Page 20 of Sinful Desires

When I started emptying my suitcase into the dresser, voices overlapped downstairs. As bossy as ever, Valentina directed everybody to their rooms, their heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs barely drowning out the laughter and excited chatter.

There was one distinctive voice I hadn’t heard yet that stuck out from the rest. Maybe he was looking around, getting a feel for the place. Would it be hopelessly stupid to hang out in here until I was sure he had reached his room? If I had to ask the question, it meant I already knew the answer. I wouldn’t be able to avoid him all weekend.

The most obvious answer was also the most logical. Pulling my new navy blue snowsuit from my duffel bag, I stripped off my turtleneck and jeans. We were supposed to go skiing according to Valentina’s itinerary. It would give me an excuse to get out of here and, hopefully, away from somebody who was starting to bring to mind gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe. I couldn’t get rid of him, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to.

Things had quieted down considerably by the time I finished suiting up, adding a pair of black, faux fur-lined boots to the outfit before cinching the belt around my waist. Armed with my gloves and goggles, I stepped out of the room, hoping to sneak out to the lodge a couple of miles down the road until I was noticed.

Since when did my luck go that well?

He was the only one down there, standing in the center of the main room. His hands were clasped behind his back while he stared at the fireplace, sunlight playing off his blond curls. His back was to me as I observed him from the open passage running in front of four of the cabin’s eight bedrooms and overlookingthe main room. Stepping up to the railing running along its length, I held my breath, waiting to see what he would do next.

He took a deep breath, shoulders rising and falling before he released a sigh. All at once, he turned so suddenly I didn’t have time to react when he found me standing there. Somehow, he didn’t look surprised.

He did, however, look annoyed. Maybe even angry. Brows drawn together, his lips pulled into a tight line. I could practically hear him grinding his teeth from where I stood so many feet above him. For a second there, he was the same guy I first noticed at the spin studio. The one who had followed me around New York without a word, silently observing, maybe judging.

It faded in a blink like somebody dragging an eraser across a whiteboard to wipe it clean. I hadn’t imagined it. I needed to keep the memory close to the forefront.

“I didn’t imagine you were a ski freak,” he called out, nearing the stairs. There was something almost menacing in his footfalls. I was making it up, I had to be. He wasn’t a threat to me.

“Some say freak, some say enthusiast. I’ve been looking forward to getting out there for weeks.”

I lifted my chin once he reached the top of the stairs, looking ridiculously dashing in a knee-length black coat with a charcoal gray turtleneck underneath. He could have been posing for a magazine spread when he leaned against the railing, looking me up and down.

“Do you prefer the bunny slopes?” he taunted with a smirk, slowly taking in every inch of my suit. Damn the heat that spread through me everywhere his gaze landed. This wasn’t that lava I was thinking of earlier, something that would decimate everything in its path. Yet somehow, it felt more dangerous.

“I left them behind years ago. How about you?” Folding my arms, I arched an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you're a champion skier as well as a licensed pilot.”

“No championships as of yet,” he allowed, lifting a shoulder. “But you never know. I was about to change up and hit the slopes with the guys myself. We can go together. I’ll only be a minute.” Whistling, he passed on the way to his room which was further down the hall, something that came as a relief.

Not that I thought he would try to sneak into my room during the night. Why would my thoughts stray in that direction?

I hardened my resolve a little more with every heavy step I took down to the first floor. So Evan and Lucian had invited him skiing too. I made a mental note to thank them personally for being so welcoming and not at all a complete thorn in my side.

8

MILES

One thing was for certain—standing at the top of one of the resort’s intermediate slopes, the four of us abreast as we prepared for the first warm-up run of the day, Aria could fill out a ski suit. I could barely take my eyes off her long enough to be sure my goggles were secure. I had seen her in workout clothes, jeans, and skirts, but never had she worn something so completely form-fitting that showcased her firm body so perfectly that my hands ached to test her curves.

“See you down there!” Lucian took off, followed by Evan, the two of them expertly weaving their way down the snow-covered hillside. They’d probably been on skis from the time they could walk or soon after. I had spent the first twenty years of my life regarding skiing as the ultimate wealthy person’s sport. Something spoiled rich people did while visiting their cabins and ski lodges.

Such as the one in which I would be spending the weekend. Yet another part of the life I could have and should have led.

“You ready?” Aria offered a cheeky grin before she shot forward without warning. I couldn’t be irritated with her headstart when it was so pleasant gazing at her peach of an ass as she seemed to fly down the slope.

I started off behind her, keeping her in my sights. I had only been on skis since midway through my college days, a scholarship student surrounded by the wealthy who had first exposed me to a world I’d only ever imagined. It was a sport I’d taken to quite easily. Mom used to tell tales of trips she’d taken in her modeling days—Aspen, Switzerland, Italy. She had tasted this lifestyle and had it cruelly ripped from her.

I couldn’t optimize my speed while obsessing over memories that were not even mine to begin with. Pushing them from my head, I focused on catching up to her, which I did roughly halfway down the course. She veered right, placing more distance between us, and a quick glance her way revealed what looked like laughter before she shot forward again. She had me beat. I didn’t happily admit to defeat, but there was no denying it.

By the time I reached her, she was yawning, staring at her wrist as if checking the time. “Took you long enough.” I didn’t mind losing so much when I heard the obvious joy in her voice. If she could taunt me, she was growing more comfortable with me. I could lose a single race if it meant advancing in the much larger picture.

“That’s the problem with racing a cheater who takes a head start,” I pointed out, lifting my goggles and narrowing my eyes. “It means you have to work harder to catch up.”

“Yeah, yeah. Tell me another good one. I let you catch up to me, didn’t I?” Her saucy grin did things to me. Bad things I had no business imagining, such as taking her back to that palatial cabin and tying her to the bed. Stroking those amethyst locks of hers while her head bobbed in a quick, steady rhythm, lips wrapped around my cock. We would do that. We would do all ofit, but it had to be on my terms. Lust couldn’t have a damn thing to do with it, at least not on my end.

“You like to go fast, do you?” I asked, pursing my lips as I admired the way the navy fabric clung to her curves. If she were any other man’s daughter, what I wouldn’t have already done to her.

“Sure. What, do you want me to show you again how much I like it?” She eyed the slope we’d come down. “I could go for another run before we move on to something more challenging.” Her brazen confidence softened something in me. Something warmer, something comfortable and familiar.

---