Thunder Snow (Thunder On The Mountain Series) Page 10

  “It is my pleasure to serve you, Ms. Weston. When you’re done here, you can take a long soak while I clean up and then I’ll give you a rubdown to help you sleep."

  “Are you real?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do people like you really exist or are you a figment of my imagination? Am I going to wake up one day and find you’re a phantom? Did I want you so badly I conjured you up?”

  With a sweet chuckle, Jack gently shooed me out of the kitchen. True to his word, the rubdown put me immediately to sleep. Sometime in the night I woke in his arms, having no memory of anything but warm oil seeping into my back with his ministrations.

  I wasn’t sure what I had done to deserve him, but I was going to do everything in my power to keep him. We were standing in the kitchen cleaning up the remnants of breakfast. I loved this time of day, the peace and tranquility of our mornings together, the camaraderie.

  “Okay, it’s time. I gotta go help Sam get ready. He’s been telling me what he’s gonna say, and I keep telling him he only has five minutes, not fifty.”

  “I’ll meet you over there sometime,” Jack said. “I have some work I need to catch up on. Seems I waste all of my waking hours figuring out your delights.”

  “Waste? You really think of it as a waste?” I teased.

  “Yeah, we can deal with the semantics of it later,” he said with the smile I had grown to love. “In the meantime, try to help him find the limits of what he’s going to say. He can sure talk your ear off given the opportunity.”

  “I’ll do what I can, but don’t count on it. Besides, he’s going to be the star of the show. I’ll just clip his wings a little.”

  ~~~

  Poor Sam was droning on and on, and everyone in the room was starting to get restless. I appreciated his generosity to the town, but couldn’t he just be done already? My feet were aching from standing most of the day, and the wall wouldn’t hold me up too much longer. I thought it was cute that Morning Sun was sitting in the front row, hanging on every word he said. Maybe there really WAS something going on. That old reprobate. I’d ask him when I got the chance.

  My heart started racing even before Jack came up behind me and nuzzled my neck. I could hear the smile in his voice when he whispered in my ear “I have a bone to pick with you.”

  “Promises, promises, big fella.” I whispered. “You take my breath away. Hot and moist with just a word. How do you do that?"

  “I can still taste what I do to you.”

  “Ok, so you can pick your bone with me tonight, but make sure it’s hard. God, I want you.”

  “‘Railroad spike’ comes to mind. Just the thought of you does that to me.”

  “Wish you could feel how wet your words make me,” my voice as low as I could make it.

  “Just think about me being tight in you right this minute. Standing here with no one the wiser. Hard, hot, slippery.”

  “I love what you do to me. I want to climb on top of you.”

  “I love it when you’re on top,” he whispered in my ear. “It means you move the way that pleases you, and that pleases me.”

  “Then imagine me going up and down, sliding back and forth, squeezing.” I tried to keep my voice low so none of the townspeople would hear me.

  With an impish grin, I asked, “Do you think people would be shocked if they knew what we were talking about?”

  “Nah, they know I can’t keep my hands off you. All of me wants to please you, all of you. You have me so ready.”

  Candice was standing across the room. She winked and gave me a thumbs up. If it had been a secret before, it sure wouldn’t be now.

  “What happened last night was one of the most fantastic things my body has ever felt,” I whispered. “I didn't know a woman could do that. I didn’t know the body could feel such pleasure and not die from the sheer delight of it.”

  “Yeah, I have to admit my heart races at the thought of it. Makes me want to taste you all over again.”

  I tried to keep from moaning out loud. “Doesn’t matter what time of day it is, I always want you. Nothing gives me the feeling you do. Sometimes I can’t catch my breath for wanting you. I want my mouth on you right now.”

  “Oh, little one, don’t push me. We may shock these good town folk after all if you keep it up.”

  “What matters is that YOU keep it up,” I said.

  “Wanna see? You cause this problem often. You’re gonna need to take care of it soon.”

  “I love it when you threaten me like that . . .”

  He got even closer. “I want to describe what you do to me. I have never felt anything like it. Always there, always aware. Can you taste me? Can you imagine your lips around my rim? I want you now. I can feel you now. I need you now. So swollen for you.”

  With a smile in my voice I said, “I am so ready for you. How do you touch my entire being with just a memory? With just a few words?”

  “It takes just a glance, just a thought, just a word, you do it to me all the time, angel,” he whispered. “We're gonna need to walk the walk soon. I’m getting pretty uncomfortable. Feel like a cord o’ hard wood.”

  “I’ll stay in front of you,” I giggled. “Let’s go.”

  Wishful thinking it was. Of course they wouldn’t let their precious Jack Franklin just walk out of the room. Sam was done, but still it took 15 minutes for us to get out of the building. As Jack walked me to my car, he slowed down and turned me to face him. There were people all around, but he didn’t care. He took my face in his hands and looked into my eyes. “Your eyes look like emeralds in the reflection of the parking lot lights.”

  He put his arm around me and turned me away from onlookers. “You are always with me. There’s not much about you I don’t love," he whispered against my lips.

  My heart stopped, then thundered. He had never actually told me he loved me, but I had no doubt. How could we have what we have and he not love me? It would just take time for him to say the words. He pulled me close and spoke as he kissed my neck. “Most of the time it’s not overwhelming, it’s just there. You are always just gentle on my heart."

  His words were magical. I reached up to pull his face towards me so our lips could meet and realized we had an audience. Looking around, we saw that most of the people in the parking lot were watching us. As we grinned at our friends, the parking lot erupted into applause and cat calls and good natured fun.

  “You gonna make an honest woman outta her, Jack?” inquired one well-meaning neighbor.

  “She’s too pretty to let her get away,” offered another.

  Everyone was laughing as they walked by, slapping Jack on the back. He took my hand and walked me to my car. “Please can we just go to your place now?” he leered.

  “That would be nice. I think I can find something for us to do.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  We were standing at the expansive window in the living room looking out over Barker Reservoir at the snow falling sideways because of the wind. It was awesome, and the whitecaps were mesmerizing but angry. Jack's arms were around my waist and my head was leaning back on his shoulder when suddenly I pulled free and ran to the closet. I wanted to get my winter gear so I could try to capture the power of the storm coming in.

  "And just where do you think YOU'RE going?" Jack drawled as he leaned against the doorjamb of my bedroom.

  "Stay or come with me. I'm going to try to capture some of the magnificence that's out there," I said excitedly.

  "I know better than to argue, but you’re not going alone. I'll get my coat." Within minutes we were bundled to face the elements and headed off for what Jack insisted would be no more than a fifteen minute outing.

  "Quarter of an hour, no more," Jack shouted above the wind. He was wonderfully patient and indulgent when I got into one of my moods, and I wasn’t going to argue with him.

  “Thanks, Jack!” I called, but I wasn’t sure he heard me. I loved this place. I wanted to experience all of it.

>   “Long ago I stopped noticing the things around me, stopped appreciating them,” he said reflectively, but loud enough for me to hear him. He was leaning against a tree behind me. “You make me feel alive on so many levels, and I see the world fresh and new when I look at it through your eyes.”

  His beautiful words touched my heart, but then I remembered our mission. “If you’re only giving me fifteen minutes, I am using every one of them. Save your sweet talk for later so I can show you how much I appreciate it.”

  I rushed ahead, but could hear him having no problem keeping up with me. "Not so fast, angel, your wings transport you much faster than we mere mortals can move."

  He was close enough to see me in the blinding snow, but stood silently so I could capture the picture of the fox who had not yet noticed my presence. It was getting colder by the minute. Jack thought I would try to fight him, but I knew we wouldn't be able to stay even the allotted time. After the fox moved on, I stood up slowly. I had been frozen in place and it was an effort to move again. Jack came up behind me and had to yell above the rising wind to tell me we would have to head back.

  I knew he was right. I lifted my hand in acknowledgment, but didn't want to tell him my lips were too frozen to even reply, even though my face was almost completely covered. Everything was so new. Part of me wanted to get closer to the water in this storm. But I wasn’t going to be foolish. I turned to follow when, without warning, a bobcat leapt in front of me from its hiding place. Startled, I slipped on an icy rock and fell backwards. Although he was only a few feet away, I hit the ground so fast that Jack couldn’t get to me in time to break my fall.

  In the mere seconds it took for him to reach me, the snow had already started covering my supine body. I could see the relief sweep through him as I opened my eyes and looked at him.

  “Do you hurt anywhere?”

  “Other than my pride? I’m feeling a little bruised, but I’ve known worse.” I tried to make light of it. “If you can help me up, I’ll come meekly with you. And you had better enjoy that, because that’s the last time you’ll ever hear me say it.”

  “You can’t be too hurt, your tongue is still sharp.” Gently he helped me to my feet. When he saw I was moving gingerly, he picked me up, against my protestations, and carried me the short distance home. Closing the door behind him with his foot, he set me down on the couch and started tearing off my clothes.

  “Now is probably not the time to get rough with me,” I teased, but as I saw the determination on his face, I fell silent.

  Before he removed the last of my clothing, he had his clothes on the floor in seconds and had scooped me up in his arms and was pulling back the covers of my bed.

  “What are you doing, Jack? How can you possibly want to . . .” My voice trailed off as his piercing gaze stopped me cold.

  “Nothing will get you warmer faster than body heat.” He removed the last of my clothing and settled us under the comforter, my freezing skin against his already warming body. He rubbed my arms and back as he held me close. “What was I thinking to let you get out there? I should have my head examined,” he whispered.

  “Of course I’m glad you were here, Jack. If you hadn’t been and I had been alone, you know I would have gone out there by myself."

  He made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a growl. Before he could reprimand me, I pledged, “I totally understand how foolish it was to get out in this. You have

  my solemn vow that I won’t do something like this again. ESPECIALLY if I'm on my own.” As he rubbed life back into my frozen limbs, I had what I thought was a brilliant idea.

  “You’ve been involved in building. How much do you know about structural support?”

  He smiled his indulgent smile and said, “I can change a light bulb,” as he tucked my head under his chin to give us both some body heat.

  “No, listen. You know how they have a ‘crow’s nest’ on a pirate ship? Well maybe daddy could build one off the loft.”

  I felt his chest rumble and leaned up on an elbow to look at him. He immediately pulled me back to his chest and I continued.

  “We could make it out of glass with a small, sealable opening. That way I would be able to put my lens out of the opening without having to face the raw elements that hit so quickly at this elevation. What do you think of THAT idea, Jack?”

  But Jack wasn’t going to be pulled into the discussion. His eyes were closed, I was fully cocooned in his arms, and he lay silently with the hint of a smile on his face.

  “I love the way you indulge me,” I teased. His smile was like a pat on the head, telling me to be a good girl and get some rest.

  As warmth revisited my body, sleep overtook me. Jack’s body temperature had risen as well, and I was where I loved to be, securely wrapped in his arms. I nuzzled his neck as I drifted off, and my last conscious thought was telling him I loved him. I didn’t care anymore. He was the center of my existence, and I didn’t care if he knew it.

  I didn’t know how long I had been asleep when he started kissing me awake. I could feel his arousal against my leg, and I was momentarily diverted with the thought of how quickly things could change . . . one minute I’m frozen in the snow, and then I'm being seduced in a warm bed by my very own rescuer.

  “In my whole life I didn’t know you could feel this way about another human being,” he said. "I keep thinking about that cliff; wanting to meet you there, that place only you and I will ever be able to visit in the quiet of our mind. I want you as though I’ve never had you.”

  Even if he hadn’t been touching me, his words would have stirred me to passion. I rolled over on top of him, kissing him as though my life depended on it. I wanted to see him, to look at his face that was so pleasing to me as I took him inside of me, as I rocked over him, sending unimaginable sensations into every pore in my body.

  “How do you want me, Jack? What can I do to bring you pleasure? What do you see when you close your eyes and imagine this?”

  In short, breathless words, he guided me, touched me, bringing us both to the brink. Just as we both reached our climax, the thunder started rumbling down the side of the mountain. Sated, Jack ran his hands through my hair, bringing my lips down to meet his.

  “Thunder Snow,” I said, nuzzling his neck. “Did you know that one of the reasons that it rumbles like it does is that the snow works as a sound suppressor? All of the reverberation is enclosed in just a small space.”

  Holding my face with both of his hands, he said, “As long as I live, whenever I think of Thunder Snow, I’ll think of this moment.”

  Life was good.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  So tell me, you old dog, have you got something going on with Morning Sun?”

  The blush I had come to love crept up Sam’s neck to his cheeks and exploded in a riot of color above his beard.

  “Ya wantin’ some coffee this morning?”

  “Oh, no, Sam, you’re not getting away with your diversionary tactics again. Tell me, tell me, give it up.”

  “What in the goll dern blazes makes ya think somethin’s goin’ on with me and that old woman?"

  “How about the fact that I know it was Morning Sun who was in your back room that day? How about I saw her car in your driveway on my way home from Boulder? How about that she sat in the front row of your award ceremony and looked at you with puppy dog eyes? How about when . . .”

  “All right, all right. But don’t ya go tellin’ no one. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. She ain’t the prettiest thing I ever laid eyes on, but she takes good care a me, and she fixes a wicked pot a chili. It’s a nice change ta have someone ta warm ma bed.”

  “Oh, Sam, I’m SO happy for you. But you tell her that if she does you wrong, she’ll have to answer to me."

  “Well, ain’t ya a protective little piece of goods? I think I like that.”

  Coming home later, I called, “Jack, Jack, I was right!”

  “You usually are. What specifically are you talking
about?” he said as I set my things on the counter.

  “Sam IS involved with Morning Sun! He seems somehow content and happy. That makes ME happy for him.”

  “Good for him. Now don’t badger him about it. He’ll come around to letting us in on his situation over time. Let him set the pace."

  “He was so cute when I asked him. Blushed redder than if he’d been out in the sun all day.”

  “The whole time I’ve been here, I’ve never known him to be involved with anyone. ‘Course I wouldn’t know he was involved with HER if you hadn’t gone snooping around.”

  Laughing, I said, “I have some absolutely wretched news to share with you,” putting my head against his back and my arms around his waist.

  “Sounds serious, angel,” he said as he turned and leaned against the counter and enfolded me in his arms. “What's this tragedy that’s about to befall?”

  “I’m leaving you.” His body stilled and his breathing slowed.

  “Talk to me,” he said quietly.

  “Oh, Jack, it feels like a tragedy to me,” I lamented. “I have to be gone for a few days. I have a multi-million dollar client coming into town, and I have been asked to speak at a convention in —”

  “Please don’t ever do that again,” he said as his arms tightened around me. “Leaving is not something to tease about. It’s not even something I can wrap my brain around. I have found I like having you around,” he absently ran his fingers through my hair, curling the end around his finger, his unaware-but-tender habit I had come to love.

  I pulled away and looked at his face that was so endearing to me, was such a part of me. “Really?” I whispered.

  He seemed to focus, kissed me on the cheek and walked back to the sink. “Of course, little one, I have never had pancakes that even approached how delectable yours are. Sam’s don’t hold a candle. Can’t imagine what I would do without them,” he replied breezily.

  “You brat,” I laughed as I rolled up the dish towel to pop him, but he was quicker than I and grabbed it just before the snap hit. He pulled me closer with it and kissed me senseless.