Sweet Surrender (13 page)

At 5:45, he was impatient, by six o’clock he was pissed, especially when she didn’t answer her phone. Swinging his Mercedes into a parking spot, he was out the door and stalking toward the front entrance when he spotted her.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, slightly winded from rushing. “A minor crisis popped up at the last minute.”

“As usual, if it’s not a crisis, it’s a staffing shortage, or an upcoming inspection. Or you’re covering for someone who needs a mental health day to de-stress.”

“Marc, you know how it is more than anyone.”

“Of course I do and it’s the reason I warned you not to take this damn job. You’re the fourth nurse manager in two years and now you see why.” Taking a calming breath, he relieved her of her tote bag and with his hand at her back escorted her to his car. “I don’t want to start our trip rehashing an old argument. Let’s leave St. Joe’s behind us and get on the road. It will be ten o’clock before we get there, as it is.”

Silence encompassed the vehicle for the first thirty minutes, each of them lost in thought. As they travelled north along I-75, the traffic thinned out and they left the dense lights of the crowded city behind. Giving Jessie a sidelong glance, he noted her dour expression and reached for her hand.

“
Dolcezza…
”

She turned her head, tilting it slightly in question. “Remind me what that means.”

“Sweetness.”

A smile lit up her face and his stress and irritation dialed down several notches. “I love it when you speak Italian,
bello
.”

He glanced her way, giving her a broad smile in return. Her Italian was sparse and often amusing in its inaccuracy, but her vocabulary was growing. That particular word she got right and he decided he liked it a heck of a lot. He lifted her hand from the center console and brought it to rest on his thigh, intertwining their fingers. He rubbed his thumb over her soft skin. “This is the first vacation we’ve taken together. I want you to relax and enjoy it.”

“With two skinny boards strapped to my feet as I careen wildly down a hill—highly doubtful.”

“We’ll start on the bunny hill until you get the hang of it. And if you don’t, there’s tubing, a day spa, and our room with a king-sized bed, a hot tub, and a cozy fire.”

“Sounds wonderful, as long as we can work around my cast.”

He chuckled, bringing her hand to his lips. “I’ll teach you and keep you safe, baby.”

“As always.” She leaned over and kissed his jaw. “I’m sorry for being so late today. That job sucks me in sometimes.”

“You need to learn to set limits and delegate more, Jess. Be assertive. Remember your staff works for you, not the other way around. If you don’t learn to set boundaries, it’s going to do more than suck you in, it’ll suck the life out of you.”

“I know. I guess I’m a suck
er
for a hard luck story.” With her head resting on his shoulder, she yawned and snuggled closer, ignoring the center console digging into her ribs. “This is merely a stepping stone for me, Marc. Once I get some management experience under my belt, I can start applying for upper administrative positions.”

“You could come to work for me at the clinic.”

“Barb is thirty-seven and an excellent director of nursing. I’ll be close to sixty before she’s ready to go anywhere.”

“Come back to the OR then. In surgery, your schedule would be lighter and you’d actually rotate weekends, holidays, and on-call instead of working them all. We would have much more time together.”

“I’d love to spend more time with you, Marc, you have to know that. But I can’t throw away my degree and all my hard work to go back to being a scrub nurse—that’s not fair.”

“I don’t want to be unfair and I know how important this is to you. Just work on those limits and scaling back your hours. It’s ridiculous, really; I work sixty-hour weeks on average and you work more than I do.”

“Yeah, and for a fraction of the pay too.”

“Jess, I’m serious.”

“So am I. I’ll work on delegating. Gwen has already told me I need to practice saying no.”

“Smart lady.”

“That’s why she’s the boss.”

He lifted his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. “Enough about work, let’s concentrate on us, hmm?”

“Sounds wonderful,” she said with a sigh before twisting her head and straining toward him. He felt the soft graze of her lips along his jaw. It was fleeting; after a moment she eased back, rubbing her side. “Whatever happened to bench seats that let you cuddle?”

“I think those are a thing of the past, baby.”

“How sad,” she sighed as she reclaimed his hand and brought it to her mouth for a kiss. “This will have to do, handsome, ‘cause that armrest is killing my ribs.”

Turning his head briefly, he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze as he sent her a warm smile for the sweet gesture. Eyes back on the road, they settled into a comfortable silence for the remainder of the trip. In part, because of the monotony of the darkness surrounding them and the steady thump-thump the tires made on the concrete road, but mostly because when Jessie relaxed and closed her eyes, she fell asleep before ten miles had passed.

* * *

They spent all of the first day on the slopes with Jessie taking to skiing like a pro. After less than an hour on the bunny hill, he took her to the chair lifts, which led to a beginner’s trail that wound its way around the mountain in an easy grade. She loved it. He could tell by the rosy red glow of her cheeks, the sparkle in her eye, and the joy in her laughter. She delighted in the wind in her face and the chill in the air. When she fell a few times at first, she popped right back up, eager for more. After conquering the novice trail, she was soon keeping up with Marc, following him without a spill down the intermediate trail by the end of the morning.

Stopping briefly for lunch and a bathroom break, they skied for another few hours, then tried tubing before calling it quits for the day. After working up huge appetites, they dined on hearty, perfectly cooked steaks and all the trimmings at the main lodge. Too full for dessert, they strolled hand in hand back to their chalet for an early evening in.

There was a slight chill in the air when they returned and Marc started the fire that was laid in the hearth, the logs and kindling arranged so that only a match was required. While it flared to life, Jessie snuggled into one of the plush couches, her lids heavy and ready for sleep. He had other plans for her, however. He glanced at the double doors leading to the deck and was pleased to see the chilled champagne and strawberries he had arranged as an après-ski were waiting by the hot tub.

Bending over her sleepy form, he gathered both of her hands in his and tugged her to her feet. “How does a soak in the hot tub to ease those sore muscles sound?”

Instantly wide awake, she grinned eagerly. “It sounds awesome, of course. Let me get my suit.”

Marc caught her as she turned toward the bedroom. “
Cara,
it’s a private deck, no suits required or allowed.” This he said with a patently lecherous leer as he towed her through the patio doors. His deft surgeon’s hands had her sweater over her head and her jeans undone in seconds. They were shucked down her legs to become a thick wad of denim at her feet before she could say a word.

When she was down to only her hot pink lace bra and panties, goose bumps broke out on her skin. She caught his hands with a grin. “It’s your turn to get naked, big guy.”

His answer was to hold his arms wide, giving her free rein, the curve never leaving his lips. Her fingers flew down the buttons of his shirt, pulling it wide and baring his broad chest and shoulders. It became a flurry of flying clothes after that as they both hurried to finish undressing the other; Jessie undoing his belt and sliding down his boxers, Marc stripping off her panties and unfastening the front hook of her bra.

When they were both bare naked in the cold, he lifted her, easily walked down the steps of the recessed tub and into the steamy hot water with her snug in his arms. He punched the jets on full and they both sank neck deep into the bubbling swirling heat, moaning long and loud as the pounding force of the water seeped into their sore muscles, relaxing and soothing away the aches.

“Mmmm, this feels so good,” she groaned as she angled so the pulse of a jet hit squarely between her shoulders. “I used muscles today I didn’t know I had.”

His enthusiasm diminished. It was her first ski outing and she was probably exhausted and achy all over. “Too sore to play?”

“Never,” she denied, flipping over in the water with a splash. She surprised him by entwining her arms around his neck and straddling his hips, as she brushed her lips hungrily over his. The hard length of him was trapped between their bellies as she pressed against him, deepening the kiss. She tasted of the sweet red Lambrusco she’d had with dinner, and he enjoyed her being the aggressor in the kiss, if only for a few torturous moments. Although he wanted to see where she would take them, he couldn’t, needing her too badly. His hands came up and fisted in her hair as he took control. Capturing her lower lip, he nipped it, following it with a gentle laving of his tongue to soothe the sting. As her lips opened on a moan, he filled her, feasting on her mouth until she was breathless and begging for more.

When they were both panting for air, he lifted his head. Her eyes were half-lidded as she watched him, her full lips, puffy from his ravaging mouth, still parted as if waiting for more. Her eager, unguarded response was like a balm to his soul. Wanting to slow things down a bit to accomplish what he had planned, he gentled the kiss.

“Happy?”

Languidly, her sky blue eyes opened. “Good gracious, yes. I needed this badly. Everything today was great fun. That I didn’t end up in a cast made it even more so, and tonight has been beautiful and so romantic.
Grazie, tesoro.”

“Ah,” he murmured as he placed soft kisses against the corners of her mouth, “you’ve been practicing.”

“Endearments and I love you, I’ve got down pat.”

“Let’s hear the other then.”

“
Ti amo
.”

“I love you too, baby. How about this one?
Mi vuoi sposare?”

“I don’t have a clue about
vuoi,
though
sposare
sounds like—” She paused, giving him a puzzled look. “Spouse?”

He smiled, reaching for the tray of strawberries for what he’d hidden there. “
Si. Ti amo, cara mia, mi vuoi sposare?
I love you, Jessie. Will you marry me?”

Her hand trembled as it rose dripping from the water. She covered her mouth as she gaped at the diamond engagement ring he held. “Marc,” she barely managed to whisper.

Capturing her hand, he slipped his ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit. “Do you have an answer for me
?
”

“Yes, oh, yes.” Her hands rose, cupping his jaw, as she gazed into his eyes. He saw a shimmer of tears before she leaned in to kiss him. Tearfully, she added, “Of course, I’ll marry you, you great big beautiful man.”

Her eyes gleamed as bright as her diamond. Although he’d been confident she would say yes, there was a little niggling twinge of unease that had lingered in the back of his mind. It now disappeared. His hand sank into her wet hair and anchored her head so his lips could claim hers. The other maneuvered her, aligning his cock to claim her body with his as well. As he guided her down onto him, the water made her buoyant and he easily moved her hips, helping her glide down the length of him.

“So beautiful,” he murmured against her hungry lips. “I’m going to have a gorgeous wife and equally gorgeous babies one day.”

“Can’t talk,” she groaned, disproving her words. “Feels too good.”

“Mm, I’ll have to try harder because if you can still think, I’m doing something wrong.” His hips thrust forcefully upward as he demanded, “Ride me,
bella mia
.”

What followed was a frantic joining filled with splashing, slippery body parts and groans of pleasure, as well as an occasional laugh as they lost purchase on the slick surfaces of the tub. After a bit, Marc was through with their unsynchronized swim. Ignoring the cold, he perched her on the wide rim and finished them off with driving thrusts, which brought them both to a dynamic release. Sinking back into the hot water afterward, he passed her a glass of champagne with a big juicy strawberry inside.

“To my bride-to-be and a beautiful life together,”

“That lasts a hundred years,” she added, leaning forward and giving him a strawberry-flavored kiss. “I love you so much, Marc.”

“I love you more, baby. Never doubt it.”

Chapter Ten

Lunch with Stacy was a standing date every Wednesday at one o’clock. Today, because they were both short on time, it was in the hospital cafeteria. Not ideal; however, it would do in a pinch. After they ran through the line grabbing a hoagie and a drink, they found a relatively quiet corner to catch up. Jared and Stacy had also gone away for a romantic weekend and Jessie was eager to hear about it as well as share her own news.

“So,” she asked before her friend had a chance to sit down, “how was it?”

“Perfect!” She held up her left hand and flashed a glittering diamond ring. “He proposed!”

Amazed, Jessie held up her own hand. “So did Marc!”

“Oh, my God!” Stacy squealed as they both stood and hugged each other excitedly.

“Do you think they planned it?”

“It couldn’t have been a coincidence,” Stacy said as she admired Jessie’s ring. “So where did he do it? On the chair lift? In front of the fire?”

“In the hot tub.”

“Darn, that was going to be my next guess.” She giggled.

“What about Jared?”

“As you know, he had that conference in Charleston and I got to tag along. He took me on a moonlit carriage ride. It was freezing, but he had hot cocoa and warm blankets. As we rode along the battery with the moon glistening on the water, that’s when he asked me. Just like in a corny romantic movie. Unlike the heroines in those corny romantic movies who cry prettily without mussing their makeup, I bawled like a baby and had mascara tracks running down my face.”