Up in the Air
EXTENDED Epilogue
Channing
“Is everything ok?”
I didn’t bother with niceties when I saw Emmett’s number show up on my phone. There was no reason he should be calling me right now—no good reason, at least.
“Hello to you, too, Lil,” his whiskey-soaked voice responded with a laugh.
“Sorry. Thought something bad happened.”
“Nope. Everyone’s fine. I… ahh… wanted to ask if you had your cousin, Tyler’s, phone number?”
His words jerked my focus to the present.
I’d been staring out the window of the suite that Wyatt and I were occupying at the Lake Louise Resort, watching the ice skaters on the pond. Suite was a poor choice of word for what this room was; it was more like its own little house… that you had to take an elevator to get to.
Kitchen. Living room. Dining room. Master bedroom. Master bath complete with a huge Jacuzzi, a shower that fit two (I could prove it), and a walk-in closet with a sauna. But the view. Well, it wasn’t as nice as the view I woke up to every morning, Wyatt’s face sleeping in front of mine. But looking out over the lake and the mountains, especially as the sun set and the stars lit up the sky like diamonds, well, it came in a close second.
“Yeah, I think so. Let me check.” Scrolling through my contacts, I found Tyler’s name. “Yeah, I do.”
“Can I have it?”
“Depends.”
“Lil… not in the mood for this,” he growled at me.
I bit my lip to not let my laugh escape as I wandered back through to the kitchen in search of a drink. Wyatt said he’d be back a half an hour ago and I was missing him already. He had some business to take care of this afternoon, but he’d scheduled me a massage and facial at the spa ‘to make up for it.’ I have to say, I went there thinking that this was not usually my kind of thing, but I left kicking myself for why it wasn’t. My body felt like a pile of mush, exacerbated by the hot shower I’d just taken to wash all the grease off.
“I’m not going to give it to you without you telling me why you need it,” I responded sweetly.
The silence on the other end of the line frightened most people in Aspen. But not me. Emmett ‘King’ Jameson was a lot of things, but at the heart of it all, he was painfully protective of those that he cared about. And luckily (some days unluckily), I was one of those people.
“You’re just as frustrating as your sister, you know that?”
Caught off guard at the mention of Ally, guilt washed over me that I was missing my baby sister’s twenty-first birthday. I hadn’t planned it this way, but Wyatt needed to go back to Canada to finalize the details for the school we were going to be opening—the sooner the better. It’s true; I let him convince me into the week-long stay after his business dealings were done, but what girl can resist a week at Lake Louise where winter sports are a way of life?
“You haven’t killed each other yet, have you?” I was only half-joking. Ally and Emmett had basically been at each other’s throats since the first day they met.
“There’s still time,” he teased.
“Alright, so why do you need his number? Did Chance lose it?” I chuckled because that was definitely something my brother would do. Lately, he’d probably lose his head if it wasn’t attached to his body and honestly, with the way he seemed to be stuck in a downward spiral, he probably wouldn’t mind if he did.
“Ahh… no,” he answered and then paused. “I actually wanted it because I want to invite him out for Ally’s birthday.”
The sip of water that I took now sprayed from my mouth like I was the Fountain of Channing.
“Lil?”
“Son of a biscuit,” I grumbled, ripping paper-towels off the roll and wiping up my mess. “I just spit water everywhere.”
“Why—”
I cut him off with, “Oh no. It looks like a sprinkler system just went off in the kitchen of our hotel room, you don’t get to ask questions.” He laughed, knowing better than to argue with me after all these years. “You… want to invite Ty out to Colorado… for Ally’s birthday? Ally? My sister? Your arch nemesis?” I half-joked, half-choked out.
“Actually, I want to fly him out.” Full-choke. I was full-on choking now.
“I don’t… I want…” I blubbered, at a complete loss for what I wanted to say. Emmett wanted to do something… nice… for my sister? What the heck was happening in Aspen while I was gone?
“Lil. You can tear into me later, just send me the fucking number.” Click.
I gasped.
If he thought I was going to text him after he hung up on me… Oh, no. I was going to clean this and then I was going to call my sister and get the full story before I had another word with the ‘King.’
My mind awhirl, I completely missed that Wyatt had come in until I spun and found myself flush against his chest.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said with that sexy smirk that immediately caused a rush of moisture between my thighs. This man…
“Hey,” I said breathlessly… barely… before his lips captured mine.
Dropping the towel I’d been holding onto the floor, I wound my arms around his neck and lost myself in the kiss.
That was another thing I hadn’t expected—and had been nervous about. Living with Wyatt… being together for basically twenty-four-seven. What if it was too much? What if he decided he didn’t want to be with me after having to live with me?
If Ally were here, well, first she’d groan and tell us to get a room even though this was our room, but then, she’d harass me about my crazy ideas. Like competing in the Winter X Games as Chance. She’d tell me to add ‘thinking there would ever be reason enough for Wyatt to not want to be with me’ to the list.
After these past few weeks, I would agree with her.
I sighed into his mouth, his tongue finding mine in the hot and demanding ways that he knew would set every inch of my body on fire.
Spending all this time together only made what we had together even more. Deeper. More intense. More passionate.
I groaned as his hands reached underneath the shirt of his that I had on and cupped my ass, his thumbs slipping under the edge of my boyshort lace panties. He tugged me hard against him, his tongue plunging into my mouth, licking every corner.
These few weeks had entirely made up for the years I’d gone without sex—and then some. Still, I couldn’t get enough of him. And Wyatt? The look in his eyes whenever they caught mine said that he more than felt the same.
“Missed you, gorgeous,” he rasped against my lips, tugging the lower one playfully into his mouth.
“Then you should have come back sooner,” I said with a cheeky grin.
“I should have,” he agreed. “But then I wouldn’t have presents to bring you.”
My eyes widened. “Presents?”
The desire on his face broke into laughter as his hands slid up to cup my face. Pressing a hard, fast kiss to my lips, he confirmed, “Presents for my girl.”
“Why?” I mumbled. I watched as he turned and headed back towards the door. He’d dressed for business even though he didn’t really tell me what he had to go do. Fitted chinos, long-sleeve button-down, and a blazer. Meanwhile, I was traipsing around the hotel room in underwear and a t-shirt that was way too large for me. I bit my tongue the way my eyes were practically drooling over his ass as he walked and bent down to retrieve several shopping bags from where he’d set them on the floor when he came in.
Picking them up, he continued into the bedroom, sending me a devilish grin over his shoulder.
I bit back a moan the way my core clenched. The kiss had only been a tease. And even though presents were certainly tempting, they were nothing compared to how much I wanted him. Nothing compared to how much I loved him.
Love changes people.
Ok, maybe not changes changes. But it puts what’s important into perspective. It’s like a mirror that finally lets you see yourself clearly. And with Wyatt, I saw that I didn’t have to cling to snowboarding like it was my identity. Sure, we’d gone out several times while we were up here and of course, I loved it. But the love was different. It came to take a different place in my life. Because, at the end of the day, no matter how much I loved it, I’d give up snow and mountains as long as it meant I got to keep him.
Thankfully, I knew that keeping him meant I would never have to.
“Open them,” he instructed, looking to the three packages that he’d laid out on the bed.
With an intrigued smile, I complied, stepping up to the first box. Tomboy or not—I would have had to be living under a rock (different from living under a mountain) to not realize that it was a shoebox.
Popping open the lid, I dug past the tissue paper and pulled out one strappy heel. It wasn’t hooker-high. It wasn’t ornate. It was simple and classy—and because he bought it for me, I knew it would look sexy.
“I don’t think these are going to strap to my board very easily, baby,” I teased him.
“Well, it’s a good thing you won’t need your board for where we are going tonight.” His eyes warmed, flickering with excited promise.
“And where is that?”
He stepped towards me like he couldn’t stay away any longer, nuzzling into my neck. He replied, “I can’t give you all the surprises now.”
“Why not?” I moaned. The feel of him, large and hard, pressed against my back reignited the need that had been temporarily paused to open his presents.
He smiled against my neck. “Just keep opening, gorgeous.”
My hands followed his instruction, reaching for the second package and popping off the top. My mouth fell open at the dress inside.
Yeah, it was a dress.
But, holding it up, it was a lot more than that. Deep purple. Short. Long sleeves with a dangerous V in the front. Ally would cringe at my description, but I wasn’t good at that stuff. All I knew was that I could appreciate sexy… and classy… at the same time. And if I was going to wear a dress, it would be this one. All tight and bandage-y. Since my curves were minimal, I liked wearing anything that looked like it was painted on. When Wyatt was around.
I just… liked to drive my man crazy. And he more than returned the favor.
“Don’t you think I’m going to be cold in this?” I said, biting back a grin.
“I was hoping,” he chuckled, “because that means I get to warm you up.”
We both knew I preferred kissing to clothes when it came to staying warm.
“One more,” he rasped, his hand sliding up to cup my bare breast.
Screw the present.
My back arched into his hand and with a growl, his finger plucked at my nipple.
“Open the last one, baby,” he bit into my neck.
“You’re making me not want to,” I whimpered, rubbing my legs together. I gasped, practically shooting out of my skin, when his hand reached between them and firmly cupped my sex. “You’re making me… not able… to.”
His groan overshadowed mine as he rubbed over my slit. Heat and moisture soaking into my panties, they began to slip between my folds and rub right over my clit.
“Open. It. Now.”
Open it, close it—at this point, I’d eat the damn thing if it meant he didn’t stop the agonizing circle his fingers made.
Shaky hands peeled the lid off of the last box. I tore some of the delicate tissue paper in my unsteady rush to see what was inside.
If the dress was sexy, well… the lingerie in the last box was like a classy porno waiting to happen.
A black lace bodysuit. Sleeveless. The top reminiscent of a corset since it laced up the back and had a low V between the cups that matched the dress. The sides would ride up high on my thighs. But the lace… it was the softest thing I’d ever felt. Softer than snow. And it felt like it could melt just as easily underneath my fingertip.
Fragile. Feminine. Beautiful.
It was everything that I love to wear underneath my clothes. And Wyatt knew that. He knew beneath the short hair and lack of fashion-sense, the love of snowboarding and self-professed preference that I’d rather just hang with the guys than go shopping with the girls… was a girl who loved to feel like the sexiest woman on the planet in private. And to him, I was.
My suitcase was filled with matching, colorful lingerie that he’d bought for me during our trip. It almost outnumbered the snow gear I’d packed, which was saying something.
“Are you trying to turn me into a good girl?” I teased softly, eyeing up the beautiful things that he’d chosen.
It was the way he picked these things out, knowing they’d be just for him, that made my body ache.
I shivered when his lips pressed to the side of my neck again, planting kisses up along to my ear. I couldn’t stop my hips as they rolled back against his hard length. His hand froze and I whimpered, the pressure that had been building halted suddenly. Painfully.
“Don’t worry, gorgeous, I’ll still fuck you like a bad girl.”
Oh, God… “Wyatt…” I moaned.
“How much did you miss me?” He bit into my shoulder. Hard. But his fingers resumed their flicks over my clit. I couldn’t even mumble an answer before he growled, “Can I see just how much that pretty pussy of yours missed me all day?”
“Please.” I rocked back against him and he let out a low curse.
Shifting his hands to my waist, he tipped me forward, my arms darting out to prop on the edge of the bed. I felt his absence as he stepped back and the gentle chill of the air as he slid his shirt up higher on my back, exposing my blue-panty-covered ass to his view.
A deft hook of his fingers under the lace edge had them down around my ankles, my core bared.
“So beautiful, Channing,” he rasped.
More desire squeezed out of me. I’d never get tired of hearing those words from him.
“Spread your legs.” Goosebumps ran over every inch of me as I stepped out of my underwear and stepped my feet to each side, spreading my legs apart. “Fuck. You did miss me, gorgeous.”
“Did I?” I barely found the strength to ask.
“Your pussy is soaking for me. All pink. With the tiniest bit of red at the center. Like a rose.” Desire dripped down onto the floor. Peeking over my shoulder was a mistake because the look on his face was complete and utter intent to devour me. “God, I just want to eat you, but I don’t think my dick will survive if I do that right now,” he laughed harshly.
My neck cramped but I couldn’t look away as he undid his pants, shoving them down to pull out his long, thick cock. I could see the vein in it pulsing right up to the purple, swollen tip that glistened slightly with how much he needed release.
“Wyatt…” I cried, my arms shaking underneath me. “I need you inside of me.”
I heard the rustle of the condom wrapper tearing and my sex clenched in relieved anticipation, leaking more of my cum onto the floor.
His palm grazed over my ass before planting firmly on my back and my feet shifted in their spot, wondering why he wasn’t inside me already.
“Maybe just one taste…”
Then I felt it—his tongue pressing flat against my clit and sliding slowly up the length of my slit, licking every drop of my desire along with it. My lungs gasped for air like my desire was holding them hostage under water—the rest of my body fully content to drown.
“I just need you, gorgeous.” He pressed a soft kiss against the small of my back. “Always.”
This. Every moment with Wyatt was this—the kind of unbelievable reality that said I could fall off a mountain tomorrow or explode into a million pieces right now, but I would die happy.
His mouth disappeared a second before the blunt head of his cock pressed against my slick entrance and he drove inside me. I was up on my tip-toes, the way he held my hips so that he could plunge in deeper and touch the most private part of me—the one that only belonged to him.
I cried his name over and over again as he thrust into me with long and steady strokes. We both wanted release, but this moment where we were both joined and needed each other beyond words was something that we both found we loved to prolong.
One hand trailed around to my front as he stilled his movements inside me.
Wyatt loved to do this, too. Even when he was shaking with the need to orgasm, he loved to draw out every last drop of pleasure that he could from my body. Only then would he let himself go.
Tears began to leak down my face when his fingers found my swollen clit, sliding easily back-and-forth over the tiny bud, sending fireworks out through my body that made my pussy explode around his cock, quaking with the desperate attempt to climax.
“Wy…” I couldn’t breathe. I shook underneath his hand and around him as my body raced towards where he was leading me.
He felt me coming apart. He felt the first strands of my body beginning to disintegrate and that’s when he began to move. Slamming inside of me, he hit my sweet, secret spot with the head of his dick over and over as he flicked over my clit relentlessly.
I screamed his name as I shattered.
I always screamed his name.
When I recovered from this, I’d have to check the lake outside and make sure my scream hadn’t cracked right through the ice.
Seconds later I felt him tense and jerk against me with a roar as his orgasm broke through him. His cock pulsed, spreading the muscles inside me even wider as he came.
We flew. Up in the air. Together. And we held onto each other as we came back down.
He slipped out and my muscles contracted against the empty space in protest. Without him, I slowly became aware of the rest of my body and the way my arms were tingling from supporting my weight against his thrusts for so long. But before I could do anything about it, Wyatt did.
Pulling me up, he held me tight against his chest, his erection softening between us.
“I love you so damn much, Channing.”
I tilted my head up to his. “I love you, too, handsome.” The smile he gave me took the rest of my strength from my legs. “And I like when you miss me,” I said with a shy smile.
He chuckled, dropping a swift kiss on my lips. “I do, too… too much.”
“What do you mean?” My brow furrowed as he walked into the bathroom to throw away the condom he’d filled. I picked up my underwear and, realizing that they were not salvageable, tossed them in the dirty laundry bag before following him in.
“Just that I come home to you—in my shirt—where I can see exactly what dick-throbbing underwear concoction you are wearing right through it.”
“And that’s a problem.”
“Never,” he growled. “But next time I need to make note of what I want to talk to you about before I lose my fucking mind over you.”
I bit down on my lip, but the smile still took over my entire face.
He handed me a warm washcloth and I quickly wiped myself down.
“So then, before I distract you again, what did you want to talk to me about?”
He looked up at me through hooded lids, giving me a tight smile which told me that whatever it was wasn’t nearly as feel-good as what just happened between us.
“You should get dressed first, baby,” he said softly, cupping my cheek and nodding back to the bedroom where my fancy gifts now lay in a crumpled pile on the bed. “I don’t want us to be late for dinner.”
“That was… the most amazing steak I think I’ve ever had,” I gushed, staring down at the empty plate that I was about to lick clean if someone didn’t take it away from me.
My gaze rose to lock into the tense, brooding gaze of my delicious date. If I had thought that the dress he had bought me was sexy, it was nothing compared to this man in the navy suit he had on.
But I did have that smoking onesie on underneath, so it looked like I was going to come out on top. Hopefully.
“W-was your meal ok?” I asked, reaching for my almost-empty glass of red wine. Not something I usually would order, but when Wyatt told me to try it with the steak, I couldn’t say no. And I’m glad I didn’t. The way the flavors mingled in my mouth was like nothing I’d ever tasted before.
Perfect. Just like him.
Wyatt had taken us to the most expensive restaurant in the resort for dinner. More lakeside views along with unbelievable food. I hoped his meal was as good as mine.
“My meal was fine.” He wiped the tight line of his mouth with his napkin. “It was your meal that killed me.” My brow scrunched together as I continued to stare. “You moaned with every. Single. Bite. And you have no idea what that did to me, gorgeous, but if I stand up right now, you might have an idea.”
My knee jerked up, hitting the underside of the table, as I attempted to cross my legs as my sex clenched with need.
“Well… then I guess we’ll just have to get dessert,” I said with a teasing smile.
“Oh, I’ll have dessert later,” he said with a low growl, reaching across the table and grabbing my hand. He pulled my palm to his mouth and placed an open-mouthed kiss in the center, not releasing my gaze the entire time. “But you can order something now, if you want.”
My mouth opened and shut, unable to make a sound over the lump of pure need that balled inside of it.
“She’ll have the chocolate lava cake,” Wyatt’s deep voice spoke to our waiter; even though his accent was everywhere, no one’s words came out quite like his.
I rubbed my thighs together again, pulling my dress down like it could stop my desire from leaking out.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about earlier?” I said hoarsely, trying to focus on anything to distract me until we were alone again.
His intense stare flicked to his watch before he tapped on the table like he wasn’t sure he wanted to ruin the night with.
“Wyatt…” The thread of worry that entered my voice was unstoppable.
“Your brother. He hasn’t been answering my calls.”
The mountain may have broken his knee, but I was going to break his head if he was really going to be stupid about this.
“What do you mean?”
The waitress set a giant mound of melting chocolate in front of me and the smell of the sugar alone almost sent me on a high.
“I thought maybe if I kept him up-to-date during this whole,” he waved his hands around indicating our trip that was partially business and partially not, “that he would be more willing to take the job… if he felt like he was a part of it all and not just some hire out of guilt.”
I dug my fork in. “He’s going to think that no matter what.”
“I… ahh… spoke to Ally earlier, too.” He cleared his throat before stealing a bite of my dessert with a playful grin. “Trying to get ahold of him.”
“What did she say?” I asked with a mouthful.
You could dress me up, but you couldn’t take me out.
“That he was still at Nick’s. That she hadn’t spoken to him or seen him much lately. We didn’t talk for long; she was on her way to go shopping with Jess… Jessie…”
My fork clattered to the plate. “Jessa?”
“Yeah, that’s it.” His brow scrunched together. “Why?”
Oh, God.
“I forgot… I mean, I knew… I knew she moved back, but it slipped my mind. And with Chance gone it didn’t even matter. But he’s back now. And no one told him. No one warned him.”
“Woah, slow down, babe.” He grabbed my hand and cupped it between his. “What are you talking about?”
“Jessa… she’s one of Ally’s best friends now. But she used to be Chance’s girlfriend back in high school.”
He still stared, perplexed. “I’m sorry. I don’t get it. They used to date? And that’s a problem?”
“It is when it didn’t end on good terms.” I sighed. “It is when she cheated on him with Nick.”
He couldn’t have looked more surprised than if I’d thrown the chocolate cake in his face.
“And now she lives in the same town.” He spoke as he put the pieces together. “Uncomfortable. I get it. So why not take the job to at least keep yourself busy?” He shrugged.
He didn’t get it. But I loved him for trying.
There were things I would never understand about my brother. There were things that I didn’t think even God understood about Chance Ryder. But the connection between my brother and me made me feel certain things—things that he felt so strongly about but would never admit to.
Like when he’d left. I felt his safety just as surely as I felt his need for isolation.
I hadn’t been happy about it. The twin-thing wasn’t selective on the emotions that it passed along.
But more than the bitter solitude. Heck, more than anything else I’d felt from him, his feelings for Jessa felt like my own heart was ripping in two. Pulled between love and hate. Between hurt and hope.
And what happens when you pull a string too tight?
It snaps.
She was more than the mountain to him. And that’s why her being back would not only rub salt in the wound of his career-ending injury, but it would remind him that, in addition to losing the one thing that he loved, he also lost the only person he’d ever loved.
Chance never lost.
That’s why they called him ‘Pride’.
It was all he had left and I was afraid that he would burn down anything and anyone to keep from losing that, too.
“Alright, so he doesn’t like her.” Wyatt brought me back to the moment.
More than anything, I wished for my brother what I had.
“I wish… I wish that were it,” I said slowly. “He doesn’t like her, but that’s not the problem.” I paused, hearing Wyatt’s phone begin to buzz in his pocket. “The problem is that he loves her.”
Our eyes remained unbroken for a second, letting the gravity of what I said soak in. But then his phone began vibrating again. He pulled it out with a muffled curse and I could see his indecision written all over his face.
“It’s Chance.” Speak of the devil.
I nodded to him to answer it. My brother was in a dark place right now and even though he wasn’t reaching out to me, at least he was reaching out to someone.
“Don’t go anywhere, gorgeous,” he said as he stood, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I have one more surprise for you yet.”
Wyatt
“Hello?”
“You’ve been blowing up my phone, Canada. My sister better be ok,” Chance’s irritated voice rasped on the other end of the line.
I hated that he called during our dinner. If it was any other person and any other call, I would have fucking ignored it. But it wasn’t.
It was her brother. And he was returning my call from earlier—a call that really had nothing to do with business.
I sat at the jewelers, staring at the giant diamond that sparkled back in my face. I bought it back in Montreal, but I wanted it cleaned again before I gave it to her. I’d already asked her father. I called him the day before we left for Canada and told him that his daughter was my world and asked for his blessing to let me keep her forever. But even after that, I still felt like it wasn’t enough. Her siblings were such a huge part of her life; I couldn’t ask her without asking them, too. Or in Chance’s case, maybe just telling him.
Getting ahold of Ally hadn’t been a problem. Chance, on the other hand, was a difficult motherfucker to reach. I told Channing that I’d tried to call him about the school—and I had because he should be a part of some of these decisions; I valued his input. But I really just wanted to tell him that I was going to propose. After earlier today, I’d given up. Hoping that at least Ally might be able to relay the message.
Of course, he would return my call in the middle of our dinner.
“Your sister is fine,” I answered, glancing back from where I was standing by the restrooms to make sure my girl was still sitting at the table.
“Well, if you’ve been calling to bug me about the job, you’re pushing me in the wrong direction. And I will fucking push back.” The rage imbedded in his voice was palpable.
I didn’t know everything that he felt, but I sure as shit knew some of it. I wasn’t forced from the snowboarding world because of an injury, but I was pushed out because of my age. I’d never understand what it would feel like if my dream had been ripped from me in my prime, but I did know a little something about not having a damn clue about what to do or where to go with your future.
“I was, but I also wasn’t. I was calling about your sister.”
“What about her? You just said she was fine. If she is going to get on my case—” he broke off with a huff.
“No one is getting on your case, Chance. I’m calling to tell you that I’m about to propose to her,” I interrupted him before he let loose. I could sense it in every word he said, that he was barely containing the anger he felt at the world and I felt bad for whoever it was that put the last straw on the camel’s back.
“What?” He asked dumbly, his tone completely changing to shock.
“I’m proposing to Channing tonight. I already asked your dad, but I wanted to ask you and Ally, too.”
Complete silence greeted my statement.
It was the kind of silence that accompanies another brick being pulled from the foundation of one’s life and he was just waiting to see what more of him would crumble and fall.
I saw Channing looking around for me and I knew I had to get back before she came searching. Clearing my throat, I spoke again, “I guess I wanted your blessing.”
There was another second of silence before a much softer, almost sad, voice responded, “Of course.”
The tension released from my body in a wave and I hadn’t realized just how much I’d needed to hear that from him before tonight.
“She loves you, Olsen. Of course, I give you my blessing,” he continued. “Even if I still don’t see what’s so great about you.”
I laughed as his comment broke the seriousness that neither of us could handle right now.
“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not proposing to you, then.”
“Ahh…” He kept laughing. “I can’t believe you’re going to marry Channing. She’s going to be the death of you.”
Spoken like a true sibling.
“Well, she’s the life in me, so I guess that makes up for it.”
“Don’t get all sappy on me, Canada,” he said only partially with disgust.
“One day this is going to be you, my friend,” I teased back. “That’s how life works. So, you can give me shit all you want, but I just hope you are ready to enjoy the ride.”
“Yeah, no,” he answered immediately, the cold, hard edge returning to his deep voice. Whatever part of him I’d just been talking to was gone again, suppressed by the crushing weight of his anger. “You want to know how my life works, Olsen? It doesn’t. My life takes me to the top of the goddamn world and then it drops me. My life is cruel; it gives me what I want most—what I don’t think I can live without—and then it takes it away just to see if I’ll survive, or how much of me will survive. Hate to burst your fucking fairytale bubble, but there’s not a whole lot left. But I’m a quick learner; it’s why I would have been a better snowboarder than you. And it’s why I’ve stopped wanting things. Including your fucking job.”
Click.
I pulled the phone back. Yeah, fucker just hung up on me.
Bitterness seeped through every syllable. Like ivy it crawled around and strangled every word that came out of his mouth.
I pitied the guy, I really did. And I ached for Channing because I knew she could feel his anger. I could feel his anger and I wasn’t his twin.
I didn’t care what he said though. He was going to take the damn job because having a purpose was the only thing that was going to save him.
“Everything ok?”
I bent down and kissed her lips, trying to take the worry away from her face—and trying to ignore the way seeing her at the table in that damn dress sucker-punched me in the gut with another wave of desire.
“Yeah, just trying to update him a little.” I tried to smile reassuringly. “You ready?”
“I… they didn’t bring the check.”
“I already paid, gorgeous.” I winked at her. I had them charge everything to the room. I wasn’t wasting any time tonight.
“So, what’s my last surprise?” she asked eagerly as we walked out of the restaurant.
Helping her with her coat, I kept a smile on my face as I led her out the rear entrance to the hotel, the one that led out by the lake.
“This way.”
Holding her tight to me, we walked a few more yards.
When she saw the last surprise, she froze and her head jerked to mine.
“Is this…” Her head flicked back and forth and I felt my smile growing even larger at how adorable she was, making a mental note to surprise her much more often. “Are you kidding?”
“Not about this,” I said with a little too much sincerity considering what she knew—or didn’t know—at the moment. I glanced over to the horse-drawn sleigh that sat waiting for its passengers. The huge vehicle was ornately gilded with gold designs and even came complete with tiny bells strung along the sides. The horses were bundled as well with matching blankets and decorated ear-warmers. It looked like something that would have escorted around a Russian Czar.
“I’m taking you on a sleigh ride under the stars,” I said hoarsely to her upturned face.
“I love you,” she practically squealed, throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me far too deeply for this early in the night.
I adjusted myself when she made for the sleigh, loaded up with thick, faux-fur blankets inside to keep us warm.
Once we were settled, the driver flicked the reigns and we were off, gently cruising over the snow alongside the frozen lake that shimmered with the moonlight.
I couldn’t talk—both because my mind had started to race with what I was about to do and because I was perfectly content to just sit there and listen to her ‘ooos’ and ‘ahhhs’ as the majestic scenery passed by.
The sleigh weaved through a small wooded area to a clearing that overlooked Lake Louise, the moon and stars perfectly visible on the cool, clear night. The driver pulled the horses to a halt—and my heart along with them.
The driver jumped down from his seat and walked up to the front of the horses to give them a snack, leaving Channing and me in the privacy of the high-backed sleigh.
“I can’t believe this, Wyatt,” she whispered. “This is the sweetest… most perfect thing… anyone has ever done for me.” Her eyes brimmed with tears of happiness and love. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
My fingers fumbled in my pocket, searching for the ring box. Thankfully, the blankets kept my movements concealed.
“I told you once, gorgeous,” I said hoarsely, refusing to let go of her gaze, “that I have more sweet truths for you than the sky has stars.”
“And that I don’t need to wish on them for them to come true.”
I smiled as she finished the memory. “I wished on one tonight though,” I continued softly, shifting in the seat so that I could face her confusion more directly, “I wished on one because I have one more truth for you.”
“Wyatt…” Her forehead furrowed, her mind completely blank as to where I was going with this.
“The truth is, Channing, I can’t live without you. And more than that, I don’t want to live without you.”
I stayed focused on her brilliant blue eyes as I pushed the blankets off of me, slowly, albeit awkwardly, sliding to the floor of the carriage. It wasn’t the ideal place to kneel, but I was going to make it work.
The farther down I got, the more her mouth fell open.
“The truth is that I love you with everything that I am and everything that you’ve made me and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Her hand rose to cover her mouth and the gasp that slipped out. “Channing Lily Ryder, I wished on the stars tonight that you’d give me one sweet word—one sweet truth.” The words spilled from my mouth even though my tongue and throat felt so thick I didn’t think it was possible. My hands held up the box and flipped the lid open, the giant diamond sparkling even in the moonlight. “I wished that you’d tell me you’ll marry me.”
She did nothing for a moment except move her eyes back and forth from mine to the ring that I held before her. With each blink, another tear slipped down her cheek. After what felt like hours even though it was probably only a second or two, her hand that was over her mouth fell and a watery smile bloomed over her face.
“Yes!” she said as she reached for me, nearly knocking me back as her arms wrapped around my neck and she kissed me, the sweetness of her love mixing with the saltiness of her happy tears. “You never had to wish for that. I was always yours forever.”
I never thought I could feel this happy.
Cupping her face, I kissed her like I loved her—with everything I had.
When we finally pulled back, I chuckled softly and said, “So, can I put this ring on your finger now, Future Mrs. Milk-Frother?”
She giggled and handed me her left hand. “Only if we can officially change our names to that,” she teased.
Pulling the single oval three carat solitaire from its seat, I slid it down her ring finger for a perfect fit.
I couldn’t look at it—all I could see was her and the way she stared at her finger, the ring sparkling on its new home.
Her face jerked up to mine, eyes wide.
“What is it?” I wondered immediately that something was wrong with it. Maybe she didn’t like it.
“Do you…” She broke off and swallowed. “Do you think this will fit underneath my snow gloves?
The seriousness disappeared from her face as she laughed. I hung my head, laughing, too, before I climbed back up next to her, pulling the blankets back over us.
“Are you sassing me, gorgeous?” She gave me that cheeky smirk that immediately sent my dick into full-on steel mode. I leaned in to whisper, “I don’t know if the ring will fit underneath them, but I will tell you that as soon as we get back to the room, my dick is going to fit right underneath your dress. He has his own plans for proposing to your tight little pussy.”
And her sass was silenced. From that moment on, the ride back down to the hotel couldn’t go fast enough.
She squealed as I picked her up and carried her down the hall to our room. Kicking the door shut behind me, I completely ignored the champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries that I’d arranged to be waiting for us. I could care less about them now; I had something much sweeter in my arms.
As soon as I set her down, her arms twined around my neck, her lips crushed to mine and her body plastered against me.
She still tasted like the chocolate from her dessert and I wanted to savor every drop. She was mine. Her mouth was mine. And I kissed her as such—laying claim to every sweet inch with my tongue and teeth.
My hands reached for the zipper in the back of her dress, freeing her from the tight fabric. Groaning, I stepped back when I felt her hands press against my chest.
With a dick-swelling smile that she probably didn’t even know she possessed, her eyes, now a blue that was drowning in desire, held mine as she peeled the dress off, letting it fall to the floor and reveal the lace onesie.
It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. She was so beautiful. Confidence and sass wrapped up in a stunningly sexy package. That was my future wife.
She stood there and let me take in the sight—my present to myself. The way the flimsy cups held her breasts and managed to push them up almost to spilling out. The lace design almost dark enough to conceal the pink of her nipples, but thin enough to show just how hard they were, begging to be sucked. And the way it rode up along the tops of her legs, showing me the strong and sculpted muscles that would soon be wrapped around my waist…
“Fuck,” I swore, my hand jerking to my dick and adjusting it in my pants.
Her smile grew as she watched me move, my pants turning into tracing paper the way they showed the outline of the long ridge of my arousal.
“You’re so fucking hot, Mrs. Milk-Frother,” I rasped, trying to hold myself for just a second longer to soak in the sight.
“I’m not your Mrs., yet,” she teased, one hand rising to trace around her nipple.
“No,” I agreed with a tight smile, my body humming. “But you are mine.”
I stepped towards her, swallowing her gasping in my mouth as I ravaged hers. Tearing my lips away from her drug, I grinned the way I left her mouth red and swollen from my kiss.
Dropping to my knees, I put myself eye level with her tits. The lace was so fine, begging to be ripped. But I knew she’d be upset. Plus, my mind had a dozen other ways it wanted to fuck her in this so ruining it now wasn’t an option.
My fingers tugged down the lace of both cups, making sure to brush over her turgid nipples in the process; her breasts were now bare and begging before me.
“All mine,” I growled before I pulled one peak between my lips, laving over the velvety firm nub.
My hands steadied her waist. I knew the way my tongue flicked over her nipple was shooting straight to her pussy; I’d made her come from this alone before. Her hands plastered to my head pulling me closer. I sucked as much of her perfectly small tit into my mouth as I could, enjoying her tortured cry when I popped the suction free to stare at her red, glistening nipple—all angry that I’d let it go.
“I told you I was going to get my dessert later,” I said with a quick nip on the underside of her breast before I pushed her back until her knees hit the end of the bed and she sat. “Lay back, gorgeous,” I demanded. “The only thing I want to hear from you is the sweet truth you gave me earlier.”
She followed my instructions as I spread her legs wide. The bottom of the onesie had a small hook that closed it. The lace was drenched before I even unhooked it, pushing the material back so that her glistening and swollen folds were before me. My mouth watered as I smelled the sweet scent of her desire.
God, I’d been waiting all day for a taste.
I blew over her slit and she gasped as more moisture seeped from between her folds. With a self-satisfied growl, I pressed my tongue flat at the base of her pussy and licked all the way up to her clit, giving that delicious little bud a hard flick before I pulled back.
“All mine.” Every last dripping inch of her.
“Yes.” It turned into a moan when I covered her with my mouth, holding her hips firmly to keep them from jerking off the bed.
I devoured her. I destroyed her with my tongue and teeth and then rebuilt her with my name engraved in the walls of her sex as they squeezed my tongue.
She whimpered my name as two fingers joined my tongue, pushing deep inside of her. I held them there, giving her body something to squeeze as I rolled and flicked her clit like it was my favorite kind of mint.
She spiraled violently, quaking against me as her orgasm built. I kept my fingers steady while I worshipped her tender bud, making sure not to curl into that sweet spot deep inside of her that I was reserving for my dick.
I needed her to shatter because I needed to be inside her, my erection caged painfully against the front of my pants.
My name from her lips was a plea and a curse as I sucked her clit into my mouth, the relentless pull throwing her into her climax whether she was ready for it or not.
Her scream drowned out my groan. Desire was literally running down my palm and dripping onto the floor. She was soaking and I was dying to feel all that wetness drench right through my cock.
I kissed her clit before I pulled back to rip off my clothes, not caring if any of mine ended up ruined in my haste.
Bending over her, I kissed her, letting her taste just how much she wanted me from my tongue. Resting on one arm, my other hand found her breast, plumping, teasing.
“Mine?” I rasped.
“Yes,” she responded, arching her hips up against where my dick was trapped between us.
“Put me inside you,” I commanded, pinning her stare.
“No condom?”
“I’m claiming every last part of you tonight, gorgeous. I want to mark every last inch of you, including all the inside inches. Especially all the inside inches.” My hand trailed down over her lace covered stomach, my fingers finding her clit again as I continued, “’Yes’ is forever. And forever means I get to see my ring on your finger and your pussy sopping wet with my cum. Every fucking day, gorgeous. Forever is our future and I’ll be ecstatic if I fuck a baby into you tonight because I want it all. Everything. With you.”
The look on her face said that she couldn’t decide whether to be moved to tears from my speech or whether she was going to need to ride my cock all night to get her desire out of her system.
“Yes?”
She licked her lips. “Yes.”
“Good,” I said gruffly, my dick really not pleased with how long I’d made it wait. “Now put me inside you before I can’t take it anymore.”
Bright red, plump lips parted as she reached between us and grasped my erection. Hottest fucking sight ever—to see her tiny hand wrapped around my huge cock, the giant ring I’d just claimed her with sparkling in the light.
She moved the engorged, purple head to her entrance that was still hot and soaked from my mouth. I hissed feeling her heat scald my skin as she slipped the tip inside of her.
“So fucking tight, gorgeous. And hot. And wet. And… God… everything.” I was panting, the feeling of her pussy stretching around my naked cock as I slid further inside.
She propped her legs up on the edge of the bed, letting me sink deeper into her.
In her, I’d found heaven.
My lips crashed onto hers as I began to slam into her. I couldn’t stop myself, the delicious slide of my cock against her, forcing her muscles out of the way so that I could hit her G-spot with each thrust.
She stopped kissing me back, her mouth just open to mine for the taking as she stopped being able to focus on anything else except her approaching climax. My arousal swelled further, but she was so wet that I slid in and out of her like it was the only thing we were made to do.
“Tell me again,” I begged roughly into her mouth as I drove into her hot, tight pussy. “I want the word again as you come.”
She whimpered and I felt her orgasm building swiftly like a summer storm, about to crack and drench me when it broke. My body was coated with a fine layer of sweat, trying to hold back my own release—a feat that was becoming harder and harder with every second that her sex clenched around me.
Her nails dug into my back and my teeth sank into the soft skin at the base of her neck.
Fuck.
I couldn’t hold on any longer. My hips rammed against hers, shoving my dick all the way against her womb over and over again.
“Say you’ll be mine.” The words fell from my lips as I felt myself falling.
And then I heard her.
“Yes!” she gasped as she came.
All mine.
It sent me over the edge. My cock erupted inside her as her core stroked it with the waves of her climax. I groaned, feeling my orgasm shoot out of me, coating her, and mixing with her own desire.
I collapsed on top of her with my heart feeling like it was going to beat right out of my chest. For minutes, my arousal pumped out enough cum that I probably would have broken a condom had I worn one. I felt the way her desire and mine leaked down over my balls and dripped onto the floor.
“That was…” she whispered, her eyelids peeling open like they weighed a hundred pounds.
“Forever,” I finished hoarsely.
Channing
I still couldn’t believe it. I stared at the ring as I lay on Wyatt’s chest. He’d carried me to the bathroom and cleaned me up after the hottest sex ever.
Yes, I was going to make that claim.
No, I did not care that, aside from Wyatt, I had virtually no experience.
My body still hummed with the latent effects of that last orgasm.
He’d cleaned me, wrapped me in one of the plush robes, and then proceeded to feed me strawberries and champagne until I was so sated and relaxed that I made a pillow out of his chest. In a daze, I lay there, listening to his heart beat and staring at my engagement ring.
I bit my lip to keep from chuckling.
Who would have thought that Tomboy Channing would be in love and engaged six months ago? Not me.
I was beyond happy.
I was the word beyond happy that still had another century before it was invented.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow I’d call and tell my family. Tonight was ours.
“I love you,” I said softly, tilting my eyes up to get lost in his.
“I promise to give you sweet truths, every day, for the rest of your life, gorgeous,” he rasped, his voice even deeper from how spent he was. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “But the only sweet truth that matters, is that I love you, Channing. Forever.”
I smiled and let my eyes drift shut.
Heaven wasn’t on the mountain.
Heaven wasn’t up in the air.
Heaven was in his arms.
THE END
I hope you enjoyed this exclusive extended epilogue to Up in the Air!
If you haven’t already, check out Ally and Emmett in On the Edge, Book 2 in the Winter Games series.
What’s next for the SnowmassHole Crew?
Chance and Jessa’s story is coming DECEMBER 2018.
I hope you’re ready for their crazy ride.
Xx,
Rebecca