by J. S. Scott
Shep finished his business and hopped back through the snow and toward the house.
Smart dog. It’s damn cold out here.
By the time he took off his boots and came back into the house, Lara was up, and she didn’t look happy. He let Shep off the leash and hung it up. The puppy bounded over to Lara instantly. She picked him up and shuddered as she cuddled him against her breasts.
Lucky dog.
“You’re cold,” she crooned to the puppy, stroking his fur.
She was in his robe again, and a possessive satisfaction stabbed him straight in the gut. He liked his things draped over her body. Yeah, he preferred it to be his body over hers, but he’d take what he could get.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her roughly, worried by her pensive expression.
She raised a brow at him. “You have a Jeep and a snowplow?”
Oh, hell. Busted!
“Yeah. Out in the other garage.”
“So tell me exactly why I was snowed in here when you could have taken me back to the resort pretty easily.”
Tate wasn’t going to bullshit her. She looked pretty miffed. “Because I wanted you here. We were in the middle of a blizzard, Lara. Even if I did have a plow, it wasn’t exactly safe to be out that night.” He wasn’t going to tell her that he’d gone out and plowed himself out in worse weather. The truth was…he’d wanted her to stay. And he hadn’t wanted to take her out in the cold just to get her back to the resort. “You were hurt.”
She crossed her arms in front of her. “You could have told me,” she said, sounding disappointed.
Damn. Disappointed was worse than her being pissed off. “I could have,” he said carefully.
“I don’t like lies, Tate, for whatever reason.”
He didn’t like them either, especially between him and Lara, so he could understand her point. “I didn’t lie exactly. I just didn’t tell you I had a plow.”
“A lie by omission, Colter,” she told him sternly. “You didn’t tell me because you didn’t think about it. You didn’t tell me because you didn’t want me to know.”
She was right. “I’m sorry. I appreciate honesty, too. I would have told you eventually.”
“Don’t do it again,” she told him in a voice that reminded Tate of his fifth-grade teacher, and that woman had been pretty scary.
Lara put the puppy down and strode into the kitchen without another word.
Tate followed curiously. He watched as she went through the motions of fixing breakfast.
“I won’t lie to you ever again, Lara.” He meant that statement with his entire being. Now that he knew her better, he’d never be able to avoid laying everything on the table with her.
“Good.” She nodded at him and went back to fixing breakfast.
“That’s it?” She wasn’t going to fry him over the issue?
“That’s it. Now that I’ve made myself clear, I trust you to honor what I want.” She caught his gaze for a short moment. “Besides, you did probably save my life, or at the very least having to touch that disgusting man. And you’re almost disgustingly perfect. I guess you’re due one mistake.”
“Almost perfect?” Damn, he loved it when she teased him. “What would make me absolutely perfect?”
She pretended to study him for a minute. “You could learn to cook,” she replied in a smart-ass tone.
He moved over to her and slapped her on the ass just to hear her cute little squeal. “Baby, nobody deserves to eat my cooking.” But damned if he didn’t want to try harder to learn because of her. She didn’t deserve to do all of the cooking. “But I know every good restaurant in Colorado, and I can get us there fast. You don’t have to cook.”
“Hmm…I suppose there is that,” she answered cheekily.
“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.” He kissed her lightly on the temple and breathed in her intoxicating scent.
“After breakfast, I need to go to the resort. I just told Chloe I’d meet her in the gym. I hope it’s not crowded by then.”
Tate groaned. “Chloe ratted me out, didn’t she?” His sister had been the one to tell Lara he had a snowplow.
“Not on purpose. She just happened to mention it.” Lara fried the bacon.
“Why are you going there?”
“I promised Chloe I’d teach her a few self-defense moves.”
“The gym is never crowded in the winter. People are getting their exercise by skiing. Nobody wants to be inside when there’s fresh powder.”
“I do,” Lara said adamantly.
“If I teach you to ski or snowboard, you’ll love it.” Lara was adventurous, and she’d take to winter sports if she had a teacher. And he knew just the guy to show her the joy of winter.
“I think I’d rather be sitting by a warm fire doing…something else,” she said innocently, but turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I think if I teach you the benefits of staying inside, you’ll love it,” she parroted him teasingly.
He kissed her, and admitted that she was probably right, especially if she meant staying inside her.
“I think I have the basics down, but do you think we could keep practicing?” Chloe asked Lara as she walked at a sedate pace on the treadmill.
Lara was up to a run, but she wasn’t out of breath yet. “Sure. We can go over it until I have to leave.”
They’d practiced basic self-defense for quite a while before they finished and Lara jumped on the treadmill to do her daily routine. She’d seen a few more bruises on Chloe, and her alarm bells went off pretty damn loud. “Chloe, is James hurting you?” She had to ask. Her conscience wouldn’t allow her to stay silent.
Chloe looked straight ahead as she answered. “No. Of course not. The martial arts thing was an accident. He got impatient and he’s under a lot of stress right now.”
“You have new bruises,” Lara argued.
“I’m a klutz,” Chloe said hastily. “I trip a lot and do some stupid things. I bruise easily.”
She knew she was putting Tate’s sister on the defensive, so she answered simply. “If you ever need to talk, I’m here to listen.” Sometimes it was easier to talk to a woman than a man.
It hadn’t escaped Lara’s notice that Chloe had never really called on James when she’d needed him, and during this family crisis it would be nice if he was around to reassure her.
“Thanks,” Chloe answered casually. “But I’m good. Every relationship hits some bumpy areas, I think.” She paused. “God, do you torture yourself like that every day?”
Lara thought that maybe most relationships did have ups and downs, but she was afraid that Chloe was hitting mountains instead of bumps in her relationship. “Yep. I have no choice but to work out every day. I have to be in good condition for my job, and I like to eat.”
“Me too,” Chloe answered with a sigh. “But I gain weight if I even smell chocolate or something fattening.”
“You’re not fat, Chloe,” Lara told her sternly, angry that some man had made her feel unattractive when she was actually gorgeous.
“James doesn’t really like curvy women.”
“Then dump him and find somebody who does,” Lara said angrily. “What about that handsome cowboy you were with the other night?”
“Gabe?” Chloe blushed. “He’s a billionaire cowboy, and just a friend of the family, mostly a friend of Blake’s. And we don’t even get along most of the time.”
“I think he likes you,” Lara countered, decreasing her speed to wind down her run.
“He doesn’t. He just likes to joke around. I don’t like it.”
Lara had a feeling Chloe didn’t like it because she didn’t believe Gabe when he shot her a compliment. “He looked pretty concerned when Marcus got arrested and Tate got injured.”
“He was nice,” Chloe admitted as she stopped her treadmill to get off. “But it didn’t last very long.” Looking uncomfortable, Chloe changed the subject. “Do you care about Tate?”
Lara fe
lt a little uncomfortable as she slowed down to a walk, not liking it when she was on the hot seat. “I do. He helped me out a lot. He’s a very brave man, and I admire him a great deal.” And he’s so damn hot that I want to do him every minute of the day. She decided not to share that information with Tate’s sister.
Chloe rolled her eyes at Lara. “You know what I mean. Do you have the hots for him?”
Lara flushed. “He’s attractive, but I barely know him.” Okay, maybe she did know Tate intimately, but it hadn’t been for very long.
“He’s been so detached and lonely since his accident. That’s one of the reasons why I wanted him to adopt Shep.”
“Tate adores that puppy,” Lara told Chloe as she stopped walking and got off the treadmill. “Don’t let him tell you anything different.”
Chloe smiled at her. “I know he does. He grumbles and complains about Shep, but I couldn’t pry that pup away from him now even if I wanted to.” Chloe sat down in a chair by the treadmills.
Tate had been right: the gym was empty and she and Chloe had the whole place to themselves.
“He’s torn up about Marcus even if he doesn’t show it, you know,” Chloe said sadly. “I guess we all are. Mom still refuses to believe Marcus is even guilty of anything illegal.”
Guilt swamped Lara hard and fast. “I’m so sorry, Chloe.”
Chloe looked up at Lara. “You have no reason to be sorry. You were doing your job.”
God, Chloe sounded so much like Tate. “Thanks.” Lara picked up a towel to dry off her sweat-soaked face.
Both women gathered up their bags to go shower.
“So do you have a boyfriend back in Washington?” Chloe asked slyly.
“No. I haven’t had a boyfriend in years.”
“What happened to him?” Chloe asked curiously.
“He cheated on me.” Funny, but Lara didn’t even think about him or his actions anymore. Maybe because he wasn’t worth the time or effort it took to get angry about it. The cheating boyfriend had been humiliating, but he had never really touched her emotions like Tate did.
“That sucks. You know, Tate’s very loyal once a person has gained his affection.”
Lara smiled at Tate’s crafty sister. “No matchmaking,” she told Chloe with a smile. “Tate lives in Colorado. I live in Washington DC. That presents some very interesting geographical issues.”
Chloe shrugged. “He’s a pilot.”
“Like I said, we barely know each other,” Lara said lightly and moved toward the locker room.
“You have to admit, he’s a handsome badass,” Chloe said proudly.
Thinking about the way Tate did everything, including the way he disarmed three men at one time and shot her attacker, she had to answer, “Agreed.” Tate being handsome was an understatement. He was absolutely breathtaking, especially when he was naked, but she kept that information to herself.
She couldn’t stay here in Colorado, even if Tate wanted to continue their relationship for a while. She had a life, a career in Washington. She didn’t want Chloe even thinking in that direction. “I’m hoping we can all keep in touch,” she added, trying to make it sound like leaving Tate would be no big deal.
“Oh, I think we will,” Chloe said with a mysterious grin as she walked beside her. “How long are you staying?”
“At least another week,” Lara answered, not quite sure how long her boss would let her stay here. But she should be good for at least one more week before he started to hound her to come back to work.
Chloe nodded. “That should be long enough.” The pretty brunette entered the locker room.
Lara shook her head, not quite sure what Chloe meant, and followed Tate’s sister through the door.
“That was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life, and I’m an FBI agent,” Lara mumbled teasingly as Tate landed his helicopter on the landing pad back on Colter land. Tate Colter piloted a helicopter just like he drove a snowmobile: crazy fast, with his main objective being speed.
“I’ll have you know that I’m one of the best helicopter pilots in the world,” he answered arrogantly, as if he were offended, as he shut down the helicopter. “I told you I’d get you to Denver and back fast.”
“How long have you been flying?” she asked curiously as she put away her headset. Lara had ridden in plenty of helicopters, and there was no doubt Tate Colter was good. He piloted with so much confidence that no matter how crazy he was, she hadn’t really had a moment of fear. But it was fun giving him hell about his take-no-prisoners way of doing things.
“Since not long after I could legally drive,” he answered, still sounding disgruntled. “I got my pilot’s license the next year.”
“What else do you fly?”
He shot her a grin. “Anything that moves through the air, baby.”
“You don’t have a pilot? You fly everything yourself?”
“Yep. I’m a hell of a lot more comfortable being in control.”
“Damn. I guess that ruins my chances of joining the mile-high club,” she replied jokingly, making sure her voice sounded disappointed as she unbuckled herself from the passenger seat.
Tate moved so quickly that he was almost a blur as he hopped over the front seat to land on the back bench seat so fast that Lara barely saw him go. “Come back here. I’ll be more than happy to induct you,” he said huskily.
She turned to look at him as he lounged against the back seat, his hand folded over his abdomen, and waited.
“We aren’t in the air,” she said breathlessly. Her eyes roamed hungrily over Tate. Her blood heated at the thought of straddling him right here and now and taking what she wanted. She couldn’t care less about the mile-high club. But she sure as hell wanted him. Constantly. Desperately. Almost painfully.
“I think the rules say that you have to have sex in an aircraft while at altitude. We’re already elevated here in the mountains, more than a mile high, and we’re definitely in an aircraft. Technically I’d say we’re good,” he replied enthusiastically. “Come here or I’ll come and get you. I’ve needed you all damn day, Lara. I don’t want to wait any longer.”
Lara sighed. “We can’t do this out here.” She looked around the airstrip through the window, the portion Marcus used still closed off for investigation. She didn’t see anyone around, and Tate had landed on the opposite end of the little airport. Still, it was risky. “People could be coming and going.”
“I know two people who are definitely going to be coming,” he rasped. He folded his arms across his chest. “Come to me. I dare you. Take what you want.” He threw down the challenge intentionally, his eyes heated and beckoning her to come to him.
Dammit. He knows how much I want him, and he’s absolutely certain that I won’t back down from a dare from him.
She bit her lip, trying to get her undeniable need under control. Tate liked to test her, push her boundaries, but he didn’t realize that when it came to him, her boundaries were getting pretty damn wide.
“What do you want?” she asked him in a sultry tone. She knelt on the passenger seat and pulled the sweater she wore over her head. She would play his game, and she’d relish it because he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.
“Don’t play with me right now, baby,” he growled as he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor of the helicopter.
He kept her eyes locked with his as she shimmied out of her jeans and panties awkwardly, and then unhooked her bra and shucked it, too. She shivered as the air wafted over her bare skin, her body now completely naked. “Who says I’m playing?” She lifted a brow at him, loving the surprised look on his face. She knew he hadn’t really expected her to strip in his helicopter and call him on his dare.
Her eyes roamed over the visible erection that was trying to burst the zipper of his jeans. His gray long-sleeved shirt hugged his muscular arms and chest; the color perfectly matched his eyes.
“Jesus, Lara. You are going to kill me.” He groaned and h
eld his arms out to her.
Clambering over the controls and the seat, she literally fell on top of him and straddled him. He closed his arms around her immediately, snaked a hand behind her neck and brought her body flush against him. He breathed deeply and nuzzled against her neck. “Screw the mile high. I’ll take you as high as you want to go,” he commented sharply, his warm breath on her neck. “Your scent makes me want to drown in you.” He nipped her skin and then laved over it. “Your taste makes me want to devour you.” He reached between their bodies and ran a finger over her drenched core. “And this makes me want to fuck you until you scream.” His mouth closed over one of her hardened nipples.
Lara leaned back. Tate would never let her fall; she trusted him completely. “I want you, Tate. Please.” She ran her hands over his powerful chest, loving the feel of his hot skin beneath her fingers. When she lifted herself to her knees, she gave him space to unzip his pants and lower them to let his engorged cock escape. “Don’t you ever wear underwear?” she moaned as she felt the silken steel of him against her fiery sex.
“Hardly ever since the day I met you.”
She stifled a laugh at his serious tone. “So you’re always ready?” She lowered herself down, shivering as she slid her pussy along the wide, hard shaft of his cock.
“I’m always hopeful,” he corrected as he placed his hands on her hips. “Do you want to grant the wish of an optimistic man?”
Tate’s eagerness emboldened her. The way he sounded, the way he talked to her made her feel as if she were a goddess, as though he was lucky to have her. She felt like the most desirable woman on earth. Probably because she thought Tate was the hottest man on the planet, and he wanted her.
