Silver mountain, p.7
Silver Mountain, page 7
“So what would you two ladies like to do since we won’t be going anywhere for quite some time,” Stephen said handing a mug to Liz. Liz took the steaming mug and took a small sip before replying.
“How long do you figure we’re going to be here?” Liz wanted to know.
“I just listened to the radio and the storms supposed to last through the night, so we won’t be going anywhere until at least tomorrow,” Matt answered.
“Tomorrow,” Liz said jumping up and almost spilled her coffee. “But my sister and her husband are supposed to be arriving today. If it’s going to stay this bad how will they ever make it here?”
Stephen took the mug from Liz and put it on the coffee table and then took Liz’s hand in his. “Don’t worry, we’ll find out if their okay. When were they supposed to get here?” he wanted to know.
“I don’t know? They were originally supposed to get here by dinner time, but I called them this morning and they had already left.”
“Where were they coming from and what time did you call them?”
“They’re coming from Calgary and I called them shortly after eleven.”
“So, let’s see, that’s a three-hour drive and it’s two thirty now. If they were already gone before you called then they should be here already. That is if they were able to drive through this weather. Let me call the reception desk and I’ll see if they’ve checked in,” Stephen said walking towards the kitchen.
Liz followed him and leaned nervously against the counter as she waited while Stephen picked up the phone and called the front desk. Stephen asked Liz for the names of her family and he relayed it to the person on the other end of the phone. Stephen listened to the other person for a minute before saying something and then hung up. Liz looked up at him anxiously searching his face to see if it was good or bad news. But looking at him she somehow knew that everything was okay, it was as if she could read his mind. Stephen took her hand and smiled at her and she knew that everything was okay
“Your sister and her husband are staying in a motel in town because the mountain road was too dangerous to take by the time they got to the town. They booked in and called the resort about a half hour ago and left the message of where they were staying and a number for you, so you wouldn’t be worried when they didn’t show up.”
Liz let out a huge sigh of relief and all the tension she had just been feeling drained out of her. Stephen led her back to her chair and sat her down with her coffee. Maggie and Matt both expressed that they were happy to hear everything was okay and everyone fell silent once again. A minute later Stephen spoke up once again.
“So what do you feel like doing since nobody answered me earlier?’ he wanted to know. After a few suggestions and a deliberation, they all agreed on playing cards and they all moved to the large kitchen table. Stephen went to get a deck of cards and soon everyone was having fun playing and beating each other at various card games.
The time passed by swiftly and before anyone realized it was time to start thinking about dinner. After a survey of the fridge and freezer they took out some steaks and went back to playing some more cards while they waited for the meat to thaw. Once the steaks were ready Stephen marinated them for a half hour and then they set them under the broiler to cook. Liz had helped him to prepare some baked potatoes to put under the broiler as well and Maggie and Matt put together a nice tossed salad with a dressing.
By seven everyone was seated around the table enjoying the fruits of their labour and discussing the weather and various other topics. Stephen had opened a bottle of red wine to go with their dinner and everything was perfect. By the time they were finished clearing up the dinner dishes and seated before the fire once more it was getting close to eight thirty. They opted to play a rousing game of charades with the men against the girls. The girls won the game just barely and by that time everyone had had enough games for the evening. They opened another bottle of wine and sat around the fire talking idly.
“So how did you and Stephen meet?” Maggie asked Matt. Liz looked at Matt curious also to her friends’ question.
“We met in Victoria when we were in university. Stephen was studying psychology and I was taking economics. We had a mutual friend that introduced us and as they say the rest was history. We’ve been best friends ever since then,” Matt replied.
“So, if you studied economics and Stephen took psychology how did you both end up working in a resort instead of your field of expertise?” Liz wanted to know.
Stephen answered this time. “We decided last year that we both needed a change in our lives so we decided to work at the resort. I had already taken a ski instructors course and Matt had experience in the restaurant business so that’s what we decided to do for jobs.”
“Do you plan to go back into your old professions again someday?” Liz asked. Matt and Stephen glanced at each other and there was a silent message sent between them before they both answered ‘no’. Liz wondered what had passed between the two of them but decided that it was none of her business. If they wanted her and Maggie to know they would have said it aloud. “So this is what you plan to do for the rest of your lives?” she asked.
“I don’t know about the rest of our lives but I’m content to do this for a while,” Matt replied.
“I’m happy being a ski instructor and could do this until I retire,” Stephen answered quietly. “What about you Liz? I still don’t know exactly what it is you do.”
“I’m in public relations or at least I was before. I’m not working right now and haven’t given much thought as to what I’m going to do. I have been trying to find a job that starts in the New Year, but I haven’t had much luck yet,” Liz replied.
“How come you’re not working right now?” Maggie wanted to know, “that is if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Let’s just say that my ex-boyfriend didn’t want me to work so I quit my job.” With that Liz got up and took her empty wine glass to the kitchen and put it in the sink. She had gotten up deliberately because she didn’t feel like talking about her past relationship. Giving up a job that she loved had been a very hard thing to do and she realized now what a fool she had been to give into Bruce’s demands.
A set of strong hands turned her around and she found herself staring at Stephen’s broad chest. She leaned her head against him and put her arms around him. He held her gently and stroked her hair. It was if he knew that she needed to be comforted right now and not asked questions. They stood there for a while just holding each other before finally releasing one another.
Liz asked to be excused and headed to the bathroom to freshen up and get her thoughts together. Once in the bathroom Liz splashed some cold water on her face and sat down to collect her thoughts. Here she was sitting in a bathroom with old ghosts while a perfectly wonderful man was waiting for her beyond the bathroom door. Stephen was what she would describe as the perfect man from what she had experienced so far. He was the opposite of Bruce and she knew somehow that he would never stand in the way of what she wanted. How could she have ever thought she was in love with someone like Bruce? Quite honestly, he was everything that she hadn’t been looking for. Whereas Stephen was everything. He was sensitive, kind, warm, and full of spirit. The kind of man she could fall in love with. The kind of man that she could fall in love with...
Startled by this last thought Liz looked at herself in the mirror and groaned. She had done what she had thought was impossible. She was falling for a man she had only known for two days. She knew this was true because of the way she felt and quite honestly it scared her silly. How could she go back out there now, knowing what she did? And how could she face Stephen knowing that she cared for him, but he didn’t feel the same for her. Should she tell him how she felt? No, she thought, that would probably only scare him off and she didn’t want that. Knowing what she did now she couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. Besides wasn’t he the one that had asked about a relationship earlier so maybe there was some hope.
Liz stood up and wiped her face and was determined to make Stephen happy and hopefully, maybe, he would begin to care for her in the time they had to spend with each other. With that she left the bathroom and joined the others in the living room.
Maggie and Matt were sitting on the sofa close together and were in their own little world. Stephen was sitting in front of the fire, so Liz sat down close beside him and leaned against him. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a small kiss on the back of her neck.
“Are you okay now sweetheart?” he whispered in her ear.
“I’m fine,” she replied and snuggled in closer to him. They sat there wrapped up in each other watching the fire. This may not be the bay window in Stephen’s room Liz thought to herself, but it was just as good. Time passed by and Liz grew sleepy. The last thing she remembered was Stephen picking her up and carrying her up the stairs.
Liz woke up early the next morning to find herself wearing a large men’s tee shirt in a room unfamiliar to her. She took in hear bearings and it took her a couple of minutes to realize that she was lying in Stephen’s massive bed with the blue Sherpa blanket partially covering her. She had spent the night in Stephen’s bed but didn’t know how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was Stephen picking her up and carrying her up the stairs. But where was Stephen because he was nowhere to be seen. She got out of bed and went into the adjoining bathroom to freshen up. After she went out to look for her clothes but couldn’t find them. She looked through Stephen’s closet and found a pair of track pants to wear that were a few sizes too big for her. She rolled the legs up and drew the drawstring as tight as she could before she left the room in search of the others.
She found the others downstairs sitting around the kitchen table having coffee and talking quietly.
“Good morning sleepy head,” Stephen said rising from the table and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Liz smiled and said good morning to everyone and sat down next to where Stephen had been sitting. “Why didn’t you guys wake me up?” Liz asked taking a mug and pouring herself a cup of coffee.
“You looked pretty tired last night, and you were still sleeping when we all got up, so we decided to let you stay in bed and get your beauty sleep,” Maggie answered teasingly.
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Liz replied. “By the way who undressed me last night and where are my clothes?” she asked looking at Stephen.
“I undressed you,” Maggie said. “Stephen here thought that you might be upset if he did it. I didn’t think so, but I did it anyway.” Liz blushed and Stephen was grinning from ear to ear.
“And what is so amusing?” Liz asked.
“Nothing,” Stephen replied and headed back into the kitchen.
“Yeah right,” Liz muttered under her breath. “So now would somebody please tell me where me clothes are.”
“I threw them in the wash. They should be ready shortly,” Stephen answered from where he had his head in the fridge. Liz was astonished at what he had done and found the idea of him handling her dainties a little embarrassing.
Stephen on the other hand was having a hard time controlling his thoughts when it came to seeing Liz entering the room in his clothing. And to know that what he saw was all that she was wearing. The thought of her delectable body in his pants sent his temperature soaring as well as other part of him. If Maggie and Matt weren’t here he might just have taken Liz upstairs to find out what she looked like without his clothes on. The mere thought of that was tempting even with Maggie and Matt sitting there. But he was the host and decided that he would have to act on his urges later. It had been hard enough to know that she was sleeping in his bed while he stayed in one of the guest bedrooms being the perfect gentleman. No matter how he felt or how much he wanted her, her was not going to sleep with her until she indicated to him that she was ready to take that step.
“Hey Stephen, what did you do, fall asleep in the fridge?” Matt called out bringing Stephen back from his thoughts. He stood up and closed the door and turned towards his friend.
“I did not fall asleep I was just taking inventory on what I had to offer you guys for breakfast,” he shot back.
“Yeah right. You were probably snoozing or more likely daydreaming” Matt teased. Stephen gave his friend a withering smile and then turned to the others.
“What would you ladies like to have for breakfast?” Stephen asked.
“What are our choices?” Maggie asked.
“You can have bacon, eggs and toast, or pancakes, or French toast. Those are all the choices I have along with juice or coffee.”
The girls decided on pancakes and Matt sat there pretending to pout since he hadn’t been asked what he wanted. Maggie gave him a playful swat and told him to go help Stephen who was whipping up a pancake batter. Maggie and Liz went about setting the table and soon everyone was sitting again with plates full of pancakes. Everyone ate in a comfortable silence and when breakfast was over Maggie and Liz loaded the dishwasher while the men went about making a few calls and checking on the weather forecast.
Stephen returned shortly and informed everyone that he had talked to the lodge and everything was fine there, they would send their plow through to them when they finished their work there. Matt came back to report that the weather was supposed to be clear for most of the day with a chance of snow during the night. Liz was relieved to know this and asked Stephen if she could borrow the phone to call her sister and find out how they were making out.
Liz called her sister and talked to her for ten minutes or so and hung up to find Stephen standing nearby waiting for her with her clean clothes. Liz put the portable phone back and headed over to Stephen to gather her clothes.
“I thought you might like to wear some clean clothes so I washed them for you. I hope you don’t mind that I did that?”
“Not at all and thank you for doing so, I appreciate it. And I must say thank you for letting me sleep in your bed last night although you could have put me in one of the spare rooms. I hate to have put you out like that.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Stephen said picking up her hand. “I was happy to do it for you and you didn’t put me out. I wanted you to be comfortable and quite frankly my bed is the most comfortable.”
“Well next time you sleep in your room and I’ll take the spare room okay,” she said wondering if she would be able to say that again if there was a next time because if there was she wanted to be in the same bed as he was. Stephen looked at her and smiled slowly at her and kissed the back of her hand lightly.
“Whatever you say sweetheart, your wish is my command.” With that he swung her into his arms and planted a big kiss right on her lips. Before she could respond he had pulled away and was leading her towards the stairs.
“Where are we going?” Liz asked following him.
“Up to my room so you can have a shower and get into those clean clothes your holding on to.”
Liz started to protest but Stephen wouldn’t have any of that, so she followed him until they were both in his room. He led her into his bathroom and showed her where everything was and then left the room shutting the bathroom door behind him. Liz let out a huge sigh of relief and put her clothes down and started undressing. For a minute there she had thought that Stephen was going to join her in the shower. The man was just full of surprises she told herself as she ran the hot water and stepped into the large shower cubicle. There was no bath because from what she had found out earlier the bathroom had a separate shower with a large raised jacuzzi tub along the far wall. This one made her bathroom at the lodge look extremely small in comparison. Liz showered and then decided to stay in a little longer and just enjoy the hot water for a while. A half hour later Liz emerged from the bathroom dressed and clean to find Stephen sitting in the bay window staring off into space. She wondered what he was thinking of.
Stephen heard Liz emerge from the bathroom but didn’t acknowledge that he knew that she had come out. He was too wrapped up in his thoughts and didn’t want to leave them right now. He had been thinking of Liz in his shower with nothing on and what her wet glistening body would look like. From there he had let his mind take over and some of the images his mind had produced were very X-rated. His last thought of was of him in the shower soaping her down. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned towards her. She looked wonderful all fresh and clean with her hair freshly brushed and still wet. He wanted her so bad that he could hardly contain himself. Standing up he walked over towards her with only one thought in his mind. He had to kiss her and feel her pressed up to him, so he could let her know just how much he wanted her. He wanted her like he had wanted no one else and he knew that deep down he cared for this woman and that she was pulling on the strings attached to his heart. To put it quite simply he was falling for her, a notion that excited him and scared the hell out of him at the same time.
Chapter Six
Liz watched as Stephen approached her and she shivered at what she saw. She could see the hunger of desire in his eyes and something more. She resisted the urge to run into his arms but held back and let him come to her. She wanted him to initiate the first move because then she would know that he really wanted her. She stood still and waited for him to reach her. In the fifteen or so strides that it took him to reach her seemed to take an eternity instead of the few seconds it actually took.
When Stephen reached Liz, he gathered her up in his arms and lowered his mouth hungrily to hers. When his mouth met hers he greedily kissed her and then probed his tongue deep into her mouth. Liz accepted and together they let their tongues mate with each other.
Stephen ran his fingers through her hair before letting his hands trail down her back and over her bottom. He left one hand on her bottom and ran the other hand back up under her shirt and stopped when he reached her right breast. He let his hand linger there, feeling the soft contour of it. Gently he caressed her breast and then rubbed his thumb over her already roused nipple.
