Falcon (Trinity Academy 1)

“Don’t worry, I’ve only been once, and all I can remember was the cold,” Kingsley says.

“Mason’s pretty good,” Falcon mentions. “And Lake…?”

When Falcon pauses, Lake lifts his head. “Hey, at least I don’t fall down anymore.”

“True, you just need to learn how to stop,” Mason teases him.

“Can you ski?” I ask Falcon.

“I’m not the best, but I can manage,” he replies, and wrapping an arm around me, he pulls me closer.

“He’s lying, Layla,” Mason says. “He taught me how to ski.”

“You did? Will you teach me? Then I don’t have to get an instructor.”

A scowl darkens his face. “Instructor? What instructor? If you let some guy anywhere near you, there will be a murder up on that slope.”

I let out a burst of laughter and wag my eyebrows. “I saw this cute instr –”

My words are cut off when Falcon ducks down, and he throws me over his shoulder. A smack lands on my butt, making me laugh uncontrollably.

He stalks out the front door, grumbling, “Cute my fucking ass.”

Between laughing and trying to breathe while hanging upside down, I get out, “She… is…. really…. Cute.”

Falcon stops by the van and sets me back down on my feet. “She?”

I nod, my eyes watering. He takes hold of my chin and presses a hard kiss to my mouth. “I’ll teach my woman how to ski.”

My woman.We meet up with some of the students from the Academy while we’re waiting our turn to go up on the slope.

“My ears are freezing. They feel like two blocks of ice,” Kingsley complains, pressing her headband down on her ears.

Mason steps in behind her and moves her hands away. “What are you doing?” Kingsley scowls, but before she can turn her head toward him, he places his hands over her ears and leaning forward, he blows hot air between his cupped hand and her ear.

Lake, Falcon and I can only stare in shock.

Kingsley freezes as if someone just poured a bucket of ice over her. She begins to blink faster, her voice sounding cautious as she asks, “Ahh… what’s happening right now?”

“I’m being nice,” Mason mutters before warming her other ear.

Kingsley’s eyes dart to mine where I’m still staring at them, not quite processing what I’m seeing.

Mason adjusts the headband, pats her on the back and walks toward the ski lifts that are coming in.

“Should I worry?” Kingsley asks, her eyes darting between Falcon and Lake. “Do you think maybe he’s lost his mind?”

Lake rubs a hand over his jaw, then says, “I’m actually not sure. Maybe he’s coming down with the flu.”

“See, when I’m nice, you all think I’m insane. Get your asses to the lifts, so I can push Hunt down the slope.” He gets on one, growling under his breath, “Can’t fucking win.”

“He’s fine,” Falcon says, nudging my back to get me walking.

The view as we go up with the ski lifts is incredibly beautiful. When we reach the top, Falcon helps me to get all the gear on. He takes hold of my hands and pulls me into a standing position.

“Bring your legs together before you do the splits,” he chuckles.

Hopping, I close the gap, then grin up at him. “Do I get to ski now?”

He lets out a bark of laughter. “No, you get to stand and watch me.”

The moment he lets go of my hands, I tumble backward, landing on my butt. “It’s okay, I’ll sit and watch you,” I laugh while shaking the snow from my gloves.

“I’m going to do a couple of short runs, so you can see the motions and what I do to stop. After that, you’ll try a short distance.”

He makes it look so damn easy as he pushes away and effortlessly makes a zig-zag pattern.

“Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit,” I hear Kingsley panicking, and glance to my right. She’s about to lose her balance when Mason comes up behind her and putting his hands on her hips, he helps her regain her balance.

Skiing away from her, he shouts, “Try not to break your neck, Hunt.”

She somehow makes it to me and then falls back. “It’s much harder than it looks.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “At least we’re not the only ones who suck.” I point to a group of students also trying to stand without falling.

“Layla,” I hear Falcon say, and glance up at him. “Are the two of you going to just sit and chill, because I can head down then?”

“Oops, I forgot to look.” I make a cute face and hold my hands out to him. “I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head and grinning, takes hold of me and pulls me up. “I’m going to ski backward. All you have to do is follow.”

We spent the morning having fun. I almost fall, but Falcon catches me, and as I smile up into his eyes, I can’t believe how happy I am.