Winter Heat, Part 3

by Larissa Emerald

  Chalet Romance Series

  Winter Heat

  Part 3

  Larissa Emerald

  WINTER HEAT, Part 3

  Chalet Romance Series

  By: Larissa Emerald

  Copyright © 2014 Castle Oak Publishing LLC

  Smashwords Edition

  ISBN-10: 1942139020

  ISBN-13: 978-1-942139-02-7

  larissaemerald@gmail.com

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  This novella is a work of fiction. And references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  All right to reproduction of this work are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the copyright owner. Thank you for respecting the copyright. For permission of information on foreign, audio, or other rights, contact the author, larissaemerald@gmail.com

  Author’s Note

  This book is part of a series released in 3 novella installments. Readers should progress through the stories in order. They will read much the same way as episodes in a television show.

  ePublication release dates:

  Winter Heat, Part 1 ~ September 1, 2014

  Winter Heat, Part 2 ~ September 15, 2014

  Winter Heat, Part 3 ~ September 29, 2014

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The sound of a long, high-pitched shriek jerked Jared from his melancholy mood. He straightened with his Seven & Seven perched in his hand. Ice clinked against the tumbler as he set the drink on Chalet Romance’s L-shaped bar. “Did you hear that?”

  The young bartender shrugged. “Probably just an animal.”

  “It sounded like a scream.”

  Dangerous encounters with a bear or mountain lion were not unheard of in the Breckenridge area, and the terrain was tricky enough that someone could easily take a nasty tumble in the dark. He thought of the fall Tiffani had recently endured and the notes Kelsey had received. A spill of worry trickle over him.

  Standing, he headed outside and looked around. Given that he’d told himself he needed to head home and put Kelsey Moore behind him, his first impulse shouldn’t have been to gaze up the walk to her chalet. But since he couldn’t put her out of his mind for more than mere seconds, that’s exactly what he did.

  The moment he caught sight of her front entrance, he realized something was drastically wrong. He broke into a run. The closer he got, the more horrific the picture and the faster his heart raced. Framed in her open doorway, Kelsey stood with her elbows tucked at her sides and palms thrust outward—as if touching the thing above her door would contaminate her.

  Jared stared in shock at the top of her door-frame. A dead animal.

  Holy shit. Who would do such a thing?

  As he grew nearer, he swallowed hard. It was a fox, dangling by one twine-wrapped leg, hooked on a nail that was probably meant for Christmas decorations. The stench of decaying flesh made him wince and hold his breath. On closer inspection, its hip was scraped raw and missed a patch of fur, as did a few other spots. Road-kill, he thought. Except its throat had been slit and blood dribbled onto the ground. He could only hope that a sharp knife had been used to put the thing out of its misery.

  Jared’s gaze shot to Kelsey. “Are you all right?” he asked.

  She pressed the pads of her trembling fingers over her lips and gave a sharp nod, then confirmed it, adding, “Yes. Yes. I thought it might have been you coming back when I heard a knock. But then I opened the door and found this.” She fluttered her hand at the gore in the doorway.

  He slid past the offensive mess and into the entry, urging her gently back as he did. “Go inside. We’ll call the sheriff.”

  He didn’t have to ask her twice. As he shut the door, a whoosh of relief escaped her lips. Her features relaxed as she murmured, “Thank you.”

  In a few steps, he closed the distance between them and drew her into his arms. If he lived to be one hundred, he would be forever haunted by the miserable look in her eyes, all because some lunatic was playing games.

  Perhaps deadly games.

  She melted into him, her breasts pressing against his chest as she turned her head and rested her cheek in the hollow of his shoulder. She felt so damn good. He found himself wishing these were different circumstances. For a long moment, they lingered in that consoling embrace.

  He pressed his lips to her forehead at her hairline. Wisps of her curls tickled his nose, and he smoothed back her hair. He’d only done it a few times, but God, he could run his hands through that silkiness forever.

  “I want you to sit down,” he murmured, then escorted her to the sofa. He was struck by the way her things surrounded her in this room. So much stuff compared to his stark yet functional chalet. Between the windows there was a magazine ladder draped with art publications and a work table that stretched to the corner. She also was into photography, he realized, and a large photo of a bear hung above the tabletop, watching. “I need to call the authorities. The incident should be documented properly.”

  “I can do that,” she said. “This is my problem.”

  He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket. “I’m dialing 911.”

  “Dale’s number is—.” She rattled off the digits by heart.

  Jared ground his teeth, flexing his jaw. The woman recalled Sheriff Dale Cameron’s number as if she’d dialed it yesterday. He gripped the phone harder.

  As he punched in the number, he went back outside, then explained the situation in hushed tones. He didn’t want Kelsey to be upset further by the graphic description. The sheriff indicated he’d be right there.

  Back inside, he dropped onto the sofa next to Kelsey and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her against his side. “Cameron will be here soon,” he said, yearning for better circumstances to have her this close.

  Her voice seemed small when she spoke. “I suppose it’s safe to say whoever did this and whoever wrote the notes is probably the same person.”

  “That would be my guess.” A shiver rippled through her body beneath his palm. “It’s okay. If he truly meant to hurt you, he would have. You’re safe.” He rubbed her shoulder. “This is just another scare tactic.”

  “Well, it worked. I’m scared.”

  “Who wouldn’t be?” he said. He was pretty terrified himself—for her. But he knew better than to say it aloud. What if this sicko hit a point where he really did something dreadful that would actually hurt her? A protective surge raged through him. He clenched his fist hard.

  She crossed one arm in front of her, grasping her elbow. “I don’t know what he wants. Revenge? Is it random or personal?”

  He’d come to recognize that Kelsey wore her emotions on her sleeve. She seemed to do everything full-out. It was a quality he liked about her. But it also meant that she was probably going to remain shaken up about this for quite some time. “It will be okay. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  He thought he heard the scrape of footsteps on the walk. When he pulled away from her and stood, she gave a cute whimper at his absence, so he grabbed a blanket from the nearby basket and tossed it to her.

  “Thanks,” she said. “But it’s not quite the same.”

  He smiled at her over his shoulder as he headed for the entry. “Sorry.” And he was. Oh, he definitely was.

  He opened the door to find Sheriff Cameron on the other side.

  “It’s as bad as you descri
bed,” he said. “I can’t imagine why someone would do this. Poor Kelsey.”

  Jared did a double take, the man’s voice oozed with concern. Here he’d expected the sheriff to be full of questions but instead the guy was all about how it affected Kelsey. Which was admirable, but something inside Jared whispered that was his job.

  “Seems to me like someone is increasing their efforts to frighten her.” Jared ducked past the gore, joining him outside.

  “I think you’re right.” The sheriff scribbled on his notepad.

  “What should she do? How can she protect herself against some madman?”

  Cameron paused with a thoughtful look. “You don’t happen to carry a gun, do you?”

  “Not with me.”

  The sheriff started snapping pictures and talked as he worked. “Kelsey has one. She took a shooting class we offered.”

  “Really?” Jared said slowly. “I wouldn’t have taken her for the protect-yourself type.”

  “She’s isn’t. Her dad got it for her.”

  Jared gave a curt nod, not at all pleased with how familiar Cameron was with Kelsey. Even though they were longtime friends, he wasn’t happy about it. Not at all.

  Cameron strode up and down the snowy walkway, fanning the beam of his flashlight in widening circles. Finally, he stopped. “Come here, will you? I could use a hand.”

  Jared didn’t like taking orders from him but complied.

  “Hold the flashlight for me. There are some footprints, and I want to get a picture.”

  The sheriff pointed out the exact location he wanted the beam. “There.” He snapped several shots.

  Jared supposed this was a prime example of back-country law enforcement, no taking casts or anything like that. But then again, wouldn’t the snow melt and change the nature of the footprint anyway. He wasn’t sure. Cameron took more pictures and bagged the animal.

  “You know, the more I think about this,” Jared told him, “the more I’m wondering if there’s a connection here between the threats against Kelsey and my sister’s accident. The other incidents have, for the most part, been near misses. What if this person is just trying to cause trouble, and doesn’t actually want to harm anyone. At this point, we can’t say whether Tiffani simply lost control or if something more happened.”

  “There’s no way to tell that. And Kelsey doesn’t have a clue how evil criminals can be,” the sheriff said. “I need to take her statement.”

  “She’s pretty shaken up, though.”

  “Understandable.”

  They went inside, and Kelsey immediately rose from her seat, hugging her arms around her middle to hold the blanket in place.

  Cameron glanced from her to Jared and back, his mouth tightened, his lip drawing to the side. “I just need your account of what happened, and then I’ll be out of your hair tonight. I’ll return in the morning and take another look around in the daylight.”

  Jared nodded. “Okay.”

  “Thank you,” Kelsey said.

  “You’re welcome,” Cameron said as a pensive look ran over his face. He drew his note pad in front of him. “Tell me what happened.”

  * * *

  Kelsey repeated what she’d told Jared.

  “So you never saw or heard anyone?” Cameron asked.

  “Only the noise outside the front doot,” she said.

  With a nod, the sheriff snapped his notebook shut, and his blue eyes looked at Kelsey. “I just don’t know what to make of this.” He shook his head. “You need to be on your guard, be watchful. Pay attention to any strange behavior. Next time the perpetrator may be in your face. Who knows? I’ll see you in the morning. And then I think I should maybe keep a closer eye on you.”

  “That would be comforting,” she said.

  Jared didn’t think so. He draped an arm possessively around her shoulders as together they saw Cameron out.

  After closing the door on the sheriff—and the memory of the horrible incident—and to keep the world at large out—he drew her into his arms. He held her close, the length of her body pressed against his, at the knees, at the hips, her breasts nudging his chest. Even their breath mingled as he looked into her eyes. “Say the word and I’ll hang around for a while. Just to make sure you’re safe.”

  She sunk her teeth into her lower lip in that sexy way she had. “Stay. Please.”

  He paused, knowing the temptation she was. Despite her distress, he couldn’t help still having the hots for her and, feeling her gravitational pull. “Okay,” he said finally. “We could even make it another movie night.” He chuckled, a rumble in his chest.

  Her dimple flashed. “Don’t push it.”

  He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. She was too sensual for her own good. And his, for that matter. So he slid his hand into hers and led her to the living room, intending to watch TV, when he noticed the easel.

  “Hey, you’ve been painting.” He tugged her off to the side of the room where her art things were. When he spotted the canvas, his chest grew heavy with an extra heartbeat. “The woman in the water.”

  A blush suffused her cheeks. “Yes. I didn’t realize what I was painting until I stopped. I was working in an angry frenzy,” she admitted, avoiding eye contact.

  “Angry? Why?”

  She glanced up at him, then stared at a spot on his chest, lowering her lashes. “I was disappointed things didn’t go as I’d hoped, you know, and then you left.” Her voice trailed off.

  Jared felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but actually hadn’t thought her feelings were that involved. But he had experienced the same sense of frustration.

  “I know what you mean.” He turned her around so her back leaned against his chest and wrapped his arms about her waist. He touched his lips to her ear, saying softly, “I didn’t really want to leave, believe me. But it’s complicated, isn’t it?”

  Her head nodded against his lips. “I think this painting is even better than the first,” he said, his voice husky.

  He felt her inhale and exhale as she rested against him. “Then, it’s yours, if you want it.”

  “Oh, I want it. What’s your price?”

  She turned her head to glance over her shoulder. “It’s not for sale. But I’ll give it to you.”

  “That’s too generous.”

  “I don’t think so. It’s not even finished.” She looked back at the painting, but he could see a hint of a smile she tried to hide.

  “Then we’ll discuss the price when it’s done.” It didn’t matter to him that she painted it in anger. The idea that her subconscious tuned into the very piece he’d loved, spoke of how she really felt, didn’t it?

  He reflected on the complexity of her personality. Her exquisite paintings and photography blurred with the memory of their sexy snowmobile encounter. He spun her around to face him, and, when their eyes met, he knew he was lost and leaned toward her lips.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Kelsey had desires, and she was struggling to come up with a reason not to act on them. Placing her palm on his cheek, she tilted her head from one side to the other and drew her lower lip between her teeth. She wanted Jared to sweep her into his arms and take her upstairs to bed, and make her forget about the horrible thing that just happened.

  Sure, there was the issue of his sister, but it seemed they were getting past that. And he would be returning home tomorrow. Although, Denver wasn’t that far away, the little voice in her head advised. A relationship didn’t seem quite as impossible as it had at the start. So why shouldn’t she seize this opportunity while it was presented?

  Jared’s eyes grew dark and smoldering. If she accepted his kiss, then she knew there would be no turning back. If she let the tension spark between them, they would both ignite.

  And slowly, deliberately, she gazed into his eyes as little by little she moved her lips closer to his until they met in a soft crush that consumed them both.

  He angled his head and thrust his tongue deeply into her mouth. A
t the same time, he slid his hands possessively down her back, cupped her bottom, and pulled her close, grinding his hips into hers.

  She groaned into his mouth, overcome with the urge to shove him to the floor and stretch out on top of him. To take what he offered and the consequences be damned. She’d never had an impulse so strong in her life. It was a compulsion that had everything to do with the hectic thump of her heart as well as the throb between her thighs. A flush of excitement whirled in her he chest and fanned up her neck and out her limbs to her fingertips.

  Her emotions felt exposed and vulnerable from the trauma of this evening. But she needed Jared in this moment, needed his physical presence, his emotional support, his affection.

  People don’t stay when things get tough. Could she take the chance that he would be different? She wasn’t sure, but what in life was a certainty?

  So she gave herself up to the feelings coursing through her and matched his hip grind with one of her own. She was like a rubber band finding its breaking point and snapping. She needed for him to make love to her—that was essential. Now was her chance.

  She thought of their working together to discover what happened with his sister, of their wild snowmobile fling, of his kindness at going with her to the sheriff, and of his concern about tonight’s calamity. There was a delectable bond growing between them. A bond that might turn into something more—perhaps even love.

  She opened her mouth a little wider, inviting him to deepen the kiss. His tongue tangled with hers, sending another feverous rush between her thighs.

  When he pulled back for a breather, she took advantage and went for the buttons of his shirt. “If we start this, there will be no stopping,” he said huskily.

  She looked into his eyes and wanted to be back in that kiss. “I want this.” I want you.