11. Sean

11

Sean

S ean held her close to him as they snuggled in front of the warm fire. The gears were turning in his head a million miles an hour.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were a virgin?"

"Because it didn't really matter. I knew I wanted to be with you and it felt right. Don't worry, I'm not going to demand a shotgun wedding or make any kind of demands. It happened and I'm not sorry."

"That's a good thing. I'm pretty sure that if you demanded a wedding or other type of commitment your father would have a heart attack."

"Either that or he would murder me. Either way, someone would die." She giggled and snuggled close to him.

"I hope your first time met your expectations."

"It was good. Obviously, I don't have anyone to compare the experience to. As far as I know, you could be the absolute best there is or you could be eh."

"Eh?" Sean grinned.

He tickled her until she was laughing so hard that she cried out that she was going to pee all over the place.

"Fine. More than eh. You're better than eh."

They lay there for a few more minutes and then Sean said, "You probably ought to be getting back to the resort. You came here to get his meds and you've been gone for a while. Your dad might be a jackass, but he's not an idiot."

"You're right. I know it's ridiculous because I am a grown woman with my degree in nursing, and I have to sneak around like a child. If we weren't in such close quarters, I wouldn't care, but I don't want him making everyone's life miserable."

"I understand. I'm not judging you."

"I'm judging myself. I'm a consenting adult and we had sex, which was something I had fantasized about for a long time. It was great, I feel good, but I have to tiptoe around him like I'm sixteen."

"When you get out of here and back to your life, it'll be good. You can look back on your vacation with fond memories."

Sean stood up and put out his hand to help her to her feet.

"I will say that you are an incredibly beautiful woman."

Xyla blushed and smiled shyly. "Thank you."

They quickly got dressed, and Xyla headed for the front door.

"Are you forgetting something?" Sean asked as he put out the fire.

"What?"

"You came here for your father's medication. Or was that just a ruse to get me here so you could seduce me?"

She shook her head and grinned. "Well, I hadn't actually planned the seduction, but it turned out well if you ask me. I can't believe I almost forgot the medication, though. Why he didn't pack it when we bugged out, I've no idea."

"He's also just now mentioning that he needs it."

"Yeah. Oh, well. It was a great excuse to live out a fantasy. I can mark that off my bucket list."

Sean laughed and he helped her up the snow tunnel and then climbed up behind her.

It was lightly snowing as they walked back toward the main building. Xyla laughed and tried to catch the flakes on her tongue.

"You know, I'm going to laugh if you catch a bird dropping instead."

"The birds that winter around here don't fly at night and Ptarmigans usually stay on the ground, anyway. Don't try to scare me."

Sean laughed. "You did your research."

"Yep. I looked up the different animals that Edward and I might see out here."

She fell into step next to him, navigating the deep snow. A million thoughts raced through Sean's mind. He hadn't been celibate for the last six years, although he hadn't been a dog, either. None of his encounters with other women had felt like sex with Xyla did. It almost felt as though there was some kind of an invisible meshing besides just their bodies.

Maybe our souls connected somehow. He shook his head. Quit being an idiot. It was just sex. Just the fact that it was forbidden and you were shagging a woman who hated your guts two days ago might have made the situation feel different.

"A penny for your thoughts," she said as they got closer to their destination.

"They aren't worth a penny."

"Oh," she said, sounding disappointed.

Sean wasn't sure what she expected. She knew there wouldn't be any declarations of undying love or promises.

Elliot jumped up from the chair as soon as they walked in the door.

"What in the hell took you so long?" He glared at Xyla and then at Sean.

"We decided to take a walk. The exercise felt good." She pushed his medication into his hands and left the room.

Sean started to walk away but Elliot stopped him. The older man stepped so close to Sean that they were almost nose to nose. Sean refused to take a step back but didn't want to put his hands on Elliot. He simply looked down at the man who was at least a foot shorter than him.

"You had better stay away from my daughter. You are nothing but a filthy animal who has no business breathing the same air as regular humans."

"Elliot, you had better take a step back and get out of my face." Sean's voice was low and calm, but Elliot heard the threat underlying his words.

He clenched his hands so tightly that Sean's knuckles were white. Sean concentrated on keeping them next to his legs.

The older man took three steps back.

"Xyla is an adult and quite capable of making her own decisions, including who she wants to spend time with. If you have a problem with Xyla hanging out with me, then you had better take that up with her."

Elliot put his finger in Sean's chest. "I will kill you if you take advantage of my daughter."

Sean gritted his teeth and glared into Elliot's eyes. Anger flared up and coursed through Sean's body and it was all he could do to control his temper. "Unless you want to lose that finger, I strongly suggest that you back off."

Elliot put his hand down but didn't move.

"Anytime you're feeling froggy old man, let me know. We can take this outside and you can take the first swing."

Everyone in the room was silent, watching the scene unfold in front of them.

William walked up to them. "Elliot, this is your last warning. If I have to speak to you again about your mouth or intolerable behavior, you will not be welcome here. I strongly suggest that you walk away or I'll end up kicking your butt."

A couple people snickered and Elliot looked around, realizing that he was the subject of everyone's amusement.

He stormed off into the room he shared with Edward, slamming the door behind him.

"I ought to make him open and close that door the right way a hundred times," William muttered.

Everyone laughed. Sean saw Edward cringe when a loud roar of anger came from the room.

Sean walked over to him and put his hand on Edward's shoulder. "I'm sorry, kid. I know this sucks for you."

Edward nodded. "I guess I'll sleep on the couch out here tonight. It's more comfortable than in there, anyway."

"Do you want me to hang out here with you?"

"That would be cool, but I don't want Dad yelling at you again."

"I'm not afraid of your father. We don't want your dad yelling at you, though."

Edward shrugged. "I'll just ignore him like I normally do. No big deal."

Sean shook his head and walked away.

"You held your temper very well. If it had been me in your shoes, I'm not so sure Elliot would have lived through the experience."

"I thought that the doctor's creed was first, do no harm. Killing the man is doing him harm."

"Ah, but I would be acting as a man, not a doctor. I couldn't take him into surgery and accidentally remove both of his kidneys for fun. However, a couple pokes in the nose and a dotted eye are not permanent damage."

Sean laughed. "I won't lay a hand on the old geezer, unless I'm forced to. Living with that much hate is punishment enough. It has to be eating him up inside."

"Maybe it already has and he has nothing left."

"That's very possible."

After dinner, everyone, except Elliot, broke into teams to play charades. Edward insisted on being on Sean and Sawyer's team. They didn't win but did have a lot of fun. Throughout the night, he caught Xyla looking at him. Each time he looked her way, she smiled and his heart beat a little faster.

It was just a moment, nothing more. Sean was annoyed that he had to keep reminding himself of that.

As promised, once everyone went to their rooms, Sean grabbed his sleeping bag and stretched out in one of the recliners by the fireplace. Edward covered up with a couple of blankets and fell asleep quickly.

Sean closed his eyes. The resort was huge but was quickly getting claustrophobic with all the people in it. He remembered the warmth of the cabin, especially once the fire was going well.

Maybe staying in the cabin away from everyone might not be a bad plan . I can stay away from Xyla and Elliot and just do my own thing.

The more he thought about it, the better it sounded. Unfortunately, William relied on him and Sawyer to keep the place stocked with wood and with other jobs around the place.

The last image in his mind before he went to sleep, though, was not the solitude of a cozy cabin. It was the sight of Xyla's naked body glowing in the firelight.