Page 16 of Forever His This Christmas

“Yeah? You’re an amateur psychologist now huh?”

“Just beginning to figure you out, you’re this incredible mixture of sweet and sassy that makes men want to know more about you. You’re worried that people will do what they do here and judge you because of one thing and you refuse to take a chance to let anyone close enough to you to attempt something real.”

“Wow…you’ve just got me all figured out, don’t you?” she said sarcastically.

“I’m starting to,” he repeated, stopping her from running towards the door when she pulled away from him. “What scares you the most when you hear the words long-term relationship?”

“Becoming like my mother,” she stated, letting out a sigh before she shivered slightly, and he began to move them on towards the house once more. “Never having a say in what I do or where I’m going.”

“That would never happen to you Lisa, you’re far too strong to ever fall for someone who wouldn’t listen to you about what you want.”

“Are you trying to convince me that you’re that guy?” she questioned stopping them outside the door.

“I could be. I’ve never met someone like you before,” he admitted sliding his hand into her hair. He loved her hair. It was silky and the strands slid through his fingers with ease. “Have you ever had something like what we have? This is more than just sex baby.”

“We’ll see about that,” she stated opening the door to get out of the cold. Her jacket wasn’t that warm, and she wasn’t about to get sick and let her mother get that look on her face thinking she was right.

At least she didn’t throw me out, Corey mused following her up the stairs. He slid his arms around her when they walked into her room. He half expected her to resist but she slipped into them, and they fell onto the bed. He stalled her when she reached for his belt buckle knowing the others were in the house already. He’d seen at least two of her brothers head this way earlier, and her parents had mentioned having an early night because of everything they needed to get done the next day.

“They can’t hear us, it’s the magic of soundproofing,” she whispered kissing him and laughed when he forgot about anything else but sending them into bliss again.

She woke up with her head on his chest and wondered why it felt so right. She moved up kissing him awake giggling when he rolled her onto her back taking things incredibly slow. She sighed when they finally collapsed, the sweat dripping from them. “Wow…”

“You said it,” he said dropping a kiss onto her lips. “Every time I think it can’t get better it does. You see that, don’t you?”

“Can we not do this right now? I don’t want to try to think about this and deal with my family.”

“Alright then I guess we should figure out what we’re doing today,” he said carrying her into the bathroom turning on the shower.

“What do you say we get some breakfast then we can do a bit of skiing? It’ll be something I actually enjoy doing while also keeping my mother out of my hair.”

“I say sign me up,” he agreed and as the day went on, she couldn’t stop smiling. He was far too intriguing for her to resist.

They reached the resort, and she stepped off her skis as he did his. She let Able take them back inside while she looked at Corey fluttering her lashes at him. He picked her up and swung her around making her wrap her arms around his neck to keep from falling. She couldn’t stop the laugh that tumbled out, and her smile wasn’t about to fade, not even when she saw Colin staring at them.

“Want to head back to the house instead?” Corey asked as they started to move into the resort’s main building.

“No, if he doesn’t like it, he can leave,” she said as they went and took a seat in the largest overstuffed chair near the fire. “So where did you learn to ski so well?”

“Growing up we’d come to a place like this and take lessons…it’d be our biggest trip of the year, a lot of times our only trip of the year. I made my first big break with the bar and from there started to do what I wanted when I wanted to do it.”

“So, it seems we had different upbringings but now you’re out of the galaxy.”

“I acted like a complete idiot when I first had enough money to not worry about paying the bills, but thankfully I didn’t let that last too long.”

“I’m comfortable with where I’m at financially. I’ve made some really wise investments with the money I’ve made. I had college paid for with scholarships because I didn’t want to rely on my parents. I knew if I had to then they’d have an opening where they could insert their input. I wanted to do it on my own, but I never wanted what you have, the responsibility of running your own company…it’s not for me.”

“Well, you certainly know how to keep one running smoothly financially,” he said playing with her hair yet again because he couldn’t stop himself.

She turned a bit more to let him continue doing what he was and couldn’t help but relax further, almost falling asleep simply being with him, in his arms, safe and secure in the place where she’d never felt it. It was far more than she ever expected to find, and she honestly didn’t want to lose it.

***

“What’s up Mom?” Ashton asked walking into the lobby from the back room. He saw the rest of the guys there and lifted an eyebrow their way.

“That’s what’s up,” Kirby stated pointing towards the fire.

“Is that Lisa?” he asked in surprise.

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