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  “Jolene is a Wonder Woman with everything,” Alissa said firmly. Jolene said nothing.

  Salads were placed in front of them, and Dylan picked up his fork. He was starving. Maybe a good meal would get everything back on track. For a night of planned seduction, this wasn’t going well.

  Chapter Nine: Jolene

  Jolene ate her salad in silence while Cade, Alissa, and Dylan made pleasant conversation about the wine, the decorations, and the wait staff. Astrid kept throwing in off-topic and sometimes off-color jokes that seemed to make everyone, including Dylan, cringe.

  She shouldn’t be angry or even upset. There was no reason a man like Dylan shouldn’t have a girlfriend, even if Astrid was a bit of an unusual choice. She’d just met Dylan that afternoon, and although she’d just sewed up his ass, that was in her capacity as a nurse, so that Dylan could get to the dinner on time. The fact that she’d seen his cock, not once but twice, and he’d seemed to be standing awfully close to her and regarding her with those sexy eyes wasn’t important. Perhaps he did that with women he viewed as friends. Perhaps she’d been so wet for him that she’d misinterpreted. Maybe Dylan preferred skinny girls like Astrid.

  It didn’t matter. She tried to recall the rules of the babe club that she, Alissa and Zoey had established. Don’t waste any time on men who don’t appreciate your curves was the number one rule, and you’ll find someone who thinks you are beautiful was somewhere in there too. Jolene had to admit she’d been growing doubtful about the rules, but seeing Alissa so happy, and so clearly in love with, and loved by, Cade had given her hope.

  Having given herself this pep talk, she tried to manufacture a smile to join in the polite conversation, but found that she still felt remarkably like crying. Dylan looked absolutely magnificent in his suit, and he kept darting her little melting looks with his amber eyes. Probably feeling sorry for her that she’d been so taken with him earlier. She took several large gulps of wine. Perhaps that would improve her mood. She didn’t want to ruin Alissa’s pre-wedding dinner.

  By the time the main course arrived, nobody at the head table was hurting for alcohol. Astrid was practically falling out of her chair, and the tape holding her dress together had come loose revealing the curve of her small pert breasts every time she flung her arms in the air, which was decidedly often. Flynn, Cade’s very energetic and attractive friend, who was supposed to be occupying the chair between Alissa and Astrid, hadn’t yet returned.

  “Lovely girl, your girlfriend,” she murmured to Dylan while they waited for dessert, and Astrid regaled Alissa and Cade with a story of a man who’d landed the wrong way on a branch sticking up from a fallen tree.

  Dylan shot her an agonized look, and Jolene felt bad. Maybe Astrid had a drinking problem. “Do you want me to take her to the bathroom and help her with her dress?” Jolene asked.

  “She’s not my girlfriend,” Dylan whispered. “I don’t have a girlfriend. I swear.”

  Jolene drew her brows together. These words sent a surge of wild happiness through her body, but still there was the reality of Astrid, who still had her hand firmly clenched around Dylan’s thigh.

  Flynn reappeared at the table. “Sorry that took so long. Your mom wanted me to take each of the sleds for a test drive.”

  “Of course she did,” said Cade. “Sorry about that buddy.”

  Flynn shrugged and gave everyone at the table a wink. Then he sank into his seat and started digging into the dinner that Alissa had preserved for him.

  If Jolene thought Astrid had been loud before, she now amped it up another notch, flailing her free arm around with abandon, talking about her glorious powder turns the weekend before, and revealing her breasts to everyone who might care to look.

  Dylan pushed himself up from the table and gave Astrid a tight smile. “Astrid, let’s go for a little walk. There’s something I want to show you.” Astrid stared up at him blinking. “But this party’s just getting started,” she said, her voice already a little slurred.

  Dylan’s voice was sharp. “Now, Astrid.”

  Astrid smoothed her long, light-brown hair and rose.

  Dylan had already marched away from the table, and she hustled after him, linking her arm through his as he led her through a set of glass doors and out onto the deck into the starlit night.

  Cade and Alissa excused themselves to circulate to a few tables, leaving Flynn and Jolene alone at the head table. Jolene took another nervous sip of wine. Flynn smiled at Jolene through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. “So how are you enjoying White Peaks, so far?” he said.

  “Well it’s certainly eventful,” she said, straining to see what Astrid and Dylan were doing on the deck.

  “It’s a beautiful place here. Some people say the open skies make people a bit crazy.” Flynn waggled his eyebrows at her.

  Jolene blinked in surprise, but realized that Flynn was pulling her leg. He seemed to brim with energy and intensity, and she didn’t quite know how to take him yet.

  She opted for safe, rather than make any allusion to Astrid and crazy. “Alissa tells me you run a cat-skiing operation. That must be interesting.”

  “It’s certainly a wild ride this time of year, keeping everyone safe and providing the adrenaline pumping experience that they’re all looking for.”

  “How far away is your operation?”

  Flynn polished off the last of his steak and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “You can see it from here. Do you want to go have a look from the deck? It’s getting kind of stuffy in here anyway.”

  Jolene nodded. Dylan and Astrid hadn’t returned and she wondered what they were doing. Was he performing a striptease for her too? Maybe it was all in a casual night of stripteases for Dylan. And as much as she didn’t want it to, the prospect of another opportunity to see Dylan naked sent her heart racing.

  She put on her coat, wobbling a bit on her heels as she crossed the carpeted floor. Flynn extended a hand to her elbow to keep her upright.

  As they approached the deck, Jolene could see two figures standing close together. Dylan and Astrid. Jolene turned to head back into the ballroom, but Flynn flung open the door. This movement, and his hand on her elbow, coupled with her swift turn made her lose her footing, and she stumbled into Flynn who caught her deftly.

  “Whoops. Sorry about that. I got you,” he said, with a flash of white teeth, whirling her around in his arms just past the door as if they were dancing. “Women always fall for me that way.”

  Jolene had to laugh at his enthusiasm, and her laughter only seemed to encourage him, as he dropped her to his knee in an elaborate dip. Their breath hanging in little white clouds in the icy February air.

  He pulled her back up into his arms with a flourish, and they both turned to see Astrid and Dylan staring at them, Dylan’s face creased with anger. Before Jolene could process what was happening, Astrid grabbed Dylan firmly by both of the lapels of his suit and planted a kiss on his lips.

  Dylan threw his hands up in surprise, but instead of putting them around Astrid like Jolene expected, he placed them on her shoulders and pushed her away.

  “Astrid, please. Stop.”

  Even though Dylan didn’t push her hard, Astrid staggered back and sat with a thump on a picnic table bench.

  Dylan turned and almost sprang at Flynn, his eyes slitty and dangerous, but his voice was agonized. “You can’t do this. Jolene is mine. This was supposed to be our night.”

  Flynn threw his arms up in mock surrender. “Easy buddy, Jolene and I were just coming to look at the view.”

  Jolene looked from Dylan to Astrid to Flynn. What did he mean by mine? She’d heard that some shifters liked ménage a trois, but there was no way she was sleeping with Dylan and Astrid. Dylan and Flynn maybe, but not Dylan and Astrid.

  She drew herself up to her full height, which admittedly wasn’t that tall, and looked Dylan in the eye. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m not yours, and I don’t think you
should treat your girlfriend like that.”

  “She’s not my girlfriend,” Dylan growled.

  “I think I’m going to throw up,” Astrid said, pushing past all of them and back into the ballroom.

  “I’m going to see if she needs any help,” Jolene announced and marched away.

  “Cool your cougar jets, man. I was just catching Jolene’s fall,” Jolene heard Flynn saying quietly as she left. “What is going on with Astrid? I had no idea you two were an item?”

  The door closed behind Jolene before she could hear Dylan’s response. Her head whirled from the evening’s events and from the wine. She’d better check on Astrid. Jolene wasn’t feeling particularly fond of the other woman, but she should at least make sure Astrid wasn’t face down in a stall.

  Wild sobs echoed through the posh, wood-paneled bathroom. Jolene found Astrid crouched in the corner, her face in her hands.

  “He isn’t interested in me at all,” she moaned, as Jolene slid down the wall to join her.

  “Maybe you’re coming on a little strong,” Jolene said.

  “Coming on strong? I’m playing hard to get.”

  Jolene pondered what coming on strong would look like to Astrid. “Well, he must be interested. He invited you to be his date,” she said finally.

  Astrid turned her pale, red-streaked face toward Jolene. Eye makeup was smeared down her right cheek, and her left nipple poked out of her aqua dress. “I’m talking about Flynn. Dylan agreed to let me come as his date, so I could make Flynn jealous. But it isn’t working. Flynn doesn’t even know I exist. And now I’m drunk, and I’ve made an ass of myself.”

  “Well, it’s been an assy kind of day,” Jolene murmured, but her heart expanded with sudden hope. Mine. Dylan had called her mine. But she’d just told him off. Again.

  Astrid looked at her blankly.

  “So, you’re not Dylan’s girlfriend?” Jolene said.

  Astrid snorted. “Dylan and I are friends. Wait… do you like Dylan? Cause I can totally set you up. I have an in with him. He’s a really good guy. He’s the most loyalist guy I’ve ever met, and he’s so hot,” Astrid slurred. “You should see him with his shirt off.”

  “I have,” Jolene said. Even the memory made her shiver, and that one glimpse of smooth cock. Shots of electricity ran up and down her inner thighs. She needed to get back out to Dylan. To see if she could make things okay. If she hadn’t totally messed things up. She pushed up to her feet and looked at Astrid. “You should just go tell Flynn how you feel. But you might want to wait until you get cleaned up a bit.”

  Astrid sniffed and smeared mascara under her left eye with the back of her hand. “Maybe.” She rose and glanced at herself in the mirror, blanched, and teetered a bit before slumping back to the ground. “Ugh. I look like shit. How am I going to get out of here?”

  “Can I go get someone for you? To give you a ride home?”

  “Well Dylan would, normally. He doesn’t drink much. As a friend, I swear,” Astrid put her hands in the air. “But I’m guessing you want him to stick around. There’s another guy, Jarod. He’s friend of mine from college. ‘Lissa can point him out. I’ll just have a little nap here on the floor until he comes.” She sagged down further and leaned her head against the wall of one of the stalls.

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

  Astrid rolled her head back and gave Jolene a weak smile with her raccoon eyes. “Oh yeah. don’ worry about me at all. I nap here all the time.”

  Back out in the ballroom, the tables had been cleared, and the lights dimmed. Music blared out of loudspeakers, and Cade and Alissa swayed to the music in the center, her head resting on his broad chest.

  Jolene looked around for Dylan, praying that he hadn’t taken off. She had to find that Jarod guy. But she couldn’t interrupt Alissa now. Flynn materialized out of nowhere at her side, his grey eyes bright in the dark.

  “Dylan went for a little run,” he said. “But he’d really like to talk to you. Is Astrid okay?”

  “She’s fine. But she needs a ride home. I’m supposed to find some guy named Jarod to take her.”

  “I’ll find him,” Flynn said. “You’ll go wait for Dylan on the deck? It’s really important.”

  Jolene nodded. “Yes. I’ll go wait for Dylan on the deck.”

  She’d only been on the deck for a few minutes when she saw the big cat galloping towards her through the snow, his tawny fur shadowy and his broad muscled back and forelimbs flexing and contracting. When he reached the ski racks below the deck, he stopped and regarded her, his dark-tipped tail twitching. Then he became Dylan again, shocking in his naked perfection. He disappeared for a few seconds and reemerged in his suit before ascending the stairs.

  “I needed to get some fresh air,” he said. “I feel like I’ve messed everything up today.” He paused and held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Dylan Blake. I’m a shifter and I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I don’t have a girlfriend. I shouldn’t have said you’re mine, but I was hoping you’d be mine, even though it’s the day before Valentine’s Day, and I was wondering if you’d like to come with me for a little gondola ride.”

  Jolene took his hand, her lips parted, and instead of shaking it, he pulled her right into him, his lips taking hers and devouring them until they were breathing hard, while their hands freely roved each other’s bodies, and they could both feel each other’s arousal. Jolene was ready to hike her skirt up and ride him standing up on the deck, her body perched on that exquisite edge of orgasm already. One touch in the right spot and she’d be screaming out in pleasure.

  He must have sensed her need because his eyes turned wicked, and he slipped his fingers under her skirt and into her panties, where he found her slick wetness. With a few deft strokes he made her gasp, as her pussy clenched around his fingers, while his lips caressed her neck and jaw.

  “I am so tasting that sweet little pussy tonight,” he murmured.

  With her body thrumming with stunned pleasure, he led her down the stairs and to the to the gondola.

  “But the gondola doesn’t run at night,” she said.

  “It does when you’re one of the owners of the resort,” Dylan replied.

  They rounded the corner to the gondola station and sure enough, the gondolas were in motion. An attendant emerged from the glassed enclosure and handed Dylan a duffel bag with a smile. Then Dylan ushered her through the open door of a gondola. Jolene sat automatically on the bench at the back. Dylan joined her, his hand automatically falling between her knees and his warm thigh pressing against hers.

  “You’re one of the owners?” she said.

  “Part-owners. Me and Cade and Flynn.”

  “But you work ski patrol.”

  Dylan nipped her ear. “I do that because I love it, and because I can.”

  The gondola picked up speed, rising up out of the base of the resort and into the darkness of the trees above. The lights of the main lodge grew fainter. It occurred to Jolene that she hadn’t told Alissa she was leaving, but Dylan’s lips found hers again and she was lost. His hands slipped into her dress and freed one of her breasts, his teeth falling to her nipple, licking and sucking her back to that razor’s edge. She fumbled for the zipper of his pants and when she freed him, gasped at the length and heft of shaft. It was warm and wet with desire, and she stroked it almost reverently, while he groaned in satisfaction, the gondola rocking slightly with their exertions.

  He hiked up her skirt and started fingering her clit and her moans of pleasure joined his, as she sped up the movement of her hand, her other one cupping and massaging his balls. He loosed her other breast and teased the delicate nipple into a hard knot. She wondered idly if there would be an attendant to greet them at the top, to witness their nakedness and lust. But she didn’t care. She was floating on a sea of pleasure, stars blinking in all of the windows of the gondola.

  She wanted to taste him so badly, feel his
weight and thickness in her mouth. She bent and touched her tongue to the smooth tip of his cock that she’d seen earlier in the bathroom and was rewarded with his sudden intake of breath and the jerk in his shaft. He tasted salty and sweet, and she opened her mouth and took as much of him in as she could.

  “Oh God,” he said, tangling his hands in her hair, thrusting himself into her, pounding the back of her throat, while she licked and sucked his magnificent cock and her cunt throbbed with desire.

  “That feels so good, baby, so good.” His voice was ragged. “I want to be all the way inside you, feel that hot little pussy around me. Lean back on that bench for me. I want to see that sweet slit of yours.”

  Jolene withdrew her mouth obediently, hiked up her skirt, and spread her legs. Dylan fell to his knees pulled aside the slip of lace that covered her wet channel and leaned in to press his face against her, his tongue snaking out to lick her clit. Jolene ground her fingers into the soft leather bench of the gondola. She wanted him inside her, filling her, so badly.

  “So goddamned perfect,” Dylan said. He stroked his own shaft and gestured at his bag. “Do we need—?”

  “I’m on the pill,” Jolene said quickly. “And I haven’t been with anyone in a long time.”

  “Neither have I,” Dylan said. He lifted her, so her legs were wrapped around his waist and his hard rod was pressed against her cunt. Then he sat her on the top of the back of the bench, pushed her gently against the back glass of the gondola and entered her, his giant cock sliding in effortlessly. Jolene was delirious with desire and pleasure feeling that cock in her pussy, her wetness with his, then he started to move, and she nearly fainted, wanting to slam her hips back against his, to buck and jerk against him and drive herself to orgasm.

  “Grab the straps,” Dylan murmured. Jolene looked up and saw the black plastic hand holds for people who wanted to stand in the gondola. She slipped her hands into them and with the added leverage, thrust herself at him hard, taking that cock deep inside her.