Snowbound Seduction (6 page)

She looked up at him and every thought evaporated in his head. Every. Bleeding. Thought.

There was something about her eyes. It was the first thing he’d noticed about her, and he often forgot how much he loved them. She might be a tough pastry chef, but there was a softness in her gaze that always made him think of lazy Sunday mornings in bed.

“I’m thinking of writing a cookbook.”

The words didn’t register, probably because he had no blood in his brain. “What?”

She shook her head. “Never mind.”

He shook his head, too—to try to get his brain to function. That didn’t surprise him at all. Lainey was a woman who was always looking for ways to expand her reach.

“On baking?” he asked as he threw some of the celery into the pan.

“Yes. Sort of.”

He looked up at her and noticed she was blushing. He liked that. It was insane of him because he never really liked to mess with innocents, but there was something about that in Lainey that drew him. He knew she wasn’t a virgin, but there was something about her that told him she wasn’t that experienced. “Are you going to make me beat it out of you?”

She smiled. “No. I thought I would write a how-to kind of book. So many people in the U.S. think baking is hard, but it isn’t. I want to take them through the basics, teach them how to set up a kitchen so it’s easier to accomplish the tasks.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute or two. When they were getting the restaurant up and running, she’d had some fantastic ideas about how to promote certain aspects of their business. “That’s a brilliant bloody idea.”

Her blush deepened, and it made him want her even more. To keep himself occupied, he applied himself to cooking.

“Thank you. I thought it would be good, and it would highlight the restaurant.”

He shook his head. “You really do have a world class mind, Lainey.”

The shy smile she gave him almost had him losing control, so he kept his head down. The temptation to take it a step further had always been there. It had bothered him from the first time he had met her, and now it was making him live like a bloody monk. Was that why he did his best to irritate her? It had to be, but it didn’t matter. He might try his best to build a friendship, but that was all he could do. He needed to keep it platonic because the last thing he needed to do was step over the line.

No matter what, he would keep himself at that friendly distance. It was all out of self-preservation.

Chapter Six

After dinner, Trevor decided to get them out of the house. It was getting a little too cozy, and now that the snow had slowed to a few flurries they could venture out and look.

Elaine trudged behind him, cursing him every step. He ignored her. He was pretty sure the cold air would do them both good. If anything, it would bring him back to his senses. They worked together, and starting a relationship with her that went beyond that was a mistake. It would lead to complications. And, if he were truthful with himself, that was why he had been so nasty with her. If she didn’t like him, he didn’t have to worry about seducing her.

“I don’t know why you thought this was going to be fun,” she said through chattering teeth.

“You said you had never had a snowball fight. Or even made a snow angel. That is just wrong, Lainey.”

“I haven’t had an enema, either, but that doesn’t mean I think I need to experience one.”

He turned around laughing. When he opened his mouth to say something he was hit square in the chest with a snowball. He looked down at his chest then up at the attacker. She looked so cute in her little knit cap and bundled up from head to toe in cold weather gear.

“You know this means war,” he said.

Her eyes widened. Trevor started after her and she took off with a very un-Lainey-like squeal. He caught up to her in four steps, and they both went tumbling into the snow bank. She was laughing so hard as they rolled over the snow, it didn’t take him long to have her pinned down beneath him. Even though it was cold enough to freeze his bollocks off, heat flared in his blood. Snowflakes now littered her cap and the few strands of hair that had escaped their knit prison. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold.

“Lainey,” he said.

Her laughter faded and she swallowed. She felt it too; she had to. That connection had snapped into place just like it always did. There was no denying the heat that was simmering between them. He bent his head for a taste, just a little taste, he promised himself. Her eyes slid closed in surrender, but the moment he was within inches of her mouth, a horn sounded, breaking the moment.

He snarled and looked over his shoulder, and realized someone had come through to plow the roads. When he looked back down at Elaine, the mood had been broken.

With regret, he rose to his feet and held out his hand. She was sitting in the snow, frowning up at him like he was some damned stranger.

“I promise not to bite unless asked,” he said.

She hesitated, then she put her mitten-covered hand in his, and he helped her out of the snow. Even with his bones aching from the cold, he was thinking a cold shower would be the only thing to ease his need for her. At least he hoped it did, because if not he might die from lack of blood in his brain.

…

Elaine leaned back on the sofa and enjoyed the fire. Dinner had been over for a few hours, and they were enjoying their third glass of wine. Or was it her fourth? She wasn’t a big drinker, but she did have a special place in her heart for merlot, especially one that cost more than she made in a week.

“You really surprise me.”

She glanced at her companion. Trevor was making it harder and harder to not like him. The truth was, she always did like him. Sometimes when he was bending over she took time to appreciate his ass. She realized then he was staring at her strangely. Oh, damn, did she say that out loud?

“What?” she said, sounding every bit of defensive as she felt.

“Nothing. Just…I’ve never seen you drink that much wine.”

He was right. She did like to drink, but not this much. “Yeah, my nerves and the weather.”

He cocked his head to the side and studied her. He had done that a few times over the past couple of days and it made her…hot.

“Is that all?” Skepticism colored his voice.

“Yes.” She yawned then apologized.

“It’s been a long few days,” he said.

She nodded and rose from the couch. He stood and took a step closer. She needed to get away from him, from the thoughts that were plaguing her, especially now, since she couldn’t make her brain come up with a good reason not to jump his bones.

“I think it would be better if we say good night and go to our own beds,” Elaine said, looking up at him. Her heart was beating so hard and her head spinning. She was amazed she didn’t melt onto the floor.

“I think that would be smart.” Even as he said it, he traced her lips with his thumb. She shivered. Never in her life had she wanted a man so much. He was wrong for her, a playboy, someone who would never take life seriously, but she wanted him now, more than she wanted her next breath. It was corny, but it was the only thing she could think of.

“It would make working together not very much fun.”

“I don’t know,” he said, placing a hand on the wall beside her head and leaning closer. She could smell him. It was the same musky scent that he always wore, mixed with the delicious herbs he cooked with. The heat of his body warmed hers. Her nipples tightened painfully against the lace fabric of her bra.

“I do know.”

“Why?” he asked, as his gaze slipped to her mouth. She licked her lips in reaction, and his eyes darkened as he watched the movement. Heat spiraled through her veins.

“Why what?” she asked, because her brain had stopped functioning.

“I really don’t know.”

“Good.”

He grabbed her, pulling her tight against his body as he kissed her. Unlike the kiss the night before, this one slipped beneath her skin. She needed him, wanted him touching her everywhere with that wonderful mouth. Then he lifted her off the ground.

“Wait, what are you doing?” she asked as panic started to curl at the edge of her arousal.

“Doing what I should have done months ago.”

Her head was ringing alarms, but she ignored it. He carried her into her room and tossed her on her bed. He covered her body with his, swallowing the sound of her gasp by taking her mouth in a wet kiss. She couldn’t think past him, past the feel of him on top of her. He was tearing at her clothes as if he was a man crazed for satisfaction. Part of her was appalled. Another part of her rejoiced. She hadn’t caused this reaction from a man…ever.

He pulled back and yanked off her shirt. Buttons flew everywhere. For a few seconds, they didn’t move. Trev was kneeling between her legs, one of his hands still holding onto her shirt.

“I guess I should apologize.” Then he cocked his head and said, “But I’m not going to. Because…wow.”

It was then she remembered what bra she was wearing. It was one of those things she had splurged on recently, made of red lace that barely covered the important parts. Heat filled her face.

“Oh, don’t be embarrassed, Lainey.” As he spoke, his finger traced the delicate edge of the top of the bra. “A woman who looks like you do in red lace should never be embarrassed.”

From his expression, he was being honest. Of course, he wasn’t looking at her. He was thoroughly focused on her breasts. If she had known a little scrap of lace would garner this kind of attention, she would have started wearing things like this earlier in her life.

“Let me guess…”

He didn’t finish his thought. Instead, he moved so he could undo her pants and then pull them off her. He smiled and looked up at the ceiling.

“Thank you for orderly women.”

Then he joined her back on the bed. The bra had a front closure and he made quick work of it. He covered her again, taking one nipple then the other into his mouth. She was hot, and each time she felt the brush of his teeth against the tip of her nipple, she moaned.

He kissed his way down her stomach, nipping at her flesh then licking the same spot. By the time he made it down to his destination, she was ready to come apart. He eased her panties off, then kissed his way up her legs. Then he leaned down and drew in a deep breath.

“Damn, you even smell sweet.” He looked up at her, his eyes dark with need. One side of his mouth curled up. “I wonder how you’ll taste.”

He leaned down and licked her then. He groaned, slipping his hands under her rear end and raising her up. Without another word, he slipped his tongue inside her, humming against her sex. Then, he scraped his teeth over her clit. The action sent her spiraling into a free fall of pleasure. When she finally resurfaced, she realized she was lying on the bed completely naked with a man who hadn’t taken a bit of clothing off.

“Wow, I do say that I have yet to know a woman who went that fast from start to finish.”

“I…”

“No,” he said, sliding up her body. She could feel the thick length of his erection through his clothes against her sex, and she sighed. “Don’t apologize. It was amazing.”

When he kissed her, she could taste her own arousal. She shivered.

“Be right back,” he said, then popped up off the bed. Before she could figure out what was going on, he was back in the room, carrying condoms. A lot of condoms.

Lord.

He dropped them on the table beside the bed and removed his clothes. He grabbed one of the condoms and ripped the package open. He had it on and was back on the bed with her in record time. He eased into her slowly.

He rose to his knees and took her with him. Unbelievably, another orgasm built, her body racing to another explosion. She was afraid of it. Fear and arousal mingled and had her throat almost closing up. Apparently, Trev picked up on it.

“No. Don’t leave now, Lainey.” He ground out every word as if it came from some place deep and dark inside of him. “No hiding.”

Then, he pushed her over into another orgasm that was stronger than the last.

“Trev.” She screamed his name.

“Yes, that’s it.” He thrust into her one last time and followed her into bliss.

Chapter Seven

Trevor slipped his fingers down her spine. She sighed and snuggled closer. They had retreated to his room because it had the bigger bed. Within minutes they had both fallen asleep, but now he was awake and wondering where the hell they went from here.

In the past, he had never mixed business and pleasure. Sure, he might have dated a reporter or two, or maybe a wine rep here and there, but never had he bedded a woman from the kitchen. And not only that, she was his partner.

He should suggest this be one night and nothing else. Snowed in, kind of romantic, that would work, maybe. But not for him. For him…well, he realized he wanted forever. The damn fussy woman had gotten under his skin and right into his soul. She had made off with his heart and he wasn’t very bloody happy about it. It was destined to fail, and then the business would fall apart. He couldn’t go to work with her every day and expect not to touch her. Even the thought had him wanting to grind his teeth right now.

“Stop that.”

“What?”

“You’re grinding your teeth. You do that when you get irritated by something.”

She sighed, and he knew she was falling back to sleep. She knew him so well. His faults were legendary, and she liked to use a magnifying glass to look at them. But she still slept with him.

What did that say about her feelings?

Good God, he was lying in bed with a sexy woman and thinking about how she felt about him. He had to be in love or he was going mental. Probably both.

No. He wasn’t in love. Lust, yes, but love…that was something else all together. He needed to remind himself that they would never work as a couple because of their differences. It made for fantastic sex, but it did not mean he was in love.

He kissed her temple and drew in her scent. Vanilla and brown sugar. Hell, she even tasted like his favorite two sweet ingredients. He was never going to forget the way it felt to watch her orgasm. The woman might not have been a virgin, but she was lacking in the experience department. Not that she needed much help in that area of experience. He wondered—

“Good lord, Trev, could you just go to sleep. Your brain must be exhausting.”

She grumbled the comment against his chest. Her soft breath feathered out over his flesh.

“What do you mean?”

With an irritated sigh, Lainey rose up on her elbow and looked at him. God, she was freaking beautiful. Not the kind of beautiful that would grace the cover of a magazine, although Trevor thought she should. No, she was the kind of beautiful that was natural. No makeup, her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes were half-closed. There wasn’t an artificial bone in her body. With Lainey you got exactly what you saw, which was amazing. How had he resisted her for so long?

“You internalize everything. You think and think and think. Mick and I talk about how insane it makes us.”

Irritation replaced a bit of the need he had for her. Did she have to mention Mick while they were in bed together? He didn’t want to deal with how it made him feel every time she talked about him.

“Do me a favor and don’t bring up our partner while we are in bed.”

She blinked. “Why?”

“Love, you don’t bring up one man when you are in bed with another.”

“It’s just Mick.” He looked away, but she didn’t let it go. “Trev, I don’t understand why you have an issue with me mentioning Mick. It’s not like he’s like…well, a man to me.”

He chuckled. “Can I tell him you said that to me in bed?”

A blush crawled up into her cheeks. “First, you don’t have to tell him we were in bed, but I don’t care. I’ve said it to him before.”

That made him feel a little better, but he was still bothered by it a little bit. “Are you sure? You talk about him an awful lot.”

There was a slight pause, then she asked, “You’re not jealous are you?”

“Of course not,” he answered too quickly.

Her eyes widened. “Oh my God.”

“I am not jealous of Mick.” Even to his own ears it didn’t sound convincing.

Lainey snorted.

“I’m not jealous of that wanker.”

She said nothing for a few moments. The only sound was the soft wind against the windows. Then she surprised him by slipping on top of him. Bloody hell, every sweet inch of her was pressed up against him. She smiled down at him. His head danced a little Irish jig.

“I say you are jealous.”

It took him a second or two to respond. He had never really heard that playful tone in her voice before. It made him want to play along. He frowned harder at her and she smiled.

“Don’t get upset over it, Trev. I’ve never had a man get jealous before.”

He hated when she said things like that. She seemed to discount herself. Never her work—when it came to the kitchen, Lainey was very confident there. But when it came to her sexual appeal, she apparently thought she was lacking. She had no idea how powerful she was.

“I don’t think you have any idea what men think around you.” Brushing back some of her hair, he cupped her face. “You’re sexy, and more men look at you than you think.”

She shrugged and tried to look away. He wouldn’t allow it.

“Trev.”

“No. I will not let this go this time. From that first meeting, you got under my skin. I didn’t want to admit it, but I wanted you even then.”

She rolled her eyes and tried to move off him, but he stopped her.

“I want you to know that from the moment we had our first argument, I wanted to bed you. Lord, woman, I haven’t been with a woman in three months, and that’s saying something.”

“I know that’s a lie. TMZ reported…” Her voice trailed off.

“Are you telling me you’ve been spying on me?” He tried his best to look as if he was irritated with her, but it was difficult. She looked too cute trying to hide the fact she kept up on what the rags said about him.

“No, but it’s hard to miss, and you were dating that supermodel.”

“I don’t shag everyone I date. We went out twice.”

“And?”

Normally he avoided questions like this. He didn’t have serious relationships, and the women he dated understood that. It was sad to admit, but the only thing they wanted from each other was a good time. Plus, a woman usually gained some notoriety being seen with him, which was why supermodels seemed to be drawn to him. But this time he wouldn’t avoid it. He wanted Lainey to know everything in his past. “She bored me. All she talked about was fashion, and she drove me barmy worrying about how much fat was in everything. She had
margarine
in her house.”

She sat up, allowing the bed covers to fall away, and laughed. “Oh, only you would date a supermodel and expect her to be like a normal person.”

He wanted to argue with her on that, but he couldn’t. Something lodged in his throat. He found himself unable to utter a word. Moonlight peeked in through the windows. It added a glow to her smooth skin he hadn’t seen before. For a moment he wondered if she was real. Then she licked her lower lip. He knew she didn’t understand what she was doing to him. He groaned, his body going from semi-ready to all the way hard in the blink of an eye. He had a hair trigger when it came to Lainey.

“Trev?”

He shook his head as he continued to look up at her. Would she freak out and want to run when he told her he loved her? She apparently wanted to keep it light.

“Cat got your tongue?” She leaned down in a playful gesture he would never have expected from her and kissed him. But it wasn’t a simple peck. Instead, she sucked his tongue out of his mouth, pulling it into hers. Her tongue slid along his and just like that, he was lost. Lost in the taste of her, the feel of her…just lost in her. The kiss seemed to go on and on. By the time she pulled back, they were both breathing heavily. He wanted to take, to plunge, but he could tell she wanted to be in control this time, and he willingly surrendered to her.

She kissed his chin, then his neck. Her touch was light, as soft as a butterfly fluttering against his skin. The effect was devastating. As she moved down his body, she gave him the same treatment he gave her. As her wet mouth moved over his abs, he thought he would lose it right there and then. He felt her breath on his shaft and had to curl his fingers into the bed linens. The moment the tip of her tongue touched the base of his penis he closed his eyes and surrendered to her ministration.

She licked her way to the head then took his entire cock into her mouth. He threaded his hands through her hair, guiding her rhythm, but soon it was almost too much. When she dragged her tongue over the tip of his shaft, he barely kept himself in check. He groaned and urged her back up.

“No, love, we can’t have that happening.”

Her lips were swollen, her face flushed, and her eyes were dark with need. “But…”

“No. I want to be deep inside of you when I come.”

When he tried to rise up, she stopped him. “No, let me.”

Again she tortured him. She rolled on the condom slowly, her fingers driving him mad with each centimeter she covered. Lainey might not see herself as a temptress, but she was. Right now, he would hand over anything she wanted.

When she finally lifted up off him and started to take him inside of her, he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to hold out. She raised up, her head thrown back, all that glorious curly blond hair cascading down her back, and right there and then he knew he could never have another woman. He’d thought earlier he was lost in her, but he had been wrong. She looked down at him, and he realized he had just been found.

He slipped his hands onto her hips and began to thrust up into her, but it wasn’t enough. He tumbled them over in the massive bed. She laughed. It wasn’t a girly laugh. It was full bodied and sexy. It was one of the most erotic sounds he had ever heard. He wanted to be gentle, but he found he didn’t have it in him. He thrust into her so fast and hard, the bed beat against the wall. He felt his orgasm approaching, and he didn’t want to be there alone.

“Come for me, Lainey. Come on, baby.”

The moment he said baby, she opened her eyes and looked at him. He watched as her gaze went blurry with pleasure before they closed. Her orgasm slammed through her, all those tiny muscles pulling him deeper inside of her. In that next instant he followed her, shouting her name as he gave over to the pleasure of his own orgasm.

Long moments later, he rolled over and took her with him. She cuddled closer to him and he relished the feel of her body next to his. Her soft hair tickled his chest. He had always liked lying about in bed with a woman. While Trevor didn’t have serious relationships, it didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy those intimate times. But…this was different.

Trevor couldn’t put his finger on it. It prodded at him, but he couldn’t seem to grasp on to the thought. He didn’t always stick around, and he sometimes didn’t like to linger. Right at this minute, though, Trevor couldn’t think of anywhere else he would want to be. He knew part of it was because he was in love with her.

For a long heartbeat he couldn’t think. He was in love with her? He had just told himself that he wasn’t, but unlike when he had thought about it before, it felt right this time. But it was too fast to be jumping to that conclusion. Trevor waited for panic to set in his chest, but nothing happened.

“What’s the matter?” Lainey asked, her voice sleepy.

“Nothing.”

She grunted and he chuckled.

“That is not a sound I would expect to hear coming out of you. Go to sleep, Lainey. There’s nothing wrong.”

He kissed the top of her head, then started to stroke her back. Within a few minutes her breathing was even and her body relaxed. Trev lay awake thinking how he was going to deal with being in love with one of his partners. There was one thing he knew for sure—he would not allow her to put him back in the friend/colleague category again.

With that resolution fresh in his mind, he drifted off to sleep, assured it would all work out.