Mountain Grump, page 7
“She has plans. I’ll wait here. I want to see Cali.”
I sit on the hard plastic chair. “Me too,” I say.
“You’re not going to give her a hard time when you see her.” Julianna slips off her coat, hands me the jacket, and folds her arms across her chest.
I shove her jacket back at her. “Go put this away.”
She groans and rolls her eyes. “Fine. But I’m going to freeze in the atrium.”
“You’ll survive for five minutes.”
She huffs and hurries out of the clinic to the main lodge. She’s not in the atrium for more than a few seconds, hightailing it as quickly as possible.
Silence fills the room, and eventually, Cali emerges from the back with a set of crutches.
This can’t go over well. The girl can barely walk on two feet, and she’s got crutches?
“Just a sprained ankle and bruised knee,” Cali says. “Doctor says I’m lucky I didn’t break a bone.”
“And the crutches are for—”
“Stability, so that I can get from one side of the lodge to the other. And you don’t have to carry me.” She grins cheekily.
My cock twitches in my jeans at the memory of carrying her. I clear my throat, needing a distraction. The frigid temperatures outside should do it. “Are you ready?” I ask, opening the door.
Cali winces from the chill and then hobbles, using the crutches through the atrium. It takes her longer than it should. She’s not great on them, and to say I’m concerned is an understatement.
I keep waiting for her to tip over, and for me to leap in to catch her.
I grab the door to the lodge, holding it open for her as she makes it slowly inside.
“Cali!” Julianna squeals, and comes running from down the hallway toward us.
“Hey,” Cali says, and gives a warm smile. “Thanks for bringing help.”
“Even if it was the cranky old man?” Julianna quips.
“I’m right here,” I say, waving my hand in front of them. They’re acting as if I were invisible, talking about me right in front of me.
“Do you hear anyone talking?” Cali jokes.
I groan and roll my eyes. “You two can get dinner together.”
Cali grabs my arm, linking ours together. “Thank you for saving my life.”
I’d say she’s being a little overdramatic, except she could have frozen to death if my daughter hadn’t been with her and gotten help. “You’re welcome. How about we all grab dinner together?”
Cali forces a smile and tugs her bottom lip between her teeth. I can’t tell if she’s nervous or hesitant. “I’m just going to head up to my room. It’s been a long day.”
“You need to eat,” I say. “Especially if the doctor gave you any type of painkillers.”
“Just ibuprofen. He didn’t give me any of the good stuff,” she jokes.
I glare at her. “Drugs aren’t a joking matter.” I turn my attention to Julianna, wanting her to get the message as well.
“Got it, Dad. Gosh, you’re so lame sometimes.” Julianna walks on one side of me while Cali hobbles on the crutches on the other.
I want to help Cali. Hell, I’d carry her all through the lodge if it meant her not getting hurt the rest of the time that she’s here. But I doubt she’d let me do that for her.
I ignore my daughter’s remark. “How long are you in town?” I ask, keeping a slow pace beside Cali as we approach the restaurant. Tonight, I’m not cooking for her. The last time I invited her up to the penthouse, she got the wrong idea about us.
Not that it was entirely her fault. I did give her mixed signals, indicating that I was interested in her. Because I was interested, I couldn’t turn off the signals even if my life depended on it.
I’ll do better tonight. Keep things professional between us. After all, she’s here on business, and I don’t want to muddy her review for the resort.
“I leave the day after tomorrow.”
“What about your phone?” Julianna asks. “We didn’t recover it when you fell off the ski lift.”
“It’s fine. All the footage should have been backed up to the cloud. I can access it when I get home. Although I need to check in with my boss and let her know that I’m not ignoring her texts.”
“You can use my phone,” I offer.
After we get seated at our private table in the back, Cali slips into the booth, and I sit across from her with my daughter. The waitress hands all of us menus. I already know what I want, and Julianna doesn’t even glance at the menu.
We’ve eaten here enough times to know what’s good and what’s amazing. Nothing is bad. Ever.
We put in our orders, and I request a bottle of white wine for the table along with two glasses. Julianna isn’t getting any alcohol until she’s twenty-one.
The waitress returns with two glasses and pops the cork, letting me smell it before pouring us each a glass.
“Can I have a sip?” my daughter asks.
“You know the rules.” I can’t risk our restaurant losing its liquor license for serving underage minors.
I take a sip. The alcohol is sweet and fragrant and not the least bit bitter. There’s no burning sensation like with cheap wine.
I retrieve my cell phone from my pants pocket and unlock it before handing it to Cali. “I hope you remember her number.”
“I swear it spells devil,” Cali quips with a laugh. She opens the messages section and begins typing. There’s a soft sigh, and then she glances up at me before continuing typing her message and hitting send. “I didn’t realize that you know Bridget Lancaster.”
The name brings a bitter metallic taste to my lips. “Are you going through my contacts?” I reach for my phone.
“No, but her name popped up when I typed in her phone number. Bridget is my boss.”
My stomach tenses, and my hands bunch into fists. “I’ll take my phone back now,” I growl at her, and snatch the device from her fingers.
“Ex-girlfriend?” Cali guesses based on my sudden shift in mood.
“No. Although that woman tried to ruin my marriage.”
“How?” Julianna’s eyes light up as she scoots forward, wanting all the dirty details.
That’s not a conversation to be had in front of my fifteen-year-old daughter. “We’re not discussing Bridget,” I say with a sneer. “That woman has been nothing but a menace.”
That sick, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach won’t disappear. Is that why Cali is here? To destroy my reputation and the business I just helped turn around and get off the ground?
Blue Sky Resort had its share of problems over the past decade, with a hostage situation among one of the worst incidents. But I believed I could turn the place around and breathe new life into it. Was I wrong?
“Well, I can assure you, Mr. Henderson, that my video review will be honest and genuine. Whatever bad blood is between you and Bridget, it will not be reflected in the final product.”
I want to be relieved, but I can’t. Not until I see what’s put out for the world to view.
“I appreciate that, and for the umpteenth time, please call me Logan.”
“Of course,” she says, and her cheeks redden.
Dinner is brought to the table, and Julianna doesn’t so much as touch her food. She keeps glancing between Cali and me.
“Dad, is it okay if I take my dinner upstairs?” Julianna asks.
Is something wrong? Is she not feeling well? “Why?” I ask.
“The sexual tension between the two of you is palpable. I know you’re angry with what Mom did,” Julianna says, staring at me. “But Cali is cute, and as far as I know, she’s single. Enjoy your night together. Just don’t stay out past curfew.”
Before I can tell my daughter to sit her ass back down and demand she keep me company, the kid grabs her plate and silverware, hightailing it out of the restaurant.
“I think we just got set up on a date,” Cali says. Her tongue darts out and licks the corner of her lips. She places her fork down on the table.
“Is something wrong with your meal?”
“No, I just—I can ask the waitress to box it and take it back to my room.”
I take a bite of the Chilean Seabass, and the homemade sauce drizzled on top is absolutely astounding. The chef outdid himself again.
“Why would you do that?” I ask, glancing up at Cali. “Just because my daughter bailed doesn’t mean that you have to leave. Besides, I doubt you can carry your food and manage the crutches up to your room.”
Her eyes narrow. She knows I’m right. “I was trying not to make this any more awkward than it already is,” Cali says.
“Why’s it awkward?” I take another bite and try the homemade garlic mashed potatoes.
“Other than you hate me?” She laughs nervously, and she avoids my stare as she picks at her food.
“Do you not like your meal?” I ask, commenting on her pushing food around her plate.
She forces a smile. “The meal isn’t the problem.”
“Then why aren’t you eating?” I ignore her remark. I refuse to be the problem. I haven’t done anything wrong. At least not today. I saved her ass outside in the cold and snow.
Cali sighs and takes a bite of mashed potatoes, trying to make a point. She moans at the first bite, and whatever stubbornness that’s been latched on like a leech finally releases itself. “Gosh, that’s good. Better than sex,” she mutters, and takes another bite.
Her eyes close, and the moan she elicits makes my cock hard.
Is she riling me up on purpose?
Does she realize what she does, the power she has over me?
“I don’t think any meal could be better than sex.” I have to disagree with her.
I don’t even want to like her. But for some reason, I’m drawn to her, unable to tear my gaze away or tell my melting heart to freeze back over.
It’s like she’s able to tear down the barrier by thawing the ice with the heat of her innocent smile.
But that’s all that’s innocent. The way she sucks on the fork and moans is practically orgasmic. Is she getting off or trying to make me rock hard?
Just listening to her moan and watching her body react makes me want to kiss her. But I shouldn’t. She’s here strictly on business. Cali isn’t looking to get laid, and I don’t do hookups. I’m not a one-night stand kind of guy. That’s entirely Wyatt’s territory.
Besides, my daughter is upstairs, and she doesn’t need to witness or hear the filthy things that I’d do to Cali if I had her in my bed.
“I don’t know, Logan. These potatoes are to die for.”
For a moment, I’m waiting for her to laugh or to tell me she’s kidding around. “We have the same potatoes,” I say. Our meal is different, but I’m sure the garlic potatoes come from the same batch.
“And you still think sex is better?” She laughs and rubs her eyes, the tears surfacing. But at least she’s not upset. She’s laughing so hard that she’s crying. “I’m sorry.” She holds up her hand, trying to catch her breath.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because you think you’re a king in bed,” Cali says. Her cheeks are red, and she fans herself. “I’m telling you; no sex is better than this dinner.”
“Is that a challenge?” I should keep my mouth shut. But the woman has a way of getting under my skin. Does she really think those potatoes are better than sex? She’s either had really bad sex or never experienced orgasm after orgasm.
Either way, I’m confident I can change her mind.
“You don’t do no-strings-attached sex,” Cali says.
She’s right, I don’t. But for some reason, I don’t feel like that’s what this girl is looking for, either. She’s been here a week, and we’ve spent more time together than I’ve spent with any other guest who wasn’t invited here personally by me.
“I don’t,” I say, staring at her. “Is that a problem?”
Cali shrugs. “I leave in two days. And no offense, but I hate the cold.”
She’s making it clear she’s not planning on coming back or staying here any longer. I should be upset, disappointed, distraught.
“I hate the summer heat,” I say, pinning her with my stare.
The girl quirks a wry grin. “Is this your idea of foreplay, old man?”
“Old man?” I scoff, and want to lunge across the table. Instead, I stand and scoot around to the booth. She has her leg up, and I sit beside her, bringing my arm up around her shoulders protectively. “Maybe I should put you on my lap, little girl.”
She elbows me in the stomach and leans back, wiggling her butt against my crotch. “I’m almost thirty.” Cali’s head dips back onto my shoulder, and my fingers grab her neck, tilting her head and pulling her lips to mine.
Our lips clash, and fingers fumble. I can’t get enough of her. My heart is pounding against my ribcage, straining to break free.
“Fourteen years age difference,” I mutter. Damn, that’s almost the age of my daughter, except Cali isn’t a child. She’s a grown woman. Every inch of her is all woman, from the curve of her breasts down her body. She is absolutely perfect, and I want her to be all mine.
Fuck. The woman knows how to make me even harder.
As her tongue pushes inside of my mouth, deepening the kiss, exploring me, all I can think about is what it would feel like to have her under me, pumping my cock inside of her, listening to her moaning and screaming my name.
And where the hell are we going to go?
I can’t take her back to my place. We could sneak off to her room and bang it out. Isn’t that what near thirty-year-olds call it these days?
My fingers trail across her thighs, and I cup her pussy through the thick denim. She rocks into my palm, and I’m grateful the table hides what we’re doing, because neither of us is completely discreet.
“Still prefer the meal over my touch?” I ask, pulling my hand away.
Cali whimpers in protest. She rests her forehead against mine, gasping for breath. “I want—I want you,” she says, and her words are like music to my ears.
“Not until you finish your dinner. All of it,” I warn. “You’re going to need your strength.”
She whimpers, and I pull away, enough to let her eat without choking. Sex and the rest of our foreplay have to wait. I watch her attentively as she scarfs down her meal, and then we leave. There’s no check to deal with or tip to leave. I pay my staff handsomely already.
“Where to?” Cali asks as she steps out of the booth with her crutches.
“A room,” I say, and sweep her off her feet. “Leave your crutches. I’ll have someone bring them up to your room later.” I carry her out of the restaurant and to the elevator.
“Your place or mine?”
“Yours. My daughter is upstairs, and I don’t need her hearing you scream my name all night.”
“Oh, but the guests next door get to listen to it?”
“At least they’re not related,” I say. I press the button with my elbow to go up. “What floor?”
“Twelve.”
I hit the button for the twelfth floor and wait for the double doors to close.
“Were you playing me back there with the potatoes?” I ask. At this point, I no longer care, but I want to know the truth.
She shakes her head, her arms around my neck as she’s cuddled against me. “You can put me down,” Cali says.
“And take the chance that another man might sweep you off your feet? I think not.”
Her fingers trail along my chest, and I growl, trying like hell to keep my concentration and focus on getting Cali to her room.
“Room number?” I need to know which way to go down the hallway.
“Twelve Twenty-Two.”
I head to the right, and she’s only four rooms down the hallway.
“Room key?” I ask, and put her down, leaning her against the back of the door so she can dig out her room card.
Her eyes widen, and she grimaces.
“Let me guess. It’s buried in the snow with your phone.”
“Probably.”
There’s a master key in my office, but it’ll be quicker to go downstairs and have the staff register a new key to the room.
“Stay here,” I grumble, and hurry down to the lobby to get two room cards registered and grab a condom from the front desk drawer.
In record time, I’m back up to the twelfth floor. “It took you long enough,” Cali jokes. I’m just glad she hasn’t changed her mind.
I hand her the room keys and let her unlock the door, inviting me inside. “Come on in, although I’m sure you know what the place looks like.” She laughs and hobbles two steps before I sweep her off her feet.
“You’re not going to reinjure your ankle or your knee,” I say, carrying her to the bed. Gently, I place her down on the mattress, and she stares up at me with a wry grin. “What?”
“You’re chivalrous. I thought that only happened in movies and books.”
My fingers work her boots free. They’re the ones that she borrowed and will have to return tomorrow to the lodge.
She undoes the button on her jeans and lifts her hips. I help her out of her clothes, eager to undress her. I want to ravish her, kiss over every inch of her perfect skin.
Cali grimaces when her jeans move down her knees. She has a fresh bruise from the fall, but the doctor already looked at her injuries.
I pause. Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this tonight. “I should let you rest.”
“Don’t you dare,” Cali seethes, and sits up and throws her legs over the edge of the bed, ready to chase after me. “Get back here, Logan. You promised to show me that sex was better than dinner.”
“Oh, it is,” I say. She can’t convince me otherwise. “Are you sure that you’re up for it?” I don’t want to hurt her, and she’s been through a lot already. I climb onto the bed, straddling her hips.
I lean down, covering her lips with mine, greedily stealing a taste. She’s warm beneath me, and I inch her shirt up, lifting it over her head and tossing it to the floor.
“How come I’m naked, and you still have all your clothes on?”
“You’re not completely naked,” I say. Cali’s still wearing her panties and bra, although if it were up to me, I’d tear them right off.
