by Diana Palmer
The assault had frightened her so much that she’d skated badly and placed far down in the competition. In the end, she’d given up ladies’ singles and gone back to the skating club in Jackson to be Paul’s partner in pairs. It had been a good decision, but the experience had left scars on her emotions. She’d avoided men, for the most part, ever since. She and Paul skated together, but aside from him she disliked being touched.
Or she had. Until now. She’d dated a little, mostly double dates with other girls who skated. But a few casual kisses hadn’t done much for her, and she’d never been in the arms of an experienced man who knew what to do with a woman.
Micah knew what to do. She was on fire for the first time in her life, aching for something she’d never known, hungry for the hard mouth that was devouring hers.
She lifted closer to him, her arms around his neck, intoxicated, shivering with feeling.
One big hand went to the base of her spine and moved her roughly against the most male part of him. He groaned as he felt himself losing control completely. She worked for him. She was his daughter’s companion. What the hell was he doing?
He jerked away from her, his dark eyes blazing as he looked down at the result of his ardor. She hung there, her gray eyes wide and soft, her mouth swollen from the force of his kisses. She was trembling. But she wasn’t trying to get away.
He caught her by her upper arms and moved her back, his jaw going taut as he registered just how close he’d come to losing control of himself. That had never happened before. She was potent.
But for all that, she seemed oddly innocent. She just stared at him, as if she couldn’t believe what had happened. She wasn’t angry or offended. She was...spellbound.
He wondered briefly just how experienced she really was. She didn’t behave like a woman who knew much about men. But, he reminded himself, some women perfected a technique like that, to draw in unsuspecting men. He wasn’t one.
He put her away from him and went to pour coffee into two mugs. He handed hers to her, herded her back to her room, opened the door and put her inside without a word. He closed the door. Firmly.
Karina sat down on the edge of her bed and lifted the coffee to her mouth. Her hands were shaking. She almost spilled it. She still couldn’t believe what had just happened. She’d had no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. Micah could have done anything to her, and she wouldn’t have been able to stop him. She didn’t want to stop him. She ached for him, even now. She felt cold, alone. How in the world had that happened? And how was she going to face him again, with the memory between them?
* * *
IN THE KITCHEN, Micah was wondering the same thing. He was ashamed of what he’d done. She was years younger than he was, a guest in his home, an employee. He had no right to touch her.
But it had been sweet. Sweeter than honey. It had been years since he felt so alive, so full of vigor. Even Lindy, with all her experience, had never aroused him to such a point.
He thought about going back to bed and satisfying the ache with her. But it seemed sordid. Indecent. He couldn’t bear the thought of Lindy after the taste he’d had of Karina.
And Karina was involved with her so-called friend at the skating rink, he thought angrily. Was she playing the boss? He was rich. Her skating friend wasn’t, judging by the casual clothes he wore.
He was more confused than ever. After finishing his coffee, he went back to bed. Beforehand, he looked in on Lindy, who was still asleep in the guest room. He didn’t wake her. He would have to find some way out of the mess he’d landed himself in.
* * *
KARINA GOT UP before dawn. She’d never been able to go back to sleep after the emotional upset she’d endured. She dressed and went out to her car. She’d phoned Paul already. He was waiting for her at the rink to follow her down to Jackson to her sports doctor.
“Ready to go?” he asked with a bright smile.
“Yes, I am.” She smiled back, acting for all she was worth. She didn’t want anyone to know what had happened. She had to pretend that it was a dream, otherwise she’d never be able to go back to the ranch at all.
* * *
THE SPORTS THERAPIST checked her ankle and pronounced it healed. He recommended more exercises and more stretching before practice. He wasn’t enthusiastic about the intense workouts she and Paul were doing, because they were going to stress that leg even more.
Karina knew herself that an injured joint usually developed arthritis, and she’d had some aching in the damaged ankle that wasn’t just soreness. The therapist wrote her a prescription for anti-inflammatories, but cautioned her about taking them with food and not before practice. They would help her sleep, he added. She must not go overboard with practice, although he realized she couldn’t slow down very much if she wanted a shot at the Olympics. He advised sleep and rest in between practices and emphasized the stretching and exercises to keep the joint limber.
She stopped by her apartment while she was in town and pulled out the skating dress that she’d worn at the last Olympic Games. It was still beautiful, but it came with tragic memories. It had been in her suitcase when the plane went down.
She tucked it back into a drawer. She’d have to have another for the upcoming competitions. She had an acquaintance at one of the skate shops who contracted with an up-and-coming designer to do custom costumes. Karina told her what she wanted, sketched it out, and the acquaintance promised to send it on to her by express at the ranch. She had money, at least, for that sort of expense. She and Paul were registering for Nationals in January. Their combined cumulative scores were more than adequate to get them that far. They wanted to make sure they had a chance to get on the US Olympic team.
Then she realized what it would mean. She couldn’t possibly keep her job and manage all the travel she and Paul would have to endure, skating at so many venues. First would be Grenoble, France, then Lake Placid, New York, which were two of the international events they wanted to compete at, later in November just before Thanksgiving. Many figure skaters skipped the international competitions for lack of time, but Paul thought it would help them. It probably would. The thing was, she’d have to quit her job.
The thought of giving up Janey, not to mention the boss, was torture. If she planned to continue with her career, she wouldn’t have any choice about it. Paul gently reminded her that they couldn’t sit here in Wyoming and let the world pass them by. If they wanted to go to Pyeongchang, they’d have to do the work. It was going to take a lot to get them back to their former status. The more they skated, the more confident they became, the easier the routine was to master.
She wanted that Olympic gold. She wanted it more than anything. It had been the dream of her mother’s life, to see her daughter stand on the same podium where she’d stood to receive the coveted gold medal around her neck. Karina’s parents had sacrificed so much to get her to this point. She couldn’t just chuck it all because she had a flaming crush on her boss.
Her face burned as she remembered the heat of his embrace, the hunger of his hard mouth on hers. He’d looked guilty when he put her away, when he took her back to her own room and closed her up in it. He was already impatient with her. This, surely, would make things even worse.
Too, there was Lindy. He was engaged. The businesswoman wasn’t about to stand aside for some other woman. It had already occurred to Karina that Lindy was as much in love with the boss’s fortune as she was with him. If you could call it love. She didn’t seem to care much for him. She was more interested in things. Possessions. Nights on the town.
Karina had loved the limelight, but she could take it or leave it. Money was nice to pay bills with, but apart from that, she wasn’t overly concerned with it. She’d never understood the obsession some people had with things. People were far more important.
She hoped the boss wasn’t going to be in an impossible mood when she got
back. Would he blame her for what had happened? She hadn’t known he was out of bed until it was too late, or she’d never have gone into the kitchen in the first place. But he wouldn’t be aware of that. He might even think she was trying to play on his senses.
She ground her teeth together. Well, she’d have to try to keep her feelings hidden and not let on that she thought he was the most magnificent male she’d ever known. And meanwhile, she was going to practice and practice until she could perform the leaps and jumps of the new routine in her sleep.
She wished she felt better. She was a little queasy and she felt weak in the knees. There had been a virus going around the ranch. She hoped it wasn’t terribly contagious, because practice was more important than ever, now. Paul wouldn’t be back at the rink until Monday, but Karina could practice while Janey had her lesson.
* * *
KARINA PULLED ONTO the long winding ranch road, waving at the man inside the little block building who waved back. It had been a long drive to Jackson and back and she was tired. She hoped she wouldn’t have to spend a lot of time with the boss and his girlfriend. She still had to get through the weekend. She wasn’t looking forward to it at all.
But when she drove up next to the house and parked, Lindy wasn’t anywhere in sight. She went inside, and noted that the occupants of the house, save Burt, were all gone. Then she remembered that they were all going shopping down in Jackson Hole today. She relaxed, just a little.
Burt was making lunch.
“Thank God,” he murmured when he realized it was just Karina. “I was afraid you were Lindy,” he added darkly. “Can’t do a damned thing right, according to her. Eggs were overdone, toast wasn’t brown enough, coffee was too strong...”
“There, there,” she said gently. “This, too, shall pass away,” she added, grinning.
He laughed through his irritation. “Okay.”
She sat down at the table and watched him work. She drew in a long sigh as she recalled with painful clarity the night before, when Micah had kissed her so hungrily. It was hard to get the image out of her head.
“How’s the ankle?” he asked.
“He said it’s doing fine, but he emphasized that I mustn’t overdo at practice.” She traced a pattern on the table. “It’s such a long, hard road to the Olympics,” she added quietly. “My parents sacrificed so much, to make sure I had lessons and access to all the venues when I started moving up in figure skating. It’s a very expensive sport.”
“I know all about that.” He glanced at her while he worked. “You started out in singles, didn’t you?”
She nodded. “I thought it was what I wanted. But I had a really bad experience with one of the assistant coaches at a venue back east, when I was in my early teens. I came back home to Wyoming with my parents and Paul talked me into doing pairs with him. That way he’d always be with me at practice, and he’d watch out for me. He’s the brother I always wanted,” she added with a tender smile. “He and Gerda and the boys are the only family I have left. I love them all very much.”
“You look bad,” he said abruptly. “Feel okay?”
She smiled wanly. “Not really. I’m sort of queasy and my knees feel weak. I think it may be that virus that’s going around. Paul had it. Just a twenty-four-hour thing. I’ll be fine.”
“Stand close to Lindy, will you?” he murmured with a wicked glance. “In case it’s contagious.”
“You wicked man,” she teased.
He shrugged. “A woman like that could make a man wicked. I don’t know why the boss puts up with her.” He grimaced. “Or maybe I do. She’s pretty enough.”
“She is that,” she agreed, and wondered why it hurt so much to recall that the boss was going to marry the vicious woman. “Poor Janey,” she added quietly.
He sighed. “Yes. Poor Janey.” He shook his head. “Boss never seems to notice just how mean Lindy is to the kid. Well, he called her down last night,” he added. “That was a first. He’s usually too busy to notice. Phone rings all hours. He never turns it off.”
“I’d hate that,” she said.
“So would I. He’s used to it. He told me once that he didn’t think he could slow down. He lives for those adrenaline rushes.”
She laughed. “I know the feeling.”
He glanced at her as he finished the chicken dish’s trimmings and stuck it in the oven. “Want some coffee?”
“I’d love a cup. The stronger the better,” she added with a twinkle in her eyes.
He just laughed.
* * *
KARINA HAD JUST finished watching the news when car doors slammed outside. She ground her teeth together, expecting trouble.
Janey came running in. She had a shopping bag in her hands. “Karina, I got a costume to wear at my test!” she exclaimed. “Let me show you...”
“Costumes,” Lindy scoffed angrily. “Unnecessary expense,” she chided. “She’ll never stick with it long enough to do a test. And she won’t listen, so how is she going to learn enough to pass one?”
Janey winced.
Micah glared at his fiancée. “Why do you do that?” he asked shortly.
Her fine eyebrows arched. “Do what? Tell the truth? She’s lazy,” she said, indicating Janey. “She doesn’t want to learn figures, she just wants to skate like a bat out of hell and terrorize the people at the rink!”
“Figures are no longer compulsory,” Karina began.
“Oh, like you know what’s compulsory or not,” Lindy interrupted angrily. Her eyes spat at Karina. “You don’t know enough to teach someone how to skate! You told Mike she needed figure skates, but the hockey skates were fine for her little hobby. Another outrageous expense!”
“It’s not your money,” Janey said in an undertone.
“Well, it’s not yours, either, is it?” she snapped at the child. “I’m going to lie down until supper. I hope it isn’t something swimming in grease, like usual,” she added, glaring at Burt as she went down the hall.
Janey was almost in tears. She’d been so excited about her costume.
Karina knelt beside her. “Aren’t you going to show me the dress?” she asked gently, and smiled. “I’d really love to see it.”
Janey wiped at her tears. “Okay.”
She pulled it out of the bag. It was silver with metallic pink accents. It would go well with Janey’s dark hair and light olive skin.
“This is lovely,” Karina said. “You’ll look wonderful in it.”
“I really want to pass that test,” she said. “It’s really exciting. All of it. And I am going to stick with it,” she added a little belligerently, glancing at her father.
But he wasn’t listening. He was on the phone, already, making a call.
“Hold dinner for an hour,” he told Burt on his way into his study. “I’ve got to take this call.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
“Go ahead and feed them so they can get to the rink,” Micah added, indicating his daughter and Karina without quite meeting Karina’s eyes. He went into his office and closed the door.
“I’m not really hungry,” Janey confessed, still miserable from Lindy’s abusive words.
“I’m not either, really,” Karina agreed. “Let’s go skate for a while. If Burt doesn’t mind heating it up when we get back...?”
“I don’t mind at all,” he said. He smiled at Janey. “Don’t let her upset you,” he lowered his voice, nodding toward the closed door of the guest room down the hall. “She enjoys it.”
“I wish Karina and I could run away to Siberia,” the child said with a stage sigh.
“Siberia?” Burt asked, all eyes.
“It’s got lots of ice, so we could skate all the time,” Karina laughed.
“I suppose it does. You be careful,” he told Karina. “Sure you feel like going?”
“I�
�ll be fine,” Karina lied. She was feeling worse by the minute. But she’d rather be sick at the rink than stuck here with the resident shrew, especially at the dinner table. “We won’t be too late.”
“I’ll heat it up when you get back,” Burt promised.
* * *
KARINA LACED UP Janey’s skates and deposited her with Chad for her lesson. She put on her own skates, but her heart wasn’t in it. She felt even sicker.
In the end, she skated off the ice and sat on one of the benches with her head down. The world around her was spinning like a top and she was so hot. Burning up. Sweating. How in the world was she going to get Janey home when she could barely lift her head?
* * *
JANEY FINISHED HER lesson and came off the ice, concerned about her friend.
“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly. “You look awful.”
“I’m sick to my stomach,” Karina confessed. “I feel terrible. I’m so sorry...”
Janey hugged her. “It will be all right. You just sit still.”
The child pulled her cell phone out of her skating bag and called the ranch.
* * *
KARINA WAS BARELY aware of what the child was saying, or what was said back to her.
Janey grimaced. “But, Daddy, she can’t help being sick,” the child was saying apologetically. “Please...? Okay. Thanks.”
She hung up. “Daddy’s coming to get us,” she said. “He’ll bring Burt so he can drive your car back to the house.” She hesitated. “Lindy’s coming with him,” she muttered. “I can’t think why.”
It occurred to Karina that Lindy might be jealous of her. The boss had been alternately irritable with her and dismissive, all at once. Lindy wasn’t dim. She might suspect that there was something between them. She’d want to break it up. She’d already been feeding the boss gossip about Karina and Paul. Karina wondered if she hadn’t been embroidering that gossip as well, to make it look as if Karina was having some sordid affair with Paul.
She kept her head down. She really was sick.
“Can’t I get you anything?” Janey asked worriedly.