In Too Close
In Too Close
Katherine Garbera
Friends with benefits…The Deal: Elizabeth Anders and best friend Bradley Hunt made a pact–if they were both single at thirty, they would add a "naughty benefits" package to their friendship. Now it's time to seal the deal…and it's going to involve much more than just a kiss!The Dilemma: Elizabeth is all about The Career. No relationships, no complications. Still, the chance to indulge in the barely controlled lust between her and Bradley is more than she can resist. But Bradley has an agenda of his own…The moment they touch, years of longing explode into a tempest of desire. And if they're not careful, this "benefits" package will be the ultimate deal-breaker.
Friends with benefits…
The Deal: Elizabeth Anders and best friend Bradley Hunt made a pact—if they were both single at thirty, they would add a “naughty benefits” package to their friendship. Now it’s time to seal the deal…and it’s going to involve much more than just a kiss!
The Dilemma: Elizabeth is all about The Career. No relationships, no complications. Still, the chance to indulge in the barely controlled lust between her and Bradley is more than she can resist. But Bradley has an agenda of his own…
The moment they touch, years of longing explode into a tempest of desire. And if they’re not careful, this “benefits” package will be the ultimate deal-breaker.
“Is there a security camera in here?”
Elizabeth looked at Bradley with surprise. “No. Only the executives have a key to this elevator. Why? What are you doing?”
“Taking the kiss I really wanted.”
The last time he’d kissed her it had been earth-shaking, and even though she was prepared, there was an initial shock that sent waves of sensation down her body. She shut her eyes, but that only intensified the feel of his mouth on hers. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer. For once she just forgot everything and gave in….
His hands caressed her back and then slid lower. He drew her into his body and groaned deep in his throat.
Finally, she felt the rough exhalation of his breath against the side of her cheek as he pulled his mouth from hers.
She opened her eyes and looked up into the dark green gaze of the only man she’d never been able to fit into the “just friends” category. From the moment they’d met, she’d wanted more—that made him dangerous.
Danger at eighteen looked different at thirty, and she knew he still wasn’t a safe option, but she couldn’t walk away. This time, she would take what she wanted.
Dear Reader (#ulink_cb7aa2c5-4140-570e-a243-a70b3161dc80),
Happy holidays! I hope you are ready for my new series, Holiday Heat. I had so much fun writing about these couples and can’t wait for you to read their stories.
Elizabeth Anders is focused and driven. She has always put her career first, except for one night when she watched her younger sister getting married and felt a little sorry for herself and what she was missing out on. Her best friend, Bradley, was only too happy to give her a shoulder to lean on, a kiss and a promise that if they were both still single at thirty, they’d hook up and give a relationship a chance.
To be honest, Elizabeth never expected she’d still be single by then or that she’d start having red-hot fantasies about her best friend. Suddenly she’s thirty, and the idea of bringing those fantasies to life is more than she can resist. But she’s not sure she wants more than just hot nights in Bradley’s bed…. Still, it’s almost Thanksgiving, and she’s thinking a lot about what truly matters in life, and the way she feels in Bradley’s arms makes her think he might be the one.
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I think I love it so much because everyone gets together and there’s no pressure to buy gifts. Though I do love Christmas, too. It’s just that at Thanksgiving I really have a chance to take time to remember all the things I’m grateful for—like my readers!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Katherine
In Too Close
Katherine Garbera
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KATHERINE GARBERA is a USA TODAY bestselling author of more than fifty books and has always believed in happy endings. She lives in England with her husband, children and their pampered pet, Godiva. Visit Katherine on the web at www.katherinegarbera.com (http://www.katherinegarbera.com), or catch up with her on Facebook and Twitter.
When I think of all the blessings in my life, it’s easy
for me to be grateful. I’m thankful for my wonderful
husband, who renewed my faith in love, my
children, who remind me every day that being
a mom is truly the most rewarding thing a woman
can be, and my parents, who showed me by
example that family should always come first.
A special thank you to Laura Barth for all of her
editing on this book. It was fun working on
this series with you!
Also thanks to Eve Gaddy, who FaceTime
chatted with me whenever I hit a snag.
Contents
Cover (#u2eab4804-78ef-54f7-86f2-4d809ce04c88)
Back Cover Text (#u5526b3cf-aecf-5191-a663-92506ad9fc87)
Introduction (#u9dcdf6ce-cdc9-5872-9f35-d00dd9361b3f)
Dear Reader (#ua9292ccb-3ec5-5c9e-b8ba-6d9e2134008a)
Title Page (#uda08817e-bacc-5e9e-a174-e31d9d1ad5cf)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (#u0bb7eedc-e277-51e6-ab89-cfba616c55af)
Dedication (#u5d2e38a9-60ab-5607-b51e-fe09949f40d4)
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1 (#ulink_3bb59ede-4703-5ffb-90e3-ee63446e2a36)
CANDLELIGHT FLICKERED IN Elizabeth Anders’s office, reflecting off the lacquer finish on her Louis Sue Parisian art-deco desk. The stone floor was cold under her feet and she glanced down to see that she’d inadvertently slipped off her Jimmy Choo shoes. Suddenly a shiver raced down her spine. She felt as if someone else was in the room but couldn’t see anyone. There was no sense of menace...more a heightened anticipation. She knew the person in the shadows.
Bradley Hunt.
Her best friend, the man she kept at arm’s length but secretly lusted after. She held him at bay because her goals were too important to get tangled up in sex. And he was a playboy, someone who worked hard but played even harder. Not the kind of man she could ever be interested in, but...
He liked to play at being relaxed and easygoing and he wore his thick brown hair collar length like a corporate raider and always had a day’s worth of stubble on his jaw. He seemed casual but he was just as intense as she was when it came to business. The main difference was that she worked for an exclusive luxury hotel chain and he worked for himself.
He revealed himself and her breath caught as her eyes moved over his rippling muscles and lean six-pack abs. He arched one arrogant dark brown eyebrow at her as he flexed his pectorals. Then he strode toward her.
She groaned as a wave of pleasure swept through her and she knew that no matter how much she might say they were just friends she craved more. She’d wanted him from their first meeting at his frat house when he’d been shirtless on that warm, sunny day and had offered to help her move into her dorm.
Now, as his arms wrapped around her and he drew her closer into his embrace, all those old feelings came flooding back. His mouth was hot, his tongue talented as he used his kisses to melt away the last of her resistance. She knew better than to give in to passion, but for once she wanted to forget all of that and experience everything he had to offer.
Bradley’s hazel eyes were half closed and a dark flush spread across his cheeks as his lips continued their slow, sensual descent. His breath was warm and each exhalation brushed against her neck as he nibbled at the length of it. Shivers of delight pulsed through her and she squirmed, trying to get nearer to him, but he refused to let her close the gap. Only the heat of their bodies touched and, of course, his mouth on her skin.
His hands hovered just over her chest. Their eyes met as she glanced up to see why he wasn’t caressing her. His gaze on her body was intense as he slowly traced just one finger over the exposed flesh.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice deep and husky. It was a tone she’d only heard from him one time before.
The last thing she wanted to do at this moment was debate the wisdom of this. She took his hand and guided it to her breast. He moaned her name on a long, guttural sigh as his hand encompassed her entire breast and squeezed it gently. “Lift your shirt,” he said, the command in his voice mirrored in the intensity of his stare.
His hands were already there. First, just that sensuous rubbing over the globes of her breasts, and then cupping them as his fingers moved in ever-narrowing circles while he touched then tweaked her nipples. She squirmed and shivered as she felt a pulse of heat between her legs.
She parted them and leaned back as his hand drifted down to her stomach and then settled on top of her feminine mound.
Bzzz! Bzzz!
Elizabeth jerked awake and sat up to find her own hand between her legs and her cell phone vibrating on the nightstand. She sighed. Of course she’d have a hot sex dream about Bradley Hunt. It made sense. One kiss five years ago had ignited a flame inside of her that had never been extinguished.
She glanced over at the phone and saw Bradley’s smiling face on the screen. It was a selfie he’d sent to her. The man had an ego as large as the Wasatch Range that surrounded Park City.
Groaning, she reached for the phone. At first she’d thought she conjured him up with her erotic dream, but then cold, hard reality hit her. She’d left a message for him earlier so he was simply calling her back. “Do you know what time it is?” she asked by way of greeting. The clock said 2:00 a.m. Her pulse was still racing. She wanted to be calm and collected but so wasn’t. Something about Bradley always got her riled up.
“Sorry, I’m in London. I can’t ever remember the difference between GMT and Mountain time.”
“Seven hours, lame-o,” she said. “You run a multimillion-dollar sport outfitter and travel all over the world opening retail stores and yet can’t tell time.... How do you do it?”
“I can tell time, Lizzie, just not time zones. Anyway, I wanted to be the first to congratulate you on your promotion, and I knew our friends would wait until the hour was decent.”
“But not my bad-boy best friend,” she said, trying not to sigh. A part of her had hoped he’d called because he remembered their friends-with-benefits pact, but clearly that wasn’t the case.
“I like being first,” he replied.
That wasn’t news to her. When they’d first met, he turned getting good grades into a competition and she’d risen to the challenge. She hated to lose. Had to bite her lip and smile politely when she did, and in Bradley she’d found a fellow competitor who always wanted to win. If things had been different... She thought of her torrid dream and the one scorching kiss they’d shared five years ago.
“Did you fall back to sleep?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.
“No, of course not,” she said.
“Then, what’s up, Lizzie?”
“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Lizzie?” She was stalling for time. How was she going to bring up something that had been said so long ago? Something he’d more than likely forgotten but that she’d kept tucked away in the back of her mind as a kind of insurance policy.
“An infinite number, but I like it,” he said. “Lizzie suits you.”
“My boss wouldn’t agree,” she retorted.
Lars Usten, former Olympian and owner of the very exclusive Lars Usten Lodge and Spa luxury hotel chain, never called her anything but Elizabeth.
“He doesn’t know the real woman.”
“And you think you do?” she asked. She doubted that Bradley had ever really paid any attention to anything other than himself. He was fun, flirty and way too self-absorbed, or so she’d always thought.
“I know I do,” he said.
“Cocky and arrogant, as always,” she said. “Okay, hotshot. Prove it.”
“I know that you’re an executive now, so you’ve met your business goals. I know that you’re going to be thirty on December 31. And I know that we made a bargain with each other that if we were both still single at thirty...”
He let the words trail off and she lay in her bed, sheets twisted around her hips, shaking her head that he’d beaten her to it. She wanted to be mad but could only laugh. This was one time when she was glad he had won. His ability to always rise to any challenge was one of the things she’d always liked about him.
“I wasn’t sure you remembered,” she admitted.
“How could I forget?” he asked. “I’ve had a thing for you for years, but you’ve always kept your distance.”
“It was hard to tell you wanted me through all the women surrounding you,” she quipped.
He laughed. “Touché. So, you still want to give it a try?”
He was so blasé about it that she wondered if there was something she was missing. She’d spent her entire adult life focused and contained so that she wouldn’t do anything stupid like she had when she was twenty. Now, ten years later, she’d accomplished everything she’d always wanted to.
She had it all...except for a lover.
And playboy jokester Bradley...well, he turned her on like no one else, and unless she’d missed something, he could be hers. She wanted him in her life temporarily to sooth that sexual ache that was keeping her up at night. It wasn’t surprising, given his virile nature and how demonstrative he was all the time, but over the years she’d always felt a little ping of excitement in her stomach whenever he called her or walked into a room.
“Do you?” she asked, throwing the ball back into his court.
“I brought it up. Do I really have to be the one to say yes first?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said. She needed to be very careful about how she handled this because she wanted to keep their friendship intact. He was one of her longest relationships, and he got her in ways others didn’t. Maybe he wasn’t as self-absorbed as she’d always wanted to believe. Her girlfriends all teased her about being too intense, but not him. She guessed it was because she was always busy and distracted with work. Plus, as her female friends started getting married and having kids, she’d stepped back. That whole thing—husbands, kids, settled life—it wasn’t her.
“Okay, fine, I want to try dating and see if our friendship can be more.” He paused. “And if not, it will finally put to rest that nagging question.”
“What nagging question?” she asked, trying to play it cool. Bradley and this affair thing were like a business deal. But in her heart she knew it was more.
“Was that kiss a fluke or is there real sexual attraction between us?” he asked.
“Oh, I think it was real,” she said. “As real as you can get.”
* * *
BRADLEY HUNT LEANED farther back in his seat in the departure lounge at London’s Heathrow airport. Cradling his smartphone in his hand, he pictured Elizabeth with her long blond hair falling around her shoulders, her blue-green eyes sleepy, maybe even drifting shut, and wearing some sort of pajamas that covered her from her neck to her toes. She was that buttoned-up, but there had always been something more lingering beneath the surface. She needed a lover to awaken her and remind her she was young.
Hiding in the depths of her beautiful eyes he occasionally caught a fleeting glimpse of fire and passion. And he’d wanted to unlock it, but she’d shut him down each and every time.
Starting when they’d first met...
They’d originally crossed paths when she’d stopped in front of his frat house on her moving-in day at the University of Texas at Austin and asked for directions. She’d been so damned cute with her ponytail and large horn-rimmed glasses that he’d been unable to resist making a pass. And, being Elizabeth, she’d turned him down flat.
He’d taken that rejection as a challenge and the game between the two of them had started. A game she’d done her best to simply ignore until that kiss five years ago that had culminated in a sweet, slightly inebriated bargain.
Back then, on that one unforgettable night, it had seemed as if he was finally going to get a chance to see if the attraction between them was genuine, but in the end...she’d been too vulnerable. He intended to win and have her in his bed, but not because she was feeling lonely and any man would do.
He’d have felt like a cad if he’d gone through with seducing her when she was clearly so not herself. The Elizabeth he wanted to make love with was feisty and confident. Not scared of ending up alone. She was this woman. At her prime. Youngest general manager in the Lars Usten Corporation. He was very proud of her and had never wanted her more.
But with Elizabeth, just as with any competitor, he couldn’t let her see it. He’d built his business from the ground up with hard work. One client at a time. Which was why he had to keep her guessing about how he felt and what he really wanted. She liked the challenge as much as he did. “What makes you think the attraction is real?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.
“Because you wouldn’t still be sniffing around if it wasn’t.”
He laughed despite himself. “So true. And you wouldn’t be talking on the phone with me in the middle of the night unless you wanted...me.”
“I’m not going to deny it,” she said. “I have thought of that kiss at Marina’s wedding more than once.”
Seeing her younger sister married five years ago, coming on the heels of a bad breakup, had shaken Elizabeth. It hadn’t taken a rocket scientist to understand it. He’d glimpsed beneath the outer facade of his best friend and something had changed inside him at that moment.
“I still can’t eat chocolate cake without remembering the way it tasted on your lips,” he admitted.
“Me, either,” she said softly. “So, are you—we—really doing this?”
“Doing what?” he drawled, unable to resist teasing her.
She cleared her throat. “You know...are we going to try the friends-with-benefits thing?”
“Yes. I want to,” he confessed, totally serious now. “You have your career on track and my business is going steady. There’s nothing stopping us.”
She took a deep breath. “This is just sex, right? You know I’m still not interested in anything long-term.”
“Yes.” For now. Bradley knew he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had everything that Elizabeth had to offer. Until she was his, body and soul. But for the time being, friends with benefits worked for him.
He heard the rustle of sheets as she rolled over. Feeling an all-too-familiar throbbing, he straightened his legs to make room for his erection as he pictured her topless, wearing only a pair of sheer black panties....
His imagination took over. If he were with her right now, he would take both of her wrists in one of his hands and hold them behind her back so that her breasts were thrust forward. He’d move in closer to caress her but wouldn’t touch her until she was calling his name, begging for more.
“Bradley?”
He shook himself and thrust his hand through his hair as he realized he needed to get her into bed...and the sooner the better so he could stop fantasizing about her.
“I suggest dinner, once you’ve had a chance to recover from the jet lag. Do you think in two days time would be okay?”
“Yes.”
“We can talk about the details of our arrangement then,” she told him.
“Lizzie, do you really have arrangements with the men you sleep with?” he asked harshly. “I’m not another corporate entity that you are trying to merge with.”
“I know that, really, I do. But I’m not sure how to approach this without keeping it more in business terms. I don’t want—”
“To get hurt, the way you were when Ken left you,” he said.
She didn’t say anything and he wondered if he’d gone too far, but the truth was, they weren’t like other couples that were starting a relationship. They knew each other’s pasts and closely guarded secrets. In a way, Bradley thought it might make things easier. Yet she was still a mystery from his point of view. And he was dying to know how they’d be in bed.
And if they were half as good as that long-ago kiss and his red-hot fantasies, then he figured they’d have a rocking good time together.
“Exactly. But you haven’t been exactly shy around women, Bradley. You’ve broken a few hearts.”
“Not as often as you make it sound. I tend to date women who know the score,” he said. It was true that he was careful to make sure he didn’t date women looking for marriage and long term. There was only one woman he wanted to try a real relationship with, and that was Elizabeth.
“See? You’re just proving my point. Who knows what you think the score is?” she asked. “I don’t want to be roadkill on your journey.”
“That’s horrible. I’ve never left any roadkill, despite what any woman might have told you. In general, the ladies tend to give up on me when they realize that I’m exactly what I said I was and they can’t change me.”
“What makes you think I won’t try to change you?” she asked.
“You already know me, Lizzie, and I know you. We both like to win. I’m not laboring under any misconception that you are going to ever put a man before your job, and you know that I need to be free to do my thing at work and at play.”
“But you’d be faithful to me?” she asked. “Cheating is...well, cheating. I’m not interested in being part of your rotating harem.”
There it was, he thought. That hint of vulnerability left behind from that bastard Ken who’d thought that Elizabeth really was the same hard woman in real life as she was in the boardroom. That she’d be able to understand he needed variety in the bedroom. Bradley had made sure that Ken regretted two-timing her.
“Of course. I might like women, but you know once I commit I don’t play around.”
“I do know that. You even broke up with Samantha just so you could kiss me at Marina’s wedding.”
He’d forgotten about that. Samantha and he hadn’t been that serious, so their split hadn’t been much of an issue, and he’d wanted Elizabeth in that instant with such fierceness....
“Okay, I think we’re getting a bit off topic here. So...dinner in a couple of nights? Shall I pick you up at your place or at the lodge?”
“The lodge. I will have to be on call,” she said. Once again, he heard the rustling of her sheets as she moved on the bed, and he groaned as he imagined her naked.
“Of course.”
“And Bradley...?”
“Yes?” he asked coyly. He had to play this right. If he sounded too anxious she’d back away. Elizabeth had always been wary of him.
“I don’t want to lose this,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Our friendship. You’re the only one who calls me after midnight. Who competes full-out with me and doesn’t hate it when I win. You make me feel like it’s okay to be me,” she said. “If we sleep with each other, that could change.”
“We’ll just have to do our best to make sure it doesn’t change. I’ll always want to wake you after midnight.”
“Really?” she asked, her voice soft and husky, so different from how she was during the regular business day.
“Yes. That’s the time when the line between reality and fantasy are blurred, and attraction and wanting are at their strongest. I can’t imagine that would change just because we were sleeping next to each other. Do you?”
“I guess not.”
“Have a little faith, Elizabeth—we’re both intelligent and we both know what we want. We’re not going to hurt each other. We’re going to give each other pleasure and more friendship.”
“You sound so confident,” she said.
“I am. Trust me.”
He had waited such a long time for Elizabeth, and he knew that she liked to set up rules and barriers between them. But he wasn’t a man to take no for an answer.
This time he was coming for her and nothing—not even Elizabeth—was going to stand in his way.
She sighed. “Well, then, I guess I’ll see you soon, Bradley.”
“You most definitely will, Lizzie.”
2 (#ulink_c98087cd-e09c-5970-bd4a-b5b9e5e352d7)
A LIGHT DUSTING of fresh snow covered the employee parking lot of the Lars Usten Lodge as Elizabeth pulled her SUV into the spot labeled General Manager.
The Lars Usten Lodge/Spa ski resort was the idea of Lars Usten, a two-time gold-medal alpine skier. The runs on the Wasatch Range were used by the U.S. Olympic ski team for practice and training, and although the runs still prohibited snowboarders, they enjoyed a steady stream of lodgers year round.
She hopped out of her SUV and pulled her thick red wool coat tighter to ward off the cold. Then she glanced surreptitiously around before she took out her iPhone and photographed the sign with her name on it.
General Manager, Elizabeth Anders.
Oh, my God. Now it seemed real. Seeing her name on the plaque made her want to do the Snoopy dance of joy, but she was an adult.
“Want me to take your photo next to the sign?”
She glanced over at Lindsey Collins, a former Olympic alpine skier and currently one of the ski instructors at the Lars Usten Lodge, who was standing there with a bemused smile on her face.
Lindsey had wide Nordic features and brown eyes. She was taller than Elizabeth, at five feet ten inches, and wore a thick ski headband in her hair to hold her shoulder-length blond locks off her face. If not for a career-ending accident at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, she’d be up on the mountain training right now.
“You saw?” Elizabeth asked a bit sheepishly.
“Yeah, but I thought it was cute. And you have worked damned hard to get here...so, do you want a photo next to the sign?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth replied. She already had a picture frame on her dresser ready for the photo that would be a reminder—or a touchstone, rather—to keep her on track as she worked every day at her job.
She’d even dressed the part in a swanky black dress that she’d paired with her mother’s pearls and her father’s big gold watch. She wouldn’t be where she was today without her parents.
“Go on, then,” Lindsey said.
Elizabeth walked over to the sign and turned to look back at the camera. Inside she might feel like grinning, but her expression for the photo was serious and intent. “Got it. You want to join me for breakfast?” Lindsey asked.
“Yes, I’d love to. But first I want to touch base with the night manager and make sure everything is on track. So...thirty minutes?”
“Perfect. I want to check the ski valet and make sure that Thompson Holmes’s skis arrived.”
“I was going to ask you about that,” Elizabeth said. Thompson Holmes was a Hollywood director but also an avid outdoorsman. He loved the lodge and they kept one of their private cabins on standby for him since he often called at the last minute.
“We can discuss over breakfast,” Lindsey replied. “My treat.”
“Why?” Elizabeth asked. Over the last few months, as Lindsey had adjusted to being one of the ski instructors, the two women had become friends. They often had breakfast together, but each always paid her own way.
“To celebrate. It’s my way of saying congratulations on your promotion.”
“Oh, well, thanks,” Elizabeth said. “It’s not that big a deal.”
“Yes, it is. I’m proud of you,” Lindsey added before turning and walking away. Elizabeth drew her coat a little closer around herself as she walked toward the lodge and her office. It was situated with all of the executive offices, on the second floor, behind a massive stone atrium wall with a fireplace in it. When she moved into her new one she’d have a view of the Wasatch Range.
The view wasn’t what she’d worked so hard for, but she’d definitely enjoy it.
As she entered the lodge she was greeted by the doorman, Henry, who’d been trained at some of the finest hotels in Europe. Lars only hired the very best to staff his lodge. The moment she walked inside everyone began offering congratulations and she took the time to greet them all by name.
She’d learned from Lars that little gestures like that meant the difference between good and great. Good didn’t lead, but great could.
Elizabeth walked over to her desk and shook her head as she remembered her lurid dream about Bradley last night. She tossed her designer tote onto her dark-stained walnut sideboard and skimmed the room with her eyes, half expecting him to be waiting in the corner. But that was just wishful thinking, and this was real. She was the general manager of the Lars Usten Lodge. It was a big deal. She wished her father were here for her to call. He would have been so proud of her for getting this promotion.
He’d been a middle manager and traveled a lot when she and her sister were little. His dream had been to see them both succeed and be happy. Elizabeth had always been his little shadow.
She paused for a moment, letting the heels of her shiny black pumps sink into her bespoke geometrically designed Persian rug, before she sat down behind her desk. Knowing she had a busy day ahead of her, she took out her laptop and powered it up, then switched on her Tiffany lamp and got to work. Barely ten minutes later she heard a knock. She glanced up from the memo she was typing and invited the person to enter. It was her boss, Lars.
She stood up, wiped her hands on her skirt and walked around her desk to greet the chairman of the board. He was sixty-five but showed little sign of slowing down. Lars had once been a champion giant-slalom skier and still started every day with some sort of outdoor activity, which probably accounted for his good health.
“Good morning, Elizabeth,” the silver-haired gentleman said. “Are you ready for the morning report?”
“Morning, Lars,” she said, holding her hand out to him and following his ritual of the European air kiss to each cheek before returning to sit behind her desk. Her computer screen flashed a message and she saw that the morning report had just arrived in her mailbox.
This was the second time that Jerry had been late in filing the report and she jotted a quick note to have a discussion with him. She’d worked with him in her former position as well, and knew that his lateness was becoming a habit.
She skimmed the email and started to discuss it with her boss. When she finished he leaned back in the art-deco guest chair, crossing one leg over the other.
“Very good. I can see you have this all under control. I think I will move our meetings to weekly instead of daily.”
“Okay. I will have Paula make the adjustments to our calendars,” Elizabeth said calmly, but inside she was doing the a victory dance. It had taken five long years, but finally she thought she had gained Lars’s trust.
He nodded and then stood up and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows. Elizabeth hesitated for a second before going to join him.
“I want to warn you, Elizabeth, that this job is not without its drawbacks. You have worked hard to get here but you haven’t reached the final destination. You will still have to work hard—harder even than before—and there is a lot that you will find yourself sacrificing.”
“I’m aware of that,” she said.
“If at any time you find that you no longer wish to make that sacrifice, let me know.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Elizabeth reassured him.
“You might find yourself feeling differently,” he said. “I’ve always put the lodge first.”
“I do, as well,” she said. “This job is the most important thing in my life.”
“I have noticed, but you do run the risk of ending up just like me.”
“Great,” she said. “I want to be successful.”
“But you might also wind up alone. It’s not for everyone,” he said. “Just think about it.”
She nodded, and he said his goodbyes and left. She thought about her midnight call from Bradley and their dinner plans for tomorrow. She didn’t know if it was wise to tempt fate and make their friendship into something more, but she also knew she wasn’t going to back down.
Having it all seemed like a challenge but she was more than up to the task, she reassured herself. Really, she was.
* * *
HER PHONE RANG a little after midnight, just as she shut off the Late Show and was preparing to go to sleep.
“Still struggling with the time zones?”
“Yes, but not in the way you mean. I’m wide-awake, even though it’s the middle of the night. Too much time in the U.K.”
“What were you doing there, by the way?” she asked. “Forgot to ask the other night.”
“We just got a new contract. But that’s not why I called. We can talk business any time. The middle of the night...that’s our time for fantasy.”
“Fantasy? I thought you were a real man,” she teased. “Did I make you up?”
She got out of bed and walked quickly to the wall switch to turn off the overhead light before going back to bed. She lay in the middle of the queen-size mattress, plumped the pillows up behind her and settled down to talk to Bradley.
A long time ago she’d given up the illusion that any man would be sharing her bed regularly. She thought part of it was due to the fact that she didn’t want to have to compromise on any of the things she wanted. But the other part...well, she didn’t want to risk falling in love and acting stupid again.
“Oh, I’m real enough. I didn’t think you’d appreciate a midnight visit, so I called instead.”
“This is getting to be a habit,” she said. “I guess you’re safely back in Utah?”
“I am. Landed earlier today. Crashed for a few hours and then tried calling you around dinner time.”
“I had my phone on silent. I was in an executive meeting,” she said. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this late-night call? Is it to discuss our benefits?”
“Benefits. That’s such a fun word. What do you think they should look like?”
“You shirtless, waiting on me hand and foot,” she said.
Keep it light. She wanted him in her bed, too. She wanted someone she could share her fears with. This new job, the one she’d hoped was the pinnacle of her career, suddenly felt like another summit she still had to climb.
“Ah, I see. A glorified cabana boy.”
“Sort of. It’s a shame you didn’t just return from someplace sunny.”
“I’m naturally pretty tanned. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” he murmured.
She didn’t think so, either, but his ego was big enough without her stroking it. Though stroking him was what she wanted. She hated to admit it, but the truth was she was ready for sex. And a lot of it. Yet, by the same token, she didn’t want to let this stray into anything other than their regular friendship.
She sighed. End this now before it turns into another regret.
“What’s wrong, Lizzie?” he asked softly.
Guess she shouldn’t be surprised that he’d noticed her sudden trepidation. After all, they’d always been pretty in tune with each other. And even though she kind of wished he wasn’t quite so observant right now, it was probably better to just get this all out in the open.
“Well, if you must know...we haven’t had sex yet and this is getting complicated.”
“Only if you let it,” he said.
Her friend always knew the right thing to say to calm her down and make her believe things would get better. He was the reason they’d made this bargain. She would have been happy for a one-night hookup at Marina’s wedding and a lifetime of loneliness, but Bradley had teased her with the thought that she could have more.
“I hope it’s that easy.”
“Of course it is,” he said.
“You—
“Me and you,” he said. “That’s what this is about. We know what we want.”
“We do?” she asked. She wasn’t as brazen about that now as she had been last night. But then, he hadn’t just woken her from a steamy dream that had left her hot for him.
Reality had intruded big-time today and she was confused. That was it. She didn’t know what she wanted anymore. It wasn’t as straightforward as it had been the day before.
“Lizzie?”
“Yes.”
“I want you.”
His voice was deep and husky as it vibrated in her ear, and it sent shivers of desire down her spine.
“How do you want me?”
“Lying next to me. Curled up close so that I can lean over you,” he said.
“I’d like that. I’ve been thinking about that one kiss...wanting to know if it was the atmosphere and the champagne that made you taste so good, made it feel so right.”
“I can promise it wasn’t just that. It was you and me.”
You and me. He kept linking them together as though they belonged with each other. “You know this is just sex.”
“It’s friendship plus.”
She laughed. “Plus?”
“Yes, we’re still buddies, but now we get all the good stuff. Don’t forget we were friends first.”
“I’m not. I just need to be very careful that you don’t expect more. Like I said last night, I’m not ready for more than...” She couldn’t bring herself to say more than sex. That would make it seem as if she was using him.
“Late-night rendezvous.”
“Yes.”
“We’re good,” he said. “And tomorrow at dinner I will put your doubts about our kiss to rest.”
“They aren’t doubts,” she said.
“What are they?”
Longing. It was the hope that his kisses were just as hot and magical as she remembered, because she wanted Bradley to live up to all the fantasies she’d given him a starring role in.
“Never mind.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.
“Good night, Bradley.”
“Sweet dreams.”
* * *
BRADLEY WALKED INTO his offices above Fresh Sno in Park City and tossed his leather duffel bag onto the big, overstuffed couch in the corner. The office area was a large loft above the retail store, and its open floor plan allotted lots of cubicle space for all his staff. Right now it was fairly empty.
“Cult of Personality” was blaring from the speakers, and his assistant, Tia, stood next to her desk flirting with Carter Shaw, world number-one half-pipe snowboarder and all-around lothario.
Tia was tall, curvy and had thick, brown dreadlocks that hung to the middle of her back. She wore an insanely short denim miniskirt over a pair of mustard-yellow tights and combat boots. She had on a thick Irish wool sweater that Bradley had brought her back after his last trip to the U.K. Fresh Sno had won a bid to supply skis and boards to a chain of indoor winter sports centers in England, Scotland and Wales, and he’d racked up quite a few frequent-flyer miles traveling overseas these past few months.
“I thought I was paying you to work,” he said.
“Believe it or not, boss man, I am working,” Tia replied, turning around to face him. “Carter is here with a business proposition.”
“I think that’s not the only proposition he had in mind,” Bradley remarked.
The snowboarder threw up his hands. “Hey, a boy can dream, can’t he?”
“Indeed. I need coffee, but then we can talk in the conference room at the end of the hall.”
“No problem,” Carter said, stepping away to check his cell phone. “Take your time.”
Carter was an Olympic gold medalist and had the sort of bad-boy reputation that the public adored. He was leading the lobby to have all of the resorts in Park City open all their ski runs up to snowboarding, and having the Thunderbolt Energy Games stop in Park City had certainly helped his cause.
As a retailer who sold a lot of snowboards, Bradley was backing the boarders. The only downside was that it caused some friction between himself and Elizabeth. Most of the luxury resorts preferred to keep to the status quo. Another way that Elizabeth was making herself old before her time.
Bradley didn’t enjoy being at odds with her. It reminded him that he came from a different world than she did. And he didn’t like it.
“Anything pressing?” he asked Tia as he escorted Carter out and stopped by her desk.
“No. But a package arrived for you from Tiffany’s.” She gave him a wry look. “Are you dating someone new?”
“None of your biz,” Bradley said, as he went to the coffee machine in the corner and made himself a double espresso. It was going to be a long day. But his reward was dinner and an evening with Elizabeth. He’d been in a state of semi-arousal ever since he’d called her two nights ago.
Elizabeth. That one kiss had been way too long ago. A part of him wondered if he’d imagined how good it had been. Her taste had been so unique and so right. He’d kissed other women since then but they’d all left him wanting.
“Not that its any of your business, nosy,” Bradley said, “but it’s for Elizabeth. She’s just been promoted to the general manager of the Lars Usten Lodge.”
Carter whistled. “Impressive. That place is first class all the way. They still aren’t as boarder friendly as I’d like them to be, though.”
“Actually, it is now. I have a contract to provide all equipment for ski rental there.” Holding his cup of steaming espresso in one hand and his briefcase in the other, Bradley led the way to the conference room. “But I think you are here to discuss something else.”
“Yes, I am. I want to put together a group of exhibition events similar to the Thunderbolt Energy Games and I need some sponsors to do it,” Carter told him. “I’d like Fresh Sno to be a major participant.”
“Would we do it here in Park City?” Bradley asked as the two of them entered the conference room and took a seat at a long, narrow table. Already he was weighing the pros and cons. He liked community events but his company wasn’t big enough to give too much to charity without it affecting the bottom line. “Why would we need to do another Thunderbolt Energy Games thing?”
“I want to combine it with kids who aren’t already at the top, the ones who haven’t been exposed to good equipment and teachers. Part of it is to use my reputation to give back to the community that nurtured me.”
“I like it,” Bradley said, the wheels already turning in his head. “I bet we can get some of the resorts in the area to kick in as venues. What do you think?”
“Great idea. I grew up here and I know how hard it can be to get your start if you don’t have money. I want the kids who are out there using secondhand boards and skis to have a place to compete and maybe win some new gear. I want to make things easier—”
“I get it,” Bradley acknowledged with a smile. “Give them the shot that you wish someone had given you.”
“Exactly, dude. I know that I could convince my Thunderbolt Energy Drink sponsor to stop here on their tour but I want some events that aren’t part of that.”
“So are you thinking this would run concurrently?” Bradley asked. “I don’t know how that would work.”
“Actually, I’d rather it was a separate event. Use the publicity from the Thunderbolt Energy Games to generate some word of mouth for our Park City games. Or Fresh Sno...I don’t know what else we could call it.”
“How about Fresh Faces?” Bradley suggested. “I’ll ask my marketing guru to get on it.”
“I’m going to be traveling the next two weeks but then will be back in Park City the week before Thanksgiving. My mom would kill me if I missed the holiday.”
“Moms are like that,” Bradley said, because he knew that was what was expected.
“Yeah, but mine’s the best, so I don’t mind it.”
“We can meet that week and I’ll let you know what I’ve come up with. When are you thinking of having this event? I believe that the Thunderbolt Energy Games are going to be in town in January.”
“They are, so I was thinking next November. That gives us a year to talk it up and to get everything lined up.”
“Okay. Just keep in mind that I’m not making any promises yet. I’ll bring this to my team meeting this afternoon and see who wants to get involved.”
“Awesome.” Carter gave him a high five. “I think I’m going to like working with you, man.”
“Would you consider an endorsement deal, too?” Bradley asked. “We could link it with your desire to help the local kids. Maybe get some of Park City Recreation’s best and brightest to do the ads with you.”
“Yes, I will. Of course, my agent will have to be involved so shoot me over an email with the deets and I’ll have him get on it,” Carter said, pulling out a business card and handing it over.
Bradley suspected the snowboard/surfer dude thing was just a persona that Carter wore when he was working a deal. But he didn’t comment on it. He was used to dealing with people like that. He’d figure Carter out as he had figured out Elizabeth, and once he knew what made the other guy tick, he’d know the best way to move forward.
Elizabeth did the same thing—acted as though she was a tough-as-nails executive when inside she was a woman waiting to be coaxed out of her shell. And he was just the man to do it.
3 (#ulink_95904670-c984-5903-a546-5b6c57d977f8)
ELIZABETH SPENT MOST of the day in meetings. But really her mind was on Bradley. Her friend “plus.” She hadn’t been able to get that notion out of her head all day, and she was practically counting the minutes until she saw him again.
She stood above the lobby, which was decked out in fall garlands with the signs of harvest all around. It seemed homey—if home was a big mansion with lots of luxury. She remembered the modest ranch-style home she’d grown up in and acknowledged to herself that Thanksgiving looked a lot different this year.
The scent of spiced pumpkin cookies wafted in the air from the bakery down the hall that led out to the ski area. She felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. Suddenly, she heard raised voices at the front desk and realized that Thompson Holmes was demanding something.
She rubbed the back of her neck. He was demanding and not a very nice man. He might be able to make people weep with his blockbuster movies but in real life he was an ass. But it was her job to keep him happy so he’d tell his friends about the resort. A big part of their clientele was Hollywood A-listers.
Her cell phone rang and she glanced down at Bradley’s face before answering the call.
“I can’t believe you’re calling me at a decent hour,” she quipped. She kept one eye on the front desk where her manager seemed to be getting Thompson to calm down.
“The hour is always decent when you’re on the phone, Lizzie. I’m calling to see if we can bump our dinner to 8:30.”
She felt a twinge of disappointment. They’d been friends for years; she was ready for the benefits to kick in. Maybe he had cold feet after their call last night.
“Sure. We don’t have to have dinner. You can come by my place later, instead.”
“We’re having dinner,” he said. “I was hoping to add a meeting to your calendar today to discuss an opportunity that Carter Shaw brought me. Our dinner is about you and me. I don’t want to talk business then.”
She ignored the fact that he’d just made her feel warm and tingly inside. Sex was all she wanted from Bradley, but the truth was he’d always made her feel good. Even when they were competing against each other and he beat her.
“I’d love to discuss this,” she said. She needed a community project on the calendar for next year. “But Carter can be...difficult. My board of directors is still a little peeved from the way he pushed for snowboarders. Should I get our ski pro to join us?”
She was already thinking where in her schedule she could fit the meeting in and get Lindsey to join them. That way, she’d ensure it was more business and less date. The more she’d contemplated their friends-with-benefits arrangement today, the more important it seemed to make certain they didn’t fall into a relationship. It would just complicate things.
“It’s up to you, but at this phase, probably just you and I would be fine to discuss this idea. I’m talking to the GMs at all the area resorts.”
“Okay. So is it something exciting? Give me some details so I can start—”
“So eager. Are you always this impatient?” he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.
“I just don’t like surprises,” she said. “Forewarned is forearmed and all that.”
“We’re not going to battle,” he reminded her.
Yet it felt like that at times. Letting her guard down with Bradley would be a mistake. She already liked him way too much.
“I just like having all the facts.”
“Fair enough. He wants to do a charity-type winter-sports event in Park City next November. I’m going to donate gear to give to underprivileged kids and I was hoping you could donate the facilities.”
She thought about the logistics of what he was asking. “I’m going to have to run some numbers. Let’s meet in my office at seven and then we can head down to dinner at the Gastrophile West after.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then,” Bradley said. “But you should know I’m putting the timer on and when it’s time for dinner, I’m ending our meeting.”
“Fine. I’m not all about business, you know,” she reminded him. His words echoed those that she’d heard from her family and friends over the years. In fact, whenever she went home for the weekend, her mom confiscated her cell phone the moment she arrived. “If you’re going to have an attitude we can skip the dinner.”
“We’re not skipping anything. I wasn’t giving you a hard time, Lizzie. I just want to make sure that we have enough time to celebrate. What you’ve accomplished is huge and you deserve at least one dinner where the focus is on you.”
She smiled to herself, but felt a shiver of unease go down her spine. “I don’t need the spotlight on me.”
“Maybe I want it there,” he said, his voice dropping to that husky, seductive octave that he’d used in the middle of the night.
“We don’t always get we want, Bradley. You should know that by now,” she said.
“That might be true for some people, but I’m very determined where you are concerned.”
“And what have you determined?” she asked, a bit breathlessly.
He didn’t answer right away and she wasn’t sure if he was doing that to bide his time or to make her jittery, but the effect was the latter.
This dinner was starting to sound like one of the most dangerous things she’d ever agreed to. A night with Bradley could shake her to her moorings, and she’d always known that, but she’d felt sort of safe because she wanted something from him.
“Bradley?”
“I’m determined to have you, Elizabeth Anders, and I’m not going to let your job, or any other excuse you can find, stand between us. Don’t deny you’re having second thoughts. I could tell by the way you ended the call last night.”
“You’re not as clever as you think. I’m not backing away. Just anxious to get to the plus part of this friendship.”
He laughed, the sound booming through the phone and making her shiver with sensual awareness. “I love it when you surprise me, Lizzie girl.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that. But she knew she’d done something to throw him off his guard. He only called her Lizzie when he was trying to feel her out and figure out what move to make next.
“If I did it all the time it wouldn’t be special,” she said.
“Right again,” he replied under his breath.
She caught hers and waited to see if he’d say anything else, but instead there was only silence. Thompson was shaking the hand of the front-desk manager but Elizabeth still wanted to speak with him and make sure he was taken care of. Doing her job gave her an excuse to escape from Bradley...and all those tumultuous feelings he roused in her. “Look, I’m needed in the lobby, so I’ll talk to you later.”
* * *
THE LARS USTEN LODGE was steeped in American Western tradition and money—two things that hadn’t been in play during Bradley’s childhood. His dad had been a bull rider who had spent one night with Bradley’s mother before moving on. Bradley had never known his old man. He’d given up on that dream when he’d turned ten.
There were still times when the longing to know his father still niggled in the back of his mind, but most days he was content with where he was in the world. He’d carved a successful life for himself and felt a sense of confidence that he wasn’t out of his league here. He could afford to stay and play at the exclusive resort if he chose to.
He handed the keys to his classic ’69 Chevy Camaro to the valet. He put his shoulders back and walked into the resort with the confidence of a man who’d made his own way in the world. It wasn’t lost on him that ten years ago he’d have had to pretend to fit in here, but today he really did.
The staff was friendly and efficient. The lobby spotless and welcoming. He didn’t know how much influence Elizabeth had over the look and feel of the resort, but in his mind he saw her little touches everywhere—the art-deco-inspired paintings on the walls, the attention to detail that she brought to everything she did. She’d been working as the assistant general manager before her promotion. And he knew Lars had given her a lot of extra responsibilities.
He shook his head, knowing what he really needed was a kick in the ass. If he had any chance of convincing Elizabeth to be more than his lover, he had to play it cool.
He knew that. But he’d wanted her for so long. Admired her for her hard work, but at the same time also resented the way she was able to compartmentalize everyone and everything in her life. And he was done abiding by her rules. He was changing the play now and determined to win, no matter what the cost.
“Welcome to the Lars Usten Lodge. May I help you?” the concierge—Theo, according to his nametag—asked when Bradley stepped up to the hospitality desk.
“I’m here to see Ms. Anders.”
“Do you have an appointment, sir?”
“I do. Bradley Hunt.”
“Please have a seat and I’ll let her know you’re here,” Theo said, gesturing to the overstuffed guest chairs.
Bradley walked over to the lobby area but didn’t sit down. He was too restless and that worried him. When he felt like this he acted impulsively, and he needed to be calculated and cool.
At times likes this he wished he’d known his father. Was this reckless feeling coursing through him right now something that he’d gotten from those genes? His mom certainly hadn’t done many impulsive things after that one-night stand that had netted her a child.
“Bradley.”
He turned as Elizabeth walked over to him. She smiled as she saw him, but it was her public smile—the one he knew she used on guests and acquaintances—and that irked him because he wanted her to be happy to see him. Not fake happy.
But then he forgot his irritation as he watched her move. She wore ridiculously high heels, which canted her hips forward and made them sway with each step she took. For a woman so determined to be businesslike, there was something very feminine about the way she dressed and the way she carried herself.
He’d never been able to ignore it and over the years—wait, he didn’t have to ignore it now. He closed the gap between the two of them and leaned in for a kiss.
Her eyes widened as she realized what he was doing and she gave him a hard stare before tipping her head back and kissing him full on the mouth. It wasn’t meant to be a true embrace but more one-upmanship on her part...yet, for some reason, he didn’t care.
Her lips were soft and warm under his. The scent of mint washed over him as he pressed his mouth against hers and encircled her waist with his hands, drawing her close for just a moment before stepping back.
“It’s good to see you,” he murmured.
“I’m guessing you’ve picked up some European habits while travelling.”
“Uh, I don’t know how to break this to you, Lizzie, but no one greets each other like that unless they are very good friends.”
She watched him with that rock-steady gaze of hers, and for just a second he saw some wild emotion flash in her eyes. He wondered what she hid. She was always so buttoned up, so careful and cautious in everything she did. And he’d normally put it down to the fact that she was focused on work, but now he sensed it might be something else.
“We’ve always been friends, Bradley.”
“And I see no reason why anything that happens between us now will change that. Our lives are too entwined.”
“That they are. If you’re ready to discuss business, then let’s head up to my office.”
“I’m definitely ready to be alone with you,” he said, letting his voice drop to a gravelly tone.
Lizzie didn’t respond. Instead, she led the way past Theo, who pretended not to notice them, to the private elevator behind the counter.
“I’m not sure what that was about,” she said the moment the doors closed.
“It was about me making sure that you know I’m not just some guy you have a meeting with. We’re beyond that, and from our conversation two nights ago, I thought you’d agreed with me.”
She nibbled on her lower lip and shook her head. “Of course I do. But I need you to understand I can’t be gossiped about here. I’m their boss and the employees need to always remember that.”
“In that case, I apologize,” he said, reaching around her to hit the stop button. “Is there a security camera watching us?”
“No. Only the executives have a key to use this elevator.” Her eyes darted toward him nervously. “Why? What are you doing?”
“Taking the kiss I really wanted.”
* * *
ELIZABETH BRACED HERSELF for the touch of Bradley’s mouth against hers. The last time he’d kissed her...it had been earthshaking, and even though she was prepared, there was that initial shock that sent waves of feeling down her body.
She shut her eyes but that only intensified the sensation of his mouth on hers. He put his hands on her waist, drawing her closer to him, and for once she just forgot about everything but the here and now.
She tilted her head to the side to get a better angle, thrust her tongue deep into his mouth and savored the taste of him. This was her reward, she thought. Justifying to herself...taking what she’d longed for.
His hands caressed her back and then slid lower. He cupped her buttocks and drew her into his body. His hips rocked against hers and he groaned deep in his throat.
She smiled inside, where she’d been alone and cold for the longest time, and then tangled her hands in his thick brown hair and drew him even closer to her. She felt the rough exhalation of his breath against the side of her cheek as she pulled her mouth from his.
She opened her eyes and looked up into the dark green gaze of the one man she’d never been able to really categorize as “just a friend.” From the first moment they’d met, she had wanted more, which made him extremely dangerous.
And danger at age thirty looked much different than at eighteen, so although she knew in her heart that he still wasn’t the safe option, she wasn’t walking away this time. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life living in a sort of shadow state, never really taking what she wanted.
“I guess I’m not the only one who wanted that kiss,” he said, keeping his grip on her waist.
She reached up and touched his lower lip, rubbing her finger back and forth against it while she tried to think of a comeback. It was hard to speak when everything in her body was focused on how good Bradley felt and how she never wanted to leave his arms.
He pressed his hips against her and arched one eyebrow.
“You always did need your ego stroked,” she said at last.
“Honey, that’s not my ego.”
“I know exactly what it is,” she murmured, reaching between their bodies to rub his cock through his pants. He groaned and his hands tightened on her a split second before his mouth came down again.
This time there was no illusion of who was doing the claiming. Bradley was staking his, and she enjoyed every second of it. He lifted her off her feet and held her securely to him as his lips devoured hers.
Elizabeth relinquished everything, stopped thinking, stopped worrying and stopped wishing this was something that she could control. And she acknowledged, for perhaps the first time in a really long time, that she wasn’t in control of anything.
Gripping Bradley’s shoulders, she held on to him as sensations swept over her, and felt herself let go. Really letting go had been a long time coming, and suddenly she couldn’t stop.
She lifted her leg and wrapped it around his hips, rubbing the center of her body over the ridge of his cock, and he shuddered in her arms. Then he pulled his mouth from hers, whispering dark words of sexual need against her skin as he nibbled at her neck, and his hands slid lower to cup her buttocks and draw her into fuller contact with him.
With her nails into his shoulders she sought his mouth again as he rocked his hips against hers. The world started spinning around her. Feeling the cold surface of the elevator car against her back and Bradley pressed along her front, she trailed her hands down his back until she felt the barrier of his belt then reached lower and grabbed his butt. Trembling with desire, she squeezed his rock-hard cheeks and drew herself against him.
He sucked her lower lip between his teeth and nibbled at her mouth for a second.
“Are you okay in the elevator?” The voice startled them both.
Bradley pulled back but didn’t let her go.
“Hell,” he muttered, putting his forehead against hers and holding her for another minute.
“Hello?” the voice said again.
“How do I respond?” Bradley whispered
Elizabeth felt waves of regret wash over her. She knew better than to start this kind of thing at work. “Let me.”
She walked to the intercom and pressed the button. “We’re fine. Sorry, we were arguing a point.”
She hit the button for the elevator to resume movement and turned to look at Bradley, who gave her a rueful smile. “Arguing a point? Who won?”
“Me,” she said.
“How do you figure, Lizzie?”
“I wasn’t sure if our last kiss was just a fluke,” she replied. “But now I know it wasn’t.” Inside, she did feel as if it was a victory of sorts, because now she knew what she wanted from Bradley.
“Well, I could have told you that from the start,” he chided. “I knew from the first moment our lips met that it was more than a coincidence.”
“Don’t go bragging,” she said.
The elevator doors opened and she started to walk away, but his voice followed her down the hall to her office.
“Why not? I like the way you stroke my...ego.”
She shook her head as she entered her office and walked behind her desk. She wanted to pretend she was still in charge, both here in the office and in life, but she had a feeling that one trip in the elevator had changed things.
A part of her didn’t regret it, but another part of her was afraid of the way that Bradley made it so easy for her to forget herself and her own rules. Something she knew was incredibly dangerous.
4 (#ulink_f40c123d-267e-5f57-b3c1-d10875c396ca)
BRADLEY TOOK HIS TIME settling into the swanky guest chair that didn’t look as if it could support the weight of anyone who wasn’t a supermodel but was surprisingly sturdy. He loosely crossed one leg over the other, resting his foot on his knee, trying to get comfortable with an erection.
He did envy Elizabeth her ability to switch off so easily. It was only when he noticed the slight flush to her skin that he recognized she wasn’t as immune to him as she liked to pretend. Something he intended to use to his advantage.
“Business first?” he asked.
“Of course, that is why we’re meeting,” she said. She pushed a button and the top of her desk opened to reveal a compartment. She took a pen and hotel notepad from it and drew them toward her.
Everything about this room and about the woman herself was feminine, from the way she held herself to the things she surrounded herself with. It was that dichotomy that had caught his attention. She looked girly and soft, but she had a core of solid steel and she was anything but meek.
“So, Carter Shaw wants to do a charity event,” she said without preamble. “He’s got a huge fan base. Unfortunately, I think having him involved will hurt the chances of making it a success. He’s an agitator and very controversial. I think we’d need to have someone who could keep him in line.”
“I agree. But he is sincere about this. He wants to get at least the date and the venue picked before the Thunderbolt Energy Games come here in January so he can promote it.”
“It is a good idea, but what’s in it for him?” she asked. “I’m trying to figure out his angle.”
“Believe it or not, I think his heart is in the right place this time,” he said. “Carter mentioned he got lucky but most sports were expensive, and snowboarding and skiing even more so when you factored in gear and lift tickets. I think his ultimate aim is to get skis and snowboards into these kids’ hands.”
She jotted down a few notes and then looked up at him with that clear blue-green gaze of hers. “Why not just give it to them?”
“I think he wants them to work for it. And I agree. I’m not a fan of just giving away gear. But if the kids compete and actually work to earn it, then I’d give them the keys to my shop.”
She nodded and nibbled on her lower lip as she made a few notes on her notepad. “Okay. I agree. What do you need from the lodge?”
“I think a venue for the event, but maybe some gratis time on the slopes for those who already know how to ski or snowboard leading up to the event and some lessons for those who want to try it out before the competition.”
“We’re talking about staff hours. How many lessons?” she asked. He noticed that she didn’t commit to anything at all, just kept fishing for information. He already respected her for the job she did, but now, seeing the inner workings of how she managed he was very impressed.
She had changed a lot from the girl she’d been in college, but it occurred to him there was still a lot about Elizabeth he didn’t know. He looked forward to peeling away more of her layers and getting up close and personal with the beautiful, confident woman she’d grown into.
“At this point I don’t know how many lessons we’re looking at. That’s the kind of thing we have to hammer out. I was thinking we need a steering committee made up of different players.” He paused. “I’m still waiting on my staff to find out who is interested in helping out and will volunteer their time. Tim is an okay skier so he can handle lessons, but he’s more recreational than top-ranked amateur.”
“I’ll run this by my board. I want to take some time to go over our charity work for the coming year. I might try to combine this with something else so we can get more exposure. Maybe we can work with the local recreation center to get the kids lessons before the event.”
“I like that idea. Should we meet again in a week or so?”
“Yes,” she said, pulling out her smartphone. “I have some time on Thursday....”
He checked his calendar and noticed that he was supposed to call Penny—one of their college friends and Elizabeth’s best friend. She was a party planner by profession and had volunteered to coordinate the party. But Bradley still needed to get the details of their celebration party for Elizabeth sorted out. He still had to get a list of local friends to her. “I can do it in the afternoon.”
“I’ve only got thirty minutes but that should be enough time.” She smiled. “Thanks for bringing this to the lodge. I’d like to take the lead on this for a Park City venue before you take it to another area ski lodge.”
He locked eyes with her and gave her a smoldering look. “Lizzie, I always think of you first.”
“That’s flattering,” she said, looking adorably flustered. “But if you screw up and call me Lizzie in front of anyone, I’m going to get very angry with you.”
“Really? What does really angry Lizzie look like?”
“You don’t want to know.”
He laughed. “Dinner?”
“Yes, let’s head down to the restaurant. We just hired a top-notch new head chef. Anthony Cruzel.” Her lovely face lit up with pride. “We’re the only restaurant in Park City doing traditional French cuisine with that Creole spin. I think you’re going to be impressed.”
“I’m not much of a foodie,” he confessed. “I’m more interested in you.”
She shifted in her chair and suddenly became focused on her notepad. Was it the fact that he’d stopped talking business and started getting intimate that rattled her?
“Me, too,” she said at last.
He was surprised she’d admitted it. She usually—wait, scratch that—there wasn’t anything usual about them now. They were charting a new path and he had to stop thinking of this as a game. There could be no winners in a competition between lovers. Hadn’t he already found that out in the years he’d spent waiting for Elizabeth to make time for him in her life?
“I never thought you’d say that out loud.”
“It’d be stupid to deny it after the way I kissed you in the elevator.”
“Yes, about that kiss...”
“Friends plus, right?” she said, flashing a very wide smile that he suspected she wanted him to believe was genuine but appeared a little forced and nervous. “We can talk about that after dinner,” she said.
“Why?”
Lizzie gave him a saucy look. “Because you don’t always get to be in charge.”
“And you do?”
“Yes,” she said, standing up and leading the way out of her office. “The sooner you realize that, the better.”
* * *
USTEN’S GASTROPHILE WEST, the five-star restaurant located in the Lars Usten Lodge, re-created the atmosphere of old New Orleans. A large mural that depicted Bourbon Street and the Gastrophile restaurant there covered one wall. There were big trees, with lanterns and lights hanging from the branches, and an indoor water feature made to resemble a river ran around the perimeter of the dining area.
The hostess greeted Elizabeth and led them to a waiting pirogue—a traditional Cajun fishing boat. They were seated in the boat and a uniformed staff member using a pole piloted it to the back of the restaurant and the dock there.
“Welcome to Gastrophile West, ya’ll. My name is Etienne and I’ll be your server tonight.” The waiter had deeply tanned skin, dark curly hair and an accent that was as thick as the humidity in the South. He smiled at Elizabeth as he led the way to their table, which was nestled at the foot of a big old oak tree.
As they were seated, it was easy to forget they were in Utah. Frankly, Bradley was impressed by the new restaurant, which wasn’t surprising. Much like Elizabeth.
Etienne took their drink orders, went over the specials of the evening and left them to look over the menu.
“Nice place,” Bradley murmured.
“I’m glad you like it. We just reopened last month and so far the response has been great.”
“Was this your idea?”
“No, but I hired the people who came up with it,” she said. “I think the success of the renovation of this restaurant and my hiring of Lindsey Collins as our resident ski pro influenced the board’s decision to promote me.”
“I’m sure that was just the icing on the cake. They know what a gem they have in you,” Bradley said.
“A gem?” She arched both eyebrows at him, making him aware of how blue her eyes were tonight. “Are you mocking me?”
“I wouldn’t dare. You’re too intense in this environment. And you are a very hard worker,” he said. “As evidenced by how often you check your phone. Do you think you could put it away for a little while?”
She hesitated, her hand hovering over her cell before she put it in her pocket. “I don’t like being out of touch. I’m in charge, and if anything goes wrong—”
“They know you’re in here dining, Elizabeth. And I’m sure you will agree that even you are allowed to have a meal uninterrupted,” he reminded her.
Taking her hand in his, he turned it over and stroked his finger along her palm. She pulled her hand back and placed both of them in her lap. It amused him in a way, but it also told him that no matter what she said, they had a long way to go before she was going to be comfortable being friends with benefits.
Damn. They were talking too much about it and prolonging the inevitable. He should have taken her in the elevator. Perhaps then she’d be able to relax. “If we’re going to be lovers, I should be able to touch you.”
“Sorry. You make me nervous,” she admitted. “I don’t like feeling out of control.”
“Too bad,” he said with a cocky grin. “You do like other parts of me.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Oh, I won’t,” he said. “You have a way of reminding me of my place in your, uh, friend zone.” He’d wanted to see how she’d react. Agreeing to be more than just friends was one thing, but even after that smoking-hot kiss in the elevator she’d backed away. She was sending him mixed signals and he needed to be very sure before they moved forward that he was what she wanted.
He’d been waiting in the wings for too long to risk anything else.
“We’re not in that zone any more. We’re changing,” she said, taking a sip of her water.
“Are we?”
“Yes, of course. I mean, after today...well, I think that proved we are definitely in a different place. Friends with...”
“Benefits,” he said, with a grin.
She reached over and tentatively stroked her fingers over the back of his hand. “One of the things I admire about you is your tenacity.”
“I’m not afraid to go after what I want.”
“You’ve never been one of those guys to take the easy path,” she agreed quietly, almost more to herself. “You’re so different than the other men I know.”
“In what way, Elizabeth?” he asked huskily.
She leaned back in her chair. He noticed she reached into her purse for her phone and then shook herself as if she realized what she as doing.
She licked her lips and he saw her swallow before she nodded slowly and then folded her arms on the table and leaned forward.
“You make me dangerous,” she said. “I’m acting in a way that I wouldn’t with any other man. But you have always called to the wildness inside me.”
“Why not let it out?” he asked. He’d always sensed that there was more to her than the studious competitor. Normally, brainy girls weren’t his type, but from the first moment he’d met Elizabeth she’d inspired scorching-hot dreams.
Now that he was sitting across from her, asking him if he wanted more, he was afraid to admit he did. Afraid to let her see just how much he wanted her, because if she started to let him in and then pushed him away, as she had a million times before, he knew it would hurt.
And then he would have to walk away for good.
* * *
THIS WASN’T GOING the way she’d planned it in her head. She didn’t want to talk about the way he made her feel or the fact that she even had a wild side. But then nothing with Bradley ever went according to plan. He was mercurial, which explained why she’d tried so hard to keep him at arm’s length, even though it was hard for her and she struggled with that a lot.
“I’m not like you, Bradley. I can’t just let loose. Control is the only way I can be safe,” she said. When she’d been twenty she’d gone a little crazy. Bradley had graduated and she’d felt as though she’d missed out on being young and she had been so afraid that life was passing her by.
She’d started drinking a little too much, to let off steam, and had started an ill-advised affair with someone older. And it had lead to a lot of problems. Problems that she’d had to reach out to her parents to solve.
And they’d helped. They had always been there for her, and that time was no different. She’d promised them no more of that kind of behavior and had kept her word...until now.
She felt the wildness coursing through veins. That feeling that she was going to do something crazy again. Well, crazy for her. An affair with the one man she’d wanted for the longest time. The one man who made her feel like she was more than the cautious girl she’d always had to be.
The one man who was looking at her as if he was waiting for a response.
“What?”
He quirked a brow. “Where did you go?”
“To the past. I don’t want to talk anymore. We should just keep on pretending this is a booty call.”
He looked at her as though she’d gone mad.
“It would be easier to keep our roles as friends and lovers separate that way.”
“Um...no,” he said.
This was going to be tricky. Luckily, their waiter came back to take their order. “I’ll start with the gator fritters, Etienne, and then have the prime rib as a main,” she said, turning her attention to the waiter and off the man annoying her. She took a sip of her mint julep and tried to let it soothe her, but it wasn’t working.
Bradley placed his order and leaned back in his chair as Etienne walked away. He crossed his arms over his chest, which drew the fabric taut against his muscles and made her remember very clearly how he’d lifted her off her feet with ease in the elevator.
“So, where were we?” he asked.
She shrugged. But her body tightened and her heart hammered so loudly she was surprised he couldn’t hear it.
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, looking over at her with that intense green gaze of his. “I’m sorry. I just needed to know that you were sincere and not looking to blow off some sexual steam now that you’ve accomplished your business goal.”
Except that was exactly what she wanted to do. “Um...that is what you proposed. Friends plus, remember?”
“I already regret saying that.”
“Why?”
“After years of keeping your distance, now you’re willing to try something very intimate with me....” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You’re not the only one who’s entitled to be cautious.”
She took another sip of her drink, trying to bide her time and assess if he was telling her the truth. But Bradley had never lied to her. It was one of the things she really liked about him.
He took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb over the back of her knuckles. His gesture was soothing and arousing at the same time and when she met his gaze again, he gave her a half smile, the kind that always made her shiver inside.
“I have wanted you since that first moment we met in college, but you didn’t want that from me so I was happy to let you set the tone of our relationship.” There was a long pause. “But that’s all changed now,” he said.
“Okay. So, what now?”
“I guess we figure out what each of us thought we were agreeing to,” he said.
“Sex,” she said. “I’m only interested in keeping this casual, Bradley. I don’t have the time for a relationship.” She cleared her throat. “I think I’m saying the wrong things. Does this make you want to run for the hills?”
“It should,” he said. “If any other woman but you said this...”
“That’s B.S.,” she retorted. “You have been dancing through life since the moment I met you. It’s the only reason I feel safe going into this with you. Other men see me as this girl-next-door type. The kind of woman who wants all the trimmings.
“But not my badass best friend who likes to keep things light.”
He gave her a cocky grin, one she was very familiar with seeing on his face. “Can’t argue with that.”
The fact of the matter was that if this didn’t work out with Bradley she’d more than likely spend the rest of her life with her vibrator. She didn’t know how to manage a man and her career, and this no-strings-attached thing was the only chance she had of true intimacy with a man. Well, the only chance she was willing to take.
If Bradley seriously wanted more, she would have to turn him down, because they were friends and the last thing she wanted was for him to be hurt by her. She met his dark green gaze and held it steadily, trying to read some sort of emotion in his eyes, but he had his guard up.
She had hers up as well, which was part of the problem if this was going to be anything but a booty call. Someone was going to have to open up. She wanted it to be her. In her mind she saw herself dropping her guard, but in reality it was a little too scary.
5 (#ulink_370bfa04-41a0-52df-8fb9-e1ec213356db)
THEY ENDED UP talking about movies and books throughout dinner. But she couldn’t really relax. She knew she wanted more from Bradley. The sexual desire he’d awakened earlier was winding her up, and she felt that same tight knot of anticipation in her gut as Bradley tried to keep the conversation going.
After dinner, they got their coats for a walk along the lodge’s scenic trail. She avoided going through the lobby because right now she needed her focus to stay on Bradley. For the first time in a while she wanted a chance at something that was just for her. When they stepped outside they found a light snow was falling.
“I love snow early in the season,” she murmured.
“Me, too,” he said, joining his hand with hers and leading her toward the head of the trail. “When I was a kid I didn’t like it so much.”
“Why not? It always seemed magical to me as a child,” she said. “My dad was often home for the day because of travel delays and complications and he’d build a snow fort for my sisters and me.”
The memory of it was nice. Her dad had traveled a lot and she’d missed him when he’d been gone. But November snow always reminded her of him.
“My recollections aren’t that much fun,” he said quietly. “Snow is cold. And heavy at times, and like you said, that meant not going to work, which meant not getting paid, which meant...”
How different they were. She wanted to hug Bradley when she thought of his past and how he’d struggled, but because he was just stating facts, she felt it might make him uncomfortable. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It made me who I am today,” he said gruffly. “And I love that your dad made a snow fort for you. I know you didn’t have that much time with him.”
She looked over at him. Normally on a first date, there was lot of getting to know the other person, but she and Bradley had known each other for a long time. A part of her wondered if her idea for a relationship with him had come too late. Was she kidding herself when she thought she could change the dynamic of it? She leaned closer, trying to feel him out, but it was hard to read his expression in the dim glow of the lamps that were placed at intervals around the path.
“You know I always think of you as a smart-ass?” she asked at last, deciding that it was probably better to lighten up the mood.
“Do you?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I guess it’s not sexy to talk about our pasts.”
“We said we’d keep it light,” she reminded him. She could see something in his eyes that reminded her of impatience. And she knew that, more than the fact that they knew a lot about each other, he wouldn’t let her hide behind the little verbal games she usually liked to play.
“Can’t deny that I can be a joker,” he said with that arrogant grin of his. “So, tell me...what magic did you think the snow held?”
All kinds of magic, but tonight, standing here next to him, walking in the bitter chill...she wondered if that little girl’s dreams even existed inside of her anymore. When she thought of that time and thought of telling him about it, she felt...well, silly.
“Never mind.”
He stopped and turned his intense gaze on her. “Not ‘never mind.’ If we are going to do this, then I want to know every bit of you.”
“I don’t like every bit of me,” she admitted. The little girl who believed in magic had been weak and made dumb mistakes. And she hoped she was nothing like that anymore.
“Tell me, Lizzie. Let me see the parts you don’t think measure up.”
“Why?” she asked. Why would he want to know that?
“Because I haven’t seen anything about you that I don’t like. Not yet.”
She sighed. “It’s silly and childish.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” he said.
Glancing out across the darkened landscape with the snow falling softly through the light provided by the lamps on the table, she found it easy to talk. “I thought there was a snow queen who was waiting for me to come outside and be in her court. I used to make Marina act as my lady-in-waiting and follow me around in the snow as we searched for her.”
“And she did that?” he asked softly.
“You forget I was her big sister and she didn’t like making me mad,” Elizabeth said with a snort. “Actually, I was mean when we were little. I don’t know why. I’ve apologized since then.”
“Kids are just built that way,” he said. “There are some guys I see in Boulder and do business with who were jerks when we were in school.”
“Were you bullied?” she asked.
“Nah, one of the positives to working from a young age is I was always strong. Kids sometimes said mean things about my secondhand clothes or me not having a dad. Stuff like that. I tried not to let it bother me, but it was difficult.”
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Katherine Garbera
Friends with benefits…The Deal: Elizabeth Anders and best friend Bradley Hunt made a pact–if they were both single at thirty, they would add a "naughty benefits" package to their friendship. Now it's time to seal the deal…and it's going to involve much more than just a kiss!The Dilemma: Elizabeth is all about The Career. No relationships, no complications. Still, the chance to indulge in the barely controlled lust between her and Bradley is more than she can resist. But Bradley has an agenda of his own…The moment they touch, years of longing explode into a tempest of desire. And if they're not careful, this "benefits" package will be the ultimate deal-breaker.
Friends with benefits…
The Deal: Elizabeth Anders and best friend Bradley Hunt made a pact—if they were both single at thirty, they would add a “naughty benefits” package to their friendship. Now it’s time to seal the deal…and it’s going to involve much more than just a kiss!
The Dilemma: Elizabeth is all about The Career. No relationships, no complications. Still, the chance to indulge in the barely controlled lust between her and Bradley is more than she can resist. But Bradley has an agenda of his own…
The moment they touch, years of longing explode into a tempest of desire. And if they’re not careful, this “benefits” package will be the ultimate deal-breaker.
“Is there a security camera in here?”
Elizabeth looked at Bradley with surprise. “No. Only the executives have a key to this elevator. Why? What are you doing?”
“Taking the kiss I really wanted.”
The last time he’d kissed her it had been earth-shaking, and even though she was prepared, there was an initial shock that sent waves of sensation down her body. She shut her eyes, but that only intensified the feel of his mouth on hers. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer. For once she just forgot everything and gave in….
His hands caressed her back and then slid lower. He drew her into his body and groaned deep in his throat.
Finally, she felt the rough exhalation of his breath against the side of her cheek as he pulled his mouth from hers.
She opened her eyes and looked up into the dark green gaze of the only man she’d never been able to fit into the “just friends” category. From the moment they’d met, she’d wanted more—that made him dangerous.
Danger at eighteen looked different at thirty, and she knew he still wasn’t a safe option, but she couldn’t walk away. This time, she would take what she wanted.
Dear Reader (#ulink_cb7aa2c5-4140-570e-a243-a70b3161dc80),
Happy holidays! I hope you are ready for my new series, Holiday Heat. I had so much fun writing about these couples and can’t wait for you to read their stories.
Elizabeth Anders is focused and driven. She has always put her career first, except for one night when she watched her younger sister getting married and felt a little sorry for herself and what she was missing out on. Her best friend, Bradley, was only too happy to give her a shoulder to lean on, a kiss and a promise that if they were both still single at thirty, they’d hook up and give a relationship a chance.
To be honest, Elizabeth never expected she’d still be single by then or that she’d start having red-hot fantasies about her best friend. Suddenly she’s thirty, and the idea of bringing those fantasies to life is more than she can resist. But she’s not sure she wants more than just hot nights in Bradley’s bed…. Still, it’s almost Thanksgiving, and she’s thinking a lot about what truly matters in life, and the way she feels in Bradley’s arms makes her think he might be the one.
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I think I love it so much because everyone gets together and there’s no pressure to buy gifts. Though I do love Christmas, too. It’s just that at Thanksgiving I really have a chance to take time to remember all the things I’m grateful for—like my readers!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Katherine
In Too Close
Katherine Garbera
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KATHERINE GARBERA is a USA TODAY bestselling author of more than fifty books and has always believed in happy endings. She lives in England with her husband, children and their pampered pet, Godiva. Visit Katherine on the web at www.katherinegarbera.com (http://www.katherinegarbera.com), or catch up with her on Facebook and Twitter.
When I think of all the blessings in my life, it’s easy
for me to be grateful. I’m thankful for my wonderful
husband, who renewed my faith in love, my
children, who remind me every day that being
a mom is truly the most rewarding thing a woman
can be, and my parents, who showed me by
example that family should always come first.
A special thank you to Laura Barth for all of her
editing on this book. It was fun working on
this series with you!
Also thanks to Eve Gaddy, who FaceTime
chatted with me whenever I hit a snag.
Contents
Cover (#u2eab4804-78ef-54f7-86f2-4d809ce04c88)
Back Cover Text (#u5526b3cf-aecf-5191-a663-92506ad9fc87)
Introduction (#u9dcdf6ce-cdc9-5872-9f35-d00dd9361b3f)
Dear Reader (#ua9292ccb-3ec5-5c9e-b8ba-6d9e2134008a)
Title Page (#uda08817e-bacc-5e9e-a174-e31d9d1ad5cf)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (#u0bb7eedc-e277-51e6-ab89-cfba616c55af)
Dedication (#u5d2e38a9-60ab-5607-b51e-fe09949f40d4)
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1 (#ulink_3bb59ede-4703-5ffb-90e3-ee63446e2a36)
CANDLELIGHT FLICKERED IN Elizabeth Anders’s office, reflecting off the lacquer finish on her Louis Sue Parisian art-deco desk. The stone floor was cold under her feet and she glanced down to see that she’d inadvertently slipped off her Jimmy Choo shoes. Suddenly a shiver raced down her spine. She felt as if someone else was in the room but couldn’t see anyone. There was no sense of menace...more a heightened anticipation. She knew the person in the shadows.
Bradley Hunt.
Her best friend, the man she kept at arm’s length but secretly lusted after. She held him at bay because her goals were too important to get tangled up in sex. And he was a playboy, someone who worked hard but played even harder. Not the kind of man she could ever be interested in, but...
He liked to play at being relaxed and easygoing and he wore his thick brown hair collar length like a corporate raider and always had a day’s worth of stubble on his jaw. He seemed casual but he was just as intense as she was when it came to business. The main difference was that she worked for an exclusive luxury hotel chain and he worked for himself.
He revealed himself and her breath caught as her eyes moved over his rippling muscles and lean six-pack abs. He arched one arrogant dark brown eyebrow at her as he flexed his pectorals. Then he strode toward her.
She groaned as a wave of pleasure swept through her and she knew that no matter how much she might say they were just friends she craved more. She’d wanted him from their first meeting at his frat house when he’d been shirtless on that warm, sunny day and had offered to help her move into her dorm.
Now, as his arms wrapped around her and he drew her closer into his embrace, all those old feelings came flooding back. His mouth was hot, his tongue talented as he used his kisses to melt away the last of her resistance. She knew better than to give in to passion, but for once she wanted to forget all of that and experience everything he had to offer.
Bradley’s hazel eyes were half closed and a dark flush spread across his cheeks as his lips continued their slow, sensual descent. His breath was warm and each exhalation brushed against her neck as he nibbled at the length of it. Shivers of delight pulsed through her and she squirmed, trying to get nearer to him, but he refused to let her close the gap. Only the heat of their bodies touched and, of course, his mouth on her skin.
His hands hovered just over her chest. Their eyes met as she glanced up to see why he wasn’t caressing her. His gaze on her body was intense as he slowly traced just one finger over the exposed flesh.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice deep and husky. It was a tone she’d only heard from him one time before.
The last thing she wanted to do at this moment was debate the wisdom of this. She took his hand and guided it to her breast. He moaned her name on a long, guttural sigh as his hand encompassed her entire breast and squeezed it gently. “Lift your shirt,” he said, the command in his voice mirrored in the intensity of his stare.
His hands were already there. First, just that sensuous rubbing over the globes of her breasts, and then cupping them as his fingers moved in ever-narrowing circles while he touched then tweaked her nipples. She squirmed and shivered as she felt a pulse of heat between her legs.
She parted them and leaned back as his hand drifted down to her stomach and then settled on top of her feminine mound.
Bzzz! Bzzz!
Elizabeth jerked awake and sat up to find her own hand between her legs and her cell phone vibrating on the nightstand. She sighed. Of course she’d have a hot sex dream about Bradley Hunt. It made sense. One kiss five years ago had ignited a flame inside of her that had never been extinguished.
She glanced over at the phone and saw Bradley’s smiling face on the screen. It was a selfie he’d sent to her. The man had an ego as large as the Wasatch Range that surrounded Park City.
Groaning, she reached for the phone. At first she’d thought she conjured him up with her erotic dream, but then cold, hard reality hit her. She’d left a message for him earlier so he was simply calling her back. “Do you know what time it is?” she asked by way of greeting. The clock said 2:00 a.m. Her pulse was still racing. She wanted to be calm and collected but so wasn’t. Something about Bradley always got her riled up.
“Sorry, I’m in London. I can’t ever remember the difference between GMT and Mountain time.”
“Seven hours, lame-o,” she said. “You run a multimillion-dollar sport outfitter and travel all over the world opening retail stores and yet can’t tell time.... How do you do it?”
“I can tell time, Lizzie, just not time zones. Anyway, I wanted to be the first to congratulate you on your promotion, and I knew our friends would wait until the hour was decent.”
“But not my bad-boy best friend,” she said, trying not to sigh. A part of her had hoped he’d called because he remembered their friends-with-benefits pact, but clearly that wasn’t the case.
“I like being first,” he replied.
That wasn’t news to her. When they’d first met, he turned getting good grades into a competition and she’d risen to the challenge. She hated to lose. Had to bite her lip and smile politely when she did, and in Bradley she’d found a fellow competitor who always wanted to win. If things had been different... She thought of her torrid dream and the one scorching kiss they’d shared five years ago.
“Did you fall back to sleep?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.
“No, of course not,” she said.
“Then, what’s up, Lizzie?”
“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Lizzie?” She was stalling for time. How was she going to bring up something that had been said so long ago? Something he’d more than likely forgotten but that she’d kept tucked away in the back of her mind as a kind of insurance policy.
“An infinite number, but I like it,” he said. “Lizzie suits you.”
“My boss wouldn’t agree,” she retorted.
Lars Usten, former Olympian and owner of the very exclusive Lars Usten Lodge and Spa luxury hotel chain, never called her anything but Elizabeth.
“He doesn’t know the real woman.”
“And you think you do?” she asked. She doubted that Bradley had ever really paid any attention to anything other than himself. He was fun, flirty and way too self-absorbed, or so she’d always thought.
“I know I do,” he said.
“Cocky and arrogant, as always,” she said. “Okay, hotshot. Prove it.”
“I know that you’re an executive now, so you’ve met your business goals. I know that you’re going to be thirty on December 31. And I know that we made a bargain with each other that if we were both still single at thirty...”
He let the words trail off and she lay in her bed, sheets twisted around her hips, shaking her head that he’d beaten her to it. She wanted to be mad but could only laugh. This was one time when she was glad he had won. His ability to always rise to any challenge was one of the things she’d always liked about him.
“I wasn’t sure you remembered,” she admitted.
“How could I forget?” he asked. “I’ve had a thing for you for years, but you’ve always kept your distance.”
“It was hard to tell you wanted me through all the women surrounding you,” she quipped.
He laughed. “Touché. So, you still want to give it a try?”
He was so blasé about it that she wondered if there was something she was missing. She’d spent her entire adult life focused and contained so that she wouldn’t do anything stupid like she had when she was twenty. Now, ten years later, she’d accomplished everything she’d always wanted to.
She had it all...except for a lover.
And playboy jokester Bradley...well, he turned her on like no one else, and unless she’d missed something, he could be hers. She wanted him in her life temporarily to sooth that sexual ache that was keeping her up at night. It wasn’t surprising, given his virile nature and how demonstrative he was all the time, but over the years she’d always felt a little ping of excitement in her stomach whenever he called her or walked into a room.
“Do you?” she asked, throwing the ball back into his court.
“I brought it up. Do I really have to be the one to say yes first?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said. She needed to be very careful about how she handled this because she wanted to keep their friendship intact. He was one of her longest relationships, and he got her in ways others didn’t. Maybe he wasn’t as self-absorbed as she’d always wanted to believe. Her girlfriends all teased her about being too intense, but not him. She guessed it was because she was always busy and distracted with work. Plus, as her female friends started getting married and having kids, she’d stepped back. That whole thing—husbands, kids, settled life—it wasn’t her.
“Okay, fine, I want to try dating and see if our friendship can be more.” He paused. “And if not, it will finally put to rest that nagging question.”
“What nagging question?” she asked, trying to play it cool. Bradley and this affair thing were like a business deal. But in her heart she knew it was more.
“Was that kiss a fluke or is there real sexual attraction between us?” he asked.
“Oh, I think it was real,” she said. “As real as you can get.”
* * *
BRADLEY HUNT LEANED farther back in his seat in the departure lounge at London’s Heathrow airport. Cradling his smartphone in his hand, he pictured Elizabeth with her long blond hair falling around her shoulders, her blue-green eyes sleepy, maybe even drifting shut, and wearing some sort of pajamas that covered her from her neck to her toes. She was that buttoned-up, but there had always been something more lingering beneath the surface. She needed a lover to awaken her and remind her she was young.
Hiding in the depths of her beautiful eyes he occasionally caught a fleeting glimpse of fire and passion. And he’d wanted to unlock it, but she’d shut him down each and every time.
Starting when they’d first met...
They’d originally crossed paths when she’d stopped in front of his frat house on her moving-in day at the University of Texas at Austin and asked for directions. She’d been so damned cute with her ponytail and large horn-rimmed glasses that he’d been unable to resist making a pass. And, being Elizabeth, she’d turned him down flat.
He’d taken that rejection as a challenge and the game between the two of them had started. A game she’d done her best to simply ignore until that kiss five years ago that had culminated in a sweet, slightly inebriated bargain.
Back then, on that one unforgettable night, it had seemed as if he was finally going to get a chance to see if the attraction between them was genuine, but in the end...she’d been too vulnerable. He intended to win and have her in his bed, but not because she was feeling lonely and any man would do.
He’d have felt like a cad if he’d gone through with seducing her when she was clearly so not herself. The Elizabeth he wanted to make love with was feisty and confident. Not scared of ending up alone. She was this woman. At her prime. Youngest general manager in the Lars Usten Corporation. He was very proud of her and had never wanted her more.
But with Elizabeth, just as with any competitor, he couldn’t let her see it. He’d built his business from the ground up with hard work. One client at a time. Which was why he had to keep her guessing about how he felt and what he really wanted. She liked the challenge as much as he did. “What makes you think the attraction is real?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.
“Because you wouldn’t still be sniffing around if it wasn’t.”
He laughed despite himself. “So true. And you wouldn’t be talking on the phone with me in the middle of the night unless you wanted...me.”
“I’m not going to deny it,” she said. “I have thought of that kiss at Marina’s wedding more than once.”
Seeing her younger sister married five years ago, coming on the heels of a bad breakup, had shaken Elizabeth. It hadn’t taken a rocket scientist to understand it. He’d glimpsed beneath the outer facade of his best friend and something had changed inside him at that moment.
“I still can’t eat chocolate cake without remembering the way it tasted on your lips,” he admitted.
“Me, either,” she said softly. “So, are you—we—really doing this?”
“Doing what?” he drawled, unable to resist teasing her.
She cleared her throat. “You know...are we going to try the friends-with-benefits thing?”
“Yes. I want to,” he confessed, totally serious now. “You have your career on track and my business is going steady. There’s nothing stopping us.”
She took a deep breath. “This is just sex, right? You know I’m still not interested in anything long-term.”
“Yes.” For now. Bradley knew he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had everything that Elizabeth had to offer. Until she was his, body and soul. But for the time being, friends with benefits worked for him.
He heard the rustle of sheets as she rolled over. Feeling an all-too-familiar throbbing, he straightened his legs to make room for his erection as he pictured her topless, wearing only a pair of sheer black panties....
His imagination took over. If he were with her right now, he would take both of her wrists in one of his hands and hold them behind her back so that her breasts were thrust forward. He’d move in closer to caress her but wouldn’t touch her until she was calling his name, begging for more.
“Bradley?”
He shook himself and thrust his hand through his hair as he realized he needed to get her into bed...and the sooner the better so he could stop fantasizing about her.
“I suggest dinner, once you’ve had a chance to recover from the jet lag. Do you think in two days time would be okay?”
“Yes.”
“We can talk about the details of our arrangement then,” she told him.
“Lizzie, do you really have arrangements with the men you sleep with?” he asked harshly. “I’m not another corporate entity that you are trying to merge with.”
“I know that, really, I do. But I’m not sure how to approach this without keeping it more in business terms. I don’t want—”
“To get hurt, the way you were when Ken left you,” he said.
She didn’t say anything and he wondered if he’d gone too far, but the truth was, they weren’t like other couples that were starting a relationship. They knew each other’s pasts and closely guarded secrets. In a way, Bradley thought it might make things easier. Yet she was still a mystery from his point of view. And he was dying to know how they’d be in bed.
And if they were half as good as that long-ago kiss and his red-hot fantasies, then he figured they’d have a rocking good time together.
“Exactly. But you haven’t been exactly shy around women, Bradley. You’ve broken a few hearts.”
“Not as often as you make it sound. I tend to date women who know the score,” he said. It was true that he was careful to make sure he didn’t date women looking for marriage and long term. There was only one woman he wanted to try a real relationship with, and that was Elizabeth.
“See? You’re just proving my point. Who knows what you think the score is?” she asked. “I don’t want to be roadkill on your journey.”
“That’s horrible. I’ve never left any roadkill, despite what any woman might have told you. In general, the ladies tend to give up on me when they realize that I’m exactly what I said I was and they can’t change me.”
“What makes you think I won’t try to change you?” she asked.
“You already know me, Lizzie, and I know you. We both like to win. I’m not laboring under any misconception that you are going to ever put a man before your job, and you know that I need to be free to do my thing at work and at play.”
“But you’d be faithful to me?” she asked. “Cheating is...well, cheating. I’m not interested in being part of your rotating harem.”
There it was, he thought. That hint of vulnerability left behind from that bastard Ken who’d thought that Elizabeth really was the same hard woman in real life as she was in the boardroom. That she’d be able to understand he needed variety in the bedroom. Bradley had made sure that Ken regretted two-timing her.
“Of course. I might like women, but you know once I commit I don’t play around.”
“I do know that. You even broke up with Samantha just so you could kiss me at Marina’s wedding.”
He’d forgotten about that. Samantha and he hadn’t been that serious, so their split hadn’t been much of an issue, and he’d wanted Elizabeth in that instant with such fierceness....
“Okay, I think we’re getting a bit off topic here. So...dinner in a couple of nights? Shall I pick you up at your place or at the lodge?”
“The lodge. I will have to be on call,” she said. Once again, he heard the rustling of her sheets as she moved on the bed, and he groaned as he imagined her naked.
“Of course.”
“And Bradley...?”
“Yes?” he asked coyly. He had to play this right. If he sounded too anxious she’d back away. Elizabeth had always been wary of him.
“I don’t want to lose this,” she whispered.
“What?”
“Our friendship. You’re the only one who calls me after midnight. Who competes full-out with me and doesn’t hate it when I win. You make me feel like it’s okay to be me,” she said. “If we sleep with each other, that could change.”
“We’ll just have to do our best to make sure it doesn’t change. I’ll always want to wake you after midnight.”
“Really?” she asked, her voice soft and husky, so different from how she was during the regular business day.
“Yes. That’s the time when the line between reality and fantasy are blurred, and attraction and wanting are at their strongest. I can’t imagine that would change just because we were sleeping next to each other. Do you?”
“I guess not.”
“Have a little faith, Elizabeth—we’re both intelligent and we both know what we want. We’re not going to hurt each other. We’re going to give each other pleasure and more friendship.”
“You sound so confident,” she said.
“I am. Trust me.”
He had waited such a long time for Elizabeth, and he knew that she liked to set up rules and barriers between them. But he wasn’t a man to take no for an answer.
This time he was coming for her and nothing—not even Elizabeth—was going to stand in his way.
She sighed. “Well, then, I guess I’ll see you soon, Bradley.”
“You most definitely will, Lizzie.”
2 (#ulink_c98087cd-e09c-5970-bd4a-b5b9e5e352d7)
A LIGHT DUSTING of fresh snow covered the employee parking lot of the Lars Usten Lodge as Elizabeth pulled her SUV into the spot labeled General Manager.
The Lars Usten Lodge/Spa ski resort was the idea of Lars Usten, a two-time gold-medal alpine skier. The runs on the Wasatch Range were used by the U.S. Olympic ski team for practice and training, and although the runs still prohibited snowboarders, they enjoyed a steady stream of lodgers year round.
She hopped out of her SUV and pulled her thick red wool coat tighter to ward off the cold. Then she glanced surreptitiously around before she took out her iPhone and photographed the sign with her name on it.
General Manager, Elizabeth Anders.
Oh, my God. Now it seemed real. Seeing her name on the plaque made her want to do the Snoopy dance of joy, but she was an adult.
“Want me to take your photo next to the sign?”
She glanced over at Lindsey Collins, a former Olympic alpine skier and currently one of the ski instructors at the Lars Usten Lodge, who was standing there with a bemused smile on her face.
Lindsey had wide Nordic features and brown eyes. She was taller than Elizabeth, at five feet ten inches, and wore a thick ski headband in her hair to hold her shoulder-length blond locks off her face. If not for a career-ending accident at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, she’d be up on the mountain training right now.
“You saw?” Elizabeth asked a bit sheepishly.
“Yeah, but I thought it was cute. And you have worked damned hard to get here...so, do you want a photo next to the sign?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth replied. She already had a picture frame on her dresser ready for the photo that would be a reminder—or a touchstone, rather—to keep her on track as she worked every day at her job.
She’d even dressed the part in a swanky black dress that she’d paired with her mother’s pearls and her father’s big gold watch. She wouldn’t be where she was today without her parents.
“Go on, then,” Lindsey said.
Elizabeth walked over to the sign and turned to look back at the camera. Inside she might feel like grinning, but her expression for the photo was serious and intent. “Got it. You want to join me for breakfast?” Lindsey asked.
“Yes, I’d love to. But first I want to touch base with the night manager and make sure everything is on track. So...thirty minutes?”
“Perfect. I want to check the ski valet and make sure that Thompson Holmes’s skis arrived.”
“I was going to ask you about that,” Elizabeth said. Thompson Holmes was a Hollywood director but also an avid outdoorsman. He loved the lodge and they kept one of their private cabins on standby for him since he often called at the last minute.
“We can discuss over breakfast,” Lindsey replied. “My treat.”
“Why?” Elizabeth asked. Over the last few months, as Lindsey had adjusted to being one of the ski instructors, the two women had become friends. They often had breakfast together, but each always paid her own way.
“To celebrate. It’s my way of saying congratulations on your promotion.”
“Oh, well, thanks,” Elizabeth said. “It’s not that big a deal.”
“Yes, it is. I’m proud of you,” Lindsey added before turning and walking away. Elizabeth drew her coat a little closer around herself as she walked toward the lodge and her office. It was situated with all of the executive offices, on the second floor, behind a massive stone atrium wall with a fireplace in it. When she moved into her new one she’d have a view of the Wasatch Range.
The view wasn’t what she’d worked so hard for, but she’d definitely enjoy it.
As she entered the lodge she was greeted by the doorman, Henry, who’d been trained at some of the finest hotels in Europe. Lars only hired the very best to staff his lodge. The moment she walked inside everyone began offering congratulations and she took the time to greet them all by name.
She’d learned from Lars that little gestures like that meant the difference between good and great. Good didn’t lead, but great could.
Elizabeth walked over to her desk and shook her head as she remembered her lurid dream about Bradley last night. She tossed her designer tote onto her dark-stained walnut sideboard and skimmed the room with her eyes, half expecting him to be waiting in the corner. But that was just wishful thinking, and this was real. She was the general manager of the Lars Usten Lodge. It was a big deal. She wished her father were here for her to call. He would have been so proud of her for getting this promotion.
He’d been a middle manager and traveled a lot when she and her sister were little. His dream had been to see them both succeed and be happy. Elizabeth had always been his little shadow.
She paused for a moment, letting the heels of her shiny black pumps sink into her bespoke geometrically designed Persian rug, before she sat down behind her desk. Knowing she had a busy day ahead of her, she took out her laptop and powered it up, then switched on her Tiffany lamp and got to work. Barely ten minutes later she heard a knock. She glanced up from the memo she was typing and invited the person to enter. It was her boss, Lars.
She stood up, wiped her hands on her skirt and walked around her desk to greet the chairman of the board. He was sixty-five but showed little sign of slowing down. Lars had once been a champion giant-slalom skier and still started every day with some sort of outdoor activity, which probably accounted for his good health.
“Good morning, Elizabeth,” the silver-haired gentleman said. “Are you ready for the morning report?”
“Morning, Lars,” she said, holding her hand out to him and following his ritual of the European air kiss to each cheek before returning to sit behind her desk. Her computer screen flashed a message and she saw that the morning report had just arrived in her mailbox.
This was the second time that Jerry had been late in filing the report and she jotted a quick note to have a discussion with him. She’d worked with him in her former position as well, and knew that his lateness was becoming a habit.
She skimmed the email and started to discuss it with her boss. When she finished he leaned back in the art-deco guest chair, crossing one leg over the other.
“Very good. I can see you have this all under control. I think I will move our meetings to weekly instead of daily.”
“Okay. I will have Paula make the adjustments to our calendars,” Elizabeth said calmly, but inside she was doing the a victory dance. It had taken five long years, but finally she thought she had gained Lars’s trust.
He nodded and then stood up and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows. Elizabeth hesitated for a second before going to join him.
“I want to warn you, Elizabeth, that this job is not without its drawbacks. You have worked hard to get here but you haven’t reached the final destination. You will still have to work hard—harder even than before—and there is a lot that you will find yourself sacrificing.”
“I’m aware of that,” she said.
“If at any time you find that you no longer wish to make that sacrifice, let me know.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Elizabeth reassured him.
“You might find yourself feeling differently,” he said. “I’ve always put the lodge first.”
“I do, as well,” she said. “This job is the most important thing in my life.”
“I have noticed, but you do run the risk of ending up just like me.”
“Great,” she said. “I want to be successful.”
“But you might also wind up alone. It’s not for everyone,” he said. “Just think about it.”
She nodded, and he said his goodbyes and left. She thought about her midnight call from Bradley and their dinner plans for tomorrow. She didn’t know if it was wise to tempt fate and make their friendship into something more, but she also knew she wasn’t going to back down.
Having it all seemed like a challenge but she was more than up to the task, she reassured herself. Really, she was.
* * *
HER PHONE RANG a little after midnight, just as she shut off the Late Show and was preparing to go to sleep.
“Still struggling with the time zones?”
“Yes, but not in the way you mean. I’m wide-awake, even though it’s the middle of the night. Too much time in the U.K.”
“What were you doing there, by the way?” she asked. “Forgot to ask the other night.”
“We just got a new contract. But that’s not why I called. We can talk business any time. The middle of the night...that’s our time for fantasy.”
“Fantasy? I thought you were a real man,” she teased. “Did I make you up?”
She got out of bed and walked quickly to the wall switch to turn off the overhead light before going back to bed. She lay in the middle of the queen-size mattress, plumped the pillows up behind her and settled down to talk to Bradley.
A long time ago she’d given up the illusion that any man would be sharing her bed regularly. She thought part of it was due to the fact that she didn’t want to have to compromise on any of the things she wanted. But the other part...well, she didn’t want to risk falling in love and acting stupid again.
“Oh, I’m real enough. I didn’t think you’d appreciate a midnight visit, so I called instead.”
“This is getting to be a habit,” she said. “I guess you’re safely back in Utah?”
“I am. Landed earlier today. Crashed for a few hours and then tried calling you around dinner time.”
“I had my phone on silent. I was in an executive meeting,” she said. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this late-night call? Is it to discuss our benefits?”
“Benefits. That’s such a fun word. What do you think they should look like?”
“You shirtless, waiting on me hand and foot,” she said.
Keep it light. She wanted him in her bed, too. She wanted someone she could share her fears with. This new job, the one she’d hoped was the pinnacle of her career, suddenly felt like another summit she still had to climb.
“Ah, I see. A glorified cabana boy.”
“Sort of. It’s a shame you didn’t just return from someplace sunny.”
“I’m naturally pretty tanned. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” he murmured.
She didn’t think so, either, but his ego was big enough without her stroking it. Though stroking him was what she wanted. She hated to admit it, but the truth was she was ready for sex. And a lot of it. Yet, by the same token, she didn’t want to let this stray into anything other than their regular friendship.
She sighed. End this now before it turns into another regret.
“What’s wrong, Lizzie?” he asked softly.
Guess she shouldn’t be surprised that he’d noticed her sudden trepidation. After all, they’d always been pretty in tune with each other. And even though she kind of wished he wasn’t quite so observant right now, it was probably better to just get this all out in the open.
“Well, if you must know...we haven’t had sex yet and this is getting complicated.”
“Only if you let it,” he said.
Her friend always knew the right thing to say to calm her down and make her believe things would get better. He was the reason they’d made this bargain. She would have been happy for a one-night hookup at Marina’s wedding and a lifetime of loneliness, but Bradley had teased her with the thought that she could have more.
“I hope it’s that easy.”
“Of course it is,” he said.
“You—
“Me and you,” he said. “That’s what this is about. We know what we want.”
“We do?” she asked. She wasn’t as brazen about that now as she had been last night. But then, he hadn’t just woken her from a steamy dream that had left her hot for him.
Reality had intruded big-time today and she was confused. That was it. She didn’t know what she wanted anymore. It wasn’t as straightforward as it had been the day before.
“Lizzie?”
“Yes.”
“I want you.”
His voice was deep and husky as it vibrated in her ear, and it sent shivers of desire down her spine.
“How do you want me?”
“Lying next to me. Curled up close so that I can lean over you,” he said.
“I’d like that. I’ve been thinking about that one kiss...wanting to know if it was the atmosphere and the champagne that made you taste so good, made it feel so right.”
“I can promise it wasn’t just that. It was you and me.”
You and me. He kept linking them together as though they belonged with each other. “You know this is just sex.”
“It’s friendship plus.”
She laughed. “Plus?”
“Yes, we’re still buddies, but now we get all the good stuff. Don’t forget we were friends first.”
“I’m not. I just need to be very careful that you don’t expect more. Like I said last night, I’m not ready for more than...” She couldn’t bring herself to say more than sex. That would make it seem as if she was using him.
“Late-night rendezvous.”
“Yes.”
“We’re good,” he said. “And tomorrow at dinner I will put your doubts about our kiss to rest.”
“They aren’t doubts,” she said.
“What are they?”
Longing. It was the hope that his kisses were just as hot and magical as she remembered, because she wanted Bradley to live up to all the fantasies she’d given him a starring role in.
“Never mind.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.
“Good night, Bradley.”
“Sweet dreams.”
* * *
BRADLEY WALKED INTO his offices above Fresh Sno in Park City and tossed his leather duffel bag onto the big, overstuffed couch in the corner. The office area was a large loft above the retail store, and its open floor plan allotted lots of cubicle space for all his staff. Right now it was fairly empty.
“Cult of Personality” was blaring from the speakers, and his assistant, Tia, stood next to her desk flirting with Carter Shaw, world number-one half-pipe snowboarder and all-around lothario.
Tia was tall, curvy and had thick, brown dreadlocks that hung to the middle of her back. She wore an insanely short denim miniskirt over a pair of mustard-yellow tights and combat boots. She had on a thick Irish wool sweater that Bradley had brought her back after his last trip to the U.K. Fresh Sno had won a bid to supply skis and boards to a chain of indoor winter sports centers in England, Scotland and Wales, and he’d racked up quite a few frequent-flyer miles traveling overseas these past few months.
“I thought I was paying you to work,” he said.
“Believe it or not, boss man, I am working,” Tia replied, turning around to face him. “Carter is here with a business proposition.”
“I think that’s not the only proposition he had in mind,” Bradley remarked.
The snowboarder threw up his hands. “Hey, a boy can dream, can’t he?”
“Indeed. I need coffee, but then we can talk in the conference room at the end of the hall.”
“No problem,” Carter said, stepping away to check his cell phone. “Take your time.”
Carter was an Olympic gold medalist and had the sort of bad-boy reputation that the public adored. He was leading the lobby to have all of the resorts in Park City open all their ski runs up to snowboarding, and having the Thunderbolt Energy Games stop in Park City had certainly helped his cause.
As a retailer who sold a lot of snowboards, Bradley was backing the boarders. The only downside was that it caused some friction between himself and Elizabeth. Most of the luxury resorts preferred to keep to the status quo. Another way that Elizabeth was making herself old before her time.
Bradley didn’t enjoy being at odds with her. It reminded him that he came from a different world than she did. And he didn’t like it.
“Anything pressing?” he asked Tia as he escorted Carter out and stopped by her desk.
“No. But a package arrived for you from Tiffany’s.” She gave him a wry look. “Are you dating someone new?”
“None of your biz,” Bradley said, as he went to the coffee machine in the corner and made himself a double espresso. It was going to be a long day. But his reward was dinner and an evening with Elizabeth. He’d been in a state of semi-arousal ever since he’d called her two nights ago.
Elizabeth. That one kiss had been way too long ago. A part of him wondered if he’d imagined how good it had been. Her taste had been so unique and so right. He’d kissed other women since then but they’d all left him wanting.
“Not that its any of your business, nosy,” Bradley said, “but it’s for Elizabeth. She’s just been promoted to the general manager of the Lars Usten Lodge.”
Carter whistled. “Impressive. That place is first class all the way. They still aren’t as boarder friendly as I’d like them to be, though.”
“Actually, it is now. I have a contract to provide all equipment for ski rental there.” Holding his cup of steaming espresso in one hand and his briefcase in the other, Bradley led the way to the conference room. “But I think you are here to discuss something else.”
“Yes, I am. I want to put together a group of exhibition events similar to the Thunderbolt Energy Games and I need some sponsors to do it,” Carter told him. “I’d like Fresh Sno to be a major participant.”
“Would we do it here in Park City?” Bradley asked as the two of them entered the conference room and took a seat at a long, narrow table. Already he was weighing the pros and cons. He liked community events but his company wasn’t big enough to give too much to charity without it affecting the bottom line. “Why would we need to do another Thunderbolt Energy Games thing?”
“I want to combine it with kids who aren’t already at the top, the ones who haven’t been exposed to good equipment and teachers. Part of it is to use my reputation to give back to the community that nurtured me.”
“I like it,” Bradley said, the wheels already turning in his head. “I bet we can get some of the resorts in the area to kick in as venues. What do you think?”
“Great idea. I grew up here and I know how hard it can be to get your start if you don’t have money. I want the kids who are out there using secondhand boards and skis to have a place to compete and maybe win some new gear. I want to make things easier—”
“I get it,” Bradley acknowledged with a smile. “Give them the shot that you wish someone had given you.”
“Exactly, dude. I know that I could convince my Thunderbolt Energy Drink sponsor to stop here on their tour but I want some events that aren’t part of that.”
“So are you thinking this would run concurrently?” Bradley asked. “I don’t know how that would work.”
“Actually, I’d rather it was a separate event. Use the publicity from the Thunderbolt Energy Games to generate some word of mouth for our Park City games. Or Fresh Sno...I don’t know what else we could call it.”
“How about Fresh Faces?” Bradley suggested. “I’ll ask my marketing guru to get on it.”
“I’m going to be traveling the next two weeks but then will be back in Park City the week before Thanksgiving. My mom would kill me if I missed the holiday.”
“Moms are like that,” Bradley said, because he knew that was what was expected.
“Yeah, but mine’s the best, so I don’t mind it.”
“We can meet that week and I’ll let you know what I’ve come up with. When are you thinking of having this event? I believe that the Thunderbolt Energy Games are going to be in town in January.”
“They are, so I was thinking next November. That gives us a year to talk it up and to get everything lined up.”
“Okay. Just keep in mind that I’m not making any promises yet. I’ll bring this to my team meeting this afternoon and see who wants to get involved.”
“Awesome.” Carter gave him a high five. “I think I’m going to like working with you, man.”
“Would you consider an endorsement deal, too?” Bradley asked. “We could link it with your desire to help the local kids. Maybe get some of Park City Recreation’s best and brightest to do the ads with you.”
“Yes, I will. Of course, my agent will have to be involved so shoot me over an email with the deets and I’ll have him get on it,” Carter said, pulling out a business card and handing it over.
Bradley suspected the snowboard/surfer dude thing was just a persona that Carter wore when he was working a deal. But he didn’t comment on it. He was used to dealing with people like that. He’d figure Carter out as he had figured out Elizabeth, and once he knew what made the other guy tick, he’d know the best way to move forward.
Elizabeth did the same thing—acted as though she was a tough-as-nails executive when inside she was a woman waiting to be coaxed out of her shell. And he was just the man to do it.
3 (#ulink_95904670-c984-5903-a546-5b6c57d977f8)
ELIZABETH SPENT MOST of the day in meetings. But really her mind was on Bradley. Her friend “plus.” She hadn’t been able to get that notion out of her head all day, and she was practically counting the minutes until she saw him again.
She stood above the lobby, which was decked out in fall garlands with the signs of harvest all around. It seemed homey—if home was a big mansion with lots of luxury. She remembered the modest ranch-style home she’d grown up in and acknowledged to herself that Thanksgiving looked a lot different this year.
The scent of spiced pumpkin cookies wafted in the air from the bakery down the hall that led out to the ski area. She felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. Suddenly, she heard raised voices at the front desk and realized that Thompson Holmes was demanding something.
She rubbed the back of her neck. He was demanding and not a very nice man. He might be able to make people weep with his blockbuster movies but in real life he was an ass. But it was her job to keep him happy so he’d tell his friends about the resort. A big part of their clientele was Hollywood A-listers.
Her cell phone rang and she glanced down at Bradley’s face before answering the call.
“I can’t believe you’re calling me at a decent hour,” she quipped. She kept one eye on the front desk where her manager seemed to be getting Thompson to calm down.
“The hour is always decent when you’re on the phone, Lizzie. I’m calling to see if we can bump our dinner to 8:30.”
She felt a twinge of disappointment. They’d been friends for years; she was ready for the benefits to kick in. Maybe he had cold feet after their call last night.
“Sure. We don’t have to have dinner. You can come by my place later, instead.”
“We’re having dinner,” he said. “I was hoping to add a meeting to your calendar today to discuss an opportunity that Carter Shaw brought me. Our dinner is about you and me. I don’t want to talk business then.”
She ignored the fact that he’d just made her feel warm and tingly inside. Sex was all she wanted from Bradley, but the truth was he’d always made her feel good. Even when they were competing against each other and he beat her.
“I’d love to discuss this,” she said. She needed a community project on the calendar for next year. “But Carter can be...difficult. My board of directors is still a little peeved from the way he pushed for snowboarders. Should I get our ski pro to join us?”
She was already thinking where in her schedule she could fit the meeting in and get Lindsey to join them. That way, she’d ensure it was more business and less date. The more she’d contemplated their friends-with-benefits arrangement today, the more important it seemed to make certain they didn’t fall into a relationship. It would just complicate things.
“It’s up to you, but at this phase, probably just you and I would be fine to discuss this idea. I’m talking to the GMs at all the area resorts.”
“Okay. So is it something exciting? Give me some details so I can start—”
“So eager. Are you always this impatient?” he asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.
“I just don’t like surprises,” she said. “Forewarned is forearmed and all that.”
“We’re not going to battle,” he reminded her.
Yet it felt like that at times. Letting her guard down with Bradley would be a mistake. She already liked him way too much.
“I just like having all the facts.”
“Fair enough. He wants to do a charity-type winter-sports event in Park City next November. I’m going to donate gear to give to underprivileged kids and I was hoping you could donate the facilities.”
She thought about the logistics of what he was asking. “I’m going to have to run some numbers. Let’s meet in my office at seven and then we can head down to dinner at the Gastrophile West after.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then,” Bradley said. “But you should know I’m putting the timer on and when it’s time for dinner, I’m ending our meeting.”
“Fine. I’m not all about business, you know,” she reminded him. His words echoed those that she’d heard from her family and friends over the years. In fact, whenever she went home for the weekend, her mom confiscated her cell phone the moment she arrived. “If you’re going to have an attitude we can skip the dinner.”
“We’re not skipping anything. I wasn’t giving you a hard time, Lizzie. I just want to make sure that we have enough time to celebrate. What you’ve accomplished is huge and you deserve at least one dinner where the focus is on you.”
She smiled to herself, but felt a shiver of unease go down her spine. “I don’t need the spotlight on me.”
“Maybe I want it there,” he said, his voice dropping to that husky, seductive octave that he’d used in the middle of the night.
“We don’t always get we want, Bradley. You should know that by now,” she said.
“That might be true for some people, but I’m very determined where you are concerned.”
“And what have you determined?” she asked, a bit breathlessly.
He didn’t answer right away and she wasn’t sure if he was doing that to bide his time or to make her jittery, but the effect was the latter.
This dinner was starting to sound like one of the most dangerous things she’d ever agreed to. A night with Bradley could shake her to her moorings, and she’d always known that, but she’d felt sort of safe because she wanted something from him.
“Bradley?”
“I’m determined to have you, Elizabeth Anders, and I’m not going to let your job, or any other excuse you can find, stand between us. Don’t deny you’re having second thoughts. I could tell by the way you ended the call last night.”
“You’re not as clever as you think. I’m not backing away. Just anxious to get to the plus part of this friendship.”
He laughed, the sound booming through the phone and making her shiver with sensual awareness. “I love it when you surprise me, Lizzie girl.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that. But she knew she’d done something to throw him off his guard. He only called her Lizzie when he was trying to feel her out and figure out what move to make next.
“If I did it all the time it wouldn’t be special,” she said.
“Right again,” he replied under his breath.
She caught hers and waited to see if he’d say anything else, but instead there was only silence. Thompson was shaking the hand of the front-desk manager but Elizabeth still wanted to speak with him and make sure he was taken care of. Doing her job gave her an excuse to escape from Bradley...and all those tumultuous feelings he roused in her. “Look, I’m needed in the lobby, so I’ll talk to you later.”
* * *
THE LARS USTEN LODGE was steeped in American Western tradition and money—two things that hadn’t been in play during Bradley’s childhood. His dad had been a bull rider who had spent one night with Bradley’s mother before moving on. Bradley had never known his old man. He’d given up on that dream when he’d turned ten.
There were still times when the longing to know his father still niggled in the back of his mind, but most days he was content with where he was in the world. He’d carved a successful life for himself and felt a sense of confidence that he wasn’t out of his league here. He could afford to stay and play at the exclusive resort if he chose to.
He handed the keys to his classic ’69 Chevy Camaro to the valet. He put his shoulders back and walked into the resort with the confidence of a man who’d made his own way in the world. It wasn’t lost on him that ten years ago he’d have had to pretend to fit in here, but today he really did.
The staff was friendly and efficient. The lobby spotless and welcoming. He didn’t know how much influence Elizabeth had over the look and feel of the resort, but in his mind he saw her little touches everywhere—the art-deco-inspired paintings on the walls, the attention to detail that she brought to everything she did. She’d been working as the assistant general manager before her promotion. And he knew Lars had given her a lot of extra responsibilities.
He shook his head, knowing what he really needed was a kick in the ass. If he had any chance of convincing Elizabeth to be more than his lover, he had to play it cool.
He knew that. But he’d wanted her for so long. Admired her for her hard work, but at the same time also resented the way she was able to compartmentalize everyone and everything in her life. And he was done abiding by her rules. He was changing the play now and determined to win, no matter what the cost.
“Welcome to the Lars Usten Lodge. May I help you?” the concierge—Theo, according to his nametag—asked when Bradley stepped up to the hospitality desk.
“I’m here to see Ms. Anders.”
“Do you have an appointment, sir?”
“I do. Bradley Hunt.”
“Please have a seat and I’ll let her know you’re here,” Theo said, gesturing to the overstuffed guest chairs.
Bradley walked over to the lobby area but didn’t sit down. He was too restless and that worried him. When he felt like this he acted impulsively, and he needed to be calculated and cool.
At times likes this he wished he’d known his father. Was this reckless feeling coursing through him right now something that he’d gotten from those genes? His mom certainly hadn’t done many impulsive things after that one-night stand that had netted her a child.
“Bradley.”
He turned as Elizabeth walked over to him. She smiled as she saw him, but it was her public smile—the one he knew she used on guests and acquaintances—and that irked him because he wanted her to be happy to see him. Not fake happy.
But then he forgot his irritation as he watched her move. She wore ridiculously high heels, which canted her hips forward and made them sway with each step she took. For a woman so determined to be businesslike, there was something very feminine about the way she dressed and the way she carried herself.
He’d never been able to ignore it and over the years—wait, he didn’t have to ignore it now. He closed the gap between the two of them and leaned in for a kiss.
Her eyes widened as she realized what he was doing and she gave him a hard stare before tipping her head back and kissing him full on the mouth. It wasn’t meant to be a true embrace but more one-upmanship on her part...yet, for some reason, he didn’t care.
Her lips were soft and warm under his. The scent of mint washed over him as he pressed his mouth against hers and encircled her waist with his hands, drawing her close for just a moment before stepping back.
“It’s good to see you,” he murmured.
“I’m guessing you’ve picked up some European habits while travelling.”
“Uh, I don’t know how to break this to you, Lizzie, but no one greets each other like that unless they are very good friends.”
She watched him with that rock-steady gaze of hers, and for just a second he saw some wild emotion flash in her eyes. He wondered what she hid. She was always so buttoned up, so careful and cautious in everything she did. And he’d normally put it down to the fact that she was focused on work, but now he sensed it might be something else.
“We’ve always been friends, Bradley.”
“And I see no reason why anything that happens between us now will change that. Our lives are too entwined.”
“That they are. If you’re ready to discuss business, then let’s head up to my office.”
“I’m definitely ready to be alone with you,” he said, letting his voice drop to a gravelly tone.
Lizzie didn’t respond. Instead, she led the way past Theo, who pretended not to notice them, to the private elevator behind the counter.
“I’m not sure what that was about,” she said the moment the doors closed.
“It was about me making sure that you know I’m not just some guy you have a meeting with. We’re beyond that, and from our conversation two nights ago, I thought you’d agreed with me.”
She nibbled on her lower lip and shook her head. “Of course I do. But I need you to understand I can’t be gossiped about here. I’m their boss and the employees need to always remember that.”
“In that case, I apologize,” he said, reaching around her to hit the stop button. “Is there a security camera watching us?”
“No. Only the executives have a key to use this elevator.” Her eyes darted toward him nervously. “Why? What are you doing?”
“Taking the kiss I really wanted.”
* * *
ELIZABETH BRACED HERSELF for the touch of Bradley’s mouth against hers. The last time he’d kissed her...it had been earthshaking, and even though she was prepared, there was that initial shock that sent waves of feeling down her body.
She shut her eyes but that only intensified the sensation of his mouth on hers. He put his hands on her waist, drawing her closer to him, and for once she just forgot about everything but the here and now.
She tilted her head to the side to get a better angle, thrust her tongue deep into his mouth and savored the taste of him. This was her reward, she thought. Justifying to herself...taking what she’d longed for.
His hands caressed her back and then slid lower. He cupped her buttocks and drew her into his body. His hips rocked against hers and he groaned deep in his throat.
She smiled inside, where she’d been alone and cold for the longest time, and then tangled her hands in his thick brown hair and drew him even closer to her. She felt the rough exhalation of his breath against the side of her cheek as she pulled her mouth from his.
She opened her eyes and looked up into the dark green gaze of the one man she’d never been able to really categorize as “just a friend.” From the first moment they’d met, she had wanted more, which made him extremely dangerous.
And danger at age thirty looked much different than at eighteen, so although she knew in her heart that he still wasn’t the safe option, she wasn’t walking away this time. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life living in a sort of shadow state, never really taking what she wanted.
“I guess I’m not the only one who wanted that kiss,” he said, keeping his grip on her waist.
She reached up and touched his lower lip, rubbing her finger back and forth against it while she tried to think of a comeback. It was hard to speak when everything in her body was focused on how good Bradley felt and how she never wanted to leave his arms.
He pressed his hips against her and arched one eyebrow.
“You always did need your ego stroked,” she said at last.
“Honey, that’s not my ego.”
“I know exactly what it is,” she murmured, reaching between their bodies to rub his cock through his pants. He groaned and his hands tightened on her a split second before his mouth came down again.
This time there was no illusion of who was doing the claiming. Bradley was staking his, and she enjoyed every second of it. He lifted her off her feet and held her securely to him as his lips devoured hers.
Elizabeth relinquished everything, stopped thinking, stopped worrying and stopped wishing this was something that she could control. And she acknowledged, for perhaps the first time in a really long time, that she wasn’t in control of anything.
Gripping Bradley’s shoulders, she held on to him as sensations swept over her, and felt herself let go. Really letting go had been a long time coming, and suddenly she couldn’t stop.
She lifted her leg and wrapped it around his hips, rubbing the center of her body over the ridge of his cock, and he shuddered in her arms. Then he pulled his mouth from hers, whispering dark words of sexual need against her skin as he nibbled at her neck, and his hands slid lower to cup her buttocks and draw her into fuller contact with him.
With her nails into his shoulders she sought his mouth again as he rocked his hips against hers. The world started spinning around her. Feeling the cold surface of the elevator car against her back and Bradley pressed along her front, she trailed her hands down his back until she felt the barrier of his belt then reached lower and grabbed his butt. Trembling with desire, she squeezed his rock-hard cheeks and drew herself against him.
He sucked her lower lip between his teeth and nibbled at her mouth for a second.
“Are you okay in the elevator?” The voice startled them both.
Bradley pulled back but didn’t let her go.
“Hell,” he muttered, putting his forehead against hers and holding her for another minute.
“Hello?” the voice said again.
“How do I respond?” Bradley whispered
Elizabeth felt waves of regret wash over her. She knew better than to start this kind of thing at work. “Let me.”
She walked to the intercom and pressed the button. “We’re fine. Sorry, we were arguing a point.”
She hit the button for the elevator to resume movement and turned to look at Bradley, who gave her a rueful smile. “Arguing a point? Who won?”
“Me,” she said.
“How do you figure, Lizzie?”
“I wasn’t sure if our last kiss was just a fluke,” she replied. “But now I know it wasn’t.” Inside, she did feel as if it was a victory of sorts, because now she knew what she wanted from Bradley.
“Well, I could have told you that from the start,” he chided. “I knew from the first moment our lips met that it was more than a coincidence.”
“Don’t go bragging,” she said.
The elevator doors opened and she started to walk away, but his voice followed her down the hall to her office.
“Why not? I like the way you stroke my...ego.”
She shook her head as she entered her office and walked behind her desk. She wanted to pretend she was still in charge, both here in the office and in life, but she had a feeling that one trip in the elevator had changed things.
A part of her didn’t regret it, but another part of her was afraid of the way that Bradley made it so easy for her to forget herself and her own rules. Something she knew was incredibly dangerous.
4 (#ulink_f40c123d-267e-5f57-b3c1-d10875c396ca)
BRADLEY TOOK HIS TIME settling into the swanky guest chair that didn’t look as if it could support the weight of anyone who wasn’t a supermodel but was surprisingly sturdy. He loosely crossed one leg over the other, resting his foot on his knee, trying to get comfortable with an erection.
He did envy Elizabeth her ability to switch off so easily. It was only when he noticed the slight flush to her skin that he recognized she wasn’t as immune to him as she liked to pretend. Something he intended to use to his advantage.
“Business first?” he asked.
“Of course, that is why we’re meeting,” she said. She pushed a button and the top of her desk opened to reveal a compartment. She took a pen and hotel notepad from it and drew them toward her.
Everything about this room and about the woman herself was feminine, from the way she held herself to the things she surrounded herself with. It was that dichotomy that had caught his attention. She looked girly and soft, but she had a core of solid steel and she was anything but meek.
“So, Carter Shaw wants to do a charity event,” she said without preamble. “He’s got a huge fan base. Unfortunately, I think having him involved will hurt the chances of making it a success. He’s an agitator and very controversial. I think we’d need to have someone who could keep him in line.”
“I agree. But he is sincere about this. He wants to get at least the date and the venue picked before the Thunderbolt Energy Games come here in January so he can promote it.”
“It is a good idea, but what’s in it for him?” she asked. “I’m trying to figure out his angle.”
“Believe it or not, I think his heart is in the right place this time,” he said. “Carter mentioned he got lucky but most sports were expensive, and snowboarding and skiing even more so when you factored in gear and lift tickets. I think his ultimate aim is to get skis and snowboards into these kids’ hands.”
She jotted down a few notes and then looked up at him with that clear blue-green gaze of hers. “Why not just give it to them?”
“I think he wants them to work for it. And I agree. I’m not a fan of just giving away gear. But if the kids compete and actually work to earn it, then I’d give them the keys to my shop.”
She nodded and nibbled on her lower lip as she made a few notes on her notepad. “Okay. I agree. What do you need from the lodge?”
“I think a venue for the event, but maybe some gratis time on the slopes for those who already know how to ski or snowboard leading up to the event and some lessons for those who want to try it out before the competition.”
“We’re talking about staff hours. How many lessons?” she asked. He noticed that she didn’t commit to anything at all, just kept fishing for information. He already respected her for the job she did, but now, seeing the inner workings of how she managed he was very impressed.
She had changed a lot from the girl she’d been in college, but it occurred to him there was still a lot about Elizabeth he didn’t know. He looked forward to peeling away more of her layers and getting up close and personal with the beautiful, confident woman she’d grown into.
“At this point I don’t know how many lessons we’re looking at. That’s the kind of thing we have to hammer out. I was thinking we need a steering committee made up of different players.” He paused. “I’m still waiting on my staff to find out who is interested in helping out and will volunteer their time. Tim is an okay skier so he can handle lessons, but he’s more recreational than top-ranked amateur.”
“I’ll run this by my board. I want to take some time to go over our charity work for the coming year. I might try to combine this with something else so we can get more exposure. Maybe we can work with the local recreation center to get the kids lessons before the event.”
“I like that idea. Should we meet again in a week or so?”
“Yes,” she said, pulling out her smartphone. “I have some time on Thursday....”
He checked his calendar and noticed that he was supposed to call Penny—one of their college friends and Elizabeth’s best friend. She was a party planner by profession and had volunteered to coordinate the party. But Bradley still needed to get the details of their celebration party for Elizabeth sorted out. He still had to get a list of local friends to her. “I can do it in the afternoon.”
“I’ve only got thirty minutes but that should be enough time.” She smiled. “Thanks for bringing this to the lodge. I’d like to take the lead on this for a Park City venue before you take it to another area ski lodge.”
He locked eyes with her and gave her a smoldering look. “Lizzie, I always think of you first.”
“That’s flattering,” she said, looking adorably flustered. “But if you screw up and call me Lizzie in front of anyone, I’m going to get very angry with you.”
“Really? What does really angry Lizzie look like?”
“You don’t want to know.”
He laughed. “Dinner?”
“Yes, let’s head down to the restaurant. We just hired a top-notch new head chef. Anthony Cruzel.” Her lovely face lit up with pride. “We’re the only restaurant in Park City doing traditional French cuisine with that Creole spin. I think you’re going to be impressed.”
“I’m not much of a foodie,” he confessed. “I’m more interested in you.”
She shifted in her chair and suddenly became focused on her notepad. Was it the fact that he’d stopped talking business and started getting intimate that rattled her?
“Me, too,” she said at last.
He was surprised she’d admitted it. She usually—wait, scratch that—there wasn’t anything usual about them now. They were charting a new path and he had to stop thinking of this as a game. There could be no winners in a competition between lovers. Hadn’t he already found that out in the years he’d spent waiting for Elizabeth to make time for him in her life?
“I never thought you’d say that out loud.”
“It’d be stupid to deny it after the way I kissed you in the elevator.”
“Yes, about that kiss...”
“Friends plus, right?” she said, flashing a very wide smile that he suspected she wanted him to believe was genuine but appeared a little forced and nervous. “We can talk about that after dinner,” she said.
“Why?”
Lizzie gave him a saucy look. “Because you don’t always get to be in charge.”
“And you do?”
“Yes,” she said, standing up and leading the way out of her office. “The sooner you realize that, the better.”
* * *
USTEN’S GASTROPHILE WEST, the five-star restaurant located in the Lars Usten Lodge, re-created the atmosphere of old New Orleans. A large mural that depicted Bourbon Street and the Gastrophile restaurant there covered one wall. There were big trees, with lanterns and lights hanging from the branches, and an indoor water feature made to resemble a river ran around the perimeter of the dining area.
The hostess greeted Elizabeth and led them to a waiting pirogue—a traditional Cajun fishing boat. They were seated in the boat and a uniformed staff member using a pole piloted it to the back of the restaurant and the dock there.
“Welcome to Gastrophile West, ya’ll. My name is Etienne and I’ll be your server tonight.” The waiter had deeply tanned skin, dark curly hair and an accent that was as thick as the humidity in the South. He smiled at Elizabeth as he led the way to their table, which was nestled at the foot of a big old oak tree.
As they were seated, it was easy to forget they were in Utah. Frankly, Bradley was impressed by the new restaurant, which wasn’t surprising. Much like Elizabeth.
Etienne took their drink orders, went over the specials of the evening and left them to look over the menu.
“Nice place,” Bradley murmured.
“I’m glad you like it. We just reopened last month and so far the response has been great.”
“Was this your idea?”
“No, but I hired the people who came up with it,” she said. “I think the success of the renovation of this restaurant and my hiring of Lindsey Collins as our resident ski pro influenced the board’s decision to promote me.”
“I’m sure that was just the icing on the cake. They know what a gem they have in you,” Bradley said.
“A gem?” She arched both eyebrows at him, making him aware of how blue her eyes were tonight. “Are you mocking me?”
“I wouldn’t dare. You’re too intense in this environment. And you are a very hard worker,” he said. “As evidenced by how often you check your phone. Do you think you could put it away for a little while?”
She hesitated, her hand hovering over her cell before she put it in her pocket. “I don’t like being out of touch. I’m in charge, and if anything goes wrong—”
“They know you’re in here dining, Elizabeth. And I’m sure you will agree that even you are allowed to have a meal uninterrupted,” he reminded her.
Taking her hand in his, he turned it over and stroked his finger along her palm. She pulled her hand back and placed both of them in her lap. It amused him in a way, but it also told him that no matter what she said, they had a long way to go before she was going to be comfortable being friends with benefits.
Damn. They were talking too much about it and prolonging the inevitable. He should have taken her in the elevator. Perhaps then she’d be able to relax. “If we’re going to be lovers, I should be able to touch you.”
“Sorry. You make me nervous,” she admitted. “I don’t like feeling out of control.”
“Too bad,” he said with a cocky grin. “You do like other parts of me.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Oh, I won’t,” he said. “You have a way of reminding me of my place in your, uh, friend zone.” He’d wanted to see how she’d react. Agreeing to be more than just friends was one thing, but even after that smoking-hot kiss in the elevator she’d backed away. She was sending him mixed signals and he needed to be very sure before they moved forward that he was what she wanted.
He’d been waiting in the wings for too long to risk anything else.
“We’re not in that zone any more. We’re changing,” she said, taking a sip of her water.
“Are we?”
“Yes, of course. I mean, after today...well, I think that proved we are definitely in a different place. Friends with...”
“Benefits,” he said, with a grin.
She reached over and tentatively stroked her fingers over the back of his hand. “One of the things I admire about you is your tenacity.”
“I’m not afraid to go after what I want.”
“You’ve never been one of those guys to take the easy path,” she agreed quietly, almost more to herself. “You’re so different than the other men I know.”
“In what way, Elizabeth?” he asked huskily.
She leaned back in her chair. He noticed she reached into her purse for her phone and then shook herself as if she realized what she as doing.
She licked her lips and he saw her swallow before she nodded slowly and then folded her arms on the table and leaned forward.
“You make me dangerous,” she said. “I’m acting in a way that I wouldn’t with any other man. But you have always called to the wildness inside me.”
“Why not let it out?” he asked. He’d always sensed that there was more to her than the studious competitor. Normally, brainy girls weren’t his type, but from the first moment he’d met Elizabeth she’d inspired scorching-hot dreams.
Now that he was sitting across from her, asking him if he wanted more, he was afraid to admit he did. Afraid to let her see just how much he wanted her, because if she started to let him in and then pushed him away, as she had a million times before, he knew it would hurt.
And then he would have to walk away for good.
* * *
THIS WASN’T GOING the way she’d planned it in her head. She didn’t want to talk about the way he made her feel or the fact that she even had a wild side. But then nothing with Bradley ever went according to plan. He was mercurial, which explained why she’d tried so hard to keep him at arm’s length, even though it was hard for her and she struggled with that a lot.
“I’m not like you, Bradley. I can’t just let loose. Control is the only way I can be safe,” she said. When she’d been twenty she’d gone a little crazy. Bradley had graduated and she’d felt as though she’d missed out on being young and she had been so afraid that life was passing her by.
She’d started drinking a little too much, to let off steam, and had started an ill-advised affair with someone older. And it had lead to a lot of problems. Problems that she’d had to reach out to her parents to solve.
And they’d helped. They had always been there for her, and that time was no different. She’d promised them no more of that kind of behavior and had kept her word...until now.
She felt the wildness coursing through veins. That feeling that she was going to do something crazy again. Well, crazy for her. An affair with the one man she’d wanted for the longest time. The one man who made her feel like she was more than the cautious girl she’d always had to be.
The one man who was looking at her as if he was waiting for a response.
“What?”
He quirked a brow. “Where did you go?”
“To the past. I don’t want to talk anymore. We should just keep on pretending this is a booty call.”
He looked at her as though she’d gone mad.
“It would be easier to keep our roles as friends and lovers separate that way.”
“Um...no,” he said.
This was going to be tricky. Luckily, their waiter came back to take their order. “I’ll start with the gator fritters, Etienne, and then have the prime rib as a main,” she said, turning her attention to the waiter and off the man annoying her. She took a sip of her mint julep and tried to let it soothe her, but it wasn’t working.
Bradley placed his order and leaned back in his chair as Etienne walked away. He crossed his arms over his chest, which drew the fabric taut against his muscles and made her remember very clearly how he’d lifted her off her feet with ease in the elevator.
“So, where were we?” he asked.
She shrugged. But her body tightened and her heart hammered so loudly she was surprised he couldn’t hear it.
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, looking over at her with that intense green gaze of his. “I’m sorry. I just needed to know that you were sincere and not looking to blow off some sexual steam now that you’ve accomplished your business goal.”
Except that was exactly what she wanted to do. “Um...that is what you proposed. Friends plus, remember?”
“I already regret saying that.”
“Why?”
“After years of keeping your distance, now you’re willing to try something very intimate with me....” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You’re not the only one who’s entitled to be cautious.”
She took another sip of her drink, trying to bide her time and assess if he was telling her the truth. But Bradley had never lied to her. It was one of the things she really liked about him.
He took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb over the back of her knuckles. His gesture was soothing and arousing at the same time and when she met his gaze again, he gave her a half smile, the kind that always made her shiver inside.
“I have wanted you since that first moment we met in college, but you didn’t want that from me so I was happy to let you set the tone of our relationship.” There was a long pause. “But that’s all changed now,” he said.
“Okay. So, what now?”
“I guess we figure out what each of us thought we were agreeing to,” he said.
“Sex,” she said. “I’m only interested in keeping this casual, Bradley. I don’t have the time for a relationship.” She cleared her throat. “I think I’m saying the wrong things. Does this make you want to run for the hills?”
“It should,” he said. “If any other woman but you said this...”
“That’s B.S.,” she retorted. “You have been dancing through life since the moment I met you. It’s the only reason I feel safe going into this with you. Other men see me as this girl-next-door type. The kind of woman who wants all the trimmings.
“But not my badass best friend who likes to keep things light.”
He gave her a cocky grin, one she was very familiar with seeing on his face. “Can’t argue with that.”
The fact of the matter was that if this didn’t work out with Bradley she’d more than likely spend the rest of her life with her vibrator. She didn’t know how to manage a man and her career, and this no-strings-attached thing was the only chance she had of true intimacy with a man. Well, the only chance she was willing to take.
If Bradley seriously wanted more, she would have to turn him down, because they were friends and the last thing she wanted was for him to be hurt by her. She met his dark green gaze and held it steadily, trying to read some sort of emotion in his eyes, but he had his guard up.
She had hers up as well, which was part of the problem if this was going to be anything but a booty call. Someone was going to have to open up. She wanted it to be her. In her mind she saw herself dropping her guard, but in reality it was a little too scary.
5 (#ulink_370bfa04-41a0-52df-8fb9-e1ec213356db)
THEY ENDED UP talking about movies and books throughout dinner. But she couldn’t really relax. She knew she wanted more from Bradley. The sexual desire he’d awakened earlier was winding her up, and she felt that same tight knot of anticipation in her gut as Bradley tried to keep the conversation going.
After dinner, they got their coats for a walk along the lodge’s scenic trail. She avoided going through the lobby because right now she needed her focus to stay on Bradley. For the first time in a while she wanted a chance at something that was just for her. When they stepped outside they found a light snow was falling.
“I love snow early in the season,” she murmured.
“Me, too,” he said, joining his hand with hers and leading her toward the head of the trail. “When I was a kid I didn’t like it so much.”
“Why not? It always seemed magical to me as a child,” she said. “My dad was often home for the day because of travel delays and complications and he’d build a snow fort for my sisters and me.”
The memory of it was nice. Her dad had traveled a lot and she’d missed him when he’d been gone. But November snow always reminded her of him.
“My recollections aren’t that much fun,” he said quietly. “Snow is cold. And heavy at times, and like you said, that meant not going to work, which meant not getting paid, which meant...”
How different they were. She wanted to hug Bradley when she thought of his past and how he’d struggled, but because he was just stating facts, she felt it might make him uncomfortable. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It made me who I am today,” he said gruffly. “And I love that your dad made a snow fort for you. I know you didn’t have that much time with him.”
She looked over at him. Normally on a first date, there was lot of getting to know the other person, but she and Bradley had known each other for a long time. A part of her wondered if her idea for a relationship with him had come too late. Was she kidding herself when she thought she could change the dynamic of it? She leaned closer, trying to feel him out, but it was hard to read his expression in the dim glow of the lamps that were placed at intervals around the path.
“You know I always think of you as a smart-ass?” she asked at last, deciding that it was probably better to lighten up the mood.
“Do you?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I guess it’s not sexy to talk about our pasts.”
“We said we’d keep it light,” she reminded him. She could see something in his eyes that reminded her of impatience. And she knew that, more than the fact that they knew a lot about each other, he wouldn’t let her hide behind the little verbal games she usually liked to play.
“Can’t deny that I can be a joker,” he said with that arrogant grin of his. “So, tell me...what magic did you think the snow held?”
All kinds of magic, but tonight, standing here next to him, walking in the bitter chill...she wondered if that little girl’s dreams even existed inside of her anymore. When she thought of that time and thought of telling him about it, she felt...well, silly.
“Never mind.”
He stopped and turned his intense gaze on her. “Not ‘never mind.’ If we are going to do this, then I want to know every bit of you.”
“I don’t like every bit of me,” she admitted. The little girl who believed in magic had been weak and made dumb mistakes. And she hoped she was nothing like that anymore.
“Tell me, Lizzie. Let me see the parts you don’t think measure up.”
“Why?” she asked. Why would he want to know that?
“Because I haven’t seen anything about you that I don’t like. Not yet.”
She sighed. “It’s silly and childish.”
“Let me be the judge of that,” he said.
Glancing out across the darkened landscape with the snow falling softly through the light provided by the lamps on the table, she found it easy to talk. “I thought there was a snow queen who was waiting for me to come outside and be in her court. I used to make Marina act as my lady-in-waiting and follow me around in the snow as we searched for her.”
“And she did that?” he asked softly.
“You forget I was her big sister and she didn’t like making me mad,” Elizabeth said with a snort. “Actually, I was mean when we were little. I don’t know why. I’ve apologized since then.”
“Kids are just built that way,” he said. “There are some guys I see in Boulder and do business with who were jerks when we were in school.”
“Were you bullied?” she asked.
“Nah, one of the positives to working from a young age is I was always strong. Kids sometimes said mean things about my secondhand clothes or me not having a dad. Stuff like that. I tried not to let it bother me, but it was difficult.”
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Katherine Garbera
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: Friends with benefits…The Deal: Elizabeth Anders and best friend Bradley Hunt made a pact–if they were both single at thirty, they would add a «naughty benefits» package to their friendship. Now it′s time to seal the deal…and it′s going to involve much more than just a kiss!The Dilemma: Elizabeth is all about The Career. No relationships, no complications. Still, the chance to indulge in the barely controlled lust between her and Bradley is more than she can resist. But Bradley has an agenda of his own…The moment they touch, years of longing explode into a tempest of desire. And if they′re not careful, this «benefits» package will be the ultimate deal-breaker.