Текст книги "Frigid"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

I cringed, knowing Tanner and whoever else was in the car could most definitely hear the conversation.

“I knew it!” she exclaimed. “He’s such a sleazeball sometimes. You—”

“It’s all right, Andrea.” I peeked out the window. “Hey, he’s heading back. Call me when you guys know when you’re getting closer. Be careful.”

“You, too.”

Kyler hopped in, shaking the fine dusting of snow out of his hair. Then he reached into his plastic bag and pulled out a ginger ale—my favorite—and handed it over.

“Thank you,” I said.

He grumbled something incoherent.

I took a deep breath and dared a glance at him. He was ripping open a bag of beef jerky as he pulled around the gas pumps. “I just talked to Andrea. They’re stuck just outside of Frederick due to the snow. They’re going to be late. Maybe we—”

“We’ll be fine.”

And those were pretty much the last words we exchanged. The rest of the ride was silent. Even though I still wanted to unbuckle my seatbelt and hit him a few times in his stomach, I didn’t want to start winter break off like this. We still had to drive back home to our families.

It seemed like forever before we saw the sign for Snowshoe just beyond Marlinton. The steady flurries had died off by then, sparking hope that we were just going to be clipped by the monster storm and nothing else.

Snowshoe Mountain really was beautiful. Like a winter wonderland with the fresh snow and the main lodge rising several floors, majestically placed between the tall, snowcapped elms and slopes. Down on the narrow streets between the condos and businesses, the lampposts lining the streets and the many chalets nestled together always reminded me of the North Pole. With the heavy clouds and the approaching dusk, the shimmering white lights circling the posts and draped over the smaller firs trees were already glowing.

We passed the Starbucks just as their Christmas lights blinked on and a group of people spilled out of their doors, laughing and carrying steaming cups of coffee.

Man, I missed my cappuccino.

As we crested the hill, I could see the ski lifts off in the distance. Those things scared the crap out me. Feet dangling into thin air and you’re just supposed to jump? Yeah, not my idea of a fun time. Curling up by a fire and reading a good book? More up my alley.

I dared a quick peek at Kyler. The tension had eased out of his jaw and his eyes were lighter, already filling with a gleam of excitement. He loved Shay’s Revenge, the nastiest slope Snowshoe had to offer. Just looking at the fifteen hundred vertical drop made me want to vomit.

Quinn Lodge was right next to the slopes and one of the larger privately-owned homes. Two stories high, with multiple bedrooms and a pimped-out basement with a big screen, pool table, and various other boy toys. It would be ours for the week.

Kyler hit the brakes and hopped out, keying in the security code to the garage door. With a loud rattle, it slid up. Out of habit, I unbuckled my seatbelt and wiggled into the driver’s seat. Kyler disappeared into the garage and a second later, light flooded the space.

I barely reached the pedals, but I eased the massive SUV into its spot between the three snowmobiles, the headlights shining on a stack of ski equipment. Killing the engine, I opened the door and started to hop down, but Kyler appeared in the space.

Before I could utter a word, his hands were on my hips. My breath hissed between my teeth at the intimate contact. It was the second time today he’d gotten all grabby hands with my hips. Not that I was complaining, but heat simmered in my veins, curling my toes inside my boots and my poor body could only take so much.

“Here,” he said, his voice light. “You’re about the size of a teacup chihuahua. You’ll hurt yourself.”

Kyler lifted me out the Durango, and I gripped his upper arms. Hard muscles flexed under my hands and a smartass retort died on the tip of my tongue. He was touching me, which probably meant he wasn’t pissed at me anymore, and since his fingers were wrapped around my hips, I hadn’t the foggiest idea why I’d been mad at him.

“There you go, safe and sound.”

I mumbled something—no clue what it was. Knowing that if I looked at him, as close as our mouths were, I was likely to plant my lips on his and really embarrass myself. I kept my eyes fixed on his scuffed black boots. A kiss? I shouldn’t even be thinking that, for a multitude of reasons. He only saw me as his friend, and God only knows where his mouth had been in the last twenty-four hours. Thinking that should have dampened my arousal, but it didn’t. My imagination pictured his hands slipping around my hips to cup my ass. My skin tingled all over at the thought of that. Warmth flooded my cheeks and I sucked in a sharp breath.

“What are you thinking?”

My head jerked up at the deepness in his voice, and he let go of my hips. I immediately missed his touch. “Uh, nothing—nothing at all.”

He arched his brow, but said nothing. “Want to head in and turn on the lights while I get the luggage?”

Happy to get away, I nodded and practically ran toward the door. What the hell was wrong with me? My hands were shaky as I opened the door into the small hallway that led into the basement. As I smacked my hand along the wall, I told myself to get a grip. I could not spend the entire week lusting after the unattainable.

Finding the light switch, I flicked it on and hurried around the covered pool tables. The air smelled of cinnamon and pine. Climbing the stairs, I entered the first level. The house’s interior was as beautiful as the outside. A wide, square foyer led to the large living room, with a spacious kitchen and formal dining area beyond.

Kyler’s mom must’ve been here recently. A Christmas tree stood in front of the windows in the foyer. There were two presents under it.

Curious, I walked over to the tree, my boots silent on the hardwood floors. I knelt down and picked up the red and green wrapped one, reading the little note attached to the sparkly bow.

Sydney—open this once you’re home and it’s Christmas morning. No cheating!

Love, Mary

I smiled as I placed the present back under the tree. There was one for Kyler, too, and hanging from the windowsill behind the tree were several stockings, each one for our friends. Kyler’s mom was awesome. Besides the fact that she’d made a billion bucks starting her own company, she was one of the sweetest women I knew.

“What you got over there?” Kyler asked, placing the guitar case down outside the living room.

Standing, I turned around, thrilled to find that I hadn’t immediately started drooling or caved into the silly notion of brushing the strand of hair that had fallen across his forehead. “Your mom left us presents, but we’re not allowed to open them until we’re home and it’s Christmas.”

He laughed as he rounded the stairs leading to the second floor. “I bet it’s a cheesy Christmas sweater.”

I followed him upstairs. “Your mom would never give a cheesy gift.”

“No. That’s usually your mom.”

“So true,” I replied, sliding my hand along the polished banister. Mom was such a cornball when it came to Christmas. “You know, I can carry my own stuff.”

“A girl shouldn’t carry luggage.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Especially someone who weighs ninety pounds.”

I rolled my eyes at that. “I don’t know what girl you’re talking about, because I’m pretty sure my ass alone weighs ninety pounds.”

“Uh-huh.” He stopped at the top landing. There were five bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. “Which room do you want? Andrea is staying with Tanner, right?”

Depended on whether or not they were ready to kill each other by the time they got here, but I nodded. “Any room works, really.”

“How about this one?” He strolled down the hall, stopping between the last two. The room he normally stayed in was directly across the hall. I couldn’t help but think he’d hear anyone who came in and out of this room. Not that I’d have any traffic.

Him on the other hand? I sighed. It would be like a bus stop.

When I nodded again, he nudged the door open and headed in, placing my suitcase on the deep brown bedspread. “I was thinking about heading down to the main lodge to get dinner. You want to come with?”

It would probably be a good idea for me to stay back and give him space, but I was hungry and I…well, I wanted to spend time with him. “Sure. When do you want to head down?”

“In about an hour or so.” Kyler headed for the door and stopped, glancing back at me. He looked like he was about to say something, but then his lips tilted up in a half-smile as his hand tightened around the strap on his oversized duffel bag. “See you then.”

I waited until he’d shut the door behind him before I dropped onto the bed and stared up at the wooden beams. I really needed to cut this shit out. I’d made it this long without letting my attraction get in the way. This week couldn’t be any different—I couldn’t risk destroying our friendship. Lusting after Kyler was only going to end one way: a broken heart.

And a whole lot of sexual frustration.

Chapter 5

Sydney

After dragging my stupid butt off the bed, I opened my suitcase and dug out my toiletries. In the bathroom that was the size of my dorm room, I freshened up the best I could. I wanted to take a shower, but my hair was way too long and heavy to go through the annoying drying process again.

While I untied the pigtails, I noted there would be no need for blush. My cheeks were still flushed and my eyes a bit too big as I threaded my fingers through the links. Freeing one braid completely, I leaned forward as I moved onto the other side, staring at my face. Was that a zit popping up on my chin?

I sighed. Why not? Perfect.

A splattering of freckles covered the bridge of my nose, and my lips were grossly bare. They needed some color. My best feature—or at least what my mom always told me—was my eyes. They were a bright shade of blue that stood out against my dark lashes and hair.

Finishing with the braids, I shook my head, happy to discover that my hair fell in tousled waves down my back instead of looking like I’d taken a crimper to it. I rummaged in the makeup bag, pulling out a tube of mascara and lipstick. After a few swipes, I went back to the bedroom and started toeing off my boots. If I couldn’t shower, then I could at least put something fresh on.

After yanking out all the clothes I’d brought with me, which was way too much for a week, I realized I didn’t have anything remotely sexy with me. A bunch of jeans and sweaters. There was a cami that I could wear under a cardigan, but I’d freeze my ass off in that. Then again, I really didn’t own anything sexy. And seriously, who was I trying to impress?

Kyler, whispered an evil, bitchy voice.

That evil voice wasn’t helping.

Pulling off my jeans, I left them on the floor and tugged the bulky sweater off, letting it join the messy heap. Standing on the tips of my toes, I held up a pair of dark skinny jeans. These could be cute with a turtleneck. Not that the evil, bitchy voice in my head was right or anything. There could be a hot ski instructor at the lodge for all I knew and maybe my bedroom would turn into a train station instead of a bus stop and I—

The bedroom door suddenly opened. “Tanner just called. He said…”

My heart stopped and the jeans fell from my suddenly boneless fingers. Oh, my God…I couldn’t even think. I just stared at Kyler. There I was, standing in my bra and panties. Couldn’t forget the knee-high snowman socks, because they provided oh-so much coverage.

Both of us were frozen, struck absolutely immobile by my nakedness. Time stopped, and kyler…he kept staring at me. I couldn’t remember the last time he saw me naked or at least half-naked. Not since I’d developed breasts, probably, and they weren’t much to stare at. Someone once said more than a mouthful was a waste, but I sincerely believed that saying was made up by girls with small breasts like me just to make ourselves feel—oh dear God, my brain needed to shut up.

Heat infused my cheeks and traveled down my neck and then even further south, to the edges of the white lace, because Jesus H. Christ, I couldn’t have been wearing something sexier than a white bra and striped boy shorts.

Fuck. Me.

And those were the worst two words to even think, because now I was thinking about that, and Kyler was still staring at me like he’d never seen a chick in bra and panties before, which I knew was so not the case. But he was staring at me in a way I had to be completely imagining after years of hopeless wishing, because there was a heat in his eyes, an intensity that felt like a caress against my flushed skin. My lips parted as my pulse sped up, pounding through every point in my body.

He stared like the way he’d said Paul stared at me.

Kyler had never looked at me like that.

The muscles in my tummy tightened and there was sharp sensation snaking down my spine. My knees felt wobbly.

“Jesus.”

His voice was a hard explosion that jarred common sense into me. I dove toward the bed, yanking an oversize sweater off it and holding it to my front. “Don’t you know how to knock?”

He thrust his fingers through his hair. “Shit.”

I stared at him, my entire body burning for two different reasons. Shit? That’s all he had to say? Not ‘Baby, I want to lick your body’ or ‘Ew, cover that shit up.’ At least with that last one, the word ‘shit’ became a viable part of a sentence.

And then Kyler laughed—laughed so hard I thought he was going to physically hurt himself. “I’m sorry,” he gasped out. “But you should see the look on your face.”

My mouth dropped open. “Get out.”

His laughter went up a notch, deep laughs that sent shivers skating over my skin. I grabbed the first thing off the bed and threw it at him.

Kyler’s hand shot out and he snatched my projectile out of the air. His brows went up, and my stomach hit my toes. Something red and lacy and bulky hung from his fingertips.

Oh, sweet baby Jesus on a merry-go-round.

It was my bra—my Victoria’s Secret push-up bra. The kind that had so much padding in the cups that it added five pounds once I put it on.

I clamped my mouth shut to stop the scream building up in my throat.

Kyler’s gaze flicked from the bra to me, and then back to the bra. “Do you wear this thing?”

Unable to answer, because I was pretty sure my response would be all stabby-stabby, I said nothing.

He walked it over to the bed and lay it down like it was some kind of wild animal about to wrap itself around his face. His lashes swept up, his gaze meeting mine. Humor danced in his eyes. “No wonder your suitcase was so heavy.”

“Get out!” I yelled.

Laughing under his breath, he backed away slowly. “Don’t you want to know what Tanner called about?”

I shifted my weight from one foot to the next. “And if I say no?”

“I’m still going to tell you.” He flashed a grin. “They’ve met up with the rest of the group, but they’re staying the rest of the night in Frederick. It’s snowing really bad down there.”

At this point, I expected anything and everything to go wrong. “Crap. Do you think it’s going to get bad here?”

“Don’t know. Guess I’ll go check the news while you put some clothes on.” Kyler started toward the door and added, “Floozy.”

“Shut up, you non-door-knocking-peeper.”

“Nice undies by the way,” he said, dipping his head back in the room. “I like the color scheme. Does it have the day of the week on them?”

I screamed.

Kyler

Closing the bedroom door behind me, I tipped my head back against it and stared at the exposed beams in the ceiling. Mom was into the whole rustic look. I thought it made the house look unfinished.

I focused on the deep oak beams, desperately trying to get the image of an almost naked Syd out of my mind. Wasn’t working. The beams morphed into hips and breasts.

Jesus. H. Christ.

Holy Mother of God, that was not what I’d expected when I’d opened that door. I also hadn’t expected Syd to be so… curvy under her clothes. She was a tiny thing, barely reaching my chest, and I’d assumed she was all straight lines and little else since the last time I’d seen her so damn close-to-naked was in junior high school. Since then, I hadn’t even seen her in a bathing suit.

Boy, was my assumption so far off it was ridiculous.

The girl had hips on her, sweetly flaring out from a narrow waist. For someone so short, her legs looked a mile long when there was nothing covering them. And those breasts?

I scrubbed my palm across my jaw and closed my eyes.

They were small, but the size fit her perfectly, and I bet they were perky as hell under that chaste white bra, and the tips would be a sweet dusky pink—whoa. What in the hell? I needed to stop thinking about her breasts. Totally off-limits.

But because I was a dude and once that image took hold, I pictured them in my hands and her back arching into my touch—

“Shit,” I growled. Lust stirred with a vengeance—that heated, almost-crazed kind of lust that never amounted to anything good.

And the way she’d been looking at me? No. No way. I had to be imagining that shit, because this was Syd, for chrissakes. She was my Syd, but never in that way. And there was no way she could be looking at me with those damn baby blue eyes of hers filled with want. Like she had wanted me to do something about the fact she’d been standing there with barely anything on.

Like she had wanted me to see her.

Aw, hell, I had seen her.

And there was a good chance I was losing my damn mind, because Syd had never looked at me like that. She just simply didn’t think of me that way, or—as far as I knew—any guy that way. Not since that punk-ass Nate had screwed her over. Ever since then, she just didn’t date. And I was okay with that, because I hadn’t met one guy who was good enough for her, and especially not me, not after what she’d said in the car on the way up here.

I pushed off the door and crossed the bedroom. Yanking my hoodie over my head, I tossed that and the shirt underneath onto the bed.

I headed into the shower, not because I really needed one, but because I just had to do something before I really did do something stupid.

And there was a lot of stupid in me—a whole lot.

I was still rocking the hard-on of my life, which I told myself had nothing to do with Syd, when I stepped into the hot spray of water. Probably had more to do with the fact that I hadn’t gotten laid last night. Yeah, that sounded good. There was only one way to fix this without a cold shower. Resting my head against the slick tile, I reached down and closed my eyes.

It was fast. It was hard. And I thought about the wrong person the whole time.

Sydney

I stared at the back of the bar, eyeing the bottles of liquor like they were the only things that could cure my humiliation. And they could, because if I drank enough, I probably wouldn’t care that Kyler had seen me in my undies and laughed.

He had laughed.

The bar was packed, everyone talking about the snowstorm that was now apparently going to make West Virginia its own personal snow-bitch. It was too late to leave. All we could do was hope it wasn’t as bad as they were predicting.

Spying an opening, I squeezed myself between a girl with a lot of blonde hair and some dude in a flannel jacket. I glanced over my shoulder and sighed. Kyler was where I’d left him, attention riveted on the statuesque brunette he apparently knew from waaay back. Her name was Sasha. She looked like a Sasha.

Ah, listen to me. I was being such a bitter bitch.

I watched her place a hand on his shoulder and lean in, so that her breasts—much bigger than mine—pressed against his arm. She said something and he smiled. Not the full smile that showed off those dimples, but more like the cat that was about to eat an entire cage of canaries.

Kyler looked up at the moment, his gaze finding me across the crowded tables. I turned away and found myself staring at the bartender’s slim black tie. Fancy.

He smiled. “What can I get you, honey?”

Since ‘a brain’ wasn’t provided in a bottle, I went with the next best thing. “A shot of Jose.”

The bartender’s brows rose a little. “ID?”

I dug out my license and handed it over.

He checked it out, and then handed it back. “Barely twenty-one.” Surprise colored his voice. “I would’ve pegged you for eighteen.”

“Story of my life.” I leaned against the bar, handing over my credit card to open a tab.

The bartender laughed as he turned, grabbing a bottle off the racks. I never knew what to do at bars. It was like an awkward experience in how not to stand out and look like I didn’t belong. It didn’t help that apparently I looked like jail-bait.

“Tequila?” said a voice from behind me. “A girl after my own heart.”

I turned and looked up, and up. An honest-to-goodness guy stood behind me, one not wearing a lumberman jacket. Dark brown hair curled along his forehead and temples. He looked nothing like Kyler—stockier and broader.

Perfect.

“You’re a fan of tequila?” I asked, finally finding my voice. An easy smile appeared. “Nothing warms you quite as fast as tequila. You need that around here.”

“You’re a local?”

He nodded. “I work here during the winters.”

“Ski instructor?”

“How’d you guess?”

Thinking about my desire to hook up with a ski instructor earlier, I almost laughed. The shot of tequila landed on the bar top and I took it. I might not be a total lush like everyone else, but I knew how to take a shot. Tipping my head back, I put the small glass to my lips. What I hadn’t expected was for my throat to catch fire.

The tequila coursed down my throat like gasoline and spilled into my insides. Eyes watering, I turned back to the bar, dragging in deep gulps of air, desperately trying to stop my gag reflex. “Holy shit…”

Mr. Ski Instructor laughed as he patted my back. “You okay? The first shot is usually brutal.”

“Yeah,” I gasped, blinking the tears out of my eyes. Once I was sure I wasn’t going to hurl it back up on him, I turned around. “Wow.”

He grinned. “It’s not that bad.”

“Oh no, not at all.” I think I was already flammable.

“I haven’t introduced myself,” he said, sticking out a free hand. A bottle of beer occupied the other. “My name is Zach.”

“Sydney.” I shook his hand. His palm was slightly calloused.

He held onto my hand for a little longer than necessary. When he finally did let go, he propped a hip against the bar. “So, you’re obviously not a local.”

“No.” I tucked my hair back and smiled.

“You with him?” He gestured over his shoulder toward Kyler with a jerk of his chin. When I nodded, he cocked his head to the side. “Friends, or…?”

“Friends,” I answered automatically, and the burn of tequila seemed to lessen the sting of saying that.

Zach’s brows rose. “I don’t think I’ve known Kyler to be just friends with a pretty girl before.”

His compliment was lost in the reality of his statement. “Well, I’ve known Kyler for all my life.” I took a breath and let it slowly. “So you know Kyler?”

He nodded. “I don’t know him very well, just from the times he comes up here. So… is it just you two?”

“We’re up here for a couple of days with some friends. Well, most of them haven’t made it up here yet. I’m from Hagerstown.”

“Oh. Pretty cool town.” He took a sip of his beer. “Where are your friends at?”

“Outside of Frederick,” I told him as I glanced over my shoulder. I couldn’t see Kyler through the mess of people. Not that I was looking for him. “They hit the snow so they’re going to try to come up tomorrow.”

Zach shook his head. “Ah, I don’t know if they’re going to make it. The snow is supposed to move in here overnight and they’re saying it’s going to be a huge storm.”

I was so not trying to think about that.

His easy smile spread, and I realized that he was really good looking. “Think it’s time for a second shot? It’s on me.”

My gaze flicked past Zach, to where Kyler was, still with Sexy Sasha. He wasn’t paying any attention to her now, though. Instead he was staring at me like he was seconds away from getting up and storming across the bar and telling me I was up past my bedtime.

He wouldn’t dare.

Kyler’s eyes narrowed.

He would.

A couple of months ago, while out celebrating my birthday and during one of the very rare times I did drink, he’d made me go home before I even got to the second Sex on the Beach, citing something along the lines that the crowd at the club was getting too rowdy.

Anger and frustration swirled, mixing with the shot of tequila. Kyler said I didn’t know how to have fun. I was apparently as interesting as a statistics formula on a Monday. Maybe that was kind of true. At that moment, part of me wanted to go back to the house and pick up the book I was reading. Maybe eat some buttery popcorn, too. Oh, and I’d brought that pair of fuzzy socks that were so toasty and—

“Sydney?”

Out of all the crazy moments to think about Nathan Balers, he popped into my head right then. I hadn’t really thought about him in over a year. He’d been my only real boyfriend, the guy I’d dated for two years in high school and most of my freshman year in college.

Looking back, I couldn’t say if I’d been in love with him or not. At the time, it’d seemed like it. The only guy I’d been interested in other than Nate had been off-limits—still was—and Nate had been it for me. Patient. Funny. Smart. Cute. While we’d done other things—namely me doing other things so I didn’t feel like the crappiest girlfriend in the world—we’d waited until our freshman year in college to have actual sex.

It hadn’t been something to write home about. And apparently it hadn’t been for him either. The sex hurt, and when it stopped hurting and had started to almost feel good, it was over. Nate had broken up with me a week later.

Over text message.

A few days after the text, Kyler had overheard Nate running his mouth at a frat party. He’d supposedly been telling the guys that I was so frigid he could barely keep it hard.

And that was the fight that ended with Kyler having a broken nose and Nate with a broken jaw and a severe limp that lasted several weeks.

Nathan Balers could go screw himself.

I knew how to have fun. I knew how to lose control. And I wasn’t frigid.

Smiling, I turned back to Zach and said, “Another shot would be great.”