Page 89 of Edge of Desire

“Sure.”

“If your piercings were done to you, why do you keep them?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know anymore. At first it was sort of my badge of courage. Then I did it as a protest against how I got them. And now, they’ve just sort of been there for so long, I’ve gotten used to them. But I confess, seeing how much they turn you on, there’s no way I’ll ever get rid of them now.”

Our kisses took over and it seemed like we couldn’t help ourselves. Things got way out of control and this time he took my hands and pulled me up until I was straddling his mouth again. “Honey, you might want to hold on again,” he said as he told me to ride him. Good heavens, the man was persistent. He had me making all sorts of noises and finally I shouted his name a few dozen times. About that time, I felt him slide me back a bit and then he was inside of me and there I was, making all those noises again. He sat up and held me tight against him as he caressed me deep inside and I felt myself fall off that edge of ecstasy as he quickly followed, calling my name.

And then the phone rang. Embarrassingly enough, it was the hotel management. Apparently, our neighbors had complained about all the racket coming from our room and we were asked to keep it down. My face flamed, but Preston only laughed.

“Come on, Avery, let’s take a shower,” he said, reaching for my hand.

“Oh dear. I know what this means.”

Showers with Preston were never about just getting clean. Our neighbors were not going to be happy at all.

“Perhaps we should go to your place after this.”

“My neighbor won’t like it either. He complained about Melissa and me being too loud. Of course, Melissa does have a loud voice.”

Preston gave me that look. “What was Melissa doing?”

“Talking. She’s kind of boisterous.”

“Right. I saw her skiing one day, and I had to stop and stare as she flew down the slope. She was shouting. I think everyone stopped and stared.”

“I know. She was a sight, wasn’t she?”

“She certainly was.”

We laughed.

I added, “One thing I love about her though is that she’s comfortable in her own skin. And Griffin and Marley, her ski instructors, were drooling over her.”

“Hmm. Well, she must have that certain charm.”

Preston had gotten the shower going and we got in, but ended up getting sidetracked, as I knew we would. By the time we got out, another hour had passed, and the message light was flashing on the phone. It was the management again asking us to change rooms.

We never made it to the slopes that day. Preston checked out of the Crystal Ski Lodge and into my super-sized studio apartment. We shopped for some food to cook for dinner and stayed in the rest of the night.I did my best to keep from shouting. It must’ve worked because the neighbor never knocked on the door.

Twenty-Eight

Preston

Today we went skiing as we’d been preoccupied with other things yesterday. Avery had the day off, so we were spending it on the slopes. She promised to show me the back of the mountain and try to teach me some of her special moves. I doubt I’d catch on, but my true goal was to watch her up close.

“So, I was thinking we could start out in Game Creek Bowl, and then move further back, depending on how you do,” Avery said. “There are a couple of blue runs but mostly black. We’ll start on the blues. Then I want to take you on a groomed black run. If you like it, we can zigzag our way to Blue Sky Basin, which is on the other side of the mountain.”

“What, you don’t think I can handle the big stuff?”

“I didn’t say that. I just want to gauge your skill level first.”

“Fair point,” I conceded.

Avery warned it would be crowded, being Christmas week and all. I didn’t care. As long as I was with her, I’d be happy.

We made it to our destination, and she put me through some initial blue runs. She seemed to be pleased with my ability there, so she took me on the groomed black runs. The mountain had gotten increasingly crowded as the morning passed. We did a few runs and had just hopped on a lift when Avery decided we would head to the back, to hopefully find an area with fewer skiers.

As we rode the lift, I suddenly felt a searing pain in my right shoulder. My body stiffened in shock as much as pain, for I was positive I’d been shot.

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