Business Affairs

by Shirley Rogers

  “What?” Disappointment lined her features.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Clearly it did. Alex silently berated himself. “I was…just acting defensive.” He’d almost said jealous. But he wasn’t. Dammit, he wasn’t! To be jealous, he had to care for her.

  You want her, his mind taunted.

  It was lust. Pure and simple. She’s an attractive woman. Hell, she was gorgeous. And now that he’d kissed her, he couldn’t stop thinking about making love to her.

  But jealous? No way.

  “Why?” His expression gave little clue to his thoughts. More than ever, she wanted to know what he was thinking.

  His lips twisted as he shrugged. “It was a knee-jerk reaction.”

  “I see.” She didn’t really. Part of her had hoped his response meant more. Crushed by his dispassionate answer, she said, “I think I’ll call it a day.”

  Alex held on to her as she started to walk away. “I’m sorry I acted like a jerk. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “You don’t have to. Let’s just forget it.”

  “I want to. Look, it’s late, and we didn’t stop for lunch. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

  “Me, too.” Since breakfast, all she’d had was a cup of hot chocolate.

  “Let’s change and have dinner.”

  “All right,” she agreed, thankful to be on easy terms again. “But I want to shower before we go.”

  Alex nodded, wishing she hadn’t told him. Thoughts of water cascading over her naked body invaded his mind. Taking off his skis, he swallowed past the knot in his throat. “I’ll meet you in an hour,” he said, taking her skis from her. “That’ll give us both time to get ready.”

  He watched her walk away, the sway of her hips beneath her ski suit playing havoc with his self-control. Why had he reacted so strongly to another man being with her? He’d told her it was because they’d come together. The truth went much deeper than that.

  Alex wished he had what Jennifer needed. But she wanted forever.

  And he couldn’t give her that.

  Five

  Jennifer escaped into her room as soon as they walked inside the lodge. They’d decided on a time to meet, which gave her about an hour to get ready. Peeling off the layers of her clothing, muscles she rarely used screamed their discomfort. Wishing she had time for a leisurely bath, she opted for a short, hot shower.

  Almost exactly an hour later, a knock sounded on her door as she slipped on a multicolored ski sweater to wear with her jeans. She opened it and Alex stood there wearing dark, crisp jeans and a navy-blue, long-sleeved shirt that brought out his gorgeous blue eyes. Smiling at him, she opened the door wider. “I’m ready,” she said, reaching for her purse. She started to close the door behind her.

  Alex put his hand against the door, blocking her from shutting it. “Leave your purse here. You won’t need it. Dinner is part of the package. And,” he said with a playful smile, “I have a surprise for you after we eat so we won’t be coming straight back to the room.”

  “That’s not necessary,” she insisted, wanting to put their earlier sparring behind them.

  “Yes, it is. I promised I’d make it up to you.”

  “Alex—”

  “Bring your coat,” he told her, lifting his hand to show her he had his. “Your hat and gloves, too,” he added.

  She followed him into the hallway. “I take it the surprise involves going outside.” That he’d gone to the trouble to arrange something special for her made her tingle inside.

  He slipped his arm around her shoulder. “You’ll see.”

  They enjoyed a quiet, relaxing dinner in the lodge restaurant. Alex ordered wine for them, and Jennifer allowed herself to enjoy a couple of glasses, which mellowed her already relaxed mood. She considered having another glass, then changed her mind, telling herself she needed to be in charge of her faculties as long as she was with Alex.

  After dinner he escorted her outside. The brisk night air welcomed them as he nodded to an older gentleman standing by a bench. Seconds later, the sound of jingling bells filled the silence as a horse-drawn sleigh pulled up in front of them.

  “Oh, Alex!” she squealed, her expression one of delight. Trimmed in white, the red sleigh was a cozy two-seater. “Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe you arranged a sleigh ride!”

  Alex grinned, pleased he’d surprised her. He motioned for the driver to remain seated as he helped Jennifer inside, then climbed in to sit beside her. The driver handed them a blanket, which Alex spread across their legs. Sliding his arm around her, he tugged her to him as the horses pulled away from the lodge.

  “How did you know they offered sleigh rides?”

  “While I waited for you I talked with one of the employees in the lobby. He mentioned several types of entertainment the lodge has available for their guests. I chose this because I thought you’d enjoy it. And I wanted to surprise you.”

  Her eyes sparkled. “You did. This is nice.” She tried not to think about the romantic aspect of cuddling with him in the horse-drawn sleigh.

  “I’m sorry I was gruff with your ski instructor. I didn’t mean to spoil your afternoon.”

  “You didn’t spoil anything. And let’s forget about it.”

  “Tomorrow I’ll spend the whole day with you.”

  “You don’t have to. I know you came this weekend to ski.”

  “I enjoy skiing, but I’m having a great time being with you.” Alex didn’t dare admit the biggest incentive he’d had for encouraging her to come away with him this weekend was that he’d wanted to be with her.

  His answer caught her off guard, but pleased her more than it should have. Her gaze met his. “Me, too.” Jennifer breathed in the cold night air, then shivered and burrowed closer to him.

  “Are you too cold?” he asked. “I think they even included some hot chocolate for us.” He reached into the metal container and found a thermos. “Here it is,” he said. Unscrewing the cap, he turned it over and poured some of the drink into it. “You first,” he said, handing it to her.

  Steam from the hot chocolate swirled into the night. Jennifer blew on it, then took a sip. “Oh, my goodness, this is wonderful,” she said. Licking her lips, she handed the cup to Alex.

  Thinking he’d rather taste the chocolate on her lips, Alex took the cup from her and sipped from it. “Did you tell your parents you were going away this weekend?”

  Shaking her head, she said, “Oh, no.” The only person she’d told was Casey. And she wished she hadn’t. All she could think about right now was taking a chance and doing exactly what Casey had suggested—seduce Alex. All she had to do was to invite him back to her room. He was a smart man. She wouldn’t have to hit him with a brick for him to figure out why. “If I had, they would have wanted to know who I was going with.”

  “And you didn’t want them to know you were going with me?” Alex asked, his tone betraying a hint of annoyance.

  The bells on the sleigh jingled delightfully against the wood as it made a wide turn. She looked at Alex. “No,” she admitted. Her parents would have warned her that going away with her boss was a bad idea, something she already knew. “I realize how ridiculous that sounds, but I care very much about what my parents think of me. They would have gotten the wrong idea.”

  “What? That we were going to shack up together?” Alex teased.

  “Alex!” Jennifer playfully pinched him on his neck. Then she sobered. “Well, yes.” Her cheeks warmed as she made the admission. “My parents have very old-fashioned values.” They’d be truly disappointed in her if she went through with her plan to seduce Alex to get pregnant. And heartbroken. But they also loved her, so however she conceived, she knew they’d love her child. “They keep reminding me Tony is getting married next year and Greg is seriously dating someone. No doubt they’ll get engaged, too.”

  “Let me guess,” Alex said, giving her a knowin
g look. “Your parents want to see you settled down.”

  She nodded. “It’s been a regular topic of conversation when I visit. Apparently three grandchildren aren’t enough. They want all of their offspring to add more.” And she wanted to. She really did. Life just didn’t seem to be cooperating. “Do your parents ever put pressure on you?”

  His jaw muscle flinched. “I don’t see my parents enough for them to try to influence me.”

  “Really?”

  “My father isn’t the typical grandfather type.”

  “That’s a shame,” she said quietly. “What about your mother?”

  “We don’t have much of a relationship. I haven’t heard from her in about six months.”

  “Six months?” She couldn’t imagine anything more sad than a mother not sharing a loving relationship with her child. Sure, she got aggravated with her parents sometimes, but they loved her. And she loved and respected them. “Do you try to talk to her?”

  “I’ve called her a few times, but…” He shrugged, his expression indifferent. He was smart enough to know his mother’s nurturing well was dry. Why he bothered to go back to it was a mystery to him. “She doesn’t care about me. She never has.” Alex surprised himself by admitting something so private to Jennifer.

  “Why do you say that?” she asked, her gaze searching his face. His eyes held a sadness she wanted to kiss away.

  “She left me with my father when they divorced. I was ten. She said I would cramp her lifestyle.” Not wanting her to see how much it cost him to admit the truth to her, he made work of putting the thermos away. When he sat back, he rested his arm behind her on the seat.

  Jennifer had seen that flash of disillusionment cross his eyes before he’d concealed it. Taken aback by his admission, she figured it was no wonder Alex was so detached. He didn’t know how to love because he’d never been loved. “Oh, Alex. I’m sorry. I can’t even imagine what that must feel like.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I don’t spend time thinking about it.” Even as he said the words, he knew in his heart he’d lied. He’d never had the kind of family Jennifer had grown up with. The love and respect in her voice when she talked about her family seemed foreign to him. It was easier not to be hurt when you didn’t expect anything from anyone.

  Jennifer’s belief in family and happily-ever-after tempted Alex to take a chance with her. She was warm and thoughtful. And loving. But letting his guard down around her could prove fatal to his heart. He’d be a fool to let a romantic sleigh ride go to his head.

  “Oh, Alex, look! It’s snowing!” Jennifer squealed, her voice filled with excitement as snowflakes danced through the air.

  Alex looked around. “Yeah, look at it.”

  “It’s just perfect,” she whispered. “The sleigh ride, the snow, it’s so…” Her words faltered when she looked at him.

  “Romantic?” he murmured, finishing her thought. Alex let his gaze roam over her face, her alluring mouth. Yeah, it was. And she was so damn tempting. The sleigh hit a dip and she bounced closer to him. He tightened his arm around her to keep her there. When his gaze met hers again, he felt as though he couldn’t breathe. Her eyes were aglow and her cheeks were rosy from the cold. A snowflake drifted down and touched her nose. Alex brushed it away with his glove.

  Even out here in the iciness of winter, she smelled like a meadow of flowers. As if it was the most natural thing to do, he kissed her nose, erasing any trace of the snowflake. Her mouth parted and he couldn’t stop himself from tasting her. He nipped at her lips with his teeth.

  “Alex….” She started to protest, but he ran his tongue along her lips, then pulled back. She licked her lips, tasting him, and desire coiled inside her.

  “I just want to kiss you,” he whispered, as if asking for permission. When she hesitated, he said, “It’s only a kiss, Jen. Who could it hurt?”

  Me, her mind whispered. But she pressed her mouth to his, greedy for the taste of him, knowing it was crazy to invite heartache into her life. His lips were cool, but his hot tongue found hers as he angled his head and deepened the kiss. Jennifer struggled to get closer to him, and he turned her in his arms, drawing her into his embrace.

  Alex’s gloved hand found her chin and he held her head still as he devoured her mouth. Hot blood surged to his groin and he groaned deep in his throat. Beneath the blanket, he pulled her against him, damning their thick clothes and the gloves on his hands.

  The sleigh came to a stop. Alex dragged his mouth from Jennifer’s when he realized they’d returned to the lodge and the driver was waiting for them.

  He wasn’t sure what to say to her, but he knew an apology was in order. He’d never intended to let their kiss get out of hand. Before he could speak, Jennifer touched a gloved finger to his mouth.

  “Thank you for making this evening perfect,” she whispered.

  It was clear she was pulling away. Alex wasn’t thrilled about it, but he remained silent, knowing her decision was for the best. It would be wrong to pursue something intimate between them.

  Climbing out of the sleigh, he helped Jennifer down, then escorted her to her room. Without speaking, she went inside, leaving him to stare at her closed door.

  It was going to be hell going to bed alone.

  “Alex!”

  Jennifer dug her skis into the snow and came to an instant halt. She was barely able to make out Alex’s face where he’d stopped halfway down the slope. Looking back at her, he cupped his gloved hands around his mouth and shouted something to her. Darn, she couldn’t make out what he was saying.

  The light, fluffy snow that had started early that morning had thickened, blanketing the ground with several inches of powder. Actually, it was so beautiful, she’d enjoyed skiing in it. She’d graduated to the Intermediate slope, but the last few times she’d skied down it, due to the heavy snowfall, she could hardly see where others had gone down ahead of her.

  Hoping Alex would wait for her, she pushed off to catch up with him. With the deteriorating conditions, very few skiers were on the slopes. She’d suggested to Alex they get an early start for home, but he’d wanted to ski up to the last minute. When he’d asked her about changing the times of their return flight so they could ski longer, she hadn’t had the heart to refuse.

  In hindsight, maybe it hadn’t been such a great idea for them to postpone their departure. Seeing Alex straight ahead, she negotiated her way toward him. She’d thought she’d done a good job of navigating the snow until she plowed right into him, knocking him off his feet. She went flying, landing on top of him. Laughing, she smiled at him.

  “Oops, sorry. Again.”

  “Taking a shot at me, huh?” Alex laughed with her, then grabbed a fistful of snow and shoved it under her scarf. Jennifer squealed and fought to get away from him. Grabbing her around her waist, he rolled her over and pinned her in the snow with his body.

  “Stop! Please!” she begged. She was at his mercy, but she wasn’t really complaining. They’d had quite a few tussles in the snow over the weekend, each one ending up with her underneath him. Alex had taken the liberty of kissing her frequently since their sleigh ride. Jennifer knew she should put a stop to it, but she couldn’t. And each time he kissed her, she flirted with the idea of inviting him to her bed. So far she’d resisted the temptation. And today they were leaving.

  She was out of the woods. A few hours and they’d be back at home. Back to normal. No damage done.

  Except to her heart.

  “Make me,” Alex challenged, meeting her gaze. She stopped fighting him and he settled his body more firmly on hers.

  “You have a hidden evil streak.” She pouted, her bottom lip prominent.

  Lowering his head, he traced it with his tongue. “You know I find that sexy,” he whispered, then kissed her mouth. A slow, deep kiss that caused her to moan. Alex had been testing his resolve not to touch her. It was a good thing their weekend was ending. If they were together another day, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to resis
t making love to her.

  “Alex,” Jennifer whispered when he pulled away. They’d tempted each other, but they’d never talked about it.

  It was a dangerous game.

  Soon they would return to the real world and he would change into the serious, driven man she worked for. This weekend she’d enjoyed getting to know the man beneath the cool facade he presented to the rest of the world. Though she’d known he could be charming, she loved his wit. He was easygoing to a fault, and compassionate and tender, which she’d learned when she’d taken a hard tumble on the slope. Alex had pulled off his gloves and run his hands underneath her ski suit, checking her all over to make sure she was all right.

  Jennifer had been far from all right, but it hadn’t been from falling. His hands on her body had been sweet torture. More than ever, she’d wanted to forget her promise to herself to keep their relationship platonic.

  “Want me to show you how evil I can be?” he asked, giving her a devilish grin. He pushed his hips against hers.

  “Oh, Alex, you don’t play nice,” she teased, but her smile was more of an invitation. She sucked in a breath and tried to distract him. “All right. Enough. Alex, we have to get ready to leave. It’s snowing harder. I’m starting to worry about going down the mountain in this weather.”

  “You’re right.” He grumbled as he rolled off of her and stood. Helping her up, he brushed the snow off of them both. “Let’s head back.”

  They returned her skis and made it to the lodge. On their way through the lobby to their rooms, they noticed a small crowd around the check-in desk. They stopped to listen.

  “What’s happening?” Alex asked a young man standing nearby.

  “They’re saying we can’t leave,” he told them. “Something about the road down the mountain being blocked.” His face was jubilant. “Man, this is great. I won’t have to go to school tomorrow.”

  “What?” Jennifer asked, alarmed. “What did he say about not leaving?”

  “Hold on. Wait right here.” Alex edged between a man and woman in front of him, getting closer to the desk so he could hear what the manager was saying. A few minutes later he made his way back to Jennifer.