Erotic Encounters Page 16

  Gage drove one last deep plunge inside her. He held on to her as tightly as she held him. Wrapped in each other’s arms, his cock buried to the hilt inside her pussy, they each allowed the incendiary rapture to flow through them.

  The fire crackled in the fireplace, the woodsy scent of burning pine wafting through the air. The heavy, wet snow continued to shroud everything in a deep blanket of white. Time seemed to stand still for several minutes as they remained with their bodies entwined, savoring the emotional as well as physical delights of their shared orgasm. He finally raised his head, brushed her hair away from the damp skin of her face, then placed a soft kiss on her lips. He held her tightly. Neither one of them wanted to let go.

  ****

  Gage stood just inside the bedroom door. He watched Afton as she warmed herself in front of the fire. He had given her his pajama top to wear until she could get some dry clothes from her room on the second floor of the lodge. She glanced out the window at the snow, then returned her attention to the fireplace. He wasn’t sure exactly what to make of the expression that clouded her features. Could it be regret?

  He shook his head in confusion, touched by a bit of apprehension. No doubt in his mind that it had been the best sex he ever experienced. But did she regret her decision to engage in incredibly hot sex with him? A slight frown wrinkled across his forehead. Or could she be regretting that she had allowed him to coerce her? He didn’t like that thought, and he didn’t like the implications.

  He wanted to know so much more of her. He would be a happy camper if they stayed in his bed until the storm passed. Could that possibly be her concern? Did she feel trapped? Had she reluctantly consented and now she wondered how much more he would want? And how often? It was a consideration that continued to play through his mind as he walked across the room. It left him uneasy and concerned about what to do and how to proceed.

  “Here.” Gage held out the shoes and socks toward Afton. “I retrieved these from next to the pond.”

  She whirled around, surprise covering her face. “You did it again, walked up behind me without making any noise.”

  He gestured toward the floor and flashed what he hoped was a casual smile. “Thick carpeting.”

  She took the shoes and socks from him, then set them on the floor next to the loveseat. “Thank you. I just checked my clothes. They’re still damp.”

  “I can take them down to the laundry facility and put them in the dryer if you’d like.” He hesitated a moment, not sure of what else to say. “Or…I could go to your room and get some dry clothes for you.”

  He carefully watched her reaction to his words. He hadn’t been sure about making that offer. Would it sound as if he expected her to continue to stay in his suite? It had been a long time since he had been so unsure of himself, least of all with a woman.

  She offered what seemed to him to be an almost shy smile. “There isn’t anyone else in the building to see me. I could certainly return to my room dressed like this and put on clean, dry clothes.”

  It wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “You had a very pensive look on your face when I walked in. Is something wrong?” He drew in a calming breath, then ventured the question that was really on his mind. “Are you having regrets?” He knew the anxiety came through in his voice, but he wasn’t able to prevent it. And from the look on her face he knew she had noticed it, too.

  “No…no regrets.” Her voice softened, conveying an emotional moment of vulnerability. “I guess I was just a little overwhelmed. This isn’t at all what I had anticipated when I woke up this morning.”

  A wave of relief swept through him. He wanted to pull her into his arms but suddenly felt awkward about it…unsure of himself. How strange. What was there about this woman? He had never been unsure of himself where women were concerned, but he could not deny the uncertainty coursing through his veins. “I have to admit that I’m also a little surprised by everything that’s happened.”

  He quickly changed gears, not wanting to make her think that sex was the only thing on his mind. “I’m hungry. How about you? I have a few things in the refrigerator here. If there isn’t anything that grabs your interest, we can check the lodge’s kitchen. I know for a fact that the freezers are filled in anticipation of the grand opening this weekend. Unfortunately, so are the refrigerators. Most of that will probably need to be thrown out. Definitely an unexpected expense.”

  “I was thinking about that, too. It’s going to be such a waste. I imagine there’s a lot of it that will still be good for several days yet, but according to health codes you won’t be able to serve it in the restaurant. If this weather clears enough for people to be able to get out tomorrow maybe you can find a place to donate it, maybe a shelter of some sort.”

  “That’s a good idea. But for now…let’s see what we can find for ourselves.”

  “Yes, I’m hungry.”

  Chapter Three

  Afton and Gage sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchenette of his suite. They had raided the lodge refrigerator and gathered a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits and a couple of steaks to take back to his suite. It wasn’t long before they were enjoying a delicious meal, food Gage prepared while Afton watched rather than him simply assuming she would do the cooking.

  When they had finished eating, he poured some more wine into her glass. “Would you like anything else? We haven’t tackled the freezer yet. I know there’s ice cream and undoubtedly several other dessert items.”

  “No, thank you. I’ve had plenty.” It wasn’t a hunger for food that whetted her appetite. There was a churning deep inside her, a hunger for more of Gage Brennan. A whole lot more. “Tasty and it hit the spot. You’re a good cook.”

  “I live alone and sometimes get tired of eating microwave meals so I learned to do some cooking out of necessity.”

  “I assumed you would eat most of your meals out.”

  He cocked his head and leveled a questioning gaze in her direction. “You mean life in the fast lane where I’m never home? Out at a different club every night?”

  “Something like that.” The crimson heat flushed across her cheeks. Her sheepish response was certainly inadequate, but she hadn’t known what else to say.

  “Well, I’m sorry to shatter your illusion, but that’s not my lifestyle.”

  She didn’t know how to reply to his statement. He had not said it in anger or even disapproval, but it did put her on notice about making assumptions concerning his personal life. It was an awkward moment. In order to break the tension, she gathered up their dishes and carried them to the sink.

  “Don’t worry about those. Housekeeping will—”

  An amused chuckle escaped her throat. “I don’t think so. At least not right away. First, someone working in housekeeping has to be able to get through this storm to come to work.”

  A hint of embarrassment flashed across his face as he glanced away in an obvious attempt to cover it. “Right…there is no housekeeping.”

  The quick glimpse into his vulnerability touched a warm spot inside her. It was an endearing quality she never would have associated with him. Each little nuance of the real Gage Brennan that slipped through into the open allowed her yet another insight into the real man rather than the projected image he chose to present to others. She was beginning to know the man that lived between the extremes. And she liked him. She liked him very much.

  It went beyond the earth-moving orgasms. She knew she would still like him even if they never made love again. A little shiver told her that the idea of never being hot and naked with Gage Brennan again would be a true disaster in every sense of the word. But that didn’t stop the realization that she wanted more with him than merely scrape me off the ceiling and fuck me again sex. But how much more?

  She watched as he cleared the rest of the items from the breakfast bar, then loaded the dishwasher. Everything about him excited her. She studied his smooth, fluid motions, the way his body moved as he bent and stretched. He had pulled on the paja
ma bottoms that matched the top he had given her to wear. The bare well-defined planes of his hard chest and his broad shoulders were like the tip of the iceberg. His long muscular legs, tight ass and incredible penis were hidden from view.

  She wandered over to the large wall of glass and gazed out at the snow. Her mind drifted over the last few hours, over the incredibly hot sex that had driven her to the heights of euphoria, far beyond any place she had ever been with any other man. As she continued to stare at the trees and mountains, the realization slowly seeped into her consciousness.

  It had almost stopped snowing. At least, it was not coming down in blizzard torrents as it had been. Had the storm finally spent its fury and was about to move on? It wouldn’t be long before the road crews would be clearing away the snow so that people could once again get out and go about their business.

  A tremor of apprehension confirmed what she knew. It also meant it wouldn’t be much longer before some of the employees returned to the lodge, possibly as early as first thing in the morning. And that would put an end to their interlude. She gathered her determination. If this was going to be her last opportunity to experience the most incredible sex of her life, then she wanted to take full advantage of it.

  A strong arm slipped around her waist, and warm breath tickled across the side of her neck, startling her out of her thoughts.

  “It looks like the snow has almost stopped.” His sexy voice fed her desires. “It will be dark in less than half an hour, but I bet we’ll have blue sky and sunshine in the morning.”

  She placed her arm on top of his and leaned against his chest. “I was just thinking the same thing. By tomorrow morning, people will be coming out of hiding and things will start returning to normal.”

  An audible sigh of resignation escaped his throat. “Yes, back to normal. Back to a ton of work in rescheduling the grand opening party. Back to the stress and pressure of daily business.”

  She turned and gave him a curious look. “You sound like you’d rather not bother with any of it.”

  Gage held her in his embrace, turning her words over in his mind. He felt more comfortable around Afton than he ever had around anyone else. And that very sense of comfort was beginning to concern him. The sex was the hottest he had ever engaged in and he genuinely liked her, but he was beginning to think they might have more.

  He took a steadying breath in an attempt to calm the sudden wave of nervousness that washed through him. “I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anyone before.” He brushed a soft kiss across her lips, then cradled her head against his shoulder. His heartfelt words came out as a near whisper. “Sometimes I do get tired of it. There have been occasions when I wanted to walk out of a board of directors meeting, catch a flight to some exotic place where no one knew me and leave all the headaches to someone else.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that before, of the pressure and stress someone in your position would carry on your shoulders. I guess I had bought into the concept that anyone who had a lot of money was leading a life of pleasure, a lifestyle everyone else would envy.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I like the things the money provides. I also like the opportunities afforded to me because of it. But it’s not the same thing as being footloose and fancy free. I could turn my back on everything right now, walk away and be very comfortable financially for the rest of my life without needing to do another day’s work. But I have a lot of people depending on me for their livelihood. There’s a lot of pressure in that type of responsibility and I take my responsibilities very seriously.”

  He smoothed a loose tendril of her hair away from her cheek as he delved into the depth of her eyes. “I’ve enjoyed this interlude that the storm brought. No telephones ringing, not being pulled in five different directions at the same time, no one demanding immediate decisions to problems that don’t have any ready solutions.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips. “And most of all I’ve enjoyed being here with you. I’ve never had a more pleasant surprise than what today has brought into my life.”

  Her gaze dropped to the floor as the pink tinge spread across her cheeks and forehead and her voice quieted to an emotion laden whisper. “Thank you.” She regained eye contact with him. “This has been quite a surprise for me, too.”

  He arched a questioning eyebrow. “A pleasant one, I hope.”

  A tender smile turned the corners of her mouth. “Yes, a very pleasant one.”

  He emitted a sigh of contentment as he continued to hold her in his arms. “You know what?”

  “No, what?”

  He pressed his lips to her forehead. “You’re too comfortable to be around. You bring out my hidden thoughts and feelings and that’s bad.”

  “Why is it bad?”

  “Because it takes away my advantage.”

  “I didn’t realize we were negotiating a business deal.”

  He tilted his head back so that he could see her face. “We’re not. This isn’t business. It’s personal. But what I don’t know is exactly what—” His mind shut off the words before he could complete the thought. Yes, indeed…she was much too comfortable and he was growing more confused and uncertain by the minute.

  He shifted gears into the smooth, practiced outer persona he hid behind in his dealings with everyone. He glanced out the window again. “It looks like only a few isolated flakes falling. The road crews are probably already digging out so they can start clearing the roads. I think we should make the most of the time while we still have the entire lodge to ourselves.”

  He nuzzled her neck, then kissed her cheek. “What would you say to some skinny dipping in the pool? Or if you prefer warmer water, we could cavort in the spring fed pond.”

  “I think that sounds like a terrific idea.”

  ****

  Afton packed an overnight bag while Gage waited at the door to her room. There hadn’t been any conversation, discussion or even a question. After a steamy interlude in the spring fed pond, they went to her room in the lodge so she could grab a few things before spending the night in his suite. She closed her door. He took the bag from her.

  It all seemed so natural, so very right. He captured her mouth with a tender kiss, gentle yet filled with a promise of once again fulfilling her every desire and fantasy. As soon as his lips touched hers the moisture began to seep from between her pussy lips. Her insides quivered in anticipation. Her legs grew weak as they trembled in response to the excitement coursing through her veins. At that moment she wasn’t sure she could even walk as far as the elevator. He gave her hand an intimate squeeze and they walked back to his suite.

  He placed her overnight bag on the counter in his bathroom, then went to light the logs in the fireplace. She walked over to the glass wall and gazed out over the landscape. The outside security lights glistened off the snow. She looked up to the sky. The full moon shone through the breaks in the clouds. He had been right. Morning would bring blue sky and sunshine.

  And the end to their idyllic hideaway.

  If her thoughts had been confused earlier, she didn’t know what to call them now. What had started as an intense physical attraction and the hottest sex on record had quickly turned into so much more…at least for her. But what about him?

  Their interspersed conversations had not been anywhere near as awkward as she thought they would be. At times they had been far more comfortable than she wanted them to be. He had slowly, and it seemed unintentionally, allowed her glimpses behind the façade of the dynamic high-powered business executive who presented himself at the lodge a week ago. Insight into the man behind that public image. A look at the real person rather than the persona.

  And she was growing very fond of that person. Very fond…if not more.

  But what did he feel? What was going through his mind? She didn’t know. Or perhaps she was afraid to find out.

  The sounds of soft music reached her ears, then his voice. “A romantic fire, the full moon breaking through the clouds, some chilled champagne…” his w
ords tickled across her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist, “and a nice big bed. What could be more perfect?”

  What, indeed? Her thoughts tried to wander, to find some type of foothold in reality, but the only reality she could find at the moment was the way Gage Brennan set her soul on fire and touched her heart. It was not what she wanted, but she did not have the ability to stop it.

  He slipped his pajama top off her shoulders and down her arms until the garment fell to the floor then quickly doffed his pajama bottoms. Bare skin touched bare skin along the length of their torsos when he wrapped his arms around her. His rapidly growing erection reached up between them. Her breasts rose and fell with her ragged breathing. Her puckered nipples pressed against his chest. He ran his hands down the length of her back, then cupped her rear end in his hands and pulled her hips against his. She circled her arms around his neck.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Afton saw a light flash against the large bedroom window, then another flash. Her body stiffened and jerked to attention. A sense of urgency bordering on panic filled her voice.

  “Did you see that? The two flashes of light? Is there someone out there? Can they see us?” She knew too many questions were coming out of her mouth all at once, but a feeling of anxiety had overtaken her common sense. She quickly withdrew from his embrace and grabbed the pajama top from the floor, pulling it on like a robe. The nervous tension churned in the pit of her stomach.

  “It’s okay. Don’t worry. Probably just a couple of the lights downstairs burning out. It might even be one of the lobby lights. The lobby windows are about the location where the flash was.” His voice was calm and soothing, but she could see the concern in his eyes.