Furever Yours (3 page)

“
And just where are you off to this afternoon
?”

            Jade
halted mid-rush toward her room and turned toward her grandparents who were
enjoying a little post-lunch break in the living room before returning to work.
Abuelito was sitting in the stuffed arm-chair reading a book while Abuelita,
who had spoken, looked up at Jade over the top of a Better Homes & Gardens
magazine.

            “
Oh, I
’m just
planning on hitting the slopes,
”
Jade said airily and then checked her watch. It
was twenty minutes ’til two. Damn Rachel for being late again—at least
she hadn’t gotten stuck in a snow drift like she had yesterday or Jade’s date
with Dawson would have been kaput.

            “
Well
,
I
’
ve never seen you in such a hurry to go skiing
since you were a little girl
.”
Abuelito lowered his paper to look at Jade over
his reading glasses. The knowing look in his dark eyes made the tips of her
ears heat.
“
Is there something special happening on the
slopes today
?”

            “
Not at all
.”
Jade made a beeline for her
room.
“
Just wanna get out there while the sun’s still
bright. Gotta go
!”

            She
shut the door behind her, feeling a little guilty about lying to her
grandparents. But
, she
knew that if she told them about Dawson, they would insist on meeting him, and
she wasn’t even remotely ready for that. Hell, they hadn’t even gone on a date
together yet! And if she didn’t hustle, she was going to be late for their
first one.

            Jade
touched up her make-up, then put on an extra pair of socks and exchanged her
jeans for sweats. She kept the blue sweater she
’d
put on that morning and pulled a snowsuit on over everything. Once that was
done, she tugged on boots and a jacket and then tied everything up with a hat,
scarf and gloves.

            “
Okay,”
she
muttered under her breath as she looked at herself in the mirror.
“
I look
like an eskimo
.”
But then, skiing was a sport, and being well
dressed for skiing meant foregoing fashion for practicality. Hopefully Dawson
wouldn’t mistake her for an Oompa-Loompa.

            With
minutes to spare, she dashed out the door and headed for the slopes, making a
quick stop at the rental lot to pick up skis and poles. Dawson was waiting for
her at the base of the practice hill, dressed in a hunter-green ski
suit with matching gloves and hat.

            “
Hey,”
she
said breathlessly as she came to a stop in front of him. Dammit, but how did he
manage to look so sexy in that snowsuit? Unlike her gear, which covered all her
attributes, his seemed to accentuate the breadth of his shoulders and the
leanness of his hips, and she bet that when he turned around, his ass would
even look good in his snow pants.
“
You ready to teach me how to ski
?”

            His
silver eyes sparkled down at her.
“
I think we’ll need to get those skis on you
before we can do that. Do you mind if I assist
?”

            “
Of course not
.”
Butterflies fluttered around in
her stomach as she sat on a bench and allowed him to crouch down in front of
her and snap the ski boots on her feet.
“So,”
she said as she stared at the
top of his dark head.
“
Where are you from
?”

            “
Oh, I grew up in Portland originally,
”
he said
as he worked on her skis.
“
But for the last six years or so I
’
ve been
living in LA
.”

            “
Is that so
?”
Her heart beat a little faster.
Maybe this wouldn’t just be a small vacation fling after all.

            “
Yeah.”
He
looked up, a small smile curving his lips.
“
And you
?”

            “
Santa Monica.”
Jade
licked her dry lips.

            His
smile widened as surprised pleasure flickered in her eyes.
“
Well,
look at that. We
’
re practically neighbors
.”

            They
spent the first twenty minutes practicing on the bunny slope
before moving on to the real slopes, starting
with green ones and working their way up to blue squares.

            “
So what made you decide to give up the
wilderness for LA
?”
Dawson asked her as they rode the ski lift up to
the top of the next slope. His body was pressed tight against hers in the small
space, and he had his arm around her shoulder, so she couldn’t help but snuggle
against him for warmth.

            “
Life.”
She
sighed and then inhaled his scent—a combination of musk, spice and mint
that teased her nostrils.
“
My parents decided to move to LA when my dad got
a big job working in construction when I was fourteen
.”

            “
I see
.”
His thumb rubbed back and forth
along her shoulder, sending tendrils of warmth through her.
“
Are
your parents still in LA
?”

            Jade
shook her head.
“
They moved to Nashville when I was twenty-two
.”
She
looked out over the snow-covered hills and sighed again.
“
Over
six years ago, now. I don’t see them much
.”

            Dawson
nodded, his silver eyes full of understanding.
“
That why you came here for the
holidays
?”

            “
Yeah.”
She
smiled.
“
Plus, there’s no better time to come to a ski
resort than when it’s snowing
.”

            They
disembarked from the lift, then got into position at the top of the slope. It
was one of the harder slopes with more twists and turns and steep inclines. But
, just as Jade was preparing to push off, a pair
of yellow eyes gleaming from the thicket to her right caught her eye.

            “
Oh my God,
”
she whispered. Standing right
there, next to a bush, was a huge, black timber wolf. What’s more, he wasn’t
alone—there were three others with him, all with different colored eyes
and coats, and all of them much bigger than any wolf she’d ever seen
before...and she’d seen plenty.

            “
It
’s
alright
.”
Dawson placed a reassuring hand on her arm.
“
They
’
re not
going to hurt you
.”

            “
How do you know
?”
Jade looked up to see him
watching the wolves intently. The beasts stared back at him, intelligence
gleaming in their eyes, and if Jade didn’t know any better she’d swear some
kind of recognition passed between them.

            But
that was crazy.

            “
I just do
.”
Dawson picked up his ski poles,
then nudged her back toward the slope. His voice and expression were calm but
there was a tightness around his eyes she hadn’t seen before.
“
They
don’t eat humans. As long as we don’t make any threatening moves, they won’t
harm us. Now let
’s go
.”

            Jade
was a little nervous as they started down the slope, not sure if the wolves
would view their ski poles as weapons or something. But
, as she picked up speed, she forgot about the
feral gazes on her back and gave herself up to the rush. Trees sped past her as
she leaned into the turns, and she whooped out loud as she crested over a bump
and went flying through the air for several feet. Dawson was right next to her
the entire time, and the fierce grin on his face told her he was enjoying it
just as much as she.

            By
the time they reached the bottom of the hill, her cheeks were windburned and
her hair was a mess but she was exhilarated.
“Wow!”
She exclaimed as she caught
sight of the sun, now more than halfway through its descent toward the horizon.
“
Time
sure has flown
.”

            “
It has
.”
Dawson looped an arm around her
waist and hugged her against him. Her cheeks warmed, but she didn’t pull away.
“
I had a
lot of fun with you today, Jade
.”

            “
Me too,
”
she said softly, staring up
into his silver eyes. The butterflies had started up in her stomach again.
“I… I
’d like
to do it again sometime
.”

            His
silver eyes sparkled.
“
How about we do one better? I’ll take you out to
dinner. We
’
ve worked up quite an appetite on the slopes,
and besides, the restaurant here looks good
.
I
’d love to try it out
.”

           
"Oh yeah, their food is excellent.” She’d
been planning on eating there with her grandparents during her stay, but she
was more than willing to go with Dawson instead.
“I
’d love to go to dinner with
you
.”

            “
Good. Let’s get showered and changed, and I’ll
meet you at seven. Alright
?”

            “
Alright
.”
Her smile widened.

            They
returned their skis and poles to the rental shack and then made the trek back
up to the lodge. Jittery from nerves and from all the physical exertion
, which she wasn’t quite used to anymore, Jade
tripped over the top step.

            “
Oops!”
Dawson
caught her a half second before she face planted into the patio.
“
Gotta
watch your step there, babe
.”
He pulled her to her feet, his chest brushing
against her breasts, sending tingles sweeping through her body as his silver
eyes gleamed down at her.