down at the group below, a muscle in his jaw throbbing out his aggravation.
She shuddered, hating the lassitude inside now that he’d given her that magical invisible stroke of his touch. She didn’t know how he did it, or what exactly he’d done, but it always felt like a soothing stroke of his hands – only without physical contact. Then she realized that he wasn’t as unaffected as she was. He was having trouble controlling his breathing. It came out in short, raspy breaths.
She hated this. This awkwardness between them. “It can’t go anywhere, you know. That’s the problem.”
He stared at her in astonishment. “What are you talking about?”
She flushed. She’d completely misread the situation. Shit. Shit. She was a complete idiot. “Nothing,” she mumbled, sliding down into her sleeping bag and rolling away from him.
Please just leave, she whispered in her head as she lay still.
“I’m leaving, for the moment,” he snapped, “but we’re going to talk about this again.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she whispered, mortified.
“Yes, there is. What you just said is garbage. There’s nothing stopping us from having a relationship – but you.”
And he turned and stomped down the stairs, leaving her stunned into complete silence.
There wasn’t?
*
Royce shoved his sadness and frustration deep inside as he rejoined the others, but from the look on George’s face, he knew he’d failed there. Whatever. He glanced over at Yvonne. She appeared to be deep in discussion with Geoffrey. She’d been sending out signals all last evening that she wasn’t averse to spending the week with someone. For a brief moment he’d contemplated it, more to pay Stacy back for all the pain she’d given him, and then realized that it likely wouldn’t have hurt Stacy in the first place. But he hadn’t wanted to find that out for sure.
It was also a step forward he’d never be able to reverse. Not to mention it was hardly fair to Yvonne. She might want a week-long fling, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be used as a pawn in a broken relationship. Who would? Ashamed for even letting the thought be considered, he’d quickly tossed it from his mind.
“Plans for the day?”
Royce listened while George laid out the day’s runs he wanted to hit. He called out to his sister, “Stacy, are you skiing today?”
“I’m coming with the group but bringing my camera,” she called down.
George smiled. “Sounds great. Then get that skinny butt of yours down here and eat. We’ll be pulling out in thirty.”
*
Another perfect opportunity wasted. George needed to shut the hell up. Royce needed to leave Stacy the hell alone. What was wrong with these people? She was nothing. A whore. That was it.
He stomped out to the outer part of the cabin where all the gear was stowed. He needed to get his boots on. Not to mention a whole mess of other gear. At least his new gloves were holding up.
Now if only Stacy would leave her camera behind. That would also make his day.
The others would follow soon enough. If he was lucky, one group would follow his lead and they could get up the mountain early. That’s what they were here for after all.
Something they’d all do well to remember.
Instead of fawning over the bitch. Making sure she had her coffee when she woke up. That she had a group to ski with all the time. What the hell was this – babysitting?
They were all so damn predictable. And so was she. Always late, always making the others wait for her. Always quiet so the others spoke up for her. Jesus. Enough already. He opened the door to the outside and smiled. Clear skies and fresh snow. Absolutely the best conditions.
Now if only they could get there before the damn snow melted and winter was over.
Chapter 15
S tacy made it on time. Barely. She’d dressed, raced down to the bathroom, inhaled breakfast and coffee, then geared up for the morning outside. She wasn’t skiing today so she wore
She shuddered, hating the lassitude inside now that he’d given her that magical invisible stroke of his touch. She didn’t know how he did it, or what exactly he’d done, but it always felt like a soothing stroke of his hands – only without physical contact. Then she realized that he wasn’t as unaffected as she was. He was having trouble controlling his breathing. It came out in short, raspy breaths.
She hated this. This awkwardness between them. “It can’t go anywhere, you know. That’s the problem.”
He stared at her in astonishment. “What are you talking about?”
She flushed. She’d completely misread the situation. Shit. Shit. She was a complete idiot. “Nothing,” she mumbled, sliding down into her sleeping bag and rolling away from him.
Please just leave, she whispered in her head as she lay still.
“I’m leaving, for the moment,” he snapped, “but we’re going to talk about this again.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she whispered, mortified.
“Yes, there is. What you just said is garbage. There’s nothing stopping us from having a relationship – but you.”
And he turned and stomped down the stairs, leaving her stunned into complete silence.
There wasn’t?
*
Royce shoved his sadness and frustration deep inside as he rejoined the others, but from the look on George’s face, he knew he’d failed there. Whatever. He glanced over at Yvonne. She appeared to be deep in discussion with Geoffrey. She’d been sending out signals all last evening that she wasn’t averse to spending the week with someone. For a brief moment he’d contemplated it, more to pay Stacy back for all the pain she’d given him, and then realized that it likely wouldn’t have hurt Stacy in the first place. But he hadn’t wanted to find that out for sure.
It was also a step forward he’d never be able to reverse. Not to mention it was hardly fair to Yvonne. She might want a week-long fling, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be used as a pawn in a broken relationship. Who would? Ashamed for even letting the thought be considered, he’d quickly tossed it from his mind.
“Plans for the day?”
Royce listened while George laid out the day’s runs he wanted to hit. He called out to his sister, “Stacy, are you skiing today?”
“I’m coming with the group but bringing my camera,” she called down.
George smiled. “Sounds great. Then get that skinny butt of yours down here and eat. We’ll be pulling out in thirty.”
*
Another perfect opportunity wasted. George needed to shut the hell up. Royce needed to leave Stacy the hell alone. What was wrong with these people? She was nothing. A whore. That was it.
He stomped out to the outer part of the cabin where all the gear was stowed. He needed to get his boots on. Not to mention a whole mess of other gear. At least his new gloves were holding up.
Now if only Stacy would leave her camera behind. That would also make his day.
The others would follow soon enough. If he was lucky, one group would follow his lead and they could get up the mountain early. That’s what they were here for after all.
Something they’d all do well to remember.
Instead of fawning over the bitch. Making sure she had her coffee when she woke up. That she had a group to ski with all the time. What the hell was this – babysitting?
They were all so damn predictable. And so was she. Always late, always making the others wait for her. Always quiet so the others spoke up for her. Jesus. Enough already. He opened the door to the outside and smiled. Clear skies and fresh snow. Absolutely the best conditions.
Now if only they could get there before the damn snow melted and winter was over.
Chapter 15
S tacy made it on time. Barely. She’d dressed, raced down to the bathroom, inhaled breakfast and coffee, then geared up for the morning outside. She wasn’t skiing today so she wore
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