“I know it’s a bad idea,” he says, cutting me off. “But the team is still on break. No one will be here, Grey included.”
“I don’t have a toothbrush,” I say lamely.
Vox throws his leg over mine. “I have an extra from the dentist.”
I allow myself to wrap my arms around him, reveling in the scent of him and the sex that permeates the air around us.
“I’m going to get really attached,” I confess, knowing it’s already too late.
“I already am,” Vox replies, knocking the breath from my lungs as he plants his chin on my chest, looking up at me. “So,stay. Tomorrow we can grab first chair and spend the day boarding together. We’ll figure out the rest as we go.”
Fuck, that sounds perfect.
I’m getting more comfortable on the mountain around others, but there’s a lesson Vox and I haven’t gotten to quite yet because I really don’t want an audience until I gain more confidence. Tomorrow would be perfect for it.
“If I stay tonight, will you let me play coach tomorrow on the slopes?”
He gently bites my pec and runs his fingers through my chest hair. “You can play anything with me. What is it you want to go over?”
“On the off chance someone gets in front of you on the cross course, I want to show you how to get around them when they’re operating in the same three feet of space as you. It’s like trying to pass someone in a NASCAR race. It’s about timing and anticipating their route.”
“Why does everyone think I’m some reckless wildcard when I board?” he asks in a pouty tone. After discovering his response to praise, it’s much easier to see how the critical comments affect him.
“I don’t think you’re a wildcard, nor do I think you’re reckless. Idothink you make some risky moves, but I also think they’re calculated. You have control when you want it, but I want to teach you tovaluecontrol, not resent it. In order to do that, I have to show you what it’s like to have yours taken away and how good it feels to take it back.”
“Sounds a lot like your antics I just witnessed in bed,” he grumbles.
“Lessons can be learned anywhere.” I smirk at him, trailing my fingers down his side, making him shiver. “I definitely prefer using the bedroom as a classroom when it comes to you.”
“Well, this is me, signing up for all the lessons you’rewilling to teach, but in the future, could you give me a heads up if you’re going to edge me? I was legitimately concerned my dick was going to fall off.”
“Did you like it?” I ask, suddenly desperate to know.
“Yes…Well, I mean, once I finally came. That was the most intense orgasm of my life.”
“And that’s just the start,” I tell him, planting a kiss on the top of his head, tightening my hold on him.
Being backon a board feels incredible, and I have Vox to thank for it. Letting him into the darkest part of my life was terrifying. Getting into bed with him, even more so. But it was worth it. Waking up next to him had me envisioning the future, and for the first time in five years, it didn’t look so bleak.
As promised, Vox and I are up and out early enough to catch first chair on the ski lift. We start with a few warm-up runs, and Vox is halfway down the mountain before I even make it off the lift. I bag the first run and stay at the top, waiting for him to return.
When he returns fifteen minutes later, his smirk is too damn sexy for his own good as he smoothly comes to a stop next to me.
“You know, it’s hard to help your performance if you don’t give me a chance to watch it,” I tell him, leaning forward to tighten my toe strap.
It was the wrong thing to say.
When I stand upright, I jerk my head back after almost crashing into Vox’s face, which is now only an inch from my own.
“What the f—,” I start, but he cuts me off, his voice lower than it shouldbe.
“If it’s myperformanceyou want to critique, Coach, you should probably participate instead of just watching…you know, to get the full effect.”
My eyes widen in surprise. Before falling asleep last night, we agreed to give an actualrelationshipa try, but we also agreed not to mention our relationship outside of his condo and my cabin. “Dammit, Vox. That’s not?—”
He shoves his gloved hand against my shoulder, laughing, and my chest cracks open at how easy it is for him to joke around.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Lang. Imeantget your shit together and actually board down this mountain with me.” Still laughing, he adds, “Just because I think you’re hot as fuck doesn’t meaneverythought I have is about sex…actually, scratch that. Yes, it is.”
