Page 36

The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile so sexy, fire flared through her belly. “Touché. Congrats on winning.”
For some reason, she was sure he meant it, although he continued to smile in a way that made her jumpy.
His next words confirmed why he was so damned pleased with himself. “Although the view coming down wasn’t that bad either. In fact, watching you move gave me a fair idea of how well you can hold certain positions.”
“Excuse me?”
He leaned close and whispered in her ear, “No, baby, you’re not excused. Not when watching that little ass move has made me as hard as that fucking mountain. You won’t be excused until I am well and truly satisfied.”
Bjorn chose that moment to approach and relieve her of the ski poles. Another valet bearing hot drinks followed him closely.
She watched, half-amused at Noah’s narrow-eyed look in Bjorn’s direction before she picked up the mug of cognac-laced cocoa to warm her fingers. He eyed her as he drank his coffee.
The look in his eyes told her he intended to claim her on his terms in the very, very near future. As she watched, he knocked back the rest of his drink and strolled to her.
“Are you done with your drink?” Impatience throbbed in his voice.
She relinquished it with a glare. “Am I ever going to finish a drink with you around?”
“Not when there’s the urgent matter on the line of your diamond-studded tongue, a private lodge and my frozen balls that needing serious and immediate attention.”
13
Noah was pretty damn sure this hard-on was going to kill him. His vision blurred every time he so much as breathed. Or the jeep bounced over the snow. Or Leia slid him one of those surreptitious glances she thought he couldn’t see.
She coupled each look with a tiny mangle of her lower lip. She was nervous. Understandable. Hell, he was too. But she didn’t know that each time he caught a glimpse of those small, sharp teeth, he grew harder, his cock throbbing a dire warning that he was going to die if he didn’t do something about his erection soon.
Their driver turned into a single-track lane and the chain-covered tires squealed as they went up a steep incline for almost a minute before leveling off into a circular driveway.
One look at the private lodge and Noah was immediately glad he’d chosen it instead of returning to the five-star Indigo Geneva Hotel where the rest of the guests were staying.
After watching her ski, seeing how sleekly and sexily she handled herself on the slopes, he’d almost lost it by the time he’d crossed the finish line. Waiting for an hour to get on the chopper back to Geneva had been out of the question in his state.
Hell, he’d have fucked her in a yurt in the middle of a snowstorm or up against a tree and risked cock frostbite if it came to it. But this would do fine.
“Wow, this place is perfect!”
He hid a smile and unzipped his jacket, drinking in her pleasure as she took in their surroundings. Tall alpine trees, heavy with snow, embraced the thick wood and stone lodge and provided a backdrop of refreshing green and white. The three-story house was secluded with the next house almost half a mile away.
“I’m glad you like it. Wanna explore the inside too?” Noah knew he didn’t quite succeed in keeping his wild anticipation out of his voice. The only exploration he intended to do was with her. Fully and thoroughly.
She turned from admiring the trees and snowscape around them and looked at him. She slicked a hand through her hair, flicking it to the side in a gesture he’d come to learn as a nervous tick. Hell, nervousness vibrated from her.
He’d need to take it slow.
Fuck. That might be a problem.
Deliberately turning away from her, he dismissed their driver and walked up the steps into the house.
The living room soared two stories high, with a giant granite fireplace that crackled with a log fire. On the polished wood floor, a large furry rug had been laid, complete with half a dozen pillows. On the slab of rock that passed as a coffee table, a sterling silver bucket chilled a bottle of champagne, and two long flutes stood next to it.
The scene was set with one thing in mind, and he was having a hard time not grabbing her and getting started. He shrugged off his jacket, threw it on the nearest chair and headed to what he hoped was the kitchen.
He needed to occupy himself with something before he gave in to the hot images flooding his mind.
“Are you hungry?” he threw over his shoulder.
“Umm… yes. I could eat.”