My plan was to check in and head to the overpriced cabin Caleb had booked but not before grabbing a shot to settle my mind. I handed my bags to the bell man and told him to deliver them to my room and walked over to the bar. It was a mixture of couples and singles and wasn’t too crowded. Out of habit, I clocked everybody in that muthafucka in one sweep, just to see who I was sharing space with for the week. I doubled back when my eyes landed on a pretty ass brown skin. Shawty had a wild face card and I could tell she was thick as fuck from the way her ass was hanging off the bar stool.Damn.She looked like she was confident and well-kept untouchable to a nigga like me cause my only plan with her would be to get deep in them guts. She looked like the type of woman most niggas would try to impress but wouldn’t know what to do with once they got her attention… I promise I was not one of them.
“What can I get you sweetheart?” The bartender asked. She was a light bright and cute as fuck too but she didn’t pull my attention for more than a second.
I nodded toward the far end of the bar. “Two shot of Hennessy and whatever she orders, put it on my tab.”
Her eyes flicked down the bar toward her, then she smirked. “Got you.”
I opted out to take a seat since I didn’t plan to be here past those two shots and slid my hands in my slacks. Ol’ girl at the end of the bar must’ve felt my stare because she looked over and our eyes met. It felt like her pretty ass eyes were hypnotizing me as we both were in a stare down. It was a shy look either… it was bold and direct as fuck. Shit had my dick jumping in my slacks.Down boy.
Some old dude walked up beside her smiling hard as hell and for whatever reason I felt a twinge of jealousy when she broke the stare to greet him. A small part of me wanted to walk down there and slap his ass on the back of the head but I wasn’t even on that type of time. I wasn’t here to mingle or fuck on any women.
“Enjoy,” the bartender said, sliding the two shots over. I knocked them both back, then reached into my slacks, pulled out a crispy hundred and slid it across the bar.
“Preciate you, love.”
I took one last glance at shawty and could tell that she was uninterested in whatever the old man was talking about. I smirked as my eyes roamed over the parts of her body that was visible. The curve of her hips, the way she crossed her legs… the natural confidence sitting in her posture.Yeah, I’d be seeing her again.If I wasn’t so damn tired, I would’ve walked right down there and introduced myself… maybe even flirted or tried to slide my dick between those pretty ass plump lips but between the flight, the workout at Caleb’s, and fucking the life out of Candace again before I left Atlanta, a nigga was beat. Sleep was calling my name harder than any bad decision tonight. I walked out the bar, headed to my cabin, and let the door fall shut behind me. Tomorrow, I’d explore… tonight, I was out.
Chapter 5
Noelle
The first thing that hit me when I opened my eyes was the peace. No buzzing phone, no alarms, no calendar reminders blowing me up. Just quiet. The peaceful quiet that made me lay there for a minute and actually breathe. A faint smell of pine drifted through the cabin from the wreath hanging near the door. It was subtle, not loud, but it reminded me I was nowhere near my usual chaos. I checked the time.Almost ten. Back home in Atlanta, I would’ve already handled six different fires by now. Here, my notifications were light. Promo emails, a shipping alert, and one message from Bree.
Bree: You made it. Breathe.
I smiled and put the phone facedown. I told her I was leaving work alone this whole week, and for once, I meant it. My body felt loose and rested, but under all that calm was a slow throb in my thighs reminding me what I did last night. I shut that thought down fast because if I didn’t, I’d end up back in that damn tub thinking about a man I didn’t know. I sat up and reached for the Winter Haven brochure on the nightstand. Bree sent the digital copy before I came, but I never opened it.
Last night, I flipped through it and circled a few things; massage therapy, a thermal spa, a couple hiking trails, and the mixer tonight at the lodge. A “holiday social warm-up for the week,” complete with a little snowflake logo next to it.Cute.I needed the massage, I needed the spa, I needed… the break. Today, though, I just wanted something warm to drink and a walk around the resort so I could get my bearings. These mountains were beautiful as hell and the fresh snow from last night made everything look like a post-card, but I wasn’t trying to get lost in no winter wonderland by myself.
I showered, moisturized, unwrapped my hair, and slipped into leggings, a cream turtleneck, boots, and my camel coat. Outside the window, soft flakes drifted down like the mountains were dusting themselves off. I grabbed the map, locked the cabin door, and stepped outside.
Cold air met me instantly, making me pull my jacket a little tighter. Snow lined the path and crunched under my boots as I walked. Tall evergreens wrapped in subtle white lights lined the walkway… it felt different from the city. I pulled out the map and tried to make sense of it. Whoever designed it needed their ass fired. None of the symbols matched what I was seeing. I flipped it once. Then again. Then again as the irritation started rising.
“This don’t make no damn sense,” I muttered.
My mind drifted back to last night when I shouldn’t have been thinking about him at all. The stranger at the bar… those eyes. The way he was staring at me like he was undressing me with them had me clenching my thighs tight.
“Get it together, Noelle,” I whispered.
“You lost?” The deep voice came from behind me.
“Yeah. I?—”
I turned around mid-sentence and the rest of the words got stuck in my throat. It was him… Mr. fine ass from the bar. The same one who had me in the tub last night cumin’ so hard to justthe thought of him.Damn.He was even finer in the daylight. His face, his body, that cocky, rich confidence he carried…my whole body reacted before my thought could catch up. He stood a few feet away, dressed in a black thermal and joggers, shoulders broad, eyes locked on me like he could see straight through whatever front I had.
I swallowed lightly. “I’m trying to get to the lodge.”
He nodded once toward the trail behind me. “You walking the wrong way.”
Of course I was. I glanced back at the path then folded the map before I embarrassed myself further.
“Figures,” I said.
He smirked. “You here for the week?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Solo?”
