Day Six
AMANDA
It would've been so easy to go to bed with Lee last night, Amanda thought. And so, so good, too.
The hot shower steamed up the bathroom while Amanda took her time washing her hair and body, and shaving her legs. She followed each razor stroke with her other hand to make sure she'd gotten all the hair as she anticipated Lee's hands on the newly-smooth skin of her legs.
It'd been ages since she'd been to bed with anyone. Except Dean. But she could barely count that. It was just once, and was a major disappointment; the very definition of underwhelming. She'd been willing and even excited, but the lack of sparks between them that she'd hoped would light up once they were in bed were even more noticeably absent - for her at least.
While Joe and Lee weren't vastly different in terms of their personalities, they were miles apart physically. Joe was on the shorter side for a man, Lee was definitely tall. Joe was broad and carried himself with a much lower center of gravity. Lee was solid, but bordered on lanky. Joe's chest was sprinkled liberally with coarse hair, as was his groin. Amanda didn't know about the 'downstairs' parts of Lee - yet - but she knew his chest was practically bare. Lee and Joe were like apples and oranges and Amanda was very much looking forward to getting to know the intimate details of Lee's body.
She refused to think too much beyond tonight and tomorrow. Flying home and going back to whatever their 'usual' lives would be felt far off. There was still so much for them to explore and discover here.
Everyone gathered for a last breakfast together - minus Kathy and Wally, of course. Janet, Joyce, and Darlene were all booked on morning flights so they ate and ran. Jodie had booked her flight for the evening so she and Amanda could spend the day visiting. Amanda wasn't due out until the following afternoon.
"The weather's gorgeous, what do you say to a half-day of skiing?" Jodie suggested.
"Perfect!" Amanda agreed.
Lee declined, saying he needed to wrap up some loose ends with the Agency. "I'll be on the phone most of the morning."
Suspecting that he actually had very little work to do and was giving her some time alone with Jodie, Amanda kissed him on the cheek. Lee gave her a curious look, then smiled back as she looked into his eyes.
Amanda and Jodie were glad for the time together. They zigged and zagged down the slopes, challenging each other to races, talking, and joking around. On their last lift ride up, Jodie surprised Amanda with a request.
"Amanda, will you be my maid of honor?"
"Wouldn't you rather have one of your friends stand up with you?"
"I'd rather have you than anyone," Jodie said earnestly.
"I'd be honored." Amanda was truly touched.
"Wait, since you were married, should it be 'matron' of honor? But you're divorced, so is it 'maid' again? You're not a 'maid' in the old fashioned sense. Neither am I, for that matter. But 'matron' makes you sound like you run a horrible facility for unruly girls. We're going with 'maid.'"
Amanda laughed at how out-loud rambling ran in the family.
Having changed out of their ski clothes - and gotten Jodie's bags all packed - they sat in the bar, enjoying a last hot chocolate by the fireplace.
"Lee!" Jodie called out and beckoned him over.
"How was the skiing?" Lee asked as he pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Amanda finally got in that last glorious run of the day."
"I wouldn't trade our snowstorm shelter adventure for anything though." Amanda put her hand on Lee's knee.
Jodie waggled a finger between the two of them. "Someday, one of you is going to have to come clean about exactly what happened in that hut."
Amanda looked at Lee, who put a tight-lipped expression on and shrugged.
"Oh! Jodie asked me to be her maid of honor." Amanda smiled again at the honor.
"Congratulations," Lee said to Amanda, then turned to Jodie. "Excellent choice."
Jodie nodded in agreement. "Lee, you have to come to the wedding too!"
"Can't say no to the bride."
They talked for the hour and a half Jodie had until she needed to catch the shuttle to the airport.
Amanda hugged her cousin, then looked her sternly in the eye. "Not a word to my mother about Lee. Or what I really do at IFF."
Jodie ran her thumb and index finger across her lips to 'zip' them and threw her hand over her shoulder as if to lose the key.
LEE
While Amanda and Jodie were skiing, Lee had been busy. Reservations at the Austrian restaurant in town and a rare bottle of cabernet from the local wine shop were arranged.
At the agreed upon time, he knocked at room 356 and was greeted by Amanda in white blouse with blue embellishments that was unbuttoned delectably low. Lee hadn't packed a suit, so he wore a french-cuffed button down shirt and a navy blue sport coat.
Pulling his arm from behind his back he presented Amanda with a bouquet of flowers.
"You didn't have to do that," Amanda said, examining the blooms. "Are those edelweiss?!" she looked up in surprise.
"I hope so. The florist assured me they were."
"I'll put these in water and then we can go." Amanda picked up the ice bucket, filled it with water from the bathroom tap, and fussed with the flowers until she was satisfied with how they looked. "Gorgeous."
"Oh, yes." Lee put his hands on Amanda's hips and gave her a lascivious look up and down her body.
She laughed and playfully swatted his chest as she leaned to give him a kiss. "C'mon, let's go."
"As you wish."
The dinner was amazing, the wine just perfect, and the mood just right.
Neither of them ordered anything too heavy. Lee wondered if she was thinking what he was… a stomach stuffed with rich food and wine rarely made for a very enjoyable night of romance.
"You don't really have to come to Jodie's wedding just because she asked." Amanda sounded overly casual and was inexplicably focused on getting just the right bite of chocolate cake onto her fork.
He hadn't wanted to think about the future yet and what this development between them might mean, but Jodie's invitation pressed the matter. Lee refused to let it get in their way as long as they were still in Colorado, so he went for humor. "Are you kidding? And miss being reunited with Joyce and Darlene and Janet?"
Amanda looked at him, tipped her head briefly to the side, and laughed. The tension that'd threatened to settle in his stomach unwound itself and they both let the topic drop.
In the taxi back to the lodge, they sat close. Amanda's hand played tantalizingly up and down his thigh and Lee couldn't get enough of nibbling on her neck.
"Your room or mine?" he murmured.
"You've got that amazing king size bed and a much bigger bathroom."
"I also have that tiny couch."
"We won't be using that," she dismissed.
In the lodge's lobby, Amanda suggested, "You go on to your room, I'll going to pack a few things from mine, and be right there."
Lee hung up his coat, undid his cufflinks, and rolled his cuffs to his elbows to rein in the fabric. He sat on the bed. Then the couch. Then he paced, one hand in his pocket and the other raking through his hair.
Being in Amanda's presence hadn't ever made him nervous or uncomfortable. He puffed a small laugh out through his nose thinking that he'd definitely made her uncomfortable a few times in the beginning of their partnership -before he'd thought of it as anything close to a partnership, that is.
The pleasant hum of anticipation that ran through his body was laced with a nervous energy. He wanted to get this right. Not just for the pleasure of it, though that was important. More pressing was that as much as he didn't want to think about what things would be like between them after tonight - especially back in D.C. - he desperately wanted them to be okay. More than okay.
At her knock, Lee breathed a sigh of relief, happy for the respite from his racing thoughts. He crossed the room and welcomed her in. He took her small overnight bag and put it on the dresser.
"No fireworks show tonight," Lee said, teeing her up for some sexy banter.
Amanda smoothed her hands across his chest. "You taking a page out of Wally's book - fast, furious, and no fireworks? Don't tell me you'll start snoring immediately afterwards, too."
"No way. We are going to take our time and enjoy every. Single. Moment." Lee punctuated the words with kisses on her cheek, neck, and finally her lips.
The kiss both calmed and aroused him. There was something about them together, he was discovering, that made everything more than all right.
She tasted sweet and when he ran his tongue along her lips, she hummed a moan and opened up to him. He'd already been half-aroused, now he was completely hard. Amanda pulled him by his belt loops and grabbed his butt. Lee pressed his hips into hers and growled his pleasure at the friction.
The need to feel her skin suddenly became urgent. With one hand under her top, Lee unbuttoned her blouse with the other and then fanned his fingers across her breast. The texture of her lace bra did nothing to disguise the hard peak of her nipple, which he circled with the tips of his fingers. Like last night, Amanda's reaction to his hand on her chest was strong and immediate. She broke their kiss and let her head fall back. "That feels good."
Lee didn't let her exposed neck go untended. He kissed her throat and chained together sucking nibbles while caressing her breasts. Amanda untucked his shirt and ran her hands over and over his back and then to his front. They got their arms and hands tangled up when she made the move to unbutton his shirt. With huffing laughs between kisses, they shrugged out of their own shirts. Then Amanda did the sexiest thing he'd ever seen… so far, the night was young yet. Gazing intently into his eyes without a single waver, she reached behind her back, unhooked her bra, and let it fall down her arms and onto the floor.
Taut nipples and rosy areola graced her perfect breasts, and the curve of her waist was accentuated now that she was bare from the waist up. Lee stepped forward and with reverent touches, he skimmed his hands from the curve of her waist up to the swell of her breasts. "You are so beautiful," he said with a husky breath.
Pulling her to him, their bare chests made full contact and she uttered that humming moan again. Lee felt like she'd invented it just for him.
By unspoken agreement, they made their way to the bed. Lee pulled back the covers and tumbled her to the mattress on top of him. She laughed and moved to sit up, straddling his thighs and caressing his chest, leaving tingly trails. Looking up, he thought he could hear her heart pounding - maybe it was his own. He clutched her wrist and encouraged her down to him.
Open mouthed kisses with their tongues laving and lapping became more and more unbridled. Lee gripped her hips and pressed her to him as he angled his hips up. Gratifyingly, she ground her pelvis into his. God, was there anything sexier? he thought.
Breathing heavily, they rolled onto their sides and Amanda pet her hand over his forehead and through his hair. He closed his eyes at how arousing that simple caress felt.
"You sure about this?" she asked.
Lee opened his eyes, surprised by her question. He'd planned to ask her the same thing.
"As sure as I've ever been about anything. More sure than I've ever been about anything. Are you sure?"
"Yes."
He smiled, realizing that was her complete answer. It wasn't anywhere close to the wordy ramble he thought he'd get.
Amanda continued to stroke his hair, breaking up the rhythm by running her hand over his chest now and then. It felt delightful. He had his hand on her torso so that her nipple was in reach to stroke with his thumb.
"Amanda, I'm so glad you came into my life; that you so persistently stuck with me."
"I just really wanted to be a spy. You were a challenging side project."
"I was your side piece?" Lee teased while he focused his attention on the breast he was caressing.
"Side project!" Amanda laughed until he bent to kiss and suck on her peaked nipple.
He glanced up and saw that she was watching as he sucked and swirled his tongue. When would he learn not to be surprised by Amanda King?
Scooting even closer, her hand moved from his hip to the front of his pants where she held his erection and ran her palm over the length. Lee lifted his lips from her breast and with a hand at the nape of her neck, brought them into a deep kiss.
Amanda suddenly sat up and said, "Hang on. Stay right there."
Lee watched as she went to her bag and reached in. As she came back, he saw she'd retrieved a box of condoms. "They sell those at the lodge gift shop?"
Amanda held the box up and proudly announced, "I won these!"
"Doing what?" Lee sat up a bit and leaned back on his elbows.
"The first night here, Kathy made us play bachelorette party games. I was the fastest at tying a cherry stem with my tongue."
"You did what?!"
In answer, Amanda sat on the side of the bed and took Lee's hand. She raised it to her mouth. "Tied a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue. Like this." Singling out his index finger, she gave it a lick and a suck, then held it in her mouth and swirled her tongue, demonstrating her winning technique.
"You're very good at that."
The wetness of her mouth and the slippery feel of her tongue on his finger was mind blowing. Looking him in the eyes with a sultry stare, Amanda slid his finger from her lips. "I've got lots of hidden talents."
"And I intend to discover them all."
Day Seven
AMANDA
With internal clocks still on DC time, they woke up early. Naked and blissfully cuddled up to Lee's back, Amanda nudged her nose into his neck. He smelled so good - so familiar. Like Lee but also like them.
"Hey," he said.
"Morning."
"I'll be right back." Lee untangled himself from her grasp and got up.
Amanda rolled to her stomach and watched him pad into the bathroom. Temptation tugged at her to give him a wolf-whistle, but she opted to stay quiet and just appreciate the view. She'd been confident that going to bed with Lee would be pleasurable. She hadn't anticipated just how searing the heat between them would be. Nor how they'd go from joking to making love to exchanging sweet affirmations and back to hot sex so seamlessly.
Without meaning to, Amanda dozed off. She woke up when Lee pulled the covers back and knelt on the bed. She turned to see him walking on his knees and then straddling her rear. With his hands on her lower back, he circled his thumbs, working them firmly into her muscles.
"Ugmhhh, that feels great," she groaned and mumbled. "Don't stop."
"Not even to do this?" Lee eased the pressure and ran his hands up her torso, letting his fingers play over the sides of her breasts.
"Well…" Amanda felt a moist heat between her legs as he touched her.
"I really liked that top you had on when we went dancing."
"I could tell," Amanda smiled, remembering the exciting feel of his hand on her back.
"Really?" he asked, stilling his hands for a moment before leaning down and kissing her spine.
"When you had your hands on my back, it felt different - electric."
"How do they feel now?"
"On fire." She could feel his erection pressing into her and was torn between continuing to enjoy this very sexy massage and the urge to turn over. To feel his hands on her breasts, his lips on hers, his hands discovering her wet and ready for him.
"I thought that was your skin." Abandoning the pattern of kisses up and down her spine, Lee lowered himself down onto her to be able to kiss her neck.
"I think it's the combination of us - our chemistry." Amanda wriggled over onto her back, throwing Lee on his side.
They laughed and then took their time enjoying a series of long, slow, deep, wet kisses, which turned into intense love making and explosive climaxes.
Reluctantly, they got up and showered - managing not to get too distracted soaping each other up - and dressed. Lee packed up his things and accompanied Amanda back to her room so she could get her luggage ready. They were both booked on flights out of Denver that afternoon.
It wasn't exactly awkwardness that hung between them, more like reflective silence. Amanda moved about the room with efficiency as she packed her suitcase. Lee sat on the bed, his back against the headboard, long legs stretched out, his ankles crossed. She didn't mind him watching, she liked it.
Reality was starting to leak into their Rocky Mountain bubble of discovery and bliss. She was looking forward to being home with her mother and her boys, but didn't like having to abandon the exciting new days of consummation with Lee. An audible sigh attested to her angst.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yes. No. Yes."
"Okay…"
"We don't have to talk about this now." Amanda motioned between the two of them. "But we should, sooner rather than later. It all happened so suddenly. Well, not that suddenly. It'd been brewing for a while I thnk. But this part was sudden." Amanda waved her hand between them again and kind of gestured at the bed. "Now we're going home, and before you know it we'll be back at work and on assignments, and we'll get caught up in our usual lives and get too busy. Things will get awkward, and then distant. I think there's a window..."
As she talked, Lee came over to stand in front of her, his hands on her arms. When her words drifted off, he jumped in. "We will. Assuming you ever let me get a word in."
Amanda cocked her head to the side, acknowledging her wordiness.
"This might not have been sudden, but it is new. I don't know how things will change when we're home and back at work. Neither of us does." Lee put his arms around her and pulled her close. "What I do know for sure is that I don't want to go back to being just partners or just friends. I hope you don't either."
"Not at all."
They were booked on different flights, and Lee's didn't leave until about an hour after Amanda's. He walked her to her gate and stood in line while she waited to board. At the last moment, he gave her a kiss on the lips, whispered "I love you," in her ear, and walked quickly away.
She watched him go and said a slightly startled, "What?" to herself. The gate attendant coughed politely to get her attention - she was holding up the line. Amanda showed her boarding pass and walked down the jetway in a haze of happiness.
AMANDA
Phillip and Jamie were excited to have Amanda home. They asked about the plane ride, the Rocky Mountains, skiing, and if she'd seen any wolves or bears. When she told them about going dog mushing, they asked if they could get a sled dog team.
"I told cousin Jodie you'd want a pack of your own!" Amanda ruffled Jamie's hair.
They filled her in on their week. Phillip's class had studied the Piscataway tribe, who'd lived on the land that was now Arlington. "It means 'where the rivers blend.'" Jamie had decided he wanted to get his ham radio licence.
"You'll be great at that, I bet," Amanda said. "But now, it's way past everyone's bedtime. Go on upstairs and get ready, I'll be up in a few to tuck you in."
They grumbled a bit, but dutifully went up the stairs.
"It sounds like you all had a great time, Amanda. Jodie called earlier to say how happy she was that you were there," Dotty said.
"I was glad, too." For more reasons than you know, Amanda thought as she reached for the present that Jodie had sent along for her mother.
Dotty opened the box and was delighted by the stack of five Ghirardelli chocolate bars and the note that said, 'Don't share these with anyone! Love, Jodie.'
"That is so sweet of Jodie! She knows me well." Dotty clutched the chocolates to her chest. "Oh, she also said something happened with her maid of honor and that you'd be taking over."
Amanda nodded.
"That's just wonderful! Jodie was a wild kid - but then so were you - and she's turned out to be such a lovely young woman. Maybe you'll meet someone at the wedding, Amanda! They can be such romantic occasions."
Amanda smiled, thinking that she would definitely have some romance at Jodie's wedding. "Maybe I will, Mother. You never know who's going to turn up in your life when you least expect them to."
"So true." Dotty put the lid back on her box of chocolate bars and stood to head upstairs. "Good night, Amanda. Don't stay up too much later."
"I won't Mother. Good night."
Amanda turned to see if there was any damage in the kitchen that called for cleaning before it got any crustier. Rather than spotting any chores that needed her attention, she saw Lee bob his head into view in the kitchen window.
"Now there's something that needs my attention," she whispered to herself as she walked to the back door.
END