Any Given Christmas (11 page)

As usual the house sat in total darkness while she parked near the corrals, which were close to the hot springs. She opened her door, grabbed her champagne and towel from the back seat, then headed down the trail previously made by the footprints of people like her, who, on occasion, snuck out to enjoy a little piece of nature that didn’t belong to them.

When she reached the steaming pool of water, she set down the bottle and paper cup she’d brought in the snow and proceeded to step out of her boots. She scanned the area. Completely alone she decided to be daring and go sans bikini. The air was cold so she quickly removed her clothes and hung them on the nearby corral fence. Then she twisted her hair up, secured it with a plastic claw, and eased into the hot water with a long appreciative sigh.

The pines towering above the hot springs filled her nose with a fresh bouquet. While the moon above played hide and seek behind large puffy clouds, Emma peeled the foil off the champagne bottle, untwisted the cage, and dislodged the cork with her thumbs. It exploded into the air with a loud
pop
and she laughed. Maybe that’s all the fireworks she’d get for the night, but it was better than watching a movie that only reminded her of her own lackluster life.

She poured the drink into her paper cup and settled down into the water until it floated above her shoulders. She took a sip of champagne, wrinkled her nose at the bubbles, and let out another long sigh. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax.

“You’re trespassing, short stuff.”

D
ean chuckled as Emma squeaked and splashed away from where he sat amid the shadows. Earlier when he’d slid into the relaxing pool he’d had no idea anyone would join him, let alone that he’d be offered up the vision of Emma stripping down to her shapely birthday suit and slipping into the water with him.

Happy New Year.

“Who’s there?” she demanded.

He chuckled again.

“Oh, my God. Is that you, Dean?”

“You plan to share that bubbly, honey? Or keep it all to yourself?”

“I only brought one cup.” Her tone suggested she might be a little miffed that her quiet spot was already occupied.

“Lucky for me I quit worrying about cooties in the third grade.” He took the cup from her hand and drank. But not without making a bitter beer face. “Is this your regular brew?”

“It was on sale at the G & G.”

“Ah. You ever had champagne that costs more than a gallon of gas?”

She settled onto the rock ledge a decent distance away and avoided his question. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“It’s obvious I needed to relax.”

“No date?” he asked.

“He was called away.”

Fool.
Dean didn’t know what stars had aligned so that
he
was the one sitting beside a very naked Emma Hart, but he wasn’t about to complain.

Beneath the glow of the moon, the sweet curve of her full breasts bobbed at the waterline.

Nope.

Not going to complain.

At all.

She took the paper cup from his hand, turned the rim to the opposite side of where he’d drunk and sipped. Apparently she hadn’t passed the cooties stage. As those soft lips pursed over the paper cup, his heart took off on a high-speed chase.

“No date?” she returned. “No supermodels named Britney Big Boobs to help you carve another notch on your goal post?”

He laughed. “That’s a good one, schoolteacher.”

“Thanks.” She smiled.

Damn. That flare of her full, kissable mouth forced his high-speed pursuit to switch on the after-burners.

“So how’d you find out about this place?” she asked. “I thought I’d have it all to myself.”

He leaned toward the other side of the pool, grabbed the champagne bottle, and refilled her cup. “I’ve been coming here since I was old enough to drive.”

“So you’re a repeat offender?”

“Guilty.” When he sat back down—much closer this time—his thigh brushed against hers.

Her eyes widened. “Are you naked?”

“Well, I wouldn’t want you to be embarrassed by being the only one in that state of undress.”

“Did you watch me take off my clothes?”

“Yes.” He grinned. “Do I need to pay you now?”

She lowered her head back to the rock ledge and groaned. Which tempted him to lean over and kiss that silky column of warm skin down to those succulent breasts.

“Honey. This is a skinny-dipping hot springs. Absolutely no clothing allowed. Didn’t you read the sign?”

“There is no sign.”

“Well, remind me to put one up.”

“What do you mean, remind
you
?”

“It’s my place. My responsibility to designate this as a
clothes-free
zone.”

She lifted her head and stared at him. “What do you mean,
your
place?”

“You sure ask a lot of questions. I suppose that’s instinctive for a teacher person.”

“What do you mean,
your
place?” she repeated.

“I bought it. Signed. Sealed. Paid-for.”

“You
what
?” She retreated to the other side of the pool but stopped there. Obviously too chicken to get out of the water and give him another peep show.

“Isn’t that what spoiled athletes do?” he asked. “See something they want and pay cash to possess it?”

“I didn’t say you were spoiled.” She lifted the cup to her lips and slugged down a desperate amount. “Much.”

“Well, at least you didn’t say
men like me
. That’s a step in the right direction.”

She lowered the cup and looked at him over the rim. “Do you even know how much you
don’t
make sense? For weeks you’ve been complaining about how you can’t wait to get back to your team. Back to Houston. So why would you put out an ungodly amount of money for a home in this town?”

“Who says I’ve been complaining?”

“Kate. Matt. Your dad.”

“Maybe those are the exact reasons I bought it. So I could be around them more.”

She laughed. “Do you really expect me to believe that?”

“Maybe.” He smiled—something he seemed to do a lot around her. “And maybe if you bring that champagne back over here, I’ll tell you the other reasons I bought it.”

“I don’t trust you.” She hugged the cup to her naked chest. “What have you got up your sleeve?”

“No sleeves.” He held his arms up. “I’m naked. Remember?”

“Vividly.”

If she was picturing him naked that was a very good sign.

“Come on, honey. I’m not going to bite.”

“Fine.” She slid back through the water but sat a safe distance away.

He snatched the cup from her hand, refilled it, and when her mouth dropped open to complain, he handed it back to her.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” she asked.

“Me? No way.”

Drunk?
No.
Loosened up?
Absolutely.

He pulled a move he hadn’t used since high school. He slid his arm along the rock ledge above her shoulders.

“Doesn’t that hurt your shoulder?” she asked.

“It’s the other side. But thanks for your concern.”

“Only because I know you’re dying to get back on the field.”

“Right.” At the moment, being back on the field was the last thing on his mind. In fact, his mind wasn’t even in the conversation at the moment. Other parts of him?
Oh yeah.

“So why did you buy the lodge?” She sank a little deeper into the water and the top curve of her breasts disappeared.

Bummer.

“I can’t imagine spending so much money on a house you’ll live in just a few weeks out of the year,” she said.

“Brenden Jones.”

“What?”

“You know, the little boy who sits in the back of your classroom.”

She nudged him with her shoulder. “I know who he is. I just don’t get the connection.”

“I bought the lodge because of kids like Brenden Jones. See those guest cabins?” He motioned the direction with the paper cup in his hand. “That indoor arena? The corrals where you hung your clothes? And if I haven’t thanked you for that, let me do so now.”

She gave him a slightly inebriated giggle.

“Close your eyes.”

“Why? What are you going to do?”

“Such distrust.” He tsked. “Close them, honey. I promise I won’t touch you.”

“Okay.”

“Unless you ask.”

She sighed. “You are impossible.”

He leaned toward her. “Are your eyes closed?”

“Yes.”

“Then picture this place as a summer camp for kids with special needs.” He told her of his buddy, Bo Miller, and his son, and the equine therapy they’d found so successful. He told her of his plans to form a camp for kids who could benefit from that same type of care. The more he talked, the more excited he became to put his plan into action. “This place can offer hope to parents and add a little fun to the therapy for the kids. Can you picture it in your head?”

“Oh yes.”

The smile in her voice made his heart tumble. “As an added benefit,” he told her, “I’ll be able to offer employment to some of the people in the town I grew up in. And with a few well-planned events, bring some revenue into the area as well.”

She remained completely silent and if he didn’t know her eyes were now open, he’d think he’d put her to sleep. She was the first person to whom he’d revealed his plan. And for some reason her approval meant a great deal.

“What do you think?” he finally asked.

She leaned forward and studied his face for what felt like an eternity before she said, “I think you’re a dangerous man.”

Not exactly what he’d wanted to hear. But she looked so beautiful bathed in wet moonlight he could forgive her anything. “Dangerous good?” He tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear. “Or bad?”

A smile curved her sexy mouth. “I haven’t decided.”

He tilted his head, studied that beautiful mouth, and thought he’d like a taste. “Meaning?”

“Either you are exactly the professional bullshitter I think you are, or… you are a man with an amazing heart.”

He looked into the dark of her eyes and lifted her small hand to his chest. “Feel that, honey?” His brisk heartbeat thumped against her palm. “What does that tell you?”

“That you’re a very dangerous man with a very strong heartbeat?”

He cupped her cheek in his hand, threaded his fingers through her silky hair. For days she’d haunted his thoughts, his dreams. She intrigued the hell out of him and he didn’t know why. But when he’d bought the house he found she’d been the first person with whom he’d wanted to share the news.

He’d only kissed her once. But it hadn’t been enough. Not nearly enough. “I’m not dangerous at all. I’m just a guy who finds you unbelievably smart and attractive.”

“Oh.”

“I think about you, Emma.” He slowly shook his head, trailed his fingers down the smooth column of her neck to her bare shoulder. “I think about you a lot. More than I should.”

“You can’t get in trouble just thinking.”

A hum vibrated low in his throat. “I think about touching you.” His fingertips brushed the water-slicked cleavage between her breasts. “Kissing you.” He paused and saw the surprise in her eyes.

“I think about making love to you, Emma.”

She swallowed.

“I think about making love to you all the time.”

Unaware that she was doing so, she leaned closer. Beneath his fingers her heartbeat picked up speed. Everything about her called out to him. Made him want to pound his chest, toss her over his shoulder, and mark her as his own. But they didn’t live in prehistoric times. And though he wanted her so much he ached, though he took the chance of her slipping from his grasp, he needed to be completely honest. He needed to give her the opportunity to make a choice.

“I
dream
about making love to you, Emma. Really hot, and wet, and dirty dreams.”

His hands came up and cupped her face. His thumb brushed across her pillowy-soft bottom lip. He hadn’t imagined her response when she’d kissed him in her driveway that night. And he wasn’t imagining the look in her eyes right now. She was shocked that he thought about her, let alone dreamed about her.

Still, what happened from here was her call.

His voice lowered. “So before you drink anymore of that champagne, I want you to know that you were wrong about what you said at Kate’s house Christmas night. I don’t have to
pretend
to be attracted to you. I
am
attracted to you. And any man who would just use you to
pass the time
is a damn fool.”

“I…”

He softly kissed her lips once. Twice. He tried to keep it gentle. To ease into it. But the third time her lips parted and he slipped his tongue inside. The kiss she gave him sucked away all thoughts of being gentle. The kiss she gave him made him hot, and hard, and achy.