“I am simply spent,” I reply with a chuckle. “You wore me out today.”
“Tomorrow is going to be more of the same, so get some sleep.” He hugs me to him and buries his nose in my hair, breathing me in. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“This amazing gift. You are a rare woman, Grace.” He kisses my head and glides his hand down my back to my ass. “Sleep now, love.”
chapter 6
~ JACOB ~
The world is still dark as I slowly drift awake and feel Grace’s warm body snuggled close to my side. Her leg is draped over my thigh, her arm over my belly, and her head rests on my chest.
I can’t remember the last time I woke with a woman in my arms. I never spend the night. It suggests an intimacy that I’ve just never felt.
Until Grace.
I kiss her forehead and roll her onto her back, gently untangle myself from her, and pull on my clothes. Just as I step into my shoes, Grace stirs and frowns up at me.
“Making a hasty retreat?” She yawns and searches for the clock.
“No, darling.” I crawl back onto the bed and pull her into my lap, hugging her close. “I have some things to see to this morning. I didn’t want to wake you.”
“It’s okay.” She buries her face in my neck and sighs, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she’s about to fall right back to sleep.
“Go back to bed, love. I’ll have breakfast sent up in about an hour.”
“Will you be joining me?” Her voice is soft, maybe a bit hesitant. I hug her more tightly and tip her face back with my finger.
“No, but I’ll see you at our lesson at ten.”
“Oh, you don’t have to keep teaching me, I’ll be fine with a real instructor.”
“I am a real instructor, and I’ll be in charge of your lessons.” I kiss her chastely and my groin stirs at the feel of her small body pressed against me. “I can’t wait to spend the day with you.”
“Okay, have a good morning.”
Her eyes are drifting closed again, making me grin. She’s clearly not a morning person.
I lower her back to the bed, tuck her in, and leave her.
I do have things to handle this morning, but I also need a couple of hours to clear my head. To think. And the best place for that is on the hill.
I return to my room and change into ski gear, grab my equipment, and head out. The lift operator is just settling into his position and waves as I approach.
“Good timing,” he calls out.
“So it seems,” I reply with a nod, and hop onto a chair as he starts the lift. I ride all the way to the summit of the mountain, watching in awe as the world comes to life. It’s overcast, but not snowing yet, and the rising sun casts everything in a gray glow.
There is fresh powder on the earth, covering the trees. The snow ghosts that my lodge is named for cover the ground, the trees are so blanketed in the snow that the green no longer peeks through, hence the name.
It never fails to take my breath away.
As the lift approaches the top, I jump off, secure my goggles, and take in the view. The valley stretches before me, and the clouds are up high enough that I can see Cunningham Falls below, the lake, and to my left, the peaks of Glacier National Park.
There is a serenity up here in the stillness that I’ve never found anywhere else, no matter what mountain I was on in Europe. When I came up here for the first time, took in this view, I knew this was where I was meant to be.
And now it has brought me to Grace.
The quiet surrounds me. The only sound is my own breath as I point my skis down and begin the smooth ride to the bottom. The groomers have already been out this morning, and conditions are perfect.
As I gently slide down the mountain, my thoughts turn to the amazing woman I held in my arms all night long. I woke several times just to feel her skin against me, to breathe her in, to listen to her soft breaths. Not once did I get the urge to flee.
For fuck’s sake, what is it about this woman that has me all tied up in knots? She’s beautiful, yes, but I’ve known plenty of beautiful women in my life.
And fucked a good portion of them.
And yet I can’t remember the face of a single one. All that fills my mind is Grace’s soft sighs, her whimpers, the way her body reacts to mine. Her cheeks flush beautifully just as she’s about to come, and she’s not a screamer, not in the least. Instead, her body clenches and tightens, and she trembles, her breath comes in soft pants, and it’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever witnessed.
But if I’m honest, it’s much more than the sex. In the few hours that I’ve known her, she’s made me laugh like I haven’t in years. Her clumsiness is endearing rather than frustrating, most likely because of the way she reacts to it, like it’s just a natural thing and is what it is.
She’s unapologetic about who she is. She eats what she wants to, works at a job she enjoys, and has a zeal for life that encourages those around her to join her in it.