Chapter 27
KAI
Zoe was in the lobby, looking all crisp and professional—and nothing at all like the wanton young woman who’d asked us to teach her about sex.
Her smile was polite but a little strained, because there was a man trying to put his arm around her.
Not Landon. Not Asher. No, that fucking old dude, the creep who wouldn’t leave her alone and always stood too close.
My blood heated as I strode over to them.
She shouldn’t have to put up with this crap.
But there was a little voice in the back of my head telling me not to make a scene.
Not to get her in trouble. That voice sounded a lot like my own, but I knew it wasn’t.
It was Landon’s—the sensible twin. Sometimes I listened when he lectured me inside my head, and sometimes not.
Zoe didn't see me approach. She was still trying to be polite to that old pervert.
I didn't slow as I neared them. I clipped his shoulder and then reached out to grab his arm as if to steady him to keep him from falling.
Then I ‘accidentally’ swung him around, so that I was standing next to Zoe and he was two feet away.
"So sorry," I told him. “I wasn't looking where I was going.”
The old bastard looked confused. A second ago, he’d been leaning over Zoe, likely trying to look down her blouse. Now he was still standing far too close to a staff member—but it was me, not her.
I gave him a smile that was every bit as insincere as Zoe’s, though far less strained. “You’re Mr. Hartley, right? Are you enjoying your stay?”
His face cleared, and he seemed pleased that I knew his name. He’d probably be less pleased if he knew why I knew it.
“Oh yes, young man. It’s a wonderful place. And you are—?”
“Kai. I’m a ski instructor. How come I haven’t seen you out on the slopes?”
Hartley chuckled indulgently. “My skiing days are long over.”
I shook my head as if that were laughable. “Not possible. Look at you—you don’t look a day over forty. Still traveling the world, having adventures, and harassing young women at their workplace.”
He’d been smiling until that last part. Then he just looked confused. “What did you say?”
Zoe tugged on my sleeve, and I took a quick glance at her. She looked concerned about what I might do next. It was a look I got a lot.
“There’s still daylight,” I told the old man. “I could give you a lesson right now. It’s beautiful up there on the mountain. Let’s go, just you and me.” I stepped a little closer, placing my palm on his back and resisting the urge to give him a shove.
Hartley had a new look in his eyes. “Thanks, but I need to—”
“Come on, man. Live a little. Or we could go down to the bar. I’ll make you a drink. We’ll talk and get to know each other.” My hand slid around his shoulder, and I crowded him with my body. “Let’s have some fun.”
Hartley jolted as if I’d hit him with a cattle prod—which I cheerfully would have, if I’d had one.
Zoe gasped. “Kai—“ she began, but I didn’t look her way.
Hartley took a few hasty steps back. “Young man, what makes you think I would welcome that kind of attention from you?”
“What makes you think that she wants that kind of attention from you?” I reached out and pulled Zoe to my side. “Or any woman here. They’re here to work, not to help you relive your supposed glory days.”
Hartley’s face was turning red. “I was just being friendly.”
“So was I,” I said. “I invited you for a drink, didn’t I?”
“You—you touched me,” Hartley said, as if I’d stripped him down and shoved a ski pole up his ass.
“And you touched her. Repeatedly.”
“But—”
All of a sudden, I was sick of keeping up the friendly act.
“Newsflash, you piece of shit. Women in their twenties are not looking for extra attention and friendly touches from men in their sixties. Nor any unwanted attention. Especially not at work, where they have to be polite instead of telling you what they really think.”
Hartley was enraged, but he glanced around, and I realized everyone in the lobby and at the front desk was staring at us.
This kind of scene wouldn’t have any effect on a rich asshole like him, but I didn’t want it to hurt Zoe.
“Keep your hands to yourself,” I growled, my voice a little lower.
“And don’t force your company on any woman who hasn't shown you that she welcomes it.
I'm thinking that list is very short. Just your wife, who you've been disrespecting the whole fucking week.”
The mention of his wife made steam come out of his ears. “This is bullshit,” he sputtered. “I didn't do anything wrong, but if you thought I had, you should have just been a man and slugged me, not… not… acted like that.”
I took a step toward him, letting him see my height, my muscles. “See, that's what I thought. I was trying to be an enlightened guy, but I’m more than happy to go back to plan A.
Hartley took a few hasty steps backwards until he ran into a couch, nearly tumbling over backwards. God, I wanted to beat the crap out of him. So fucking badly. But then Zoe tugged on my arm again, and this time I let her pull me away.
“You okay?” I asked Zoe when I ran into her the next day.
She hadn’t said much to me after I confronted that fuckwad Hartley in the lobby yesterday.
I think she’d been too stunned. But later Landon gave me an earful about how I shouldn’t have made a scene when Zoe was already in danger of getting a bad write-up about her internship.
But I didn’t see how letting a horny old asshole feel her up would change that.
She looked up at me, blinking. She looked distracted, not her usual focused, determined self.
“Yes. Just worried about something. A family situation with my sister.”
“I get it,” I said. “I have a lot of trouble with my sibling, too.”
She laughed at that, and I loved the sound because it was genuine and unguarded, so different from the woman I’d met at that first ski lesson, who’d been all business and barely contained frustration.
But despite the laughter, she still looked troubled.
Sibling relationships could mess you up.
It was even worse for twins. Landon had always been the responsible one who had his shit together, the one who made good decisions and thought things through.
I was the screwup who acted first and thought later, the one who lived for the moment and didn’t worry about consequences.
Or at least that was the general consensus.
“Want to tell me about it?”
She fell into stride next to me, and we walked down the hallway together. “No. I just—these last couple of weeks haven’t gone the way I thought they would.”
I knew she meant in terms of her career, but surely something had gone right. “You’ve certainly gotten an education while here,” I pointed out. And hopefully she’d learn a hell of a lot more, too, before we parted ways.
“That… that’s also something I’ve been thinking about.”
Shit, was she going to back out? Not that she didn’t have the right to. But there were so many more things I wanted to teach her. I wanted to show her all the ways her nimble little body could give and receive pleasure.
“Let’s go in here,” Zoe said, and I realized we were at the entrance to that weird atrium that Landon liked. I held open the door and followed her inside.
“What’s up?” I asked when the door closed behind us.
“I’m running out of time here.” She glanced around, as if making sure no one was lurking in the plants. “My internship isn’t going well, that’s for damn sure. But then there are also the lessons.”
The pink blush on her cheeks made my cock twitch. “Trust me when I say you’re going to get a good report on those.”
She smiled faintly. “Since that’s the only part of the winter break that’s going well, I want to… well, I’d like to learn as much as I can before I leave.” She stared down, as if she couldn’t look into my eye. “So I was wondering if you could give me an extra session. Like, to help me catch up.”
“With just me?” I asked, wanting to be sure I understood.
“Yes. Like a session for extra credit.”
I grinned because I was definitely game for that. Then again, it didn’t feel right cutting Landon and Ash out of the session, and I told her so. Fuck, what the hell was the deal with me trying to be a gentleman yesterday and today?
“I want lessons from them, too. But everyone’s busy, and it’s hard to find time and privacy where we can all be together.” She took a deep breath. “And I keep thinking about what you did yesterday.”
Shit. When people referenced something I did with my clothes on, it wasn’t usually something they approved of. “I just wanted that motherfucker to experience a little of what you have.”
“I know. I—I was impressed that you used your mind, not your fists.”
“I figured that me punching a guest out right in front of you wouldn’t help you get a better internship report.”
“Thank you for sticking up for me,” she said. “I agree that I shouldn’t have to put up with men like that, but unfortunately, they’re everywhere. But men like you are less common.” The look she gave me, the change in her expression, startled me.
“Yep, I’m one in a million,” I said, and then winked at her. “Well, two in a million.”
She took a deep breath. “You gave me a one-on-one skiing lesson. So what’s the harm in another private lesson?”
When she put it that way, it was hard to resist. No, impossible to resist. “What’s the subject of the lesson?”
She took a deep breath, and I could see her gathering her courage. “Oral.”
My eyebrows shot up at her directness. “Giving or receiving?” I managed to ask as all the blood in my body zeroed in on my cock.
“Giving. I mean, me giving.” Her cheeks flushed. “I want you to teach me how to do it. I mean, if that’s what you want, too.”
For a second, I just stared at her while my brain tried to process what she’d just said. “So a drop-dead gorgeous woman tells me she wants to learn how to go down on me,” I said slowly, “and she’s wondering how I’ll answer?”