Exposed: New Adult Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 5) (13 page)

I move my hands under his shirt, and the strong cords of muscle in his lower back flex under my touch. His scent is familiar as we fall back into the way we were. When he pulls away, my fingers go to my mouth, and I wish he hadn’t stopped.

“God, Ruby, this is just like I remembered.”

“I know.” I lean into his chest as his arms wrap around my waist.

He tips my face up with a finger. “Earlier today was hot.”

Those pale blue eyes are like pools of water, and I’m tempted to jump in. “Uh-huh, but—”

Trevor twists a strand of my hair. “We’ll go slow. I love you for way more than the sex.”

I sigh. “Okay, good. Because I’m scared.”

“Of getting pregnant again?”

I snort. “No. You’ll be wearing layers if I have any say.”

“Are you on birth control?”

“No.” While it was the first thing I did after having a baby knowing I was going off to college, since I moved here there hasn’t been a reason, and I let my prescription run out. “But, that is a definite has-to-happen before we, you know—”

“Fuck?” He grins at the face I make and says, “Screw?” I shrug, and Trevor’s finger traces along my lower lip. “How about make love?”

“Ah?” Do I love him?

Trevor steps back to give me space. “We can figure out what to call it when the time comes. Does that work?”

“Yes.” My shoulders loosen as I relax.

“Why don’t you show me your line?”

I direct him to the couch and spend time pulling out the pieces and demonstrating to him how they mix and match by holding them up to my body. Trevor laughs at the way I dance around with my clothing, and I remember how easy it is to be myself with him.

Trevor says, “You’ve found what you’re supposed to do. Not only are you great at it, but I love the way sharing this with me makes you happy.”

I tuck a leg under me and sit down so I can see him. “I think I have. Not only do I love designing, but selling them to women that adore my style is such a crazy-good feeling.”

Trevor takes my hand. “I get it. That’s how I feel coaching kids. When they’re successful at something we’ve worked on, it makes my heart soar.”

“Heart soar? You’re getting soft on me.”

His voice lowers as he leans in close. “Something else makes my heart soar lately.”

When his lips touch mine I move us to the next level quickly. Within seconds his body is lying on top of mine, and his thigh is in the perfect position for me to grind into him.

Oh, God, I want so much more than just a kiss right now. But fear of going too fast makes me stop abruptly. “Wait.”

Trevor lifts his chest off me and leans onto his elbows, but his lower body is still touching me. “You call the shots. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to.” He flexes his hips slightly. “I think you can tell I’m so hard for you I could burst, but I won’t be an asshole like I was in high school.”

The truth is Trevor did convince me to have sex before I was ready. And because I ended up loving it, and wanting it as much as he did, he never let me live it down. He would pull that out any time I was hesitant about trying something new.

I push at his chest, and we both sit up. “You’re really going to let me make the first move?”

He winks. “Yup, I guess the moment you get that birth control, the brakes will be off. I know you can’t resist what I’ve got.”

I chuckle at him and his cockiness. Straddling his lap I lean down to kiss him again. “Are you ready to do what I say this time? Because I’ve got a lot of new ideas.”

“Baby, whatever it is, if it’s with you, the answer’s yes.”

Chapter 19

To
day I’m not going to do one bit of work. I’m skiing with Trevor, Casey, Jason, Megan, and Nick, and we have plans to go out for food afterward. My skis clatter as I wiggle them into my car. I run a mental checklist to make sure I’m not forgetting anything.

Trevor and I hung out with pizza and a James Bond movie last night, and he left by nine so I could get a solid night of sleep. Going no further than kissing, he was true to his word and didn’t push for more.

I text Trevor I’m on my way. Because everyone else is an instructor, their things are in a locker room. However, I have to park and then take a shuttle to the base of Peak 8 where the others will meet me. We got a nice dumping of powder last night, and I’m looking forward to a great ski day.

The windshield wipers skip across my dry window as they return from swiping off the light dusting of snow that accumulated while I was getting ready. I smile, thinking about how the girls must be dying for the scoop on Trevor and me. I’ve been too busy for girls’ night, and the only information they have is from brief texts. My guess is there will be at least one chairlift ride that excludes the guys so we can catch up.

My wheels rumble over the paths of packed snow on the road to Breck. Up ahead is a remote parking lot, and I pull in, noticing a shuttle down the road and on its way. If I scramble, I can catch it instead of waiting ten minutes for the next one.

Sweat trickles down my neck as my bottom lands on a hard plastic bench. Heat is blasting, and I unzip my fleece to cool off. A family is across from me, and the young boy is poking his sister while the parents are ignoring them. I do too and turn to watch the scenery pass by. Dark green pine trees are frosted with white and set against the gray sky, making the world look as if it’s done in mono-color.

Clomping down the metal steps from the bus, a snowflake tickles my nose, and I wait my turn to pull my skis up and out of the pockets for storage on the outside of the shuttle. Trevor told me to text when I arrived and he would come meet me in the lodge.

Fifteen minutes later I’m on the chairlift with only Casey and Megan. Casey pulls the metal safety bar down, and it thumps before she says, “Spill it, girl. We’re dying here.”

I snort. “I bet you are. Okay, Trevor was my high school boyfriend. And when we saw each other after all these years, we decided to try again.”

Megan says, “Wow, so you two still have a spark? That’s quite romantic.”

I grin. ”Yeah, it kind of is.”

Casey asks, “So what happened to break you up?”

Oh, boy, I can’t tell them about the pregnancy, and I know how the cheating thing would sound. “I moved here my senior year, and we lost touch.” Or I just didn’t respond to Trevor’s texts. That’s the same thing, right?

Casey says, “Well, he’s most definitely a hottie, so good for you.”

Megan hits her arm. “He’s a nice guy, too. I swear, all you think about is sex.”

Casey replies, “And you don’t? I’ve seen that secretive look Nick gives you at least once a day.”

“What? He does not!”

I chuckle at my friends as Casey says, “Not buying it. I think you living-in-sin types just don’t realize not everyone has access to bedroom gymnastics every day.”

Megan says, “Oh, my God, I don’t even know what to react to first. Bedroom gymnastics?” She hits Casey again. “And from what I hear, you’re practically living in sin yourself. You and Lori have the whole slumber party thing going on at your house.”

Lori and Casey are roommates in a family-sized house. Their boyfriends live in a big lodge along with Trevor and a few other guys, and it’s known as a party house.

Casey says, “Well, the guys’ house is crazy this year. All it takes is two wild ones, and the parties just happen most nights.”

I ask, “Who are the wild ones?”

Megan leans over Casey to look at me. “Trevor and another new instructor named Ned.”

“Oh.”

My voice must have sounded upset because Casey jumps in to reassure me. “Don’t worry, the novelty of being hung over every day when you’re skiing wears off quickly. Besides, it’s probably not as bad as everyone says.”

Is Trevor hung over every day? I sure hope not. I partied in high school before we moved and some in college, but I’ve grown past that, and it’s no longer my thing.

I placate myself with the idea that Jason and Kaleb would rather be with their girlfriends, and it’s easy to use a wild house as an excuse. I push the thought out of my head as we approach the top of the chairlift where we’ll ski down a ramp to get off.

Sliding over snow on my skis is like coming home. I can’t remember a time I didn’t know how to ski. The guys rode up ahead of us, and we all convene to tighten our boots. Buckles snap as metal hits the hard plastic on our feet. Trevor sides up to me. “Think you can keep up?”

I shake my head as I pull my goggles down. “Oh, please.” It’s my first day of the season while the rest of the group has been skiing for a couple weeks, but I have no doubt I will do more than keep up. Casey and Megan were never racers, and if I know anything about skiing, it’s how to go dangerously fast.

Nick’s tall form leads the way, and the rush of snow under our skis sounds as my body prepares to move. He doesn’t bother to stop at the top of the trail, and we all glide over the lip and down the steep incline. I begin a rhythm of S-turns that are quick, and my skis snap me from the end of one into the next. Heat surges through my thighs as I extend my legs away from my body to carve racer-style.

Only Trevor is in front of me, and I chase him to the bottom. I pull up next to him. “That was sweet!”

“It was, and you haven’t lost your touch. Nice turns.”

“Thanks.”

The rest of our group pulls up, and Jason says, “Day-um, Ruby, you laid it out there.” He’s referring to the way my skis extended away from my body in race turns that take years to perfect.

I grin at him because now that I’ve proven myself to the guys, today will be fun. I’ve skied with Megan and Casey before, and they know I’m up for anything. We spend our time skiing hidden spots known well by my instructor friends.

After our last run the group went to the locker room while I headed to the lodge. I walk slowly down the wood stairs toward the parking lot. Even if I was in competitive shape, the first day back on snow uses some muscles I swear are only for skiing.

Trevor said to meet him by the locker room and he’d give me a ride to my car. I notice him approach me, and he jogs when he sees me. “Let me take those.”

I hand over my skis gratefully. “I’m exhausted. You guys don’t let up.”

“Yeah, we ski hard on our days off.” Trevor reaches for my bag too, and I let the weight slip from my shoulder onto my forearm as he asks, “Hungry?”

“Starved. Where are we going?”

“Down Under.”

Uh-oh. Chances are good we’ll run into Neal, and I’m not sure I’m ready to introduce him to my renewed boyfriend. We approach a black truck that is worth more money than Trevor can probably afford on his own. And my memory of his parents makes me think they bought it for him when he was in college.

My legs want to rebel when I climb up into it. Trevor is about to throw my bag behind my seat until I stop him. “I still need to change into jeans and do a little primping.”

He raises his eyebrows at me. “You’re going to get naked in my truck?”

I grin at him. “Close. And I’ll let you watch.”

Trevor twists in his seat toward me, and crosses his arms. “I think I’m going to like this.”

Nylon swishes as I slide my ski pants down. I throw them at Trevor, and he catches them before they hit his face. Slouching myself down in the seat I lift my hips to peel off my long underwear and extend my leg dramatically to be funny. He whistles a catcall at me, and I giggle.

When I begin to slither into my jeans Trevor groans. “Damn, I was hoping you’d keep going.”

“If I did, I might not get dinner.”

Trevor folds my clothes for me as I rummaged through my bag for makeup. I notice the sweet gesture as he says, “Good point.” He lowers the tone to a sexy level and says, “Although you for dinner would make me very happy.”

My insides twinge, and I welcome Trevor’s lips on mine. Reminiscent of so many times before, we end up driving to town with the defroster on for the steamed-up windows.

Chapter 20

Tre
vor’s fingers are warm around my hand as we walk toward Down Under. The afterglow of making out is fading the closer we get. I shouldn’t be so anxious about Neal seeing me with Trevor. Neal has made it clear we can’t be together, and me having a boyfriend would make our attraction easier to ignore. Right?