“How long have you owned it?”
“About six years. This is only a short drive from Denver and we would come here on trips when I was young. I’m not big on touristy Colorado ski towns but this is out of the way, so when I was looking to buy, this is where I wanted to be. Even though I don’t live close, my dad is here to help me look after it and I come as often as I can. I’d rather pay for this and keep a crap condo or apartment wherever I live knowing I have this to come to.”
“Wow.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” He leans down to kiss me. “Do you want to see the rest?”
“Are you kidding? Of course.”
We go up to a huge loft that juts out over the kitchen and part of the great room. There isn’t much in the loft, a card table with some chairs. Off the loft is a small hallway and going both left and right are nice size empty bedrooms. Between the rooms is a full bathroom. Going back downstairs, Jude takes me to the basement that is a walk out to the lower level patio under the deck upstairs, but the basement itself isn’t finished. It looks like there could be another family room, a guest room and full bath, leaving room for storage.
Going back upstairs, just beyond the great room on the back of the house is Jude’s master. It’s large, with French doors leading to the deck and a king size bed that is made of big pine logs. His bed seems to be the only newer piece of furniture I’ve seen because it sits with an old oak dresser and one nightstand. The master bath is off the bedroom and seems to have been refinished recently. It has a big corner Jacuzzi tub, separate vanities and a large shower with coordinating tile matching the grey, green, and black slate flooring. Off the bathroom is a small walk in closet and now I realize why Jude only brought a feather light gym bag. There are plenty of clothes hanging and folded in there to get him through the weekend and then some.
I turn to him. “Thank you for bringing me here.” I fit myself to his front and lean up to kiss his jaw. Looking into his melty eyes, I go on. “Thank you for everything.”
Jude leans down to kiss me, starts walking forward, backing me out of the bathroom. I feel the backs of my legs hit his bed, he pulls me in deep for a kiss, and before I know it, his hands are in my armpits picking me up tossing me onto the bed. Letting out a surprised scream, I try to right myself as he pulls off my shoes. His hands come to the button on my jeans and he grins. “I’ve been looking forward to having you here, Gabby. In my cabin, my bed.”
“It’s a mountain home, Jude, and I could have been looking forward to it too, if I knew it existed.” I say as he yanks my jeans off by the bottom hem, pulling my panties down with them. “You’re full of secrets, Jude Ortiz. What else do I need to know about you?”
Jude stills for a nanosecond before he pulls my legs apart and puts a knee to the bed leering over me. “There’s not much more to me that this, sugar.”
My hands go to the hem of his long sleeve t-shirt and he bends to help me get it off. Then he whips off my sweater and bra but my hands go to the button on his jeans. He stands up to help me, pulling them down taking his boxers and socks with them. Crawling back up over me, he slows down, looks into my eyes and traces my hairline with his fingers. Leaning down, he kisses me softly as his right hand finds my left, pulling it up and over my head, pressing my hand into the bed. With our fingers entwined, Jude makes love to me in the Rocky Mountains. And he does it slow, sweet, and perfect.
Sometime after as we lay here tangled, he turns his head and with his lips to my ear he rasps in a whisper, “It seems like an eternity since I’ve felt settled like I do right now. I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but it feels right. It feels perfect. You do that for me, Gabby. You.”
“Jude,” I turn, tucking my face into him. I feel his lips below my ear and his tongue dart out, tracing my neck.
His breath comes to my ear again and I hear the simple but profound word. “You.”
I bring my hand up to the side of his face. He presses close while kissing the side of my head, cocooning me in.
We lay intertwined and quiet for what seems like a long time. Something weighty has happened. I don’t know what it is but I know it’s good. No—amazing. Almost as if Jude has moved us to a new level—a significant level with his few words. But now he’s quiet, almost reflective. Finally, he whispers, “I don’t want you to get cold. We should get up. I need to go put the rest of the groceries away and you can get settled.”
He tries to pull away, but I tighten my arms and he stops, looking down at me. Pulling him close to me again and sucking in a breath for courage, I say quietly while looking into his melty but reflective eyes, “You. It’s you for me, too. You know that, right?”
Jude takes a beat to look into my eyes and then crushes me into him once more. I hold him just as close, needing him as close as I can get. He finally leans back, kisses me soft and with our foreheads tipped to one another. “Thank you, sugar. You don’t know what that means to me. It means everything.”
Chapter Seventeen
Fill Me Up
My legs ache. Seriously. I’m a runner, I thought I would fare better. I lean back farther into Jude with his arms and legs around me and let the hot water of his big Jacuzzi tub in his master bathroom relax my muscles. His arms come around me to pull me in close.
“Babe, you need to drink more water in the mountains, especially during a hike,” Jude informs me for about the ten millionth time today.
“That’s what I hear,” I mutter with my eyes closed. Immediately I feel Jude’s arms tense around me as his legs, knees hitched up with his feet to the bottom of the tub, squeeze me tight.
This makes me giggle as he mutters, “Smartass.”
Today was great. We slept in a little later than usual, drank coffee on the deck while gazing at the amazing views. I did this wearing Jude’s big sweats and wrapped in a blanket because the air was cool, thinking that next time—and I really hope there’s a next time—I’m bringing a winter robe to Jude’s mountain home. He said it wasn’t unusual to have major snowfalls in October but it could also be warm. This time of year is unpredictable in the Rocky Mountains.
After coffee and breakfast, we packed some sandwiches, snacks and water in preparation for our big hike. Jude informed me I could handle a moderate trail and I wasn’t about to argue. I was feeling pretty optimistic, thinking I could hike the Continental Divide in my new pink trimmed clunky shoes. I was gung ho.
He took me to a trail near Grand Lake named Little Yellowstone. With Jude wearing a small daypack carrying our lunches and a lot of water, we were all set. The almost ten-mile round trip hike was breathtaking. The aspens had just turned a bright yellow with the season change and from different vistas we spotted deer and elk. Once we got to the top, we ate our late lunch, rested, and took in the views.
Watching Jude in his environment is different. Different in a wonderful, I-can’t-fathom-how-wonderful-it-can-be, kind of way. Not that Jude doesn’t seem settled in Omaha, but he seems content here, more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him. While we were making dinner last night, getting ready for our day today, or even just looking at him look at the mountains, this is his place in the world. He’s relaxed here. I find myself warm and fuzzy watching him look so happy. I can’t remember ever feeling so happy just by seeing someone else happy.