Kathryn kicked off her heels and threw herself on her bed, her mind going over all the things she’d learned today. For the most part, her job consisted of preparing text for pamphlets, designing brochures, website updates, and helping her boss with corporate events. Next week, however, she’d be helping out with her first wedding, and she had to admit she was looking forward to being away from the desk.
A knock at her door had her jumping to her feet. She pulled it open to find Amy on the other side. Dressed in a pair of cute short shorts, and a top that didn’t quite reach her belly button, which had a butterfly piercing dangling from it, Amy came bouncing into her room.
She frowned and planted her hands on her hips. “Wait, why aren’t you dressed?”
“Dressed? “ Kathryn asked. “For what?”
“We’re heading to the Cave.” She slanted her head. “Didn’t we already talk about this?”
“I guess…I don’t really…” Her words fell off as Amy rifled through Kathryn’s closet. “What are you doing?”
Amy pushed her dark hair off her shoulders, disappointment on her face as she puckered her lips. “Did you bring all work clothes?”
“I just…”
“Never mind.” Amy grabbed her hand and pulled her into the hall. “We’re about the same size. I’ll lend you something.”
“Wait,” Kathryn said, as Amy pulled her down the hall. “I wasn’t really planning—”
Amy shot her a grin. “Your graffiti guy will probably be there. I’ll introduce you.”
“Oh.” As Amy dragged her into her room, which looked like a tornado had blown through it, Kathryn couldn’t help but feel intrigued. Back at school she often wandered the art district, longing to be a part of it. She’d made a few connections, and was even invited to a few after show parties, but had always ended up turning them down. “Well, I guess I could come for a minute,” she answered, curious to meet the artist behind the graffiti.
Amy pulled open her dresser and began tossing clothes over her shoulder. “Nope. Nope. Nope,” she said. “Wait, here. Try this.”
Kathryn stared at the cute, summery orange, yet very short dress she was holding up. “I don’t think...”
“Don’t be silly. This will look gorgeous on you, especially with your hair.” Amy tossed the dress over Kathryn’s shoulder, and then reached for the elastic keeping her curls in a ponytail. “I can help you with your hair and makeup too,” she said.
“I don’t normally do much with it.”
“Well, everyone who’s anyone will be at the Cave tonight. And if you want to have a little fun this summer, and by fun I mean snag the hottest guy before one of the locals get their claws into him, then we need to get you all prettied up.”
Her thoughts instantly went to Noah, and she was about to say that the most fun she ever had was sneaking out to the art district, when Amy cut her off.
“Noah will be there,” Amy said smiling.
“Is that who you’re trying to snag?” Kathryn asked.
“Who isn’t?” she said, laughing. “But, actually I’m kind of into his friend Jared.” She held her arms up and flexed her non-existent biceps. “He got buff over the last year.”
Trying to appear uninterested in Noah or his friend, Kathryn shrugged and asked, “What makes Noah so special?”
Amy’s dark eyes went wide, and Kathryn couldn’t help but smile at how animated she was as she threw her hands in the air. “You’ve seen him, right?”
“Yes.”
“He’s so hot, and I mean come on, who doesn’t love a bad boy?”
Before she could think better of it she began, “But Shannon...” When she realized what she was saying, she let her words fall off, not wanting to gossip. Lord knew she’d been on the other end of the gossip mill a time or two. Of course that was to be expected when she studied all the time, and had no social life. Her classmates just didn’t know the real her, and people were always threatened by the unknown. Then again, she didn’t know the real her either, had never had the chance to explore what she really wanted, who she really was.
Amy grabbed her brush and ran it through Kathryn’s hair. “Noah is here for a good time, like most of us. We’re young. That’s what we do, Kathryn. We have a good time.”
Kathryn nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat, because she feared she wouldn’t know a good time if it smacked her over the head. “Life isn’t just about having fun.” As soon as her father’s words left her mouth she felt like smacking herself.
Amy pursed her lips and looked at her, obviously putting her psychology skills to work as she stared into Kathryn’s eyes.
“You’re right, but what good is living if we don’t have some fun, and cut loose once in a while? So come on, let’s show off those smoky eyes of yours, take the straightener to your hair, put you in something sexy, and go enjoy being young.” Amy stood back and let her gaze move over Kathryn’s face. “Do you have any idea how gorgeous you are?” Kathryn felt heat move into her cheeks. No one ever told her she was gorgeous before. “Noah isn’t going to know what hit him.”
“I told you I’m not—”
“Yeah, I know what you told me.”
A short while later, she sat beside Amy on the shuttle that took them to the Cave. Amy pulled out her phone and they shared contact information.
“In case we get separated,” she said.
Hoping that didn’t happen, Kathryn watched the beautiful scenery fly by, and when the shuttle finally stopped near a shale beach area, over half the people got off. The warm summer air washed over her, and gravel crunched beneath her feet as they walked a path to the water, to where the fire was already blazing high. Feeling a bit nervous, Kathryn let her gaze drift to the horizon, admiring the streaks of pink and purple bruising the skyline as the sun set over the mountains. She took in the sandy shore and the rocks hugging the sides of the beach.
As if picking up on her unease, Amy nudged her and said, “Relax, Kathryn, this will be fun.”
Kathryn nodded and exhaled slowly. “Why do they call it the Cave?”
Amy pointed to the rocks. “There’s an alcove in the rocks over there.” She wagged her eyebrows. “Great for when you’re looking for a quiet place.”
Music blared from the open hatch of a car that was backed up on the beach. People were talking and laughing loudly as they sprawled out on the roof and engine bonnet. They reached the fire and a cooler was shoved into her hand as Amy introduced her around. She spoke briefly to Emery, the newly hired maid, as well as to Mike, the guy who worked the front desk with Amy. Kathryn recognized a few of the people from the resort, as well as from her living quarters.
She sipped her drink and tried to relax as she made conversation with her coworkers. A short while later, Amy waved a guy with dreadlocks over. He was a local bartender named Trent, and after discovering that he was the graffiti guy, Kathryn found herself relaxing, losing herself in conversation with him. She was on her second cooler and feeling the effects of the alcohol when a motorcycle sounded in the near distance. She turned to see Noah climbing off and tried to ignore the rush inside her stomach.
“Noah, my good man,” Trent said.
“You know Noah?” she asked Trent.
“Who doesn’t?”
A shiver skipped down her spine just from saying his name. She hugged herself and turned to see Amy, who was grinning at her.
“Do you want an introduction?” Amy asked.
“Not really.”
“You should probably say hello, considering you’re going to be seeing a lot of him this summer.”
“Why would I be seeing a lot of him?”
A twinkle moved into Amy’s dark eyes. “Because you’ll be sleeping beside him for four whole months.”
Kathryn took another mouthful of her peach cooler, finishing it off. “I don’t plan on—”
Amy laughed. “Relax Kathryn. I mean he’s in the room next to yours at the lodge.”
“Oh.”
Screams erupted beside her and she turned in time to see a girl get carried into the water. A commotion broke out, and all around her guys scooped up girls and tossed them into the waves.
“What’s going on?” she asked, a bit woozy from the alcohol as her mind tried to sort things through.
“Initiation,” Amy said. She grabbed Kathryn’s arm and tugged her closer. “Unless you want to get dunked you’d better—”
Amy didn’t get to finish what she was saying, because some guy picked her up by the legs and tossed her over his shoulder. Her purse fell to the ground and all she could see was the sand rush by as he ran with her. A second later he tossed her into the lake.
She screamed, and took in a mouthful of water. Submerged, the cold waves seeped into her clothes and chilled her to the bone. Thrashing and freaking out in the dark, she kicked her legs, her body flailing like a hooked fish as she tried to right herself. She continued to struggle, to get herself together, when someone grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her to her feet.
“Are you okay?” a deep voice asked as he anchored her body to his.
She took one look into the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen and knew in an instant that she was not okay. In fact, she might never be okay again. The feel of his body next to hers sucked the oxygen from her lungs. As she gasped and gulped to refill them, she slipped from his hold and dipped back under the water.
Before she even realized what was happening, he fished her out again and threw her over his shoulders. The movement forced the water from her lungs as he carried her to the shore. He laid her out on the ground and tilted her head back. A second later his mouth was on hers.
Bursts of warm air filled her lungs, but she couldn’t think about that right now. No, right now all she could think about was how hot his lips felt, how his mouth tasted like beer and cinnamon and everything nice. Unable to stop herself, she moaned, her nipples tightening as she wrapped her hands around his head.
He stiffened and inched back. Their eyes met, and when confusion morphed into understanding, he said, “I thought you were drowning. I was performing—”
“CPR,” she rushed out, mortified. Please ground, open up and swallow me whole! “I knew that.”
Good Lord, how could she think he was kissing her? She resisted the urge to slap her forehead for being so stupid. Of course he was performing CPR. He was a trained white water rafting guide. He probably did this kind of thing all the time.
He continued to hover over her, his mouth still so close. She was more apt to drown in the embarrassment flooding her than the lake water. Working to appear unaffected, she went up on one elbow, and wrung the water from her hair. Then she turned her attention to the floral dress clinging to her body like a second skin. She peeled it away from her hips. When it made a sucking sound, she cringed and tried to wipe away the makeup running down her face. Good God, she could only image what she must look like. So much for Amy spending hours on her hair and makeup.
So much for snagging the hottest guy...
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m sure,” she sputtered.
He narrowed his eyes, like he didn’t believe her. “I thought you took in some water.”
Moonlight spilled over her rescuer as her glance moved over his face, dropping lower to take in the leather jacket stretched over broad shoulders. She’d seen him twice today, and knew he was hot, but having him this close did the most ridiculous things to her body. Her brain practically shut down, and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, once again mimicking a damned hooked fish.
Get it together, Kathryn.
He leaned over her for a long moment, staring down at her. He had a strange look on his face, like he didn’t know whether to stay there or run the other way. Finally he said, “Come on.” He climbed to his feet and pulled her up with him, placing his hand on the small of her back to guide her away from the water. She tried to concentrate on her walking. But it was damn near impossible to put one foot in front of the other when all she could think about was how good his fingers felt splayed over her back. He led her to a piece of driftwood, where his helmet lay in the sand. He sat and pulled her down with him.
He put his elbows on his knees, folded one hand over the other, and turned toward her, watching her closely. “Why don’t you just take a minute.”
“I’m okay, really.”
“You don’t seem okay to me.”
She shrugged, trying for casual. “That’s just because you don’t know me.”
“So you’re not hurt?”
She forced a smile. “Only my pride.”
After a long moment he let it go and gave her a playful look. “I’m Noah,” he said, his voice a little deeper than it had been moments ago.
“I...know. I heard all about you.”
He arched a brow. “Oh yeah? What have you heard?”
Before she could help herself, she said, “That you should come with a warning label.” God what did she say that for? Clearly his closeness was messing with her mind.
He laughed out loud, and Kathryn couldn’t help but smile.
“Sassy,” he said. “I like that.” He brushed his thumb over the droplet dripping down her cheek. “I guess I need to do some catching up then.”
She inhaled his scent, warm sand mixed with leather, and tried not to choke on her tongue when she asked, “Catching up?”
“You know who I am, but I don’t know a thing about you.”
“I’m Kathryn, with a K.”
“So Kathryn with a K,” he paused, and ran his finger over the top button on her dress. “Before we get to know each other, I think we should get you out of these clothes.” She clutched her dress and he grinned, a teasing look on his face. “Or at least get you by the fire until you dry.”
“Oh, right.” What the heck was it about this guy that turned her inside out? Everything that came out of his mouth made her think of sex. And she never thought of sex. No, that wasn’t true. She thought of sex, she just never had sex. Which was horrible and embarrassing for a girl going into her sophomore year.
He stayed over her for a second longer, his gorgeous blue eyes moving over her face before he climbed to his feet. He took her hand and pulled her up with him. Their groins collided and her entire body convulsed. He must have mistaken the shiver for something else because he pulled off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“But I’m all wet,” she said.
“I don’t mind that you’re wet.”
She caught the lopsided grin on his face, the suggestion in his eyes. Okay, so her thoughts weren’t just going in an erotic direction because the guy was hot. She was thinking about sex because everything that came out of his mouth was sexual. She was sure of it.
Once again his hand went to the small of her back. She took note of the way the girls watched him as they trudged through the sand, and when they reached the fire, Amy came up to her.
“Sorry Kathryn. I was going to go in after you, but stopped when I saw you were in good hands.”
As her glance went to Noah’s hands, hands that made Kathryn quiver without even trying, she instantly knew there was nothing good about them. This guy had bad boy written all over him, and any girl would be wise to keep her distance.
She gave a wistful breath, because Kathryn Lane, good girl extraordinaire, always did what was wise. Right?
After getting up early and tinkering with Jonny’s bike, Noah climbed onto his own crotch rocket and took a ride. There was nothing he liked more than cruising through the mountains when traffic was nonexistent. He could crank up his speed and go fast, and if he was really lucky, outrun the demons.
He took a winding turn and thought more about Kathryn and the way she had disappeared shortly after they’d walked to the fire to dry her clothes. One minute they were all standing around shooting the shit, but when he turned to talk to a townie, she’d disappeared. He heard her rustling around in her room later that night, and had thought about knocking on the thin wall that separated them. Instead he climbed into bed, exhaustion taking over him. He crashed for a little while, until the blood-soaked memories pulled him awake at the crack of dawn.
After a long ride along the windy paths, he made his way into the town square. Everything but Edible Matters, his favorite coffee shop, was closed at this hour. He drove past Randall’s Market and headed toward Edible’s. He needed a strong cup of java, but the clouds moving in overhead warned him it was time to turn back. His wheels weren’t great on slippery roads, and he was only in a t-shirt. Kathryn had left with his jacket last night, and since he’d watched her suck back a few coolers with Amy, he didn’t want to wake her this morning to get it. He was just about to make a U turn right in the middle of the street, when a flash of red caught his eyes.
No way!
As if thinking of her had suddenly conjured her up, he inched his bike forward quietly. He came up behind Kathryn as she browsed the shops on Main Street. She stopped outside a place that had paintings displayed in the window. She stayed there for a long time, her fingers touching the glass as she admired a local artist’s work, specifically the paintings showcasing the Rocky Mountains.
He watched her, and it occurred to him that she seemed different this morning, a little more relaxed as she window-shopped alone. He took another moment to really look at her. This morning her hair was tied back, but when she angled her head, he could see that her face was free of makeup. There was no denying that she was pretty, even more so without all that crap on her big, green eyes.
He pulled closer to the sidewalk and revved loud. When she spun around, alarm on her face, he opened the mask on his helmet and asked, “Need a lift?”
She eyed him and then looked up and down the near empty streets. “Are you following me?”
He braced both feet on the ground, and folded his arms. “Maybe you’re following me.”
“Why would I be following you?”
“I could ask the same question.”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” she said.
She planted her hands on her hips and Noah looked at her clothes. Last night she’d been in a cute dress that had showed off her nice legs, and today she was back in her work wear, with expensive shoes geared for the office, not a long trek into town.
He nodded upward. “You better get on, unless you want to get all wet again.”
A noise crawled out of her throat as she tightened her blazer around her body. “It was nice when I left.”
He snapped his fingers. “Things can change just like that around here.”
A droplet landed on her forehead and she wiped it away. “I thought that only happened on the East Coast.”
He grabbed his spare helmet and handed it to her. “Is that where you’re from?” he asked, although he already knew she was. He’d lived on the East Coast himself for a couple years and had picked up on her accent.
“Yes,” she said absently as her glance went from the helmet to the bike and then to him. She frowned. “Is that thing safe?”
“It’s only as safe as the driver.”
She inched back. “In that case—”
Laughing, he jerked his thumb behind him. “Come on, Kat, get on. I’ll pop your cherry.”
“What?” she asked, her body tightening. “What do you mean?”
Her reaction surprised him. “You’ve never ridden before right?”
“Right.”
“So that’s what I meant.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Oh, okay.”
Something in the way she had reacted to his teasing struck him as odd, and he couldn’t help but ask, “What did you think I meant?”
“Nothing,” she said breezily, waving a dismissive hand.
“So what do you say, Kat? Want a lift?”
She exhaled slowly, and he could almost hear the wheels spinning as she glanced up at the sky, a dark threatening cloud directly overhead. “Fine,” she said, and she fiddled with the helmet shield. “And it’s Kathryn.”
“Kathryn with a K. I know.”
She adjusted her ponytail and pulled her helmet on. It seemed a bit too wobbly. “How’s the head?” he asked.
She adjusted the helmet. “It’s big, but it will be okay.”
“No, I mean how are you feeling? You don’t strike me as a drinker, so I figured you’d be a bit hung over this morning.”
“I’m okay. Someone left an orange juice and a bottle of Tylenol outside my door.”
He revved his bike slightly. “Good, then the noise won’t hurt you.” He shifted forward as she climbed on behind him. He showed her where to put her feet, and his cock sprang to life as she wrapped those long, sleek legs of hers around him. He waited for her hands, and when they didn’t come, he reached behind him, grabbed them both and pulled them around his chest. He drew her arms around him only because this was her first time and he didn’t want her to fall off.
He did a turn in the street, and her hands tightened around him as he headed toward their lodge. Her small fingers dug into his chest, but oddly enough, her touch didn’t seem to bother him too much. With the ground slick, he took his time, but the rain falling on his shield made it tricky to see. He lifted it, letting the rain pelt his face as he negotiated the slippery road. Instead of pulling his bike into the staff garage, he continued past the resort, taking a back route to the ski hill.
He could hear the cranking of her shield as she lifted it. “Where are we going?” she asked, her breath warm on the back of his neck.
He took one hand off the handle bar and pointed toward the ski hill. “Up there,” he said over his shoulder. “Shield down,” he ordered.
He listened to her shield snap shut as he cut through the trees, dodged a few low hanging braches and took a sharp corner. He leaned into the bend and she pressed hard against him.
“Noah,” she said, her voice uncertain as her thighs tightened around him.
His cock twitched. Jesus...
“Don’t worry, Kat. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
A few minutes later, he stopped his bike at the bottom of the empty ski hill, which had been shut down for the summer. He adjusted the kickstand and they both climbed off.
Kat removed her helmet and rain fell as she looked around. He watched her, and when she blinked in confusion, he noticed the tiny flecks of honey in her green eyes. She pushed her wet bangs from her face, and swiped her tongue over her bottom lip. “Why did you bring me here?”
“I figured if you liked looking at pictures of scenery, you’d like this a lot better.”
Blinking fat droplets of water from her lashes, she glanced at the mountains in the distance. “It really is beautiful.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Noah pulled his keys out of his front pocket, and walked to the shed that controlled the lift.
She hurried up behind him. “What are you doing?” she asked, and he didn’t miss the worry in her voice.
“Turning on the lift.”
“We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Why not?”
“Noah, we can’t.”
He unlocked the door, pressed a few buttons, and then flicked the switch. “Sure we can.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “See how easy we can?”
She shook her head. “If we get caught...I can’t lose...”
“It’s okay, really. The lift needs to be turned on every now and then for maintenance. No one will think it’s anything but that.”
“What if we get caught?”
“What if we don’t?” He started walking toward the lift entrance. “Come on.”
He glanced over his shoulder to see her root her feet. “I don’t think this is a very good idea.”
“You will. Just wait.”
A noise sounded in the woods. “What was that?” she called out.
Noah turned back and peered into the trees. “Probably just a wild animal.”
“Like a raccoon.”
“Yeah, or a bear.”
“Oh, God!”
Turning, he headed toward the moving the conveyor. “Are you coming, or what?” he asked.
“Well, I’m not staying here alone with a bear.”
Panting as she caught up to him, the cool rain coming down harder, they both jumped onto a wet ski lift. When she nearly slipped off he grabbed her, pulled her close, and held her in position.
“Hold this.” He took one of her small hands and put it on the side bar. She gripped it like it was her lifeline, and while the panic on her face was cute, in a bid to relax her he said, “Don’t worry, Kat. If we get caught, I’ll tell everyone I kidnapped you and forced you to ride.”
The tow carried them higher, and she looked down to see her dangling feet. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“I know, but you want to, don’t you?”
She shook her head, her wet ponytail flaring around her face. “No I don’t want to. I’m not into breaking the rules.”
“We’re not breaking them, we’re just bending them,” he said.
She opened her mouth like she was about to counter, but as the chair carried them toward the sky, she glanced at the scenery and said, “Oh, my God.”
“I told you.”
He followed her glance, and exhaled slowly as they climbed the mountain, steam rising up from the ground below as the cold rain fell harder.
She wiped her eyes. “I wish it wasn’t raining.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “I kind of like the rain.”
“I do, too, but I want to take a picture, and I don’t want to damage my phone.”
“We can come back when it’s not raining.”
A noise crawled out of her throat as she cringed. “I can’t imagine you’ll ever get me to do this again.”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “I bet there are a lot of things I can get you to do.” She arched a dubious brow, and he rocked the chair.
She squealed. “Noah, don’t.”
“Don’t what?” He stood up on the seat, and spread his arms, something he’d done a hundred times before.
“Get down, you’re scaring me.” When he sat back down and aimed a grin her way, she shook her head and laughed. “You’re crazy.”
“You know, I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you smile.”
“I shouldn’t be smiling.” Her glance left his and searched the ground. “What we’re doing is wrong.” She poked her finger into his chest. “You’re a bad influence.”
“You have no one to blame but yourself. You knew I came with a warning label.”
She whacked him, and he let loose an exaggerated oomph as he grabbed her hand to hold it. “You hit pretty good for a girl.”
The smile she gave him felt like a sucker punch. Jesus, she wasn’t just pretty, she was gorgeous.
She looked to the left, then right, taking it all in. Something moved over her face, something wistful. “I would love to paint this.”
“Is that what you’re into? Painting?”
She crinkled her nose, and that’s when he noticed her freckles. Damn they were cute. “I don’t really get to do it much.”
“Why not?”
“Because...” She frowned, and her head fell forward, like the world was weighing her down.
“Because what?” he probed, even though he was pretty sure he already knew. The lift bumped and she fell against him.
“I’m a business student and that doesn’t leave much time for anything else. I guess I’m all work and no play.”
He exhaled slowly and stared off into the distance. “Believe me, I know what you mean.”
From his peripheral vision, he saw her glance shoot to him, and when he looked back at her, she gave him a strange look. Despite his high IQ, it didn’t take a genius to interpret the meaning behind that look. She clearly thought he had no idea what he was talking about. And why would she? He knew what she saw when she looked at him. He knew what he presented to the world.
“How would you know?” she asked. Then, as if embarrassed by her judgment, she began to backtrack. “I mean...”
Coming to her rescue and turning the focus back to her, he said, “You should loosen up more.”
“Yeah, maybe.” She looked at him and her eyes said it all—he needed to do just the opposite.
He turned from her, and they both stared at the scenery for a moment, then Noah broke the quiet. “What is it you can’t lose?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Earlier, you said you can’t lose, but you didn’t finish.”
She hesitated for a moment and then said quietly, “My scholarship.”
He nodded. “Do you attend Sanford?”
“Yeah, how do you know?
“You said you were from the East Coast, and Sanford’s the best business school east of Toronto, so I just assumed.”
Oddly enough, her school was only minutes from the one he used to go to. Both smack dab in the middle of the city, the two prestigious schools, Sanford and Kingsdale—one known for business and the other known for its top notch computer science program—were friendly rivals. And sometimes not so friendly, considering they took their sports very seriously.
Clearly not wanting to talk about it anymore, she plastered on a smile and asked, “So what are you into?”
“If I say your body, would you hold it against me?”
She looked confused for a moment, then when she got the joke—her, holding her body against his—she laughed so hard, he couldn’t help but join her.
“What?” he finally asked.
Swiping the tears mingling with the rain from her face, she asked, “Noah, you can’t be serious? You can’t think a line like that really works?”
“You wouldn’t believe how many times it does.” He gave a sheepish shrug and said, “I guess you’re too smart to fall for it.”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “You guess?”
Seeing the smile on her face, and knowing he was the one who put it there, made him want to do it again.
“I really do love it when you smile. You should do it more often.” He thought about that for a minute, and an idea formed as his eyes locked with hers, taking in the skepticism lingering beneath. “I think that will be my goal for the summer.”
“To make me smile?”
“Yeah.” He swept his hand toward the panoramic scenery below them. “Look where you are, Kat. I think you should have a little fun.”
“Why?”
He looked at the mountains, and the light fog crawling up the rocks. “Because losing yourself in your work can be a dangerous thing.”
She went quiet for a long time and then finally asked, “Do you think there’s a happy medium?”
“Probably not.”
She slanted her head, her gaze moving over his rain-soaked face. “You’re kind of a strange guy, Noah.”
Wanting to lighten the mood, he winked. “That’s one of the nicer things people have called me.”
Before she could respond, a big eagle flew in front of them, its massive wings stirring the heavy air.
Kat gasped and jerked back against the seat. Instinctively Noah put his arm around her, and pulled her close. “Careful,” he said, not wanting her to slip from the wet seat.
Eyes alive, she shook her head and watched the bird as it circled them before flying away. “That...that...was amazing. Damn, I really wish I had my camera ready.”
The joy on her face made him want to see the bird again, too. “Like I said, we’ll have to come back.”
He settled against the seat with her as the lift began its descent. They both sat in silence for a while longer, lost in their thoughts as they took in the view. He shot her a sidelong glance and noticed her fingers didn’t grip the side bar quite as hard as they had at first, and she now leaned forward, her eyes darting everywhere, cataloguing each new sight. After they slipped off the chair, he shut it down, and they climbed back on to his motorcycle.
“Ready?” he asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist without prompting.
With her mouth close to his ear, she whispered, “Thanks.”
The softness in her voice had him spinning around, and when he caught the vivid honestly on her face, his throat tightened. The warmth in her eyes filled him with doubt as his mind went back to the bet. Shit. Now if he didn’t follow through with it, he’d lose Jonny’s bike, and he couldn’t let that happen.
“Shield down,” he said and then revved the bike to drown out the guilt niggling at his gut. They made their way back to the resort. He drove into his small space in the garage, and parked.
Kat climbed off and looked at Luke’s Porsche. “Nice car,” she said. Her glance went to his small workbench in the corner, where bike parts lay scattered about. “Yours?” she asked.
“Yup.” The site of Jonny’s bike made him think about the bet again. Guilt taunted him once again, but then he quickly shrugged it off. He needed to focus on his goal.
When she picked up a fuel pump to examine it, he put his hand on her back to guide her outside. “You better get out of those clothes.”
She gave him a curious look, but instead of probing she nodded and set the part back down. A few minutes later he stood outside her bedroom door, and braced his hand on the overhead jamb.
She peeled off her wet blazer and he couldn’t help but look at the two damp spots on her white blouse. “Thanks for the lift,” she said.
“Anytime.”
“Seriously, Noah. It was…” she paused like she was looking for the right word, and then added, “…fun.”
“You say that like you’ve never had fun before.”
“Thanks again,” she said, ignoring his remark, one that he knew was bang on. She was about to close the door, when he put his other hand on it to stop her. He dipped his head, and pitched his voice low. “Not so fast. You have something I’m going to need.”
Her eyes widened, and he was certain he saw her nipples tighten beneath her blouse as she stood there staring at him, her jaw slack. “What...what do you need?”
He looked past her shoulders, and gestured with a nod. “My coat.”