Chapter 9
“So, last run of the day.” Aspen hiked a thumb toward the trail sign behind her. “Which one will it be?”
Eve was glad for her polarized lenses that hid her eyes as, not for the first time that day, she found herself hypnotized by the shape of Aspen’s lips instead of focusing on what she was saying. It wasn’t her fault, really. Not when she could still recall, in perfect clarity, how thoroughly wrecked their kiss had left her the day before.
And the way she’d woken up in Aspen’s arms certainly didn’t help matters.
Not just because Aspen had been irresistibly charming and sweet about the whole thing, but also because she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so carefree and safe waking up in her parents’ house. Which was probably pathetic given that barely twenty-four hours had passed since they’d met, but to claim otherwise would be a bald-faced lie. She didn’t know what it was, but there was something about Aspen that just called to her. And trying to resist that pull was turning out to be as futile as trying to fight gravity.
Eve’s stomach clenched as those perfect, kissable lips quirked with amusement.
As if sensing the effect she was having on her, Aspen leaned in close to tease in an unfairly sexy murmur, “Earth to Eeeeeve.”
How Eve found the strength to not just lean in and kiss her was a miracle she’d probably regret later, but for now she aimed a light jab at Aspen’s shoulder and muttered, “Oh, shut up.”
Aspen gasped dramatically and grabbed her shoulder. “Ow!”
Eve laughed. “Please. I didn’t hit you that hard.”
“Says you.” Aspen jutted her lip out in a little pout, making her look even more kissable than before. And that was saying something, because Aspen looked so very kissable pretty much all the time. “I’m gonna be bruised and wounded and injured for like the rest of the weekend.”
Eve rolled her eyes. “Oh boo-hoo.”
“You’re really boo-hoo-ing me after you beat me up?” Aspen shoved her goggles up onto the top of her helmet. The golden flecks in her eyes glinted with the bright, late-afternoon sunshine that reflected off the snow and more than a little mischief. It was a damning combination for Eve, who was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.
“I didn’t beat you up,” Eve scoffed.
“You punched me!”
“Lightly!” Eve defended. “And only because you were being so, so—”
“What?” Aspen interrupted, her feigned distress forgotten as she grinned beautifully and brilliantly at Eve.
The strength Eve had a moment ago was nowhere to be found as she grabbed the front of Aspen’s snowboard jacket and tugged her close. She stared, spellbound by the way Aspen’s eyes darkened as their breaths mingled in the space between their lips. Seeing the effect she had on Aspen was a rush like nothing she’d ever experienced, and her grip on Aspen’s tightened as the world swam around her.
“So, what, Eve?” Aspen prompted softly.
Eve’s pulse stuttered in anticipation as she looked down at Aspen’s lips. “So fucking kissable,” she whispered
Aspen’s hands were strong and sure on Eve’s waist as she angled her head invitingly. “So kiss me.”
Eve’s eyes fluttered shut as she nuzzled Aspen’s cheek, once, twice, three times, teasing them both with the promise of what was to come.
“Eve, please,” Aspen whimpered.
Eve moaned low in the back of her throat because fuck if that wasn’t the sexiest thing she’d ever heard. “God, Aspen.”
The hands on her hips tightened and tugged pleadingly as Aspen chased after her lips. “Please kiss me.”
Eve angled her head to finally, mercifully close the distance between them, but before she could complete that perfect, blissful connection, someone who had to’ve been moving at warp speed crashed into them. The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back on the snow with her skis tangled in Aspen’s snowboard.
“Holy shit, Jordy!” a panicked woman’s voice shouted.
Eve squeezed her eyes shut as Aspen buried her face in the crook of her neck with a grumbled, “Holy shit, indeed.”
Eve could only laugh. Ten seconds ago, she’d been on the precipice of what would have surely been an earth-shattering kiss, but instead of a kiss that made her knees weak, she’d had them forcefully taken out from under her. Granted, having Aspen on top of her was all kinds of amazing, but her ass was starting to throb from how she’d landed on it.
“Oh my god,” the same woman’s voice said, this time with less panic and a heavy dose apology. “I’m so sorry, you two.”
The weight on Eve’s legs lessened, and she groaned as she pried her eyes open.
Concern clouded Aspen’s expression as worried brown eyes danced over Eve’s face. “Are you hurt?”
Eve shook her head. “I’m fine.” She looked past Aspen to the young girl who’d crashed into them and the tall, athletically built woman beside her who Eve assumed was her mother. “Are you okay, kiddo?”
The girl nodded and averted her gaze in obvious embarrassment. “I’m really sorry.”
“Me too,” the girl’s mom said as they worked their way slowly to their feet.
Aspen didn’t look particularly impressed by the apology as she turned to look at the woman, but her expression shifted into one of awe as she exclaimed, “Holy shit. You’re Emma Beauchamp!”
The name meant nothing to Eve, but Aspen looked like she’d just met her hero.
It was adorable.
“Guilty as charged,” Emma confirmed with what could only be described as a gold-medal smile. She clapped a hand on the girl’s shoulder and said, “And this rampaging hooligan is my daughter, Jordan.”
“Mo-om,” Jordan whined, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment.
Aspen laughed. “I’m Aspen. And this is Eve.”
“Pleasure to meet you both,” Emma replied genially. She pursed her lips and glanced at her daughter before looking back at them with a wry smile. “I really am sorry about Jordy crashing into you. Looked like you were having a nice little moment before she did her best impression of a wrecking ball.”
Eve’s breath caught at the tender smile that pulled at Aspen’s lips when she glanced at her, and her pulse tripped over itself at the way Aspen held her gaze as she replied, “We’ll have other moments.”
“Yeah, I don’t doubt that,” Emma chuckled. “Well, my wife is waiting for us at the chalet with our youngest, so I’ll get this one down the mountain and out of your way. If you happen to catch us around later, please let us treat you to coffee as an apology. Okay? Hope you have a good rest of your day.”
Eve tore her gaze from Aspen’s to smile at Emma. “Appreciate that but really, there’s no harm done. You guys have a good day, too.”
Once Emma and Jordan had taken off down the path toward Copper, a fun little blue that Eve and Aspen had done a few times that day, Eve asked Aspen, “Who is Emma Beauchamp?”
Instead of answering, Aspen threw her a playful smile and asked, “Not a hockey girl, huh?”
“Not really,” Eve confessed.
“She’s basically American hockey royalty. Was on the national team for, like, forever, before she retired. And if she’s meeting her wife”—Aspen bounced a little in place as her gaze drifted toward the lodge at the base of the hill—“that means Campbell Jordan is around here, too! She was on the Canadian team,” Aspen explained excitedly. “The games where they faced off against each other were legendary .”
Eve nodded, properly impressed. “She seemed cool.”
“God, she did, didn’t she?”
Eve laughed. “You have a crush on her?”
“When I was younger, for sure,” Aspen confirmed without a shred of embarrassment. “I even got to see a few of her games.” Her expression softened as she leaned in to drop a sweet, chaste kiss to Eve’s cheek. “But now I’m totally into this stunning redhead.”
Butterflies erupted in Eve’s stomach. “Yeah?”
“Mhmm.” Aspen’s eyes crinkled with amusement. “Me begging to be kissed didn’t give that away?”
Eve blushed. “I guess it kinda did.”
“Good. Because I meant it.” Aspen dropped a light kiss to the corner of Eve’s lips. She looked poised to claim them fully when someone whipped by them at full speed with a laughing, “Get a room!” that completely ruined the moment. “Not gonna lie, I’m starting to hate this section of the mountain,” Aspen grumbled.
“Me too,” Eve agreed as she swayed into Aspen. She whimpered when Aspen rewarded her confession with another soft kiss that was just off the mark.
“Soon, beautiful girl,” Aspen promised. The look of naked longing that burned in her eyes as she pulled away stole the air from Eve’s lungs. “But when I kiss you again, I don’t want anyone or anything to interrupt us. And, besides,” she added, regret creeping into her tone, “we should probably get going if we’re gonna make dinner on time.”
“I’m really starting to hate that meal,” Eve grumbled petulantly.
Aspen giggled and pulled her goggles back into place. “Me too.” She inclined her head toward the trail signs. “So, blue or black?”
Eve considered the trails. “Black?”
“You sure?” Aspen teased with a smirk, and god, it shouldn’t have been as sexy as it was.
Eve pointed her skis downhill to slide past Aspen toward Gentleman’s Ridge. “Just try to keep up this time, huh?”
“Oh, those are fighting words, Morrison!” Aspen shouted as she hopped her board around and took off after her.
Eve laughed as she put on a little speed to try to hold her lead. Aspen whipped past her with a euphoric shout just after they’d made the transition to Bingo Glades, but Eve didn’t have it in her to be mad about it when it afforded her the opportunity to appreciate Aspen’s powerful athleticism as she cut strong curves back and forth down the trail. For as nice as the view was, she wasn’t about to surrender a win so easily, and she tucked her poles against her sides as she ducked into a perfectly weighted crouch to whip past Aspen just before they reached the bottom of the hill. She lifted her arms to celebrate her victory, and giggled merrily at Aspen’s shouts of disbelief that rained down on her back as she coasted to a stop.
The rush of their breakneck race down the mountain left a smile on her face that persisted all the way back to her parents’ house, where it, and the giddy high she’d been riding, died the moment she saw Nolan and the pretty blonde he’d cheated on her with climbing out of a gleaming Mercedes SUV.
Aspen, of course, noticed immediately.
“Is that the guy?” Aspen asked with an unmistakable edge of violence in her tone.
Eve nodded as she looked back at Aspen, who was glaring daggers at Nolan. “Nolan McCarthy. He’s a partner at my parents’ firm.”
Aspen scowled. “He looks like a weenie.”
Eve snorted a laugh. Out of all the assessments she’d heard of Nolan over the years, that was the least expected—and most accurate—she’d ever heard. She had no trouble reading the what the hell were you doing with that guy? that burned in Aspen’s eyes, but was glad Aspen didn’t press her on it. She didn’t want Aspen to be disappointed in her for giving herself to someone she didn’t even like that much just to make her life easier. “He is a gigantic weenie.”
“I’m guessing ass-kicking is off the table?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Eve said, and she’d never meant anything more. It’d be so goddamn satisfying to watch someone knock the smug little smirk off his face. “My parents adore him.”
Aspen nodded as her gaze softened with understanding. “Can I needle him?”
Eve smiled at Aspen’s archaic phrasing even as she promised, “As much as you want.”
“Oh, this is gonna be fun,” Aspen chortled. She pulled her keys from the ignition and reached for her door. “Sit tight. I’m going full gentleman mode.”
Eve obligingly stayed where she was as Aspen hustled around the back of the car to get her door, and she smiled at Aspen as she took her hand. “Should I be offended that it took the arrival of my asshole ex for you to go full gentleman?”
Though Eve’s question had been delivered as a joke, Aspen’s voice burned with sincerity as she replied, “I wanted to, but didn’t know if it would be something you’d like.” Aspen lifted Eve’s hand to her lips and brushed a gentle kiss over her knuckles. “If it is, I will gladly do it from now on.”
Eve blushed and bit her lip. “I would like that,” she admitted softly, marveling at herself as she did so. She never had before, maybe because from others it had always felt like a dig at her independence. But it wasn’t like that with Aspen. With Aspen, she just felt the genuine care behind it. Like she was protected.
Revered.
And Aspen’s quiet, “Good,” was so lush with gratitude that Eve couldn’t resist leaning in to press a brief but tender kiss to Aspen’s lips.
Eve smiled at the way Aspen grinned at her a little dopily as she pulled away, and sighed as she inclined her head toward Nolan’s car and the house beyond. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
The feeling of Aspen’s fingers slipping between hers as they walked stilled some of the disquiet in Eve’s chest, and she leaned into that calm as Nolan regarded them with a haughtily arched brow as they approached. His black hair was slicked away from his forehead, and she didn’t miss the surprise that flashed in his muddy brown eyes when he noticed the way her hand was tucked neatly into Aspen’s.
The disdain in his voice when he greeted them with a droll, “Well, this is quaint,” made Eve want to punch him in the face.
Judging by the way Aspen’s hand tightened around hers, she wasn’t alone.
“Hello, Nolan,” Eve drawled as she tugged Aspen forward. The sooner they could get away from him, the better. “If you’ll excuse us, we need to change for dinner.”
He smirked and slammed the hatch of the SUV shut. “Been skiing?”
“We have,” Aspen replied breezily.
“I’m impressed you got Eve out there. She hates it.”
Aspen threw a curious look at Eve. “Really?” When Eve shrugged and shook her head in a way that clearly said, I have no idea what he’s talking about , Aspen squeezed her hand and said, “Must’ve just been a you thing, my dude. Maybe she didn’t think you’d be able to keep up? Because we had a great day ripping up the blacks.”
Eve didn’t bother to hide her smile as Nolan visibly bristled. “I was the captain of the alpine ski team at Harvard.”
“Oh, well, that’d explain why you couldn’t keep up with her. No shame in that, man. She’s good.”
“Who the hell are you?”
Aspen’s smile dripped with malice as she offered him her hand. “Aspen Collier-West.” She arched a brow when he refused for a moment to take it, and her lips twitched in amusement when he finally did. “Not a bad grip,” she noted, sounding bored.
Nolan’s jaw flexed. “Thanks.”
Eve looked down at their hands, and rolled her eyes. Both of their forearms were flexed from the force they were putting into their grips. And, while it was clear Aspen was enjoying this little game, she had no doubt that’d it’d been Nolan who had started it.
Aspen inclined her head as she pumped his hand. “So, is this, like, a dick measuring contest? Because, if you give me a second, I can pop back to our room to get mine, and then we can whip them out to see whose is bigger. It’d be a lot easier than you failing to outmuscle me.”
Eve barked out a laugh at the way Nolan’s eyes bugged out of his head. She wished she had her camera. Seeing him put in his place was more entertaining than she’d imagined. For as much as she appreciated Aspen’s defense, however, they were on something of a tight schedule, and she wrapped her free hand around Aspen’s bicep to get her attention as she murmured, “Aspen, darling, let him go.”
Aspen shot her a playful smirk. “You sure? I’m totally winning.”
“I know you are,” Eve told her. “And you’d win in the other metric, too, but we don’t have time for that right now.”
Nolan’s new girlfriend—Sadie, Eve recalled—snorted with laughter. “Damn. This trip just got so much more fun than I was expecting.”
The vein in the middle of Nolan’s forehead bulged as he spluttered, “This is ridiculous.”
“Right?” Aspen released his hand and chucked him on the shoulder. Judging by the way he stumbled back a step, she put a little more power into the blow than necessary, but the glare she gave him dared him to say anything about it. When Nolan wisely opted to keep his smarmy mouth shut, she turned to Sadie with a cheeky smile and a little wave. “Hi there. I’m Aspen.”
Eve bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the way Sadie preened and batted her lashes at Aspen. “Sadie Andrews.”
“Charmed,” Aspen replied with a playful wink that made the bulging vein in Nolan’s forehead even more prominent. Pure, impish delight danced in Aspen’s eyes as she turned to Eve. “Shall we?”
“We shall,” Eve replied. She stroked Aspen’s bicep as they sauntered past Nolan and Sadie, and by the time they reached the door, her cheeks hurt from smiling. Richard opened the door immediately for them. She couldn’t help but wonder if the smile and ever so slight bow he greeted them with meant he’d seen what had just happened, but Aspen just threw a cheery, “Hiya, Richard,” at him as she gallantly whisked Eve down the hall toward their room with a marked pep in her step.