“Pets, I don’t know why people put themselves through it. She hasn’t even had the operation yet. Will you be able to handle it?”
Piper shrugged. “I don’t have much choice now. She’s officially registered as mine and I wouldn’t abandon her anyway. I couldn’t do that. If she was in a rescue center for more than a few weeks, they’d euthanize her.”
“Euthanize her?” He made a low whistling noise through his teeth.
“Terrible, isn’t it?”
He nodded and pulled the ring on a can of Albacore tuna, opening it. “Let’s get some of this served up for the mom down there.”
“Heck, give her too much stuff like that and she won’t want to leave. Talk about luxury accommodation.” She smiled as the cat stretched, almost as if she was pretending she hadn’t caught a tantalizing whiff of the fish and was far, far above showing any interest. Yet, within a few moments of him forking it onto a dish, she was there, wolfing down the contents as if there was no tomorrow.
Matt poured some bottled water into a bowl. “Should we leave her to settle in now?”
“I think so,” she said and pushed herself up from the armchair. “I was getting close to nodding off there myself.”
Matt closed the loft room door behind them and they made their way quietly down the wooden stairs. “You’re still soaked,” he said and gestured for her to take off her shoes.
“So are you. It’s no big deal.”
“There are some spare clothes tucked away around the place. I’ll dig them out and then we can get yours washed and dried.”
Piper had to admit she was damp and uncomfortable. “No, it’s too much trouble, they’ll dry on me soon.”
“I won’t take no for an answer. There’s a good utility room here, specifically geared for lots of washing and drying due to the amount of snow sport fanatics we have visit us.”
“I’ve troubled you enough already, really I—”
“Look at you, I can see from here that you’re soaking wet from your coat to your boots.”
She frowned and shucked off her snow boots. “Okay, you win. Can I shower?”
“Can I join you?” She glared at him silently and he smiled. “I guess that would be a no.”
“You’re a bright boy,” she shot back. “A definite no.”
He shrugged and kept right on grinning. “In that case, we need to turn around and head back up the stairs.” He nodded in the direction of the landing. “Ladies first.”
She could almost feel the burn of his eyes on her damp butt and decided to make it sway from side to side just to show him that his fancy house didn’t intimidate her.
“We might as well have a quick tour on the way,” he said, and once on the landing, he pushed open the door opposite the stairwell. “You’ve seen the smallest loft room, so this is the master bedroom.”
It was an enormous space with dark wooden polished floors, neutral walls, and a massive bed draped with a bright and multicolored patchwork quilt. A slipper bath sat in the corner opposite a large, antique-looking mirror.
“Very nice,” she murmured, trying not to imagine what he’d look like reclining in the cast iron tub, glistening with bath oil…
“I could run you a bath if you’d prefer it to a shower?” She could hear the teasing in the tone of his voice—she didn’t need to look at him for that. A bath in the master bedroom? Now that would be going too far, however tempting the idea.
“A shower will be just fine.” She turned to escape, but to her surprise, he didn’t move an inch to let her pass, his wide torso effectively filling the doorway as he leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb. She could feel the heat radiating from him and noticed that his white shirt was as damp as hers, the black shadow of a tattoo showing through where the material clung to his skin. “So if you could show me where I can find the shower?”
He eased back and away onto the landing to let her pass and then stepped back into the master bedroom. “I’ll just get you some dry clothes.” Her stomach flipped. She’d assumed he was going to make a pass at her, but was actually just trying to get to the dresser drawer, and then she felt annoyed with herself for wishing that he had leaned down and kissed her…
He quickly opened a few more doors to let her see all the rooms, which he told her all had french doors leading out onto the upstairs balcony, but were currently covered with draft-excluding drapes. “The storm should be over by morning and you can get a good view of the mountains and river out back.”
“I knew places like this existed, but this is the first time I’ve ever been inside one of these cabins,” she said, taking the sweatpants, pullover, and T-shirt he handed her. “It’s gorgeous, and I’ll be sure to have a good look at everything in the morning.” Her gaze locked with his. “Before we leave.”
He flicked on a tight smile and broke the eye contact. “Sure. Have a great shower.”
Piper growled quietly to herself, sounding not unlike the miserable cat, as she peeled off her damp clothes. She should not feel like a heel for being eager to leave in the morning and actually saying so. She slapped damp garments on the tiled floor. So, okay, Matt DeLeo had possibly saved her life, but that didn’t mean she owed him…and he’d given her a roof over her head for the night and fed her mangy cat premium tuna and was being very gentlemanly, all things considered.
“You are a heel,” she muttered to herself and turned the shower on full blast.
Matt yawned and stretched as she reached the bottom step of the stairs after her shower. “I’m beat. You must be, too.”
“I feel half dead, but so much better after that shower.” She forced a grin. The least she could do was try and be nice, since none of this was his fault. But being brittle was her instinctive way of denying the attraction she felt toward him, of not making a fool of herself by letting him know he was hotter than Sanibel in July. “And is there under floor heating in here? The wood feels great on my bare feet.”
He nodded and picked up a beer bottle from the low side table next to a squashy red sofa. “I needed a drink to settle my nerves, want some?”
“Tempting, but I remember the last time we drank together.”
“In town?” He feigned an innocent look. “I don’t remember burning up the tapas bar.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I’m not going to take advantage of this situation, and would you let me anyway?”
“Of course not.”
“Well, there you go.”
“And why would you want to take advantage of me?” She let out a hollow laugh. “You’re on Forbes’ most wanted bachelor list, why the hell would you want to choose me again?”
“You’re hard on yourself. I have high standards, especially with women. I need food as well as a drink. Hungry?”
“I could eat my own feet.”
“It’s great that I have three freezers stocked with gourmet food and TV dinners then, huh?”
“Seriously?”
“Three is my lucky number. Come on, challenge me. Tell me what you really want to eat more than anything in the world right now and maybe it can be done. Just for you, my very special guest.”
She grinned. “I don’t want lobster.”
“Too bad, there’s bound to be a ton of it. That’s one of the reasons the rent on this place is so high.”
She tugged at an earlobe as she considered the challenge and was tempted to concoct something completely ridiculous, but the gnawing in her stomach took the fun out of the idea. She was too hungry to peel crustaceans from shells. “Cheeseburger, sweet potato fries, Jack Daniels barbeque sauce, and jalapenos on the side.”
He chuckled. “You want a stack of onion rings with that?”
“Why not? Now rise to the challenge while I fuss over the cat. Go, DeLeo, go.”
Within half an hour, the meal had been cooked and devoured, the cat had curled up under the blanket in her room and gone to sleep, and Piper was feeling much more relaxed. She was also secretly impressed with
Matt’s expertise in the kitchen. He was a great cook, and she hadn’t expected that. He was also surprisingly easy company, as long as she could keep her eyes off the way his black T-shirt strained over his shoulders and broad chest, and the neon blue and black tentacles of the octopus tattoo that curled out from beneath his short sleeves.
She’d love to see the whole piece of art again, the way it was worked so skillfully over his hard bicep and shoulder blade. She wanted to run her fingertips over that smooth flesh again, too, but she wiped her mouth with a napkin a little harder than necessary in the hope that the discomfort would drive such thoughts right out of her mind. “That was the best meal I’ve had since yesterday.”
“High praise. What did you have yesterday? Cold pizza?”
“No, Sophie and I had fish and chips takeout delivery from the Railway Tavern. Please don’t tell me you cooked that yourself as well as poured beer.”
He chuckled. “No, I employ a fully qualified kitchen staff. The new head chef is a Brit. The fish and chips experiment is his idea. Any good?”
“It was amazing! You’ll have to try it yourself.”
“I’ll let the chef know.”
“So…” She wasn’t sure what to do with herself now that they’d eaten. It was quiet in the cabin besides the gusts of wind and lashing of snow against the windowpanes. “What do people do out here in the evening?”
“Pretty much anything they like. There’s internet, TV, conversation, and eventually…bed.”
She’d walked straight into that one. “And books,” she said breezily, nodding toward the bookshelves tucked beneath the stairs. “You must read a lot.”
“Not much.” He grinned and there was a devilish sparkle in those dark eyes. “The interior decorators stuck those in. An eclectic mix of reading material was how they described it. I stick to magazines and then recycle them.”
“And there I was beginning to think you were a hoarder. Are all the tasteful ornaments and strategically placed antiques placed by the interior decorators as well?”
“You got it. I don’t collect stuff. Life’s hard enough without getting attached to inanimate objects. I like to live and travel light.”
She drew her feet up and hugged her knees. “I won’t be selling many of my products to you in that case. They’re all impractical. Sparkly.”
He tipped his head to one side. “You never know, I’m always buying new properties. I’ll give my people your details and insist they use you.”
“I wasn’t angling for business!”
He raised a fingertip to his full lips to quiet her protestation. “But I want to.”
She shrugged and decided not to fight him. She could use the business and he clearly had money to burn, so why not use his connections with his blessing? Nothing immoral or underhanded about that. “I’ll make sure they get the best service and I’ll throw in some limited edition specials.”
“You don’t need to.”
“But I want to,” she said with a smirk, echoing his previous words.
He rubbed his hands together briskly. “It’s still cold in here. Perhaps the system is struggling with the extreme weather. It shouldn’t be, but—” As if on cue, a loud pop and a crashing sound on the roof made them both start. Then the lights flickered and died. “Geez, talk about asking for it,” he muttered.
“I can’t see a thing.” Piper hunched into the armchair for safety.
“Give it a minute or two and the backup systems will kick in.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I am.” His tone turned from irritated to more gentle as she heard him moving around. “You sound scared.”
She felt a warm hand find her ankle in the dark. “If I was the cat, I’d be crapping all over your sofa.” She felt a ripple of excitement as his fingers stroked upwards underneath the hem of the sweatpants.
She heard him chuckle. “Please don’t do that. Everything is going to be just fine.”
“Is that why you’re stroking my leg?”
“Oh, is that what it is? So silky and soft…”
“Stop it.” She giggled as his fingers tiptoed even further up her leg. “You know damn well you’re groping a defenseless woman in your lair in the dark.”
“Defenseless? I’d take the cat on before I picked a fight with you, darling.”
She sighed and closed her eyes even though everything was in darkness, acutely aware that he was kneeling at her feet. “Actually, it’s very soothing considering how stressed I am. It’s been quite a day.”
“It’s the least I can do.” She heard him shift closer, sensed his warmth, and then felt his breath feather her hair. Her own breath hitched as he brushed his lips on her forehead. “Your skin is very cool.”
If she had any guts or self-respect, she’d put a few feet between them very quickly because she had a good idea where this would end if she let it. “It must be shock,” she murmured as her insides began to feel jittery, and she lifted her chin until she could feel his breath on her lips.
“It’s my responsibility to make sure you survive the night.” Their mouths touched briefly, and he tasted of hops and the dark bitter chocolate bar they’d shared after dinner.
“Yes…yes, it must be.” She lifted a hand and found the hard edge of his jaw, now roughened by stubble. She scraped her fingernails lightly across it. “But it’s a little overcautious to start mouth-to-mouth straight away.”
“The Red Cross would never let me join.” She felt his body tremble with a small laugh. “I break rules too often.”
His mouth came down slowly onto hers, giving her plenty of time to pull away if she wanted to. She didn’t want to. She melted into the kiss like butter in hot rum, threading her fingers through his thick hair and pulling him in closer. She felt the heat and hardness of him through the two layers of their clothes, and the memories of how he’d felt inside her in Florida came flooding back with a vividness that took her breath away. There was an intoxicating magic about him, something that made everything seem all right when she was in his arms. The outside world was forgotten when they were kissing.
She stiffened as his hand found the curve of her breast in the darkness. This was only going to end one way if she didn’t push him away immediately. She pressed her hand against the hard muscle of his chest and then a burst of light made her cry out with surprise. “The lights—”
Adjusting to the sudden brightness, her gaze met his deep, dark, slumberous eyes and she realized she’d never seen such a beautiful male specimen in her life. How could she have ever thought it would be easy to resist him again after she’d been so blown away before? He could make her come with just one bite when he looked at her like that. “No Matt, no more.”
His fingertips brushed over her nipple through the soft fabric of her top. “That’s not what your body’s saying.”
An exasperated gasp escaped her lips. “My body is stupid. This is my brain talking.”
His hand fell away. “I can always make the lights go out again.”
“Do that and all you’ll be seeing is stars.” She peeled his hands away and wriggled out of the chair. “And you’ll probably be scratched to death, because I’m going to sleep with the cat. She’ll think you’re a predator, and her teeth are sharp. Good night.”
She heard him chuckle as she made her way upstairs and a small voice in her mind told her this was not the end of the matter.
Not by a long way.
Chapter Seven
“Can we forget about last night?” She glanced at him over her shoulder, a brief flash of emeralds zoning in on the towel around his hips and then up to his bare chest. Then she turned to the view outside the kitchen’s french doors. “It wasn’t a good idea.”
Matt yawned as he flicked on the coffee machine and rubbed his eyes. “Sleeping with the cat, you mean? Did Kitty swipe you in the night?” She was withdrawing from him, emotionally as well as physically. He was going to reel her back to where they were the night before, right ba
ck to the point where their lips had touched again for the first time since Sanibel. His plan to wait for her to come on to him had been shelved, as had his no business mixed with pleasure rule. He was the boss and he’d break all the rules if he wanted to. Because he wanted Piper Reilly.
“You know exactly what I mean. The inappropriate intimacy.”
“Inappropriate intimacy?” He laughed and pulled a face. “We’re not in high school. That kiss in the dark was all about sex and you know it. Sex makes the world go round, sex helps sell all kinds of things, and without sex the planet would die.”
She jerked sideways as he came up behind her and stole a playful kiss on the back of her neck. Her tone was brittle. “You make it all sound so…so necessary. Does whatever ants and bees do count as sex?”
“Technically, it must.” He ignored her frown and ran a fingertip lazily down her cheek. “So tell me, what did I do so wrong in Florida?”
Her head swiveled around, and she looked taken aback. “Oh, nothing. Really nothing at all. You were great, amazing.” She coughed. “And don’t you think you should put some clothes on?”
“Later.” He leaned against the door so she had to look him in the eye. “But you ran out on me. No note, no phone number, nothing.”
“Sorry.”
He was at risk of turning things even frostier, but his ego was still bruised, and the way she had melted the previous night, however briefly, told him she was attracted to him. “It wasn’t very nice.”
“Double plus sorry.” She sighed and stepped away from him and the french doors. “The thing is, I wasn’t looking for a relationship, but the opposite. I’m not proud of the way I treated you, but you did say you were a no-strings drifter kind of guy, so it goes both ways. I don’t think I mislead you in any way at all.”
“Forget the word relationship if it helps. I’m not looking for ties and promises, either. I just wanted to spend some more time with you. You blew my mind, and I wanted more. I wanted to get to know you better, share more good times. I still do.”
Her gaze dropped to her feet. “Matt, it happened in an exceptional place at a particular time and we’re unlikely to ever be able to recapture the magic of that day and night. Reality means morning breath and bed head hair and being grouchy before work.”
Blackmailed by the Billionaire Brewer Page 7
