Winter Love (Love Collection)

by Natalie Ann

  “I said I’d be gentle the first time.”

  She tried to think back to what he was talking about. “That didn’t have anything to do with sex. Seriously, show me what you’ve got and do it now.” If her voice was forceful, she didn’t care.

  She could almost see the change come over him, the moment when he lost the control he had. When his mouth started to taste and stroke every part of her, sending her right into another world.

  ***

  This was not how Zeke wanted their first time to be, but how could he have known Kendall would be so pushy? Or so demanding.

  He loved every bit of it. And if he wasn’t careful he might think he was falling in love with her. Too scary to think about right now. From attachment to love so fast wasn’t a good thing for anyone. But he told himself he wasn’t going to fight it either. He never fought anything in his life, so why start now?

  What he was going to do was continue on with this night. He was going to show her what he was feeling just like she wanted him to.

  He reached up and grabbed a condom out of a drawer and quickly ripped it open, then covered himself.

  “Open your eyes,” he said, leaning over her. “I want you to see me when I make you mine.”

  Her eyes flickered open, staring into his and he slid right into her. Claiming her. Taking her. Controlling her.

  Her hips lifted and he slammed them right back down. She did it again; so did he.

  What should have been soft and gentle was turning into fast and urgent. Rushed and frantic.

  She was panting out and so was he.

  Her nails were scratching and her legs were rising and wrapping around his back.

  He raised himself up on his hands, pushing in even deeper, but she wrapped her arms around his back and held on tight trying to mold them together, bringing him down.

  There was no time to think if he was too heavy for her because she wasn’t giving him a chance to think of anything other than getting to the end of the road that he’d never driven on before with someone else.

  One that was meant to go fast and reckless.

  One that was dictated by emotions and not physical reactions.

  One where he might have just lost his heart when he felt her squeezing around him and heard his name softly escaping her lips in a tone that his brain said was loving.

  He was overcome by a need so great that it slowed him down. That it made him be gentle again.

  That he was stroking her in a nice steady pace to see if he could bring her right back there with him.

  To see if he could get her to say his name again. One more time. Softly like that.

  Like she was feeling what he was. That maybe her heart was knocking against her chest as hard as his, not from exertion but from joy. From excitement. From passion.

  “Zeke,” she said, her voice not soft, but nervous. Scared almost.

  “Yes,” he said quietly, still moving in and out. He was having a hard time holding on but he was determined. He was out to prove something, if not to himself, then to her.

  “I’ve never felt like this before. I’m not sure I can again.”

  He kept it up. “You can and you will. You will because it’s with me.”

  Her back arched and she was squeezing him so tightly inside right now he thought he was going to blow any second, but then the squeezing turned to pulsing and she sobbed his name out.

  He let himself go. He let his body fall right along with his heart. Damn the consequences or fears from his past.

  Feel Odd

  Kendall had never slept as soundly as she had last night. Not even in her own bed that she’d been craving for months.

  She rolled over to see Zeke sound asleep next to her on his stomach, one arm under the pillow and his face completely covered by his hair. Bummer. She’d like to see those sharp features of his lax in a peaceful slumber. Maybe another day.

  She slid out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, brushed her teeth quickly, and ran her fingers through her hair, then found a T-shirt of Zeke’s and pulled it over her head.

  In the kitchen, she started to roam around looking for the makings for breakfast.

  She missed this routine in her life. Waking up and cooking breakfast. Lunch hadn’t been that big of a deal, grabbing that wherever she was. But cooking breakfast and dinner had been her thing.

  She didn’t realize how much she was thirsting to have her routine back in her life. That being in the kitchen was what made her feel so alive.

  Not traveling. Not talking to strangers on the street.

  But when she was interviewing others in the kitchen, that was what brought her joy on this adventure.

  Was she ready to go home now? To take her three weeks here—which was down to two weeks after today—and get back to her normal life.

  What was normal now though?

  Wouldn’t it feel odd being in a place that she experienced so much of with her parents and knowing they’d never be there again? That she’d see their friends who would always ask how she was doing and make the sadness creep in?

  That was the good thing about traveling. No one knew her story. No one knew her sadness. They only saw her forced joy and excitement and not the sorrow she was trying to cover.

  But Zeke saw it all.

  She let him into her life. Well, that wasn’t completely true. She didn’t let him in. He found his way in by seeing what others hadn’t bothered to look for recently.

  And with these revelations came the thought of maybe leaving early. Even though there were some more things she wanted to experience here, she didn’t need the two weeks for it.

  She’d ticked off several in the past few days. Matter of fact, she ticked off a few more without even knowing, thanks to Zeke.

  The problem was, the more she thought about leaving early, the more it made her pause and realize that she’d have to leave Zeke too.

  Though maybe it’d be better than staying and getting even closer to him in two weeks and then leaving.

  This was one of the times she needed her mother to talk to when she realized her eyes start to fill.

  “What are you thinking of?”

  She turned quickly to see Zeke standing there in boxers, his hair all over the place, his rock hard body drawing her eyes in, and a concerned look on his face.

  “A lot and nothing at all.”

  He walked up to her and pulled her into his arms. “You’re thinking if you want to stay or go. Not just from my house but from Lake Placid.”

  That he knew that was way too eerie to even consider. “Yeah.”

  “Tell me your reasons.”

  She laughed. A genuine one. “You just like it when I start listing reasons because then we end up in the bedroom.”

  “That is a bonus but not what I was thinking. I was thinking more along the lines of finding out what was making you upset and if I was the cause or did something wrong.”

  “It’s not you,” she said.

  “Yet I don’t believe that.”

  She took a deep breath. “Are you hungry? I was going to make some omelets.”

  “Is this your way of avoidance?”

  “Not at all. I find cooking relaxes me and it will let the words flow easier.”

  He walked over and sat at the island. “Then by all means, I’m starving.”

  She started to dice up some mushrooms and peppers she’d found in his fridge and got the bacon going in another pan. “I was looking around your kitchen and realized how much I miss this routine. Cooking myself breakfast. Though I’m normally working nights, I miss the dinner routine too. Not making it for myself, but just cooking in general. The action, the noises, the scents, and the flavors.”

  “You’re still cooking a little with your travels, right?”

  “No. Just on a few interviews. I haven’t stayed anywhere where I could just do what I am now. I was standing here realizing a lot of those things. That in the past week of knowing you, I’ve expressed more of myself in
words and actions to you than to anyone else in the last seven months.”

  “That’s a good thing.”

  “Is it though?”

  “And this is where you’re wondering if it’s time to move on?”

  “You see more than you should,” she said. She was turning the bacon over in the pan, then grabbed some eggs and started to crack them in a bowl. “I’m wondering if I’ve had enough. I realized I might have made too rash of a decision to do this and now it’s time to go back to my life. The problem with that is, I’m not sure it can be the same as it was a year ago.”

  “Because your parents are no longer there?” he asked.

  “Exactly.”

  ***

  When Zeke walked into his kitchen and saw Kendall with tears in her eyes, the first thought that came to his mind was what the hell had he done wrong? Second thought: could he fix it?

  He’d only been guessing that she was thinking of leaving Lake Placid early but was happy she was honest with him. Now his mind was racing with ways to get her to stay.

  “Maybe you need to be away longer until you can figure that part out. Or at least accept it.”

  “Maybe,” she agreed.

  “And you’ve got that list of things you still need to do here.” He hoped that didn’t sound like desperation.

  “I’m ticking things off pretty fast right now and I don’t need two more weeks for it. I only post one video a day, but not every day of the week, and I made three alone yesterday. I have to decide if I want to post them all.”

  “You do. You posted the one of us sledding.”

  He’d checked that on his phone before he came down and couldn’t help but notice the look in her eyes when she said “he’s taken.” Seeing it on video warmed him more than hearing it in person because this way he got to play it over and over and analyze it more.

  “Did you watch it already?” she asked.

  “I took a peek at it before I came down. I wanted to see if you edited it.”

  “Which you saw I didn’t.”

  That had to mean something, but he didn’t want to point that out and worry that it might make her run when he was trying so desperately for the opposite. “I’m glad.”

  “I bet you are. Did you happen to notice all the comments I got already, even though I posted it much later than normal?”

  He had noticed it and felt his face blush. “It was a nice boost to my ego.”

  She laughed and he was glad to see it. That maybe he was cheering her up a little.

  “Most guys would say that. You might have some admirers that want to come here now. I believe there were several comments from ladies wondering if they could get private lessons from the owner.”

  “I don’t give lessons or instructions.”

  “Really?” she asked, looking up from her cooking. She was moving seamlessly through breakfast while they chatted, but this time she paused. “Then why did you offer it with me?”

  “You know the answer to that,” he said, walking forward and pulling her into his arms. “Don’t go. Stay for the duration and spend more time with me.” It was the closest he was going to come to begging.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Because I want you to. Because I think you need it as much as I want it.”

  “I think so too.”

  Holding Her Tight

  Two days later, Zeke walked into Erika’s office after she’d sent him a frantic message. He couldn’t imagine what this was all about now, but he’d learned to decipher his sister’s neurosis.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Robert just up and quit.”

  “What?” he asked, not sure he heard her. “Today? Just quit? No notice, nothing? No reasons?”

  “Oh, he had a reason.” He had to squash the urge to plug his ears with the high-pitched tone she was using. “His reason was Kendall’s interview at a rival restaurant was the last straw.”

  “You’re joking, right? She posted about our restaurant once already.”

  “She did and I told him that. He waved his hand as if that didn’t matter because it was a lunch special. He wanted to be interviewed. I told him that she already talked to me about it and would be reaching out to him.”

  “What was his response?” he asked.

  “That isn’t what really pissed him off,” Erika said, starting to pace. She only paced when she worried about work, not when she was mad.

  “What set him off then?” Zeke asked, trying to run things through his mind. This was his part of the business to handle. He’d have to find a replacement. There were still plenty of staff to fill in, so they should be fine in the meantime.

  “That you were with Kendall. He saw that as a slap in the face to him, that his boss was seen not only eating but praising his competitor.”

  “Give me a break. First off, Robert has never considered me or you his boss at all. He barely tolerates either of us, and frankly, I’m not sorry to see him go. Especially over a stupid reason like that. We’ve always spread the word and he knows it. Others in the town refer their guests to us too.”

  “I know. I know. I tried to say that too, but that just pissed him off more. Then he started to laugh at me.”

  “Asshole,” Zeke said.

  “Zeke. We’ve got the Montgomery wedding on Saturday. That is why he was laughing.”

  “Shit,” he said.

  The Montgomerys had been coming here for years. Bringing parties here and renting out not only entire floors but also all the cottages when they had family reunions. Matter of fact, they had an entire floor filled for the wedding party alone and then most of the cottages for the weekend. Some of the guests were staying the whole week for this wedding.

  “What are we going to do? We can’t find someone else in that short of time. The bride’s parents are going to be here tomorrow. You know how difficult they can be. How are we going to tell them our executive chef just quit without notice right before their daughter’s biggest day?”

  “We’re going to give them a better option,” he said, then walked out the door without saying a word.

  ***

  Kendall was sitting in her room answering questions and comments on the postings for the past few days. If the sled ride with Zeke generated a ton of views, the dinner that she’d posted on Sunday afternoon brought even more.

  But Monday, she posted the hot tub interview. Her viewers were going nuts right now.

  There was a knock at her door, so she got up to see who it could be. She was going to take a stroll down Main Street today and had a few businesses lined up to stop in and interview, hopefully getting her a few days’ worth of videos and allowing her more time to relax while she was here.

  She didn’t post videos or write-ups seven days a week, so if she missed a day here and there it’d be fine, but she was trying to take her mind off of Zeke.

  Off the wonderful night they’d spent together and the breakfast afterward.

  How he read her mind and tried to calm her. Soothe her.

  Convince her to stay.

  Then he let her leave and they hadn’t done more than text the rest of Sunday and yesterday. She hadn’t even seen him and she wondered what could be going on.

  If he wined and dined her, got her in his bed and was now ready to move on to someone else. She’d heard enough ladies whispering about the hot owner in the week she’d been here. Maybe now that he got what he wanted he was done with her.

  She walked to the door and saw the object of her confusion standing right there grinning at her. “Hey,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  He nudged his way in, shut her door, and then yanked her into his arms and kissed her for everything it was worth. All her thoughts, all her doubts, all her confusion flew out of her brain when she felt his arms holding her tight.

  “Damn, I’ve been missing that already.”

  She sighed like a love-struck fool, and when she heard him laugh, she knew he understood her reason for it. “Wh
at do I owe this visit to? Not that I mind in the least. Matter of fact, there is a bed right there if you have time since you’ve been ignoring me lately.”

  She fought the urge to slap her hand in front of her mouth for admitting that. Talk about giving herself away.

  The last thing she wanted was him to guess that she might be insecure about things. That he might have gotten what he wanted out of her and was now counting down the time until she left so he could find another conquest.

  She didn’t want to believe that one bit, but she had little experience in vacation flings and she was guessing he had a lot.

  “Sorry,” he said, pushing her hair behind her ear. “After you left on Sunday I was called in for an emergency in the barn. One of the horses had taken ill. Then yesterday was more of the same in terms of emergencies. I’ve got a few people out sick so I’m running all over the place.”

  That hadn’t occurred to her. The place was constantly busy with activity and though she’d always seen staff around inside, she realized that there was probably more activity with the outside and the grounds. “Everything all taken care of?”

  “It was, until Erika just called me to her office. We lost another staff member today. An important one.”

  “That stinks. I can’t tell you how much it annoys me when one of my staff doesn’t show up or just quits without notice. It throws the whole flow of the kitchen off if you can’t find a replacement right away or are down a person.”

  “I figured you’d understand my situation.”

  “I do. Maybe once you get that squared away we could try to get some dinner or something sometime this week? I’ve got a full day, but I’m hoping to get a bunch of interviews lined up to carry me through the rest of the week.”

  “Good. That’s really good to hear.”

  She frowned. “Good for dinner or that I’m lining things up?” Was he wanting her to leave?