Birthday Challenge (Weekend Getaways) (2 page)

Chapter Two

Dani
welcomed the warm air as she
walked into the Powder Power Lodge. She shook the fallen snow off her head and
shoulders,
then
stood in line at the front desk to
check in. A cold breeze made her cringe when the doors to the ski lifts opened,
but what really caught her attention was the soft deep voice that sent shivers
down her spine.
Dani
peeked over her shoulder to see
who it belonged to. The man speaking wore a bright blue ski jacket with
instructor
printed across the back in
big black letters. He stood at an angle talking to his student, his body
language relaxed and friendly,
his
tone jovial. Mr. Instructor
rubbed the stubble on his strong looking jaw to apparently warm his face. His
full lips parted in a husky laugh, and she gasped at seeing more of his face.

Damn, Julie was right!

“Ma’am,
I’ll take you next.”

Dani
pulled her attention away from
him to move up to the counter. She handed the woman the paper her friends had
given her. As the woman searched her computer,
Dani
sent another sly look over her shoulder but the man’s conversation was done and
he was gone. She frowned facing the desk again.

“Is
everything all right, ma’am?” the woman asked her.

Dani’s
eyes widened. “Huh? Oh yes, I’m
fine.”

“Okay,
well you’re good to go, Ms. Monroe. You are in room two-fifteen, up the stairs
to your left. Have a good night and welcome to Powder Power.”

Dani
nodded and went to her room to
drop off her bag. Ready to try the drink her friends mentioned, she returned to
the lounge. She chose a large wing-backed chair in front of one of the four
fire places in the den. People came and went out of the large room as the night
moved on. By eleven o’clock,
Dani
nursed her third
hot toddy as she stared into the flames enjoying its warmth.

“Excuse
me.”

Dani
looked up into the face of the
woman that had checked her in.

“Yes?”

“You’re
Danica
Monroe, right?”

“Yes,
I am. Is there something wrong?”

“Well,
yes and no. Can you come back to the desk with me?”

She finished
her drink and put the cup on the nearby table. “Sure. Is there a problem?”

“Not
really a problem, Ms. Monroe,” she said when she reached her computer. “We were
just informed that some children were out back having a snowball fight and one
of the windows in your room was damaged. It would seem that the packed snow is
too hard for that right now. The maintenance crew can fix it, of course, but
not until tomorrow.”

“Great,”
she said with a heavy sigh.

“Not
to worry, Ms. Monroe, I have another room for you. For the inconvenience we
would also like to treat you to dinner for the two days you will be with us.
You may choose to come to the dining room or have it brought to your room.”

“Oh,
well thank you. That would be wonderful. Is the room I’m moving to far from
where I am now?”

“It’s
just over the other one you were in on the third floor. Would you like someone
to get your bag for you?”

“No,
that won’t be necessary,” she said, trying to stifle a yawn. “I think it’s time
I turned in anyway. It’s late. Can I just bring the other key to you in the
morning?”

“That
will be fine. Thank you for being so understanding,” she added, handing her the
new key.

“No
problem, things happen.”

Dani
went to the room to retrieve her
bag,
then
rushed out the door to avoid the chill
already settling into the room. To her delight, she found they had provided her
with a suite when she arrived. Smiling, she dropped her bag on the couch and walked
across the room to push the French doors to the bedroom open. The sight of the
large bed made her smile widen. Not bothering with the light, she stripped before
slipping beneath the covers on her usual side of the bed and quickly fell
asleep.

* * * *

Dani
spotted him as soon as she
entered the bar. She would know him in crowd a mile away. He sat in the corner
seat at the bar wearing a crisp white button-down shirt with his tie hanging
loosely around his neck and tight black pants that made the bulge in the front
visible even from where she stood. He looked good—tall, handsome, and sexy
beyond compare. He spotted her at the door and surprise claimed his handsome
features. A smile touched her lips when she saw his expression change to lust,
but she removed it just as quick.

Today
she was pissed and she had to keep her emotions in check. The black leather of
her skirt left little to the imagination as it hugged her full hips and the
bright white shirt seemed too small as it stretched across her breasts. As she
looked around the room at the patrons, she could see all eyes were on her. Classic
black and white always looked good against her coco brown skin. She walked slow
and purposeful soaking in the power she felt from the leering eyes. She
smoothed out the little skirt, locked her gaze onto his, and continued toward
him.

She
could almost feel the heat on her breasts as the men in the room stared at her
exposed cleavage. The heels of her black patent leather boots made loud,
clumping noises against the wooden floor as she closed the distance. She
noticed the men who had been sitting near her prey had started to move away
from him. Her prey shifted his gaze to watch the men leave his side one by one,
but his head didn’t turn. Her intense stare locked his body in place and
brought his eyes back to her.

One
brave man moved closer to get between her and her objective. When she passed
him, he reached out and touched her fishnet-covered leg. He was quickly greeted
with a hard rap across his knuckles by the small black baton she carried. He
scurried away rubbing his hand and the man she was focused on was left sitting
alone at the bar.

“
Dani
, I was—” the man started, but the black baton stopped
any other words when she touched his lips with it.

“I
thought I told you to leave town, Jimmy. I didn’t let you go so you could come
back in here and play games with your little friends, you know.”

“No,
ma’am, I just—”
       

She
pressed the baton against his lips again, and then traced them slowly with the weapon.
“I can see I’m going to have to teach you another lesson, Jimmy. Obviously the
first one didn’t stick to your brain.”

“No,
ma’am, it’s not that—”

His
neat, short cut hair was just long enough on top to grab a small handful. She
gripped the silky strands and yanked his head back. A gasp silenced his
protest.

“Kiss
me,” she commanded.

He
obeyed without another word. It wasn’t the tentative lip locking he first gave
her when they began his training, but strong and enticing.
Dani
would have smiled, but didn’t want to give any indication she was pleased.

“Where
do your hands go, Jimmy, when you’re kissing me?” she asked.

His
large hands slipped around her waist, then slid over her hips to grip her
bottom.

“
Mmm
, I guess you did learn something. Maybe I won’t be so hard
on you after all.”

He
smiled. “Thank you,
Dani
.”

She
released his hair and leaned on the bar. “Uh-huh, you know what to do now. Get
to it.”

Jimmy
lifted her and gently seated her on the barstool next to his. He moved between
her legs and hiked her skirt to new heights. She was just the right level to
feel the bulge in his pants press against the see-thru lace of the panties that
separated him from her heated center.
Dani
allowed
him to pull her against him even more. Jimmy kissed her again and racked his
fingers through her hair.

She
ran her hands over his shoulders as he kissed her neck. He ground his
impressive piece against her, bringing her body to new levels of excitement.
Feeling him through the thin layer of her panties was almost unbearable. His
hands were everywhere, burning her skin with desire. The pressure from his body
felt so good that she could no longer stand it.

“Talk
to me, Jimmy. You know what to say,” she instructed, breathlessly.

“Umm,
as nice as this is, I think I have to ask for propriety’s sake what you’re
doing in my bed.”

She felt the warmth of his body
against her as she slid her hands over his strong shoulders. Pressing herself
against his pleasantly hard member again, she helped stir up more excitement
within her. Her head popped up when he spoke and she looked into Jimmy’s soft
brown eyes with confusion.

“Ma’am…”

Dani
continued rubbing against the bulge enjoying the feel of him, but when she
looked at him his features began to fade.

“Miss,”
the voice said again louder.

“Huh?”
Dani
said blinking her eyes open. As her vision
focused, she looked into a pair of dark sparkling eyes.

“Ma’am,
you really need to wake up.”

With wide
eyes, she screamed leaping from the bed. “Oh
my gosh
!
Oh
my gosh
! Who are you?” she shouted, confronting
him.

The
man stared at her with his jaw gaped.
Dani’s
brows
furrowed as she took in his stunned expression. She looked down at herself and shrieked
again. Grabbing a pillow from the bed, she covered her bare breast and panties.

The
man pushed the covers back and held his hands up in defense. “Okay! Let’s all calm
down and just talk a minute.”

Clutching
the pillow,
Dani
backed away from the bed. “What are
you doing in my bed? Who are you?”

He
dropped his hands.
“
Your
bed?”

“Yes!
This is
my
room! This is
my
bed!”

“Please
sit down and let’s just talk a minute. Please?”

Hesitantly,
she sat on the bed, yanking the sheet up against her. The man scooted as far
away as possible, slipped his T-shirt over his head and stretched to offer it
to her.

“Thank
you.” Accepting it, she then turned her back to him to pull the shirt over her body.

“I
swear I just checked this room and no one
was
assigned
to it.”

She
felt the bed shake as he scooted to the edge.

“So,
who are you and what are you doing here?”

“My
name is Craig Roberts. I’m an instructor here on the weekends,” he said and the
room filled with light. “When I come up, I always look in the computer to see
what rooms are empty so I can use one for the weekend.”

Dani
looked over her shoulder at him
for the first time. Her breath caught. He was the ski instructor she spotted
earlier in the lobby with the handsome profile.

“I,
uh, just got this room right before I came to bed,” she explained turning away
again. “A window in my room was broken so the lady at the desk sent me to this
one.”

Craig
chuckled.
“Figures.
Well, I’m sorry, umm…”

“
Dani
,” she supplied turning back to him.

“I
apologize,
Dani
, for being in your bed when you got
here. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Her heart
rate slowed to normal as the panic filled adrenaline eased away. As the memory of
her dream flooded her consciousness embarrassment took its place. Her hand went
to her mouth, but the shocked gasped had already escaped.

“What?
What is it?”

“Oh
my gosh
!” she said in hushed amazement as the knowledge of
what really happened formed in her mind. She covered her face.

He was
silent for a moment,
then
his laughter filled the
room.

She
turned on him. “You’re a horrible man to laugh at my embarrassment.”

“I’m
sorry, but you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Dani
sucked her teeth. “I was humping
a pillow and molesting you in my sleep, Craig. It can’t get any more
embarrassing than that.”

He
laughed harder for a few minutes. She glared at him then wrapped her arms
around her chest.

 
“That may be true, but I wasn’t complaining,” he
said after he regained control. “I even liked it. I wasn’t going to say
anything at first, but I didn’t want you to climb on top of me and have your
way and your mind
be
somewhere else. I prefer when a
woman
knows
it’s me she’s making love
to,” he said with a twinkle in his eye.