Chosen Fool (Forever Evermore #5)(3)
Wiping snow off my face, I grumbled, “I already said it twice.”
“See?” Sin’s lips curved in an unkind smile at the bear. The Shifter’s eyes were quickly widening as he stared at my hair and then at our Royal group swiftly surrounding us. “She’s apologized.”
Elder Merrick, always silent—always panty-soaking-hot—slid forward closest to the bear Shifter, an effortless, bored command in his gaze. My brows puckered when he flicked a hostile, irritated glance in my direction. I was grateful when his attention altered back to the Shifter. He didn’t speak. Just stared at the man, pure alpha. Pure Royal.
The Shifter actually gurgled for a moment, then he nodded in a rapid motion. He tipped his head to Elder Merrick in submission, before he bent and picked up my skis and poles, handing the items to the silent Elder. “No harm, no foul.” His eyes flicked to me and he stated respectfully, “I didn’t recognize you, Ms Jules. Please excuse my earlier rudeness.” He leaned in, whispering quietly with a bit of sympathy, “And you should take a few skiing lessons before you hurt yourself.”
I bared my own teeth, pissed and self-conscious. My mouth opened to say something, but Sin beat me to it. Much more polite, too.
With amusement, he agreed, “Duly noted.”
Chapter Two
The thing about skiing with someone who is just as awful as you is that you both tend to make the same mistakes, following each other blindly because you’re concentrating so hard not to ram into one another—or other people—as you zoom past them. That was what happened to Aria and me. I wasn’t sure which of us turned away from the group, or even at what point that happened, but the sun was beginning to set by the time the two of us started trudging up the hill toward the back of the merrily lit lodge. Many groups were drinking and conversing on the large wooden planked picnic tables on the patio, while Aria and I moved like aged Coms, our bodies sore and abused and in need of some major TLC.
“There was no shame in taking off our skis halfway down whatever death-f*cking-drop we were on, right?” I asked absently, popping my neck. Twice. “We don’t have to tell them we walked for miles to get here.”
“You just did,” Aria whispered harshly, tilting her head toward the lodge.
I squinted through the dying light and spotted our group staring at us.
They appeared to be laughing in an uproar. A few were even pointing.
She glanced down at the front of our bodies. “There may be no shame in walking, but there’s definite shame in the mud.”
I perused the dried mud that coated the entire front of our once pristine snow outfits. The brown sludge even covered our faces—except where our wide goggles had been, leaving clean patches. “Yes, there’s that.”
The two of us stopped in front of our group. Some of them had tears rolling down their cheeks, and all were laughing at our expense.
Sin managed to choke, “How the hell did you find mud on a snow spelled mountain?”
“We’re talented like that.” I exhaled grandly. “Do you know what happens when a person hits a patch of mud while wearing skis?” No response came from the table other than more guffawing. “Well, I’ll tell you what happens. The damn skis stop but your body doesn’t. It was like those dumb cartoon characters that go splat!” I angrily waved a hand at all of their amused faces. “Someone could have warned us about this!”
Leric placed a hand over his stomach, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He sputtered, “Are you both all right?”
“We will be after a massage,” Aria groused, arching her back and glancing at me. “You game for a hot masseuse with godlike hands?”
My breath actually caught at the idea, euphoria entering my system as my eyes lifted to the heavens in thanks. This was a full service lodge. Hope blossomed deep inside my gut. “The type to put warmed oil all over my body?”
Her voice turned cheerful for the first time in hours. “That would be the one.”
I lifted my muddy fist, feeling a spurt of energy as I bounced on the balls of my feet while she fist-bumped me. “Let’s f*cking do it. And lots of drinking afterward.”
With my back resting against the bar later that night, positioned next to London and Cia, I sipped on a glass of red wine and watched as Sin made his way through the crowd toward me. The festive merriment was in full swing inside the well-lit, pine paneled bar of the lodge. The decor was a variety of antlers and beer signs, with an actual mechanical bull in the center of the large room. A few individuals in our group had tried, and mastered, the fake brute with entertaining dignity.
With piercing green eyes holding my attention, I already knew what Sin was going to say. I wondered at his choice for the evening, undecided on which woman he would be with. Wretched resolve had hardened my heart to nights like these, and I was sure it was the same for him. But I always prepared myself before the words exited his lips, making sure there were no gaps to the protection of my heart.
I inhaled deeply on self-preservation.
And downed half my glass to fill any other voids.
He stopped in front of me, placing his hands on either side of my arms on the bar, locking me into position. His green hair dangled on each side of his dazzling face, and his beautiful green gaze stared into mine for a long while, holding me captive as no other could.