Christmas on the Last Frontier (Last Frontier Lodge #1) (7 page)

She trembled with want as he moved toward her. The bed dipped when he rested on a knee, the heat of his body moving over hers in blur. She felt the tip of his cock at her entrance. His elbows bracketed her face. He brushed her tangled hair off her forehead, his eyes dark and intent. The air around them felt alive—vibrating with passion. She shifted restlessly under him, desperate to feel him inside of her. She should have known he’d maintain control and drive her further into the fire that consumed her. He proceeded to feather kisses across her face, down her neck and over her breasts. All the while, he nudged at her entrance in subtle strokes.

Unable to tolerate the want coiling inside of her, she scored his back when she dragged her nails down and grabbed his hips, arching into him. He swore and surged into her in one deep thrust, filling her completely. Though she wasn’t a virgin, years without sex left her tight. Gage was, of course, well-endowed. She gasped at the feel of him inside, stretching her. He held still for a long moment, and then began to move. She may have broken his discipline long enough to get him inside of her, but he found it again and proceeded to drive her wild with slow strokes.

Feverish with desire, she tumbled back into the web around them. She danced on the delicious edge of another orgasm, the pressure building and building until she shattered and flew apart. Only then did he alter his pace, his hips drumming into hers, his back arching as shuddered against her. In the aftermath, he fell to her side, still inside of her. They lay still in the quiet room—the only sound their ragged breathing.

As Marley came back to herself, she felt suddenly self-conscious. She’d wanted this like she’d never wanted anything before. But she couldn’t have known she’d lose herself in it. She figured Gage was accustomed to making women fall apart in his arms. She braved a glance at him and found his gray eyes closed, his lashes dark against his cheeks. His chest rose and fell with his breath. As she looked at him, he opened his eyes. She flushed, but she managed not to look away. He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek before bringing his lips to hers briefly. Without a word, he shifted his hips away from hers and rolled to stand. He strode to the bathroom adjacent to her bedroom. She heard a rustle and the water running before he returned. She assumed he’d disposed of his condom.

Entirely unselfconscious about his body, he walked to the bed and lifted the covers, gesturing for her to move. Uncertain what he meant to do, she rolled out of the way. He climbed in bed beside her and tucked the quilt around them both, pulling her against his chest. His palm was warm on her back as he stroked in slow circles, the rough skin sending tiny shivers through her. She couldn’t help the sense of comfort that stole over her—unfamiliar and yet a feeling she craved.

Gage’s chest rumbled when he spoke. “Unless you tell me I can’t stay here, I wasn’t planning on leaving.”

Marley lifted her head. His eyes met hers, the tiniest glimmer of uncertainty flaring in their depths. She took a breath. “I wasn’t planning to ask you to leave,” she said softly.

“Well, that’s settled then.”

His voice was gruff, the corner of his mouth kicked up. She couldn’t help her smile. He reached behind her and switched off the lamp. Resting her head on his shoulder, she looked out the window that faced the forest. Stars were bright in the dark sky. A sliver of the moon sat above the mountains across the bay. She fell asleep, feeling sated, safe and warm. For the first time in months, it didn’t cross her mind to check the locks.

Chapter 7

Gage walked across the roof to the area where he’d left some extra shingles. He’d spent most of the morning replacing torn and missing shingles on the lodge’s interconnected rooftops. For the most part, the roof had held up well, but long winters, windstorms and ice had left a few damaged areas. He was finishing up the last repair. He grabbed the shingles and strode back to where he was working. He quickly pried up the torn shingle and replaced it with a new section. After applying sealant and nailing it in place, he hefted the backpack he’d used to carry his tools and tossed it over his shoulders. The roof had a slight slope to it, but it was easy enough to walk around. He paused by the chimney in the center of the main portion of the lodge and admired the view. Kachemak Bay sat quietly under the sun, the water calm today. The snowy mountains were bright against the blue sky. From here, he could see beyond the bay into Cook Inlet, Mount Augustine rising in the waters in the distance. The air was brisk, the scent of wood smoke drifting from someone’s woodstove.

He instantly wondered if it was Marley’s. It had been two days since she’d knocked the axis of his world sideways. Before he’d been skin to skin with her, he’d become quite familiar with the depth of his lust for her. But he couldn’t have known what it would feel like to
be
with her. He’d walked in thinking he could control the situation. Instead, he’d come out on the other side wondering how to catch hold of the reins again. Marley affected him like no woman had ever affected him. Her complete lack of artifice combined with her utter abandonment into the passion that burned like a brushfire between them was intoxicating. He turned and walked to the edge of the roof, quickly climbing down the ladder. The sun was still high in the sky, but it was early afternoon, which meant he only had a few hours of good daylight left to add another coat of paint on one of the buildings.

Hours later, he leaned against the steel table that ran through the center of the main kitchen at the lodge. As a boy, he recalled this room as a bustle of activity from dawn until late at night. He’d made his way through stacks of faded cards with phone numbers from the old staff at the lodge. Though it had been many years since any of them would have worked here, Gage figured it was worth a shot to do some reconnaissance to find out if any former employees were still in town. The further he got into the work of his dream to reopen the lodge, the more he realized he needed help, lots of help.

His vision of reopening the lodge was turning out to be rather vague. He’d convinced himself he’d do the hard work of repairs and the lodge would magically open. Thanks to Marley, he had help with the online side of things, but he needed a functioning restaurant, staff to handle the hotel guests, and staff on the slopes. The coffee maker beeped, and he strode over and poured a cup. He liked his coffee strong and black—no frills. He walked from the kitchen into the office and started perusing the list of names he’d found.

“Hello?”

He whirled around in his chair to find an older man standing in the doorway. The man was tall, lean and weathered. Gage thought he was familiar, but he couldn’t place him.

“Hi there, can I help you?” Gage asked.

The man removed the faded baseball cap he wore and eyed Gage. “Gage Hamilton?”

Gage nodded slowly. “That’s me.”

The man’s blue eyes crinkled at the corners with a smile that instantly shifted to a chuckle. “Well, well. I heard from the guys at the hardware store you were up here doing all kinds of work. I’m guessing you don’t remember me.”

Gage eyed the man. “You look familiar, but if you know who I am, then you know I haven’t been here in about twenty years. I’m not up to speed on who’s who. Care to refresh my memory?”

The man stepped into the room. Gage stood to meet him, reaching out to shake his hand. “Don Peters. I worked for your grandparents for years, mostly running the lifts and doing slope work, but I helped out on the grounds during the rest of the year. My wife ran the kitchen during ski season.”

Gage’s memory clicked. “Oh yes! I remember you now. Good to see you. Have a seat,” he said, gesturing for Don to sit in one of the chairs at the table nearby.

He grabbed his cup of coffee and followed him over. “Would you like some coffee? Can’t say I can even come close to what your wife used to do around here, but I can make coffee.”

Don shook his head. “No thanks. Just thought I’d drop in and take a look around.” His eyes traveled around the sparsely furnished office and through the door into the empty restaurant. When his eyes made it back around the room to Gage’s, they held a hint of sadness. “Damn, it’s been a long time. Hard to see this place empty.”

Don shifted in his chair. Gage experienced a pang, recognizing that while he’d only known this man in passing when he was young, Don had been a fixture at the ski lodge. Gage remembered Don’s wife, Sandy, well. He’d spent many a snowy afternoon running in and out of the kitchen looking for whatever scraps of food Sandy would provide. She often made them sandwiches for lunch and snuck him bits and pieces of fancier dishes on big nights at the lodge. His memory was of a warm, soft woman, her hair always worn in a braid that swung over her shoulder, her bright brown eyes kind and smiling.

“I remember your wife. She was always feeding me and my brothers and sisters. Sandy, right?”

The sadness in Don’s eyes sharpened, but he didn’t look away. He nodded brusquely. “Sandy wanted to feed the world, and she mostly did around here in Diamond Creek. She loved you kids. She, uh, passed away three years ago. Pancreatic cancer. By the time they found it, it was too late. Though we learned not many people survive that kind of cancer. I’m just glad she didn’t have a lot of pain.” Don paused. “I miss her every day,” he said plainly. “She’d have been beside herself to know you were opening this place again. Had to come see for myself.”

Gage’s heart tightened, a flash of sadness piercing him. Though Sandy was but a memory for him, she was a part of what he’d loved at the lodge—she’d made everyone feel welcome. He met Don’s eyes and wanted to turn back time. Time was both a blessing and a curse. Time passed and pain eased. But one could never go back, so when you lost someone you loved, you had to accept the finality of it. He was pleased to know Sandy would have been happy about the lodge opening again. He only hoped he could do it justice. He took a breath. “I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I, uh, wish I’d had a chance to see her again. I may have been away for a long time, but I remember her well. She was funny and nice and always took care of us kids.”

Don nodded slowly, his smile soft and worn. “Sandy was that kind of woman. If you spent much time with her, she was hard to forget, so thank you for that. But I’m okay. I miss her, but she’d give me all kinds of hell if I moped around too much, so I try to live the way she’d want me to. That’s what got me up here today. Boy, if she were still with us, she’d have been pounding down your door. So what’s the plan?”

“Well, I had a great plan and I thought it was really simple. When Gram died, I inherited this place with my brothers and sisters. I’ve got the largest share and seem to be the only one who missed this place like crazy. So, I came up here to reopen it. I thought all I’d need to do was take care of a few repairs and off we’d go.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I forgot the hard part—like running the restaurant, finding staff to help out on the slopes, that kind of thing. I found a little help for the website though. Marley Adams offered to help with that, which is a damn good thing because I have no clue about that. My sisters keep saying I had to get a website, but without Marley, I don’t think it would happen.”

Saying Marley’s name conjured her in Gage’s mind. His body instantly tightened. He had to force his thoughts off of her and back to Don.

Don grinned. “Marley Adams, huh? She’s a good kid. Her parents are good friends of ours. I mean, mine. She just moved back to town after that scare in Seattle. Her parents are tickled pink, and I’m glad to hear she’s helping you out. She needs something to do. That brain of hers never stops.”

Gage couldn’t help it. His mind got hung up on the “scare in Seattle” that Don mentioned. It brought back a memory from the other night when he asked her why she moved back to Diamond Creek. She’d answered, but her answer had been vague and her eyes had been guarded. “I ran into her when she was hiking up here. I gathered she only moved back recently, but what happened?”

Don didn’t seem to mind Gage’s question and appeared oblivious to the depth of Gage’s curiosity. “She walked into her apartment being robbed in Seattle. Her father told me she got lucky to come away with only a few bruises. Guy whipped her good with his gun and then stripped her place. Her parents have wanted her back home for years. She’s smart as a whip and could probably run circles around those city tech guys, but she’s a Diamond Creek girl through and through. I’m glad to know you met her. Though I haven’t seen you in years, you were always a good boy. She could use a friend,” Don said gruffly.

Gage barely heard a word Don said past the details of the robbery. Fury rushed through him so fast he had to force himself to breath slowly. Fortunately, he was an expert at staying stone cold on the outside no matter how he felt inside. Knowing that someone hurt Marley like that just to steal from her made him sick with anger. His mind locked on the wish to personally find and destroy the man who hurt her. On the heels of that anger came an intense wave of protectiveness.

Don cleared his throat. Gage realized he’d gone quiet. He wasn’t concerned the turmoil he felt inside had shown, but he had some manners. He met Don’s eyes again. “That shouldn’t happen to anyone. I’m glad she’s okay. Do you know if they caught whoever did it?”

Don shrugged. “Far as I know, they haven’t. It’s only been a few months. She moved back about a month ago.”

Gage nodded slowly. “Well, good thing she’s back. Can’t imagine something like that happening around here.”

Don shook his head. “Definitely not. You probably didn’t realize it, but you got yourself a hot shot computer programmer getting your website going. Marley’ll do a good job for you,” he said, grinning proudly.

Gage kept his focus firmly on the present. He knew if he let himself think too much about what Don told him, his mind would go in circles. He shifted the topic off Marley. “Speaking of help, any suggestions on who I could hire here? I’d like to have the lodge open by the holidays. I’m not saying that’s what you’re looking for, but if you want your old job back, it’s yours. I could use any help you’re willing to give.”