Snowbound with the Boss (4 page)

“Other room,” Sean muttered thickly, tearing his mouth from hers. “By the fire.”

“Not cold,” she assured him, leaning in for another kiss.

He indulged her, once, twice, then pulled back and shook his head. “Nope. Want you naked and,” he added, “in this room, we'll both be too cold to finish what we started.”

He was right. The kitchen was cold and getting colder. The light was going outside, and the snow piling up was seeping its icy touch through the walls. True, the heat inside her was only building, but the thought of being with him in front of a roaring fire had its appeal.

“Right,” she said, giving him a nod, “let's go.”

He scooped her off the counter and braced his hands on her behind. Kate kept her legs wrapped around his hips and held on while he carried her to the great room. At any other time, she might have objected to being toted around, but she was too busy enjoying the feel of his hard body pressed against her center. She went hot and wet, her own body trembling in wild anticipation. She wriggled against him, and he sucked in a gulp of air.

“Keep moving like that and we'll never make it to the fire.”

“There's plenty of fire here already,” she told him.

He glanced at her, his features tight, his eyes flashing with purpose, then quickened his steps. Kate grinned because she felt the same way.
Hurry, hurry.

Now that she'd made the decision to be with him, she didn't want to wait another second. She wanted him on her, inside her. She wanted him to claim what she'd only given to one other man before him.

A brief flicker of guilt sprang up in the recesses of her mind, but she smothered it. There was no room for thoughts of anyone else, of other times, other lives and loves. For this moment, there was only her...and Sean.

Sex. She hadn't been with a man in more than two years. That had to be the reason she was reacting so wildly to Sean's caresses. Always before, the best part of sex for Kate was the closeness, the snuggling that came after. She'd never before known this kind of hunger—hadn't really believed she was capable of it. Now, Kate had to fight her sense of guilt for admitting even to herself that Sean was making her feel more than her husband ever had—but that was for later. For now, all she wanted was an end to the driving demands within.

And that's when it hit her. They couldn't do this. “No. No, wait.”

“Oh, no,” Sean said with a dramatic moan. “Please don't tell me you're changing your mind.”

“No, it's not that,” she said, licking her lips, swallowing the knot of disappointment that seemed to be lodged in her throat. “I'm not on the pill, and we don't have protection—”

In the great room, he made straight for the rug in front of the hearth. He set her on her feet, grinned down at her and reached into his back pocket for his wallet, then pulled out what looked like an entire string of gold-foiled condoms.

Her eyes widened, then she smiled and shook her head. “Are you a teenager? You carry condoms in your wallet?”

“Since I met you—” he grinned “—yeah. You bet.” He handed the condoms to her, then reached down for the sleeping bag she'd carried in earlier. “You have your emergency supplies... I have mine.”

Kate didn't know whether to be flattered or worried. He'd planned this. Came prepared to have sex with her several times—judging by just how many condoms he'd tucked into his wallet. Her stomach jittered with nerves. She'd only ever been with one man. Her late husband, Sam. She remembered being stirred by his kisses, his caresses. She remembered the climbing tension inside her, and she remembered the soft
pop
of release that was both fulfilling and somehow disappointing.

And now, she was willingly racing down that same road with a man she barely knew. She must be crazy, Kate decided. It was the only explanation.

Sean snatched up the sleeping bag she'd carried inside earlier. Untying it, he flipped it out onto the rug, then bent to unzip it and open it to its full width.

“Not a king-size bed at the Ritz,” he told her, “but it'll do.”

There were those nerves again, skittering wildly in the pit of her stomach. Firelight danced and shifted across the sleeping bag and sent twisting, writhing shadows around the empty room. She watched him, caught by his steady, direct gaze, and felt the last of her doubts, her hesitation, slide away. Kate had made her decision and she wouldn't second-guess herself now. Sean was right in that they'd come too far to stop—and more importantly, Kate didn't
want
to stop. “Works for me.”

She put all thought aside and eagerly went into his arms when he reached for her. With the fire crackling and sizzling behind them and warmth slowly filling the massive room, they frantically pulled at each other's clothing. A wild, clamoring rush of need nearly choked her, and Kate couldn't even imagine why she'd been so nervous only moments before.

Sweaters were tossed to the floor, her bra was tugged free and dropped. His hands covered her breasts, his thumbs and fingers pulling and tweaking at her already-rigid nipples until Kate groaned and arched into his touch, silently demanding more. She didn't think. Couldn't have, even if she'd wanted to. There was only feeling now. Deep wells of sensation opening up inside her, spilling through her bloodstream like liquid gold.

Nothing in her memories of times with Sam could have prepared her for what Sean was doing to her. She'd never been this electrified before. Never known the sizzle of her own flesh or the burn at her center.

“You feel even better than I thought you would,” he whispered, magic fingers still showering gentle torture on her breasts.

“Oh, I feel
great
,” she agreed and leaned into him, sliding her hands up under the hem of the black T-shirt he'd worn beneath his sweater. His body was sharply defined muscles and warm, soft skin. She pulled at the shirt in frustration until he let her go long enough to yank it off himself. Then he drew her close, holding her against him tightly, skin to skin, body to body.

She wouldn't have thought there was more to feel, more to
want
, but there was. Sean showed her just how much. Kate had never felt like this before. Hadn't known she
could.
Her brain was muddied, her breath coming in short, hard gasps. A tingling sensation crept through her veins, making her body feel alight. Tension tightened inside her, and she yearned for that soft, delicious shimmer of release she knew was waiting for her. It would ease the unbearable pressure building within and take the edge off the desire pumping through her. She didn't want to wait another minute.

Tugging at him, she pulled Sean down to the sleeping bag with her. And the icy feel of the black nylon against her heated flesh was a counterpoint to what he was doing to her, adding yet another layer of sensation to the feelings driving her wild.

He leaned over her, stared down into her eyes and Kate's system jolted into overdrive. The man had a great face. And an amazing mouth that he fused to hers in the next instant. A muffled groan tore from her throat as she met every twist of his tongue against hers. She took his breath and gave him hers. Her hands scraped up and down his bare back, loving the smooth glide of hot flesh beneath her palms.

The fire snapped, hissed. The snow pelted the windows and the wind moaned beneath the eaves. And all of it was background music to what was happening between them. Here, in this room, there was no place for cold or ice. There was only the building heat.

He cupped her core and even through her jeans, her body responded with a jolt. Her hips lifted, rocked into his touch as she pulled free of his kiss and gasped for the air her screaming lungs demanded. This was so much more than she'd expected. That tiny shimmer of release she was hoping for couldn't come soon enough.

“You're amazing,” he whispered, dipping his head to kiss the side of her throat, to drag the tip of his tongue up and down the pulse point pounding with her response to his touch.

She could hardly hear him over the hammering beat of her own heart. It was thunder in her ears, muffling the world around her. But she didn't care. All she cared about was this man's hands on her and the pleasure she knew was waiting for her. When he unzipped her jeans and swiftly tugged them down her legs and off, she was frantic.

All that stood between her and his touch were the black lace panties she wore. Helpless to do anything else, Kate lifted her hips again in invitation, in silent plea. Her body was buzzing, throbbing with a desperate need that only he could meet.

“Well, now,” Sean said, smiling, “if I'd known you had something like that hidden underneath those jeans, we might have gotten to this point sooner.”

She took a breath, shuddered. “I've got a weakness for lingerie.”

“And I'm pleased to know it,” Sean said, eyes gleaming. “Though at the moment, we really don't need these, do we?”

She shook her head as he hooked his fingers beneath the fragile elastic band and slid the swatch of black lace down her legs. Then he sat back and looked her over, up and down. His gaze was as thorough as a touch and just as sensual. Kate moved beneath his steady regard, loving the flash in his eyes as he watched her.

She reached up for him, but Sean pulled back then stood and quickly tore off the rest of his clothes. He grabbed his emergency supply of condoms, tore one off and in seconds, sheathed himself and turned back to her. He slid his body along hers until Kate wanted to whimper with the sheer beauty of it. He was hard and strong, and she wanted him more than ever.

Reaching one hand down, she wrapped her fingers around his hard length and smiled at his hiss of an indrawn breath. She stroked him, watched his blue eyes darken and gleam in reaction and knew that he was as desperate as she to end this torment.

“That's it,” he muttered thickly and moved to kneel between her thighs.

“Yes,” she whispered, reaching for him again. “Please. Now.”

“Oh, yeah,” he vowed. “Now.”

In one long thrust, he entered her and Kate's body splintered. The soft release she'd been expecting rolled through her, and she relaxed a little, knowing that the hum her body still felt was just what was expected of being so twisted up into desire. She was accustomed to this, too. The vague sense of disappointment that kept her body buzzing expectantly in spite of what she'd just experienced. In an hour or two it would fade and she wouldn't feel the frustration anymore.

Lifting one hand to his face, she smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

His mouth quirked, and he held perfectly still, his body locked with hers. “You're thanking me?”

“Well...yeah.”

That smile of his broadened into a grin. “Save your thanks for when we're finished.”

Well, sure, she thought. He wasn't finished. He would be soon, though, and then she could lie against him for a while, feel that warmth of the afterglow that had always been the best part of sex for her.

“Right,” she said and lifted her hips as he began to move inside her. Again and again, his body claimed hers until the tension in Kate's body ratcheted up even higher than it had been before. She gasped, shook her head from side to side and clung to his arms, his shoulders. This had never happened before. Not for her. Always with Sam, there was that small release, then his body collapsing on top of hers and then the quiet while her racing heart tried to calm.

There was no calm here. Only the frantic need pulsing inside her like a neon sign. Sean slid one hand down the length of her, to where their bodies joined and he touched her. Kate's eyes flew open as he caressed that single, sensitive spot at the very center of her. Surprise, shock and a wild, raw pleasure rocked her to her bones. She shrieked his name as her body bucked beneath his. A wave of incredible, explosive sensations shattered her, and all she could do was hold on and fight to survive the ride.

“That's it,” Sean whispered, leaning down to kiss her, hard. “Now go again.”

“No,” she gasped. Unthinkable. She couldn't take any more. “Impossible. Can't. Catch. My. Breath.”

She hadn't known her body could do something like that. Feel so much. Take so much. And yet, even while she told Sean she couldn't do it again, that down-low tingle churned into life at her core. She'd never live through this, she told herself, and then a quiet, satisfied voice in her brain whispered,
Who cares?

A heartbeat later, thought ended and her body picked up where her mind left off. She and Sean came together frantically, each of them racing to give. To take. To feel. Seconds spun into minutes and the two of them rolled across that sleeping bag as if it was a luxurious bed.

Breathing labored, hearts pounding in tandem, they moved as one, two more shadows in the flickering light. When the next shattering orgasm slammed into her, Kate dragged his mouth down to hers and swallowed his shout, as this time their bodies erupted together...and holding each other, they tumbled over the edge of the abyss.

Later, he scraped his palms along her back and down to the curve of her behind. Kate trembled at his touch, at the still-so-fresh memory of what he could make her feel. “I'm not done with you yet,” he said, his voice barely more than a low growl of promises and demands.

“Good,” she said, rolling to one side and dragging him over on top of her again. “I'm not done with you, either.”

He grinned. “My kind of woman.”

For now, anyway, she told herself.

Four

T
he fire was dying, there was a warm, lush, naked woman asleep in his arms and Sean couldn't relax. Hell, he should be in a relaxation
coma
after everything the two of them had shared over the last few hours. Instead, he was wide-awake, staring into the fire,
thinking
.

So far, he didn't much care for his thoughts, either. Scrubbing one hand across his face, he tightened the hold he had on Kate when she curled into him and nestled her head on his chest. Her hair was soft and thick and smelled like strawberries. Her breath drifted across his skin and when she sighed, the small sound seemed to ripple through him.

It had been years since he'd actually slept with a woman he'd slept with—which hardly made sense and almost made him smile—until he remembered the only other woman he'd held like this in the night. Then all thoughts of smiles faded away and shadows fell across his mind. This wasn't the same thing at all, he assured himself. Kate wasn't Adrianna, and the situation was completely different.

God. Adrianna. He hadn't allowed himself to so much as think her name in years. He'd deliberately wiped her face from his memories, closing the door firmly on a past that might have haunted him otherwise.

So he wouldn't dredge up all of that now, either. This was Kate and though he didn't like admitting it, sex with her had been...
more
than he'd ever experienced before. With anyone. But that didn't necessarily mean a damn thing. Sure, Kate's responses had driven him beyond simple pleasure into a realm he'd never thought to enter—but that didn't mean he wanted to stay there.

His body stirred when Kate sighed again in her sleep and slid one arm across his chest. All right. Maybe he
did
want to stay there. At least temporarily. Sean looked down at her and admired the flicker of light and shadow that danced over her skin. Beautiful and strong and confident. She intrigued him. Worried him. Okay, he admitted,
fascinated
him. Acknowledging as much, even to himself, bothered the hell out of him.

His body had been at a slow burn since the moment he'd met Kate. But sex was supposed to have taken care of that. Eased the itch. It hadn't come close. Instead, he only wanted her again. And feeling like that wasn't in the game plan.

Frowning, Sean dragged the edge of the sleeping blanket over the two of them, as the fire died and a chill snaked through the big room. He should get up to stoke the flames, but moving would wake her up and...hell, he thought. Why bother lying to himself? He didn't want to get up because it felt too good lying there with her sprawled across him.

Outside, the wind was still shrieking, snow still pelting the window glass. Without that fire, it'd get damn uncomfortable in there. He'd have to let go of Kate soon and rebuild the fire before they froze to death. But he wasn't ready to do that just yet, and that realization bothered him, too.

This whole situation had
mess
written all over it. He'd come here to work and landed himself trapped in a snowbound hotel with the one woman who could get to him faster than anyone else had in years. He had to pull back for both of their sakes. Neither of them was interested in a damn relationship. He had to remember that as good as this was between them, it wasn't going anywhere. He wouldn't
allow
it. But that didn't mean he wouldn't enjoy this time with Kate for as long as it lasted.

“I feel...amazing,” she whispered, her soft voice breaking into his thoughts. Sean was grateful.

He looked down at her and met her gaze as she lay watching him. She really did feel amazing, he told himself, and that was part of the problem. But right now, he didn't give a good damn.

He looked into her eyes, smoothed her hair back from her face. She'd slept for an hour or so. Long enough. “You know I'm still not done, right?”

A slow, incredibly sexy smile curved her mouth. “I'm really glad to hear that.”

Sean took hold of her and pulled her up until their mouths met, until she sighed and he tasted her, swallowing her breath, making it a part of him. Then he rolled them over, levering himself over her, taking all she had to give. He lost himself in her, let the rest of the world outside that room slide away and closed his mind to thoughts of anything but this moment.

Tomorrow could take care of itself.

* * *

The next morning, Kate felt well used and limber. Her body ached in a good way and though she should have been exhausted, instead she felt energized—as if she could grab her tools and renovate the entire hotel by herself. She'd had no idea she could feel this good.

Smiling to herself, Kate made coffee and stared out the window at the world of white. The snow was still coming down and the straight-as-a-soldier pines were beginning to bow beneath the weight of the heavy, wet snow on their branches. This was a big storm showing no signs of ending yet—and she was glad. In fact, she'd never been so happy about being snowed in.

Logically, of course, Kate knew this wasn't the most brilliant move she'd ever made. Getting involved sexually with her boss was crazy, but at the moment, she really couldn't regret it. That, she knew, would come later. But for now, all she could do was marvel at the memories of everything Sean had done with her—and to her.

A flush of heat rushed through Kate, tingling across her nerve endings until she felt as if her skin was burning. Until she put a stop to it. Last night, she'd been so swept away by what she was feeling, there hadn't been time for guilt to grab hold of her. Now, there was too much time.

Everything she'd experienced with Sean was fresh in her mind, and Kate couldn't help feeling disloyal to the husband she had lost. As much as she had loved her husband, Kate was forced to acknowledge that Sam had never made her feel what Sean had. During her marriage, Kate had assumed that it was her own fault that somehow, something was lacking that kept her from experiencing the mind-shattering orgasms her friend Molly loved to describe in intricate detail. Of course, a part of Kate had always believed that Molly was exaggerating. Now after last night, Kate realized she owed her friend an apology. And her brain was jumping from one thought to another.

Her subconscious was probably doing it on purpose to keep her from focusing too much on what happened next. What was she supposed to say to Sean? How was she supposed to act?

“I smell coffee.”

She whipped around to watch Sean walk into the kitchen. Her heart gave a hard thump, and Kate took a breath trying to calm that stir of something hot and wonderful that happened with a single look at him. His black hair tumbled across his forehead, his blue eyes were narrowed. He wore black jeans and a white long-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned. He hadn't bothered to pull on his boots, and Kate couldn't have said why she found the fact that he was barefoot so damn sexy. But she knew without a doubt that she was in serious trouble.

“Coffee's almost ready,” she said, focusing on the job at hand rather than the gorgeous man headed toward her with a long, slow stride.

“Good. Need the caffeine.” He leaned one hip against the counter and crossed his arms over the chest she wanted to stroke like a kitten. “You wore me out. Who knew once I got you out of that tool belt you'd be so...insatiable?”

Heat and memories rushed through her again, tangling together in her mind. “It was quite the surprise for me, too,” she muttered.

“Re-al-ly?” He drawled that word into three syllables.

“It's not that big a deal,” Kate said, snatching up the now-ready coffeepot and pouring each of them a cup. She needed a second or two to gather thoughts she'd only been considering for the last few minutes herself.
Insatiable.
She had been. And that had surprised the heck out of her. “I just never really cared that much about sex is all.”

A half smile tugged at the edge of his mouth. “But you have such a talent for it.” He paused thoughtfully, then asked, “So it must be that your former lovers weren't very good.”

Kate snapped a look at him. It was one thing for her to reconsider the intimacies of her marriage, but she wouldn't stand there and let Sean insult Sam's memory. “He was just fine, thanks.”

“Just fine?” Sean laughed shortly, took a sip of his coffee and said, “
Fine
is not a word you want to use about sex. Cookies maybe, but not sex.” He stopped, straightened up and looked at her in disbelief. “Wait a minute. You said
he
. You've only been with one other guy?”

A new tidal wave of guilt roared over her, making Kate think she'd drown in that dark, dismal sea. Yes, before Sean she'd only been with her husband. Sam's smiling face rose up in her mind and Kate's heart ached. She couldn't talk about him with Sean. Didn't want to hear sympathetic noises or see a sheen of pity in his eyes. Kate didn't even talk about Sam with her friends or her father, so she wouldn't consider it with Sean. She was dealing with Sam's loss, but she was doing it her own way. “I don't think we need to discuss our pasts. Unless you've got something you'd like to share...”

It was gone so quickly, Kate couldn't be sure she'd seen it at all. But there was a flicker of something dark in his eyes. Apparently, he was as protective of his own memories as she was of her own. Well, good, then he would understand.

“No,” he finally said, “we don't have to talk about the past.”

Relieved, Kate nodded. “In that case, why don't we talk about the future instead?”

In a blink, his features went stiff and tight, his eyes glittered wildly with a typical sort of blind, male panic. “What future?”

Laughter shot from her throat, startling her and making Sean scowl in response. His expression only made her laugh harder and boy, it felt good to let go of the guilt, the awkwardness and the morning-after conversation.

“What's so damn funny?” he demanded.

Still laughing, Kate held one hand up in a silent request for time to get herself under control. Sean waited, but he wasn't happy, as evidenced by his scowl deepening.

Shaking her head, Kate realized that for the first time since awakening in Sean's arms, she felt like herself. Nerves were gone, that odd sense of guilt mingled with regret had faded away and she remembered exactly who she was. She didn't have to walk on eggshells around Sean because they weren't in a
relationship
,
so to speak. They were each strong individuals and as long as she kept that in mind, she could handle whatever came next.

Laughter, though, continued to spill from her in a long, rich torrent until she struggled to catch her breath. Looking at Sean didn't help because he looked so...irritated. Men were just amazing, she told herself, amusement continuing to bubble in her mind.

Sean was a prime example. He'd done everything he could to get her into bed...well, sleeping bag. Then the following morning, all she had to do was say the word
future
and she could practically
hear
him stepping on the metaphorical brakes. She was only surprised he hadn't tried to leave—blizzard or no blizzard. He was no doubt assuming she had visions filled with white picket fences and rosy-cheeked children. Her laughter faded away as she recalled that she'd had those very dreams once. And then they died. She had no interest in resuscitating them.

When she had the laughter under control, she said, “Relax, Sean. I'm not expecting a proposal and a vow of eternal devotion. God, you should see your face. You look like you're ready to chew off a cartoon ball and chain from around your ankle.”

“That's ridiculous.” If anything, his frown deepened as he took a long drink of coffee. “And I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Sure,” she said, shaking her head as she sipped at her coffee. “You stick with that. Anyway... I was talking about the hotel's future, not ours.”

He stiffened and pushed away from the counter with a move that was too studiedly casual to be real. “I knew that.”

“Please.” She laughed again, waved that away and took another hit of her coffee. “When you walked in here, you were braced for some emotional meltdown from me. You figured I'd throw myself at your feet and beg you to marry me or some weird thing.”

“Weird?” His eyebrows lifted.

“Well, you have no worries on that front,” she assured him, meeting those icy blue eyes squarely. “I'm not interested in a husband and if I was, it wouldn't be
you
.”

He just looked at her for a long minute before blurting, “What the hell's wrong with me?”

Kate laughed again. “Wow. Now you're insulted.”

“No. Yeah. I guess I am. Why wouldn't you want to marry me?”

“Let's see,” she said thoughtfully, tipping her head to one side to look up at him. “For one thing, your first thought was to bolt out of the room when you thought I might be swooning over you.”

“I wouldn't bolt,” he told her stiffly. “It's snowing.”

“Uh-huh. For another, you're irritating.”

“Ha!” He flashed a quick grin. “Hello, pot? This is kettle. You're black.”

“Funny,” she admitted. “Fine. We irritate each other. Good enough reason to steer clear. Another is the fact that you're California and I'm Wyoming. Not exactly geographically desirable. And then there's the fact that anytime I see you in some magazine, you've got a hot blonde with boobs bigger than her IQ on your arm.”

“That's sexist,” he pointed out wryly.

“I'm a woman. I can say it,” she said. “Face it, Sean. You're just not marriage material. You don't want a permanent woman and I have no use for a permanent man, so why on earth would I want to marry you?”

He looked at her for a long moment, then set down his coffee cup and reached for her. She went willingly enough because hey, Kate already knew how amazing he could make her feel.