“She sounds so real it’s creepy.”
“We can switch the voice—would you like a British butler for the weekend? I bet there’s a setting for that.”
I shook my head. "This house is like a weird third wheel.”
Tav grinned, catching my chin with his thumb and kissing me softly. "Welcome to your winter paradise, beautiful. Would you like me to draw you a bath and bring you champagne and strawberries?”
I hummed, letting him kiss me again. "That sounds like Heaven.”
Four
Sunshine streaked my eyelids the next morning.
I yawned and stretched like a cat, my body sore from Tav’s hands and lips all over my skin. After he drew me a bath, we sipped champagne and listened to jazz and then we made love half of the night. I fell asleep in his arms, which never happened back at home.
I sucked in a breath, a smile on my face as I smelled the scent of his skin on the sheets next to me. I rolled over and hugged the pillow, inhaling him. The chalet may have been far out of the way, but maybe that was just what we needed to reconnect with each other.
I pushed myself out of bed, my muscles sore from Tav’s passionate hands all over me. I winced as I walked into the master bathroom. Perfect thumbprint bruises on either side of my hips from his hands when he'd held me against the wall and tackled me with his lips. He was wild, but this place made me feel wild too.
I also hadn't taken my medication last night. I wasn't supposed to drink on it and rarely did, but even just one glass of champagne had gone to my head. I lost myself in the bath bubbles and the bubbles in my glass, and locked in Tav’s arms made me feel more carefree in a way that I hadn't felt since before...
Since before the only thing that mattered was stolen from me.
I turned on the shower and washed myself quickly. Running shampoo and conditioner through my hair, and then wrapping myself in the thick robe that hung on the tile wall outside of the shower. By the time I was walking downstairs, I could smell the coffee. I paused at the landing and took in the 360-degree-view around me. From the loft that overlooked the living room, windows surrounded every corner. Snow-capped mountains and lush evergreens dominated the view. The chalet was utterly isolating and so peaceful.
“Good Morning,Beautiful."Tav unhooked his ankles and stood from the couch. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, he was across the kitchen and pouring me my first mug of hot coffee. A drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Just as I liked it.
He held the cup out to me. I took it gratefully and inhaled it once before taking a sip. “Thank you."
“How did you sleep?" he asked.
“Perfect." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and patted my backside playfully before falling back onto the leather couch. His laptop was back in his lap just like when I first saw him. I walked across the room, pausing to sip my coffee as I took in the full mountain landscape stretched around us. The mountains didn't just look snow-capped, they looked smothered in glaciers. I didn't know how high up we were, but it was high enough that the air felt dryer and thinner.
“Where did you find this place?"
"The guys were talking about it at work." He seemed distracted. I frowned.
"What time did you get up this morning? I didn't even hear you get out of bed."
"You were sleeping pretty soundly. Snoring as I recall." He paused, then looked up at me with one quirked eyebrow and a smile.
I shot him an air kiss but he was already head down, consumed in his laptop. I went back to the mountains outside of my window. It was breathtaking. But it felt like I was enjoying it alone.
"Do you still want to do that hike today?"
His fingers were fast at work on the keyboard, he didn't look up when he answered, "I have to get this report finished and then uploaded to the server at work. I'm hoping I can tap into the satellite ethernet. I'll catch hell Monday morning from Dad if a copy of this isn't on his desk.”
"And you were worried that I would get stuck with work up here?"
His gaze finally met mine. "I'm not the one that needs to take it easy."
I swallowed, turning away from his eyes and back to my hot cup of coffee. “You know me so well, sometimes I hate it.”
This was usually the point in the relationship, two years in and going strong, when my heart started to bail. Mental itch got the better of me and I suddenly found myself bored with all things as they were. The desire to torch my life like a phoenix to rise from the ashes was strong. I think that's why Tav and I were different. I liked that he worked away all week, less chance I'd grow sick of him. I knew the day would come, but I didn't think it'd be soon, but just as he was talking about wedding rings, my mind was taking long walks in the past with people I used to know.
I would be lying if I said I hadn't wondered if Tav was seeing another woman in the city all week long. But I forced myself not to think about it. We were good. He was stressed, we were sliding into boredom, but I didn't have anything to complain about. Notreally.
Tav’s fingers worked furiously along the keyboard. The incessant tapping driving me to distraction. I pushed my feet into my fur-lined boots and opened the front door. I stepped out on the snow-covered porch, sucking in a breath of frigid air as a rush of adrenaline coursed through my veins. Tav was missing out. The view behind his computer screen never changed, the view outside of the chalet was once in a lifetime. I didn't think I could live here with all of this isolation but it was nothing short of breathtaking. A true weekend far, far away. I felt like a princess, or an ice queen in a cloudy fortress.
