Secrets of a Chalet Girl (4 page)

Zac exhaled loudly, growing harder beneath her.

“Well, it works okay but I think I have to kiss you in some other places to test if that’s really the best spot. How else will I know if you’re telling me the truth?”

His hand slid up her thigh beneath her skirt, taking her by surprise as his fingers touched her clit. She jumped, startled at the touch, then she closed her eyes, giving herself over to the sensation.

He dipped his fingers inside her and she welcomed his touch. It had been so long…

“Oh, that’s erm…” She squirmed and adjusted her position so he could get better access.

“You see if I kissed you just here.” His thumb caressed her clit, sending sparks of pleasure through her body. “Well I think it might turn you on even more. Or we could try up here…”

With his other hand he stroked the swell of her breasts, lightly teasing her through the fabric covering her now protruding nipples, stiffening to his touch. Flora wanted his hands and tongue everywhere, wanted him to well and truly make love to her until every longing was satisfied.

The intense arousal felt almost unbearable. She was ready for him and wanted him inside her like, now! She needed him to touch her, explore her and bring her release.

She ignored the part of her still protesting this was all too fast. It wasn’t making love – this was arousal. Pure lust. They didn’t even know each other. It just felt like they did because the chemistry was so hot.

Her body might need the release, craving freedom, but her mind hung back, suspending judgement. It was like she was both prisoner and guard. Her sexuality sought freedom from the sentence of repression she’d imposed upon it. She stood, key in lock, trying to find the courage to turn it.

Fear surged inside her, so tangible it felt physical. The last time she’d made love it’d been…hideous. Tom had been furious with her for some reason, she couldn’t remember why now, forgetting to pick his shirts up from the dry-cleaners perhaps, or not doing the washing up, who knew? In those last few months he’d been permanently angry, using sex to make her submit to him. Using it to remind her of his superior strength.

Why the heck am I thinking about Tom? He’s not ruining this for me. I have to speed things up.

The memory of why she’d imposed a man-free zone on her body cast its long shadow over her. She had to claw back some control, to get on with this before she talked herself into wimping out.

She grabbed the dice and thrust it into Zac’s hand.

“Your turn again,” she struggled to catch her breath.

“Okay,” he replied softly, fixing a curious eye on her as he threw the dice into the lap of her hastily pulled down dress.

It was a two. She thought hard before speaking.

I need to know more about this man.

“Who were you supposed to meet tonight? I saw you kept checking your phone. Did you get stood up? Were you lying when you said you didn’t have a girlfriend?”

“Whoa, hold on. That’s a lot more than one question.” He looked her straight in the eye. “First off I don’t lie, ever. That’s not the kind of guy I am. I promise I’ll always be upfront with you. As to your other question - my best friend Nick was supposed to be meeting me but he stood me up because his wife went into labour. They’re both in the hospital in Martigny with my brand new godson, Tomas, born about an hour ago.”

It wasn’t what she’d been expecting to hear and it threw her momentarily.

“Oh, I see.” Had she been wrong-footed? It was only fair she double-checked he wasn’t spoken for, wasn’t it?

“Does that satisfy your curiosity? Were you hoping a girl had stood me up? Because I have to say I’ve never had it happen yet; have you ever been stood up?”

“I don’t have to answer you, I’m not the one who threw a two,” she replied haughtily, pulling her legs up underneath her, curling up on the seat beside him.

No, of course he’d never been stood up. That only ever happened to mere mortals.

“I believe it’s your throw,” Zac said, retrieving the dice from where they’d fallen to the floor. He placed one hand on her thigh as he handed it to her and her flesh responded eagerly to his touch. She wanted to give in with abandon, really she did but…

Would she ever be free of Tom’s shadow, darkening everything she did? She’d had enough of it. It was ridiculous, why should he get to spoil sex for her indefinitely? If she let thoughts of him intrude and ruin tonight then he was still winning.

I can’t let him win.

She leant against Zac’s warm body to indicate she was still interested, aware she’d been giving him as many mixed signals as a malfunctioning traffic light. Maybe he’d think she was playing hard to get?

She threw a six.

“The dress.” Zac raised an eyebrow, clearly expecting some objections. His sexy smile made her stomach flip over.

She’d show him.

Sod it!

Zac was gorgeous and this was happening. She took a deep breath and reached behind her back to the zip but her fingers trembled, fumbling with a fastening that stubbornly refused to yield.

“Let me.” Zac leant forward, his mouth close to her ear as he reached for the zip, his fingers brushing her skin as he pushed her hair aside. She turned her back to him to make it easier. When he pressed his lips to the nape of her neck she almost leapt off the seat. The kiss was so hot it felt like he’d branded her. She shuddered, the air escaping her lungs with a sudden rush. When she’d said she liked her neck kissed she’d chosen it because it was a safe option, she hadn’t realised it could really feel this sexy.

Gently, slowly he tugged down the zip and the dress fell away. She expected him to touch her or kiss her again. She wanted him to trail kisses down her spine to the small of her back; she was particularly sensitive there.

He did nothing. And it drove her wild. She needed his touch, her skin craved him.

She turned to see his eyes, dark with desire as they focused on her with a sensuous intensity, drinking her in. They lowered to her breasts, still covered by a pale pink lacy bra and they stayed there a while, lingering appreciatively.

The attention was intoxicating, as was knowing that he liked what he saw from the bulge in his jeans.

It’d been a long time since anyone had looked at her like that. It was amazing how easily her confidence had been eroded. It had been a slow drip, drip into her psyche until one day she’d finally woken up a victim and knew she had to build her own life raft or drown.

No more, stop thinking about the past.

Then her eyes locked with Zac’s and she felt so connected to him, so totally and utterly drawn to him that at that moment, rightly or wrongly, she would have trusted him with her life. And right now she trusted he would give her the shag of her life.

“Your turn mister,” she said, smiling as she tossed him the dice.

He threw a four.

Flora considered, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She knew what she needed to ask. She summoned all her courage, aided by the desire fizzing through her veins like effervescent sherbet.

“Make love to me,” she said.

Zac raised his eyebrows, studying her carefully, probably deciding whether to torture her a little more before giving her any kind of release.

She knew it wasn’t really making love. It was sex, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask him to shag her and the ‘f’ word felt too brazen, even for a girl dressed only in a pink bra, hold-ups and high-heeled boots.

“It’s an official Dare, I need you to…make love to me,” she said as boldly as she could, leaning back on the sofa and wondering if she dared go as far as to part her legs in invitation.

Hmm, maybe not. “Please?”

That’s right Flora, you may as well beg. You’ve lost your clothes; you may as well shed your self-respect along with them.

In reply, Zac tugged at the button fly of his jeans, quickly getting rid of the rest of his clothes. Flora watched with interest as he revealed his long muscular thighs. The bulge in his black trunks told her how turned on he was.

Very.

That makes two of us.

He rose up from the sofa, taking her hand and pulling her up towards the fireplace, stopping on a cosy faux-fur rug.

“Take off your bra and lie down.”

She wanted to protest that he wasn’t giving the orders but as though second-guessing her he put a finger to her lips. “You asked me to make love to you, so trust me and let me do it my way. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

It was an arrogant assumption but she believed him. She was so turned on he’d barely have to touch her to make her come. She swallowed down her embarrassment as she undid the clasp of her bra, letting it fall to the ground. She was aroused, more aroused than she could ever remember feeling and it helped that, at this moment at least, her desire was stronger than her fear.

Zac pulled her down onto the rug and lay next to her, propped up on one elbow so he could look at her. Flora wished they were still playing Truth or Dare. This felt too serious, the flirty edge had gone. She didn’t need a barometer to tell her the atmosphere was heavy with sexual tension. She felt connected, almost too connected to Zac.

This wasn’t supposed to mean anything.

A tiny flicker of panic licked at her, the contradictions confusing her. How could she feel two opposing emotions so strongly? Which should she trust?

“Come here,” Zac edged closer until their bodies were touching, skin on skin and nose to nose.

Tentatively, shyly she reached out a hand to stroke his torso, parting her lips to meet his sensuous kisses, trying to let her body take over, responding to him instinctively. He seemed to understand she needed to start this slowly and somehow knew exactly where to stroke her and how much pressure to apply.

Gradually her shyness faded away as the burning swell of sexual desire rose up to overwhelm her. The kisses became more urgent, more frantic as their fingers explored each others’ bodies. She reached down in between their bodies to stroke the erection that had been pressing hard into her thigh. Zac jerked away, his breathing ragged.

“Wait,” he said. “There’s no rush. First I want to find out if you were telling me the truth.”

She frowned. The truth about what? For the briefest of moments it flashed through her mind that he somehow knew about the mess she’d left behind at home in England.

Don’t be ridiculous Flora!

“I mean the truth about where I have to kiss you to really turn you on.” He rolled over, pressing his lips to her neck. “Is it here you said you liked it?”

“Hmm,” Flora replied absently, enjoying his lips against her skin and inhaling his clean, citrus scent. Zac smelt so good.

“Or should I go down a bit lower?” he whispered, trailing a line of kisses down to her breasts. She gasped when he took a nipple in his mouth and sucked hard, almost bucking off the soft rug.

He raised his head and looked directly at her, eyes dark with promise. “Or should I go even lower?”

The breath caught in her chest as she wondered where he’d kiss her next, half wanting it, half afraid of the intimacy.

“No.” The word was out of her mouth before she knew it. She tried to smile to soften the harshness of her response, thinking quickly. “I want you inside me now. Please don’t make me wait. Do you have, you know…protection?”

Her cheeks flared hot and it wasn’t because of their proximity to the fire. Great, she was really messing this up. So far she’d ordered him to make love to her and told him to get on with it. Of course Zac had protection; he did this all the time. At least, despite a quizzical look on his face, he didn’t say anything to make her feel even more awkward. She was grateful for that at least.

“You okay Flora?” he asked, once he’d fetched the foil packet from a convenient drawer.

“Sure,” she replied, smiling at him. “Sorry Zac, it’s just been a long time since I…”

“It’s okay, no need to apologise. No need to explain either if you’d rather not.” He sat down next to her. “We don’t even have to have sex if you really don’t want to.”

“But I do want to,” Flora replied, feeling dangerously close to tears.

He cupped her face and kissed her and she let the melting sensation take over again.

No thinking.

She reached out to stroke his erection, needing him to know she really did want this.

“Kneel down,” he whispered in her ear, nibbling her earlobe gently. “If you go on all fours I can touch you while I’m inside you, we can come together.”

She shivered, feeling feverish with need, want and nerves, letting him place her in position, allowing him to pull her legs further apart, exposing her sex to him. She waited, wet and aching for him to be inside her and heard the rip of the foil packet. Once sheathed he pressed himself against her, rock-hard against her. His arm reached round to tease her clit, rubbing it rhythmically until she thought she’d explode.

She pushed back to meet him as he entered her. She heard a moan and realised it had come from her lips. Zac’s ragged breathing was a turn on and it helped she wasn’t staring into his eyes, feeling his questions. It was easier to let go. She pushed back against him, meeting his thrusts. His fingers continued to stroke and tease, his other hand holding her hip. She was lost to the sensation, to every movement, feeling they were moving in perfect time, dancing to the tune he was playing with his fingers.

And so did Zac. He expertly tipped her over the edge, helping her reach her climax. Pleasure pierced her, rippling through her body, making her contract around him. Almost instantly he tensed and jerked inside her, before he came.

She’d been right.

Zac was fantastic at sex.

When Zac returned from the bathroom he found Flora sitting, staring pensively into the fire. It’d been a strange night. His best friend was now a father and last night had been Scott’s Stag Do. Everyone around him was moving on and the ghost of Christmas present had loomed its ugly head. He was pretty sure he wasn’t welcome back home for Christmas drinks this year. And he still hadn’t asked anyone to be his date for Scott and Holly’s wedding yet. He’d had a different plus one for each of his friends’ weddings so far.

Maybe Flora would be free to be his date. Spending more time with her sounded…nice. There was something so natural about her, a distinct lack of artifice he liked.

“Okay?” he asked, touching Flora lightly on the shoulder to alert her to his presence. She jumped in alarm then composed herself quickly, but he’d seen the flash of panic in her eyes.

There was definitely a story there. That brief flash of insecurity made him feel protective. Vulnerability always did.

Tonight has been a big deal for her.

“Shall we get into bed? It’d be much warmer. The snow’s getting heavy out there. Hopefully there’ll be a nice covering on the slopes tomorrow. Do you snowboard?”

She shook her head. “I prefer to ski, I think it gives you more control.”

“I could teach you if you like? I hear you’ve got some time off - isn’t Chalet Repos filling up with family and guests for the wedding? Just like Scott to block out two of his busiest weeks to satisfy Holly’s romantic whim.”

“I’m good thanks, I’m quite happy skiing, I don’t need…” she blushed as she got to her feet and followed him into the bedroom.

Cute.

He loved how easily she blushed.

“I think it’s lovely, Scott and Holly getting married on New Year’s Eve - the anniversary of their first kiss.” She climbed into the bed, quickly covering herself with the Egyptian cotton duvet and disappearing down into it so he could only see the tip of her nose and top of her head poking out.

“I thought you didn’t do romantic.” He climbed in beside her.

“I didn’t say that, I meant, well…”

“Well you said you didn’t want a boyfriend or a husband,” he replied. “And I’m assuming that after what we’ve just done you didn’t mean you were looking for a girlfriend instead.”

“Well, no, of course I didn’t mean that,” she squeaked, pulling the duvet completely over her head, muffling her voice. “Can’t you behave like a stereotypical male and go to sleep?”

“Hey.” Zac reached out under the duvet and tickled her ribs. “I don’t think what we’ve done this evening is exactly stereotypical. Do you really want to be with Mr. Average?”

He pulled the duvet up over his own head too and kissed her lightly on the mouth. She tasted sweet, of cassis and cocktails.

“Fair point,” she agreed once he’d pulled away. She nestled her head into his chest, her whole body seeming to sigh into him. He stroked her hair.

“This is a great bed, Zac. It feels amazing after four weeks in a bunk-bed.”

“I see, so you’re with me for my bed?”

“Of course, what else?”

He could hear the cheekiness return to her voice, it made him smile. “How about my wit and charm? Or my obvious talents.”

He squeezed her bottom to remind her what they were.

“It certainly wasn’t your modesty.” She laughed.

“Who needs modesty? There are enough people in the world who’ll try and put you down, there’s absolutely no need to join in and hand them ammunition.”

“How true.” She sighed again, her breath tickling his chest. He wanted to know more but knew he had to tread carefully.

“It’s strange thinking of myself as a godfather.” He mused.

Huh? Where had that come from?

He hadn’t been planning to get heavy but it was no good, the urge to share with Flora felt overwhelming.

“I suppose it must be. Is this your first godchild then? And you’ve no nephews or nieces?”

“Yes, first godchild but not the first of my friends to have kids. With Nick it’s different though, he’s my best mate, we go way back.”

Flora said nothing but her soft warm curves pressed up against him felt comforting and he knew she was listening.

“What do you want to achieve in life, Flora?”

“Erm, I’d like to have fun.” She spoke quietly.

There’s got to be more…

“Apart from that,” he said impatiently. “Everyone wants to do that for a while but then, after that…what do you want to look back on your life and be proud of?”

“I used to love art at school,” she replied after a long pause. “I loved designing and creating things. I still make some of my own clothes and design bags. My parents and the school’s career advisor persuaded me out of Art College into a more sensible direction. You know, the kind that pays the bills. I did a book-keeping course instead. Exciting, huh?”

There was a flat tone to her voice that spoke volumes.

“But you’re here in Verbier for the season? I’d say that’s pretty exciting.”

“I wanted a change. I needed a challenge.” She sighed again, a heartfelt sigh.

Maybe she does get it after all.

“So what would you do if you could? What’s your dream job or your fantasy business, say?” His management skills were kicking in, he could feel it. It was exciting to realise he might be able to help Flora, to make a difference to her.

“I’d love to be able to have my own bag range, even get them into the shops somehow. I want to be able to prove them all wrong, that you can make a living from being creative, that it isn’t an indulgent waste of my time.”

Interesting. Who exactly is it she wants to stick two fingers up to?

“Maybe you can.” He decided to shelve the awkward questions for the moment.

“Maybe.” Flora yawned loudly.

He could tell she was shattered. He on the other hand was buzzing. He always had trouble switching his mind off for sleep. Biting back the questions he wanted to ask he listened to Flora’s breathing pattern change as she fell asleep.

He felt wired, the desire to help Flora tugging relentlessly at his concentration. There was something about her that caught his imagination, she needed someone on her side; he knew it in his guts.

Having a project always made him restless. There was no point trying to sleep. Quietly he reached for his laptop and began to click and read, making notes in a separate Word file.

Time to do some research.

His BlackBerry buzzed nearby. He reached over and grabbed it before it could wake Flora and saw the text was from Nick.

‘Still up?’

He slipped out of bed and pulled his jeans on, making his way to the kitchen, where he wouldn’t disturb Flora. Then he scrolled through his contacts and hit the button to call Nick.

“Hi mate.” Zac grabbed some juice from the fridge. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks, it’s bloody amazing, really it blows your mind. I held my son in my arms tonight, can you believe it?”

“I know, pretty unbelievable. You – a father!”

Nick seemed to miss the joke, which wasn’t like him. Already, Nick had taken a step away from their relationship, even further than when he’d married. Sure, Zac knew how it went, how relationships drifted. He’d just hoped it wouldn’t happen to them.

When you didn’t have a supportive family, your friends meant that much more to you.

“It’s the best feeling ever.” Nick’s voice bubbled over with enthusiasm, carried away on a tide of euphoria. “You really ought to do it mate.”

“Whoa, I haven’t done the first step yet.”