Snowbound With The Boss

He already thought far too much of himself, so no way was she going to feed an ego that was already strong enough for three healthy men.

“I think we’re way past ‘might,’ Kate,” he said, his fingers rubbing at the base of her neck until she wanted to purr in reaction.

That realization made Kate pull back, shake her head. “No, we are not going to do this.”

“Not here, anyway,” Sean agreed. “We’ll freeze to death.”

Not the way she was feeling at the moment, Kate thought. Despite the cold, the snow, the icy chill of the wind, she felt only the heat. That was the problem. Determined to put some space between them, Kate shoved herself to her feet. Sean did the same, then caught her elbow in a firm grip.

“You’re going to pretend nothing happened?”

“It was a kiss, Sean. That’s all.” She slipped out of his grasp, pulled off her cap, tore the band from her hair and shook it free until it lay thick around her shoulders.

“A hell of a kiss, Kate.”

She felt the imprint of his fingers right through her jacket and sweater as if he was touching her bare skin. What would it be like if he actually touched her? Oh, don’t think about that...

“Kate—”

“We need to get more wood.”

“Oh, I’ve got plenty of wood.”

He gave her a slow smile as his eyebrows arched. Kate blew out a breath. Well, she’d walked right into that double entendre. “Funny.”

He grinned. “Told you I’m charming.”

“You shouldn’t waste it on me,” Kate told him.

“Who says it’s a waste?”

Kate sighed, tipped her head to one side and stared at him. “Why are you doing this?”

“We’re both doing this, Kate,” he said flatly. Moving in, he closed what little distance lay between them. His hands came down on her shoulders and though she knew she should shrug him off, she didn’t. That stirring of bone-deep heat was too irresistible. Too compelling.

In this world of swirling white and icy cold, it was as if they were the only two people alive. As if nothing beyond this old hotel existed. Mattered. She stared up at him, into those blue eyes, and felt herself weakening further.

He was so damn sure of himself, Kate thought. And as her willpower dissolved like sugar in hot water, she told herself he had every right to be. She’d had no intention of giving in to this attraction between them, and now she couldn’t think of anything else.

“So, what’s it going to be?” He looked down into her eyes as he slid his hands up from her shoulders to cup her face. The chill of his hands on her skin skittered through her and was swallowed by the building fire inside. “Are we gonna spend the next few days pretending nothing’s happening between us?”

“It’s the safest thing to do.”

“You always take the safe route?” His mouth curved.

Yes. She’d lived most of her life trying to be safe. Her mother had died in a car accident when Kate was a girl, and that incident had marked her. She always buckled her seat belt. Drove the speed limit. Safety—caution in all things, was paramount. In everything from driving to balancing her checkbook to salting her steps during winter. She didn’t take chances. Risks. She was always careful. Always vigilant. And the smart thing to do right now would be to continue being safe. To walk away from what she felt when she was with Sean.

Even while she was giving herself some excellent advice, he bent his head and kissed her. Once. Twice. His mouth was soft, his manner tender and she was lost. When he finished, leaving her breathless and just a little unsteady, he looked at her again.

Kate swallowed hard and said, “Safe is smart.”

“Be stupid,” he urged.

She couldn’t look away from that warm, determined gaze. “I think I’m going to.”

He kissed her again. This time gentle tenderness washed away in a roaring tide of clawing, greedy hunger that had been building between them for days. Even through the thick layer of sweaters and jackets they wore, Kate felt his hard, muscled chest pressed against her, and everything inside her caught fire.

It was as if embers that had lain smoldering within suddenly caught a draft of air that flashed them into flames. Her hands at his shoulders, she clung to him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight, close. Though they stood locked together in knee-deep snow, she didn’t feel the cold. His mouth fused to hers, his breath filled her, his tongue twisted with hers and Kate felt the already-blazing fire inside her erupt and flash white-hot.

He tore his mouth from hers and said, “Inside. We’ll freeze to death out here.”

“So not cold,” she told him, licking her lips to savor the taste of him.

He grinned, and her heart stumbled. “Gonna make sure you stay that way, too.”

Keeping one arm locked around her, he guided her into the hotel, through the kitchen door, then slammed it closed behind them. They left the wind, the snow, the cold, and now it was just the two of them.

Nerves rose up unexpectedly and Kate started thinking. Her body was churning, every hormone she possessed was doing a cha-cha of anticipation, but her brain had clicked back on the moment he stopped kissing her and now...

“No way,” he said, caging her against the counter, with his hands braced on either side of her.

“What?” She blinked up at him.

“You’re thinking too much. You’re starting to worry that maybe we’re making a mistake.”

“Are you a mind reader now?” she asked, trying to ignore the hard thump of her heartbeat.

He laughed shortly. “Reading your mind isn’t that tough at the moment.” His gaze moved over her face like a caress before meeting her eyes again. “You’re interested. You just don’t want to be.”

“I could say the same about you,” she pointed out in her own defense.

“Yeah, you could.” He nodded thoughtfully. “The difference between us is I’m not big on denying myself and you seem to be a champ at it.”

“I’ll agree with the first half of that sentence. You do seem to be the type who indulges himself whenever he feels like it.”

“Why not?” he asked with a shrug. “You don’t get trophies from the universe for being stoic and cheating yourself out of something that could be amazing.”

In spite of everything, Kate felt a rush of anticipation that fed a small smile. The man was arrogance personified. “You’re so sure it would be amazing?”

His mouth curved, his eyes gleamed and he leaned in closer until their mouths were just a breath apart. “Aren’t you?”

Stray snowflakes slipped from the collar of her jacket, went beneath the neckline of her sweater and snaked along her spine. Kate shivered and told herself it was the ice on her skin, not the heat in his eyes that had caused it.

“This is crazy,” she murmured, shifting her gaze from his eyes to his mouth and back again.

“I’m a big fan of crazy,” he whispered.

“Yeah, you would be,” Kate said with a choked-off laugh.