Chapter 4
“L ast chance to run away, Corey,” Lisa stated wishing he’d turn the car around, take them back to the airport, and go anywhere other than where they were headed.
“It’ll be fine,” he said kissing her hand as he tried to concentrate on the roads. The area was covered with snow, and he wasn’t used to driving in it anymore, not to mention it was a completely different vehicle. “It’s a left down this road, right?”
“If I say no, would you believe me?”
“No,” he laughed following the path down until it got decisively more snow covered. “Looks like they got some fresh snow.”
“Hmm? Oh no, this is probably a couple days old; plows don’t come down this far a lot of the time. They’re more concerned with the town than the side roads. Look, I know you’re a guy and like driving but how about letting me take the wheel until we’re there?” she suggested and was honestly surprised when he pulled onto the edge of a driveway that was fairly clear and let her take over. She drove the five miles until they hit the backside of town where the roads were once again clear.
“Busy place,” he said looking around.
“It is during the winter. Everyone wants to find the best places to go skiing or snowboarding. This place gets more crowded every year.”
“How much further is it to your parents’ place?”
“About eight miles down this way,” she said taking the road that led towards the resort her parents owned.
“That sign says Snow Pike Resort is eight miles down this road,” he stated looking at the sign.
“I didn’t tell you? My bad,” she lied with a grin.
“Didn’t tell me what?”
“Well, you see, my parents own and run the resort. Don’t worry, it’s not that big. It’s where we’re staying though.”
“I thought your mom said she’d make up the downstairs guest room.”
“Oh, she would, but there’s the main part of the resort and then our house is just off to the side of it. The best advantage of it is the ability to hide from your parents really well. We had some really great parties around this place, not to mention when it’s not busy there are plenty of rooms to choose from,” she added with another grin his way.
“You’d steal room keys and sleep with your boyfriends?”
“Yup…not that there were that many I actually slept with,” she admitted knowing what was likely to be said otherwise though. “I honestly wasn’t that sort of party girl. I only slept with a couple guys who were serious boyfriends, the others were just rumors to annoy my mother. I never said I didn’t do the things some of the guys claimed or made them admit they were lies. It honestly didn’t matter to me because I didn’t intend to stay here.”
“Should be interesting then,” he stated watching as the car ate up the distance between them and the resort. She pulled into a secondary drive and typed in a key code to open the gate. When she rounded the corner, he saw the resort and looked over at her in surprise. “Not that big huh?”
“Not compared to some of the others out here. This place is tiny compared to Vail.”
“Alright that may be true, but this isn’t a little mom and pop operation. It probably employs a lot of people in town, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, it does, and I should warn you…Colin works here.”
“Your ex-boyfriend works for your parents?”
“Yup, he’s one of the ski instructors during the season and then during the offseason he helps organize the summer events. It’s not nearly as crowded as wintertime, but they do pretty well.”
“Anything else I should know?” he asked as the front door of the house opened and he saw a tall man and woman walk out.
“Don’t let them know the truth or else I will kill you,” she said with a sweetness that he knew hid the truth in the statement. She wasn’t about to let him push her into something, so he’d have to figure out how to convince her that it was her idea.
“So should I get out and get your door?”
“Not while we’re here,” she said kissing him before getting out and moving to the back of the car. Corey felt the packed snowed under his boots as he got out and met her, seeing the shake in her head when he reached for her largest bag.
“Not getting the door is one thing but this I do or else I will tell them the whole story of who I am,” he stated trading the lighter ones for hers.
Lisa felt the smile inside her and was secretly happy about it. She liked doing things herself but something as small as him carrying her suitcase wasn’t a topic that she would argue over. She moved to his side as they headed across the yard towards her parents, and she braced herself for the overabundance of hugs from them as they drug them inside.
“Good lord Lisa, you look like one of those starving waifs,” her mother chided when she took off her coat.
“I have plenty of curves, don’t I Corey?” she said shooting him a look that was full of mischief already.
“You have them in all the right places,” he agreed letting his gaze linger on the exposed expanse of her cleavage.
“Would you care to introduce us?” her father stated obviously uncomfortable, and she laughed knowing by the end of this trip her parents wouldn’t begin to invite them back.
“Right…this is Corey, my boyfriend I suppose is the term you’d prefer I use,” she said to her parents. “Corey, my parents Elaine and Edward Branson.”
“Nice to meet you,” Corey replied as he settled his hand onto her hip.
“And you,” her father said though she knew it was a lie.
“How long have you and Lisa been together?” her mother questioned as her dad helped him with the bags.
“It’s been what…almost six weeks now?” she said as he looked around her room.
“It has,” he agreed. “Best six weeks of my life, beautiful.”
“They would be with me, wouldn’t they?” she teased him, moving into his arms and leaning into his body.
“Well, dinner will be in about an hour. I’m sure you all will want to get freshened up,” her mother said as they left, and she couldn’t stop the laugh in her chest from coming out.
“You certainly start early, don’t you?” he asked lifting her into his arms as he moved over to the bed letting her straddle his lap as he sat down.
“I do, they’ll be begging us to leave by the end of the week.”
“I doubt that.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” she grinned pushing her sweater over her head.
“You’re a little devil, aren’t you?” he questioned as his hands slid up and down her bare skin.
“You know it,” she assured him pushing his own shirt off his shoulders letting it hit the floor as she heard the footsteps sound down the hallway. “Round two in five, four, three, two…”
“Lisa…whoa!” she heard from her brother’s lips as she half turned towards the door. “Good god you’re not here ten minutes and already at it?”
“Do you mind Ashton? This does happen to be my room,” she said as Corey’s hand lingered on her skin.
“You haven’t changed at all, have you? You still don’t care about anyone else but yourself,” he said before shutting the door behind him as he moved back down the hall.
Corey turned her over onto her back shaking his head. “How’d you know he’d be coming up here?”
“He’s my brother and totally predictable. Just wait until dinner because he’ll let it slip to the other two and then they’ll all want to kill you for sleeping with their little sister,” she teased lifting her leg to rub her foot against his.
“Behave Lisa…”
“The way we behaved on the plane?” she said lifting an eyebrow his way.
“Here? In the house with who knows who else here right now?”
“Yup…you weren’t nearly as worried about it when we did it midflight with who knows who else just outside the door,” she whispered against his ear as her hands slipped down to his waist. “They’re already going to think we did so why disappoint them and ourselves?”
“I was right…you are a little devil,” he groaned.
“But you can’t get enough of me, can you?” she asked with a sigh as he filled her. “You want this and me over and over and over.”
“I do but you’re the same, aren’t you Lisa?” he said as they began to spiral.
“Yes,” she sighed and let herself smile, as they got dressed.
“Damn you’re not going to freeze in that?” he questioned seeing the amount of cleavage showing at the top of the sweater.
“Nope. Can you see if I have a pair of cream high heeled boots in the closet still?” she asked as she touched up her hair and makeup.
“These?” he stated holding them up and she nodded with a smile. She pulled them on and checked her reflection in the floor length mirror until she was satisfied. She headed down with him and grabbed her jacket. “What’s that for?”
“Dinner is in the dining room…breakfast and lunch are too,” she warned. “Mom tends to let the cooks do the cooking anymore during the season so she can play hostess to everyone. Even when it’s the holidays—actually, especially when it’s the holidays.”
“I see,” he replied helping her with it since they were alone. “You look gorgeous by the way.”
“I know I do…and you do happen to enjoy my cleavage, don’t you?” she teased him with a kiss before they headed out.
“I do very much, and I don’t even mind other men getting to see it because you come to my bed,” he whispered against her ear.
When they stepped into the main lobby, he saw the workers all grow a bit more attentive and the way the men were watching her said they knew exactly who she was. He let her get her own coat but slid a possessive hand around her leaving it firmly on her hip as they moved into the dining room.
“Lisa, your mom said you were coming home, we almost didn’t believe her,” Gabrielle said as she stepped aside at the hostess station.
“Well, if it were up to me, we wouldn’t have come to freezing Colorado for Christmas,” she replied. “I’d much prefer a beach and a slew of new bikinis.”
“Next year babe,” Corey stated, and she saw the way Gabrielle reacted. It was amusing beyond belief, and she walked him back to the family’s table.
“I don’t believe my eyes…Lisa Branson in the flesh,” Trina said hugging her as they reached it. “And there is quite a lot of it that I can see, damn girl.”
“Well not everywhere has the same sense of style as here,” Lisa told her taking her seat before Corey could unconsciously help her.
“I’d say,” Trina mused as her brothers glared across the table at her. “Your normal?”
“Love it…let Corey have a menu,” she suggested, and Trina nodded going to get one for him. “Alright what’s your all’s problems?”
“Us? We’re not the ones who were going at it less than ten minutes after you got here, jeez haven’t you grown up at all Lisa?” Kirby asked.
“I’d say I’ve grown up. Don’t you think Core?”
“Absolutely babe,” he agreed giving her a lazy smile.
“That remains to be seen,” Gerald scoffed.
“So, Corey, what sort of work do you do in New York?” her father asked, trying to keep the argument from starting.
“I’ve done a lot of things but when I met Lisa I was working as a bartender,” he said honestly, and she laughed behind her wine glass at the way the group recoiled slightly from the statement.
“You are the best bartender I’ve ever met,” she told him with a kiss seeing Colin come into the dining room out of the corner of her eye.
“You’re dating a bartender?” Ashton questioned. “God no wonder you’re back to being the stupid party girl again.”
“I am not and have never been stupid Ashton Michael Branson,” she said shooting him a glare that put him in his place. “Just because you don’t approve doesn’t mean you get to pass judgment. You’re not God.”
“Yeah, well, you’re certainly never going to meet him acting the way you do,” Gerald countered.
“Oh, so sorry that hurts you all somehow. For fuck’s sake, I didn’t even want to come to this lousy place for the damn…”
“Calm down babe,” Corey said giving her a kiss that said exactly how he really wanted to calm her down.
“Mmm…and that’s why it’s been the best six weeks of my life,” she sighed slowly opening her eyes to look up at him.
“Well guess that answers my question,” Colin said glaring at them. “You always were easy, weren’t you?”
“I’d shut the hell up before I put my fist in your face,” Corey threatened standing up against the guy. “You’re a sore loser because she shut you down. You thought she shouldn’t have a brain, but without it she’d be nothing but a blow-up doll, so why don’t you go back home to yours and leave us alone.”
Lisa couldn’t deny she’d been enjoying the show, but when Corey mentioned the blow-up doll, she couldn’t stop the snort that slipped out and he shot her a wink as the table looked on in shock.
“He’s not worth it Corey. What he thinks won’t bother me at all,” she said grabbing his hand pulling him back over to sit beside her. Her mother quietly talked with Colin, and she couldn’t believe her own mother would take his side over hers. He was the one who’d come over and disparaged her.
Dinner was never ending, and she nearly stabbed herself with a fork just to get out of there sooner. Instead, she sat listening to the boring gossip about everyone that never changed. She heard the music start in the bar area and whispered to him of their chance to escape.
“Gladly,” he agreed seeing clearly why she was the way she was. Her family seemed to gang up against her wanting her to change and be who they wanted her to be. He didn’t see anything wrong with the Lisa he knew, and he pulled her into his arms as they hit the bar and danced with her while the place grew more crowded.
It seemed they had a decent business, then again, it was where people could relax more than the dining room and he loved seeing her smile. He slid his hand into her hair and kissed her. He would have done it no matter how he was pretending to behave because he couldn’t resist kissing her. She was addicting but he didn’t mind falling down the rabbit hole with her.
“Keep that up and we’ll end up behind the bar,” she teased as he pulled her closer to him.
“That would certainly be a show for everyone around here,” he chuckled as they edged towards the bar to get a drink. He lifted her up onto a stool stepping between her legs, kissing her as they waited on them.
“Damn girl…you two are making it hot enough in here without the heaters,” Trina joked bringing their drinks over.
“Working in the bar now?”
“Helping out with this madhouse crowd…so who’s the hunk?”
“Oh yeah, this is Corey. We don’t really like labels but he’s the one sleeping in my bed this week,” she stated knowing the bartender was listening in likely to report back to Colin.
“This week?” Corey said staring down at her. “I think you should revise that statement, babe.”
“Alright so it’s not just this week. He’s trying to get me to move in with him, but you know me, I keep telling him no.”
“Oh, I know you girl,” Trina agreed.
“You’re practically living with me and have been the last three weeks,” he said hedging the truth. “You just don’t like me being right.”
“Maybe,” she stated letting Trina move off as they sipped their drinks. This wasn’t going to be as easy as she expected. Then again, she hadn’t really expected anything about this to be easy.
Although there was one thing that was very easy and that was being with Corey. She didn’t want it to be though because she knew it was dangerous. Although not being with him was dangerous to her sanity.