Holidays with the Billionaire

Chapter 16

Adlee

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W e plop off the ski lift and again I have trouble keeping my balance with both feet strapped to this board. I’m facing sideways and apparently that’s how I’m supposed to go down, sideways.

“Now, when you have to turn, you’re going to push your body out in the opposite direction of the turn. Some people find it helpful to put their front hand behind their back for balance. Don’t try anything slick, like turns or jumps,” Kelton says.

He, of course, looks like a pro in his black turtleneck, puffy Columbia jacket, and ski pants. No goggles this time, just a warm wrap around his face and then a helmet, same as me.

“What, no ski poles this time?” I ask.

He smirks. “No.” He looks out at the slope. “Now, this is the easiest slope here. We’ll start out easy and go from there.”

“Shouldn’t I have a light or something on my helmet?” I ask, worrying my lip.

He shakes his head. “No, there are lots of overhead lights along the path. You’ll see!”

I stare down at the slope, then look up at him. “Where is everyone else?”

A small line appears between his brow. “What do you mean?”

“You said we were going night snowboarding. Where is everyone?”

“ We meant you and me. My brother would never.” He grins.

“The smarter of the two of you, I see,” I mutter.

“What was that?” He cups his hand near his ear.

I shake my head. “Let’s get this over with, you maniac. After you.” I indicate for him to go first so I can copy what he does. “I watched a YouTube video before you came and picked me up from my room,” I declare, not sure why I’m telling him that. Seems easy enough but I’m clumsy so I know it won’t be.

“Try to keep up,” he says, almost seeming annoyed.

I’m half tempted to let him start boarding down and stay here, but I know I won’t hear the end of it.

He goes slow, maneuvering the board so it propels him down. I watch his movements for a bit. He’s so lithe and athletic that I feel like a fat-bottomed Christmas elf in comparison.

“Here goes nothing,” I mutter and take off, moving my body the same way he did. The cold wind whips my face, and I’m happy to see multiple tall, bright lights illuminating our way. It’s cold out here, but I’m starting to warm up with how much energy this is taking. I quickly catch up to Kelton.

His gaze scans me from head to toe. “I see you’re catching on,” he shouts over the sound of our boards scraping the snow. “You’re doing great. Just keep doing what you’re doing!” He crouches low and it somehow causes his board to go faster. Then, the asshole hits a bump and goes flying in the air, twirling in a full circle before landing back on the board and letting out a whoop, his fist in the air.

“Showoff,” I mutter.

I watch his lithe body work the slope like he was born doing it. I wonder if his family had him in sports his whole life. Did they put both their sons in sports? What made him want to be a professional hockey player? Sounds so violent and dangerous. Though, he’s a man. They live for that shit.

I smile as I glide along, occasionally putting my arms out for balance before tucking my right one behind my back for balance, like Kelton told me to. I see a large bump that is almost cliff-like and I pull my body in the opposite direction to avoid it, and barely miss it. I am not skilled enough to jump one of those, let alone do a spin in mid-air. I’d probably break every bone in my body.

After a few minutes, I lose sight of Kelton but know he has to be near the bottom. I briefly wonder why he didn’t snowboard slow with me, knowing it’s my first time. The thought makes me a little salty and I tell myself to get over it. We’re not in a relationship. He’s just my boss. Who forced me on this trip. Who I fucked last night—quite a few times.

There aren’t many people out on this slope, so it’s easy to hear when someone is behind me. I hear someone approaching and am startled a little when a snowboarder “pulls” up alongside me.

“Hi,” he says, smiling at me with a handsome face and straight white teeth that glow in the night lights.

“Hi,” I reply.

He spins his board backward so he can talk to me while he glides down the slope.

“Nice night for a ride,” he comments, gesturing to the slope.

I nod, not sure what to say to that. If he only knew I was here under duress.

“First time?” he asks, nodding to my board.

“Something like that,” I reply.

I watch as his gaze rakes my body, then he comes back to my face. He made no effort to hide his gawking. He seems cocky and sure of himself. He’s good looking, but I can tell he knows it.

“I’m Jet,” he says, still smiling and gliding on his board.

“Adlee,” I reply.

“Nice to meet you,” he says, swaying his snowboard back and forth on the snow. I briefly wonder what would happen if he hit a big rock or a small dip since he can’t see where he’s going. It would be kind of funny if he fell.

I’m not sure how to have a conversation while I’m trying to do this thing for the first time, so, deciding I don’t need the distraction, I tell him to have a good night and I glide around him, crouching down like I saw Kelton do to go faster and get away from the awkward conversation.

Before long, I’m at the bottom, and I see Kelton waiting for me.

I push both legs to one side to stop like I saw in the video and snow sprays up. I turn around to make sure nobody is going to crash into me this time.

“Have fun?” Kelton asks.

I lift a shoulder and let it fall. “Maybe.”

It was fun, but I’m not going to admit that. It’s freaking cold out here, and I’d rather be inside.

Kelton looks over my shoulder and I could swear I see him scowl when he sees Jet gliding toward us. “Come on, let’s go again.” He pulls my arm toward the lift to take us back up.

“Fine.” I sigh.

We go three more times, and I don’t see that Jet guy again. But my face is frozen so when Kelton suggests we go again, I dig my heels in and tell him no. I’m exhausted.

W e turn in the equipment and head back into the lodge.

“I’m going to have a nightcap.” He points at the bar we have to pass by to get to the elevators. “Care to join me?”

I shake my head. “No. I’m beat. I need to get out of these clothes and rest. You enjoy.” I smile at him and keep walking.

As much as I’d love to have a drink and then go back to his room for more fun, like he hinted at earlier, I don’t think it’s a good idea to drink with him again. Last night proved that. I have no idea what will happen with us, but something tells me as soon as this trip is over, I’ll be back working for Laskin, and Lea will recover from her injury and nothing will change. I need to protect my heart before I get attached. It happened once before a couple of years ago, and I won’t go through that again. I sometimes envy the way a man can just fuck and forget.

But, I’m not like that. I’m not built that way and never will be. I’m blaming the alcohol on last night, but we both know it was more than that. Our simmering attraction exploded into a night filled with the best kind of debauchery. I couldn’t have even fantasized how great that went.

I ride the elevator up and quickly go into my room. I strip off my clothes and take a hot shower to soothe my muscles that are already sore—mostly in my hips. My arms ache from using the ski poles, which is ridiculous, but not as much as my hips will be tomorrow. Between the snowboarding and the way Kelton was pinning them down onto the bed while he watched his dick fuck me, they’re screaming for relief.

I wrap myself in a towel and rummage through my bag, reaching for the THC/CBD cream I brought with me. It soothes muscle aches and at least provides temporary relief, since I assume smoking in this fancy lodge is probably prohibited. I should have brought some gummies. I rub a thick dollop of the cream over my hips and arms, wincing at the pain when I really get deep into the muscle.

After changing into some reindeer pajama bottoms and a white tank top, I quickly order some food from room service then turn on the television. I find the streaming apps and log into one to continue bingeing my favorite vampire show.

I find myself relaxing more by the minute. In fact, I’m almost drifting off to sleep when there’s a knock at my door. My stomach rumbles right on time to remind me I still need to eat. I get up and open the door with cash in hand to tip the room service delivery, but am met with a tall drink of water with blue eyes and a cleft chin.

I frown. “Oh. Hi, Mr. Fox.”

He quirks an eyebrow. “I already told you to call me Kelton when we’re alone.” He makes a dramatic gesture of looking up and down the hall. “Were you expecting someone else?”

I decide to have some fun with him for forcing me to snowboard, even though I’ll never admit it was kind of cool. “Yeah, maybe I was.” I lift my chin.

His face goes stormy and his jaw tics as he grinds his back teeth together. “Who?”

I smirk, resting my hip on the door I’m leaning on, not giving him an inclination that I’m inviting him in. “What does it matter?”

“It matters, Adlee.” He grabs my face enough to use the motion to push me into my suite. I’m forced to walk backward until the backs of my knees hit the bed. “Who were you expecting?”

The forceful motion surprisingly turns me on, and I smirk again. “I’ll never tell.”

He runs his large, warm hand from my face, down my neck, and around to the back of my head, where he gently grips my hair, forcing my head back. He eyes my neck before leaning down and running his tongue up my throat, and it reminds me of the vampire show I watch, where the hot vamp is about to bite the turned-on but unsuspecting female. I close my eyes and my mouth drops open, hoping he’ll give me a little nip. Maybe a hickey. I can easily cover it tomorrow with the blood-red turtleneck I brought with me.

Instead, he softly kisses me there, then runs his lips up my neck, stopping at my ear. “If you have another man meeting you here, he’ll be escorted out by Security. You hear me? You’re mine, Adlee. Mine .”

Fuck, that’s hot. I gulp at the possessiveness in his tone, my pussy starting to weep moisture down my thigh since I hadn’t bothered with underwear under these ridiculous pajama bottoms.

Kelton kisses the side of my face, my cheek, then, as he’s about to capture my lips, a knock sounds at the door. I whimper at the loss as he releases my hair and steps back from me.

He looks down at me, a storm brewing in the blue flame of his eyes. “Who the fuck is that?”

I raise both eyebrows and shrug.

Kelton storms to the door and yanks it open, and I can tell he’s ready to lay into whoever’s on the other side. “What—”

“Oh! Mr. Fox. I’m... uh, just delivering this.” Darnell holds up a tray of food.

I bite down a snicker at the mortification on both their faces and rush over. “Thank you so much, Darnell!” I take the ten dollar bill from the table and fold it into his trembling hand.

“Thanks, Adlee.” He scurries off faster than I’ve ever seen anyone move.

Kelton turns to me, his face softening.

“Hungry?” I ask.