“A man has priorities,” he says with a shrug, pulling his coat off and then mine and hanging them on the hall tree by the front door. “And a sexy woman to take care of.”
“You’re sweet.” I tuck my hands under my arms, willing them to warm up. “I think I skated for too long. It was just so fun! I didn’t want to leave.”
“We can always go back,” he says with a laugh and leads me to the living area. “Here, sit down, and I’ll go get the tub ready.”
“Oh, there’s a lock, and you have to—”
“I know my way around a hot tub,” he assures me and disappears outside. The snow is still falling harder up here on the mountain. It’s pretty, but it’s also coming to that time of year when I just long for spring.
Christian walks back inside and crooks a finger at me. “Come here.”
“Yes, sir, bossy man.” I stand and walk to him. He gets to work stripping me naked, then lifts me in his arms and carries me out to the tub. “Oh, shit, it’s cold.”
“Not for long.” He lowers me down into the water, and I immediately sigh in happiness. “You soak for a few. I’ll be back.”
He shuts the door behind him, and I’m left outside, watching the snow fall and letting the hot water soak into my skin.
When Christian returns, he’s carrying towels and two glasses of wine, and if I weren’t already in love with him, I would fall all over again.
“Here you go,” he says, passing me both glasses so he can set the towels aside.
He’s blissfully naked. His muscles move with ease, and it’s as though the cold doesn’t bother him at all as he moves about the deck.
He finally swings a leg over and joins me. I pass him his glass and take a sip of mine, watching him over the rim.
“Thanks for this evening,” I say.
“I had fun, too,” he says. “God, that snow is beautiful.”
“Hmm.” I watch it for a while in silence as we enjoy our wine and our soak. “I love it until about the middle of January.”
“What happens then?”
“Well, I love the change of seasons, and when the snow starts, it ramps up for Christmas, and I love the holidays. But after New Year’s, it’s just snow. Months and months of snow.”
“You get sick of it.”
“I do. February is the longest month of the year here, and if we’re lucky, we start to melt out around the end of March.”
“You should spend February somewhere warm,” he suggests, and I nod, considering.
“I would, but I have businesses to run here.”
“Could you hire an agency to take care of the rentals while you’re gone?”
I smile and sip my wine. “A type-A control freak has issues with such things.”
“You’re not a control freak.”
“I am when it comes to my business. But to answer your question, yes. I could. In theory. But I’m not the wealthy sibling. That’s Max. Although, he does own a nice condo near San Diego that he hardly uses.”
I glance over at Christian and grimace.
“Sorry, I’m babbling.”
“No, you’re thinking out loud.” He swirls his wine, watching it. “I could take you somewhere warm. Anywhere you want to go.”
“I wasn’t fishing around for a vacation offer from you, Christian.”
He sloshes through the water, sets our wine glasses aside, and scoops me into his lap. My shoulders are out of the hot water and in the cool air, and his eyes are hot on me.
He looks almost frustrated.
“I don’t know how much to offer or what to say,” he says and cups my cheek in his wet hand. “So, I’m just going to say what I’m thinking. Accepting gifts from me doesn’t make you a gold digger.”
“I didn’t say—”
“Let me finish.”
I swallow my words and close my mouth.
“I have more money than I can ever spend in my lifetime, Jenna. I’m not bragging, it’s just fact. I could buy you a fucking island if that’s what you want.”
“I don’t really need a whole island.”
He covers my lips with his finger.
“Shh.” I bite his fingertip, and he keeps talking. “All I’m suggesting is, if you’d like to leave for the month of February to get out of the snow for a while, we can make that happen.”
I push my fingers through his hair, wetting it.
“You’re not saying anything.”
“You told me to shut it.”
He laughs and lifts my hips, then settles me over his hard cock and slides easily into me.
“You were such a plot twist,” he murmurs against my lips before kissing me silly. I don’t even care that I’m partially out of the water, all I can feel is Christian. Under me and inside me, he’s all I can focus on. “You make me lose my mind.”
I move over him, rocking my hips and making the water sluice over our bodies, over the side of the tub. His lips lock on my breast, his hands cupping my ass.
I lean in and press my forehead to his, and the next thing I know, I’m sitting on the edge of the tub, and he’s standing in the water, fucking me hard and fast.
The combination of cold air, hot water, and the sexiest man I know doing unspeakably insane things to my body is almost too much for me to handle.
I combust, exploding into a million stars, and when I come back together again, Christian is there, holding me and smiling at me.
He lowers us back into the water, and I slip back onto his lap to lay my head on his shoulder.
“I had no idea that vacation talk did that to you,” I say, earning a kiss on the forehead.
“You do that to me.”
* * *
“Here.” I hold a frozen huckleberry to Christian’s lips the next morning. He plucks it out of my fingers with his lips and then kisses my fingertips.
“Mm.” He grabs one of my ponytails and gives it a tug. “You look young with these.”
“I just wanted my hair out of my way,” I reply and get back to work making huckleberry pancakes. “Do you have the movie ready?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says and leans against the countertop, drinking out of my mug that has a picture of a taco and says Every now and then I fall apart. “Are you sure you want to watch that movie?”
“Why? You said I could pick the first one.”
I flip the pancakes and glance his way. He’s shirtless again, which doesn’t hurt my feelings in the least. How is it that it’s December and he’s been here for almost three weeks, and he still looks tan?
It’s ridiculous.
“I know, I’m just making sure this is the movie you want to watch.”
I frown. “What’s wrong with Steel Magnolias?”
His brows climb on his forehead, and then he takes another sip of coffee.
“It has really good actors in it,” I remind him.
“You’re right.”
“And it’s one of my favorites.” I put the pancakes in the oven to keep warm, then pour two more onto the skillet. “Do you hate it or something?”
“I don’t get it,” he finally admits. “I just don’t think it’s about anything. Except sadness and despair.”
I bust out laughing. “It’s about friendship, Christian.”
“People die and have surgeries and weddings. And a baby.”
“Yes.” I sprinkle huckleberries on the pancakes. “See, you just need a refresher so you can finally see the genius of the film.”
He sets his mug down and wraps his arms around me from behind, pressing his already semi-hard cock against my lower back.
“What do I have to do to talk you into something else?”
“If you hate it that much, I’ll pick a different one.”
I flip the pancakes, and he spins me around, cupping my face and kissing me senseless. “You’d do that for me?” he asks against my lips.
“I mean, it’s a hardship, but yes. I don’t want to torture you.”
He grins. “You’d better take
those pancakes off the burner.”
“Oh!” I turn and pull them off just in time, but before I can make more, he slides the skillet off the flame and tugs me back into his arms. “Christian, I’m trying to cook you breakfast here.”
“And I need to show you my appreciation.” He nuzzles my neck and slides his hands under my pajama pants, cupping my bare ass. “You’re not wearing panties.”
“You just take them off.”
He moans in agreement and works the elastic down my hips, and the pants pool around my ankles.
“Cooking while naked isn’t safe,” I remind him.
“It’s a good thing you’re not cooking anymore.” He boosts me onto the countertop and squats, eye level with my pussy. “Look at you, all wet and ready for me.”
“I mean, you kissed my neck, so it’s not really my fault.”
“I’m going to kiss more than your neck.”
Never one to make hollow promises, he buries his face in my core and takes me on a rollercoaster ride of sensation, from light interest to burning orgasm in about six seconds.
Jesus, the man is good with his mouth.
He stands and is tall enough to sink inside me, right there, bracing himself against the cupboards as he moves in and out.
My shirt’s still on, but he pushes the hem up so he can cup my breast, teasing the nipple in his fingertips.
“You fucking turn me on,” he growls just before he comes spectacularly, leans in to kiss me, and then helps me off the counter. “I think it’s your smart mouth.”
“I am rather smart,” I agree as I shimmy back into my pants and finish making breakfast. “Now, if I let you eat this in bed, you have to promise not to get crumbs in the sheets.” I turn to look at him, take in the sexiness, and reconsider. “Actually, I wouldn’t kick you out of bed unless you wanted to do it on the floor.”
He snickers as he carries the syrup, butter, and our forks to the bed. Steel Magnolias is queued up on the TV.
“We can change it.”
“What would you rather watch?”
I think about it for a moment, buttering my pancakes. “Beaches,” I reply, and he flops back on the bed, covering his face with a pillow and yelling as if he’s in great pain.
I can’t help but laugh at him as he peeks out at me.
“You’re killing me, fancy face.”
“It’s a classic.”
“It’s sad. Why do girls always want to watch sad movies?”
“Okay, let me think.” I take a bite of my pancakes, then reach for a piece of bacon. “I haven’t seen that one with Matt Damon where he gets stuck on Mars.”
“That’s one I can get behind,” he says and reaches for the remote.
“Have you seen it?”
“I’ve seen almost everything,” he replies. “And I don’t mind watching it again.”
“Is it like doing homework? I watch a lot of HGTV, and I go on the Parade of Homes and stuff because I like seeing what’s out there in real estate. Is it the same with you and movies?”
He takes a bite of bacon, thinking it over. “Sort of, I guess. But mostly, I just love films. I enjoy being swept up in the fiction of it.”
“Fairy tales are a fun place to be swept up in.”
“I think that’s why, although I can respect the acting in movies like Steel Magnolias and Beaches, they aren’t my favorites. It’s not that I don’t want to be moved, to feel what they’re feeling. But I don’t like it when there’s not a happily ever after. That’s what Hollywood is all about, in my opinion.”
“You want it all to work out in the end.”
“Absolutely. I want to leave the theater with hope. I don’t want to be sad for the rest of the day.”
“I can see that.” I finish my breakfast and set my plate on the floor. “Did I tell you that the girls and I watched a couple of your films the other night?”
He stops chewing and narrows his eyes at me. “No. You didn’t.”
“Well, we did.”
“Which ones?”
I tell him, and he smiles. “Who picked?”
“Grace, I think. She and Jacob have an amazing theater in their house.”
“I have one in my house in L.A., as well. It’s my favorite room in the place.”
I frown, reminded that he has a big life in California that doesn’t have much of anything to do with me.
But I refuse to let it interfere with my time with Christian while he’s here in Cunningham Falls.
“What did you think of them?”
“I’d seen one before. I hadn’t seen the other and didn’t realize that you got naked in it.”
He shrugs. “And?”
“It was…uncomfortable.” I bite my lip, thinking about how I felt watching him seemingly make love to someone else. “You’re a good actor, I’ll give you that.”
“So, let me tell you what really goes down in those scenes,” he says and sets his own empty plate on the floor. “There were sixteen people in the room. Yes, I counted. It was cold, and I asked them to turn up the heat, but the soundstage we were on was just drafty, and there wasn’t much they could do about it.
“So, Krista, my co-star, was also naked and not entirely comfortable with it.”
“Why?”
“This was the day after we’d met for the first time,” he replies. “We didn’t know each other well, and she’s actually kind of shy. So, I was doing my best to keep her covered and hidden from the crew. Between takes, I’d reach for a blanket and throw it over her while the crew made adjustments and stuff.”
“Not exactly romantic.”
He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. “No. Not to mention, she’s married in real life with three kids. One of her kids had the flu, and she was worried about her, but you’d never know it from her performance. She is a professional, through and through.”
“You like her.”
“I do.” He falls back against the pillows, crossing his arms behind his head. His biceps flex, making my mouth water. “I respect her as an actor and as a person. She’s nice. So, anyway, that scene took two days to shoot, and it wasn’t even an eighth as sexy as they made it look in the movie.”
“Interesting.”
“If you ever want to, you’re welcome to come to the set and watch.”
I sigh, rub my hands over my face, then stand and gather our plates and take them out to the kitchen and walk back again, trying to pull my thoughts together. I lean on the doorjamb, watching him. He hasn’t moved.
“I don’t think there will ever come a day that I’ll ask to go with you on set to watch you pretend that you’re fucking another woman.”
He starts to speak, but I hold up my hand.
“I know it’s not real. And I’m not calling it cheating or wrong or anything like that. It’s fiction, and it’s part of your job. But I don’t want to watch it in live action.”
“Come here.”
I climb back onto the bed, but before I can snuggle up next to him, he pins me to the mattress and pulls the covers over us completely as if we’re in a blanket fort.
“It is my job,” he says softly as his eyes travel over my face. “And I love my job. But I don’t love it more than you.”
“Christian—”
“Shh.” He kisses me, then bites my lower lip. “It’s my turn to talk now. You’re welcome to come and watch whatever you want. I’ll never hide anything. And if you don’t want to, that’s okay, too.”
“Thank you.”
“But the kissing in roles, and sometimes the racier scenes will happen.”
“I know.”
“Are you okay?” He brushes his nose against mine in that way he does that makes my knees weak.
“Yes.”
“You need to know,” he begins as he kisses my neck, reawakening my body in all the right places, “that when I’m doing my job, I don’t feel like this.” He presses his hard-on against my inner thigh. “And I don’t look at my co-stars the way I look at you.�
��
“I know that, too,” I reply and cup his face in my hands. “I thought of that last night when we were skating. Because I won’t lie, I didn’t love watching you with other women on-screen. But then, when we were skating, it occurred to me that the look on your face in the movie wasn’t even close to the same as when you’re looking at me. And that’s really all I need to know, Christian.”
“You take my breath away,” he whispers and sinks into me. Where the kitchen was playful and even a bit frantic, this is slow. Private. Loving and sensual.
And damn it, I can’t get enough of him.
I never want this to end.
Chapter Fifteen
Christian
“I can’t believe you’re craving ice cream in the middle of a blizzard,” I say as I maneuver my rented SUV down the mountain. Jenna smirks at me in that way she does that makes me want to pull the car over, yank her into my lap, and kiss the fuck out of her.
“This isn’t a blizzard, city boy,” she says. “This is snow.”
“Cold snow,” I remind her. “And now you want ice cream.”
“The cravings for ice cream don’t stop with the seasons,” she says reasonably and shifts in her seat to face me. “Are you telling me that in the summer in L.A. you stop eating hot food?”
I send her the side-eye. She has a point.
And she knows it because she tips her head back and giggles.
“Okay, which grocery store are we going to?”
“Why in the world would we go to the grocery store?”
“For ice cream.”
She shakes her head. “No way. We’re going to Sweet Scoops. They have the best handmade ice cream. Seriously, it’s going to change your life.”
“That’s a bold statement.” I glance over at her to laugh, and just that fast, an elk the size of Manhattan runs out in front of us. The next three seconds happen in slow motion.
I press on the brake as Jenna grips onto the dash. I spin the wheel frantically to the left where the ditch and the mountain is. There’s a dropoff on the right, and we do not want to go that way.
But rather than go into the ditch peacefully, the SUV spins, catching on black ice, and we go out of control.
My heart is in my throat, racing.
Jenna is screaming.
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