Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
BAZ
Astrid and I had been texting back and forth ever since I left the school.
She wanted to try, for Josh’s sake, to make it to the lodge for the now cancelled party.
The last I heard from her, most had heeded the weather alerts and not tried to make it up the mountain.
Those who had, were now spending the night in the available rooms at the lodge.
The last of the client-guests had left yesterday, and they were closed for the rest of the year until after the holidays.
Astrid and Josh would stay the night there, so I didn’t have to worry about getting the guest room ready since it was still a disaster from the last time Josh had spent the night.
I had a fire going in my great room and was making the rounds, securing the back and front doors and making sure I had several flashlights handy in case the power went out, and my backup generator failed.
My sister’s ringtone sounded, and I answered with a laugh. “What now? Did a tree fall on the lodge?”
“No, in front of Zoe’s car. She’s on the main road about a quarter mile past the turnoff for the lodge. And of course, 911 is slammed, so….”
“I’ll get her.” Ending the call, I grabbed my jacket and headed out.
I’d already put chains on my Bronco in anticipation of the worsening weather and was able to reach Zoe’s SUV within five minutes.
My heart pounded the entire way. The anticipation of seeing her again battled my fear of finding her injured.
Between the howling wind and the snow covering all her windows, she may not have had any idea I was there, but that didn’t keep me from yanking open her door and scaring her. Her startled squeak barely registered. “What were you thinking, woman?” I shouted.
Swirling snow hit her in the face as she sputtered. “What did you just call me? I’ve driven in worse. And how did you know I was even out here?” She didn’t budge from her seat as I offered my hand. Instead, she calmly wiped the snow from her eyes and returned my scowl.
I may have fallen right there. The combination of her sassy mouth, pouty lips and backbone was exactly what I’d been missing in my life.
But exploring my feelings would have to wait.
The gusts were increasing, and it looked like she’d already tried to back up to turn around, but the right front tire had become tangled with one of the tree branches. Her car wasn’t going anywhere tonight.
“We can debate all this later. Get your stuff and let’s go.” Thankfully she didn’t argue. But she refused my offer of an arm to hold on to, and I suppressed my need to throw her over my shoulders. Teamwork at its finest.
We trudged back to my truck in silence. Once settled inside, she shook herself once, and snow flew everywhere inside my prized Bronco. But I refused to complain. Hell, if that wasn’t love, then I didn’t know what was.
She was safe. That’s all that mattered. Then it hit me.
Every feeling I’d been holding onto tightly over the years so I wouldn’t fall prey to what I thought my parents had shown me was the eventual outcome of loving someone.
It all rushed through me, begging to be let out. Shit, I was in love with Zoe.
And now I’d have to take her to my place.
She’d be in my space. All night. Possibly most of tomorrow.
With sweaty palms and an erection the size of my motorcycle boot, I fought a grin as I kept my gaze off of Zoe.
If she looked into my eyes right now, she’d see my real feelings.
And I needed a minute to regroup. To come up with a way to tell her. Man, this had happened quickly.
“Well? Are you just going to glare at the windshield or are you going to drop me off at the lodge? Astrid says the couch has my name on it.”
“I’d rather not talk about my sister right now. And you’re not sleeping on that hard couch. We’re going to my cabin.” I hit reverse and cranked the wheel, spinning snow behind us as I powered up the mountain road.
“Just like that? First, you yell at me for thinking I couldn’t handle driving in the snow, and then you decide where I’m spending the night? What decade are you from?” She was hot as hell, all riled up. It was hard for me to keep my eyes on the road and not on her beautifully flushed face.
I maneuvered around a snowdrift at the entry to my property and gunned it. Pulling up outside my cabin, I parked and wondered if she even realized I’d passed the turnoff to the lodge as she carried on.
“I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and if it hadn’t been for the tree, I’d be home by—”
My next decision was the easiest one I ever made. Mid-sentence, I reached over, plucked her out of her seat as I half dragged her against me, silencing her with my lips. Hers were still a bit chilled, but I took it as a challenge to warm them, and her, up. All the way if possible.
Thank God she didn’t fight me but kissed me back.
I took my time and thoroughly explored her lips before I took her in a long, open-mouth kiss that shook me to my core.
Her soft hums and hands tunneling through my hair were all the permission I needed.
Still lip-locked, I pulled down her coat’s zipper and then sought out a plump breast, squeezing it gently.
Our groans filled the now fogged-up interior, but I wasn’t done.
Flicking open the buttons of her blouse, I worked my fingers under the material, freeing her diamond-hard nipple, rolling the puckered flesh over and over until her unique scent filled the air and her hips rolled toward me.
“Oh, yes.” Her whispered pleasure emboldened me to make her scream my name. Now.
It didn’t matter that we were in the front seat of my truck, parked outside my cabin during a freaking blizzard. This had been building for weeks. As much as I wanted to deny myself the discovery of what it’d feel like to be buried deep inside Zoe, I couldn’t deny the need I’d lit in us both.
Just as her hands were dancing down my chest to find the front of my shirt, I released her perfect tit and drove my fingers under the band of her slacks, between her panties and her soft skin and inside her wet entrance.
With an even louder moan than before, she widened her legs.
But before I could stroke her tight clit, she shouted, “Wait.”
“Oh, god no. Hold on. This is sooo not comfortable.” Her words didn’t make sense at first as she pulled away from me and then flopped back into her seat.
“This started out great, but I’m just not as bendy as I used to be.
So, if we’re going to finish, and Baz, we are so going to finish this, I need you to take me inside, into your nice warm bed. ”
Hell, yeah, she didn’t have to tell me twice.
I jumped out of my rig, ran around the front, opened her door, grabbed her hand and we raced to my porch.
I never locked my front door, so we were inside without stopping.
We shed our jackets and then stood staring at each other, our heavy breathing and the crackling of the fire the only sounds in the room.
“What are you waiting for?” Zoe’s face morphed into a come-hither smile.
I almost pushed her against the door and took her right there. Instead, I bent down, picked her up behind the knees and eased her upper body over my shoulder. Her laughter reached a space just beneath my thundering heart.
Inside my room, I tossed her onto the bed, her long hair flying around her wide-eyed face.
“This isn’t just about sex. It’s about your smile, your love for your students and my nephew.
It’s about that fucking sexy mouth of yours and the way you don’t back down to me even when, yes, I’m a grumpy ass.
I’ve seen you when life is easy and now tonight when it’s anything but.
And I know why after weeks of eye-fucking each other, neither one of us has tried for more. ”
She was so damn cute as the lips I just praised were opening and closing, doing a pretty good guppy impression.
“Um, what? But I thought we’re finally going to…you know.” Zoe looked adorably confused as she waved her hands over the bed and then between us.
“I’ve figured out why it’s taken us so long to get together.
It’s because we’ve been so scared of commitment for so long that when the person that knocks down all the walls we’ve both put up, the one person that we can’t stop thinking about shows up we make excuses, like because you’re my nephew’s teacher or a friend of my sister’s we can’t—”
“How did you know?” Zoe said softly.
I heard her but kept going. “…be together, so we pretend we don’t want what’s right in front of us.”
“What is happening right now?” She ran her hands through her damp hair and then jumped up, marched over to stand in front of me.
“Stop. Just stop. You think you know what I’m feeling right now?
You don’t. You can’t. I’m thirty-eight and know my own mind.
I’m not some twenty-something that has no clue about what love and relationships are all about.
” Hands now on hips, she took in a deep breath and released it slowly.
“And you are just the Hot Santa I want to climb like a tree, have a couple rounds of incredible sex with, then say thanks for the fun time and go home and sleep in my own bed.”
I heard everything she said. But I also saw the fear in her shining green eyes and that she hadn’t refuted the list of things we’d both been doing. Because she couldn’t.
“Zoe, if that’s all you wanted, all I wanted — we would have made it happen after that kiss a couple weeks ago.
Because that’s what we used to do with people who didn’t really matter.
But you matter to me, Zoe. How it happened, when it happened, doesn’t matter.
What matters is that I’m ready to take that leap.
To admit I’ve found the person I want to wake up next to not just tomorrow but for the rest of my life. ”
“Wait, how can you say that? I mean, I don’t even know your middle name. Or how you like your eggs. Or why is there a grey cat in the hallway smiling at us?” She’d finally run out of steam. Hugging her arms around herself. “You know, Astrid is going to be so smug once she finds out about this.”
It was the signal I needed. Ripping my shirt off over my head, I tossed it to the ground, then unbuckled my belt, undid the zipper on my jeans and let my aching cock free. For what seemed like forever, she kept her gaze on my face, her lips twisting in that sassy way I loved so much.
“You think that’s going to make me strip and get into bed with you? To admit that you’re right about everything you just said?” She nodded her chin downward.
I looked down at my erection as it strained toward her, then up at her chest, which hadn’t stopped moving up and down since she stepped in front of me.
The evidence of her desire shone bright in her blown pupils, the pretty pink flush of her cheeks and the twin points of her nipples as they pressed against her sweater.
Our mutual need was a great start, but I had to hear her say how she felt about me. I had to know I wasn’t imagining all the little signs over the last few weeks. That she wanted to take that final step with me and admit we’d be damn good together. Not just for a night or two. But forever.
“Can’t blame me for trying. Have you looked in a mirror lately? You’re perfect for me, Zoe. Inside and out.”
Her breath hitched at my declaration, then her hazel eyes filled with tears.
“Who knew you’d be the one to put into words exactly what I’ve needed, wanted to hear for so long?
I never thought I’d finally find connection, or love.
Someone who would tempt me to change my mind about wanting to spend my life with just one person. ”
“Back at you, teacher. Now, are you going to put us both out of our misery here and remove those wet clothes so I can warm you up?” The rawness of my voice humbled me.
And thank God she felt the same way because I’m not sure exactly what I’d just said or if I would ever be able to repeat it, but I knew the feelings behind the words had been building since that very moment she walked into my cabin.