Off the Record (18 page)

“I forgot to tell you, we’re going on a trip today. You’ll need to pack for at least a week.”

“Where are we going? And why are you springing this on me just now?”

“I go out to Jackson, Wyoming every summer for my vacation. I’ve had this planned but I wanted to surprise you.”

I remember now. He told me during our interview and a little thrill rushes through me. I’ve always wanted to go out West, and the thought of me and Linc holed up in a mountain cabin has my insides squirming. The mere fact that he wanted to surprise me causes butterflies to let loose in my stomach. It is an incredibly romantic gesture. This has to be the “something special” he has planned. It has to be.

But then I remember something.

“Uh, Linc. I can’t stay for a whole week.”

“Why not? You’re on assignment, you know.” He sounds a bit put out that I’m not willing or wanting to say the whole week with him.

“I know. And I would love to stay the whole week. But it’s my mom’s birthday. And I always go home to spend it with her. I mean...after the cancer...I don’t want to miss one of her birthdays.”

He immediately holds his hands up to stop me. “Of course. Don’t even worry about it. You should definitely be with your mom on her birthday. I’ll just get you a ticket out of Jackson Hole and you can fly from there straight to North Carolina to be with your mom.”

I heave a sigh of relief that. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

Linc surprises me further when he steps into me, wrapping his arms around my waist. My hands go up to rest on his chest and I can feel his heart beating. I resist the urge to lay my ear against it so I can hear his life force.

“I was thinking we could celebrate our impending vacation with a kiss?”

My lips turn up in agreement at the suggestion. “You do, do you?”

He stares at my lips, waiting on my permission but I’m not going to make him wait. I lean up on my tip toes, seeking his mouth with mine. He bends to meet me and an explosion of passion rocks me when they connect.

Linc lets out a primal sound and crushes me to him, while my arms wrap around his neck to hang on. Without breaking the kiss, his hands move from my back to just below my ass, and the next thing I know, he’s lifting me up. My legs wrap around him, a move that feels so natural that I don’t second guess the wanton nature of it.

He settles me against his erection and I think I just might die it feels so good pressed against me. I silently beg him to walk me into his bedroom but he does nothing more than hold me against him while his mouth molests mine.

He is an amazing kisser. His lips are soft but demanding. His tongue always takes control, and mine can do nothing but helplessly follow along where he leads it. Even the use of his teeth is so erotic, I almost bet I could have an orgasm just from the way he kisses me.

And then all too soon, the kiss is over. Linc pulls away and buries his face in my neck. His breath is harsh, same as mine.

“God...Ever...I’m dying here.”

“Me too,” I assure him.

Reluctantly, he finally lets me down and I slide sinfully against his body, trying to relish the feel of his hardness rubbing me from my crotch up to my belly button.

Linc gives me a last, quick kiss on my lips, and then tells me to shower and pack. I just nod, completely in a daze, and completely delirious in my need for Linc Caldwell.

I take a deep breath and sigh quietly. Wyoming puts me at such peace. In fact, if I didn’t play hockey, I would retire here and live the rest of my days out basking in the beauty of the Teton Mountains.

I glance over at Ever as we drive U.S. 191 into the town of Jackson from the airport. The Tetons are to our right and I can see her mouth hangs slightly open as she ogles their majestic beauty.

“The highest peak there is called Grand Teton,” I tell her as I point.

“It’s amazing,” she says reverently. “It’s so weird to see snow at the top and it’s summer.”

“I think that peak is over 13,000 feet high. It pretty much stays snowy year round.”

“We don’t have anything like this on the East coast.”

“Nope. Everything is larger out West, huh?”

She’s silent, still enraptured with the huge scale of the mountains as we drive across the flat valley.

“Look to the left,” I tell her. “That’s Sheep Mountain but it’s also called the Sleeping Indian.”

She looks and gasps. “Wow! It looks just like an Indian with a headdress, laying on his back.”

I smile. She sounds just like a little kid that has made the most awesome discovery ever.

“Why did you start coming out here to vacation?” she asks.

Fond memories swirl around me. Images of Nix and I playing in the cool waters of the Gros Ventre river, hiking the mountain trails with our parents and getting so excited I almost peed my pants the first time I saw a buffalo.

“My parents didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but they saved for a few years one time to take me and Nix out here for a family vacation.  It was the year before my mom died. We drove out in the old mini-van and camped at Yellowstone. We’ll drive up there this week so you can see it—it’s only about an hour from where we are staying. But anyway, it was the best vacation ever. And I never got to come back until after I made it to the NHL. But since then, I’ve come every year. It’s my favorite place in the world.”

I see her head nod up and down in agreement. “I’ve only seen five minutes of it and I think it’s my favorite place in the world, too.”

Something about the tone of her words makes my chest itch. With no control over my actions, I reached across the seat and grab her hand. I pull it to my mouth and place a gentle kiss on the inside of her wrist. Taking my eyes off the road for just a second, I see those luminous eyes go wide and then soft at my action.

Knowing that just my simple touch...nothing more than a sweet gesture affects her so much...

I feel fucking awesome.

Keeping her hand tucked into mine, I lay it down on my lap and hold it the rest of the drive into Jackson.

We get our errands out of the way, stopping first to pick up keys from the realtor. We then hit the grocery store and finally stop to pick up a cord of firewood at a local general store. The nights still get chilly, even if it is mid-June.

We pull up to the ranch house I rented. I’ve stayed here the past three summers and it is a dream find. I’d buy it if the owner wanted to sell. The house is small by Wyoming standards, just a mere three thousand square feet but it sits on sixteen acres of lush meadowland and horse pastures bordering the Tetons. There’s not another soul in sight.

The sun is setting behind the mountain range, which pushes an orange glow over the top and blackens the face of the slopes.

We pull out the groceries and carry them in first. As we walk into the kitchen, I hear Ever say, “Wow!”

I turn to her. “This place is pretty spectacular, right?”

“I don’t know that spectacular really does it justice,” she says in awe.

I lay my bags on the counter top and look around. The house is rustic with knotty pine floors and thick wooden beams hatching the ceiling. The kitchen is state of the art with stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.

I take Ever’s bags, lay them down and then grab her hand. Leading her into the living room, I let my eyes wander over the overstuffed leather furniture and massive stone hearth. A searing image of me making love to Ever in front of a roaring fire flashes before me and I reflexively squeeze her hand.

The east wall of the vaulted living room is nothing but floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Tetons. We stand before it, just staring at the sunset before us.

“In all my life, I don’t know that I’ll ever see anything as beautiful as this.”

I glance down at Ever, whose head barely comes to my shoulder, and she has the most peaceful and serene look on her face.

“I agree. Nothing as beautiful as this.” But I say that without taking my eyes off of Ever while she stares out the windows.

She turns her head to me and I don’t know what is reflected on my face, but it causes her lips to part slightly and her eyes to shine. Does she see in my gaze how beautiful I think she is?

Whether it’s the magic of the setting sun, or because it’s just been way too long, my hands go to Ever’s face to hold her before me. I don’t waste any time before I bring my mouth down on hers. She wastes no time either and steps right into my body, pressing herself against me. The contact is electric and I am overwhelmed with desire for her.

The kiss is immediately hot. There are no soft, feathery touches or tentative movements. Our mouths are wide open and greedy for each other. One hand stays on Ever’s face but the other slides down to her ass and I grip it hard to pull her tighter against me. The move causes her to sigh a tiny moan into my mouth and I eat it up, silently begging for more.

There is a tiny doubt...it floats in the back of my mind. That Ever may hold this against me. That she may write about this. As this rolls through my mind, I realize I’m on the precipice of a major decision. Do I move forward with Ever...not just a single fuck right now, because this will be so much more than even I had imagined. Or should I back away now and resolve myself to leave her alone?

Before I can come to a rational decision, Ever pulls back from our kiss. “I think we should talk first, Linc.”

My brain says that’s a good idea but my aching body is rebelling. I almost pull her back to me but rationality prevails and I realize a talk is probably the best thing for us before we go further.

Ever leads me over to the couch and we sit down. I’m trying to think of the best way to open this conversation but she beats me to the punch. “Linc...I want you to know that whatever happens between us, I promise you I will not write about it. Everything of an intimate nature between us is off the record. In fact, I promise you my article will not say a word about your love life.”

I look at her skeptically. I want to believe those words, but I had been duped by her before. My emotions are raging because I want her...very badly. And I like her, a lot. But if this ends badly between us, I can come out on the losing end if she writes about it.

Ever grabs my hands, sensing my doubt. “I swear it, Linc. On my mother’s life.”

My eyebrows go skyward. For Ever to say that, I know she means it. “Why? What’s changed?”

She gives me the sweetest, shyest look ever. “Let’s just say that I’ve come to realize that you’re a good man and I just can’t imagine writing anything that would hurt you.”

Vindication!

And I can’t help myself when I say, “I told you so.”

Ever throws her head back and laughs with pure delight laced in. “Yes, you did. And now I fully admit it.”

I study her face again. It’s a face I’ve looked at probably a hundred different times a day. It is still no less beautiful or fascinating to me. Her eyes are luminescent, framed by ivory skin and black hair. Her cheeks carry a high blush, that sits just on the upper edges of her cheekbones. She is ethereally stunning and sometimes I’m at a loss for words when she turns those blue irises my way. But this time, I know what I want to say.