We kissed for a while, breakfast mostly eaten and long forgotten. Jack off his bar stool, and standing between my thighs, and our mouths were slowly exploring each other in a lazy, domestic way, while my hands rested on his hips, thumbs skimming the skin there above his waistband. I felt the strings over my heart start to pluck one by one. God, I wanted him. But, this - lazy sexy bliss after a night of hot sex? I wanted this more than I knew.
“Told you I couldn’t think when you touch me,” I said, pulling back enough to speak against his temple. “Friends with benefits?” I asked.
“Call it whatever you want,” Jack said against my neck, using my words from this morning.
I grunted my agreement. “You taste so good, Jack,” I whispered as I claimed his lips again, lighting me all the way up like Christmas morning.
Jack
I wondered if it was jumping into things too quickly to want Perrin to have to think of me at work. Not that either of us could help it, MannswereBear Valley and there was no way around us. I hadn’t told him that the orthowing where he was about to spend a solid amount of time was named after my family, but he would figure that out soon enough. Usually I didn’t mind being in control of so many aspects of the businesses, I loved that kind of competition and drive. But, sometimes I would have a moment of realization that literally everyone I knew and cared about relied on Bear Valley being successful. The reality of where Perrin worked and my role there brought that into sharper focus. If Bear Valley wasn’t successful, the coffee shop didn’t get business, or the rental business, or the hospital, oranythingreally.
It seemed likewhatlittle was left of the day moved slowly toward the time to be at the top of the mountain. I was in full Bear Valley snow gear when I met up with Baylor and Quinn, it helped to look official if you had to make someone get off the mountain before dark for their own safety. Matt was at the restaurant tonight, he usually did the opening runs on days like this, instead of shutting it down.
Suddenly,Perrinwas stridingtoward us,hisheavy ski boots not slowing down his six-five frame from eating up the snow as he came to us rolling heel to toe, golden light in his curly hair that was untamed by a hat just yet, making its own yellow tone glow against the late afternoon sky. His skis were over his shoulder, and a smile broke out on his face as he came closer.
I felt my breath catch. God, he really was beautiful. Like some sort ofnordicdeity striding down to earth to see his acolytes. There was no way my own face didn’t break out in a smile like his did, especially when I heard Baylor and Quinn give a wolf whistle as he approached. I couldn’t help it. He was so damn pretty.
This was a big thing for me, to see someone right after we slept together. To have someone out here with my brothers hours after he left my bed.
Was I trying a relationship again? Would Perrin even want that?
“Well, well,” I heard Quinn chuckle under his breath, and I shot him a look, despite having sunglasses on. He understood the tilt of my head, at least.
I had spent the past twenty minutes being teased about how relaxed I looked, with Quinn specifically making comments about the Inn being haunted due to strange noises coming from the upper floor. When I had grinned and practically blushed in response, that was all it took for both of them to lose any mercy they might have had for me. Details were demanded, and I just stammered that it was none of their damned business. I was briefly reminded of another good reason I had not to sleep around with anyone local, but the sight of Perrin had pretty much stopped that train of thought where it began.
“Oh, big brother,” Baylor added, as I strode to Perrin, but his voice held a note of caution. Perrin’s arms embraced me easily, like we had done it a million afternoons. He discreetly laid his nose to the side of my neck, and ran it up to my ear, just like he had in my apartment this morning, and I shuttered slightly, just enough he noticed but it stayed between us. I wanted his lips on mine, but the feel of the eyes of my brothers at my back told me that was a bad idea.
Perrin smelled like fresh herbs and soap, with the faintest trace of patchouli and lemons; a deeper, more masculine version of what the health food store over by the interstate smelled like. Maybe we lingered a minute more than some sort of friendly hug, but I didn’t care. Perrin gave Quinn and Baylor the typical bro-hug, hands clasped, coming together at the chest. Quinn clapped a hand at Perrin’s shoulder.
“How was your day, P?” Quinn asked, and Perrin grinned.
“Even better now,” Perrin said, setting down his skis, flashing a smile that included his hidden dimples. “But, pretty great all around.”
“We start on the back, just keep with us, it’s not as independent as yesterday, because we gottawatch the sun. Once we ski the back, you can pick a trail down the front side. Meet at the Inn, Matt’s got some new something to try on us tonight,” Baylor said, in his straightforward way.
Baylor probably worried until we were all down the mountain, no matter how many times we had done this. Worry was Baylor’s love language, and sometimes he spoke it in bullet points.
“I’ll try to keep up,” Perrin said. Heliftedan eyebrow at me, as Quinn and Baylor went over a bit past us to get into their own gear.
“You slumming it with us today, Jack?” he asked, gesturing at my outfit, and my skis.
“Figured skis would be fine today,” I responded, trying not to let him see how I reacted to his mere presence and damn dimpled smile. I had to remind myself we had left each other literally only hours ago.
The truth was it just seemed comfortable andright, not like what I would have ever imagined from seeing someone the day after I slept with them. The relationship I had tried previously always felt a little off, like a too small shirt I was trying to make fit.
“Alright,” he allowed. “Preppy Jack,” he added, with a grin, and I guessed he wasn’t wrong, given how I looked in the official mountain gear.
“Preppy Jack will still own your ass on this mountain, P,” I said low, where no one could hear. He didn’t know how fast I was, not yet. There was no doubt after seeing him ski yesterday that he was competitive as I was. He looked at me with eyes blazing.
“So, if I wasn’t clear about that, Preppy Jack can own my ass anytime,” he responded, also with a low growl that sent my heart skittering with desire. Fuck, we needed to get on this run before I tried to jump him behind some trees. It was like all the passion of the last night and this morning just rolled into more, instead of easing anything.
He was just so damned breathtaking. He smiled and my chest expanded so far it pushed all the words out of my mouth, all the thoughts out of my head. It was its own kind of peace, thinking this guy could be mine, even for a little while.
When we were skiing, suddenly I wasn’t imagining what it could have been like to ski without my injury. I was in it, the right now, and I couldn’t remember the last time I wasn’t skiing with part of my brain on what could have been.
Jack
It was still early when we got back to the Inn. We sat at the bar, I was in the corner seat where the bar made and “L” to connect to the wall. Perrin was next to me, on the right, with our legs touching, thigh to thigh, reminding me of how we sat this morning in my apartment. Occasionally, Perrin would rub his large hand on my thigh, sending electric shocks up my body.
