Where We Bloom Preview
Prologue
Billie
Last Autumn
I like him, this handsome stranger who approached me at my bookstore right before closing. He asked if he could take me to dinner, and honestly, I wasn’t sure. I mean, he’s hot as hell at well over six feet tall, with dark hair and the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen, and it looks like he has muscles for days beneath his white button-down shirt and black slacks.
He’s sexy.
And did I mention his glasses? Yeah, he has the nerve to wear black-rimmed glasses that might have made my vagina salivate.
But he’s … broody.
I’m not a broody person. And yes, I read enough romance novels to know that the grumpy-sunshine combination can be hot, but that’s fiction. In real life? I’ve never been attracted to the grump. And this guy has intense written all over him.
However, despite that, I said yes, and two hours later, here we are, finishing dinner at my favorite restaurant in Bitterroot Valley, Ciao, with the handsome stranger sitting across from me. We shared the appetizer of Italian nachos, a huge entrée of pasta, and tiramisu for dessert. I’m not afraid to eat in front of a man. Yes, I’m a curvy girl, and I know how to dress my body, and I’m not ashamed of it.
I like to eat.
But the portions here are so large, I suggested we share, and I think it was the right call.
The best part of this dinner, though, has been the conversation. This guy—I didn’t get his name—is intelligent, and he listens.
Which, in my limited dating experience, seems rare.
“I might be in a food coma,” I admit as I sit back and sip the last of my after-dinner coffee, watching him. “That was delicious.”
“Everything about this evening has been delicious,” he replies, holding my gaze through those sexy-as-fuck glasses, and I feel the warmth from his words spread through me.
He may be broody, but he’s charming. And he’s hardly taken his eyes off me all through dinner.
“May I be blunt?” he asks, his light accent coming through. I don’t know where he’s from in Europe, but I know he’s not American.
“Of course, please do.”
“I’d like you to come back to my suite with me. Stay the night with me.”
The hand lifting my water glass to my lips pauses halfway as I stare at him, and then I slowly lower it to the table.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Why do I feel like you’re a man who usually gets what he wants?”
His green gaze holds mine as he waits quietly, his finger tapping the side of his wineglass, watching me as I decide what to do. He’s sexy, there’s no doubt about it. He held my hand on the way here from my shop, and it made my whole arm tingle.
I’m not an impulsive person. I certainly don’t have sex with someone on a first date.
But I like him.And a chance to have sex with a man like this one may never present itself again.
And did I mention that he’s sexy?
“Where are you staying?” I watch his lips twitch, and his face relaxes as if he were worried I’d say no.
“At the ski resort.”
I nod slowly, take one last sip of my water, and ignore the butterflies currently doing the Macarena in my stomach.
“All right.”
His eyebrow wings up. “Just like that?”
“It seems so.”
He pays the check, then offers me his hand and guides me through the restaurant. I like walking next to him. He’s such a big man, I feel perfectly safe when I’m next to him, which is an odd thought, considering that I don’t typically feel un safe.
When we’re standing on the sidewalk, I turn to him.
“I can meet you up there. My car’s parked behind my shop.”
This tall, hot-as-hell stranger steps closer to me, and with his finger under my chin, he lifts my face so he can look into my eyes. Did all of the air rush out of Montana just now? Because it’s suddenly harder to breathe.
“I don’t want to let you out of my sight in case you disappear on me. I’m only here for one night, and I plan to take full advantage of that. I’ll make sure you get back to your car safely in the morning.”
Wow. After swallowing hard, I simply nod, and he kisses my forehead before leading me to a massive black SUV parked across the street.
My stranger opens the passenger door for me, makes sure I get my seat belt secure, closes the door, then circles the hood to the driver’s side.
“You know,” I begin as he backs out of the parking space and heads toward the road that leads to the resort, “we talked all through dinner, but I never asked you where you’re visiting from.”
I’m watching his profile as he drives, so I see it when his lips tip up at the side, and I wish he’d give me a full smile.
I saw his eyes light up when I said something funny, and those lips tipped up too, but he has yet to grace me with a full grin.
I bet it’s devastating.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t divulge too many personal things tonight.” He shoots me a glance before he reaches over and sets his hand on my thigh, then gives it a little squeeze.
Just that simple touch makes my nipples pucker. I bite my lip.
We had great conversation at dinner, but we never talked about anything too personal. Obviously, I discussed my bookstore a bit, but never my family or friends. He asked me questions about the store, about the town.
But really, we’ve kept things quite surface, and I don’t really mind. He’s only here for this one night, and if he wants to keep things mellow, I’m down for that.
I stare at his hand, then cover it with my own and glide my fingers over his, enjoying the way his skin feels against mine.
“As long as you don’t have a wife somewhere who assumes you’re being faithful to her and your six children, that’s fine with me.”
To my absolute shock, he laughs. Laughs. And it lights me up inside. It’s the kind of laugh you give when you’re tickled with someone.
And his smile is as devastating as I expected. It makes my heart speed up into hyperdrive.
“That’s not exactly a denial.”
He shakes his head and glances at me again. “No. I’m not married, and I don’t have any children. Certainly not six.”
“Great. I don’t either.”
He leaves his SUV with the valet and takes my hand again to escort me into the lodge and to an elevator. After riding to the top floor, he leads me to the suite at the end of the hall, opens the door, and gestures for me to walk in ahead of him.
This room is fancy. Or set of rooms, I should say. A wall of windows in both the living area and the bedroom gives a view of the ski mountain and the beautiful trees beyond.
“Great room.” I immediately kick off my shoes, because that’s just habit, and the next thing I know, I’m spun around, back against the window, and he frames my face in his hands and kisses me.
Not a tentative first kiss. No, this man consumes me, as if he’s wanted to do this to me since the moment he first saw me, and I’m not sure that I’ve ever felt so wanted.
So damn sexy.
His mouth is amazing. Not too hard, not too wet. He growls against me, those hands drift down to my ass, and then he lifts me.
I let out a yelp and wrap my arms around his shoulders. I’m not a little woman.
“I’ve got you,” he says against my lips as he carries me to the bedroom. “And as much as I’d love to fuck you against that glass, I’d have to kill anyone who got a look at you, so we’ll take it to the bedroom.”
I smirk. I can’t help it.
He’s not going to kill anyone over a one-night stand.
But it’s an amusing thought.
And then all thinking goes out those windows as he sets me on my feet. My hands dive for the buttons on his shirt, and he unfastens the belt I have around the green dress I’m wearing.
“You’re fucking gorgeous,” he says as the belt hits the floor.
With a grin, I push his shirt over his shoulders, and when it joins my belt near our feet, I let my eyes roam down over smooth skin and those muscles that aren’t for days. They’re for years. His abs are so defined, I want to lick them.
I want to nibble them.
And my hands are all over him.
“Lift your arms, beautiful girl,” he says, and I comply, letting him pull my dress over my head. He discards it, and I’m standing before this Greek god in just my pretty purple bra and panties, my many flaws on display for him. “Christ Jesus, you’re gorgeous.”
We’re not touching now, just staring at each other, taking each other in. His chest heaves. His hands fist at his sides.
“Your pants,” I whisper, meeting his eyes. “Please.”
His jaw clenches.
“I like it when you ask nicely.” He steps out of the slacks, along with his boxers, and Oh. My. God. “My eyes are up here, angel.”
Angel. I’m going to die tonight. I feel it coming.
I swallow hard.
“And you have nice eyes, but holy shit, have you seen that ?”
I’m scooped up again and am lying on my back in the middle of a soft island of a bed, and he’s hovering over me, kissing up my chest toward my chin.
His hands explore me everywhere. Over my sides and hips. My thighs. And then his palms skim up to my breasts, and his thumbs brush my nipples over the bra, and I arch into him.
“Every fucking inch of you is perfect,” he growls against my ear. “If there is anything that I do that you don’t like, you just say so, and it stops. Got it?”
I nod, biting my lip as I watch his lips move.
“I need your words, angel.”
“I understand. Same goes.”
He gives me that smile again before twisting me onto my stomach. He unfastens my bra before he pulls my hips back, so my ass is in the air and my face is against the bed. Then his mouth is right there.
I hear him inhale, his hands ghost over the globes of my ass, and then he swipes his tongue through my slit, from my clit all the way to the back door, and I moan.
“Look at you,” he murmurs before doing it again. “Already so damn wet.”
It starts out gentle, and then it’s anything but . He licks and then sucks on my clit, and pushes a finger inside me, and I push back against him, needing so much more. I feel like if I don’t get him inside me now , I’ll spontaneously combust.
“You like that?”
I nod, and then there’s a smack on my ass.
“Words, angel.”
This is going to be the best way to die.
“Yes, I like it.”
“Good.”
He pushes in another finger, stretching me, and I moan again, still pushing back against him, wanting so much more than his fingers.
Just as I’m about to come apart with the most intense orgasm of my life, he stops.
And I frown back at him, but then I realize he’s rolling on a condom. He flips me back over, braces himself on his hands beside my shoulders, and pushes the crown inside me. I grip his sides, my nails digging into his skin.
“Take a breath, angel.” He brushes his nose over mine so gently, I take that breath.
Why do I love it when he calls me angel so much?
With my eyes on his, I inhale, and then he slides all the way in. My legs are hitched on his hips, my hands slide to his back, and to my surprise, he lowers his forehead to mine.
“Christ, you’re snug,” he whispers. “Your pussy fits my cock perfectly.”
I feel like I’ve just been given a gold medal.
He covers my mouth with his, then he starts to move, and I can’t help the whimper that pushes through my throat.
“Are you okay?” he asks as he tucks his hand under my ass, tilting my pelvis up.
“Never better. Don’t you dare stop.”
He cups my cheek and jawline, and picks up the tempo, making my spine tingle and every muscle clench around him.
“Oh fuck.”
“That’s right. Come for me. God, you’re so bloody gorgeous.”
His accent is thicker when he’s aroused, and before I know it, I’m shattering into a million pieces, holding on to him for dear life as I’m thrown off the sexiest cliff ever.
With a roar, he follows me over, cants his hips into mine, and shivers with his own climax.
He lowers to his elbows, bracing himself. Pushing his hands into my hair, he brushes his nose down my jawline, making me shiver.
“Are you okay, angel?”
“If I die because of the best orgasm of my life, please tell my family it was worth it.”
With a proud grin, he kisses me, softly this time. Leisurely. As if we have all the time in the world to lie here, in this opulent bed and soak each other in.
This man, this stranger, is a grade A kisser.
Finally, he rolls to the side, disentangles himself from me, then takes my hand and pulls me from the bed.
“Where are we going?” I ask with a laugh.
“Shower,” he replies. “I’m going to clean you up and then get you messy again.”
Well, yes, please and thank you, hot stranger. Sign me up for that.
Connor
I jolt up out of a dead sleep and pull air into my lungs, taking in my surroundings.
Waking up in a strange place is nothing new to me. It’s part of my job.
I’m in Montana. I was supposed to leave yesterday, but my plane had a problem, and we had to postpone until today.
And then I met the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my bloody life.
I glance down and frown when I see that the bed is empty, and a brush of my hand over the sheets tells me she’s been gone for a while.
I push the blanket aside and walk to the living room, and find my dark-haired angel curled up in one of the leather armchairs by the windows, a blanket tossed over her lap, watching the snow outside. She’s wearing my shirt from earlier, and it’s sexy as hell on her.
I don’t know when the snow started, but the trees are already covered in white, and the flakes falling from the sky look like they’re the size of my fist.
“It’s the first snowfall of the year,” she says without turning to look at me. Her voice is raspy, her beautiful long hair tangled, and I need to get my hands on her again more than I need air.
“Have you slept at all?” I ask and scowl when she shakes her head.
“I don’t sleep much. But I won’t say anything else because we’re not sharing personal things.” She grins over at me, and her whiskey-colored eyes go round when she sees that I’m naked.
I want to ask her a million questions. Why doesn’t she sleep well? How does she want her coffee in the morning? When can I see her again?
What’s her bleeding name?
If I was a man who did relationships, I’d claim this woman as mine.
But I’m not.
However, I plan to enjoy the hell out of her while I have her, so I kneel in front of her, pull the blanket off her lap, and spread her legs, hooking one of them over the arm of the chair.
“Uh, you don’t have to?—”
Before she can finish that thought, I lean in and wrap my lips around her clit, flick the little bundle of nerves with the tip of my tongue, and grin when her hands twine in my hair and pull.
I love that she’s not gentle.
That she’s not fragile.
And with a growl, I push my tongue inside her and lap at her juices.
“Ah, shit,” she moans. “God, you’re so damn good at that.”
With a growl, I pull her out of that chair, sit, and straddle her over me. She immediately takes my cock inside her, sinking down until I’m completely buried inside her. She circles her gorgeous hips before she starts to ride.
I unbutton the shirt, lean in and suck on her nipples, tease them with my teeth, and with my hands planted on the globes of her bloody phenomenal arse, she rides me until I feel the orgasm gather, lifting my balls, and I press my thumb to her clit, making sure she comes with me.
Her movements falter as she cries out, coming apart on my lap, and once she’s finished, I lift her and pump my cock until I come in thick ropes all over her stomach and tits.
“No condom,” she whispers, grinning at me. “Good call.”
Still catching my breath, I stand with her in my arms and take us back to bed.
“Come on, we’re going to work on that sleep.”
“You know, I’m not a small person,” she says as she wraps her arm around my neck, still catching her own breath as she presses her sweet face to my neck. “I’m not used to being carried around.”
“You’re small compared to me,” I reply. I don’t want her to think she’s anything but perfect, just the way she is.
I love curvy women.
“I won’t sleep,” she informs me, dragging a finger down my neck. “And I don’t want to keep you up. I’m fine in the chair.”
“You’re fine in the bed, and you won’t keep me up.”
She starts to protest, but I silence her with a kiss.
“I want you with me, angel.”
I lay her down, and once I’ve fetched a warm cloth from the bathroom to clean her up, I curl up behind her, tucking her back against my front. We lie like this for a while, watching the snow through the windows. But then, to my surprise, she wiggles around and presses her face to my chest, wraps her arm around my waist, and sighs as she loops one leg through mine, snuggling into me so tightly, as if she’s worried I might get away from her.
I kiss her head and hug her close, breathing her in.
I’ve never felt this kind of instant connection to someone. I don’t remember the last time I was this attracted to a woman. I’m not in the habit of keeping someone in my bed overnight, and I’m not a cuddler.
That’s too personal.
But this girl had me trapped in her spell from the moment I saw her.
I glance at the clock. I’m leaving in five hours.
And I spend every minute of those holding her. She was wrong. She fell into a deep sleep and relaxed against me. I washed her face in the shower earlier, so she’s free of makeup and even more stunning.
The snow stops at around six, and it’s time for me to get ready to leave. My angel is sleeping so well, I don’t want to wake her.
Okay, the truth is, if she wakes up, I won’t want to leave her.
And I have to go.
So I cross to the walk-in closet and dress, grab my already packed bag, and carry it through to the front door of the suite. Then I return to her and watch her for a few moments. She’s still in my shirt. She can keep it.
I wonder, briefly, if she’ll hang on to it or discard it.
“Take care, angel,” I whisper before I leave the suite, shutting the door quietly behind me. I stop at the front desk and ask them to send up coffee and everything on the breakfast menu in two hours, then have a driver take her to her car whenever she’s ready, then I leave for the airport.
Although I know I’ll be back in Bitterroot Valley often to see my sister, I also know that I won’t repeat this night with that glorious, stunning, and witty woman.
Because I’d lose myself to her, and there’s no room for that in my world.