Chapter Nine
They cut over to the main part of the mountain and took the chairlift to the top. Sam pestered him the whole time to find out where they were going. Austin could tell she was used to being in charge, and he loved driving her nuts with anticipation. It made her talkative. She wanted to know his favorite trail, his favorite part of the mountain, what he liked best about the area, what he would want to see changed.
“Nothing,” he said when they were on the lift. “I don’t want it to change.”
“That’s impossible,” Sam argued. “Things can always get better. Couldn’t there be more snowmaking? More trails? There’s that whole second peak that notches above where the lift goes—what if that were open with trails?”
“You sound like a Kane,” Austin said, and he meant it in a ribbing way, but Sam’s mouth snapped shut. He guessed he’d made it pretty clear last night what he thought of the Kanes. He regretted sounding as though he were insulting her.
“Part of what makes Gold Mountain so beautiful is that it’s not all trails,” he tried to explain. “Isn’t it nice to look up and see trees, the rocky part of the peak, and appreciate the untamed parts of this place?”
“Sure,” Sam said. “But I’m not talking about making the whole resort one giant trail. I’m saying, what if more of this area were accessible? Isn’t there some kind of change the Kanes could offer that would make you want to sell that land they want?”
He shook his head. “No way. There’re no magic words that will suddenly make me want to turn my backyard into luxury condos and parking lots.” He paused. “Actually, I’m surprised they haven’t gotten in touch today. Did I tell you the head of the company is supposed to be in town to come after me herself? It’s weird not to have heard anything. Maybe it’s not going to happen.”
“Maybe.” Sam looked skeptical, and Austin thought he probably shouldn’t be burdening her with his problems.
“If they expanded the place, then I wouldn’t be able to spend the morning skiing with you when I’m supposed to be patrolling, because the mountain would be completely overrun,” he said with a grin.
“I’m not trying to keep you from your job,” Sam protested—although not too strongly, he noted. “I should probably do some work, too.”
“Please. I’m not going to meet with those people anyway. My job is to ski. Which we’re doing. And I’m not letting you get away that easily.”
“So now I’m an add-on to your job, just a typical day?” Austin was afraid she was mad until he saw the teasing glint in her eyes.
He shrugged. “It’s one of the perks that goes with the glamorous life of a has-been racer. Every day I pick another beautiful woman to take down the most treacherous trails.”
“Well, aren’t I lucky.”
“You should know it’s a tough job to get. You have to have a sense of humor, be sharp as a whip, no bullshit, and last but not least, you have to actually be able to ski.”
“And not fall flat on your face.” Sam cringed. “I guess I blew that audition.”
Austin pulled off one of his gloves and ran a finger down her cheek. A lock of hair was caught in the strap of her helmet, and he gently pulled it free. “You’re not performing for me.”
“We’re going to get stuck on this lift,” Sam murmured, not moving her eyes from his. But she was right, they were at the top, and they scrambled to get the bar up and dismount in time.
“So have I convinced you to blow off work a little longer?” he asked when they got off the lift.
“You have no idea,” was all she answered, and she asked what he had planned.
Austin led them away from the area where skiers and snowboarders were dismounting. There was always a bottleneck at the top, when people suddenly turned around and were hit by the view. But Austin was only looking at one thing, and it wasn’t the same sight he’d been looking at for years. “I’m pretty sure I was about to kiss you before the lift ruined my game.”
“Well, then you should get back to it.” Sam gave a half smile, a tantalizing mix of serious and playful that made him want to pounce.
But he resisted, even though it was hard to care that there were people around, and the attendant who watched the top of the lift, and he was in his official ski patrol gear.
Not that what he was planning was much more professional. “Come on,” he said, pushing off on his skis. “I told you I was taking you somewhere.”
“Not even a small kiss?” she asked.
He stopped in his tracks, waiting for her to follow. “I see patience isn’t your strong suit.”
“Absolutely not,” Sam said bluntly. Then her eyes flashed. “I get what I want.”
Austin turned so his skis were splayed out, keeping him from backsliding down the slope, and planted his poles in front of him. He leaned his shoulders into the mountain, looking up at her. “Sweetheart, I have no intention of denying you a thing.”
He turned and pushed off again. He didn’t have to look back to know she was following. He had no doubt she’d stay beside him the whole time.
Every ski place had the equivalent of the Wanderer, a meandering trail that skirted the outer boundaries of the mountain. It was never crowded, because it was long and windy and not very steep. But after the runs they’d just done, it was nice to give their legs a break and cruise.
The trail wasn’t the reason Austin had come here. It was the cutoff. He was afraid Sam was going to miss the stop since he gave her no warning, but she was right behind him. He realized she’d been skiing in his tracks, mirroring him turn for turn. The thought made him smile.
He stopped where bright ribbon strung along the trees warned skiers not to go off the trail. Austin glanced around, but they were alone. No one would see the man in the ski patrol jacket lift the rope for the woman to slide under before he followed.
“Is this your dirty little secret?” Sam asked as she crossed into the woods. “Sneaking off-duty when you’re supposed to be on patrol?”
Austin patted the walkie-talkie in his pocket. “We’re not going out of range.”
“I take it this is a regular part of your route, then.”
“I have to have a place to take the ladies when they flag me down on the trail.”
Sam thwacked him with her pole, and he responded by grabbing for her waist, but she was quick and slid away. “Where are we going, anyway?”
“You said you get what you want,” he said. “I do, too.”
Sam made an appreciative sound. “I can’t wait to find out what that means to you.”
Austin felt a flush creep up his neck and pointed to a faint opening through the trees. “In the summer it’s a real trail. In the winter you kind of pick your way over.”
“It goes straight across?”
“Exactly. You’ll know when you get there.”
“My life is in your hands,” Sam said matter-of-factly as she began to edge through the trees.
“It helps if you don’t hit anything. Or fall.”
Sam raised her pole, which he took to be an extension of her middle finger. He laughed and rushed to keep up.
And then it was just the two of them and the trees laden with snow. Austin’s chest hummed with anticipation. It seemed like there was nothing but forest all around, but he knew Sam had seen it when she paused.
“That’s it,” he said. “Keep going.”
She pulled up to the small wooden hut. Austin stopped beside her and popped out of his skis, propping his poles in a snowdrift. He looked at Sam to see whether she was ticked off that they’d come here. The whole point of skiing, after all, was to ski—not find weird little places off the trail.
But she was grinning as she took off her skis, her face mask pulled below her chin to let the wind cool her after pushing through the trees. “Thank you,” she said quietly, and he knew she felt it, the steady tug that kept calling him to this place even though the trails were elsewhere, and the lifts, and the rest of his life.
He pulled off his helmet and dropped it on the platform of the shelter, raised a few feet above the ground. Sam did the same. Her hair was in a side braid over her shoulder, long strands of it loose around her face. He felt himself stirring at her red cheeks, red lips, the way she laughed, loose and limber. The way she came undone.
He couldn’t wait any longer. He kissed her the way he’d been wanting to ever since she’d called his name that morning. Ever since she pulled her lips from his in the parking lot just as he’d been about to go in for more. That had been one thing, thrilling in its own right. But this was something else altogether.
This was the kiss he’d been thinking about all night, craving all morning, and now he couldn’t hold back. And it seemed she couldn’t, either, because she kissed him with the same intensity, running her hands up his chest, around his neck.
It didn’t matter that she didn’t live here, that a relationship was out of the question. It was probably because a relationship wouldn’t happen that he could let himself get this close. He wrapped his arms tighter around her as though this were all that existed in the world. Just the two of them, the mountain, the clean winter air. The taste of her tongue on his lips.
Austin pulled off a glove and slid his bare hand up under her jacket, around her waist, eliminating at least that one barrier between them. She let out a low moan as he pulled her closer. The feel of her hips, the arch of her back, gave more than a hint as to what was to come.
Sam unzipped the front of his jacket, but there were too many layers between them. Taking her hand, he climbed onto the platform and hoisted her up after him.
The shelter had three walls. The fourth side was an open space facing out. The wood was worn and knotted, the roof slanted steeply and heavy with snow. “What is this place?” Sam asked.
“There are old mining shacks all over the far side of the mountain. They took out most of them when it became a ski resort, but a few markers remain. This one must have been a shelter. People still use it in the summer, when they hike to the top.”
“Pretty quiet in the wintertime, though.”
“Nobody comes here,” he whispered. He was already tugging her toward him.
Sam latched on tight to the front of his ski pants. He couldn’t hold back his groan. God, he wanted this. He wanted her. He pressed her to the back wall of the shelter, away from the wind. Protected from the elements it was quiet, nothing but the gasp of their breathing quickening as Sam’s teeth grazed his bottom lip.
It was too cold to take their jackets off all the way, but they were unzipped and Austin slid his hand under her sweater to her breasts. He tweaked her nipple between his forefinger and thumb and was rewarded with a low moan in his ear. He pushed her more firmly against the smoothed, worn logs of the old wall.
“Is this what you want?” he whispered, his lips grazing her ear.
“Please,” she whimpered. She spread her legs, her back against the wall. Austin lifted her hands over her head and held them there as he crushed his lips to hers.
She arched her back, pressing forward. He teased her for a moment, keeping his body just out of reach, making her plead for what he wouldn’t let her have. And then when the frenzy seemed too much to bear, he ground his whole body against her, pinning her to the wall with his arms, his chest, his hips. His cock pushed against the front of his pants, and he knew she could feel how hard he was. She shifted her hips, rearranging her position so he was hitting her right at the soft cleft between her legs.
He was drilling into her, rubbing right where she wanted it. Her head leaned back and hit the wall. She clung to his shoulders, thrusting her hips in time with his.
“Austin.” She said his name like a breath. “I don’t have a condom.”
Dammit, he didn’t, either. This wasn’t exactly a typical workday for him.
“I can still fuck you,” he said.
“No.” She shook her head. “I mean it.”
Austin unbuttoned her ski pants all the way and slid his hand down the front. His fingers danced over her panties, feeling the warmth that radiated there. She was damp through the cloth. Gently he slid the fabric to the side.
“I can still fuck you,” he whispered again, slipping a finger inside her and running it along her silken skin.
Her lips parted, a single exhalation. Her legs opened farther, inviting. Demanding. He slid another finger inside.
She was so wet. So, so wet, like a dream. He moved slowly, letting the movement of her hips set the pace. He slid his fingers in and out, gliding over the eager bud of her clit and then plunging inside her again, circling the place he knew she was yearning for and then keeping his fingers dancing on the spot. Sam’s legs jerked. She threw her head back. Austin would have thought he’d give anything to replace his fingers with his cock, but the way she cried out in ecstasy, he had to change his mind. He wouldn’t replace this moment for anything, not with the pleasure coursing through her.
But Sam, apparently, had other things in mind. She unzipped his pants, straining for him even as she couldn’t stop grinding against his hand. She tightened with desire as she pulled his cock free and started stroking. All of him throbbed at her touch.
“Use my wetness,” she said, her hand working over him.
He pulled his fingers from her slowly, already missing her warmth. He wasn’t sure what she wanted, but then she slid her own hand under her panties—the fabric impossibly soft, hugging her hip bones so all he wanted was to place his tongue there and bite her delicate flesh—and skimmed her fingers over his shaft.
“Shit,” he groaned, rolling his head back, closing his eyes.
“You did that to me,” she murmured, repeating the movement.
Her fly was open, her pants scrunched partway down. Austin put his hands firmly on the fabric around her hips and yanked down to expose what he wanted. He dropped to his knees on the wood floor. He had to feel her. He had to taste her. He couldn’t stay away.
The floor was cold, but he had his ski pants on, padding for his knees. He reached up and pushed her hips back so she was locked against the wall.
“Austin,” she began, but the word ended in a moan as his tongue found her clit. She shifted, widening her stance to give him access. On his knees, feeling her guide him, he dragged his tongue along the length of her slit, licking slow and deep and then circling faster, until she was panting and crying his name.
Her pelvis thrust forward, her back arched. He could feel her strain, as though she wanted to lift her legs, but the ski boots kept her anchored in place. It was ridiculous to be outside in the middle of winter like this, in the shelter where he’d spent countless hours just thinking, alone. But the surprise of it, the stolen moment, the fact that he was still in his ski patrol jacket made the whole thing so unbearably hot he reached for his cock and jacked himself as he worked vigorously on her clit.
She must have been able to tell, because her hands grabbed fistfuls of his hair and tugged. He let go of his cock and reached up to caress her thighs, her hips, the curve of her stomach, feeling under her sweater up to her breasts. Shit, she was incredible.
“Austin,” she said. Never had he heard his name like that, spoken as a pant, a need. She whispered it again, like a chant, pulling his face toward her and grinding into him. He ran his hands along her thighs. A faint yes escaped her lips. His thumb teased around her folds.
When he thought from her moans that she was going to burst open from the seams, he slid a finger inside her, then another, while he sucked on her clit. A few strokes like this and he felt her thighs vibrating, literally vibrating on either side of his face. He circled her G-spot with his fingers, circled her clit with his tongue. Her thighs clamped so tight around him there was nothing in his world except the heat from her skin and the sweet, soft taste of her coming on his tongue.
He licked her slowly, drawing out her orgasm. When he took his fingers from her, she shuddered. She kept her hands on his hair, his neck, his shoulders, his back, refusing to break contact as he stood. He licked clean the fingers that had been inside her, then ran his hand down the scruff of his beard.
“I’m assuming you came?” he said quietly, cupping her jaw in his palm.
She pretended to push him away, but it was as though she didn’t have the strength in her limbs to go through with it. Or that on second thought, she didn’t want him even an arm’s length away. “Don’t pretend that you didn’t know.” She smiled a dreamy grin, pure bliss on her face. She was so gorgeous, when she touched his cock he thought he was going to shoot right there on the spot.
She stroked him, getting to know him, running her thumb over the swollen tip. A groan in the back of her throat—he hoped that meant appreciation. She was just trying to warm him up, but she didn’t understand. Going down on her had been pure pleasure for him. When she began lowering to her knees, her fist was tight, pumping, and just the thought of those lips on his dick was enough to make his eyes squeeze shut.
“I’m too close,” he gasped, grabbing her shoulder to stop her. “I’m going to—”
He couldn’t even say the words.
Sam let her palm glide along the underside of his shaft. She worked her hand over the tip and slid down again, pumping him firmer and faster as his hips began to buck. She was leaning back against the wall and he tilted forward, one hand up over her shoulder, bracing himself against the wall. He could feel the tightening in his balls, the electric energy slinging all the way from his spine to his toes.
Sam’s jacket had slid partway off her shoulders. She used her spare hand to lift her shirt, exposing her stomach to him. She pulled him so the tip of his cock grazed her skin, soft and warm. A cry caught in Austin’s throat. The sight of him in her hand, moving, thrusting. His cock heavy and thick against the smooth line from her belly button down to the thin fabric of her panties, her pants still unzipped and partway down, the indecency of it even more erotic than if she’d been undressed. The hint of the curl of dark hair where he’d buried his tongue.
Urgently, he tugged her shirt up higher, exposing her to him. The underside of her bra, the swell of her breasts. She’d come in his mouth and he hadn’t even seen her breasts.
“Come on me,” she breathed.
“Oh, fuck.” Austin groaned. Did she know how dangerous she was?
“I want you to come all over me.”
As if she knew that was all it would take.
The heat of her fist, the slide of his cock on her skin. He came on her while she pumped him until he had given everything to her. And then she stood there, pants unzipped, shirt yanked up, his come all over her stomach, enjoyment all over her face.
“Shit.” He shook his head, embarrassment heating his cheeks. “I wasn’t going to last.”
His cock was still out, still hard. He held it, feeling the pulse lingering inside him. His balls ached, as though what he’d had was just the beginning. As though there might never be enough.
Sam’s eyes were fixated on his cock in his fist. Slowly she lowered herself to the ground in front of him. This time he didn’t object.
“I just want to taste you,” she murmured. He moved his fist away and let her take him in her mouth. She sucked him slowly, running her tongue along the underside of his shaft, flicking at his balls, swirling over the tip. Cleaning the last drops from him.
He liked it, this slow, sensual play. The idea that she wanted him in her mouth because she wanted him in her mouth—not because she had to, or was only reciprocating, or because it was some expected way to get him off.
He ran his fingers lightly through her hair. His eyes were closed when a crackle came from his pocket.
“Shit, my walkie-talkie.” He fumbled to unclip it.
“I’m heading over to the Basin and then turning in,” came the staticky voice.
“Copy that,” Austin choked, his breath all over the place. “I’m finishing up my last round.”
Sam flicked her tongue over his balls. Austin tried to cover his gasp with a cough. She looked up with a satisfied grin. If she liked him flustered, she was clearly in luck.
“All clear?” the voice asked.
“No noise.”
“Haven’t seen you. Asked around at the patrol hut, but no one said you’d popped in.”
Austin gripped the walkie-talkie in one hand as he tried to stuff himself back in his pants. Sam stood, one eyebrow raised, waiting to see how he was going to talk himself out of this one.
“I got a report of some kids that ducked into the woods off Wanderer,” Austin said quickly. “I’m just coming out of there now.” Sam giggled, then covered her mouth when he flapped his hand at her.
“Any sign of ’em?”
“Nah, I’m heading in.”
“Okay, catch you back at the hut. Tell next shift to keep an eye open.”
“I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
“Roger that.”
“Later.”
Austin put the walkie-talkie back in his pocket, heart pounding in his chest. He shook his head at Sam, trying to get his clothes back where they were supposed to be.
“Kids in the woods?” Sam shook her head. “You’d better keep an eye on them. Wouldn’t want anyone getting into trouble.”
Austin rolled his head from side to side, stretching out his neck. “I think it’s a little late for that.”
Sam used a tissue to clean up her stomach, but it was by no means a perfect job. When she put her clothes back in place, that secret was still underneath. Austin knew he was late, but he couldn’t turn away, his eyes wide. She came closer to him, her voice low, fingertips trailing up and down his chest.
“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to go be mister ski patrol hero with your buddies. Meanwhile, I’m going to ski down with your come all over me. I’m going to feel you every second of the day.” She bit his lip. “And nobody’s going to know.”
She tried to pull away, a tease, but he grabbed her wrist with one hand and her ass with the other, pressing her hard against his hips. He held her in a real kiss, a proper kiss, the taste of her still on his lips. How could he go back to work like this, knowing she was out there covered with him, the memory of her on his fingers, all over his chin? He had to get back to the main part of the mountain, act like he’d actually been working for the last—how long had they been up here? He had to clean up before practice, that was for sure.
“I want you to be thinking about me,” he said, his voice low, still gripping her tight.
“I could say the same thing to you. I know how you get out there, all focused on the team.”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t mean there isn’t room for thoughts of you.”
“I want you to be thinking about how you’re going to fuck me,” she whispered. “And while that was good—” She took his hand and brought it between her thighs. “You know what I mean. You know what I want.”
“Does this mean there’s a next time?” he asked, rubbing his fingers over her crotch, wanting to slide his fingers down there and feel her heat again. He was surprised she was so eager, after her uncertainty last night. But it didn’t matter. He felt it, too.
“Please tell me you’re free tonight,” she said.
“Normally I would be, but I’ve got this gorgeous woman coming over. I came on her this afternoon, you wouldn’t believe how hot it was. Right on her stomach.” He flicked his finger under the hem of her sweater.
Sam frowned. “I don’t know about that. She sounds kind of dirty.”
Austin traced the line above her ski pants. “I like dirty.” He leaned close, his lips hovering just above hers.
Sam tugged on his jacket, pressing herself against him. Damn, if she could come again he would probably die of pleasure.
But he was late, he was really fucking late, and if someone happened to ski down looking for him and saw him come out of the backwoods with a woman who practically glowed with pleasure… Well, they’d know the only two kids in the woods weren’t kids at all.
Reluctantly Austin pulled away and started zipping everything up. Sam, understanding, followed suit, getting her helmet and face mask together. When Austin reached for his gloves, Sam let out a laugh.
“Those things are even older than your cell phone,” she said, finding her mittens on the floor. “What are they, a hundred? A hundred and fifty years old?”
“Nice.” He smirked. “Try a mere fourteen.”
“Fourteen-year-old gloves? That’s awfully specific. Why even keep them that long?”
And in case he started thinking there was something growing here, here it was: the reminder of why he shouldn’t move so fast. Because the words stung. The way she asked, it was like she was laughing at him. He could feel himself clamming up already.
“I already told you, it’s the magic of duct tape. No need to get rid of them when they work fine.”
“That’s what I’m going to need to keep me together once you’re through with me.”
Austin raised an eyebrow.
“The skiing,” Sam shot back. “I was talking about the skiing!”
“Funny,” Austin said, wrapping her in his arms once more. “I was thinking of all the other things I’m going to do with you. None of which have you in this.” He tugged at her parka, slowly unzipping it again. He could keep this physical. He didn’t have to tell her anything more.
Sam grabbed his hand. “I thought you had some place to be, Coach.”
“I can be late,” he murmured, his lips brushed against hers.
“Something tells me you’re never late.”
“That’s why I get a pass today.”
Sam shook her head, pushing him away. “The patrol guys will talk.”
“They always talk.”
“The girls on the team will talk.”
“They talk even more.”
“This is what happens when you get so focused on what’s in front of you.”
“Mmm, like Sam.”
She tasted like winter itself, the cold of her lips, the warmth of her tongue. But she pushed him away and passed him his helmet.
“You lead. I’m counting on you to get me down to the trail alive.”
He flashed a grin at her. “Have I let you down so far?”
“Please.” Sam rolled her eyes. “It’s, like, not even noon.”
“Nope, almost one. That’s when my shift ends. I’ve got to eat something before practice at two.”
“One?” Sam exclaimed. She grabbed his hand and dragged him back to their skis.
“You’ve got somewhere to be?” he asked, confused.
“Two o’clock call.”
“Work?”
“You guessed it.”
He sighed as he buckled his skis. “What’s the meeting about?”
He was just making conversation, but Sam looked frozen on the spot.
“Don’t worry about it. I won’t bug you about the details,” he said, backtracking.
“Sorry, it’s just that I don’t really have time to get into it now.” She wrapped the straps of her poles around her wrists.
“The boss will kill you if you’re late?”
“More like the board. But yeah, that’s the basic idea.”
Austin stared at her. “I was just kidding,” he said.
She shook her head. “I’m not.”
It wasn’t the kind of comment he could just drop. What did she do, anyway? And how could she be up here, taking time off, and still have so much to deal with? But she was in a rush, and he didn’t want to get in the way. “I’ll show you the shortcut back to the base. It’s a quick stretch, you barely have to turn.”
“You barely turn anyway,” Sam accused.
“I didn’t think you had a problem with being direct.”
Sam glanced down at her stomach, then flashed a flirty grin. Austin groaned. He had to start skiing or else he’d be on top of her, right there in the snow, not giving a damn about the cold. Or their jobs. Or what anyone skiing by might see.