Man Feast (Bergen Brothers Book 2) Page 6

  Jasper ran his hand down his face. “Lucky for you, we got here before Gram and Grandad.”

  “The family engagement ski party thing starts today?” Brennen’s eyes went wide. “Come in! Come in!”

  They entered the house as another look of confusion crossed Brennen’s face.

  “Wait! Why did you knock, Jas? You’ve got a key?”

  As if on cue, Abby rounded the corner wearing nothing but a Bergen Mountain sweatshirt and lacy underwear.

  Yep, he and Elle had caught the newly engaged couple in full-on fuck mode.

  Abby’s eyes went wide, and her cheeks grew pink as she took in the scene, then turned on her heel and ran back down the hall.

  Jasper met his brother’s gaze. “That’s why we knocked.”

  Brennen gave him an easy grin. “What did you expect? We just got engaged.”

  “And you made it through the man fast,” Jasper added, biting back a smirk.

  “Make fun of it all you like, big brother. Without the man fast, I wouldn’t be standing here half naked, and Abby wouldn’t be mortified you saw her in her underwear.”

  “Did you see me, Jasper?” Abby called from down the hall.

  His expression softened. He genuinely liked and respected his brother’s fiancée. And he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little bit jealous. Not that he had any romantic feelings for Abby. He only wondered what it would be like to have someone look at him the way she looked at Brennen. The way his father had looked at his mother.

  Jasper cleared his throat. “No, I didn’t see you, Abby. You were too quick.”

  She joined them—now fully clothed—and threw him a bright smile then hugged Elle. “How was the drive up?”

  Elle’s expression grew stony.

  “I’m going to go get my bag,” she said, giving Abby a tight smile.

  Jasper grated his teeth. “I can get your bag.”

  She pinned him with that lapis blue gaze. “I don’t need you to get my bag.”

  He leaned in and lowered his voice. “Consider it one of the perks of being under contract with Bergen Enterprises.”

  Elle reared back. She shot him a scathing glare then stormed out the door. If looks could kill, he’d be as dead as a doornail.

  Jasper glanced at his brother and Abby. Abby’s lips were pressed together, and Bren just shook his head with an amused expression.

  “I’ll be right back,” Jasper said, his skin prickling.

  Eleanor Reynolds made him look like a childish idiot. He was not about to sink into her flippant, irresponsible ways. At least the cottage was enormous. While Elle celebrated with Abby and the rest of his family, he planned on escaping to the study to work.

  He stepped onto the porch and watched as Elle yanked on the car’s door handle.

  “Are you planning on breaking that, too?”

  Elle looked up from where she stood, gripping the Audi’s handle and pulling violently like somebody trying to shake a vending machine to get a free chocolate bar.

  “It’s locked!” she called.

  “I know. I locked it!”

  “In the goddamn driveway with security right down the street?” She scoffed.

  “Who doesn’t lock their car? Oh wait! Let me guess…you.” He scoffed right back.

  Elle threw up her hands. “I don’t know why you’re trying so hard to make me out as the enemy. I wouldn’t have agreed to work with Bergen Enterprises if I didn’t believe in the company.”

  This woman.

  He released a tight breath, then joined her at the car. “Believing in something isn’t enough. I used to believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. It doesn’t mean they’re real. Data and facts are what makes the world go round, Eleanor.”

  “But belief is what makes it fun. Believing in something is what gives it magic.”

  “Magic? You’re only making my case with statements like that,” he barked.

  “And what’s your case?”

  “That you’re all wrong for Bergen Enterprises. You’re too…”

  “Too, what?” She took a step toward him.

  “Irresponsible. Your car troubles prove that.”

  She jabbed her index finger into his chest. “People make mistakes, Jasper. Things don’t always go as planned. But that’s life. Our successes and failures are what makes us human and not just a bunch of hollow bunny robotic sacks of flesh walking around.”

  His pulse kicked up, and every cell in his body begged him to touch her. He cupped her cheek in his hand, no longer moving of his own rational volition. Their breaths mingled in sharp puffs of white in the cold mountain air as the light snow grew more intense around them.

  He brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. “That’s the third time you’ve called me a hollow bunny today. Is that some millennial hipster term real adults don’t use?”

  She grazed her teeth over the tip of his thumb, and the contact sent a sharp bolt of lust straight to his cock.

  What was it about Eleanor Reynolds? Nobody insulted him. No one would dare. He was a rich and powerful man, but that didn’t seem to faze her. She saw herself as his equal. Scratch that. She saw herself as better than him.

  She bit down harder, and the pain surged through him. Locked in battle with Elle was the most alive he’d felt in years.

  She relaxed her bite and ran the tip of her tongue over the pad of his thumb. “You better step back. I’m not sweet like my cousin. I could eat you for lunch if I wanted to.”

  “I’ve never liked sweet. I don’t even have a favorite ice cream flavor,” he growled back.

  Snowflakes floated through the air, catching in Elle’s dark chestnut hair. One came to rest on the tip of her eyelashes, and he had the sudden desire to kiss each flake from where they landed on her body.

  She’d grabbed onto his jacket, her small fists clutching and tightening, keeping him close when the sound of the mountain estate’s door creaked open, then shut abruptly.

  Fucking hell! They had an audience.

  Elle released her grip, and he slid his hand from her face, hating himself for again falling captive to those lapis blue eyes and all the grit and fire and challenge they contained.

  “I think Abby and Brennen are waiting for us,” he said, doing his best to keep his voice even.

  She nodded. “I’m still carrying my own bag.”

  He reached into his pocket, took out his keys, and pressed the unlock button on the key fob.

  He took a step back so she could open the car door and retrieve her bag. “Be my guest.”

  He followed her back into the cottage where Abby offered to give her a tour, and the cousins set off for the far side of the house. A good plan. He and Elle were likely to start throwing things at each other if they remained together much longer.

  His brother bit back a grin. “You and Elle look a little tense.”

  He stared out the expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the breathtaking view of Bergen Mountain. “Eleanor Reynolds is impossible and infuriating.”

  “So, you like her?”

  Jasper reared back. The last thing he needed was relationship advice from his younger brother. “Not a chance! Where the hell would you get that from?”

  Brennen shifted his weight. “Abby and I think that you each need to get some.”

  “Get some?” He frowned.

  “Laid, big brother. Abby also thinks Elle should go on a man feast. You know, the opposite of what she did with the man fast.”

  Jasper shook his head. “Jesus, Bren! Why the hell are you and your fiancée discussing Elle’s and my sex life?”

  Brennen’s eyes went wide. “You guys have a sex life?”

  Talking about having no sex life was almost as bad as not having one.

  “No! We can barely stand to be together.” But just as the words fell from his lips, images of Elle’s eyes and her perfect petite curves flashed before him.

  “I don’t know,” Brennen began. “A man feast isn’t a bad idea. You
’re single, and Abby said that she can’t even remember the last time Elle got—”

  “I’m going to stop you right there. Not only is Elle Reynolds working for us.”

  “Consulting,” Brennen threw out, like there was a damn difference.

  “She’ll get paid, and my name will be on the check. She’s working for us,” he shot back.

  “I was working with Abby,” Bren parried with a sly grin.

  “Yeah, and you nearly ruined everything. Listen, Bren.” He put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’m happy things worked out for you and Abby. She’s great, and I’m glad to see the old Brennen, but it’s not something that can happen with Elle and me. When we’re together, we’re about two seconds away from clawing each other’s eyes out.”

  “Or ripping each other’s clothes off,” his brother offered.

  “Jesus, Bren!” He sighed then stiffened as Elle’s voice carried up from the lower level.

  The women were on their way back, and he needed to quash this conversation fast. But when he saw Elle coming up the stairs, her pinched expression said everything. He’d bet all his shares in Bergen Enterprises that Abby just dropped the man feast idea on her.

  “How was the tour?” Brennen asked.

  Elle smiled, and it was the most relaxed he’d seen her in hours. She hooked her arm with Abby’s, and he took in the protective way she looked at her younger cousin. He recognized it because it was how he used to look at Bren and Cam when they were growing up. The weight of being the oldest. The knowledge that you would always hold that sacred position.

  “You have a lovely h—” Elle began, but paused when the doorbell rang.

  “Is that for you?” Jasper asked his brother.

  Bren shook his head. “No, it shouldn’t be. Maybe it’s Gram and Grandad?”

  Jasper opened the door and saw a man in a red Bergen Mountain ski patrol jacket.

  He schooled his features. “Can I help you?”

  The man smiled past him. “I’m here for Miss Reynolds.”

  Elle picked up her backpack and slid her arms through the straps. “Oh, that’s right! It’s been a busy day. I almost forgot.”

  Jasper frowned. “Forgot about what?” He didn’t like this one bit. He needed to know about every interaction Elle had with anything Bergen Enterprises related.

  “I wanted to see the cabins your grandparents told me about,” she answered.

  He pursed his lips. “The ones that aren’t open to the public yet?”

  “Yeah,” she said casually, like she had carte blanche access to whatever her little heart desired.

  The patroller turned up the wattage on his grin. “The snowmobile is outside. You can ride with me, Miss Reynolds.”

  While the Bergen Mountain staff knew about the cabins hidden away on the other side of the mountain, they hadn’t shared this information with the public yet. With that part of their property butting up to the National Forest’s open space, it was the perfect location for those looking to skirt the resort life and have a more rustic visit to the mountain. Secluded from the rest of the resort, summer guests could enjoy off-trail hiking and mountain biking while winter and early spring guests had access to acres and acres of wild, ungroomed backcountry for skiing and snowboarding.

  He’d had no idea Elle had been informed of this and reined in his displeasure. “It’s getting late, and it looks like a spring storm might be rolling in.”

  Elle waved him off. “It’s just a quick look. I’ll be there and back before you know it, and I’m sure…” She met the ski patroller’s gaze.

  “Antonio,” he supplied, like a puppy dog ready to perform.

  She smiled at the man and pulled her gloves and a scarf out of her suitcase. “I’m sure Antonio will take good care of me.”

  Jasper glanced at Antonio. He looked quite fucking keen on taking good care of her.

  Jasper wasn’t a jealous man. He was a practical, measured adult. A CEO. A respected member of the community. But none of that seemed to matter when it came to Eleanor Reynolds. He clenched his jaw as the muscles in his chest tightened.

  “We won’t be needing your assistance, Antonio,” he said in his fiercest I own this mountain CEO tone. “I’ll be bringing Miss Reynolds to visit the cabins myself.”

  5

  Jasper

  Elle crossed her arms. “I’m driving the snowmobile.”

  Jasper passed her a helmet. “No, you’re not.”

  She took the helmet and walked the length of the garage. “I don’t understand why you even volunteered to take me!”

  Jasper sighed. Neither did he, but he sure as hell wasn’t sending her out with Mr. Romeo Ski Patroller.

  Things got tense after he dismissed a visibly crestfallen Antonio. Elle had called him a control freak and rattled off her favorite insults for him: tin man, button-up bastard, hollow bunny. He still needed to figure out the last one.

  “I’d feel more comfortable if I brought you. The snow’s quite deep after that last storm, and another storm could roll in at any minute. Plus, I’m a skilled snowmobile rider.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “So am I!”

  He pulled on his gloves and eased the snowmobile out onto the fresh snow. “This isn’t some Sunday sightseeing tour. There are no dedicated trails where we’re going.”

  “I’m fine with that.”

  “You’ve taken a sled off trail?”

  “In Yellowstone National Park, the Adirondacks, Alaska, which has some of the wildest terrain anywhere,” she added, looking ready to hurl the helmet at him.

  Well, shit. He shouldn’t be surprised. She could probably also pilot a hot-air balloon and drive a monster truck over a row of crushed Hondas, but he stuck to his guns. “If you want to see the cabins, you’ll ride with me. Otherwise, you’re not going.”

  Her lapis blue gaze seared into him. “This is my job, Jasper. I’m not trying to pull a fast one on you. I’m trying to help you and Bergen Enterprises.”

  “By going behind my back and setting up a private tour?”

  Her cheeks grew pink. “By following up on an upcoming Bergen resort option I thought people would like to hear about. That, by the way, your grandparents shared with me. All I did was call the ski patrol office a few days ago and let them know I’d be coming up. There’s no cloak and dagger antics going on.”

  He put on his helmet, pulled down his ski goggles, and started the snowmobile.

  “This is the only way you’re getting up there. Take it or leave it,” he called over the rumble of the engine.

  She looked around the small garage that housed their snowmobiles and ski gear. “Why can’t I ride my own?”

  He mounted the snowmobile and squeezed the throttle, moving the sled forward into the snow. “Because I said I’m taking you. End of discussion.”

  Elle’s mouth moved, but thanks to his helmet and the roar of the snowmobile, all he could make out was a lot of fucks—which he was done giving.

  After a minute or two of Elle throwing a fairly decent tantrum, she put on her helmet and slid her arms through the straps of her backpack. She raised her hands in an are you happy gesture that bordered on screw you, then climbed on the snowmobile and settled in behind him.

  Was he happy?

  Hell no!

  He’d lost a whole Monday. A Monday that should have been spent doing real work and not babysitting a wayward travel writer. Then her arms wrapped around his waist, and the thought of work disappeared. Her chest pressed to his back. Her thighs brushed against his. He squeezed the throttle, giving the sled a bit too much power, and the vehicle sprang to life, jutting forward and carving deep grooves into the fresh snow. Elle tightened her grip as her helmet bumped into the back of his.

  Get it together, Bergen!

  Thanks to his father’s help, and his years on the Bergen Mountain Ski Patrol, he was an accomplished snowmobile operator. It didn’t matter if he was traversing easy trails or the treacherous backcountry. He could expertly ma
neuver the sled through deep snow, up and down steep grades, and through the densest mountain foliage. But it had been a while—a long while—since he’d last ridden. It took him a minute to get his bearings, but by the time they left the trail leading from the cottage to the mountain and turned off to head for the secluded cabins, he’d found his balance as well as something else.

  His smile.

  Carving his way through the snow with Elle holding onto him, a surge of euphoria rushed through his body. The speed. The rumble of the powerful engine between his legs. The technical aspect of losing yourself and becoming one with the machine. He’d forgotten how damn fun it was. It had been years since he’d even strapped on skis.

  Winter mountain sports used to be everything to him. As kids, he and his brothers lived in the snow: skiing, snowboarding, sledding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing. You name it, if it had anything to do with mountain powder, he and his brothers were there.

  But it wasn’t just fond memories and the roar of the sled that had his pulse racing. He reached down and squeezed Elle’s knee. “Are you okay?” he called back to her.

  He felt the pressure of her helmet as she nodded. She tightened her grip on his waist, and for a brief, flickering moment, everything made sense. The snowflakes swirling in the air grew heavier as a fresh blanket of snow lay before them, and all he wanted to do was ride off into the sunset and leave all the guilt and pain he’d carried for so many years behind. Lost in his little fantasy world, he’d hardly realized how far they’d gone until Elle batted at his arm, causing him to overcorrect and bank the sled into a large snowdrift.

  He hit the kill switch and pulled off his helmet. “What the—”

  Before he could say another word, Elle clapped her hand over his mouth and turned his head toward the wooded area to the west. He blinked. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

  “They’re black bear cubs. I counted two of them,” she whispered, slowly taking off her helmet.

  “I know they’re black bears. Black bears are the only bears we have in Colorado,” he answered, watching the dark balls of fluff pull on a tree branch.