by Zara Chase
“All right.”
They reached Tanya’s hotel, and Ward pulled her into his arms for a final kiss.
“Sleep well and dream of me,” he said.
“Oh, I will. Count on it.”
“See you in the morning.”
Ward waited until she disappeared through the automatic doors and he could no longer see her. He should have asked which room was hers so he could wave up at her, a bit like a lovesick teenager. Hell, that was how he felt right now, which was downright weird.
Love ’em and leave ’em had been Ward’s mantra for the past two years. That had all changed when he took sweet Tanya to his room, and he knew it would be a wrench to let her go. She’d gotten beneath his defenses, without appearing to have tried, and the weird thing was that it hadn’t made him freak out.
He walked briskly back to Hadleigh’s, reminding himself that he didn’t do permanent. Tanya was as close as he’d come in two long years to finding someone who matched his idea of feminine perfection, but he’d get over his temporary infatuation once she left. Ward wasn’t a safe person to be around on a regular basis, which was why he was hiding away in this lazy backwater. Best keep it that way. It made things less complicated all round.
Using the same side door, he made his way back upstairs to the private floor and found Leo in the lounge.
“Hey,” he said. “Everything okay?”
“Pretty cool.”
“You definitely owe me.” Leo grimaced. “That Melanie clings tighter than a virgin’s drawers.”
“Since when did you have trouble shaking off a female?”
Leo rolled his eyes. “This one’s in a class of her own.”
“Is she still downstairs?”
“No, she left about a couple of hours back with one of the guys from your class.”
Carl, presumably. “Ah, I was hoping Tanya would be able to get back and slip into bed without getting the third degree.”
“I get what you see in her.” Leo grinned. “Did she live up to expectations?”
Ward threw back his head and sighed. “And then some.”
“I’m glad. It’s high time you thawed out that rock-hard heart of yours.”
“Hey, I didn’t say anything about hearts.” He sent Leo a considering look. “Besides, look who’s talking.”
“All six of us are commitmentphobes, but that can’t go on forever.” Leo’s mood had switched from lighthearted to deadly serious. “Do you see yourself still doing this shit in five years’ time?”
“Hell if I know.” Ward flapped a hand in dismissal, so not wanting to get into this. “I’m gonna hit the sack. Night, buddy, and thanks.”
“Night, and you’re welcome.” Leo knocked back his drink and stood up. “I think.”
* * * *
“Where have you been?”
Tanya entered their room as quietly as she could but the sound of Melanie’s accusatory voice dispelled her heady mood. She’d hoped Melanie would still be out partying. Instead she appeared to be waiting up for her.
“Sorry to disturb you.”
“I was worried when I couldn’t find you.”
Not worried enough to call. “I got caught up with Ward.”
“Ward?” The bedside light came on, something else Tanya had been hoping to avoid. “Why didn’t you say? You know I wanted to…Hell, what happened to you? What did he do to you?” You really don’t want to know! “You look like you’ve been dragged through a hedge backward.”
“Thanks a bunch.” Tanya’s lips, still swollen from the intensity of Ward’s kisses, split into a wide grin. “I’ll say this much for him. He sure knows how to switch on a girl’s lights.”
“Obviously.” Melanie wrinkled her nose, her face stained with an ugly streak of jealousy. “What about Brad?”
Tanya tensed. “I don’t know anyone called Brad.”
Melanie propped herself up on one elbow. “You know he wants you back.”
“I so don’t want to have this conversation, but since you insist, I’ll tell you what I know about your brother.” Tanya took a deep breath, endeavoring to keep her voice even. “I know he stole from me, not once but multiple times. I know he made a habit out of lying to me, and I also know he put me in the hospital.”
“He’s real sorry about that.”
“Sure he is.” Tanya rolled her eyes. “Now can we please drop the subject? We agreed never to mention your brother’s name—”
“I know, but if you could see how cut up he is about what he did to you.”
“Are you deliberately trying to spoil my evening?” Tanya was furious and for once didn’t try to hold it inside for fear of upsetting her friend’s delicate mental state. “I know you wanted Ward, but hard though this might be for you to understand, he didn’t want you. Get over it.”
“It isn’t that.” Melanie looked almost as taken aback by Tanya’s outburst as Tanya herself felt at having let rip. “You know I just want you to have fun. Besides, I have my sights set on Leo now so I don’t care about Ward.”
Of course you do. “How did that go?”
Melanie pulled a face. “We were getting along real well. Then he got called into the kitchen to resolve some crisis or other and I didn’t see him again.”
“That’s too bad. What did you do instead?”
“Oh, Carl and I hung out.” A euphemism for getting laid, Tanya assumed. “We had some fun.”
“I’m glad.”
Tanya headed for the bathroom, feeling good about herself for having stood up to Melanie. It had taken Ward to make her realize just how much of a doormat she’d become when in her friend’s company. Ward didn’t know all of Melanie’s history, of course, but even so, she could see he was right about a lot of things. Melanie bringing up Brad’s name bothered her. She knew Melanie was tight with her siblings—it had been the three of them against their abusive father and negligent mother for years—but she hadn’t realized just how set she was on seeing Tanya and Brad get back together. Not that that would ever happen. She’d taken a lot of crap from Brad but called a permanent halt when he followed in the footsteps of the father he supposedly hated and used his fists on her. She hated violence and thought men who beat on women were the lowest of the low. She’d told Ward the truth about that and really meant it when she said no man would ever get the opportunity to strike her twice.
As she splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth, Tanya put the fight with Melanie out of her mind and dwelt upon her time with Ward instead. The recollections tugged at her on a level she couldn’t control, putting her still-sensitized body in danger of sensual meltdown—again. If it weren’t for her sore backside and tender nipples, the entire episode could have been a figment of her overactive imagination. She still couldn’t get past the fact that Ward actually wanted her—not just physically, but he seemed to enjoy her company, too. She would never accept that she was as desirable as he made her out to be—guys hadn’t exactly beat a path to her door before now—but he had given her confidence a timely boost.
“Good night,” she said, climbing into bed and pulling the covers up to her chin.
She’d enjoy this holiday romance for what it was, she decided as she hovered on the brink of sleep, and walk away at the end of it all, wiser and without regrets.
She absolutely would.
In spite of not getting enough sleep, Tanya woke early feeling rejuvenated and full of life. Her first conscious thought was of Ward. She wondered what he was doing, if he was thinking about last night as well, and if, in the cold light of day, he still wanted to play with her. Popular men like him tended to be fickle. Well, if that turned out to be the case, at least she’d had one night with him and had learned a lot about herself. Better to be a has-been than a never-was, as her old dad was so fond of saying.
She showered quietly, careful not to wake Melanie, and giggled as she pulled herself directly into her salopettes, bypassing the panties stage. She didn’t want her friend to notice her absence o
f underwear and ask awkward questions. She did wonder if she would be cold without her long underwear but remembered she’d gotten quite warm the previous day, once the skiing got underway. Anyway, to please Ward, she’d happily freeze her ass off without complaint.
Once she was dressed, she roused Melanie and got down to some neglected work on her iPad while she waited for her friend to shower. They went down to breakfast together and Melanie did her usual number on a hapless yogurt while Tanya ate far more substantially.
“You look like you’ve been lit up from inside,” Melanie surprised her by saying.
Tanya laughed. “That’s what good sex does for a girl.”
“Was he good?” Melanie leaned her forearms on the table and got her face up close to Tanya’s. “I need details.”
That was more like it. Melanie and Tanya shooting the breeze about a handsome man was par for the course, except usually it was Melanie who had the man jumping through hoops.
“He was, as they say in his part of the world, awesome.” Tanya couldn’t help the broad, infectious grin that broke out across her face. “Trust me on this.”
“Be careful.” Melanie touched her hand, her expression serious. “Men like him can be cruel.”
“Melanie, it’s a holiday fling. I’m not reading anything into it.”
“Aren’t you? You don’t have flings, not ever, which makes me think you might have unattainable expectations.” You bitch! “Unlike me, you always invest emotion into your relationships.”
“I’ve grown up,” she said shortly.
“Are you seeing him again?”
Tanya consulted her watch. “In less than an hour.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I anticipate seeing him every night until we leave.”
“You see, that proves my point. You have expectations.” Melanie shook her head. “He’s taking advantage of you.”
Tanya threw back her head and laughed aloud. “If anyone’s taking advantage of anyone, it’s definitely the other way around.”
Melanie wrinkled her brow. “There’s something different about you.”
Tanya wriggled on her chair, her butt pleasantly sore. Bet your sweet life there is!
“We ought to get going,” Tanya said.
“I know you don’t want to hear this.” Melanie placed a hand on Tanya’s arm, preventing her from standing up. “I know I promised not to talk about him—”
“Then don’t!”
“Just let me say my piece and then I promise that’ll be it.”
Tanya sighed, knowing Melanie would keep harping on until she gave in and listened. She crossed her arms defensively across her chest and sighed. “Go on then. Say what you need to say. I’m listening.”
“Well, Brad feels real bad about what happened between you.”
Tanya blew air threw her lips. “So he says.”
“No, really, he does. He feels like he’s turning into our dad.” Melanie shuddered. “And you know how we all feel about that bastard.”
Tanya’s rigid stance softened. “Yes, I do.”
“You were good for him, Tanya, and I know he loves you. He was hoping this holiday would give you a chance to think things over and decide to let him back into your life.”
Tanya shook her head decisively. “Ain’t gonna happen.”
“Because of Ward?”
“This has nothing to do with Ward. You know I’d already made up my mind.”
“Brad’s working real hard to get the money to pay back what he owes you.”
“I don’t want the money. He can keep it, just so long as he stays away from me.”
“Don’t you believe people can change?”
“Yes, actually I do.”
Melanie brightened. “Well, there you are then. I knew you’d see sense.”
“I’ve changed, Melanie, and I have absolutely no intention of taking more of Brad’s crap, or crap from any man come to that.”
“Just because Ward took advantage of you,” she said in a hard voice.
“No, honey.” Tanya stood up, holding on to her temper by the sheer force of her will. “Because I have more self-respect than that.”
Chapter Eight
Whenever they’d argued in the past, it was always Tanya who found a way to fix their friendship. This time she could honestly say that she didn’t give a shit. Melanie was jealous, which made her seem petty and spiteful. Worse, she’d broken her word and was clearly on a mission to force her back to into Brad’s not-so-tender embrace, spoiling Tanya’s mellow mood in the process. All Tanya wanted to do was daydream about Ward. She kept reliving the amazing things he’d done to her the night before and wanted to speculate about the treats still to come beneath his capable hands. Was that too much to ask?
For once in her life Tanya was putting herself first. She was having a casual fling, and she’d be damned if Melanie would get to spoil it for her.
“The weather’s going to be great today.”
Tanya nodded, not bothering to reply to Melanie’s increasingly desperate-sounding banal remarks. She’d been making similar comments all the way up in the cable car, obviously trying to repair the damage she’d done when it must have become obvious that easygoing Tanya was seriously pissed with her.
“I’m sorry, Tanya.” Melanie touched her arm and sent her a sincere smile of apology. “I love you, you know that, and I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Finally, Tanya spoke. “I know you care about me. Just don’t mention the person you brought up earlier and leave me to enjoy my holiday, same as I want you to enjoy yours, and we’ll be good.”
“It’s a deal.” Melanie kissed her cheek. “I’m so glad we’re friends again. I hate it when we fight.”
So why pick one? “Me, too.”
They reached the station and exited the car along with the other skiers. Ward was already at the ski school, and Tanya’s heart missed a beat when he looked up, saw her, and sent her a devastatingly wicked smile. When his gaze slid from her face to her lower body, homing in on her pussy, she knew precisely what he was thinking and gave him a small nod. Fuck, how was she supposed to ski with moisture trickling down the inside of her thighs?
She got through the morning somehow, finding Ward beside her each time they went up in a lift. Unfortunately they never seemed to ride up alone. Another member of the class—usually Melanie—rode with them.
“Tell me about Leo,” she said to Ward the first chance she got. “What’s his history? Does he have a significant other?”
Ward inched closer to Tanya and rubbed his thigh against hers as he skillfully dodged Melanie’s questions. Although they were out of doors and the temperature was below freezing, to Tanya it felt hotter than a Caribbean beach. The scorching glances Ward kept sending her, the wicked intent reflected in eyes darkened with passion, the persistent throb in her pussy, made her long to be alone with him. Would the morning never end?
It did end, but not in the way that Tanya anticipated.
“Is there another place to eat?” Carl asked. “The cafeteria was kinda crowded yesterday and it took an age to get served.”
“Well, yes, but you need to take the chair up that red run,” Ward replied, pointing to the lift in question and sending Tanya the ghost of a wink. “There’s an amazing view from up there and the cafeteria has a great sun terrace, but I gotta tell you, the run down again is pretty testing. It’s usually pretty icy, but if you steer clear of the moguls you should be okay.”
Ward had arranged for the question to be asked. Tanya was sure of it, especially when she caught the roguish look in his eye. He wanted rid of the others because he had plans for the two of them.
“I’m up for it,” Carl said, full of machismo.
Predictably, the other guys in the class all nodded.
“Not me,” Tanya said, praying that Melanie wouldn’t offer to stay with her. She was pretty sure that Ward’s plans didn’t involve much eating and that three would definitely
be a crowd.
“Melanie?” Carl looked at her expectantly. “Not scared of a silly little red run, are you?”
Tanya could have kissed him. It was exactly the right thing to say to ignite Melanie’s competitive spirit.
“Go,” Tanya said, waving her classmates off with a light heart. “I’d only hold you back.”
“See you guys back here in an hour,” Ward said.
“Aw, aren’t you coming up with us?” Carl asked.
“Nope, sorry. I have a private class arranged.”
“Do you?” Tanya asked as they watched the others ski toward the chairlift. “Have a private class, I mean?”
“Oh yeah.” He treated her to a scorching grin. “God, I thought the morning would never end.”
“Me, too.” She canted her head and sent him a mischievous smile. “Don’t keep your client waiting or you won’t get a decent tip.”
“Oh, she’ll give me the best fucking tip a guy could wish for. I’m counting on it.”
“She must be pretty generous.”
“She’s the best damned tipper in Nevella, no question.”
“Really? You must introduce me sometime.”
“Not a chance.” Ward blew her a kiss. “I don’t share my tips.”
Laughing, she skied in his wake and stopped when he did outside the main building to remove her skis. The place was crowded with hungry skiers and no one paid them any attention as they weaved their way through their midst.
“This way,” Ward said, a note of urgency replacing the previous flippancy in his tone.
Tanya followed him down the concrete steps that led to the bathrooms, awkward in her ski boots. He bypassed the facilities and took her through a doorway she hadn’t noticed before. It led to a narrow corridor that presumably had something to do with the maintenance of the property.
“In here.”
He opened a door, she stepped through it, and he locked it behind them. She glanced around and discovered they were in a cupboard that was full of cleaning supplies and smelled strongly of bleach.