Slope of Love (Love in Bloom: The Remingtons) (17 page)

“Not doing much for the old ego here, babe.” Rush had more experience fleeing beds than he did remaining in them, but strangely, the need to flee was coming from her side of the bed. He didn’t quite know how to handle that.

“I’m trying to figure out if I should lie here and fall asleep, get up and eat gummy bears, take a shower, or go to my cabin.” Jayla opened her eyes and finally met his gaze.

“All those things are going through your mind right now? Hm. And my mind is just…blown. I can barely think past,
Wow, that was amazing.
” He came back up on his elbow and kissed her lips.

“Who knew my alpha badass was such a chick?”

She bit her lower lip and it made him want to climb right back on top of her.

“Like I said, you’re not exactly great for my ego.”

She laughed. “I’m teasing. I’m trying to decide if you want me to go to my cabin or not. Don’t forget, I know you. You’ve already had me in your bed longer than you’re comfortable with.”

It killed him that she’d even think that way, but if she’d been anyone else, she’d have been right. “Yeah, you do know me, but as we’ve already determined, I don’t think either of us knows what to expect from the new and improved boyfriend-worthy man I’ve become.”

She pushed up on her elbow. The room was dark, with just a hint of moonlight peeking in between the curtains. Her hair tumbled over her breasts, and she had that freshly loved look of sleepy contentment in her eyes. His heart squeezed a little.

“So? Go or stay?” she asked.

“Stay. Definitely stay.”

“You do realize that if I come out of your cabin in the same clothes I was wearing last night, people are going to talk.”

“You know they won’t, but if you’re worried, let’s get cleaned up and go to your cabin. They’re used to seeing me come out of your room at all hours of the night.” Rush wondered if she was just nervous, and if she was, he’d do whatever it took to calm her. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “It’s weird, isn’t it? No one has ever questioned us about that, and if it had been anyone else, they would have.”

“We are so thickly seeded in the friend zone that they probably don’t even think that way.”

“Were. We were thickly seeded in the friend zone.”
The others might not, but the coach thinks of us in that way
.

Jayla wrapped the sheet around herself and walked to the bathroom.

“I’ve seen you naked, you know.”

She glanced over her shoulder with a shy smile and flushed cheeks and pushed the bathroom door partially shut behind her. Rush heard the shower turn on and debated joining her.

He lay back down. He didn’t want to smother her on their first night together.

“You coming or what?” Jayla called from the bathroom.

Oh hell, yes
.

Seeing her in his shower, water running over the planes of her lean body, got him hot and bothered again.

She ran her eyes down his body as he stepped in beside her. “If you’re careful with my shoulder, I just might let you show me how great shower sex can be.”

He backed her up against the wet tiles.

“Jayla Stone, I’m gonna love you until you can’t even think about a shower without blushing.”

THIRTY MINUTES LATER, Rush helped Jayla into one of his long-sleeved shirts, which hung to the middle of her thighs. She had no panties from the night before and only a skirt, so she threw on a pair of his sweatpants instead, which hung several inches past her feet and looked like they’d swallowed her.

Rush had the urge to take a picture and Instagram it with the caption,
Eat your heart out, America. She’s my sweetheart now
. Seeing Jayla in his clothes should have sent his mind right back into the friend zone. Instead, his pulse ratcheted up and heat pulsed through him. He took her in his arms and nuzzled against her neck.

“I want to take you right back to bed.” He pressed his hips against her so she could feel what she was doing to him. He felt her fingers tighten around his waist.

“Then do it,” she said in a breathy whisper.

SOMETIME DURING THE night, Rush had gone to Jayla’s cabin to retrieve her clothes for the morning, and now, with the sun streaming through the windows, having worked painfully through her shoulder exercises, showered, and dressed, Jayla listened to the sounds of Rush in the other room. His footsteps crossed the bedroom floor. She heard the shifting of skin against denim, the sound of the zipper of his jeans. They were familiar sounds, and yet they were completely new and exciting. She’d known that coming together with Rush would be earth-shattering, but what she hadn’t expected was how quickly her mind would flip from being his friend to being his girlfriend. It not only happened quickly, but easily, as if all her stubbornness and worry had been for naught.

He’d loved and lingered over every inch of her. She felt her cheeks flush, thinking of all the naughty things they’d done as they discovered each other’s pleasures for the first time.

She stood in the kitchen, her heart full of him and a throbbing pain in her shoulder.
Totally worth it
. She wondered how they’d handle their relationship with their teammates and coach, and the pain in her shoulder made her wonder if they’d even have to worry about it next year. She refused to think about that.

Jayla carried a cup of coffee into the bedroom for Rush.

“Thanks, beautiful.” He kissed her cheek.

Beautiful.
Not
Jay
.
Beautiful
. She loved that.

“I grabbed a premade protein shake from the convenience store at the resort after the gym so I wouldn’t wake you with the blender. Sorry I kept you up so late, but that’s what you get for being so damn cute.”

“Maybe I’ll borrow your clothes more often. How was the gym? Did you have any energy to work out?”

“You mean while you snored away? I was tired after two hours of sleep, but no biggie.”

She’d slept in instead of going to either the slopes or the gym, and at first she’d felt guilty, but between clinging to Rush last night, teaching during the day, and evening practices, the dull ache in her shoulder had worsened. She’d opted for rest, light shoulder exercises, and recuperation.

He pulled her close and she winced.

He narrowed his eyes. “Where are your pain meds?”

“I’m taking Motrin and Tylenol.”

“That’s insane. You must be in tremendous pain.”

She walked into the living room and sank into the couch. “Oh, please. It’s not anything I can’t deal with.” She would give her eyeteeth to take stronger pain meds, but she knew they would slow her down.

Rush sat on the coffee table across from her and set his coffee cup beside him. He rested his hands on her knees and gave her the serious look she knew so well. The
you know I’m right
look.

“So, let’s talk about this. No more avoiding it. No more hiding the truth.”

She dropped her eyes. “Truth? My shoulder is going to end my career.” She fought against the tears that came too easily.

He reached for her. “Come here.”

“No.” She pulled away. He searched her eyes and she shifted them away.

“You’re shutting me out of this? Talk to me, Jayla. What’s your plan?”

“I don’t really have one. I want to keep trying to build strength, and after this weekend’s competition, I’ll see the doctor. If it’s definitely a tear, maybe I’ll have the surgery, but I don’t even know if that’s the right thing to do. What if it can heal on its own and surgery just messes it up more?” She pushed to her feet so he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.

“Jayla.” His voice was laden with concern. “You know the chances of the doctors being that far off.”

She turned with anger in her chest and worry in her belly—and goddamn tears in her eyes. In the next breath, he was on his feet and she was wrapped safely in his arms.

“What if they’re right? They told me last time that another shoulder injury would probably end my career. What if I really can’t compete again?” Her tears soaked into his soft T-shirt. She clutched his chest, and she was sure she’d taken purchase of his chest hair, which had to hurt, but he didn’t shift away. He held her tighter.

“Then you won’t compete.”

Four simple words that cut her to the core. She clenched her eyes shut against the pain of them. It was Rush who pulled her from her hiding place against his chest. She reached for him, and he placed his hands firmly on the sides of her head and made her look up at him, tears and all.

“You are not just a competitive skier. I know you, Jayla. You’re just like me. You’re thinking that your life is over if you can’t compete. And it’s not.”

“You know that’s…not true,” she said through the stupid tears that made her feel weak. “Our whole lives we’ve been scared of this, Rush.” She pushed away from him as her voice escalated. “Remember? Shoot us. That’s what we said we wanted to happen if we couldn’t compete. Because what’s left?”

“What’s left? You. Me. Us. And even if you can’t compete, you’ll probably still be able to ski.”

“You don’t know that. What if they screw up my shoulder so badly that I can’t?”

“What if you damage it so badly that they can’t repair it?”

The challenge in his eyes pissed her off. She turned and walked away.

He was half a step behind her. “You can’t pretend this isn’t happening, and I won’t let you hurt yourself so badly that it can never be fixed.”

She spun around. “You know what? I get to make that decision. Not you. Not the coaches.” She pointed at her chest. “Me, Rush. It’s my body, my decision.”

He ran his hand through his hair, and she saw his biceps flex and his hands curl into fists. Determination gave way to frustration, and he paced, breathing fast and hard.

“Damn it, Jayla. Fine. Okay, fine. You’re right. You’re an athlete, and a damn good one. You get to make that call. I was out of line.” He ran his hand over his face.

She went to him, feeling guilty for being so full of herself when he was only trying to help.

“No, you were in line with your worry, but it’s my decision.” Her entire body trembled, but she managed to speak calmly. She reached for the counter and leaned against it, trying to clear her thoughts. “I’m sorry I’m such a wimp, and I’m sorry I’m so angry, but…”

He reached for her again, and this time she didn’t pull away.

“Wimp? An army of women could never be as strong as you. It’s okay to be angry, but don’t confuse what you’re angry at. I get it, and I’m a patient guy, but I’m not the enemy.”

“I know you’re not.”

“Okay. Good. I want to go with you to the doc. I want to hear what they say. I want to see the scans. Whatever it is, Jayla, we can get through it together.”

She held his gaze. “Okay, but I’m competing this weekend.”

“Fine.”

She let out a breath. “Really?”

“Your body, your decision. Besides, it’s what I would want if I were you, so even though as your boyfriend I can’t stand to think about you in pain, as your teammate, I’d expect nothing less from you.”

“Oh, thank God.” She fell into his arms and held on tight. “Thank you.” His body was tense, and she didn’t blame him. She knew he hated not being able to fix this for her, but she wasn’t going to back down. She already felt better having shared the truth with the one person she knew would understand.

“Don’t thank me. You know damn well that you could end up with a worse injury from practicing, much less competing. And if that happens, I’ll have to live with the guilt of not forcing you to stop.”

“You can’t force me.”

He looked down at her with a crooked grin. “I’ve got a foot and about a hundred-plus pounds on you, and it pisses me off to know that you’re goddamn right. Can we at least talk about options in case you can’t compete in the future?”

“Only if you want my fangs to come out.”

He didn’t ask again.

Rush made egg-white omelets and toast, and after they ate breakfast, Jayla washed the dishes as Rush dried them.

“We need some rules,” Rush said.

“Oh God, please tell me you haven’t been hiding some freaky side of yourself all these years, because without skiing and without my best friend, I might lose my mind.”

“No freaky sides. Unless you want there to be.” He arched a brow.

She rolled her eyes.

“I just mean that I think there are a few things we should talk about. I do have some rights as a boyfriend.”

She touched his stomach. “I like that, you know.
Boyfriend
.”

“Probably not as much as I like knowing that I get to claim you as my girlfriend.” He set down the plate he was drying and leaned against the counter with a sigh. “Before we get to boyfriend rules, what about Coach C and the team? How do you want to handle them? And before you answer, you need to know that Coach asked me not to get involved with you.”

“No, he did not.”
What the hell?

Rush nodded. “Yup. He said you needed to focus and I’d screw that up for you. He’s right, you know. We’ll probably both lose focus.”

“No, we won’t, because until after the competition, we’re keeping our relationship just between us. I don’t need Coach on my back, and you don’t need him on yours, either.”

“I’m not sure I can promise that.”

“Sure you can.”

He leaned close to her. “When I see you, I want to touch you.” He kissed her. “Like that.”

“Mm. Oh, wait, I’m not supposed to enjoy that.” She sighed. “You’ll have to think of it as a competition, then. We both will. Which one of us can hide our affection in public the longest?” She smiled, and he shook his head.

“I’m defeated the minute we walk out this door.”

She laughed. “You can do this. If I can go without pain meds, you can go without kisses. Besides, you’ve always held my hand and put your arm around me. As long as you aren’t looking at me like”—she looked into his eyes and nearly melted at the desire she saw there—“
that
, we’ll be okay.”

“Like what?”

“Maybe you won’t be okay.” She lifted his shirt and pressed a kiss to his belly.

“Christ Almighty. There’s no way in hell we’ll fool anyone.”

She lifted up on her toes, and he took her in a deep, delicious kiss. She came away dizzy.