Business Affairs

by Shirley Rogers

  Alex grinned at her. “I’m not complaining.” She was sprawled on top of him from head to toe, her body aligned with his. Despite their bulky clothing, he welcomed her weight against him. If she were naked, life would be perfect.

  His words jammed her breath in her lungs. “Oh. Um, well…” With as much composure as she could muster, she pushed against him in an effort to get to her feet. Her hips pressed into his briefly, making their contact even more intimate. Finally, thankfully, she was on her feet. With their every touch, he was driving her crazy. She dusted the snow off of herself as Alex got to his feet.

  “Okay, let’s try again.” Alex meant the skiing part. But he could have just as easily meant another, more basic way. Having her body on top of his had him semi-aroused. Thankfully his bulky clothing hid his reaction to her.

  “I’m game if you are.” She flicked a glance at him. “I don’t know why this seems so hard for me. I’m usually more coordinated with physical stuff.”

  “Physical stuff, huh?” Alex was thinking of something physical that had nothing to do with sports. “Like what?” he asked as he picked up their poles.

  Jennifer was focused on the task of getting her boots back into her skis. “When I was little, I used to climb trees with my brother.” She looked up long enough to flash him a grin.

  “You’re kidding, right?” He couldn’t imagine his poised, graceful co-worker as a child sitting in a tree.

  “I was wiry. I could climb our magnolia tree faster than any of my brothers or my sister.”

  Alex laughed. “How big was this tree?”

  “Huge. My mom and dad still live in the same house. I’ll show it to you sometime. What about you?”

  He positioned himself behind her again, his hands on her hips. “What about me?”

  “I’ve divulged something about myself. Now it’s your turn,” she said casually. “Tell me something about yourself.”

  Alex didn’t say anything for a moment. He didn’t like talking about his childhood. It wasn’t a pleasant time in his life. “Like what?”

  She turned her head and scowled at him. “I don’t know. What were you like in school?” she asked, fiddling with the band covering her ears. “If I had to guess, I suspect you were sought after by every teenage girl within fifty miles.”

  “I was the class nerd,” Alex admitted, his mouth close to her ear. Her earlobe was peeking out beneath her knit headband, a small gold earring in the shape of a heart pierced through it. Alex battled a sudden urge to taste it with his tongue.

  She gaped at him in disbelief. “You were not!”

  His gaze connected with hers. “I’m serious. I was a bookworm and a computer geek. A lot of the kids made fun of me.”

  Oh, Alex. Despite his cavalier attitude, being taunted must have hurt him. “Well, if they knew you now, they wouldn’t be making fun of you. They’d be begging you for a job or money…or something!” she said with contempt. Irritated by his admission, she wanted to make it up to him in some way. “I’m sorry.”

  “I lived through it.”

  Not without scars, she thought, sadly. “Still—”

  “All right, do you feel like you have some balance on those skis?”

  “I had my balance before.” She’d only lost it because he was so darn close to her. This time, she tried harder to concentrate on skiing. She actually managed to balance herself until Alex came around to her side.

  “I’ve got you,” he told her, holding on to her arm. “Give yourself a little push.”

  To her delight, Jennifer slid a few feet on her own, without falling. “Oh, my gosh! Alex, I did it,” she shrieked, her facial expression triumphant.

  Without thinking, she turned to look at him. In her eagerness to share her success, she lost her balance again. Alex made a leap toward her. Seconds later they were lying in the snow again, his body beneath hers, their legs intertwined.

  “Oh, God, Alex,” she said, breathless. “I’m sorry.”

  Alex tightened his arms around her, pinning her to him. “If we’re going to spend the day like this, I can think of something else much more interesting that we could be doing.”

  “Behave.” Jennifer shot Alex a warning glare. Wondering again about her sanity for participating in this weekend with him, she rolled away. This wasn’t smart. She’d known Alex was charming, but his sense of humor was just as hard to resist. All she’d done so far was find out she liked him even more.

  “So far I have been.” But it was becoming next to impossible. Alex stood and held out his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. Wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, he took off his gloves and brushed the snow from her hair.

  Butterflies swirled inside her stomach. Until now, she’d done a decent job of keeping her distance from him emotionally. She wasn’t going to be able to resist her attraction to him if he kept flirting with her.

  “Are we going to ski or not?” she asked.

  He put his gloves back on. “That’s up to you.”

  “It’s harder than I thought.”

  “You’ll get the hang of it.”

  His encouragement warmed her heart. She took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m ready to give it another shot.”

  It took a few more tries and a couple of mishaps, but Jennifer eventually found success. She grinned from ear to ear when she managed to stay on her feet after skiing about twenty feet.

  Thirty minutes later Alex suggested she try the Bunny slope. Jennifer wasn’t so sure, but she’d mastered skiing on the nearly flat surface where she’d been practicing. To her delight, she made it down the Bunny slope the first time without falling once. When she was about halfway down, Alex skied ahead of her to the bottom and waited patiently until she reached him. She turned her skis slightly, stopping by snowplowing just the way he’d taught her. Exhilarated, she looked up at him. “That was fun!”

  He caught her in a hug. “You did great!”

  When he let her go, Jennifer had to struggle to get her breath. He smelled so good. Oh, God, so good.

  “Time to get back to the top.” Alex pointed to the ski lift. “Come on.”

  Looking at the chairlift, she hesitated. “I might just stay here.”

  He shook his head. “Staying at the bottom of the slope is not an option.”

  “Then don’t blame me if we end up falling off.”

  “I won’t let you. I promise.”

  To her elation, she got in position just as she was supposed to and the metal chair hit the backs of her legs. She sat without disaster. “Okay, I’ll admit getting on wasn’t so bad.”

  Alex rested his back against the chairlift. He draped his arm around her. “I knew you could do it.”

  Smiling, she beamed with pleasure. “You’re a patient teacher.”

  “You say that as though you didn’t think I would be.” He tugged her hair playfully, glad that she’d worn it down. She rarely wore it like that at work.

  “It’s not that.” Her eyes danced with amusement. “You’re so uncompromising when you’re negotiating. I’ve never known anyone so focused.”

  “Thanks. I think.” He made a face at her.

  “You know what I mean. You’re more relaxed out here.” The change in him was remarkable. She’d never seen him so carefree. It made her all the more attracted to him, which wasn’t such a good thing because her heart was already invested heavily.

  “I know how to have fun.”

  “Really?”

  “I’ll prove it.” He leaned toward her and touched his mouth briefly to hers. Though her lips were cool from the air, she tasted as sweet as he remembered. It was all he could do not to deepen the kiss right then and there. The chair jolted and he broke off their kiss as they approached the lift exit.

  Jennifer got off the lift in a trance. Alex’s kiss had thrown her off balance. The second her skis hit the snow, she toppled. The operator stopped the lift when she, Alex and the two teenage girls getting off behind them all landed in a pile.


  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she babbled to all of them at once. The two teens giggled as they stood and stepped into their skis. Mortified, Jennifer avoided their gazes as they raced away. When Alex tried to help her stand, she ignored his attempt and managed to get to her feet without his assistance. By the time she had her skis on again, it was easier to pretend Alex’s kiss hadn’t knocked her off her feet.

  “I keep making a fool of myself,” she complained.

  “You’re cute when you’re blushing.”

  “Stop teasing me,” she said with playful warning. “Why don’t you go ski one of the other slopes for a while and let me practice?” Her legs felt as though they were going to give out on her. She needed some time alone to emotionally recover from his kiss.

  Alex gave her a steady look. “Are you sure?” He didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone. “What if you fall?”

  She sucked in a breath of air, struggling to get her equilibrium back. “I managed to get up by myself just now. I think I’ll be all right.” Not wanting Alex to read her expression and to see just how much his kiss had disturbed her, she dug into a pocket of her jacket where she’d stored her sunglasses while she was on the lift. She slipped them over her eyes.

  Alex didn’t want to leave her, but he told himself a half hour apart would help him get his mind off of making love to her. “It won’t take me long to ski a few of the trails.”

  “I’ll be fine.” When he hesitated, she gestured for him to go.

  “You’re not going to quit on me, are you?”

  Quitting was exactly what she had in mind, but she shook her head. “I’ll be right here snowplowing until you return.”

  Finally, Alex agreed and took off. Jennifer watched him ski away, admiring his proficiency on the snow as he swayed back and forth on his skis. More than ever, she wanted to know how his hard lean body would feel pressed against hers.

  Trying not to think he meant anything by kissing her, she practiced skiing for a while, making it down the Bunny slope on her own. As she slid off the lift, she eyed an unoccupied wooden bench near the entrance to the building. Needing a break, she made her way toward it. Halfway there, she gave up, took off her skis and walked the rest of the distance. She needed to be off of her feet for a few minutes. Alex’s kiss had wiped out her concentration.

  If Alex had insisted on staying with her, she wasn’t sure what she would have done. No doubt he would have joked about kissing her. But Jennifer failed to see the humor in it. And it would have hurt for him to tease her.

  Because you enjoyed it.

  Oh, she had. And she wanted him to kiss her again. Passionately.

  This weekend had been a mistake. She’d known it from the start. Already half in love with him, it wouldn’t take much encouragement from him to fall the rest of the way.

  And that was the danger of being alone with Alex.

  Casey’s suggestion that she sleep with him to get pregnant nagged at her. Once again, Jennifer contemplated the idea of making love with Alex. The temptation to entice him into her bed was strong.

  But she couldn’t deceive him into fathering her baby. So she had to resist her attraction to him until their weekend ended. Back at the office, she could safely tuck away her emotions and go back to a boss-employee relationship.

  After several minutes she felt much more in control of her emotions. She thought once again about quitting skiing, but she didn’t want to disappoint Alex. Finishing the hot drink she’d gone inside for, she tossed the cup into the trash, then put on her skis. Then she realized she was on the down side of a small hill. Darn. She was going to have to take off her skis, walk over it, then put them back on.

  “Need some help?”

  Jennifer glanced up and met dark green eyes. She judged the man who had spoken to her to be close to her age, maybe a year or two younger, if she had to guess. Blond hair poked out of his skull cap and his ski outfit did little to hide his well-built physique. His broad smile flashed straight white teeth.

  “I’m okay,” she replied with a polite smile. She shrugged. “I guess I should have thought about where I was before I put my skis on.”

  “Ah, you’re a beginner.”

  Her brows rose. “What? It’s plastered on my forehead?”

  He grinned and tiny wrinkles appeared around his eyes. “Nah. It was an educated guess.” He pointed to the emblem on his snow suit. “I’m an instructor here. My name is Craig.”

  “Oh.” Great. Looking inept in front of Alex wasn’t enough. She now had the opportunity to show her beginner skills to yet another man. “Hi, I’m Jennifer.”

  “How about some pointers?” At her hesitation, he added, “Free of charge.”

  “Thanks, but I’m sure you have other ways to spend your time,” she said with a laugh.

  He glanced at his watch. “My next class doesn’t start for fifteen minutes.” He reached out a hand. “Come on, I’ll help you up this hill.”

  Jennifer hated to refuse. He was just being friendly. Maybe he could give her a few pointers. It would be fun to impress Alex when he returned. Taking his hand, she accepted his help.

  Alex came to an abrupt stop, his skis slicing into the snow at a small ridge. His gaze swept the area between the Bunny slope and the ski lodge in search of Jennifer. He hadn’t intended to be gone so long, but he’d needed the time away from her to get his head straight.

  Kissing Jennifer had only whetted his appetite for more. It was becoming harder and harder to keep his hands to himself. Maybe coming on this weekend hadn’t been such a great idea.

  It wasn’t as if he was looking for someone special. He liked his life the way it was—simple and uncomplicated. The women he dated knew the score. He never led them to believe he was interested in a permanent relationship. His parents’ divorce had taught him just how badly a man and woman could hurt each other. Though both of his parents had probably been at fault, his mother’s rejection had hurt. He’d never admitted to anyone just how much. Alex had learned a lesson from her he’d never forgotten.

  Women didn’t stay.

  Okay, maybe all women weren’t alike, but he certainly wasn’t going to test his hypothesis by opening his heart up to the possibility of more pain. So what if Jennifer tempted him more than any other woman he’d been with? He’d be all right as long as he controlled his feelings for her. He’d spend the weekend getting to know her better, make the time they spent more entertaining by stealing a kiss or two, then he’d back off. They’d return to work on Monday just as though nothing happened.

  Satisfied he had a grip on his intentions, Alex scanned the area again for her. When he finally spotted her, he almost fell over.

  She wasn’t alone.

  A man stood behind her, his hands intimately on her hips. As Alex’s gaze honed in on them, the guy leaned closer to her, his chest grazing her back, his face within a breath of hers. Alex’s gut tightened. Every vein in his body bulged as his blood heated to a boiling point.

  Muttering a string of curses, he jabbed his poles into the snow and bolted toward them. Berating himself for leaving her alone, he slid to a stop inches from them, spraying a wave of snow over their feet.

  Jennifer looked up, her eyes wide with surprise. Her features softened when she realized it was Alex. “Oh, Alex! Hi!”

  Alex’s gaze darkened. “Who is this?”

  “This is Craig.” Jennifer smiled at her companion.

  Craig grinned. “Hey.” His gaze met Alex’s hard stare, and his smile faltered.

  “She’s with me,” Alex stated, his tone terse. He shot a glance at Jennifer so there would be no misunderstanding he was staking his claim.

  The other man had the good sense to lift his hands skyward and back away. “Sorry, man. I was just giving her some suggestions.”

  “I’ll take over.”

  “Sure.” Craig flicked a glance at Jennifer. “See you later.”

  From his hasty retreat, Jennifer didn’t think so. “Thanks for helping
me,” she called as he hurried away.

  Alex pinned Jennifer with a stare, his hand on his hip. “If you’d wanted help learning to ski, why did you suggest I go ski some trails?”

  “I was fine.” She frowned at him. “What was that about?” she asked, referring to his attitude toward Craig.

  “You don’t need some ski-bum instructor pawing you.”

  “He wasn’t pawing me, Alex.”

  “From where I was standing, he was definitely making some moves.”

  “Craig was just being helpful.”

  “He wanted a whole lot more than to help you with your skiing.”

  She let his comment go. Alex was an expert negotiator. It wasn’t worth the effort to argue with him. “He isn’t a ski bum. He’s working to put himself through law school. His family’s from a nearby town, and they don’t have the money to pay for his college.”

  “You sure learned a lot about him. How long was he here?”

  “Just a few minutes,” Jennifer stated, perplexed. She didn’t understand why he was upset. Craig was just being helpful. Maybe it was some macho thing. Men could be so competitive. “Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

  “I’m not.”

  “Sure you are,” she insisted. “There a vein bulging in your temple.” Reaching toward him, she touched it with her glove. “It always does when you’re agitated.”

  He wasn’t aware he gave off signs. “We came here together. I leave you for a half an hour and you hook up with some guy.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. It wasn’t as though she was his. Still, he reasoned, they were supposed to be together. It didn’t look right for her to be seen with another man.

  Appalled, Jennifer gaped at him. “‘Hooked up’?” she repeated. “You make me sound like…like a hussy.” Fuming, she kicked off her skis and picked them up. Looking him straight in the eyes, she said, “All I wanted to do was impress you by improving my skills before you returned…. I shouldn’t have even tried.” It had been a mistake coming here with Alex. She’d known it would lead to trouble.

  At her words, Alex pulled back. “Really?” Jennifer was already turning to go inside the lodge. He stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Wait.”