Endangered Hearts [Après-Ski 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic)

by Zara Chase

  “Stop by the dungeon later,” Leo suggested. “There’s always a few subs hanging out, waiting for action.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  “Tell us more about this new volunteer then,” Jack said. “She’s obviously gotten to you.”

  “Don’t know much about her yet, but she’ll be here later so you can judge for yourselves. All I do know is that she’s English, dropped out of school at age fifteen, and has been working all over the world since then.”

  “Doing what?” Leo asked.

  “Dunno. She implies she has no intelligence, but I’d bet a lot of money her IQ is the highest out of everyone’s on the project, including mine.”

  Leo blinked at him. “That’s a pretty bold statement. What makes you so sure?”

  “Well, all the kids on the program are bright, but she asks real incisive questions. She also gets stuff without needing to be told twice, but knows nothing about conservation.”

  “Ever heard of this newfangled invention called the Internet, bud?” Jack asked. “Anyone with an enquiring mind can find out anything they need to know at the touch of a button. Don’t need a fancy education to make it happen, either. Even you could get the hang of it.”

  “You crack me up, you know that?”

  Jack bowed. “I aim to please.”

  The first of the night’s customers poured through the door, Rick’s volunteers leading the way, and his conversation with his buddies came to an end. Cassie headed straight for them with a determined expression. Jack treated her to one of his full-on smiles that had never been known to fail, brought her a beer, and Rick didn’t even get to speak to her. Grateful, he looked around for Sabine, but she hadn’t arrived. Damn it, what was keeping her?

  It was half an hour before she put in an appearance.

  “That her?” Leo asked when she walked through the door.

  “How did you know?”

  Leo chuckled. “Lucky guess. Well, that and the fact that you’ve been watching the door like one of your damned hawks all evening, until she came in.”

  “Yeah, well, it’s okay for you. You still have two lovely little subs eager to have their butts whipped.”

  “Ah, so that’s the way the wind blows.”

  “Nah. Anyway, she’s not into me.” Leo elevated both brows. “Yeah, hard to figure, ain’t it,” Rick said, grinning.

  “I do see what’s got your tighty-whities in a wad,” Leo replied, watching Sabine make her way gracefully through the throng, stopping occasionally to speak to one of the other volunteers. Rick watched her too, noticing she never got close enough to anyone to risk being touched. “There’s something about her. Wouldn’t mind see that cute rear not covered in denim.”

  “You and me both, brother.” Rick sighed. “Still, wish I knew why I don’t trust her.”

  “Jack’s right. You need to get laid.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “Call her over.”

  Rick glowered at his buddy. “So you can make a move on her?”

  Leo glowered right back. “You know me better than that.”

  “Sorry, but I will get her to join us. If she doesn’t want me inside her panties, let’s see if she falls for your reptilian charm. If she doesn’t, then I really will get suspicious.” Rick raised a hand. “Hey, Sabine, over here.”

  She looked up, as though only just noticing them, smiled, and walked across to join them.

  “Hey, Ruben.”

  Sabine bent to tickle the dog’s ears. Rick watched the exchange. Ruben was fussy about who touched him, but he seemed to have taken a liking to Sabine and graciously permitted the gesture. He even flapped his tail against the floor a couple of times and licked her hand. Sabine smiled and didn’t seem to mind, which told Rick she had to be a true animal lover. Those that weren’t would have made some comment about hygiene and used it as an excuse to wipe their hand clean. Sabine didn’t, but then if she had been so inclined Ruben would have known and not taken a shine to her.

  She had passed Ruben’s high benchmark, which was definitely one strike in her favor.

  “Sabine,” Rick said. “I want you to meet Leo Hadleigh, the owner of this fine establishment. Leo, this is Sabine Carter, who has come to the rescue and filled the vacant spot on my program.”

  Leo offered his hand. Sabine looked at it, hesitated, then shook but quickly extracted her own hand from his grasp. “Nice to meet you, Sabine,” he said.

  “Likewise. This seems like a cool place to hang out. Great view,” she added, nodding toward the rear windows, through which the mountains, backed by the lowering sun, made a beautiful backdrop.

  “Thanks. We like it.”

  “Can I get you a drink?” Rick asked.

  “Yes please. A white wine would be good.”

  “Coming right up.” Rick signaled the bartender and ordered Sabine’s drink. “Here we go,” he said, handing the glass to her.

  She thanked him and took a small sip, immediately placing the glass on the bar, as though she didn’t drink much, or was being careful. Rick intended to find out which.

  “So, Sabine,” Leo said. “What brings you to our sleepy little country?”

  She picked up her glass again, took another small sip and shrugged. “Curiosity. It’s a place I’ve heard a lot about but never seen.”

  “You travel a lot?”

  “Yeah, I’ve worked all over the world, but this is a holiday, or as you guys would say, vacation time. I haven’t had a break in a while, I don’t like beaches, so I thought I’d get away to the mountains.”

  She’s lying, Rick thought, quelling his disappointment. He so wanted her to be what she appeared to be. But her eyes had darted off to the left, a sure sign she was being economical with the truth. Besides, her explanation was way more complicated than it needed to be—another dead giveaway. People had a tendency to say too much when they were being inventive.

  “And now Rick’s cracking the whip over you.” Rick choked on his beer. “You okay, buddy?” Leo asked innocently. “Did I say something?”

  “It’s time to eat,” Rick said, fixing Leo with a warning glare. Sabine might not be the real deal, but he still wanted her like he hadn’t wanted any woman in a long time. There, he’d admitted it, albeit inside his head. And now he had a legitimate reason to go after her. He needed to find out why she was really here, and that would require getting up close and personal.

  “Enjoy,” Leo said, waving them away.

  Rick and Ruben led Sabine to the long table at the end of the bar that had been set up for Rick’s party. The others had already taken their seats, including Jack, Rick was amused to see, even though he wasn’t strictly one of them. He was seated beside Cassie and engaging her entire attention. Rick owed him one.

  A part of Rick was pleased that Sabine hadn’t once tried to flirt with Leo. All women flirted with Leo and even Rick, a red-blooded, heterosexual male, could understand the attraction. Leo sported film-star good looks, was hard muscle, tough-guy fit, and possessed acres of charm. Yet Sabine appeared immune. Hmm, interesting. Now he was really worried about her motives.

  They took the remaining two seats and helped themselves to salad. Tyrell’s food, as always, was good and plentiful. The wine flowed freely and Rick ensured Sabine’s glass remained topped up. Ruben curled up on the floor between them, knowing better than to beg for food, but looking hopefully every so often in case anything happened to fall on the floor.

  “I would suggest getting an early night,” Rick said when everyone had finished.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Jack said, grinning at Cassie.

  “I hate to be a party pooper,” Rick added, “but it’s harder work than you might think, walking up and down that mountain, and staying alert.”

  Most people seemed to take the hint, and the party broke up.

  “You’re not on shift until tomorrow afternoon,” Rick said to Sabine. “Stay and have another drink with me.”

  She looked at him for a long time, as t
hough conducting some sort of battle with herself. Then a lovely smile lit up her face and she reached down to pick up her purse.

  “Why not?”

  Chapter Three

  Sabine’s opportunity to get closer to Rick arose quicker than she had anticipated. That was just as well, given the pressure she was getting from her client. Cassie was draped all over the helicopter pilot and seemed to have given up on Rick. Everyone else had had a few more beers than was good for them and were staggering back to their accommodations. Sabine herself had drunk more than she usually did, for which she blamed Rick. He had kept her glass topped up throughout the meal. She enjoyed listening to him talking about his various projects, which made her forget to watch her intake of wine. Such genuine zeal on Rick’s part, such dedication, didn’t jibe with the man she knew him to be, and that made her wonder.

  He had sat beside her, without actually touching her even once—which was a rarity. It never failed to amaze her how virtual strangers felt the need for physical contact with the person they were talking to—fingers touching, a pat on the shoulder, a guiding hand on an elbow—that was the norm for most people and was considered harmless. Sabine wasn’t most people. As though sensing his touch would be unwelcome—which it definitely would be—he respected her space. But she was acutely conscious of his muscled thigh hovering mere inches from hers. She was sure she could actually feel heat radiating from it. Several times they both reached down to touch Ruben at the same time, fingers almost but not quite clashing.

  And now she had agreed to have a drink with him. Alone. It no longer seemed like such a good idea.

  “Let’s sit outside.”

  Rick got himself a beer and another glass of wine for her and led her onto the terrace, overlooking the mountains. The sun had almost disappeared but the spot was sheltered and she gratefully breathed in the crisp mountain air, filling her lungs with its sweet purity. Even the smokers, sitting two tables along, hadn’t managed to pollute its clarity with their carcinogenic fumes.

  “This is a lovely place to sit. Very tranquil.”

  Rick laughed, a deep throaty sound, which she reacted to in parts of her anatomy that had no place getting their hopes up. “I’ve heard of Hadleigh’s described as many things, but tranquil seldom qualifies. You should see it in the winter. The place is jammed. The doors seldom close before four in the morning.”

  “I can’t imagine you involved in all that stuff. I don’t see saving the human race from extinction being high on your list of priorities.”

  “They’re doing a pretty damned good job of procreating without any help from me. That’s why the world’s resources are running out. There are too many of us for this little planet to sustain us all.” He grinned. “Sorry. Overpopulation is a hobby horse of mine.”

  She returned his smile, unable to remain detached when he became so passionate about his causes. “What do you do here in the winter?”

  Rick reached down and touched Ruben’s head. “I run the husky sleds. Punters love ’em.”

  “Ah, that I can imagine. Is that how you and Ruben became an item?”

  “Kinda. The pack is kept with a guy on the other side of the valley. I’ll show them to you sometime, if you’re interested. Manuel has forgotten more about dogs than I’ll ever know, but has no patience with the tourists.”

  Sabine flexed a brow. “And you do? I get the impression you don’t suffer fools gladly.”

  “Part of the profits from the dog sleds goes into my environmental programs. I remind myself of that when they piss me off, which is regularly. Besides, Leo needs the dogs to help bring tourists to this valley. There is fierce competition between the families that run the country and Leo can only operate his business here if he keeps his lot sweet. After all he’s done for us, it’s good to be able to return the favor in some small way.”

  She smiled and nodded. “Ah, now I start to get it.”

  “Reuben was born just after I got here. He had a slightly twisted hind paw, and so wouldn’t have been strong enough to pull the sleds. The dogs have to be evenly matched in terms of power and gait, you see.”

  “Oh, poor baby.” She smoothed his head, and received another lick for her trouble. “I don’t see him limping much now.”

  “No, the local vet got it straightened out, but by then I’d grown used to having the mutt around.” Rick shrugged. “So here he is. I guess I’m stuck with him.”

  Damn him, he was so not making this easy for her. She wasn’t supposed to like him, but his compassion and easygoing charm made it impossible not to. She didn’t even want to think about the surging feeling she got deep in her gut each time he focused those magnetic eyes of his on her profile, as though he could see right inside her head and read her thoughts. As though he knew exactly why she was here and was toying with her. This wasn’t right. She ought to ring her client back tonight, confirm she’d found him, and get herself out of Dodge.

  She had never had a problem doing that before, and had no business getting emotionally involved with a target. Emotion was a luxury she never allowed herself, right along with relationships and being touched.

  “How long do you plan to stick around?” he asked, lifting one booted foot over his opposite thigh, giving her a close-up view of the worn denim around his zipper, and the rather impressive bulge that had made it that way. She looked away, moisture soaking her panties as desire overcame reason.

  She hoisted a brow. “Tired of me already?”

  “Not at all. It’s just that the volunteers tend to drop like flies after a while, and I need to know where I stand.”

  “So you give them all this third-degree?”

  “No, honey, you’re getting the deluxe treatment.”

  Don’t hit me with endearments!

  “Good to know.”

  She kept her tone deliberately offhand as she took a sip of wine. Hell, she was getting tipsy. That was so not a good idea. She needed to keep her wits about her. This was work and if she got careless, said the wrong thing, Rick wouldn’t miss the slip.

  “Okay,” he said easily. “Tell me where you’ve been working.”

  “Oh, all over the place. Australia, Thailand, most of Europe.” She shrugged. “I’m a gipsy. I go where the fancy takes me and pick up enough work to feed myself.”

  “What kind of work?”

  “Cleaning rooms, waiting tables, bar-tending, flogging time shares, handing out flyers.” Well, that was the truth, before she started doing what she did now. “You name it. I’ve most likely done it.”

  “You’re worth more than that.”

  “I dropped out of school and have no steady employment history. No one wants to pay an unreliable fly-by-night out more than minimum wage.”

  He fixed her with another of his penetrating gazes. “You’re no dropout.”

  She jerked upright. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m betting your IQ is off the scale.”

  How can he possibly know that? “I have common sense, I guess, but that doesn’t cut the mustard, as we say back home, when it comes to employers.”

  “Then your prospective employers are either stupid,” he replied softly, “or exploiters.”

  She didn’t want his praise, but still couldn’t help a tiny smile slipping past her guard. Color flooded her cheeks. Damn it, she never blushed! Blushing was for helpless females who wanted to make an impression. But it had been a long time since anyone had appreciated her true worth, and it made her feel too good to hold her reaction in.

  “Thank you. I think.”

  “My pleasure.”

  “Okay, now it’s your turn. You seem too good for this place, if you don’t mind my saying so. What made you come here?”

  He leaned back in his chair, raised his beer bottle to his lips and took his time swigging from it, as though mulling over a question he must have been asked dozens of times before. “Not much to tell. I got bored with corporate politics, seeing all the money that was supposed to go to conservation b
eing hived off into places that ethically it never should have gone to, and decided to quit. I knew Leo from back in the States, he invited me for a visit, and I never got around to leaving.” He rubbed his chin. “At the moment, I’m set here.”

  “You like it in Nevella?”

  “It’s like everywhere. There’s good and bad. Ain’t no such place as utopia. Still, I mostly get left alone to do my conservation thing in the summer. Funding’s always an issue, but we do what we can.” He stretched his arms above his head, causing his T-shirt to rise up, giving Sabine an up-close view of a very toned mid-drift. Oh boy! She moistened lips that suddenly felt very dry, and took another hasty sip of wine. An amused smile played around Rick’s lips as he lowered his arms again and fiddled with a beer mat. “Must get around to leaving one day, I guess.”

  Sooner than you think, my friend. Your days here are numbered. But Sabine felt none of the usual satisfaction she got from a job well done. She reminded herself he wasn’t what he made himself out to be. He was playing her, and she absolutely mustn’t fall for his line.

  “What about Leo and the others who live here? What’re their stories?”

  “Ah, that’s not for me to say, mainly because I don’t know, truth to tell. There are six of us, and we live, work, and play together. But we also respect one another’s privacy, otherwise it would never work.”

  She elevated her brows. There was something about the emphasis he put on the word play that made her curious. “What games do you like to play?” she asked.

  “Grown up games,” he replied with a salacious grin.

  Sabine tried to ignore the tremor of excitement that ricocheted through her when he pinned her to the spot with an intense look that implied he would like to play with her. Ain’t gonna happen.

  “We’re all Leo’s buddies, and help him out with his business here in different ways.”

  “You all live on the premises?”

  “Yeah. It was just the six of us until recently. Then Ward, one of the ski instructors, and Ross, who runs the ski school, both got lucky and hooked up permanently with two very special ladies. They both live here now as well.”