Chapter 8

 

 

“James, look!” Barbara dropped her purse in the comfortable-looking armchair and rushed to the picture window, which afforded an amazing view of the snowy mountain and the dense forest at its bottom.

She had to refrain from jumping up and down like an overexcited kid on Christmas Day. She was so thrilled to be on vacation in Aspen, and with James, staying in this beautiful hotel. And to finally be back on skis—she couldn’t decide what she wanted to do first! She wanted to kiss James senseless for booking what had to be the coziest room in the whole city. And then she wanted to get into her gear and ride the lift up the amazing slopes. She’d already forgotten their long journey, and the fact that they were actually rather tired after the traffic on the way to the airport, a delayed flight, and the final bus ride here. No, she was too hyped up. She’d been looking forward to this trip for months, and they were finally in Aspen.

Her excitement was amplified by the prospect of sharing this wonderful room with its homely wood ceiling, fireplace, fluffy carpet, and gigantic bed. Sharing all that with James for a full week!

Before she could contemplate what she had planned for that night, James moved to stand right behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“The view is so gorgeous it would almost be a shame to spend the day on the slopes.”

Barbara tilted her head back, her nose wrinkled, and leaned against his chest. “That’s out of the question!” she scolded with a grin, looking up into his face. “No wimping out, sir. You’re the one who bragged about mad skiing skills after all. I want to see whether that was all hot air.”

His sigh went straight to her stomach, where the butterflies had started to flutter as soon as they’d stepped into the room and James had set down their bags on the bed. Now his arm pulled her tightly against his strong body, and he buried his mouth in the crook of her neck, until Barbara thought she would melt into a puddle of joy.

“I’ve missed you terribly the last few weeks,” he confessed, putting his hand on her belly, while his warm lips moved to her temple. “Let me hold my girlfriend and enjoy the view for a minute before you drag me out into the cold.”

If he went on like this, Barbara would quickly forget about skiing—at least for today.

She’d missed him terribly as well and had built up quite a phone bill calling him every day. The Christmas break had been awful. She’d spent it sitting around her parents’ house feeling unhappy and constantly wondering what James was doing at any given moment. The new year had started with a get-together of her old friends at her parents’ country club, but she had felt like crying: James had intended to fly to Connecticut to celebrate New Year’s Eve with her, but a blizzard had thwarted their plans. And back at college after break, exam madness had held them both in its death grip, forcing them to study and study without end. Granted, they’d seen each other quite often despite their workload, but it hadn’t been the same.

Now it was February, and they were finally able to enjoy being together again, and not stressed, for the first time since December.

And the best part of all? Barbara was finally going to sleep with James.

A special vacation in a romantic hotel with a fireplace in their room and a winter wonderland outside? It sounded perfect.

She put a gentle hand on his and felt a tingling warmth spread through her body as she imagined what would happen that night. Beside all the thermal underwear, leggings, and silly-looking wool hats for this trip, Barbara had also packed the most ravishing set of underwear she had ever laid eyes on. She hoped James would be as delighted by the black panties and black-lace bra as she was. And she also hoped she wouldn’t lose heart at the last moment and hide under the covers before James could get a good look at her. After all, she did feel a little queasy despite everything.

Before she could chicken out, Barbara turned in his arms and wrapped hers around his neck. She leaned against him and tilted her head back to look into his eyes.

“Baby, it’s cold outside,” he quoted from the famous song with a rascally smile. “And it’s so cozy in here. I could even start a fire.”

His handsome face seemed to levitate above hers. “Then let’s make a deal,” she suggested affectionately.

“A deal?”

“Don’t answer a question with a question, James,” she teased him, reveling in the sensation of her breasts pressing against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her even closer.

“Alright, let’s make a deal,” he repeated, the corners of his mouth twitching. “What did you have in mind?”

She ran her fingers through his blond hair, which curled at the base of his neck. “We leave the hotel and do a short downhill run, then we head back, call room service, and make a fire.”

There was a spark of interest in his eyes. “You want to call room service?”

“Mm-hm.” Barbara licked her lips and stroked his neck. “After being out in the cold, we could come back and have hot showers,” she said shyly. “If we called room service, we wouldn’t have to go downstairs to eat. We wouldn’t even have to get dressed again …”

“Your deal sounds awfully perfect,” James interrupted hastily.

She had to laugh when she saw that, all of a sudden, he couldn’t wait to get out on the slopes. But, at the same time, it made her a little nervous. It wasn’t until they were both in their ski gear heading out to catch a lift that her anxiety dissipated.

Barbara almost fell off the T-bar lift, James was so bent on kissing her as they went up. But she a great time skiing through the freshly fallen powder, taking the long, serpentine slope downhill together, while it got dark around them. Soon, all they could see were the many twinkling lights of the city.

When they returned to the hotel, they were both chilled to the bone and starving. Bubbling over with laughter, they stumbled into their room, whose view was even more spectacular in the dark.

“I’ll start a fire first,” James informed her while slipping out of his ski jacket and taking off the adorable knit cap with the wobbling bobble. Barbara had actually felt like giggling happily the whole day, because he’d just been so cute. But the fact that he’d skied like a young god had all but made her drool. He was so sexy! Her tall boyfriend was a real feast for the eyes with his long legs and broad shoulders, which had carried both pairs of skis effortlessly. She took a few hectic breaths as she watched him squat in front of the fireplace to start a fire. Quite automatically, her gaze went to his backside, which was easily discernible beneath his ski pants.

Barbara swallowed hard and fumbled with the fastenings of her jacket while James was still busy with the fire, his back to her.

“This is one of those extra-fast fireplaces,” he explained, proving once again that men were generally fascinated with technology. “It should be warm and toasty in here within minutes.”

To be honest, she already felt warm as it was. The room had central heating, and the prospect of what would happen in the course of the evening not only served to make her cheeks burn but also caused a warm tingle of anticipation to flare up in her stomach.

James didn’t seem to notice her excitement as he stood and turned. “Do you want to shower first?” he suggested innocuously. “I can hang up our skiing things and order food. Any idea what you want?”

Her throat was dry as she shook her head. “Just order what strikes your fancy,” she said, glad her voice wasn’t too croaky.

“Okay.”

James picked up the menu and sat down in one of the armchairs by the window, immediately engrossed in the options. Barbara seized the opportunity to grab her toiletry bag and the new underwear, and slipped into the bathroom with both.

Her hand trembled as she closed the door, and she had to take a deep breath before wiggling out of her clothes and taking a hot shower, which relaxed her. She smiled as she toweled herself dry, applied the fragrant lotion James liked so much, and then put on the sheer black underwear.

When she studied herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help wondering whether James would like what he was about to see. It was one thing to lie in bed together, make out, and take off each other’s shirts, but quite another to stand before him in delicate lace.

Before she had a chance to chicken out and put on one of the hotel bathrobes, she ran a quick hand through her hair, took a deep breath, and left the bathroom. Standing in the doorway, she looked at James.

He was standing next to the bed, the hotel phone against his ear, absently scratching his shoulder, speaking into the receiver: “Yes, twice the set meal, and if you could add two bottles of water … Yes, that would be awesome.”

He must have heard the bathroom door opening, for her turned his head toward her. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. He stood motionless for a few beats, staring at her as if she was an apparition. Barbara shivered with pleasure under his gaze, tilted her head to one side, and rubbed her lips together.

James shook himself like a wet dog, apparently coming to his wits slowly. “Why … Why don’t you just leave the tray outside the door? Thank you.”

He hung up but continued to stare at her.

Barbara writhed under his scorching gaze. “Does room service even know what room number we are?” she asked shyly.

“I don’t care one bit,” James replied hoarsely. She could see him swallow.

When he approached her, her pulse started to race, and her heart beat a wild tattoo. All she could do was stare into his eyes, feeling paralyzed when he stood before her and let his eyes roam her body, breathing heavily.

“Is this still part of our deal?” he asked.

She ran the tip of her tongue across her lips quickly, tilted her head back, and looked into his eyes, which were suddenly unnaturally dark. Trembling, she put a hand on his hollow cheek. “You said you would wait, but I don’t want to wait any longer, James. I … I want to sleep with you tonight.”

He turned his head and pressed a kiss into the palm of her hand. “You’re almost too beautiful to bear,” he murmured hoarsely. “You standing before me like this makes me …”

“Yes?” she asked in a whisper, an electrifying tension gripping her, a current running all the way to the soles of her feet.

“I wonder how I ever managed to control myself these last few months.”

She smiled and took his hand, pressing a kiss into his palm in return. “Does that mean you like what you see, James Campbell?”

“It means I’m completely under your spell.” James put a hand on her back and caressed her naked skin. Then he lowered his head and nestled his face against hers. “And it also means I’m insanely scared I might hurt you.”

His words were not just silly and sweet, they left a warm glow in her stomach. Barbara nestled against him and registered with surprise how secure and relaxed she felt, even though she was standing before him in nothing but flimsy underwear.

When James cupped her face with both hands and lowered his head to kiss her, the familiar butterflies in her stomach were joined by a pulsing sensation somewhere deeper, which made her tremble.

James murmured sweet nonsense against her lips, before kissing her deeply, nibbling on her lips, and then delving back into a kiss so passionate it made her knees go weak.

Barbara was fully dazed when gentle fingers slid across her back and opened her bra. Seconds later, she felt the lacy thing fall away, and then two strong hands cupped her breasts and started caressing them softly.

She moaned and sought James’s mouth again, unable to think of anything beyond his delicious taste, his wonderful scent, and the amazing sensation of his hands on her breasts.

When his thumbs rubbed her hardened nipples, her head spun. She almost buckled, but James pulled her close, lifted her into his arms, and carried her the few steps to the king-size bed. Before she knew what had happened, she was lying on it.

Once she was on her back, James leaned over her, kissed her, and ran his hands tenderly across her trembling body, until they found her breasts again and resumed rubbing her nipples.

When his mouth found her breasts, Barbara let out a small cry and writhed under him. She felt hot and cold at the same time. His warm mouth enveloped one nipple, and he laved it with his tongue before attending to the other nipple. Barbara lost track of time as she lay under him, arching her back to strain against his mouth, feeling that she was about to dissolve. Her entire body tingled with pleasure while an incredible heat started building inside her, rushing straight to her core.

When James pressed his mouth to her breastbone and trailed it downward with excruciating slowness, she emitted an almost desperate moan. His hands joined in the caresses, tracing her silhouette and raising goosebumps on her skin. She moaned again.

And when his tongue circled her navel, Barbara lifted her pelvis instinctively, only to feel him seizing the opportunity and pulling down the tiny black panties. Now she was completely naked.

“James.” Barbara didn’t recognize her own voice, struggling with her parched throat, but she had to admit to herself that she gloried in lying naked before him.

He murmured something against her belly while his hand slid up her thigh.

Though the heat inside her increased with every passing second, she pleaded insistently, “Please take off your clothes.”

He moaned. “I think I’d die if I pulled away from you now,” he said, his voice muffled. “Even an inch is too much.”

She sighed again. “Please, James.”

Apparently, he was still reluctant to pull away, but he did. He rose and stood by the edge of the bed, undressing in a hurry and throwing his clothes to the ground.

Barbara leaned on her elbows to watch him. She wasn’t embarrassed to be naked, not shy, though he could see every inch of her skin. If anything, the possessive glow in his eyes made her swoon. She felt wanted under his heated gaze. Her mouth went dry as she watched him lose one article of clothing after another.

And her eyes were just as possessive as they traveled his muscular chest and torso, devoured his broad shoulders and strong arms, his chiseled abs. When he pushed down his ski pants and boxers, she swallowed.

Of course, she knew what a naked man looked like, but she had never seen one this close up—least of all when he was fully aroused. Barbara was no longer a child, so she had known full well which part of his anatomy had pressed against her belly or hip when they’d lain in bed making out. But this was her first experience seeing his erection so clearly in front of her.

He didn’t say a word as he returned to the bed, lay down next to her, and pulled her close, kissing her with startling tenderness.

When his hard penis pushed against her belly, Barbara stiffened for a brief moment, but she then relaxed under his kiss and instinctively rubbed her breasts against his bare chest. It was electrifying to feel his naked skin on hers, to be so intimately close to him, without any clothes between them.

While they were lost in another deep kiss, Barbara put a hand on his chest and was fascinated by how steely and strong it felt. James was hard and strong in all the places where she was soft and pliable.

Emboldened, her fingertips stroked his naked torso, explored his collarbone, his shoulders, his pecs, and went lower, to caress his athletic abs, but then she stopped, suddenly shy again.

Slowly, James pulled his mouth away from hers.

His breath was hot on her cheek as he asked hoarsely, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Barbara replied and took a deep breath. “Everything’s fine.”

“Barbara …”

Considering that their naked bodies were entwined on the bed, and his erection was straining against her belly, her words sounded rather silly. “I don’t want to mess up or … do it wrong.”

“You couldn’t do anything wrong,” James reassured her as he tucked back a strand of her hair. Though his voice was tense with arousal, he added soothingly, “We’ll only do what you want.”

Barbara brought her hand back up to his cheek. “But I don’t know what you like and don’t like,” she confessed shyly. “I don’t want to be … clumsy, James, or disappoint you.”

She could see his gentle smile in the dim, romantic lighting of their room, and then he kissed the tip of her nose. “That’s nonsense. How could you disappoint me?”

In a voice that was only pretending to be joking, she whispered, “Well, I’ve never done this before.”

He grew sober. “Do you really want to—”

“Of course I want it,” she cut him off gently and pressed her nose to his chin. “Absolutely.”

“Okay,” he murmured and sought her lips again, kissing her briefly, before pulling his mouth away again. “I don’t want to spoil the mood, but I should get some condoms.”

Her heart beat wildly as she shook her head and looked into his eyes. “I’ve been on the pill since December, James.”

His eyebrows went up. “Oh?”

“Oh,” she echoed, giving him a mischievous grin.

His hand wrapped around her neck, while the other lightly cupped one of her breasts. His voice had taken on a note of curiosity. “It seems I’ve fallen victim to a cunning plan of seduction.”

“Maybe,” Barbara said breathlessly. Chewing on her lower lip, she gave in to the urge to put her hand on his chest and hesitantly trail it down, down, down.

Once her hand reached his erection, his breath caught. The following moan, which he let out when she began touching him gently, softly exploring, was music to her ears. The tall man holding her in his arms was trembling and moaning her name, so the question of whether he liked her caresses was moot. Instead, his mouth conquered hers again, kissing her with shivering intensity. At the same time, he caressed her breasts, gently tugging on her nipples, and then put his hand between her legs.

Barbara’s thumb had just touched the velvety tip of his erection when her breath caught. She moaned into his mouth, because his thumb had just found an especially sensitive spot between her legs and was now caressing it.

She no longer knew what was up and what was down. James kissed her deeply and stroked her between her legs. She writhed with mounting arousal, and then feared she had bit his lower lip as her whole body jerked and strained. Dizzy, she asked him to stop and pleaded that he mustn’t stop in turns, and then she clutched his broad shoulders, gasped for air, and closed her eyes in ecstasy.

A hitherto unfamiliar yearning took possession of every single cell of her body and made her moan his name over and over again.

She hardly registered that James had turned her onto her back and pushed himself up over her. His mouth found her throat and started to nibble on it, which made her see twinkling stars. When he kissed her tenderly, her legs wrapped around James’s narrow hips of their own accord. And as the kiss deepened, she barely noticed him entering her slowly. Only when his breathing became more labored, and he pulled his mouth away from hers to search her face with a look of concern, did she feel him inside her.

“Is everything okay?”

Barbara looked up into his face, which was strained with concentration, nodded tentatively, and stroked his tense shoulders, though she wasn’t sure everything was okay. The sensation of feeling him deep within her was different from anything she’d ever felt before. It didn’t exactly hurt, but …

“Tell me if you want me to stop,” James murmured hoarsely, bracing himself on his arms.

Once he started to move slowly, Barbara flinched briefly, then relaxed again, before gasping softly, digging her fingers into his shoulder and relaxing again. Little by little, she adjusted to James’s slow thrusts from the hip and felt the uncomfortable sensation from the beginning subside. Now she was free to feel different things, reveling in the way his flat stomach slid across hers with each thrust or his strong chest rubbed her pebbled nipples.

His scent dazed her, and the hot breath that fanned her ear left a delightful shiver on her skin. When James slid a hand between their bodies and started to caress her, the spot between her legs where they were joined tingled and ached.

Barbara moaned and started to writhe under him, meeting his thrusts halfway. She wrapped her legs even more tightly around his hips and lifted her pelvis, while he thrust faster and continued to rub the spot that was oh-so-sensitive to his every touch.

She cried out his name and clawed at his shoulders. She felt so fevered and hot that she nearly wanted to rush outside and roll around in the snow. A vibration started up deep within her, until she felt as if she were bursting into myriad pieces, while a warm wave of satisfaction flooded through her veins.

She only really came to her senses again when she gasped and panted for air, feeling James on top of her, panting in unison with his head buried against her neck.

Although he was heavy and pressed her into the mattress, she didn’t want to let go of him. She raked her hand through the sweaty hair at the back of his neck.

“Do you feel good?” he asked in a husky voice as he turned over on his side in slow motion. He pulled her along and pressed his lips to her hair.

The fact that James was as thoroughly out of breath as she was elicited a satisfied smile from her. Contented, happy, and bursting with her love for him, she ran a hand across his chest and closed her eyes. “I feel fabulous.”

His hand trembled as he stroked her back. “Jesus, that was …”

“Oh, yes,” she agreed eagerly. “That was …”

His chest rumbled with a laugh that sounded almost asthmatic. “You little minx!”

“Minx?” she scoffed.

“Totally!”

Barbara tilted her head back and looked into his face. The sight made her dizzy, and her heart beat a wild, thrilled staccato. “You still haven’t said what it was like.”

James’s eyes were glowing as he confessed, “It was phenomenal, my darling. Marvelous!

My darling.

A slow smile spread across her lips, and she lowered her eyelids. She couldn’t get enough of him, so she pressed her lips to his shoulder and murmured softly, “James Campbell, you may call me a minx as long as I can be your minx.”

“That’s the plan,” his contented voice whispered in her ear.