Snow One Like You (8 page)

Sex surrounded them as she breathed
him in. His scent was as much of her as she was of him. Lust.
Satisfaction. Togetherness.

“
I need a nap.” She was
already half-asleep.

“
Worn out?” a grin and
touch of male pride.

“
You’re good. Very, very
good.”

“
Not just me, babe. We’re
good together.”

She slept an hour. She woke to find
him inside her, and leisurely thrusting. His gaze was hooded, lazy.
His smile sexy. His body fully aroused. His sex
sheathed.

Wet and turned on, she caught his
rhythm. He kissed her mouth, full and with tongue. Then seduced the
curve of her neck. Her muscles felt liquid as he palmed her breasts
and brought her nipples to button hardness. He moved inside her,
slow then fast. Slow again.

Physical friction. They were hot for
each other. The sensation was indescribable. Impossibly intense.
Greedy and desperate. They skimmed the edge of
gratification.

His breath came hard and rough near
her ear.

Hers broke sharp and jerky at his
shoulder.

The muscles in his chest
contracted.

Heat licked and seared her
senses.

Tension spiraled, and they strained to
reach completion. The air seemed to crackle as they climaxed
together. Afterward, condom disposed, they lay sated, skin brushing
naked skin, fingers laced, and thighs wedged. Even in his relaxed
state, Rhys looked powerfully male, all ripped and
semi-erect.

She kissed his chest close to his
heart and felt it pound under her lips, steady and strong. Vital.
She drew one corner of the quilt over them. Snuggled close. He held
her with the strength of never letting go.

Destiny settled bone-deep.

CHAPTER THREE

“
I liked the way you licked
sexy syrup off my chest,” Rhys said to Allie as they soaked in the
claw foot bathtub later that evening.

She leaned back, all sudsy and drowsy,
and touched her foot to his groin. Gently flicked his balls with
her toes. He groaned deep in his throat. “Tight fit in the tub, but
we could find a position.”

“
I’d rather soak,” she was
honest. “I’m…sore.”

Her words stroked his ego. They’d had
sex two additional times since they’d left the bed.

Once in the storeroom while selecting
a new sweat suit for him. Her pink terry cloth robe gaped from hip
to ankle when she’d bent over the cardboard box. He’d gotten hot.
Gone primal on her. Taken her against the wall. She’d liked wild.
He had the scratches on his shoulders to prove it.

Shortly thereafter, she’d mixed up her
sexy syrup. Both nude, he sat on a kitchen chair, and she drizzled
it, down his body. She’d straddled him on the chair, then gone down
on her knees before him, kissing, licking, and sucking raw maple
syrup shot with bourbon from his every inch. His stickiness had
immersed them in the bathtub. For a nice, hot soak.

He stared at her now, amid the light
film of steam. Her gaze was half-lidded, her lips parted. Strands
of damp hair curled against her forehead and cheeks. The tops of
her breasts were buoyant. She drew a slow, relaxed breath, and her
nipples bobbed above the amber-scented bubbles. Rosy and pebbled.
And within his reach, should he stretched out his hand.

He did not. He let her body unwind.
His, too. He leaned his head against the porcelain of the tub,
contemplating the next day. He shared his thoughts with her.
“Snowplows should’ve made it to the ridge by now. I need to catch a
ride up-mountain tomorrow.”

“
I’m happy to drive
you.’

“
What about your
after-Christmas sale?”

“
The door can open at ten
instead of nine. I’m expecting moderate business, not a big
rush.”

“
I plan to discuss your
shop with my parents first thing.”

She bit down on her bottom lip. “Are
you sure you want to do this? Move me to the lodge? We’d be seeing
a lot more of each other. Day in. Day out. I don’t want to crowd
you.”

“
You’d never crowd me,” he
assured her. “I want you close. We fit like human puzzle pieces.
The expansion will be good for your family’s business. You’ll catch
customers at both the top and bottom of the mountain.”

“
I’m excited for the
opportunity.” Extremely excited. “I’ll call and confer with my mom
and dad, too. There’s no reason for them to object.”

“
No reason at all. They’ll
be excited for us.”

“
Us…” the word hung on the
steam.

“
We make a good
team.”

“
Team…” seemed to
disappoint her.

He was as committed to her as he’d
ever been to anyone in his life, including his family. Yet he was
hesitant to say more. Not until he’d spoken with his parents.
Future plans formed in his mind. Promising and forever, and ones
he’d share with her soon. Once they were finalized.

Silence sat in the tub between them.
The water started to cool. She gave him a weak smile, said, “Time
to dry off.” Gripping the sides of the tub, she pushed up, and
stepped out. She grabbed a fluffy peach towel on a nearby rack.
Wrapped it around her. Knotted a corner above her left
breast.

“
Back to bed?” he
initiated.

“
I’d like you to hold
me.”

No mention of sex, only cuddling. He
could do that. Holding Allie proved there was more between them
than condoms. He climbed from the tub, dried off, too. Then
returned to her bedroom. They landed in bed, naked. Snuggled
beneath the quilt. Their arms and legs tangled, their breathing
even, their dreams of each other.

Allie was shy with him the next
morning. Tentative. Unsure. She fixed him oatmeal with granola,
then wheeled him up the mountain road in her Grand Cherokee. A
significant wind blew snow across the two-laner. It was slippery.
She drove slowly.

Thirty minutes, and they crested the
ridge, crossed onto five thousand acres of ski country. The
circular driveway delivered her to Forester Lodge. Built in
alpine-style, the four-story, two hundred-fifty rooms was a
picturesque façade of timber and stone veneer. Oversized windows
drew nature inside. Outdoor balconies opened to the slopes. A
five-star restaurant and luxury spa offered vacation
comforts.

Vehicles came and went, and Allie
parked beyond the entrance, so not to block traffic. Rhys leaned
across the console and stole a kiss. A kiss drawn-out, as neither
wanted to say good-bye.

“
I’ll be in touch,” he
said, straightening. “New Year’s week, and I’m jammed. I’ve
doubled-up on beginners classes in the mornings. I have groups
scheduled for cross-country skiing every afternoon. Some
snowboarding. Night skiing, too.”

Night skiing was one of her favorite
activities. The bunny hills were as well-lit as the advance slopes.
She enjoyed the beauty of the moon and the stars; the snow
sparkling under the low-glare trail lights. The quiet night air
carrying the sizzle of the ski’s edges. The breathlessness and
exhilaration of reaching the base.

Rhys ran one hand down his face, said,
“I’ve free time on Friday. We’ll get together then. I’ll text you
once I’ve spoken to my parents about your shop. Hopefully before
noon.”

She nodded, accepting his heavy
schedule. They would have little face-time this week. No sex,
either.

A final light kiss, and he climbed
from the SUV. He tapped on the rolled up window, mouthed ‘Later.’
She drove off, as happy as she was confused. Her only uncertainty:
where she stood with Rhys. She wished she knew. Business associates
seemed imminent. Lovers, appealed greatly. Was there permanence
between them? Or had sex merely satisfied his curiosity.

They were good together, Allie
admitted. In bed and out. Their history strengthened their future.
She looked ahead now. Not back.

Her prediction of a mediocre business
day proved wrong. She was swamped, from the moment she opened the
front door. Townspeople and holiday visitors couldn’t get inside
fast enough. Allie got pinned against the wall. Her eyes wide. Her
heart pounding. She barely got the door closed before it swung open
again.

A flourish of shopping, and both the
after-Christmas specials and New Year’s Eve items flew off the
shelves. She rang up sale after sale, her fingers cramping on the
cash register keys. A phenomenal day for retail. Her inventory
would soon expand to cover two stores.

She took lunch at two
o’clock. Sneaking back into the kitchen for a ham and cheese
sandwich and slice of apple pie. She stood at the counter and
checked the messages on her iPhone. There were four. Two from Rhys.
Two from her parents. Those from Rhys caught her attention
quickest.
Shop’s a go. Check it out,
anytime
had her dropping onto a chair,
lightheaded with excitement. His
miss
you
warmed her heart.

She next called her parents and
brought them up to speed. Tears banked her eyes when they accepted
without question her desire to expand. They lent both family and
financial support.

Gave her their blessing. Her life was
close to perfect.

She closed Hartley’s at seven. A long
evening stretched ahead. Lonely without Rhys. She stuffed her
jacket pockets full of pinecones, and went to the barn. To check on
the twins. The scent of fresh foliage and hay tickled her nose.
Mylo from the horse stables down the road had mucked out the barn,
replacing the hay. He did so once a day.

The landscaping service had delivered
low-bush cranberries planted in enormous metal buckets. A moose
treat. Maynard had a sweet tooth. She’d been so busy with
customers, she hadn’t heard Bill Pritchard arrive. Or depart. The
twins had wandered outside, then back in, while Bill unloaded the
bushes. They’d tracked in snow.

The boys came to her. Snorting and
sniffing for pinecones. They picked her pockets clean. Then stood
and stared into space, as if expecting Rhys to appear. “Not
tonight, guys,” she told them. She spoke to them often, whether
they understood her or not didn’t really matter. “We may not see
him for a few days. He’s busy at the lodge.” She scrubbed them both
behind the ears with her knuckles. Scratched their muzzles. Then
headed back to the store.

She took a bubble bath. Read in bed.
Let the night envelop her.

Friday arrived, the scurry of the week
behind her. Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve. She didn’t have a date.
Not an official one, anyway. Rhys had called her every day,
sometimes twice. They’d caught up. There’d been no mention of a
celebration. Just a reminder of their Friday dinner
engagement.

She planned to arrive early, and check
out the game room. Rhys said the staff had cleared out the space.
The grand opening of her gift shop was set for the first of
February. She had a month to organize and inventory Alys. The name
of her store combined both Allie and Rhys’s names. It was her small
way of thanking him for such a big opportunity. She’d yet to tell
him. She hoped to do so tonight.

She looked at herself in the mirror,
pleased with her appearance. A black cashmere sweater and matching
wool slacks. Her mistletoe necklace safe against her skin. Low dark
boots. Her brown hair flirted with her shoulders before flowing
down her back. A hint of mascara. Lip gloss. ‘Less was more’, her
mother always said. She kept it simple.

She slipped on her hound’s-tooth
winter coat. It had seen a few winters, but remained in good shape.
She had no reason to buy a new one. She was cost-conscious. A
person could only wear one coat at a time, anyway.

Shortly thereafter, she drove her
Cherokee up-mountain. Overcast skies hung low on the peak; the
ridge was barely visible. Her tires splashed slush onto the deep
drifts.

Snowflakes began to fall, and the wind
swirled. She turned on her windshield wipers. An incoming front was
forecast, but not for a day or two. The weatherman wasn’t always
right. She hoped to visit Rhys and return home before it
worsened.

Reaching the lodge, Allie slowed for
valet parking. A stretch limousine took up three spaces ahead of
her. The private driver awaited his passenger. A person could live
in that limo, Allie thought, as she stepped from her SUV and handed
the valet her keys. A moving van, ramp down, was visible in the
parking lot.

The summer staff had shifted to winter
employees. Allie nodded to the few she recognized. A doorman stood
ready. She entered the lodge. Familiarity washed over her. The
interior was a mélange of old and new, rustic and romantic.
Interchanging natural Vermont woods and stones, thick birch bark
columns. Furnishings ranged from overstuffed sofas to leather
chairs. Low glass tables. The patterns, textures, and hues were as
vibrant and warm as the flames in the fireplace. Fiery earth
tones.

A resort calendar posted events near
the reception desk. Upcoming, a symposium dedicated to spring and
summer activities. Nature walks, hiking, a nine-hole putting
course, outdoor theater. Allie walked down the main hallway,
wanting to locate her shop. She passed a small florist. Fresh
blooms brightened snowy days. Rich chocolate wafted from the next
doorway. An international chocolatier. The chocolate-covered
strawberries in the window looked delicious. As did the champagne
truffles