Chapter 13
Noah was pretty damn sure this hard-on was going to kill him. His vision blurred every time he so much as breathed. Or the jeep bounced over the snow. Or Leia slid him one of those surreptitious glances she thought he couldn’t see.
She coupled each look with a tiny mangle of her lower lip.
She was nervous. Understandable. Hell, he was too.
But she didn’t know that each time he caught a glimpse of those small, sharp teeth, he grew harder, his cock throbbing a dire warning that he was going to die if he didn’t do something about his erection soon.
Their driver turned into a single-track lane and the chain-covered tires squealed as they went up a steep incline for almost a minute before leveling off into a circular driveway.
One look at the private lodge and Noah was immediately glad he’d chosen it instead of returning to the five-star Indigo Geneva Hotel where the rest of the guests were staying.
After watching her ski, seeing how sleekly and sexily she handled herself on the slopes, he’d almost lost it by the time he’d crossed the finish line. Waiting for an hour to get on the chopper back to Geneva had been out of the question in his state.
Hell, he’d have fucked her in a yurt in the middle of a snowstorm or up against a tree and risked cock frostbite if it came to it. But this would do fine.
“Wow, this place is perfect!”
He hid a smile and unzipped his jacket, drinking in her pleasure as she took in their surroundings.
Tall alpine trees, heavy with snow, embraced the thick wood and stone lodge and provided a backdrop of refreshing green and white.
The three-story house was secluded with the next house almost half a mile away.
“I’m glad you like it. Wanna explore the inside too?” Noah knew he didn’t quite succeed in keeping his wild anticipation out of his voice. The only exploration he intended to do was with her. Fully and thoroughly.
She turned from admiring the trees and snowscape around them and looked at him. She slicked a hand through her hair, flicking it to the side in a gesture he’d come to learn as a nervous tick. Hell, nervousness vibrated from her.
He’d need to take it slow.
Fuck. That might be a problem.
Deliberately turning away from her, he dismissed their driver and walked up the steps into the house.
The living room soared two stories high, with a giant granite fireplace that crackled with a log fire.
On the polished wood floor, a large furry rug had been laid, complete with half a dozen pillows.
On the slab of rock that passed as a coffee table, a sterling silver bucket chilled a bottle of champagne, and two long flutes stood next to it.
The scene was set with one thing in mind, and he was having a hard time not grabbing her and getting started. He shrugged off his jacket, threw it on the nearest chair and headed to what he hoped was the kitchen.
He needed to occupy himself with something before he gave in to the hot images flooding his mind.
“Are you hungry?” he threw over his shoulder.
“Umm… yes. I could eat.”
He groaned under his breath and entered the large kitchen.
He was sure shiny, expensive gadgets must have lined the countertops and every conceivable luxury had been provided.
But Noah couldn’t see a thing beyond his lust haze as he blindly pulled open the fridge and eyed the neatly arranged silverware and plates of food.
More than enough to sustain them for the next eighteen hours.
He picked up the nearest tray containing handmade finger food and set it on the countertop.
“Oh. Smoked salmon and cream cheese mini bagels. Love those.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Great. Would you mind grabbing?—”
He gripped the edge of the counter so hard his bones screamed in agony.
While his back had been turned, she’d shed her puffer jacket and the bottom half of her ski pants.
The long sleeve thermal shirt molded her small breasts so perfectly that saliva flooded his mouth.
His gaze dropped to the black leggings clinging to her taut, shapely thighs and legs, and he groaned again under his breath.
She stopped in the process of grabbing the plates from where they’d been stacked on the counter. “Noah, are you okay?”
He speared a hand through his hair. Thought about cracking a joke to avoid the stark truth. Then decided against it. She needed to know who she was dealing with.
“Hell, no. I can’t look at a surface in this place without imagining you spread across or over it and me fucking you into oblivion on it. So no, I’m not okay. But I’m trying to take it slow for you.”
Her eyes widened. “For me? Why?”
He laughed. “You’re nervous. I thought doing something mundane like eating a meal and talking might set you a little at ease.”
“At ease. Before you devour me?” Her breath hitched at the end, like she was having a hard time breathing.
He laughed. The sound came out rough and alien. “Shit, am I being that obvious?”
“A little. Okay… a lot.”
“Fuck.” He grimaced and shut his eyes.
“But… that’s not why I’m nervous.”
He raised his head. “What is it?”
She traced a finger absently over the hard countertop. He wanted that finger tracing his skin so badly he locked his knees to stop from launching himself over the aisle and grabbing her.
“That thing I promised on top of the mountain?”
“Yes,” he croaked, his gaze dropping to the lips she’d worried until they were now plump and pink. “I remember.”
“I don’t think I can do it…”
Crap . He barely stopped himself from cursing as a healthy percentage of his fantasies evaporated into thin air. “You don’t have to do it if it’s not your thing.”
“No, I didn’t mean that. I meant I’ve never actually… done it before.” The odd inflection in her tone made him pause.
Noah understood nuance. Hell, he’d had to learn very quickly when he set up his business and realized dealing with billions of dollars meant catering to egos that could test even the saintliest temperament.
And after ten years at the top of his game, he could spot the trickiest opponents who thought they could test how far to push his resolve a mile away.
But he couldn’t grasp the nuance slapping him in the face.
He’d played his fingers thoroughly between her thighs last night, explored her sweet pussy so expertly he could close his eyes and recall exactly how she felt.
Except he’d pulled back before enjoying her as fully as he’d wanted to . “Jesus, sweetheart, please don’t tell me you’re a virgin ?” Another soul-destroying dose of erotic images vanished. He clutched the counter harder, the pain of knowing he’d have to walk away almost debilitating.
“No, I’m not.”
His breath rushed out in thankful relief as elation flooded his system. He swallowed down his roar of joy. “Are you sure?”
Her face tightened. “Is that a serious question?”
“No, I meant are you sure you can’t do it?” Please God, let her be willing to try. He needed to feel the back of her throat like he needed to breathe.
“I don’t want to mess it up.”
His bark of laughter slammed around the room, a harsh noise that made her flinch.
He rounded the counter and grasped her arms. “Sweetheart, I’ve seen you move your body like a siren while I pleasured you.
I’ve seen you ski with an innate rhythm that’s almost a part of your DNA. I’m willing to bet you’d be a natural.”
“And if I’m not?”
“Then I’ll teach you.” He kissed her plump mouth and moved away before he gave in to the urge to start the lesson straightaway. “Before I’m done with you, you’ll know how to suck my dick like a champ. Let’s eat.”
How he managed to calmly dish out the food, sit across from her on the center aisle and actually chew and swallow would forever remain a mystery to him.
Watching her long black nails rip her bagel in chunks before popping them piece by piece into her mouth was pure fucking torture.
He cleared his throat loudly. “Right. Small talk. You joined the IL trip in Miami, so am I right to assume you live there?”
She nodded. “I’ve lived in Florida all my life. But we… I’ve moved around a bit.”
“So where’s home now?”
“Palm Beach.”
She named the exclusive area and he nodded, not even a little surprised. Old Money.
He’d toyed with buying a place there when he’d relocated from New York.
In the end, he’d resisted Gabriel’s strong-arm tactics to buy the mansion next to his and bought a condo instead.
Noah loved the view of ocean from his penthouse apartment…
when he bothered to leave his office long enough to appreciate it.
“You?”
“Condo. West Palm Beach.”
Her wide eyes drifted down his torso. “Fitting.”
“You trying to peg me, sweetheart?”
“I suppose you could fit the billionaire surfer profile. If you grew your hair out a little and invested in a bead necklace.”
His mouth twitched. “Sorry, I’ve never surfed in my life. Where did you learn to ski so well?”
Her eyes darkened a touch, and he sensed he’d hit a painful subject. “My dad taught me. He took me skiing from when I was three until he… he died.” Her mouth quivered for a second, then she pressed her lips together and forced a smile. “You?”
“My cousin and I bought a resort in Aspen eight years ago. He runs it. I go whenever I can during the season.”
“You own a resort?”
He nodded. “So you didn’t stop skiing after your dad died?”
“I did for a year. It was too painful. But I got my mom to take me the next year.”
Something in her voice tweaked his radar. “Your mom didn’t like skiing?”
The faintest hint of a smile whispered across her lips before her eyes shadowed. “There was a reason we lived in Florida. She hated the cold. It was a choice between Florida and California. My dad was born in New Jersey. Florida was as far as he wanted to stray from his roots.”
Again, he noted the affection in her voice when she spoke about her father and the distinct lack when she touched on her mother.
“What happened to him?”
Pain shrouded her eyes, and he kicked himself for letting curiosity get the better of him. She swallowed a mouthful of bagel then answered. “He drowned while he was diving off the Florida Keys. He got entangled in fishing gear and ran out of oxygen.”
“Hell.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about him. I had twelve unforgettable years with him.”
“Sounds like he was a great dad.”
She nodded. “The best. He made living with my mom bearable. I miss him every day.”
Noah popped a square cold cut into his mouth and chewed. “What’s it like living with your mom now?”
She dropped the last bite of her bagel and brushed her fingers in a no-nonsense way. But he wasn’t fooled. The very air vibrated with white-hot anguish.
When she looked up, the shadows and ghosts she’d promised wouldn’t come between them loomed large in her eyes. “My mom’s dead too. She shot my stepfather when I was seventeen. Then she shot herself.”