“Trying to get dressed here.”
“I know.” Stopping just short of touching her, he dipped his head and took a good look at her from head to toe and back again, lingering at her unzipped pants. “Pale pink is my new favorite color.”
She stared into his amused, very heated eyes and felt all her good parts quiver. “You could have seen them up close and personal in the closet. You chose skiing.”
“I’m a stupid, stupid man.”
Their lips were less than an inch apart. She stared into his eyes, then at his mouth.
“Katie.” His voice was low, thrillingly rough as he lifted a hand and ran his thumb over her lower lip. It tingled for another kiss, and she closed her eyes…
He gently pulled off her glasses, then not so gently kissed her, long and deep. Her bones went all soft and gushy, but nothing on him felt soft and gushy, especially not what was pressing into her stomach.
“One more,” he said, his mouth moving down her neck.
“Two would be okay…”
With a low laugh, he slid his warm hands up the back of her sweater, making her want to stretch and purr like a kitten. “God, you feel good.”
“Yeah. Same goes.”
“Skiing,” he whispered against her lips, before removing his hands from her and stepping back. He nodded and let out a rough breath. “Skiing. I’ll wait out in the hallway.”
When he was gone, she let out a rough breath of her own, then stepped out of her pants-removing her boots first this time-and pulled on the ski pants. He’d been right, they did fit.
Like a damn glove.
She moved to the desk and bent down to look at Chuck. “Hey, cutie. What do you think?”
He didn’t even blink. Just stared at her with those heartbreaking eyes.
“Right. I’m asking for trouble.” She reached out a hand to stroke him, but he put his ears back and let out a low warning rumble. “Okay, have it your way, but I’ll charm you yet.”
More than a little self-conscious about the pants, she went out into the hallway, where one tall, dark, and oh-so-gorgeous man leaned against the wall waiting for her, eyes hot. “You look great,” he said.
Her good parts clamored as he handed her a jacket, hat, and a pair of gloves. He watched her add the extra layers. “I’m an idiot to have given you all that to wear.” His sexual frustration was the third person in the room.
Hers was the fourth.
Having no idea where this was going exactly, but suddenly enjoying the ride, Katie straightened. “Let’s do this. Let’s ski.”
Cam had been around the world looking for something to give him a new rush, to kick-start his heart, and he hadn’t found it. And yet here he was, his heart kick-started by a woman.
Clearly, he’d lost his mind.
No, Katie had lost her pants, and then he’d lost his mind. She’d stood there half naked in his office, wearing a snug sweater and those adorably sexy panties and nothing else, looking more than a little frazzled by Chuck.
And by him.
And he’d gotten turned on. So damn turned on.
So had she.
Okay, so that might be a little self-congratulatory, but it sure as hell hadn’t been the cat to make her ni**les hard and pouty against the thin material of her sweater.
Now she was covered from head to toe in the best of the best gear available.
Well, hell. He’d come back home to feel something, anything, and it was working. He was definitely feeling something, though not necessarily with his head. At least not the one on top of his shoulders.
He carried his board and her skis, leading her to the equipment garage where he pointed to the Sno-Cat. “That’s the fastest way to get there. You up for it?”
“I’m up for all of it. The question is…” She waggled a brow. “Are you?”
He laughed. “I’ve been ‘up’ since I met you. Get in.”
He watched her eye the machine that just last week had struck terror into her heart. With a deep breath, she climbed into it while he enjoyed the way the ski pants fit her ass, picturing those pink panties he knew she wore beneath…but also feeling a wave of something other than lust, something deeper.
Because no matter what she said, or how big a smile she flashed him, he knew she was still scared of the Sno-Cat.
And still completely handling herself.
The women in his life had mostly fit into two categories: snowboarder groupies and fortune hunters. Katie didn’t fit into either. She certainly wasn’t here to stroke his ego or fawn all over him. And she didn’t seem to want anything from him.
She could have no idea how attractive that was to a guy like him. He climbed up beside her and hit the gas, not missing how she gripped the sides of her seat.
“We’re okay,” he assured her.
“I know. One of these days, though, we’re going to have to do something I’m good at.”
“And what are you good at?”
She flashed him a smile. “Guess.”
Once again, he went instantly hard, which both startled and amused him. “Now you tell me.”
“Hey, this was your idea, big guy. You could be in the closet right now, with me. Naked. And I look damn good naked.”
“I bet you do.”
“I was hoping to see how good you look.”
He laughed, laughed while hard, and he knew right then.
He could guard his heart all he wanted, but it was too late. She’d sneaked in past his defenses and leveled him flat on his ass, and now he was down for the count.