He looked good on a board, I had to admit, as if he wasn’t already sexy as fuck. Watching him own that mountain with the movement of his body back and forth with the rotation of his hips was doing things for me on a whole other level.Jack istall and lean and knows how to cut the mountain gracefully.
I fell into a lift with him for the ride up.
“Enjoying yourself?” he asked, eyes solid green, meeting mine.
Jack
The man fucking glowed after an entire afternoon on the mountain; even his smile was brighter than I had ever seen.
“What time is it?” he asked, noticing how quickly night was chasing us.
“Time for the last run — you with me?” I asked.
“Of course,” he said and out came the golden smile again.
When we got off the lift, Quinn, Baylor, and Matt were all waiting, seeing the same in the light that we do.
“Apres-skiis at my place, P,” Quinn said. “You guys take the runs down, we will meet you there.”
Quinn held my eyes for a moment and dipped his chin slightly. Quinn’s invitation was an acknowledgment that Perrin is welcome; they liked him. And it wasalso an acknowledgement that if I thought I was being in anyway subtle about my attraction to him, I wasn’t.
“Where are we going?” Perrin asked, his brow wrinkled.
“Trust me, Perrin,” I answered.
“Okay, then. Lead the way,” he said, like it is just that simple to follow my lead.
I can’t help but smile back. Goddamn golden Texas boys that look like lions. There wasn’t a single chance I ever had at not being attracted to him.
“Thank you for this, Jack,” he said quietly, and I smiled, clapping him easily on the shoulder. I could tell the afternoon meant a lot to him, and I imagined that, like how Matt was known towork out hisdemons in the kitchen, Perrin excised his out on the mountain. That was something familiar to me, very goddamned familiar.
“Seriously, though,” I said, having readjusted my brace and waved off to my brothers whowerealready heading down the hill and far enough that the roar of the snowmobiles had died down. “It is going to get dark soon, so we need to hit it pretty fast and hard, or it’s going to be skiing blind until the lights of the village, and you won’t see them until the bottom of the run. There’s no moon tonight.”
He smirked at me, leaning in. “Fast and hard?” he asked in a low rumble, like he is clarifying something other than skiing.
Fucker actually winked at me.
I felt the warm rush of his flirting, and got that ringing feeling of anticipation in my stomach about what was going to happen tonight. But first, we had to get off the mountain, and thatwasa real consideration given how late we pushed it.
“Person in front sets the pace,” I said over my shoulder as I took off, knowing where on that run I could grab air and get a monster lead. I also knewfrom having skied with himallafternoon we were comparable in speed. Not on my skis, I would own him then, but as itwasthe pace was even.
Thegreen runswe took to the base were fast and un-groomed. Any other resort would have had these at intermediate level, but here it was as close to beginner as the mountain could offer. Itwassloppy and rough since the mountain hadnot been maintained. Some places offered night skiing, but that was more for recreational skiers. Bear Valley was really more than that, we were fortheskierslooking for a challenge, or training, or just a technical and difficult ski.
Perrin and I mirrored each other down the mountain, I sprayed snow on him on a turn, and was rewarded with the same. Turn after turn, we followed each other, a few whoops and yells on the way, the sheer exuberance of enjoying the mountain and the thrill of chasing each other into night all the way to the bottom.
Just on the edge of the dark swallowing us, we broke out of a narrow, tree-lined trail to merge onto a wider run that ledto the base, the lights of the village below giving us some ability to see our way. I increased the pace, keeping my center tucked under, pushing to go faster than the skilled asshole chasing me down the mountain. He smirked the last half, as if he still hadreserves for miles, while I felt every bit of my knee and the surgeries it has endured.
I intentionally let him take the last few yards to the base of the mountain near the microbrewery Quinn owns and lives above. Quinn almost has ski-in/ski-out access, being the first private business past the main lift at the base. I have close to the same at the Inn, but I would have to take another run off the mountain to get there.
I was so turned-on by the time Igotthere, it might as well have been as if we just got off the snowmobile with bodies pressed next to each other. Part of my mind knows how exhausted I am from the hours on the mountain, but my body doesn’t care in the slightest.
Perrin
Jack let me pull forward at the end and I knew it, so I am not sure why the snowplow was unexpected. Before I was out of my skis, Jack edged his board to arch a perfectwave of snow in my face when he stopped. When Jack jumped off his board, he took his hat off, letting his jet-black hair go everywhere as he shook out the snow. Jack’s eyes were bright as he talked some trash, getting closer to me each time he speaks. I tried to shake out from the snow he sprayed over me and get out of my skis at the same time. I didn’t really even know what he was saying, because it is all background noise to the light in his eyes.
Jack Mann pulling my body against his is the most natural thing that has ever happened to me in my life.
I wanted his long body flush with mine, but it was even better than I imagined when he wrapped his arms around my neck. And that was with snow gear cushioning everything I wanted to feel, making my longing for him somehow even worse than if I simply hadn’t touched him yet.
