Wicked Force (Wicked Horse Vegas #4.5)(19)

I note the little store named Sweet Scoops as Joslyn puts her hand on my shoulder and shakes me. “Stop, please.”

Jayce makes a sound deep in his throat and I turn to look at him. He’s got a smirk on his face and he’s shaking his head, making it clear he thinks this is juvenile. Joslyn doesn’t notice as she’s now got her face almost pressed into the window glass as she looks at the ice cream shop.

Without hesitation, I pull into an empty spot just one store down. When I put it in park, I feel the weight of Jayce’s stare. As Joslyn scrambles out of the SUV, I glare at him. “She’s the client. She gets to stop where she wants.”

“Of course she does,” he mutters and slouches down into his seat. “I’ll just wait here.”

“Suit yourself,” I tell him and exit the vehicle.

While I seriously doubt danger is lurking inside, I trot down the sidewalk to catch up to Joslyn, reaching her just as she opens the door. Her neck twists and she shoots me a blinding smile over her shoulder. “Just wait until you taste the huckleberry ice cream.”

“What is it with huckleberries?” I ask her curiously as we step into the shop. It smells heavenly—like vanilla custard with the hint of something tart layered just underneath.

“They’re only the best berry ever,” she replies enthusiastically as she takes a spot at the end of the line. The place is packed and every seat seems to be taken. “My dad and I would pick them every summer. They grow all over the place here. And Mom makes a great huckleberry pie.”

Chuckling, I tell her, “Then I can’t wait to try it while I’m here.”

Joslyn orders three cones with double scoops of huckleberry ice cream and pays the young girl behind the register. I carry Jayce’s out to him, wondering if he’ll be put out he has to accept or grateful that Joslyn is a sweet woman who thinks of others.





I walk the interior of Joslyn’s suite at the Whitetail Mountain Ski Resort. It’s just two rooms but it’s a lot of space. There’s a large living area with a u-shaped couch, a small four-chaired dining table and a desk. The bedroom is set to the side and has double doors leading into it.

Jayce and I are sharing a room that’s connected off the other side of the living room and I instructed Joslyn she needed to keep that door unlocked at all times. We would not use it unless there was an emergency, but I need easy access to her if something happens.

Both the living area and bedroom have sliding glass doors that lead out onto a large balcony that overlooks the ski slopes and the town of Cunningham Falls below. It’s secure enough and no one could breach this suite from the balcony, as it’s independently set apart from the balconies to the left and right. They’re also staggered so it would be difficult for someone to drop down from above or jump up from below. Not that Joslyn needs that level of protection. Again, the chances of some random stalker trying to sneak into her room by scaling the outside of the building perched on the edge of a mountain roughly equals my chances of winning the lottery.

Still, it’s good practice for me to always assess situations. Never know if I might be protecting someone in the future that would attract a more determined type of criminal.

I walk back to the balcony. Sliding the door open, I step outside and rest my forearms on the thick wooden beam that makes up the top of the rustic railing. The town sparkles down below me and it’s magical looking. I can see the charm of a place such as this, which is contrary to my urban London roots.

The swish of the door sliding on its track catches my attention and I turn to see Joslyn stepping out of the master bedroom. She’s got on a pair of pajamas that look like they would be considered comfy but I find them sexy as fuck. A long sleeved, soft-looking pink cotton top and a pair of brown pants that are cinched at her ankles with large pink polka dots all over them. Her hair is wrapped up in a towel and her face is freshly scrubbed.

“It’s beautiful at night, isn’t it?” she asks as she comes to stand beside me at the railing. She mimics me by putting her forearms on the rails.

“Sure is,” I tell her.

“Where’s Jayce?” she asks conversationally.

“Down there somewhere,” I say with a nod of my head down at the cozy evening lights of the small town. Jayce asked if I minded if he went down for a few beers and I didn’t at all. He was off duty and as long as he was alert and ready to be primary watch on Joslyn tomorrow, I was cool with it.

Not that I planned to stay in the suite with Joslyn tonight for any length of time. I planned on hanging out in my room since we were securely locked inside the suite.

In reality, though, I didn’t want the temptation of being in a place alone with her. At the apartment, her mom was always there. Granted, after a certain hour, she retired to her room but still... she was just yards away from us.

Here... alone with Joslyn... just might be too much temptation for me. I’m smart enough to have figured out that Joslyn is as attracted to me as I am her. We’ve flirted enough to know it’s true. We’ve learned enough about each other to have the feelings of attraction compounded.

I don’t know if I’m strong enough to resist her.

“I miss this weather,” she murmurs and rubs briskly at her arms, despite the fact she’s got wet hair under that towel and bare feet. “Fifty degrees at night in the middle of summer. Sleeping with the windows open and hunkered under a big fluffy comforter. That’s the best sleep ever.”