Holiday Heat: The Men of Starlight Bend

by Ashley Jennifer

  They stared at each other for an awkward moment, and then a sparkling, playful laugh tipped her eyes at the corners and made him grin. Where had she come from, this gorgeous woman? How had she found her way to Starlight Bend, to him?

  Some of his friends—guys he’d known since kindergarten—were still trying to coax him into bring Kari over to their table. He ignored them. Half the town had found an excuse to come to Stan’s tonight. Marianne had probably alerted the masses. She worked at the school and couldn’t keep anything to herself.

  Kari seemed a little flustered by all the attention, but kept her cool as she gathered up the big, overstuffed bag she’d hung on the back of her barstool. Ty finished the last of his beer and tossed a fifty on the bar. He didn’t wait for change.

  “I’ll pay half,” Kari said as she shrugged into her coat.

  “No, you won’t.”

  He moved behind her to help, standing too close, finding reasons to touch the skin at her nape as he pulled that long, dark rope of silken hair free of the collar. Jesus, she smelled good. She wore a light perfume that had been messing with his head ever since he’d sat down beside her.

  “But—”

  “Give it up,” he said in her ear. “That’s how we do things here.”

  She gazed at him over her shoulder, lifting those eyes he’d been staring into for the past few hours until they met his. The mysteries of the world hid behind the look she gave him. And whatever she was thinking, he was on board with the plan.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She hesitated and then blurted. “My last name is Dale. Kari Dale.”

  “Timberlake.”

  “Timberlake?” she repeated, surprise in her eyes.

  “No, Justin isn’t my brother or cousin or monkey’s uncle,” he said automatically. His students asked him that every year.

  “That’s not what—”

  “Ty, you can’t keep her to yourself all night!” Thomas Wheeler hollered.

  “The hell I can’t,” Ty said softly, smiling into her eyes. “It’s going to get ugly in here in about five seconds. You ready?”

  She nodded and he took her hand, slung his satchel onto his other shoulder, and together they walked past the room full of people not even pretending not to watch them, and right out the front door.

  It had stopped snowing, but the stretch of sky over Starlight Bend was a dark and stormy gray that blotted out the stars the town had been named for. Fat with snow and rife with thunder, the clouds menaced and hovered, pressing down, biding their time. The air was so crisp, it felt like a layer of ice coated it. Like it should crackle as they moved through it.

  “You hungry?” he asked, still holding Kari’s hand as they crossed the street. “We could get something to eat.”

  “And ruin the whiskey buzz we worked so hard for?” she teased. “What happened to poor choices?”

  He should laugh. She’d meant it to be funny. But the cold had cleared his head and he found himself asking, “Is that what this is? What we’re doing?”

  The sexy smile faltered and her eyes grew wide, alert. Spangled as a fall forest.

  “Isn’t it?” she asked.

  “Unless it’s not,” he said.

  She took a deep breath, nodding quickly. He wasn’t sure if that meant agreement or something else entirely.

  Her gaze shifted to his mouth and he felt it. He fucking felt its heat as it lingered there. Her smile was hesitant as she stepped forward. She settled her palms on his chest and balanced on the balls of her feet, face turned up to his. He groaned when their mouths touched. She tasted of whiskey and woman, a little wild, a little sweet.

  He pulled her closer, cursing their coats, damning the streetlight that held them in its glow. He kissed her, just like he’d been thinking of doing since she’d smiled at him for the first time. He hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off her.

  Her arms went around his neck and she pressed her body down the length of his. His hands slipped inside her coat to her back. He took her weight, swept her right off her feet as he deepened the kiss, taking, giving, dying from how damn good she felt against him, in his arms. His heart was racing. His entire body felt rock hard and he yearned to touch every inch of her, kiss her everywhere.

  Sometime between the instant she’d made the dismaying realization that Stan poured his wine from a box, and the moment when she’d looked in Ty’s eyes and said, Yes . . . with you, he’d been hooked, and hooked deep.

  Damn it.

  Slowly, he set her back on her feet, but it took a minute before he could force himself to stop kissing her. She was still on tiptoes, the sweep of her lashes veiling her pretty eyes, a plume of mist on her breath.

  “Where are you staying?” he muttered, nuzzling her cheek, breathing in that intoxicating scent.

  “Ponderosa Resort,” she said, tilting her head so he had better access. “Is it far?”

  Ty pulled back. “You are not staying at the Ponderosa,” he said emphatically. “I wouldn’t let Stan stay at Ponderosa.”

  “Why?” she asked, blinking. “The pictures on their website looked nice and it’s only for the night. Tomorrow, I’m moving into a rental house.”

  Ty shook his head. “The roaches don’t even like the Ponderosa, Kari.”

  “No,” she breathed in horror.

  “Afraid so, sweetheart. You can stay with me. No strings. I even have a spare room. Clean sheets.”

  She didn’t say anything and he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Great romancer that he was, he’d introduced cockroaches and spare rooms into a perfect moment. Now she was probably thinking of getting out of town as fast as she could.

  “Neither one of us should be driving anyway.”

  He just kept talking. She no longer had that hungry look in her eyes.

  “Or we could call a cab, go someplace else. It’d be coming from Kalispell, though. If it comes at all.”

  It was like a sickness. A can’t-shut-up sickness.

  Kari’s lips quirked in a smile she couldn’t seem to hide.

  She caught his jacket in her hands and tugged. He obliged by bending down as she came up on tiptoes again—Jesus, that was sexy—her mouth hot against his. His hand tunneled beneath the warm weight of her hair and he cupped the back of her head, lost in the feel of her lips, her tongue, her taste. Who cared about tomorrow when he had her in his arms right now? Her skin was so soft that once he touched it, he couldn’t stop. The silky line of her jaw, the vulnerable curve of her throat, the satiny stretch over hollow and bone just above the neckline of her sweater.

  He couldn’t think anymore, not when all the blood in his body had gone south.

  He took a deep breath, forced himself to slow down. Reluctantly, he eased back and waited for her to open her eyes. See him. Her lashes fluttered over honey and hazel before her gaze focused on him.

  They were still standing in front of Stan’s. Hell, they’d been making out in the center of town. Mrs. Paxton had probably already posted pictures of them on Facebook.

  “How many shots did we do?” he asked.

  “What?” she said, surprised. Then, “Three . . . maybe four. Is that a test? You want me to walk a line?”

  How did she make that sound so tempting?

  He smiled at her. “Sure. Let’s see it.”

  She held out her arms, wobbled once, then found her center. She toe-heeled for a few feet while he admired the view, then turned and came back.

  “I’m feeling good, Ty. But I’m not drunk. I know what I’m doing.”

  “Yeah?” he said, kissing her again, because he couldn’t help himself. “And what is that exactly?”

  “I’m going home with you.”

  God help him. Every cell in his body heard that.

  “I mean . . . if you want me, too.”

  “Yeah, I want. Just making sure the cold air didn’t wake you up. Maybe change your mind.”

  “It didn’t. I haven’t.”

  “Okay,” and because
the way she looked at him made him feel like Superman, he scooped her up in his arms and started walking while she laughed and kissed his neck, his face. When she reached his mouth, he had to stop and just hold her while she drove him to the edge.

  “How far?” she whispered in his ear.

  Just up the street and around the corner. A half-mile, if that.

  “Too damned far.”

  “Put me down. We’ll get there faster.”

  They walked the quiet street holding hands, saying nothing as their footsteps echoed on the pavement. He didn’t know what time it was. Maybe eight, maybe midnight. The frosted dark made it hard to tell. The tension inside him made it hard to care. The need to get her alone, consumed him.

  They stepped through the front door and his little dog poked her head out of the kitchen to bark hello.

  “That’s Buttercup,” he told Kari as he knelt to greet the Beagle. “For the record, my students named her, not me.”

  “She’s so cute,” Kari said, getting down on her knees beside him. “Hi, Buttercup.”

  Tail wagging, Buttercup belly-crawled up to them, then rolled on her back in total submission.

  “I found her out by the lake last spring. Freezing, starving. No tags. She was pretty beat up. I don’t know what she tangled with, but it had claws. I posted ads, but no one ever claimed her.”

  “How can that be?” she asked Buttercup, gently scratching her tender underbelly and stroking her sides.

  “She’s usually pretty shy.”

  “So am I,” Kari told the dog. “You should try whiskey. It helps.”

  Ty laughed. “Let me give her a treat and put her to bed.”

  Kari shed her coat as he took Buttercup out to the backyard, then gave her a bedtime cookie. Her bed was under the kitchen table.

  “That’s where she sleeps?” Kari asked, leaning against the doorframe.

  “I guess it makes her feel safe. I tried putting her bed in other rooms, but she always ends up back here.”

  “Silly Buttercup. You should climb in bed with him,” Kari said. “He’ll keep you safe.”

  Jesus, was there anything about this woman that didn’t turn him on?

  He switched off the kitchen light and caught Kari up in his arms, turning her against the wall, pressing close. She shoved his jacket off his shoulders and it hit the ground. His hands were under her sweater, hers at the buttons of his shirt. Her face was turned up to his, her eyes bright in the shadows. She finished undoing his last button then lifted her arms so he could slide her sweater over her head. He tossed it on the floor. His flannel and undershirt followed.

  He wanted her body against his, but she was lovely standing there in the muted light, her skin ivory smooth and satin soft. For a moment, all he could do was stare. A plain white bra covered her full breasts, holding them high. Gently he grazed his fingertips over the soft flesh, then cupped them in his hands. She was curved in all the right places, soft as only a woman could be, and so very beautiful. Kari arched into his touch and made a sound that awakened everything male inside him.

  He was so hard it hurt.

  Her fingers were icy against his hot skin when she reached for the top button of his jeans, then into his pants. Shocking, incredible. His head fell back, and his knees gave a mighty wobble.

  “Christ . . . Kari . . . .”

  Her hands were all over him now, sensuous chaos that shredded his thoughts, laying waste to his plan of seduction. There was only Kari, how she felt in his arms, against his lips, deep down on levels that couldn’t sustain thinking.

  If he didn’t take control, this would be over before it started. And that was the last thing he wanted.

  He caught her wrists and pinned them over her head as he pressed his body to hers. Their chests heaved in tandem, their breath, hot and fast. She made another sound in her throat that resonated beneath the skin, to the very core of him.

  He covered her mouth with his, wanting that sound again, wanting to taste it, feel it against his tongue. The kiss was deep, drugging, an addiction he’d never stop craving. Her hips rocked—oh, so slightly—but his body understood the rhythm and mirrored it. He felt all-powerful when he lifted her and she hooked those shapely legs around him, boot heels at the small of his back, arms twined at his neck, mouth still hot and urgent on his. She wrapped herself around him like moonlight and he soaked it in, soaked it up.

  He carried her to his bedroom and laid her on his bed. She’d said she had tracks that would take her up and away. Maybe she did. But tonight she was his.

  Chapter Three

  The surprise actually surprised Ty the next morning. When he’d fallen asleep, Kari had been in bed beside him, warm and naked and soft as a dream. She was long gone when he’d woken up, though. Not unexpected. She’d been clear that staying was not her thing. Still, he hadn’t expected her to bolt.

  Sometime after one, he figured. She’d still been there at midnight when he’d rolled over and pulled her close to make love to her one more time. And she’d been willing, passionate . . . as into him as he was to her. At least, that’s what he’d thought.

  He padded into the kitchen, stopping to pet Buttercup who gazed at him with big, sympathetic eyes. She knew all about waking up abandoned.

  “Did you happen to see a beautiful naked woman come through here this morning?” he asked her.

  Buttercup wagged her tail and turned in a circle at his feet.

  “You did, huh? Why didn’t you try to stop her?”

  Kari had left a note on the kitchen table. He could picture her writing it, bra stuffed in her purse because she’d dressed quickly in the dark, hoping he wouldn’t wake up. No shoes, feet cold on the tile. Hair, a glorious mess.

  The note read, Had to run. Kari.

  Coward. She’d taken off rather than face the reality of waking up with a stranger who’d had his hands and mouth over every inch of her body. He smiled. The memory was that sweet.

  He picked up his phone, found the number for the Ponderosa and called.

  “Sue Bee,” he said when Sue Bee Chen answered. Her family had owned the Ponderosa almost as long as his had owned Timberlake Hardware store. That didn’t mean she kept the place up, though. Sue Bee liked to gamble and any profit she might have made went along the lines of her inheritance—straight to the casino.

  “This is Ty Timberlake. Is there a woman by the name of Kari Dale staying in one of your rooms?”

  “Did you tell her we have roaches?” Sue Bee demanded.

  “I—”

  “Did you?”

  “Is she there?”

  “No. She paid one night and went somewhere else to stay. Someone told her about the roaches. I know it.”

  “Did she say where she was going?”

  “What do I care?” She can go to—”

  “Did she?”

  Sue Bee sighed with irritation. “A Hilton,” she sneered. “That’s what she said. Points.”

  Like it was a dirty word.

  There were only two Hiltons within a hundred miles of Starlight Bend. That was a lot of distance to cover in the dark, over unfamiliar, probably icy roads. He’d been stone-cold sober by the time he’d wrapped his body around hers and gone to sleep. He was willing to bet that she’d been, too. Still.

  He tried the closest Hilton first—the one near Glacier Park—and when he asked for “Kari Dale’s room,” was instantly told to hold while his call was transferred to her room.

  He hung up before it rang. She’d checked in, made it there safe. That’s all he needed to know.

  But it really wasn’t. Not even close.

  Neither the crisp morning nor his walk with Buttercup dispelled his foul mood. He dressed for work and headed to the Lakeside Café for some breakfast. There was zero chance that word hadn’t already spread about him leaving with Kari last night. Best to face the razing that waited for him head on and get it over with.

  The Lakeside Café was just around the corner from Stan’s and the scent of r
oasting coffee beans guided him like a beacon. The roaster sat right in the front and on cold days like this, the smell of coffee and cinnamon filled the streets.

  It was barely seven in the morning when Ty walked in and the place was already packed. Luckily, he found an empty stool at the counter.

  “You look like hell this morning, Romeo,” Becky, the café owner, teased as she poured him a cup of coffee.

  He flashed a smile, like the teasing didn’t bother him, and wrapped his hands around the mug.

  “That woman wear you out, did she?” a male voice asked from a few seats down. Ty leaned forward and caught sight of Andy, the town’s MacGyver, sitting there. Andy hadn’t been at the bar last night, but Thomas sat right next to him, and had probably blabbed about it.

  And joy of joys, Ty’s dad sat on his left.

  Henry Timberlake looked as hale and hearty as he had twenty years ago, but after mom had left him, he’d shriveled up on the inside, where no one could see. No one but his son, that is.

  “Dad,” Ty said with a nod.

  “Son,” Henry answered stiffly.

  That was about as deep as their conversations went these days. It hadn’t taken long for Ty to realize that coming back home to reconnect had been a fool’s mission. In Henry’s mind, leaving in the first place had been an unforgiveable crime.

  “Heard about your shenanigans with some woman who blew into town,” Henry went on, speaking over Andy.

  Ty thought before he answered. Anything he said could and would be used against him.

  “No shenanigans,” he said at last. “Just drinks.”

  “She went home with you,” Henry accused.

  Yeah, and thanks for announcing it to everyone, pops.

  “Only because she was staying at the Ponderosa.”

  A collective gasp came from all around them. Even Becky stopped her bustling to grimace.

  “I couldn’t let her go there,” Ty finished.

  “No,” Thomas agreed enthusiastically. “Hell, no.”

  “How long is she in town?” Andy wanted to know.

  Ty shrugged. “You’d have to ask her.”