Page 48 of On the Edge

I push off the wall, my resolve settling in as I put my hand on her lower back and guide her toward the hallway door. She pushes my hand away. “I can get back to my room myself,” she says, then swings open the door and walks through it without looking back.

I stand in the doorframe, watching to make sure she gets to her room okay, and praying that I didn’t make a huge mistake by not following her. But I don’t want to be someone she regrets. Or rather, I don’t want to give her another reason to regret being with me.

Instead, I’ll make her understand why I left, since it’s become increasingly clear that no one in her life has been honest with her about that.

* * *

In the few minutes it takes me to make it back up to my room, I’ve already pictured three different scenarios for how things with Jackson could have ended tonight, and all of them involve me buried in her while she cries out my name. Once I lock the door behind me, I shed my clothes as I walk toward the bathroom, not even caring where anything lands. As I turn on the water in the shower I’m pulling down my boxers, anxious to not feel so confined.

I step into the hot shower and tilt my head forward, letting the spray hit the top of my head and run down my face. It’s easy to picture Jackson here with me, in this shower, her legs spread like they were tonight, and her hands pressed above her shoulders on the sterile white wall tile. It’s equally easy to imagine that the streams of water that trail down my chest and fall to my hardened cock are her fingers, reaching behind her to guide me. The image of her perfect ass pressed up toward my hips, with her dark hair thrown over one shoulder as the water runs down her back, has me fisting my cock into my hand and groaning as the sensitive nerves there finally make contact with something other than my zipper.

In my imagination, or perhaps my memory, I feel the slick heat of her pussy as it clenches around me while I push in to the hilt. She looks over her shoulder and moans for more. I bring my fingers up to her mouth, let her swirl her tongue around them a few times, and then I bring them back down in front of her and use them to circle her clit. Instantly I can feel her tightening around me, her moans growing louder as she tells me how fucking good it feels. A few more thrusts and in her breathy sex-voice she says, “Oh God, Nate. I’m coming!” She’s squeezing me impossibly tight now, and I can feel the pull at the base of my spine, the tingling as it travels to my balls, and now I’m shooting my release all over the wall of the shower, both sated by the relief and disappointed that it was only a vision.

When I head back into the room, my phone is vibrating in my pants pocket on the floor.

My lawyer’s name flashes across the screen where I really hoped to see Jackson’s name, which is a bit of a mood killer.

“You still up?” Jed asks when I answer the phone.

“Yeah, just got back to my hotel room.” I glance at the clock and do the math, realizing its just about the end of the work day back on the East Coast.

“Okay, I wanted to let you know that the Blackstone folks want a meeting to hammer out the last details.”

“What details do we need to hammer out?” I ask. “They already accepted our revised proposal.”

Blackstone Mountain is the last brick in my path back to Jackson. It’s a deal that’s been over a year in the making, the crowning jewel on the real estate empire I’ve been quietly building. That, combined with skiing, have given me the fulfillment I needed to be the man she needs.

“It sounds like they want some reassurances about a few of the terms. You just need to show up and remind them that Blackstone is your home mountain and you have their best interests at heart.” He lets out a frustrated breath. “I mean, that’s what this is about, right? You’re investing in it for sentimental reasons?”

Jed thinks Blackstone is a bad investment. I’ve made riskier investments and had them pay off, but nothing of this magnitude. And I can’t deny that there’s a sentimental connection here—where Jackson and I fell in love, where I raced for my last two seasons before having to give it all up.

“Sure, but it’s also a smart investment. There is so much potential there. Just wait, you’re going to be bringing your family there instead of Stowe, and cutting your travel time in half.”

Jed lets out a laugh that’s a half snort. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“See if you can schedule the meeting Thanksgiving weekend. I’m spending the holiday there with my dad anyway,” I tell him. “I’m sure you’ll be with your family so maybe we can just video conference you in.”

“Depending on the day, I may come up for it. Like you said, it’s not that far from Boston.”

“Okay, let me know the details of the meeting once you have them, and send me a summary of the items they want reassurances on.”

“Will do,” Jed says, and disconnects the call.

I stare at my phone, thinking about how this deal has the potential to be the best investment I ever made, or the worst—largely dependent on how Jackson reacts when she finds out.

CHAPTER14

JACKSON

Helsinki, Finland

“AirFrance flight 5010 with service to Paris is now boarding passengers with seats in business class.” The announcement echoes throughout the mostly empty terminal. Aside from my flight, few of the gates around us have any passengers waiting at this time of the evening.

The line moves slowly as an older couple passes through the gate and onto the passenger boarding bridge, but I’m almost to the front when I hear my name yelled loudly from behind me.

I’d recognize that voice anywhere. So I do what I think will protect me, and will protect my heart—I ignore it and start to hand my ticket to the gate agent.

“Jackson, please,” Nate pants next to me, his breath coming in short spurts.

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