Tempted. Janelle Denison

gaze narrowed perceptively, a spark of Jamison challenge glimmering in his eyes, as if she’d issued him a dare. “You don’t think so?”

      “I know so,” she said adamantly.

      The sound of Shane’s deep voice and Stacey’s flirtatious laughter drifted from just outside the kitchen door leading to the back area of the cabin. Brooke willed the couple inside, fervently hoping they’d interrupt what had become a very awkward conversation.

      Marc glanced at the door, then back at her, knowing his time was limited. “Brooke, two people don’t kiss like that unless there’s a certain chemistry and a strong attraction between them.”

      One she couldn’t afford to explore further. Not with him. “Call it a release of sexual frustration. It’s been a long, celibate year for me.”

      Irritation creased his expression at her flippant tone. “So you’re insinuating that you would have responded to any man the same way?”

      No, she thought miserably, knowing that a faceless stranger wouldn’t have evoked such a startling heat, hunger and need. But that was part of the problem with Marc. She’d never responded so shamelessly, so eagerly to a man in her entire life. Neither Eric nor her one sexual encounter in college had prepared her for this. Marc’s magnetism and appeal seemed to strip away every proper, responsible characteristic she’d honed since the age of thirteen, reducing her to a sensual creature who couldn’t get enough of that blend of excitement and ecstasy Marc’s kisses promised.

      She shrugged indifferently, letting the gesture speak for itself, since she couldn’t bring herself to lie to him.

      His lips at first pursed, then he opened his mouth to argue—just as the back door opened and Stacey and Shane entered the kitchen, thankfully intercepting his rebuttal.

      “That morning ride was incredibly exhilarating!” Stacey said, sounding like a giddy schoolgirl in the throes of her first crush.

      Ignoring the extra occupants in the room, Marc swallowed back whatever words he’d been about to impart, but boldly held Brooke’s gaze. Indeed, she couldn’t look away. Through the slight haze of frustration and confusion, his eyes conveyed a startling message—they weren’t finished with this particular issue. And he wasn’t finished with her.

      The silent claim he staked caused Brooke’s internal temperature to spike, despite the gust of cool air Shane and Stacey’s arrival had invited into the room. Her traitorous pulse fluttered, stoking the desire simmering just beneath the surface. Did she even stand a chance if Marc followed through with that sexy threat to pursue her?

      “Umm, are we interrupting something?” Stacey asked, too much interest infusing her voice.

      The last thing Brooke wanted was Stacey speculating over her relationship with Marc, and coming to conclusions she didn’t want to discuss with a woman who had a fearless, fabulous sex life.

      Before she could formulate a response, Marc stood, the evidence of what had transpired between them earlier not nearly as obvious now that his body and libido had time to cool. “You’re not interrupting anything that Brooke and I can’t resolve at another time.” Though he answered Stacey, his gaze never wavered from Brooke’s.

      In her opinion, there was nothing left for them to resolve. Of course the rogue knew she wouldn’t oppose him with an audience listening in on their debate.

      Finally, he glanced at Shane. “You ready to head over to the lodge for the day?”

      Shane exchanged a reluctant look with Stacey that made it clear they would have preferred to spend the day together. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

      Stacey winked at Shane as she casually pulled off her lined gloves. “I’ll catch up with you on the slopes later,” she promised.

      The two men left the kitchen, and an unnerving silence settled over the room.

      Stacey unwrapped the colorful scarf from her neck, a knowing smile curving lips stung red from the cold. “Well, well, well,” she murmured.

      Brooke knew exactly what those three simple words meant, knew precisely what was tumbling through Stacey’s mind. She held up a hand to ward off her friend’s interrogation. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

      “All right,” Stacey conceded, but her gaze sparkled with mischief and a wicked provocation. “You ready to put last night’s plan into action?”

      No. Without the buzz of the margarita giving her courage and with the taste of Marc still lingering on her tongue, going out on a man-hunt held little appeal. But she desperately needed the distraction, and there was always the possibility that flirting with another man, and enjoying his attentions, would make her forget about Marc and that luscious, earth-shattering kiss they shared.

      Pulling in a deep breath, she fabricated an optimistic smile. “I’m ready. Let’s do it.”

      STACEY NUDGED BROOKE with her elbow and gestured to a good-looking blond-haired guy making his way to the end of the line for the ski lift, where the two of them were waiting their turn.

      “What do you think of him?” Stacey asked out of the corner of her mouth. “He has a great body, and a nice smile.”

      Brooke tried to regard her friend’s newest quarry objectively, and like every other man Stacey had singled out, she found herself comparing him to Marc, whose body proved to be a perfect fit for hers, and who owned a lazy smile that seemed to stroke her senses as intimately as a caress. This guy’s physique didn’t spark even a glimmer of interest, and his smile was a shade too cocky for her liking. And she was coming to realize that she preferred dark hair over light.