As he eases his fingers out of me, the emptiness I feel surprises me, but it’s quickly replaced by the tip of his erection nudging against my slick opening. Relieved to see he put a condom on at some point—I have no idea when—he bends down to me, grabbing my ankles and wrapping them around his waist.

“You’re so fucking beautiful when you come, Hudson.” He gazes down at me with adoration in his eyes, his hand skimming up my belly to cup a breast, and I’ve never in my life felt so sublime. My first orgasm at the hands of someone else isn’t a moment I’ll soon forget.

“I need to be inside you now. I’m dying,” he pleads, raw emotion seeping from his voice.

Nervously, I glance down at his cock, which is much bigger and thicker than I remember it being only a few minutes ago, and I inhale a deep breath through my nose, bracing myself.  I nod and spread my thighs as far apart as I can, giving him the green light.

Little by little, he slides into me, allowing my body to stretch around him, which is uncomfortable and pinches at times, but not exactly painful. His hands continuously roam my body, helping to keep me aroused, until finally, he’s buried deep inside me.

“So fucking tight,” he mumbles as he slowly pulls nearly all the way out.

When he looks down to watch where our bodies are connected, it’s only then that the understanding flickers across his face. He snaps his chin up, his wide eyes searching mine for answers, for the answer to the one question on his mind.

“Please don’t stop.” I reach out and grab hold of his hips, my fingernails biting into his flesh as I urge him back inside me. “I need this…I need you.”

For a few seconds, he doesn’t say anything or move, but eventually, he wraps his arms around my middle and gathers me against his chest as he fills me up again. We cling to each other’s sweaty body while he plunges inside my wet heat over and over again, and though I don’t come again, I find exceptional pleasure when Crew finds his own release, my name echoing throughout the greenhouse as he trembles against me.

A few minutes later, after we’ve cuddled, kissed, and redressed, I spread out a blanket on the ground and we lie side-by-side on our backs, smoking a much-needed post-sex joint.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he finally asks after taking a drag and passing me the doobie.

I shrug and twist my neck to look over at him. “Would it have made a difference?”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” he retorts with a playful smirk, rolling onto his side as he props up on his elbow. “I just don’t understand if you’ve waited all this time, why me?”

“Why not you?” I thread my fingers through his beanie-free hair, which is more rebellious than messy, and flash him a satisfied smile. “I obviously wasn’t waiting to get married or to find my soul mate, if such thing even exists. Just more or less until the time felt right…I don’t know, until I felt that certain spark.”

Pulling a long hit into his lungs, he leans over and presses his lips to mine, exhaling the smoke in my mouth as he kisses me. “I hope you feel that spark again real soon, snow angel.”

Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.

Bartending is more about making people happy than mixing good drinks. Flirt with the female customers like you want to fuck them, talk to the guys like they’re the coolest dude in the place, and let each waitress think she’s your favorite. Those are three key ingredients to making a shitload of money while pouring drinks behind the bar at the Half Pipe, according to Rory, my trainer and fellow bartender. And halfway through my fourth shift on the job, I realize he was spot-fucking-on.

“Two shots of Patron and two Michelob Ultras for you gorgeous ladies.” I wink at the pair of stacked brunette ski bunnies who just inched up to the bar, eliciting a bashful giggle from one while the other licks her lips like she wants to eat me.

Six months ago…shit, even six weeks ago, I definitely would’ve taken her up on that offer, giving her my phone number so we could meet up for a good time after my shift ended, but now, not so much. Things are different with me. My dick only gets hard for a certain little hippie blonde—a girl I wasn’t looking for, but now that I found her, I don’t plan on giving her up any time soon.

Without sounding like a complete fucking pussy, Hudson Shavell is my fantasy girl come to life. Naturally fucking beautiful, generous and selfless to the point Gandhi would be impressed, incredibly brilliant and personable, she’s the whole damn package. Sure, her boobs could be a little bigger and her family is a bit quirky, but on a scale of one to ten, my snow angel is a fucking eleven.

Yeah, she gets extra points, ‘cause I know I’m the only guy who’s ever been inside of her. There’s something insanely ego-boosting about that I’d never considered before, always afraid if I took some girl’s virginity, she’d be clingy and whiny and think we’re gonna spend forever together. But surprisingly, Hudson isn’t any of those things, and for some reason, that makes me want to remind her as frequently as possible that she belongs to me. Unfortunately, in the ten days we’ve been back in town, now official citizens of Breckenridge, it hasn’t been nearly as often as I’d like, thanks to her classes and greenhouse work, my new job, Caleb’s doctor appointments, and our families that seem to always be around.

But tonight, when I get off, she’s supposed to be waiting for me in my bed at my apartment. My mom’s out late with Luke and some new friends she’s made at the ski shop she’s managing. She made sure to emphasize that it’s not a date, so much that I’m positive it’s a date. And since I had to work, Hudson agreed to hang out with Caleb. And I’m sure he’s loving every goddamn minute of it.

  “Crew, baby, did you hear me?” Tasha’s sugary-sweet voice slices through my thoughts, jolting me back to the here and now as I turn to look at her posing by the service bar. “I need another vodka tonic. That last one got knocked off my tray by some jackass who thinks talking is like playing charades.”

Grabbing a fresh glass, I fill it with ice and pour the two clear liquids in simultaneously, then top it off with a lime wedge and walk it over to her. “Anything for you, gorgeous.” I grin as I set the drink down in front of her.

She reaches her hand out to pick up the glass, purposely making contact with mine as her eyes twinkle with pure, unadulterated lust. “Anything?” she coos. “Cause I can think of a few—”

“Yo, Crew, need your help over here, man, and Tasha, go save Carmen from table twenty-one! They’ve taken body shots to a whole ‘nother level!” Rory shouts out from the other end of the bar, abruptly cutting her off.

Grateful for the interruption, I blow out a sigh of relief and spin around on my heel to rejoin him in front of the never-ending crowd waiting to get a drink. Then, I spend the rest of the night focused on the customers, setting my charm on overdrive as we rack up the tips, and while doing my best to avoid Tasha.

Nearly an hour after last call, the final drunken customers stumble out the door and Rory quickly rushes over to lock it behind them. Thank God. I'm fucking exhausted.

Slumping against the sticky counter, I grab the bottle of water I've been nursing all night and guzzle down the rest of it. I'd been moving at ninety miles an hour for the last seven hours and all I can think about is a hot shower and crawling into bed with Hudson.