his story. Maybe it was naïve of her, but she trusted West, even after everything. She could see he was still the decent man she’d known all those years ago. Unfortunately, this knowledge didn’t change anything. West would still be leaving after the holidays, and she couldn’t bear to fall back into his arms only to have him walk away again. “You could have called and told me all this. You didn’t need to come up here.”
“I did.” West took a step toward her and reached up to take her hands in his. “Because that’s not all I have to tell you.”
His touch was freezing. She should invite him in, out of the cold, but she didn’t want him in her home. Not if he wasn’t planning to stay. “If you’re about to tell me how much this weekend meant to you, please don’t. Your life is in Los Angeles. Not here. While I am truly glad we got some closure, I think it’s best if we just leave things as they are and try to move on.”
Each word pierced her heart as they fell from her lips.
“And if I don’t want to do that? Don’t I at least get a say in the matter?”
She pulled her hands away. “You’re the one who walked away this morning,” she whispered, unable to keep her voice from wavering. She wanted to remain strong in her convictions, but at the heart of it, she didn’t want to see him go.
“You kicked me out, remember? I wanted to try and make things right. To tell you exactly how I feel. You didn’t give me the chance.”
“And how exactly is that West?” Her eyes locked on his, willing him to say anything to make her change her mind and fall into his arms.
“Damn it, Cami, I love you. I’ve always loved you. You are the freaking sun in my sky. It was always supposed to be you.”
That would do.
West wrapped his arms around himself and rubbed the outside of his arms. “Can I finish the rest of my proclamation inside? Its balls cold out here.”
Cami chuckled and opened the door, allowing him to step inside.
He loved her.
West pulled her into his chest and she wrapped her arms around him, encompassing him in her blanket.
Reaching between them, he tilted her chin up. “I can’t regret how everything went down, because it brought me nine wonderful years with Shelby. But I didn’t love Tiffani. She was the mother to my child and wife only in name. She never held my heart. Please believe me when I say, a day hasn’t gone by that I haven’t thought about you, or what life would have been like if I came back for you. ”
“West, I—”
“I know you believe my life is in Los Angeles, but it doesn’t have to be. I have a few potential jobs lined up in Aspen, and if one of them doesn’t pan out, then we’ll figure it out. I’ll help you run the outfitter and retreat center.”
Her mouth fell open and her brows raised. “You’d give up flying for me?” She wasn’t sure she wanted him to do that, but she was floored that he’d even consider it. Flying had been a dream of his since they were kids.
“If it meant I got to wake up with you like I did this morning, before all the bullshit, that is, then hell yes.” West threaded his hand through the curls at the base of her neck, an action that always sent a thrill through her. “I love you, Cami. I was stupid to walk away again, even if I thought it was to protect you. I’d do just about anything for you. All you have to do is ask.”
“I love you too, West.” And she did. God did she ever. “But next time, we fight the battle together. I don’t need you to protect me from the likes of Tiffani. I’m pretty sure I can handle that bitch any day of the week.”
“I believe you could. I’m sorry I didn’t give you the chance.”
“You’re forgiven. But only if you promise to show me every day exactly how much you love me.”
“You don’t need to ask me twice.”
Epilogue
West woke to the sound of his phone buzzing on the nightstand next to him. Who the hell called this early on Christmas morning?
He blinked open his eyes, and reached to silence the call, then thought better of it. After the fiasco that played the previous morning as a result of a missed call, he didn’t want to chance a repeat.
He didn’t recognize the number, but it was an Aspen area code so he answered anyways.
“Hello, this is Weston James.”
“Hi, Mr. James, this is John Sanchez with Mountain Aeronautics. I’m sorry to call so early on Christmas, but I have an offer for you.”
West perked up. This is the call he’d been waiting for. “No, it’s not a problem, Mr. Sanchez. I am glad you called.”
Cami began to stir, and she looked up at him with a questioning gaze. He pulled her close to him and placed a quiet kiss on the top of her head.
“We would like to offer you the job with our company. The only thing is we’re short a pilot and would need you to fly out on a private charter the morning of the twenty-seventh.”
This was it. This was the call he’d been hoping to get.
“Thank you so much.” West smiled against Cami’s hair. “I would love the opportunity to work with you.”
“Perfect. Can you be at the hanger tomorrow at nine am to start the paperwork?”
“Absolutely, I’ll see you then. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas. See you tomorrow.”
West ended the call and rolled over on top of Cami. His position reminiscent of where they were the previous morning, before they were so rudely interrupted. He’d promised to show her exactly how much he loved her and he planned to start bright and early.
“Who was that on the phone?” Cami’s eyes fluttered as she yawned.
“A job offer.”
Cami’s eyes widened and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him against her naked form. “Well isn’t this a merry Christmas? That’s fantastic, West. Congratulations.”
West placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “A merry Christmas indeed. You know what that means, Red?” He rocked his hips against her, and she moaned softly. God, he loved that sound. He’d never get enough of this woman. Beside him, beneath him, it didn’t matter, he wanted it all.
She wiggled her core against his growing length and he nearly came undone. “What does that mean, West?”
Positioning himself perfectly, West leaned forward and whispered in her ear at the same time he thrust into her. “I’m finally home.”
About K.M. Rives
Krista is a California girl living in an Oklahoma world…for now. After all, home is where the Army tells her husband they’re moving next. She’s a lover of dungeons and dragons, singing at the top of her lungs, ice cold beer and all things dessert. Most days you can find her wrangling her two young daughters, and finding any moment she can to sneak away into the fantasy worlds she
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All In Aspen
Maira James
All In Aspen by Maira James
www.MairaJamesAuthor.com
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© 2020 Maira James
Cover by: Darling Cover Designs
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:
[email protected]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
About the Author
Also By Maira James
Chapter One
Three days before Christmas and all Valerie had was a newly naked ring finger, reservations she wouldn’t use at an all-inclusive resort, and a healthy desire to turn her cheating ex into a eunuch.
Instead of packing for a pre-wedding getaway, she was spending her Friday evening in the office to avoid going home. If she did, she’d have to finish packing the apartment she’d lived in with her now ex-fiance. Though she kicked him out immediately upon walking in the door the previous month, there were still a lot of memories to deal with. Memories she had no desire to relive, especially days before Christmas. Working past the point of exhaustion worked so far, it would carry her the rest of the way through the holidays. Plenty of time to fall apart after New Year’s.
If only she’d come home on time for Thanksgiving, she’d still be with that lying, cheating asshole. Lucky for her, Jaime told her to start the holiday early; otherwise, she never would’ve found him practicing the Kamasutra with someone else in their bed. The Butter Churner was hardly a good choice to impress when he couldn’t even manage to satisfy in Reverse Cowgirl. As painful as the moment was, she was eternally grateful to Jaime for his part in it.
“Don’t you have a trip in the morning?”
She turned to glare at her boss, who constantly blurred the line between friendship and professionalism, and knew very well she wasn’t going on the trip in question. Their friendship didn’t have many limits, but it did have some. Inviting him to her pity party was one of them. The last thing she needed was another well-meaning lecture on her strength and the need to draw from it. “No, Jaime, I don’t have a trip in the morning. He does, along with the blonde girl who slings coffee down the street.”
Jaime leaned casually against her desk, knocking over her pencil cup while his dark brows knit together over mocha colored eyes. “I thought you said you were putting the tickets through the shredder?”
She reached for the pencils before they rolled off the ledge, her scowl deepening. Oblivious was his middle name. Oblivious of his surroundings, her dislike of him prying into her love life. Of a million different things. “I would have, but I had no desire to spend another second with him up my ass trying to fix things while he continued sleeping with her. Allowing him to take that trip with his new bed buddy got him out of my hair for a few weeks so I could finish moving out. Besides, he paid for it.” She slammed the pencils back into the cup and returned his glare. “Why am I even telling you this?”
He chuckled as he shifted farther onto her desk, she grabbed and moved the pencil cup seconds before it tipped again. Oblivious. “Because you like telling me little things about yourself, and because we frequently discuss our personal lives.” His brow arched as he studied her, a grin forming on the lips she definitely wasn’t staring at.
“Booking you escorts does not constitute discussing our personal lives.” She turned back toward her computer on the opposite side of the L shaped desk, giving him her back in the hope he’d go away and leave her in peace. They were the last two left in the office, and she just wanted him to go. Once he left, she wouldn’t have to deal with another human until after the holidays. “If you’ll excuse me, there are reports you need after New Year’s I want to get started on.”
“Where are you going for Christmas?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pushing away the pain and the tears that threatened to fall. Almost a week since her last good cry, she was doing so well. Breaking down in front of Jaime wasn’t how that streak was going to end. She hadn’t told her parents yet, had no desire to deal with their disappointment, the questions, or the pitying looks. That kind of attention was unbearable, and she’d much rather spend the holiday alone than back home. “Nowhere.”
“Come to Aspen.”
She spun in her chair slowly, meeting his eyes again. That was too much, even for him. “I don’t want a rebound fling. Especially not with my boss.” It was a lie. With his lean muscle, permanent five o’clock shadow, and brown hair just long enough to thread her fingers through, the idea of sex with him was far from repulsive. It was, however, risky to the job she loved.
Which is why she adamantly refused to acknowledge the way her stomach flipped when he smiled, and her heart slammed in her chest when he got close. Why she ignored the way his sandalwood cologne hung in the air, and why she wouldn’t admit how many times she closed her eyes to inhale it deeply in moments of weakness. Which were occurring far more frequently as the days dragged on.
As much as the idea of a weekend of sexcapades with her hot boss tempted her, the desire to keep her job tempted her more. Rebounding with him would be the second worst decision of her life. Second only to agreeing to marry the scumbag taking her trip.
He reached over her, another annoyingly sexy grin on his lips as he pressed the power button on her computer. “Such naughty thoughts, Miss Porter. All I’m telling you is I have a house in Aspen, we’re both running from human interaction, and we can easily cohabitate there. All inclusive, too, the bar is limitless.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and slowly turned in her chair. “What makes you think I’m not perfectly content spending it in my apartment, Mr. Donnovan?” She leaned back in the chair, putting emphasis on his formal name strictly to irritate him. Few things bothered him more than hearing his formal name from friends. They were friends. Good friends.
Just friends.
He crossed his arms over his broad chest, the sleeves of his button down tugging perfectly around the seams, an uncharacteristic scowl marring his features. “Because you’re sitting here pretending you want to work on mind numbing reports you loathe compiling. Don’t be stubborn, Val. If I wasn’t your boss, you wouldn’t hesitate.”
“But you are my boss. You’re also the man I book dates for every other weekend, who spends his life in casinos and poker dens, and who hasn’t gone out with the same girl twice in almost a year.” She quirked a brow to mock him. “Forgive me for being a bit hesitant about your motives for trapping me in a cabin, alone, in the mountains, in the dead of winter.”
That time, his laugh met her ears, and she was hard pressed not to smirk back at him. The sound of it, the unrestrained boom of his amusement, filled the office on rare occasions and sped her heart up every time. “Tomorrow morning, five to be precise.”
“I’m not going Jaime. I appreciate the offer, but I’m not going.” She tossed her phone into her purse, needed to get out of there before he convinced her to do something foolish. Like spend Christmas with him.
<
br /> His negotiation skills guaranteed she’d be packing her bags if she didn’t get out of there quickly.
“It’s about a fourteen hour drive, and I want to get a tree when we get there so it’ll be ready for decorating first thing Sunday morning. I don’t want to get there any later than eight.” He pushed off the desk and put her pencil cup back in its place. “Pick you up at five?”
The question left no room for any answer other than the one he wanted, a tactic he’d used a million times. It didn’t surprise her, he always got what he wanted. Not this, though, this would be one of the rare times he didn’t succeed. If he did, there was only one place it could end.
Looking for a new job because she couldn’t look her boss in the eye after sleeping with him.
If nothing else, his offer showed her just how badly she needed to get laid. Maybe she’d see if his escort company offered men, too. “I’m not going.”
He lifted her purse from the floor and handed it to her, then took her coat off the rack as he always did. When she shrugged into it, he hit the call button for the elevator. “Five, Val. Not five fifteen, not five thirty. Five.”
She shook her head again as the elevator dinged and they both stepped in, sandalwood filling the air and tipping her off balance. The resolve dwindled fast, the temptation of spending Christmas away from all reminders of her current situation was stronger than she liked.
It wouldn’t take much to break her, and the ramifications of sex with him would do it. She needed to steel herself against him, against his offer. The car. If she could get to the car she’d be safe. It wasn’t that far. “I’m not going, Jaime.”
Stocking Stuffers: A Five Story Christmas Anthology Page 9
