“Everyone stop!” I shout, my voice booming throughout the kitchen.
The other guys freeze and look at me with stunned expressions. Understandable… I’m not one to raise my voice often.
“If you don’t want this meal to be a total disaster, you’re all going to listen to me,” I snap. “No one touches a damn thing without my permission!”
Carson blinks at me. “Uhhh… what the hell?”
Jensen furrows his brows. “Wilder… you reallycancook?”
I let out a hiss of breath. “Yes I can fucking cook! I’m a multifaceted person with a collection of interests. Now, shut up. You’re captain on the ice, but I’m captain in the kitchen, and right now, you’re all just idiot sandwiches. You’re all going to listen to me now so I can save this goddamn meal.”
The guys look at each other before returning their gazes to me.
“Yes, sir.” Jensen grins, looking relieved. “What should we do first?”
I release a long breath, relaxing as the guys stare at me expectantly.
“First things first. Don’t even glance at the microwave again, or I will kick your damn asses.”
Before anyone can respond, we hear Zander let out a startled shout.
“Ah! Gizmo! No!”
“Zander?” I call out as Jensen, Owen and I hurry back to the living room. “You okay, man?”
We slide to a stop, nearly running each other over in our shock at the sight of the mess before us. Zander is on the floor, wrapping paper scattered around him, some of it with tell-tale claw marks ripped through it. He’s gazing down at Gizmo, who’s undone a whole spool of ribbon and is playing with it, looking totally innocent of any wrongdoing.
“It happened so fast,” Zander murmurs. “One second, I’m wrapping presents, the next, Gizmo is going full gremlin…I didn’t stand a chance.”
“Owen,” I say slowly. “Maybe you should help Zander after all.”
“Yeah,” he mutters. “Sure.”
Gizmo lets out a happy meow, as he continues tearing apart the ribbon as if he doesn’t have a care in the world.
CHAPTER NINE: BLOWJOBS AREN'T ENOUGH
SKYLER
Steppingout of the spa into the cold mountain air is oddly invigorating. I stretch my arms over my head with a contented sigh and glance over at the other girls next to me. Personally, I feel so relaxed and grateful that I’m already fantasizing about the sexy ways I’m going to thank Carson for this day. A blowjob? Definitely. But why stop there? My body is so soft and languid now, I might actually be willing to let him knock on the back door…
“Damn, that was good,” I say.
Everyone nods, looking well-rested and at ease.
“Sure was,” Sutton grins. “Tell your guys I’m willing and ready to be spoiled like this again anytime.”
“You know, maybe we should stop on our way back and pick them each up a little something,” Grace suggests. “As a thank you for the day.”
“Oh, I like that idea,” Stacey nods. “I saw a few really cute looking shops when we were driving through town.”
“Blowjobs aren’t enough?” Rylee teases.
I chuckle. Rylee and I are always on the same wavelength with this stuff. Still, Grace has a point. The SUVs that brought us here roll up and park in front of us. Grace and I help Stacey into our car before climbing inside. We let the driver know we want to stop on the way back to the house.
He takes us to an area with shops clearly made for catering to tourists, which is fine. There’s a candy store with a machine pulling taffy in the window, and next to it is a shop with T-shirts, sweatshirts, shot glasses, and other items with Estes Park insignia and images splayed across their fronts. We pop inside the stores and each of us pick out something to take back to our men, including matching t-shirts for all of them with two big bears wearing skates and holding hockey sticks on a frozen pond. Sutton slips into the candy shop and buys a big bag of taffy that we’ll all be able to share. She also grabs a mug that has a bear hugging it — its little head peaking above the rim.
“Who’s that for?” I ask.
