It's In His Forever (A Red River Valley Novel Book 5) Read online

  “And I repeat, it doesn’t matter. I baited you into coming with me.” He tightened his arms around her. “Hell, I was praying you’d come with me so I could spend time with you. I’m the one who couldn’t keep my hands to myself on a fucking chairlift.”

  “True,” she teased, parroting his words.

  Dipping his head, he bit at her bottom lip.

  She chuckled, because hell, it was either laugh or cry. When her giggles subsided, she said, “I wonder how Cal and Jordyn are.” They were both just kids.

  That’s what Sandra had reduced herself to—she’d been jealous over a nineteen-year-old kid with a perky smile and springy curls.

  Dear God, Sandra really was the loser Red River thought she was.

  If she ever got off this lift, she’d follow through on her promise to put Red River in her rearview and leave Langston alone so he could finally find someone worthy. God knew she wasn’t. The whole town knew it, too. Always had. He’d been the only one not willing to see it.

  “Cal is training to be a firefighter, and he’s been taught to survive situations far more dangerous than this.” With one hand, he freed a pole. “Sit up for a sec.” He tapped out another SOS, beating harder against the metal. Then returned the pole to its resting place and engulfed her again. “You can’t keep carrying the blame on your shoulders for everything that goes wrong, Sans.” His breaths were warm against her winter cap where he rested his chin. “People are always looking for someone to blame. It’s human nature because it makes them feel better about their own problems. I’m not going to let you keep making yourself that scapegoat.”

  Her head popped up to look him in the eye. “What does that mean?”

  The heavy breath he let out crystalized in the air around them. “It means—”

  A loud pop caused both of them to jump, and an orange flame launched high in the air, arcing before it started to descend.

  “Excellent.” Langston didn’t loosen his hold on her. “Cal must’ve heard the SOS and had a flare gun with him.”

  A flare gun was standard issue for ski patrol, but the trip up the lifts to inspect the course had been spontaneous, and she wasn’t sure if Cal or Jordyn had thought to grab theirs.

  “Hooray for gung-ho youngsters who want to save the world,” Langston said. “He was far more prepared than I was. Maybe you should make him your safety officer.”

  Within seconds, the chair started to ascend toward the top of the mountain.

  “Finish what you were going to say before the flare gun went off.” She splayed a hand against Langston’s chest. She wasn’t moving until he explained himself.

  His mocha eyes smoothed over her face, making the coldness abate. “I’ve done things your way for years, Sans. And what did that get me?”

  He waited for her to answer.

  She couldn’t. She just couldn’t.

  She looked away, the hurt in his eyes stabbing at her heart. The wooden structure covering the drop off point, which everyone called the Shack, came into view.

  Thank the baby Jesus.

  “I’ll tell you what it got me.” Langston’s voice turned a little harder. “It got me dumped anyway, and now I’m alone.”

  She let her eyes fall shut. “Langston, it’s just the way it has to be.”

  He didn’t hesitate. “Why?” He didn’t wait for her to answer either. “Whether we’re together or not, I’m not lying about how I feel about you anymore.”

  She opened her mouth to protest, but he covered it with a gloved finger.

  “You broke up with me, so you don’t have a say in what I do, or who I tell. I won’t tell anyone about your dad, because it’s not my story to tell. But I won’t keep pretending you’re not important to me. Not anymore.” He gave her a nudge so they could sit up straight as the drop off got closer. “And that’s just the way it has to be, Sans.”

  The first thing Sandra did when she got off the chairlift at the top of the mountain was wait for Cal and Jordyn. They were fine, and Jordyn looked at Cal with the same hero worship she’d had for Langston.

  Sandra walked over to Langston, who had been talking to the lift operator. “Looks like you lost your fan club.”

  “Thank God.” He went over and picked up the red phone hanging on the wall that connected directly to base camp.

  Jordyn and Cal had had the sense to keep their skis on, so they could ski down the mountain on their own. As Jordyn pushed off toward the trail head at the top of a blue diamond run, Cal split off and skied back over to Sandra. “Sure you don’t want us to go get baskets and pull you back to base camp?”

  Sandra shook her head. She’d already put them in danger. She wasn’t about to make them rescue her again. “You two go ahead. We’ll get down another way.”

  “Who’d have thought a flare gun would get me the girl.” He winked. “It worked like magic.”

  Sandra smiled. “Way to go, kiddo. See you two at the bottom.”

  Cal rejoined Jordyn, and they took off down the slopes together.

  Langston hung up the phone and came over. “I called someone to come get us on snowmobiles. I didn’t think you’d want to ride back down on the lift without snow pants.”

  “Good call,” she said. “I’ve had enough of that for one day.” She wrapped both arms around herself.

  “You okay?” He rubbed her arms.

  She lifted a shoulder. “I’ve been through worse.” She didn’t need to explain. Langston was the only person in Red River who knew the whole truth about what she’d been through. “I was pretty stupid for hitting the slopes without proper gear.” She shook one foot, then the other. “I’m starting to feel my toes again, though. Maybe the rest of the feeling in my legs will come back if I go take a hot bath.”

  “I can help with that.” His smoky eyes said he wanted her.

  “Langston,” she whispered. “Don’t tell anyone about us. It’ll only make things worse.”

  The sound of snowmobiles buzzed in the distance.

  “Worse for who, Sans? Maybe you’re just embarrassed for anyone to know you’re with me.”

  “Of course, I’m not embarrassed,” she huffed. Wanting to keep their affair between just the two of them was never about her embarrassment. It had always been about his.

  “After all these years, I’ve gotta wonder.”

  Two snowmobiles appeared over a rise on a flat beginner’s run and made their way over to Sandra and Langston.

  He rolled a finger in a mock bow. “Your chariot awaits.”

  By the time they were safely at the bottom of the mountain, it was obvious the flare gun had alerted more than just the lift operators. A crowd of locals had already gathered.

  Seriously?

  Sandra gathered her courage for the onslaught.

  Sure enough, they were greeted with a flood of questions the second she and Langston hopped off the snowmobiles.

  This town, always with the questions. Always a crowd ready to pounce on Sandra’s every mistake. This time she was guilty as hell.

  “What happened?” someone asked from the back of the crowd.

  Sandra put on a brave face. “It was my—”

  “I got distracted,” Langston interrupted. “It was all my doing.”

  “How’d you survive the cold in those pants?” someone else shouted.

  Langston unzipped his coat, revealing his bare chest.

  His broad, bare, badass chest.

  The crowd went quiet.

  He reached down and untied his sweater from around Sandra’s legs. “We shared body heat.” He shucked his coat long enough to pull the sweater over his head, then he put on the coat again. He draped an arm around her shoulders.

  “Langston, please,” she whispered.

  “You can say please again once we get to my place.” He tightened his grip, pulling her closer, and leaned down so only she could hear. “Hopefully, you’ll be begging me to take you while we’re in a hot bath.”

  She swallowed. He was really going
to do this. After so many years of her trying to protect him.

  “We can answer questions later.” He held up a hand. “Right now, I’m taking my girl home so she can warm up.”

  Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

  His girl.

  Pride swelled in her chest.

  She’d always wondered how it would feel to hear those words in public.

  Without another word, Langston led her away, but stopped next to Cal and lifted his hand in the air like a champion. “This is the man of the hour. We could’ve gotten severe frostbite or worse if he hadn’t thought to bring his flare gun.”

  Langston headed to the parking lot with Sandra tucked under his arm. They stopped only once to glance over a shoulder at Cal. The crowd had surrounded him, abuzz with excitement over his new hero status.

  Langston and Sandra chuckled, got in his truck, and went to go take that steaming hot bath.

  Chapter Six

  “We still have to inspect the barriers,” Sandra said, pulling off her clothes in Langston’s master bathroom.

  He sat on the side of the tub and tested the running water, wearing nothing but jeans. “We’ve got all day. First, I want you to warm up…” He shot her a wicked sexy smile with a naughty gleam in his eyes. “Both in the tub of hot water and in bed, then we’re going to get a late lunch at Joe’s. Together.”

  Fear lanced through her, making her stomach do a flip-flop. They’d never gone out together in public unless she’d made it look like it was a no-strings-attached hook-up.

  “After that, I’ll take you home to get your ski gear and we can go check the barriers.” He went to the cabinet under one of the sinks and pulled out a bottle of bubble bath. “I got this for you.” He poured a stream of the purple liquid under the running water and it instantly foamed into a thick layer.

  The scent of lavender filled the room and settled over her. She breathed it in, some of the tension in her shoulders releasing.

  She loved hot bubble baths. “Lavender’s my favorite.” She unhooked her bra and let the lace hover over her breasts. No one had ever accused her of being flat chested, that was for sure. She’d been blessed in that department, if she did say so herself.

  “I know.” Hunger flared in his eyes. “That’s why I bought it, but you broke up with me before we could make good use of it.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Maybe I can make it up to you.” With a swish of one shoulder then the other, the thin straps slid down her arms, and the bra fell to the floor.

  His gaze turned smoky. With his arms folded over his chest and his bare feet crossed at the ankles, he let his eyes lick over her all the way to her painted, curling toes, leaving a trail of burning heat against her skin. When they started the journey upward again, they snagged on the lace triangle just above her thighs.

  He rolled an index finger in a keep it going gesture. “I’m enjoying this. Especially since it’s the first time you haven’t made it a point to sneak in and out of my house without being seen.”

  Another pang of fear tightened her chest. “That’s what I’m afraid of. You’ve never been on the wrong end of Red River gossip. That might change now that people know about us.”

  Keeping their relationship a secret was one thing, but letting the world know they were lovers who’d been committed to each other for a long time might be entirely different. She was used to being scorned. He wasn’t, and it was going to cut deep to watch it happen to him.

  She’d created an impossible situation. On top of the pain he might experience from people in town because of her, she was going to inflict even more when she told him she’d planned to close her shop so she could make a quick exit from Red River after the snowboarding championship was over and done.

  But with him sitting there, looking at her with so much lust…so much love, she didn’t have the heart to spoil the moment. “What will your sister say? Your friends? Your parents?”

  “I don’t care.” Langston pushed off the tub. “I’m a grown ass man who doesn’t need permission to love someone.”

  Sandra’s pulse kicked. They’d loved each other a long time, words that had come easily in secret. How would those beautiful words affect them now that their relationship was out in the open?

  “Maybe we should take this slow,” she said.

  He stopped within reach but didn’t touch her. Instead, he tilted his head forward so his warm breaths caressed over her cheeks. “Slow? We’ve been together for years. You don’t think that’s slow enough?”

  She shrugged. “I mean, now that people know about us, maybe we should reveal our feelings a little at a time. This will be new to everyone in town. I’m not sure I want to expose more than we have to.” She tried to ignore the flash of heat that ignited at her core as he hooked his thumbs into the elastic waist of her lace panties. “At least not all at once.” How were people going to react when they knew she and Langston had been hiding the truth for years?

  “I’m done lying about us.” He nipped at the corner of her mouth, his voice turning husky. “As for revealing and exposing…” With a push of his fingers, her panties pooled at her feet. “The more we reveal and expose, the better, as far as I’m concerned.”

  He still didn’t take that final step to close the space between them. One palm closed over her full breast, kneading and massaging until her flesh ached under his touch. Her head fell back, and her eyes closed.

  “I missed seeing you like this.” His voice was a hungry whisper as he pinched a hardened nipple between a thumb and forefinger.

  A hiss of pleasure slipped through her parted lips.

  “I missed hearing you like this.” His head dipped to take the other nipple between his teeth. He toyed with it, then nipped with just enough pressure to make her squirm.

  “Langston, please.” Her voice was desperate and distant, as though she wasn’t the one speaking.

  “I told you on the slopes you’d beg.” His warm breaths against her throbbing flesh made a shiver skate over her.

  She fisted his hair at the back of his head and pulled his mouth back to her aching breast. “You got what you wanted. I’m begging.”

  He swiped his tongue over her rock-hard peak, then chuckled, grabbing her hand to pull her toward the tub. “What I want isn’t the point. Not even close.”

  No, it never had been with Langston. That was the reason he’d gone along with her insistence to keep their relationship under the radar.

  Once they were standing next to the steaming bath, he flicked open the button of his jeans and kicked them off.

  She couldn’t help it. She couldn’t. Her gaze slid over every delicious inch of him. Good Lord but the man was gorgeous. Muscled thighs. Tight abs. Broad shoulders. The kind of man that should be Mr. February on a sexy first responders’ calendar.

  Ah hell. Langston’s body was so perfect, he could have an entire calendar all to himself, gracing the pages of every month.

  Admiration must’ve reflected in her eyes, because a satisfied smile turned up one corner of his mouth. “I want to give you what you want. What you deserve. Why else would I buy bubble bath?”

  “For yourself?” she teased. “You seem like a bubble bath kind of guy.” He so didn’t.

  “Don’t push your luck. I’m willing to take one with you and only you. Just do not tell anyone about this, especially my friends and family.” He held out a hand. “Dudes don’t do bubble baths and live to tell the tale. Plus, it would give my sister a lifetime of ammunition to use against me at family gatherings.”

  Family gatherings. Brooks family gatherings.

  Her heart did a thumpity thump thump.

  “Stop it,” he scolded, his hand still outstretched. “You’re thinking too much. I can see it all over your face.” He waggled his fingers.

  Sandra placed her hand in his and stepped into the tub.

  He slid in behind her and encased her with those powerful, muscled thighs.

  She leaned back against his chest and
let the water’s heat soak into her skin. Langston’s legs, arms, and stomach weren’t the only things that were muscled and hard as granite. His impressive shaft was firm against her lower back.

  “What I want right now is for you to be wrapped around me, so I feel safe.” She reached back and slid both hands up his neck until they disappeared in his hair. She turned her head and pulled his mouth to hers. “And inside me so I feel good.”

  The low growl in his chest rumbled against her back.

  “I can do both while we’re soaking in this tub.” One arm slipped around to her front and cupped her breast.

  “That’s a nice trick.” Her fingers slid through his silky curls. “You always were a magician with those hands.”

  He took the cuff of her ear between his teeth and nibbled. “Don’t forget my tongue.” He took her chin between a thumb and finger and turned her face up to his. His mouth crushed down on hers, and he eased his other hand down her thigh, covering the triangle of curls between her legs. His large frame made his arms more than long enough to reach the promised land, and he eased a finger inside of her.

  She arched back against him and moaned.

  “Fuck’s sake, woman,” he groaned. “You’re slick.” His thumb circled her clit, causing another moan to tumble through her lips.

  “You’re hard,” she ground out, her eyes closed against the sensation of his fingers filling her and caressing her throbbing nub at the same time. “And I want you.”

  “Let me work my magic in the tub first.” He feathered hot yet sweet kisses behind her ear, his warm breaths causing her skin to pebble, even in the hot water.

  His fingers worked her flesh, delving, circling, curling into the deepest, most intimate part of her.

  The first whisper of orgasm started at her core, building like a storm with each thrust of his fingers. Gaining strength with each circle of his thumb.

  “Jesus, you’re so fucking beautiful like this.” His words were an urgent whisper, the desire in his voice almost painful. “I want to taste you here.” He increased the pressure of his thumb against her clit, plunged two fingers inside of her to their hilt, and they did a little twist and curl number.