Kade's Game (15 page)

My laughter roars out as Raya lets free a string of curses, glaring at the snow like it's supposed to tremble in fear.  I've already heard her condone global warming—in fact, she was praying for it.

I've never laughed so much in my life, and I've never seen anyone struggle so much to learn how to ski.  Sadly, it's only made me want her more, because it's too fucking adorable.

Another squeal erupts when she crashes to the ground for the hundredth time, and I double over, heaving out my laughter while clutching my aching side.  I'm in physical pain from the hilarity of this process.

I ski over to her, still laughing, as I say, "You'll get the hang of it."

I proffer her my hand, but she swats me away as she tries to get up by herself.

"I don't think so," she grumbles, sounding all the cuter.

"Your brother said you're a genius—that you soak up information like a sponge.  You'll seriously get it."

"Compared to my stepbrother, I am a genius.  As for skiing, it's not information to soak up.  It's athletic, and I'm not coordinated.  It has nothing to do with intellect."

I can't help but snicker, but I cover my mouth with my hand to drown it out when she gives me her best glower, warning me that she's ready to do bodily harm.  She struggles to get up, looking awkward and completely tragic, but I stand back and watch, holding back my laughter to the point of pain.

She manages to get up, but I barely have to count to ten until she flails around, looking as ungraceful as a drowning duck with two broken wings, and goes down hard, landing right on her perfect little ass.

"Ow!"

How am I not supposed to laugh?  I can't help it.  I'm grinning when I intentionally glide beside her, making sure to show her just how damn good I am on skis
—only because it pisses her off more.

"I'm done.  I've been out here all day, and I'm still on the bunny slopes.  I'll never make it any higher before the week is up.  I vote for hot cocoa and a warm blanket."

"Oh, Raya.  Don't give up.  You're getting better," I lie, doing all I can to suppress my chuckle.

She really is a horrible skier.  I probably shouldn't be smiling, but I honestly can't help it.  I didn't think it possible for me to like her more until today.

"Kade, I'm going to have huge bruises on my ass as it is."

Before I can make a smartass comment about that opening, Tag's unmistakable laughter breaks free, beating me to the punch.

"Damn, Kade!  What've you been doing to her precious ass to leave bruises?" he asks, irritating me with his presence.  This is our time, dammit.  He's supposed to be chasing women, not skiing over here.

I roll my eyes, ready to shoo him away, until I see that adorable blush on her cheeks.  Genius strikes.

"She likes it rough," I crudely joke, and then I join Tag in a fit of laughter as Raya starts pathetically throwing snowballs at us, her ass still planted on the ground.  She throws like a five-year-old.  Yet something else I find adorable.

Once the onslaught of poorly formed and sadly tossed snowballs ends, I make my way toward her, my teasing chuckles still annoying her as I help her to her feet.

"You're both jerks," she grumbles.

"Aw, don't be mad," I say patronizingly.  "Come on.  Let's head to the lodge and get you dried and warmed up."

"You wasted the whole day trying to teach me to ski," she sighs, making me smile even more.

This is the best day I've ever had on the slopes.

She starts to fall, and Tag comes to help, aiding me by taking her other side to steady her better.  I fill him in on all the falls and spills, and he snickers, teasing her as much as I have all day.

Then she goes and does something I wasn't prepared for.  Instead of scolding me or calling me a jerk, she pouts.  Fucking pouts.  She pushes those full lips out as her dark hair frames her face, and I almost forget how to breathe.

"
Damn
, put those away, girl," Tag says, apparently feeling just as tortured as I am.  I'll kick his ass later for looking at her that way.  Right now, I'm a little distracted.

My eyes stay transfixed on her lips, as every fantasy I've had lately plays out in my mind.  I lose control of my body as my thumb slides across that perfectly plump bottom lip of hers, enjoying the way she moves toward me instead of away.

Just when I'm about to lower my mouth to hers, a jackass yells for us.  I shouldn't have told any of them where we'd be.

"Kade! Tag!" Wren yells, seeming amused as he and Erica head our way.  "Let's head up."

I really need to tell everyone to leave us the hell alone.

Sighing and dropping my hand very reluctantly, I turn to face him, wishing I could shove snow down his throat until he choked on it.

"Not right now.  Raya is cold and needs a change of clothes.  Not to mention, I'm starving."

Maybe they'll take the damn hint.

"I'll catch up with them later," Tag says from beside Raya, probably talking about women, reminding me he's a wolf.

"You can head on.  I've got Raya," I say, motioning for Tag to go away.  I want him far, far away from her.

After I kneel down and unbuckle her feet from the skis, I motion for a snowmobile to join us.  The guy promptly makes his way over here, cutting the engine when he coasts to a stop.

"Carry her up to the house for me."

Considering our prominent group, everyone on staff knows me without having to tell them who I am.

The guy nods as I help Raya onto the back.

"Come meet me at the lodge when you have on dry clothes, and I'll have you something warm to drink ready and waiting," I say, watching her stare at me like there's something she wants to say.  Later.  Tonight is definitely the night.  No more chickening out.

With everyone else skiing, I'll have her to myself.  Everyone will go out to dinner tonight, and I'll convince Raya to stay with me.  Then I'll tell her how I feel, and pray that she's ready.  I know she wants to be with me, but I also know she's hard to get close to without getting spooked.

But she's not skittish around me anymore.  She leans in to my touch, she wants to be held by me, and she's more comfortable around me than anyone else.  Tonight.  No more waiting on her to come to me.  Time to man up and go to her.

"We'll come hang out with you for a few minutes," Erica says, pissing me off when I realize how close they are.  Why can't everyone just leave us alone?

Raya still has her eyes locked on me, so I offer her a wink, making her smile as she's hauled away from me.

"I can't believe you let her out of your sight," Tag teases, making me groan.

Erica tilts her head, but she doesn't say anything.  Wren, however, is quick to catch on.

"Wait.  You and Raya?  You two are together now?  I thought you were still claiming to be friends," Wren murmurs, sounding confused.

Tag's snickering grows more annoying by the second.

"You still buying that shit?" Tag asks Wren, rolling his eyes.  "Kade has it bad.  Bought her all kinds of pink shit."

He makes it sound as though that says enough.  Buy a girl some necessary equipment for Aspen, and apparently you might as well be breaking out an engagement ring.

"What's taking you so long to ask her out?" Erica asks.

I really don't need this right now, and I'm not crazy about speaking to Erica.

"I'm pacing myself.  Raya is hard to get close to.  If it was easy, do you think she'd still be single?" I ask as we close in on the lodge.

"Hang on a second," Tag says, seeming to look behind in search of something.

"What're you doing?" My brow lifts as I study his weird and random actions of inspecting the trail of snow behind me.

"Looking for your balls.  I figure if I find them for you, you'll stop making excuses."

Everyone starts laughing, and even I have to chuckle a little.  Maybe I am scared
—okay, I'm fucking terrified—but I'm finally doing this.  Tonight.

We get stopped at the entrance by several people who know our families, and I drop to a bench to remove my skis.  After a few minutes of meaningless conversation, we head in, discarding our gear on the racks off to the side.  I wish everyone would just go and leave me alone with Raya.

"Mom's over there," Wren says, pointing out Melanie, who is shooing away a man trying to flirt with her.

For a woman in her early fifties, she still has the goods.  Her blonde hair seems natural, not one strand of gray, and she's fit.

"Was that asshole flirting with her?" Wren asks, glaring at the guy as he passes us.

"Probably," I say, trying to provoke him.

Wren's ugly scowl turns on me, and I laugh in response.  He thought it was funny when my balls were in question.  It's only fair I laugh at his weakness.

Wren goes over to question her about it, and she swats him away, her roll of the eyes mocking him for what she feels is ludicrous.  Glad my mom is still married.  Not sure I could handle her being single and hit on.

My eyes turn to the door, wondering why Raya isn't here yet.

"Going to the bar?" Tag asks, but I shake my head.

"I'll wait on a waitress.  I need to be here to see Raya come in."

I groan before he even starts his mocking laughter because even I hear how pathetic I sound.  Fortunately, he leaves me without taunting me further.

Sitting down on the sofa, I try to show interest in what the others are saying, but I couldn't care less.  I just want Raya to hurry.  Now that I've finally decided to make this happen—to hell with the consequences—I just want her to be here.

I'm not holding back anymore.

I look to the door, and my jaw almost drops when I see her—tight leggings, a sexy shirt that hangs just right, and her glossy lips calling my name.  At least they're calling my name in my head right now.

But then my jaw almost snaps in half when I see the
creep she's talking to move behind her and grope her ass.  I'll kill him.

I'm off the couch and across the room in seconds.

"Shit.  You're right.  It needs intense therapy," Tag tells her, prompting her to laugh as his hands continue to roam.

"Get your fucking hands off her," I growl while shoving him hard, barely stopping myself from punching him.

He's trying to make me cause a scene.  I'm not stupid.  He even goes so far to wink at her before walking away, but I forget Tag even exists when I slowly appraise her body up close.

All thoughts turn to Raya in an outfit that isn't meant for the cold.  I'm pretty sure I'm the one she did this for, and I intend to take full advantage.

"You have to be freezing in that," I say, shamelessly biting down on my bottom lip as I rake my eyes over her.

"Um, not too much.  I didn't want to look like a marshmallow."

A marshmallow?  She looked cute in all the fluff.

I can't help but start laughing, reminding myself that my family is around.  This will be continued.  Soon.

We make our way back to the others.  I'm counting the seconds down until they abandon us.

"He won't be back until after Christmas," Aunt Melanie says, just as we sit down.

"Who won't be back?" I ask, needing a distraction.

I pull Raya as close to me as possible while wrapping my arm around her shoulders.  She tries to hide her shiver, but I notice.  She melts into me, and I enjoy the way she feels.  This would be perfect,
if
we didn't have an audience.

"Billy.  He's with his friend, Ash, for the holidays.  I think he likes them a little better than us sometimes," she says with a sad smile.

"Ash?" I ask, not recognizing the name.

"Yeah, Bity's bestie," Wren jokes bitterly.  "I need a drink."

If you don't know Wren, you wouldn't hear the distaste.  If you don't know the situation, you wouldn't understand his need for a drink.  And if you weren't paying attention, you would have missed Erica's flinch.

How he can sit beside the woman who screwed his brother just a few days before their wedding, I don't know.  How he can be planning a new wedding is beyond me.

"She's really a sweet girl.  I love her like a daughter.  Billy's lucky to have that sort of friend," Melanie says, bringing me back to the conversation.

My grip on Raya tightens as I swallow that.  Is it possible that Raya is the first friend I've ever had outside my family?  That's... sobering.  But she is.

"I can't blame him for needing a good friend," I say, looking at Raya as the words leave my mouth.  Now to tell her I want more.  That's the hard part.

Raya leans away from me, scanning the room.  I start to ask her what's she's doing when she answers the unasked question.

"I need something warm to drink."  She stands and starts to go, but I'm not letting her get her own drink.

Shit.  I meant to have it ready for her when she got here.  I got distracted, and then she walked in looking too damn good.