Читать книгу Rule Breaker - Joanne Rock - Страница 12

The last time she checked, Weston Rivera didn’t even like her, April reminded herself as she tucked deeper into her sleeping bag in the roomy, two-person tent he’d put up as fast as a magic trick. So it was foolish of her to think she felt any kind of spark between them.

Especially in the frigid cold, on a windy mountaintop, after he’d risked his own neck to save hers. If anything, he should be irritated with her. Surely she was imagining the hot, simmering sensation as he stripped off his snow-covered outer layer. She watched him by the light of the lantern he’d set on the ground. Even in the harsh, bluish glare, Weston was ruggedly handsome.

His dark blond hair was long, past the collar of the gray flannel shirt under his parka. A light brown scruff of whiskers covered his jaw, calling to her fingertips to test the texture. With powerful shoulders and hazel eyes a woman could lose herself in, Weston possessed far too much masculine appeal.

Maybe she was the one feeling all the heat. She’d probably imagined the answering hunger in his eyes, her emotions on edge after having to be rescued from her own poor decision making tonight. Which reminded her: she owed him an apology.

The words were on the tip of her tongue when his thigh brushed hers as he slid off his work pants with the bright yellow reflective stripes on the legs. He wore pants underneath them, of course, but there was something terribly intimate about him undressing an inch away from her. Even in a two-person tent, the space was narrow—just big enough for their sleeping bags, side by side. The contact made her thigh tingle.

“Won’t you be cold?” she blurted, mostly to distract herself from the response she was having to him. She had kept most of her layers on, while her snow goggles, boots and outer waterproof mittens dried in the vestibule area. She even kept on a soft pair of inner gloves and the knit hat she’d worn under her ski hood.

She’d kept the inner fleece from her parka and the base layer of her ski pants too, since she’d shivered all the way over from the first campsite. She wasn’t sure if it was a true physical chill or just a cold feeling she had in her belly from discovering she’d pitched a tent in an avalanche zone.

“No.” Weston leaned back in the sleeping bag, so that he was almost lying down beside her. But first, he draped his discarded jacket on top of the sleeping bag, and then arranged his pants so they rested above his legs. “I use them like extra blankets. They’re uncomfortable if I keep them on, since I carry a lot of gear in the pockets.”

With the layers configured the way he wanted, he lifted the lantern and held it above her as he propped himself on one elbow. His breath huffed in the light as he spoke again. “Can I shut this down for the night?”

Her throat dried up at the sight of him so close. A rush of gratitude filled her that he’d done so much to help her and keep her safe tonight. But that appreciation was bound up with so many more complicated feelings. Conflict. Attraction. Regret that she’d put him in this position at all.

“Yes,” she rasped on a husky breath. “I’m all set.”

The memory of what he looked like in that moment—big strong arms, powerful chest and tender concern in his eyes—would be burned on the backs of her eyeballs for long after the tent went dark.

Now, her ears became more acutely attuned to the sounds around her as he shifted in his sleeping bag. A knee grazed hers, the warmth of his body inspiring a heat that didn’t have anything to do with actual core temperature. Outside the wind whistled and howled, but the tent fabric seemed impervious, stretched as tight as her nerves as Weston lay in the inky blackness with her.

“Thank you for coming out here tonight.” The words were easier to say in the dark, when she couldn’t gauge his expression or see his body language. She’d been confused by both in the past, unable to really read him. “I’m sorry to have ruined your evening with an unplanned trip up the mountain, but I’m grateful.”

On his side of the tent, he stilled. Maybe he’d just settled into a comfortable position.

“I got into mountain-rescue work to help people in trouble. But ideally, I’d rather prevent an accident before it happens.” When he spoke, his words were so close to her ear, she realized he must be on his side.

Facing her.

She swallowed. Tried to focus on his words and not his nearness as she burrowed deeper into her sleeping bag while attempting not to move too much. She lay on her back, wary of getting any closer to him when she felt vulnerable and, yes, a little scared of what the weather might bring tomorrow. The snowstorm had kicked up into a major event so quickly that it had seriously rattled her confidence on the mountain.

“Yet climbing up here, in the dark, to make sure I got out of there safely? That was above and beyond. I didn’t mean for you to take a risk in these deteriorating weather conditions.”

Guilt bubbled up in her. She should have tracked the weather more carefully, but the storm had arrived much faster than the forecasters had predicted.

The deep timbre of his voice rumbled through her. “It was better for me to make the climb to help you in person. Not knowing you that well, I didn’t want to send you a text that could potentially scare you and have you scrambling around on dangerous terrain.”

He’d said as much before, but it didn’t make her feel any better about him risking his neck for her sake. What if he’d been injured in the attempt to help her? A whirl of what-ifs spun through her brain. She knew how seemingly innocuous events could lead to major consequences. She remembered all too well the chain of events that had brought her mother to her current state.

“I do have GPS equipment. I could have followed directions,” she insisted, not wanting to be the cause of anyone else’s trouble. She preferred to be self-sufficient after the years of relying on her mother for care that she’d been incapable of giving. Looking for strength within was her go-to coping mechanism. Besides, the part that really bugged her was that she’d messaged him tonight to find common ground with him for the sake of her investigation.

She’d been fishing for answers, and he’d been completely selfless. The disparity didn’t sit well with her.

“With the storm coming in, I knew conditions could change from moment to moment, and that really impacts which way out of the ravine is safest. It was easier to check out the snow and the wind for myself than to give you instructions from my living room.” He said it matter-of-factly, like it was an obvious solution.

She bit her tongue for a moment to keep herself from arguing with him since, bottom line, she was grateful. She’d had no idea she’d put herself in such danger tonight.

“Thank you,” she said, her gaze wandering over the shape of his shoulder in the darkness as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. “I feel even worse about you being here, though, considering the way we last parted. I know I’m not high on your list of favorite people.”

In the quiet moment that followed, she heard nothing but the wind and the soft plunk of fat snowflakes on the tent roof.

“Your job puts us at odds,” he said finally, his words sounding carefully chosen. “And, until tonight, I haven’t gotten the chance to know you outside your investigation.”

She couldn’t help a wry laugh, caused by the guilt and vulnerability of her position. “I don’t think tonight is going to raise your opinion of me now that I’m the hapless ranch guest you had to rescue in a snowstorm.”

“We’re going to be fine, you know,” he reassured her, his tone gentle.

Through her sleeping bag, she felt his hand cover her forearm, giving it a comforting squeeze.

Everything inside her went perfectly still. Unbidden, memories of seeing him in the stables with the horses came back to her. She’d observed him unaware before she cornered him in his office to question him. He’d been a wizard with a skittish gelding, calming the animal’s restless movements with his steady presence until the horse rested its muzzle on his shoulder and let out a soft sigh.

She’d been mesmerized by Weston then. Just like now.

“You’re not worried about how much snow we’re getting?” The climb down could be difficult.

“No. And you shouldn’t be, either.” His hand didn’t move away from her forearm.

She felt her heartbeat there, as if her blood pulsed harder through her veins in the place where he touched her. So weird. So...intriguing.

A wave of warmth stole over her, sweet and pleasurable. Tempting and oh, so dangerous. She couldn’t afford to let herself be charmed by him. Not when she still had a job to do.

“In that case, I’ll try not to think about the storm.” What she needed was a distraction. A way to take her mind off the snow. Off the sexy and disarming man lying beside her in the dark. “We could talk about the job I have to do, instead. As long as we’re both here.”

Still, he didn’t move his hand away. That surprised her a little, since she guessed the topic would insert some much-needed frosty distance between them again.

“We could,” he said easily, as if he’d really thought it over. “But since you’re sharing my roof tonight, and I climbed all this way to save your lovely hide, I think the information is going to cost you.”

“Is that so?” She turned her head toward him to see if she could discern his expression. Read his mood. But his face was still in shadow, even if she could see the outline of his broad shoulders.

“Definitely.” His voice took on a silky note as he skimmed a touch up her arm to her shoulder.

Her heart rate doubled.

“What are you suggesting?” she asked, with a hint more breathlessness than she would have liked.

“I think a kiss per question would be fair,” he told her evenly.

So much for frosty distance. She felt a wave of heat as surely as if someone switched off the snow and turned on a fireplace, and that was the last thing she needed.

“I don’t think anyone has tried coercing me into kissing since junior high,” she told him drily.

He had the good grace to chuckle. “No coercion intended. Are you sure you can say the same for yourself? Because I won’t feel as good about the rescue attempt if you were only hoping to ask me questions about Alonzo Salazar again.”

Guilt pinched at her conscience again.

“Fair enough.” She turned over in her sleeping bag to face him, realizing she needed to be on her toes with this man. “Although I’m not sure it speaks well of your kissing skill that you leverage it to discourage me from talking about my c-case.”

A shiver rolled through her.

“Are you warm enough?” He slid his coat off his bag and laid it over hers. “This will help.”

“Thank you.” She fidgeted more in an effort to get comfortable and warm.

“And I have total faith in my kissing skills, for what it’s worth. But I took a gamble you were one of those women who won’t mix business with pleasure.” The last word sounded oddly erotic in the dark. He paused a moment, and then added, “Would you like some help with your bag?”

Weston had thought maybe acknowledging the attraction between them would reroute that busy mind of hers, since she’d been worrying about the weather and feeling guilty for getting them snowed in together.

So his intentions for the flirtatious direction of their conversation had been mostly good. But he had been unable to distract her, and now she sounded chilled.

“I’m trying to find the drawstring so I c-can pull the fabric around my face,” she admitted, her shivering more obvious now.

Concerned, he reached for his flashlight.

“Let me,” he insisted, clicking the torch on to the lower setting and pointing it away from them so as not to blind her.

He could see she’d wriggled her sleeping pad off to one side. The material was now bunched between them where it wasn’t going to help her stay warm. His coat had fallen off her too, no doubt because she was struggling with the puffy down to find the drawstring.

Cursing himself for getting distracted by his attraction to her, he shifted back to professional mode. Her safety came first.

“I’m going to work fast, okay?” He didn’t want to surprise her by manhandling her, but he also didn’t want to linger outside his own sleeping bag given that the temperature was probably hovering around fifteen degrees.

She nodded uncertainly, her blue eyes locked on him.

Getting to his knees, he leaned over her to retrieve his coat. Then, he wrapped one arm far enough around her to lift her shoulders. With his other hand, he tugged the corner of the sleeping pad back where it belonged, trying not to notice her soft curves pressed against his chest for one delicious moment. Once he had that smoothed out, he felt along the zipper near her shoulder until he found the drawstring and gave it a tug. The puffy down closed in around her face, leaving just her eyes, nose and highly kissable mouth visible.

Finally, just when the chill was starting to really bite through his clothes, he laid his coat over her and retreated to his own sleeping bag. He burrowed down fast, zipping up the fabric all the way.

“You must be freezing.” Her gaze tracked his movements in a way he welcomed.

That flattering caress of her eyes was the only thing keeping the cold at bay now.

“The temperature has definitely dropped a few degrees,” he admitted. “I’m going to wait a minute before I turn off the light.” He wanted his arms to warm up first.

“You should take your coat back.” She lifted her head a bit as she turned to look at him since her peripheral vision was impeded by the bag. It made her look like a mummy.

“I have a better idea.” He didn’t want her to give up the coat. “If we share it, we’ll both be warmer.”

“Okay.” She nodded her assent.

“Just until the chill goes away,” he assured her, already warmer at the thought of holding her against him.

“Of course.” Her breath huffed out in a cloud between them. “I’m not worried about anything...more happening when we’re on the verge of icing over.”

He suddenly didn’t feel one bit icy, but he didn’t plan on sharing that with her. Sliding one arm free of his sleeping bag, he snaked it under his coat and wound it around her midsection. He pulled her to him, so her back was to his chest, her rump tucked into his lap.

She made a soft squeak, but she pressed into him, her body plastering itself to his through the layers of down between them. For a moment, he simply held her there, his nose pressed into the back of her hood, his arm brushing the underside of her breasts. She felt good.

Not just because she was warm. April Stephens was soft and pliable in his arms, fitting just right. He slid his other arm under her head for a pillow, figuring she’d keep him warm enough. The protective urge flared along with a lot of other urges he wasn’t going to think about.

Much.

“Better?” He spoke the words against her neck through the sleeping bag.

He felt a shiver go through her, but he’d be willing to bet this one was the good kind.

“Much.” When she spoke, the vibration of sound hummed along his arm where he held her.

With the snow falling in soft swishes against the canvas tent and a beautiful woman spooned against him, he could almost forget they were still in a potentially dangerous storm. How long had it been since he’d slept with someone in his arms all night? Normally he avoided relationships with those kinds of expectations. He never would have imagined that the financial forensics investigator would be the one who broke his private, unspoken rules about sleepovers. He’d sworn off deeper relationships after he and his brother had fallen for the same woman back in their college days. Brianna had wreaked havoc on him, but she’d done an even worse number on his brother.

“How’s your nose?” he asked after a long moment, knowing frostbite could set in fast. “I think that’s the only place you have to worry about now.”

“Mmm.” She made a sleepy sound and snuggled closer to him, her hips rocking in a devastating swivel.

And damned if his body didn’t answer the call.

Grinding his teeth against those urges, Weston let go of her long enough to flick off the flashlight. Then, he went back to holding her.

Tomorrow, he’d have to deal with the fallout from coming to her rescue tonight. He wouldn’t be able to ignore her anymore after this, wouldn’t be able to threaten to call security if she asked too many questions. For that matter, he’d be dodging her queries about his former mentor the whole way down the mountain while he tried to keep her safe through a potentially dangerous descent.

But since tomorrow would come soon enough, he wasn’t going to borrow trouble now. For a few hours, at least, he planned to enjoy the hot dreams sure to come from having a sexy woman curled in his arms like she was meant to be there.