Furever Yours (4 page)

            “
Umm, I…”
Heat
rushed to her cheeks, and she wasn’t sure if it was from her proximity to
Dawson or embarrassment for being a klutz.
“Sorry.”

            “
Don’t be.”
Dawson’s
lips were a breath away from hers.
“I
’ll catch you anytime, sweetheart
.”

           
Jade wasn’t sure who closed the distance after
that, but in the next moment their lips were touching, and his hands were
around her waist pulling her into him. His heady scent washed over her along
with a wave of heat, and she sucked in a breath as sparks skipped between them
to race along her nerve endings.

           
His gloved hands framed her face, tilted her
head back for better access, then slid his tongue inside her mouth. She moaned,
a tiny little sound full of need, as he stroked his tongue with hers, a sensual
expression of desire that sent tremors through her body. More heat unfolded
within her, spreading through her limbs and down between her legs. Her nipples
tightened, and all of a sudden she felt impossibly hot beneath all her layers
of clothing.

           
Jesus Christ, she wanted him. And if the
hardness pressing against her hip was any indication, he wanted her, too.

            “
I could do this all day,
”
he
murmured, pressing his forehead against hers so he could look deep into her
eyes. The lust she saw shining in the depths of his silver orbs took her breath
away.
“
But then we’d never get to dinner. Seven o
’
clock,
right
?”

            “
Right,
”
she said breathlessly, the
words fogging in the late afternoon air. Dinner. They were going to dress up
and talk and eat together like civilized people normally did before sleeping
together. But for some reason, right at that very moment, she wanted to do
things the other way around. Which was crazy because she never slept with guys
on the first date. Ever.

            “
Fantastic.”
He
kissed her one last time, lingering, his thumbs brushing against her cheeks in
a gesture that was both tender and possessive. And then he headed back into the
lodge.
“
See you then
.”

Dawson
tugged nervously at the collar of his linen shirt as he stood in front of the
mirror in his bedroom. He was freshly showered and shaved and trying to
figur
e out
what to wear that would impress Jade while still being practical for the cold
weather.

           
Man, you
’
ve got it bad
,
he thought as he turned toward his suitcase and rummaged through it, looking
for something that might resemble a tie. He’d packed for the wilderness, not
for a hot date, and he didn’t have too much in the fancy department. But he
wanted to look his best for her and that meant not throwing on whatever he
first grabbed out of his suitcase.

            Eventually,
he settled on a pair of black corduroy pants and a dark grey sweater to go over
his shirt. He kept the snow boots
for practicality and because they didn’t look too much different than dress
shoes. Shrugging on a dark woolen peacoat, he completed the look.

           
Alright
,
he thought, smoothing back his hair one more time. He couldn’t even remember
the last time he’d felt this nervous about a date.
Let
’s
get going.

            He
stepped out of the cabin and inhaled the crisp, clear evening air. Peace
settled over him like a comforting blanket as he looked out over the tranquil
landscape
…
until he caught the blink of a pair of golden
eyes from within the darkness of the trees in the distance.

           
Wolves.

            Gritting
his teeth, he turned away and started toward the restaurant. A few members of
his pack had followed him out here, no doubt to see what he was up to, and he
didn
’t like being spied on. He’d
made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was going to enjoy his vacation,
and he refused to deal with pack business until he was home again. They had
some nerve showing up right in the middle of his date with Jade. He wasn’t
going to forget that or the scared look in her eyes—filled with fear and
uncertainty.

            The
restaurant was up on a small hilltop overlooking the valley
. From the outside, it was a smaller version of
the lodge with the exception of huge floor-to-ceiling windows on the east and
west sides of the building, letting plenty of light into the huge, open space
to allow patrons the chance to enjoy both sunrise and sunset while they ate.
Jade was already standing in the waiting area just inside, dressed in a snowy
woolen coat. She’d pulled her long, brown hair back into a sleek updo, letting
some of the curls dangle around her heart-shaped face, and it drew attention to
her rosy cheeks and shy smile.

            “
Hey you
.”
Dawson leaned down to gently
kiss Jade’s cheek—though he didn’t want to end up in a passionate embrace
right there in the restaurant. Instead, he satisfied himself by inhaling her
sweet, honey-floral scent.
“
You look great
.”

            Her
eyes sparkled up at him.
“
You clean up pretty well yourself
.”

            The
host led them to a table on the west side of the restaurant right next to the
glass windows so
that
they had a perfect view of the setting sun. Orange and purple and pink streaked
the sky, bleeding onto the pristine snow so that it blushed.

            “
It
’s
beautiful, isn’t it
?”
Jade asked as Dawson helped remove her coat.
Beneath it, she wore a turquoise sweater dress with a knit-diamond pattern and
off-the-shoulder sleeves that drew attention to the smooth column of her throat
as well as her collarbones.

            “
It is,
”
he murmured, but he wasn’t
talking about the sunset anymore. Unable to help himself, he brushed his
fingers along the edge of her collarbone, enjoying the feel of her satiny skin
against his. A slight tremor went through her, and he released her before he
was tempted to capture those decadent lips again. Assisting her to sit by
pulling out her chair, he took the seat across from her.

            They
ordered dinner and a bottle of wine, which the waiter poured for them before
leaving them to converse.
“So,”
Dawson said, picking up his glass of chardonnay.
“
Do you
come here every winter
?”

            Jade
nodded, then took a sip of her wine. Her red lips left an imprint on the rim of
her glass before she set it down again.
“
For the last four years, at
least,
”
she admitted.
“
I used to go visit my parents
in Nashville, but ever since I started working at Blue Box Productions, it’s
harder for me to take long out of town trips
.”

            Dawson
raised his brows as he recognized the name.
“
Blue Box Productions
…
that’s
an advertising studio, isn’t it
?”

            Jade
nodded, her eyes lighting up.
“
We shoot commercials for all kinds of companies
…
mostly
car commercials, which means I know a lot more about Audis than I ever wanted
to
.”

            Dawson
laughed.
“
Do you have to write the ads yourself
?”
he
asked, figuring that she probably had to do a hell of a lot of product
research.

            “
I did when I first started out. But I’m a
director now, so I don’t write all the scripts myself anymore. Still, I do a
lot, and the clients definitely expect me to know the products inside and out
.”

            Dawson
leaned back in his chair, impressed.
“
I never would
’
ve
guessed you for a hotshot ad exec
.”

            Jade
arched a dark brow at him over the rim of her glass.
“
Oh
yeah? Do I not look the part
?”

            Sensing
he was entering dangerous territory, Dawson reached across the table and took
her hand in his.
“It
’s not that,
”
he said, smiling sheepishly.
“It
’s just
that when I first met you, you were standing behind a reception desk and
checking me in to my cabin
.”

            A
light blush colored her cheeks.
“
That
’s
true,
”
she said, laughter edging her voice.
“
I
wonder what my colleagues would have thought if they’d seen me
.”

            Their
food arrived, and silence descended upon the table as they dug into their
respective plates.
“Mmm,”
Dawson hummed appreciatively
around a mouthful of steak.
“
This is really good
.”

            Jade
nodded, then swallowed her forkful of fettuccini.
“
My
grandparents take great pride in their resort. They make sure everything here
is top-notch
.”

            “
I talked to your grandfather in the lobby this
morning,
”
Dawson told her.
“
He came up and asked me how my
stay was and if I needed anything. He’s a charming guy
.”

            Jade
’s eyes sparkled. “
He
is,
”
she agreed.
“He
’s one of my favorite people.
Part of me wishes I could come out here more often, but I have a demanding job.
And besides, I get a little stir-crazy after spending too much time here
.”
She
laughed a little.
“
Turns out I’m a city girl even though I wasn’t
born one
.”

            “
So are you planning on staying here until after
Christmas
?”

            “
I would like to,
”
she said, but her green eyes
slanted away.
“
More than likely, though, I’ll get called back
to the studio for something. But, I’m hoping to be here for Christmas Day
.”

            “
That’s too bad
.”
Dawson took her hand up in his
again and lowered his lips to her knuckles, enjoying the way her warm skin felt
against his lips.
“
I would have enjoyed spending Christmas with you
.”

            He
felt her blood race beneath her skin as a lovely flush appeared beneath her
cheeks.
“
I
–”

            “
Shh.”
Sensing
her nerves, he squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“
I don’t want to put any
pressure on you. Let’s just enjoy our time together while we still have it,
okay
?”

            Her
nerves melted away into a smile that warmed him in all the right places.
“
I can
get behind that
.”