Chance Encounter(23)

“You’re not looking at the big picture.” He’d just come in from outside, where the weather had turned unseasonably hot and windy. His hair was tousled, his face tanned, and if he’d shaved, it’d been several days. He wore a loose-fitting black tank top and hiking shorts that showed off beautifully sculptured legs. The clothes weren’t designer, they weren’t even close to new, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Never before had she figured appearance an important part of a person, but she’d certainly never felt her mouth go dry and her tongue twist itself in knots over a man’s attire either. Not like now.

He was truly drop-dead gorgeous.

He caught her looking at him, or specifically at his shorts, and the most interesting way they outlined his every nuance and muscle. Clearly enjoying himself, he leaned backed against her desk and crossed his booted ankles in a casual pose. “Do I have toilet paper on my shoe?”

“Um…no.”

“Are my clothes on backwards?”

He wore the unconcerned expression of a man deeply confident enough not to care if he was sporting toilet paper. “No.”

“See? I told you I could take care of myself.” Then he grinned, and since for once he wasn’t laughing at her, the smile was totally disarming.

Trying not to give in and laugh, which is what she suddenly wanted to do, she stared at the paperwork spread out in front of her and saw none of it.

What was it about him that made her want to both smack and kiss him at the same time? She’d never had this problem before. Always she’d been able to withdraw into herself, even with Thomas, especially with Thomas. But somehow, some way, Chance drew her. “The big picture,” she repeated with effort. “Tell me.”

“This resort has made a name for itself because of our trails. We’ve just redone them, and added new ones. We’re acquiring more land from the land trust. We’re constructing new lift operations. And because of all that, I can lure athletes from all over the world.”

His sureness staggered her. Not because it was false, but because she was beginning to realize he could back up everything he said. For all purposes, it was his mountain, his trails, his reputation that made the place.

She wanted a fraction of that belief in her own abilities.

“Now I can do even more,” he told her. “Because of the new trails we opened, we can offer certain events, televised events, that will bring recognition. And more revenue.”

It was exciting, thrilling, and she felt her sense of adventure soar. She imagined herself involved, handling television crews and famous celebrities. “What can I do?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

“I’m general manager, remember?”

“You’re a walking catastrophe, is what you are.”

“I won’t get hurt.”

“I can bank on that since you’ll be right here in the office—”

“While you have all the fun? No way.”

He looked her over, starting at the hiking boots she was so proud of because they no longer gave her blisters, working his way upward past her walking shorts, past her blouse, though he lingered there long enough to have her nipples pressing against the material in response.

It was crazy, that just a look from him could do that to her.

A lazy, knowing smile curved his lips. “Are you looking for fun, Ally?”

His voice was soft, seductive, and his eyes half-closed and sleepy. Sex appeal oozed from his every pore and her body reacted. “On the mountain,” she said through her clenched jaw. “I’m looking for fun on the mountain.”

“You can’t handle the mountain.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake! You act like you’ve never done anything reckless in your life! I’ve seen pictures of you skiing, you know.”

His eyes glittered at that, and pushing away from her desk, he moved toward her, leaving her wavering between holding her ground and running. “You’ve never seen me in action,” he said softly.

No, she hadn’t, but she could imagine just how good his tall, rangy and oh-so-fit frame would look on the slopes, his long legs tearing up the snow as he worked his way effortlessly over the roughest terrain. “This isn’t about you,” she managed.

He stopped close enough to touch, but he didn’t. She looked up into his eyes. A mistake. They were dark, deep and full of heat. Oh man, he was something all charged up.

“No go.”

“No go?” she repeated, needing to press, needing to stir her anger so that she could keep her mind on track, instead of wanting to investigate such things as what his mouth might feel like on hers. “Why are you always so quick to dismiss me?”

He placed a finger against her lips. “This isn’t about the mountain.”

“It’s not?”

“It’s about you. And me. Don’t lie,” he said when she opened her mouth to do just that.

His gaze was intense. Sexual. And her breathing changed.

So did his. “No more games,” he whispered.

Undoubtedly, she could have ducked beneath his arm and lengthened the space between them. He wasn’t holding her, he wasn’t even touching her, though she could “feel” every single hot, powerful inch of him.

The silence stretched out. Neither of them moved, neither spoke, though Ally’s insides were screaming. He was so close, so warm, so big. The tension tightened within her, and it wasn’t an unpleasant tension, but something different, something undeniable.