Silver Heart (23 page)

His “Holy shit, Silver...” was drowned out by a carnal groan.

This was another first for me—being
this
intimate with a guy—but, once again, it felt so right with Sawyer. I had no inhibitions. Just a desire to keep hearing my name rumbling from deep within his chest.

As my movements intensified, his hands dug into my hair. His grip was surprisingly controlled in comparison to his jagged breathing and the rock hard tension in the rest of his body.

His muscles trembled against me, and my name continued to frequent his mouth, spending more and more time on his tongue until the syllables liquefied into a lustful, drunken slur. Coming from Sawyer’s lips it was an aphrodisiac of sorts, spurring on my appetite for him.

“Goddammit, Silver,” he panted, giving me even more confidence. “You’re going to make me explode.”

Encouraged by his enjoyment, every cell in my body sprung to life. Moving with a higher purpose now, I wanted so badly to bring him the same pleasure he’d given me the night before.

I’d surpassed the point of slow teasing and was now taking him higher, faster, deeper, wishing to grant him an even greater thrill than he felt on the slopes. Within moments, he was coming undone, his hips jolting as a deep, guttural moan cut through his chest.

Small tremors continued to rock through him until, finally, his body relaxed and his breathing slowed. Completely spent, he slid down to the floor, pulling me on top of him in a tight embrace.

“You quite an expert on control, did you know what?” he chuckled into my shoulder. He wiped away the imprint of his smile with a soft kiss. “And I’m going to have to take it away now.”

Meeting my eyes, he grinned mischievously and hooked his fingers into the waistband of my shorts. “But first, I have to finish my list of wants,” he said, cradling my neck and tilting my head so that our eyes could meet.

I raised my eyebrows. “Kissing, licking, touching, sex…what more wants could there be?”

“The most important want, Silver.” His warm breath skated over my lips. “I want to love you like I’ve loved you all my life. And I don’t want to stop. Ever.” He gazed at me with an almost painful intensity.

I tried to speak, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I was afraid to admit that’s all I wanted too. All I could think was:
three days
. Only three days until the second goodbye of our lives.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Later in the day, Maddie and I found ourselves on the sidelines of the XL Terrain Park on Blackcomb mountain, watching an informal snowboarding exhibition that Sawyer had organized to showcase a few talented friends.

The course offered some of the most advanced jumps in the entire Whistler-Blackcomb area. It was dangerous and daring, yet exhilaratingly beautiful. Needless to say, it scared the shit out of me. It actually looked like it was made with the intent of breaking as many necks as possible. Obviously, only my twisted mind saw it that way. Sawyer and his team of pros conquered each jump effortlessly.

As the snowboarders showed off their skills, I captured each trick and every jump with my camera. I managed to burn through two thirty-two gig cards in a span of four hours. I couldn’t wait to upload the pictures on my computer, analyze each shot and find a couple of gems in an ocean of photos.

If even only ten out of the thousands of pictures I took turned out really amazing, I’d be one happy photographer. And if one of them ended up being
The Shot
, the frostbite on my fingers would be worth it.

The moment my camera sprung to life, so did I. The crowd faded into the periphery, the sounds of excited cheers quieted, and the only reality that existed was whatever I could see through my lens. My subject and I were the only entities in the world; the camera connected our souls, matching the rhythm of our hearts until they beat as one.

Through my experience with shooting athletic events, I’d found that when people are in their most aroused state of being, they draw in a silent breath. It’s on that inhalation that I like to snap the photo. In the case of snowboarders, this happened right when they were in the air, their pupils dilated, every muscle engaged, every nerve humming with excitement.

Watching Sawyer ride did crazy things to me. He was so fluid on the board, so very commanding of the space around him. The snowboard became an extension of his body and he was able to get it to do the impossible.

Each move had a purpose and every jump told a story. A captivating tale I couldn’t tear my eyes away from. He defied gravity by converting the snowy mountain beneath his feet into anything he wanted it to be—a fluid ocean wave on which he swam, a cloud in the sky on which he floated, his own icy kingdom which he ruled.

My favorite subjects of the day—aside from Sawyer, of course—were the two female snowboarders. Their names, according to the cheers from the group, were Vivien and Emma and they were as opposite as night and day.

Vivien wore a black Burton hoodie and her black hair was cropped short, exposing the various piercings decorating her ears. Emma, on the other hand, was outfitted in pink from head to toe, her blond ponytail swinging wildly every time she jumped.

Regardless of their external differences, it was clear from the expression on their faces that they both shared a passion for the sport. Every time they tore through the air, matching every single one of the guys in height and speed, they reminded me of some kind of snow amazons.

Vivien and Emma: Warriors of the Slopes
, I was silently making up headlines to match my photos.

When their turn concluded, both girls approached us. Emma greeted us, quickly excusing herself to tend to an alarming scratch on the bottom of her board.

“I’m Vivien,” the dark-skinned snow goddess said, extending her hand.

I shook it. “Dylan. And you’re amazing,” I told her honestly.

“Sawyer put this whole thing together for you,” she said, nodding at the action happening on the terrain park. “He begged us to come out and showcase some of our best moves.”

“For me?”

“Yeah.” She grinned, showing off a dimple in her right cheek. “For his girl with the camera. He wanted you to get some shots for your portfolio.”

Her words rendered me speechless, while Sawyer’s actions made my heart flutter. Finally, I found my voice. “I really appreciate the opportunity,” I told her. “I hope it wasn’t an inconvenience to you guys. I’m sure you’re busy.”

“It’s no biggie. We would’ve been out here anyway. But I have to say, the guy won’t stop talking about how talented you are. Can I see some pictures?” she asked, leaning over my shoulder.

I tried not to blush as I scrolled through some of my latest shots. I stopped on one that featured her. The main focus was on her board and the spray of snow flying through the air; her body dissolved into the backdrop of the sky.

Vivien nodded her approval. “I love it. Most of the time photographers focus on my ass,” she laughed. “Every time Emma and I do shoots for magazines, they always try to convince us to pose in bikinis instead of our usual gear. Last week, we had to turn down a men’s magazine offer for a spread, because they wanted to feature us with just our snowboards. Buck naked.”

“That’s…
different
.” I couldn’t even imagine getting on a snowboard without a helmet, let alone stripped down to nothing.

“And so damn wrong. That’s not what snowboarding is about. And that’s not what being a woman in this sport should be about. If I wanted to get naked, I would join a lingerie football league.”

“Well, I promise that my camera and I will continue to steer clear of your ass,” I laughed. “I’m mostly fascinated by your command of the board. It’s truly spectacular.”

“Thanks.” She returned my smile. “Hey, do you and your friend want to come out with us tonight? We’re planning on doing a night run and then hitting up a bar in the village.”

“A night run?” I gulped.

“Sawyer will be there,” she coaxed. “And we really need more women around who are genuinely interested in snowboarding and not just thinking of the guys as dicks strapped to a board.” She nodded over to where Mia and her group of friends were standing.

As if on cue, Mia blew a kiss at Sawyer as he passed by. He didn’t seem to notice, until she grabbed the side of his sweater and pulled him to her. His jaw tensed and he leaned over and said something to her before walking away. I could actually see steam fly out of Mia’s ears as she crossed her arms and pouted.

“She’s been stalking our group like a dog in heat for two seasons now,” Vivien grumbled. “She already had her way with my ex, but her sights have always been on Sawyer.”

Maddie sidled up to us and rolled her eyes. “I’m all about living it up and having fun, but going after guys who are taken or not interested is just pathetic.”

 “Most of the time she bats her lashes and puckers those lips and they all suddenly end up being interested.” Vivien’s bright smile disappeared and was replaced by a sinister scowl. “She’s pretty, rich, and her main goal in life—and this is a direct quote from her—is to ‘marry a hot extreme sports star.’ She spends her winters hanging around the snowboarders, and in the summer she’s away on some ritzy beach chasing after the surfers. She loves the spotlight and she thinks getting it through an up-and-coming athlete will be her path to fame.”

I wanted to ask Vivien why the group even hung out with her, but I already knew the answer. I’d seen enough girls throw themselves at Sawyer when he was just an amateur to know that this was part of any successful athlete’s lifestyle. Thankfully, I’d never seen Sawyer react to any of those girls.

But that was six years ago. Since then, he’d traveled the world and his star had begun to burn brighter than ever before. There was probably a Mia in every resort and I would be naïve to think that he hadn’t responded to a single one.

An unexpected tightness began to form deep in the pit of my stomach. I wasn’t the jealous type. Hell, I had no right to be jealous in this situation. But I couldn’t help the slight feeling of possessiveness I was experiencing.

Sawyer was my—
what was he to me?
I knew what I wanted him to be, but for now I settled on thinking of him as my “more than friend.” Mia didn’t know him. Not the way I knew him. She had no right to use him. Well, unless he wanted to be used.

Did he?

Crap.

Thankfully, Vivien interrupted my thoughts and drew my gaze away from Mia. “So can I count on you guys for tonight?” she asked.

 “Yes!” Maddie answered for us both. “Right, Dee?”

“I’ll make sure to wear my best bikini,” I joked, drawing out a warm laugh from Vivien.

Right then and there, I decided that Mia wasn’t going to have Sawyer. I didn’t care if he was mine for only three more days, I wanted him to be all mine.

Just mine.

“You should go,” Maddie said for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past ten minutes. “Have fun. Leave me.” She removed her head out of the toilet bowl and collapsed on the bathroom floor. “Freaking seafood. Gets me every time.”

I leaned against the doorframe and massaged away the tension that had formed between my furrowed eyebrows. “I don’t know why you insist on eating shellfish when you know you’re allergic.”

“Because at the time of ingestion it seems like a good idea,” she replied. “Don’t let anything stop you from enjoying all of life’s little pleasures. That’s my motto.”

“Well, I hope you and your motto are enjoying the pleasure of puking.” I wasn’t trying to be mean, but sometimes my best friend chose to push the weirdest boundaries just to see how far she could go.

How did the pleasure of being able to enjoy seafood make up for the pain of being sick afterward? I simply couldn’t understand it. But best friend code dictated that I didn’t have to. I just had to be there in the aftermath.

“Lesson learned,” she groaned.

I had my doubts. “Is it really?”

“At least until next time.” She threw herself back over the ceramic throne, emptying the rest of the contents of her stomach.

“Should I take you to the hospital?” I was beginning to worry. She’d been at this ever since we came back from the restaurant, which was well over an hour ago.