Christmas in the Mountains (Mountains Series Book 4) Read online

  “I like the way you think, sweetheart,” Sarah smiled. “I hope no one’s in trouble.”

  “I’m about to find out.” He shut the door behind him, sealing off the arctic blast that rushed into the cabin when he opened it.

  Sarah watched him trudge off the snow-covered porch, down the stairs that weren’t remotely visible other than a rounded heap of snow. Once he was on solid ground, he trekked down the driveway, leaving boot prints in the deep drifts that went up to the middle of his calf. That’s gotta be almost a foot, Sarah thought, disheartened. That forecast for six inches was way off.

  It took James almost five minutes to reach the bundled figures, who had nearly disappeared from Sarah’s view down the hill. She hated not knowing what was being said or what has happening. She realized her fingers were trembling as she braced herself for the sound of the gun. That would be the very worst scenario she could imagine. Instead, there was only a deafening silence that settled around the peaks of some of the tallest mountains in the area.

  It felt like it took forever before she observed three bundled figures trudging up the hill toward the cabin. Snow was blowing so hard, it looked as though they were moving through a snow globe that had been vigorously shaken. She couldn’t make out if the figures were male or female, and if James weren’t wearing his green army coat, she wouldn’t have been able to identify him, either.

  Two: Unexpected Guests

  Sarah watched the snow-covered trio approach the cabin, their features slowly coming into focus as they grew closer. The taller of the two strangers appeared to be an African American gentleman, while the other figure was female and petite. Beyond that, it was hard to tell with a thick scarf around her neck. When they climbed onto the porch and removed their hats, a wave of thick, light brown hair fell out of the woman’s stocking cap. She had her back turned to the window, so Sarah could only see that she had beautiful golden blonde highlights woven throughout her chestnut-colored tresses.

  James’s voice echoed around the porch, then spilled into the small cabin as he pulled open the door. That’s when Sarah realized she was still standing there in her bathrobe. She’d been so entranced by the entire production, she had forgotten to put clothes on. How embarrassing! she chided herself as the two strangers stomped their snow-covered boots on the doormat before following James inside.

  “And this is Sarah,” he introduced, turning his eyes to his wife, who had her arms crossed nervously over her chest. “Sarah, this is Charlie and Zora Fox.”

  Sarah felt her cheeks blush a warm rose color as she extended her hand to greet their guests. “I’m so sorry I’m such a mess! I saw you walking down the hill and was so worried something was wrong, I didn’t even think of putting clothes on. I’ll go put something on right now, and then you can –”

  Zora shook her head, causing her long, highlighted hair to rustle around her shoulders. “Oh, no need to change on our account, right, Charlie? We rather like women in their pajamas, don’t we?” She leaned over to her partner and nudged him with her elbow.

  Sarah swallowed a lump in her throat as Charlie vigorously nodded his head. James’s eyes immediately snapped to Sarah’s as his brow raised with suspicion.

  “Pajamas or not, just be comfortable,” Zora continued, still peeling layers off her tiny body. Sarah noticed the petite woman was Asian with beautifully sculpted cheekbones, perfectly-bowed lips and eyes so dark, they were almost black. She was gorgeous, and Sarah naturally wondered how old she was. She can’t be a day over thirty, she surmised.

  Charlie was a tall, well-built black man with wide, expressive eyes and full lips. He wore black plastic-rimmed glasses and a moss green wool sweater with jeans and boots. He kept his eyes peeled on Zora while she was talking, and every time he looked at Sarah, he glanced away as soon as her eyes met his.

  “So, the Foxes were telling me their cabin is about a mile up the hill from ours, and their power went out a few hours ago in the storm,” James shared, filling the awkward silence that seemed to bubble up after the pajamas comment.

  “Oh, no!” Sarah gasped. “I’m sorry to hear that. You couldn’t get your car out?”

  “No,” Charlie explained, “we don’t have a car up here.”

  Hmm, do I detect a British accent? Sarah wondered, wishing he’d say a few more words so she could confirm her suspicion.

  But Zora jumped in, “We were staying with friends, but they left last night to take our other mutual friends to the airport. Then they called this morning and said they were going to wait for the storm to pass before trying to make it up the mountain.”

  “Zora and I were fine to wait out the storm, but after we lost power, it was only an hour or so before it started to get bloody cold!” Charlie added in what was a definite British accent.

  “And we knew there was no chance of us making it through the night without the furnace no matter how much body heat the two of us could generate!” Zora winked at Charlie, and they both chuckled.

  Second blatant sexual joke she’s made, Sarah observed, blinking. James seemed to notice too and moved closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder to squeeze her to his broad frame.

  “Well, what can I get you guys? You must be freezing!” Sarah offered, trying to remember to be a gracious hostess.

  “I’m just glad we had our boots, parkas and gloves, or we’d have hyperthermia by now,” Zora said, following Sarah into the kitchen.

  “Where were you going? How did you know you were better off going out into the snow than just staying put?” James questioned.

  “All the firewood was wet,” Charlie began, but Zora picked up for him: “We remembered seeing lights on in this cabin when we came up the other night with our friends. We were just banking on you still being here.”

  “Good thing we’re not ax murderers or something!” James joked, and Sarah shot him a daggery look.

  Zora and Charlie laughed along. “Yeah, we totally lucked out,” Charlie agreed.

  Sarah started a pot of coffee and set out the tray of croissants and bowl of fruit she and James had enjoyed earlier for breakfast. She started to wonder what she was going to feed everyone for dinner. There wasn’t much in the pantry now other than some spaghetti and marinara. They were supposed to be heading back down the mountain tomorrow morning. It was less than an hour’s drive back to the city, but Sarah wanted to stop and pick up some items they would need for their Christmas Eve feast. She had been so excited to celebrate their first Christmas in their new house in Colorado, but now this storm was putting both a literal and figurative dark cloud over the entire trip.

  “Do you think we should try to get the truck out now?” James asked, joining Sarah in the kitchen while Zora and Charlie made themselves comfortable in the tiny living room by the slow-burning fire James had just added logs to.

  “I have no idea,” Sarah sighed, washing her hands off in the sink. She wasn’t nearly as agitated by suddenly having a third and fourth wheel joining their romantic getaway as she was by the fact it didn’t look promising for making it back to Colorado Springs by the following evening.

  James pulled his wife into his arms, nuzzling her neck with the soft beard that had sprouted since he’d been on holiday leave. “Darling, I will do everything in my power to get us home. I know you miss the kids. Everything is going to be okay, though, I promise.”

  She glanced up at him, trying to hide the glistening tear stinging at the corner of her eye, but it was useless. James could read her too well. She buried her head in his chest and tried to breathe out her frustration, knowing she needed to be warm and gracious to their guests.

  “I’ll ask Charlie to come out with me and survey the situation once he’s warmed up,” James said, his arms still enveloping her.

  “Even if you manage to dig the truck out, do you think you can make it down that hill?”

  “I grew up in Ohio, remember? I can drive in snow with no problem,” he answered with a wink.

  “They don’t hav
e mountains in Ohio,” Sarah reminded him.

  He didn’t answer, but when he let go, Sarah felt the cold air rush around her, snuffing out the warmth his body had given her.

  “So where are you guys from?” Sarah asked Zora as she sipped her coffee. The two sat at the tiny ice cream parlor table in the space between the kitchen and living room.

  “We’re from Boulder,” she answered. “You guys?”

  “We just moved to Colorado a few months ago from Maryland, but I’m from here originally, and James lived here for a while when he was growing up.”

  “Military, right?” Zora guessed, putting her coffee mug back down on the table. She had a knowing look in her almost black eyes.

  Sarah nodded with a smile curling her lips. “Yeah, James definitely has that look, even with his beard coming in. He’s been on leave for two weeks.”

  “I love that look. Accents and men in uniform. Aren’t we lucky wives?” she asserted. “Charlie’s originally from London, as if you couldn’t tell. He’s a computer geek. Certainly not as sexy as an Army guy, but that accent sure makes up for it.”

  So that was sort of a sexual reference too, Sarah noted, studying Zora’s delicate features. She had creamy ivory skin that contrasted with her eyes, and the kind of hair that looked like she’d spent a long time in a stylist’s hair. Is that what they call balayage? Sarah wondered. Now in her forties and the mother of both a college student and a toddler, she felt hopelessly uncool at times.

  Sarah hadn’t been very attentive to her own looks since Lynnea was born. She’d let her naturally wavy hair grow to the middle of her back and hadn’t had a trim for ages. She was able to manage coloring her grays away once a month, but was always surprised to see how quickly they reappeared. Being firmly in her forties now, she noticed the aches and pains that started with little fleeting quirks in her thirties had intensified. And she knew she needed to start making the gym a priority. In the dead of winter, though, it was so much easier to snuggle up in her flannel PJs and munch on something carb-laden.

  “Do you have kids?” she found herself asking Zora, though she was certain the answer would be no. She had the youthful glow of someone in her late twenties, though Sarah knew Asian women were known for looking young longer than their Caucasian peers.

  “No. I’m not even sure I want them, to be honest. We moved to Boulder so I could pursue my doctorate in sociology. I’ll finish up this spring, provided I can defend my dissertation,” she winked.

  Sarah felt a spark fire through her, and her body was immediately flooded with endorphins. “Sociology?! Really?!”

  A sparkling laugh fell from Zora’s lips. “Yeah, I know. I don’t really look like the nerdy professor type.”

  “No, no, it’s not that,” Sarah explained. “I’m a sociology professor myself!”

  Zora’s face illuminated with wide eyes and a matching grin. “You don’t say?! That’s fabulous. What is your area of expertise?”

  “I study human sexuality,” Sarah answered. “I’m actually on sabbatical this year as we recently had a baby, but I’m supposed to be writing my second book. My first was about the state of sexuality on college campuses, while the new one focuses on sexuality and politics.”

  “That’s incredible! I too am focusing on sexuality. Wow, talk about serendipity!” Zora exclaimed.

  “It’s quite a wonderful coincidence,” Sarah agreed. “I could put you in touch with all sorts of others in the field if you’re interested.”

  “That would be fabulous!” Zora exclaimed gratefully, then added, “And I have to say, I’m rather pleased to know you aren’t a prude. I don’t know, the truck and the military thing made me wonder if you two were ultra conservative or something. Especially living in the Springs…”

  Sarah nodded. “I understand. Uh, no, we’re about as open-minded as they come!”

  Zora’s dark eyes widened as her lips curled into a broad grin. “I was hoping you would say that,” she admitted, biting her bottom lip as if her imagination was off to the races.

  “You were?” Sarah’s heart was pounding against her ribcage now. She had uttered the magic words that unlocked a secret passageway to a whole new world. Now the innuendo she picked up on when Charlie and Zora first arrived made perfect sense.

  Zora flipped her long, highlighted tresses over her shoulder and crossed her slim legs at the knee as she leaned forward to address Sarah’s questioning smile. “Oh, yes, I saw my husband’s face light up when he looked at you. I could tell he was attracted to you immediately.”

  Sarah’s cheeks involuntarily blushed. It had been a while since she and James had pursued anything lifestyle-related. But they had just made a pact – during their stay in the cabin, in fact – to get back into it after the new year. Rachel, Sarah’s best friend, had been cajoling them to try out a new swinger club in Denver that she and her husband, Jack, had joined. Sarah knew Rachel would be ecstatic when she was finally given the thumbs up.

  “Well, he is undoubtedly an attractive man himself,” Sarah finally managed, still flabbergasted by this fortuitous discovery. “And that accent – ”

  “I think you’ll find he has plenty of other prime assets in addition to his sexy accent,” Zora revealed, winking. “Just wait until the men return and find out what’s in store for them…”

  “I think they’ll be pleased,” Sarah agreed, putting her coffee mug down on the table. Her eyes drifted over to the window where James and Charlie were making their way toward the cabin again, both covered in another dusting of snow.

  They stepped inside and stomped their boots again on the thick mat. “Hey, we’re going to hike back up to their cabin to see if they have more shovels in the shed there. The one we have is basically worthless,” James explained.

  “Okay,” Sarah sighed, disappointed they didn’t have better news. She wrinkled up her nose. “Who owns a cabin in the mountains and doesn’t have a decent snow shovel? That’s pretty much asking for trouble!”

  Charlie shrugged, and Sarah noticed his eyes shifted down to her chest. Her robe had fallen open a bit while she and Zora were chatting, and the soft curves of her full breasts were visible all the way down to her nipples. She almost flinched and covered up, but when she saw how the sight warmed his whole expression and filled his eyes with a white-hot lust, she just smiled back at him seductively.

  Zora missed none of this and was quick to reveal, “We have a surprise for you fellows when you return.” She winked at them suggestively.

  James squinted as if he didn’t quite understand, then locked his eyes onto Sarah, who only gave him the exact same smile she had just given Charlie.

  As soon as they left, Zora leaned over and whispered, “This is going to be so much fun!”

  Three: Somewhat of a Domme

  Zora is a rather take-charge type of person, Sarah quickly noted. She attempted to lure Sarah into the bedroom right after their husbands headed back up the mountain to the other cabin, but Sarah insisted on taking a shower first. Zora seemed a bit taken aback that Sarah would deny her persuasive advances.

  When Sarah emerged from the shower, Zora was spread seductively across the bed wearing only her red lace bra and panties, which contrasted beautifully against her lovely complexion. Sarah stopped herself before a soft gasp emerged from her lips, but she couldn’t prevent her eyes from wandering up and down Zora’s taut, petite curves. It had been quite some time since she’d been with a woman, but she couldn’t deny that the female form still evoked a response, a tantalizing combination of curiosity and desire.

  It was hard not to appreciate the silky smooth skin or the lovely sensual smell of an aroused woman. Sarah was always tempted by the promise of how her lips would feel against flesh as delicate as her own. And the way Zora’s long, golden-streaked tresses fanned out around her face, a few tendrils of which teased the roundness of her shoulders, Sarah found she longed to gently brush them away while sampling the softness of her skin underneath her fingertips.


  She stood in the doorway of the bedroom with nothing but a fluffy white towel wrapped around her. The steam from her hot shower still rose from her creamy skin, and the chill of the December air went straight to her nipples, tightening them into firm, hard buds against the soft terrycloth. She had half a mind to drop the towel, but something held her back. Maybe it was a bit of modesty, perhaps a bit of embarrassment that her body hadn’t returned to its pre-baby proportions.

  But the glint of desire in Zora’s eyes as she swung herself off the bed and rose on her lithe legs to greet Sarah did much to bolster her courage. Zora hooked her finger under the towel and tore it away from Sarah’s body in one clean jerk. “You’re gorgeous,” she whispered in Sarah’s ear as she took her into her arms.

  Sarah could feel Zora’s heart thundering against her petite ribcage as she pressed her lips in the crook of Sarah’s neck. The tingles radiated from the point of contact to the tips of her fingers and toes. Her knees began to buckle from the feel of Zora’s soft breath against her skin as her mouth moved to Sarah’s ear. “Climb back onto the bed, sweetheart,” she exhaled in a lustful sigh, and Sarah immediately complied.

  Sarah heard the cabin door swing open just as Zora joined her on the bed, parting Sarah’s thick, shapely thighs so she could kneel between them. Both women witnessed the heavy footfalls of their husbands growing closer as Zora dropped her head to the mound of springy dark curls between Sarah’s legs, deeply inhaling her scent. “I can’t wait to taste you,” she purred, glancing up into Sarah’s doe brown eyes.

  Sarah’s eyelids fluttered closed just as she sensed the presence of the two men, who were both shocked into silence. As she was waiting for one of them to speak, she felt Zora’s hot breath teasing her clit as her tongue gently parted her swollen lips, delicately gliding between them. “Mmmmm….just like honey,” she sighed, the hum of her voice reverberating through Sarah’s loins.

  “Damn,” James reacted, his voice so deep in his throat, it could barely be heard.