he pulled his vehicle up to the garage, the streetlights went out. He cursed under his breath as the entire street was plunged into black. “Looks like the power went.”
“Great,” Zara muttered. “I don’t have a generator. But I do have some heat that isn’t electric. I’ve only used those gas logs once in my bedroom, and I’ve never tried to light the ones in the living room. Guess I’ll have to figure it out in the dark.”
Braden didn’t know what got his blood pumping more: the fact he’d be able to fulfill his father’s dying request and search this house, or the fact he’d be all alone in the dark with his sexy new employee.
He pulled to a stop by her back door. “Stay there. I’ll come around to help you in.”
He didn’t wait for her to agree as he hopped out into the freezing temps to round the hood, using his phone to light a path. Even though he was still wearing his suit from the party, he’d thought ahead and changed from his dress shoes to his boots.
Jerking on the frozen handle, Braden opened the passenger door and took Zara’s gloved hand as he settled his arm around her waist. The second she slid down from her seat, her body fell flush against his—well, as flush as it could be with the layers between them. Zara tipped her face up to his. Snow drifted onto her long, dark lashes, framing those rich chocolate eyes. Her unpainted mouth practically begged for affection as flakes melted against pale pink skin.
Damn it. That punch of lust to the gut was going to get him in trouble if he wasn’t careful. He had a goal, and Zara was merely a stepping-stone. Harsh as that sounded, he had to remain fixed on the objective his late father had been adamant about—finding the family’s lost heirlooms. Braden was near positive they were hidden somewhere inside Zara’s house...a house that used to be in his family up until they lost everything in the Great Depression.
“You know, I can walk,” she laughed, holding up her heels. “I swapped shoes, so I’m good.”
“Maybe I’m holding on to you so I don’t go down,” he retorted as he closed the door behind her and locked his vehicle. “I’ll hold the light so you can get your keys out.”
He kept an arm around her as they made fresh tracks to her back door. The snow was already well past their ankles, and the fat flakes continued to fall.
Zara pulled a set of keys from her coat pocket and gestured him into the house ahead of her. Once inside, she turned to the keypad and attempted to reset the alarm. With a shrug, Zara said, “Habit to come in and enter my code. Guess that’s out, too.”
Braden ran his light over the room, noticing how spacious the kitchen was and the wide, arched doorway leading into the living area. More light would be nice, now that he was actually inside. Somewhere his father was laughing at the irony of Braden finally getting in...and not being able to see a damn thing. But a power outage wasn’t going to stop him from making use of this opportunity.
“Do you have flashlights and candles?” he asked, bringing his light back around but careful to keep it from shining in her eyes.
“I know where my candles are, but I’m not sure about the flashlights. I’ve only been here a few months. I haven’t actually unpacked everything, yet.” Zara removed her coat and hung it by the back door. “Let me hang your coat up since you’re staying.”
Braden removed his coat and started to hand it over when Zara reached out, her hand connecting with his cheek. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to punch you.”
Braden welcomed the impact, as her fist caused no damage but reminded him that he needed to focus. “I’m fine,” he stated as he maneuvered out of his coat while holding his light. “It’s hard to see, so I’d say we’ll be bumping into each other.”
Not that he was complaining about the prospect of randomly brushing against her. Braden actually welcomed the friction. So long as he kept his goal in the forefront of his mind, bumping into Zara was definitely not a hardship.
“I know I have a candle in here and one on the coffee table in the living room. The matches are in the drawer beside the sink.” She placed his coat on a hook beside hers. “I should try to figure out these gas logs in the living room first with the light of your phone.”
She eased past him, her feet shuffling along the floor. Braden held his light over to where she was heading. Pulling open a drawer, Zara grabbed a box of matches before coming back to him.
She started forward but stopped. “You better stay close so you don’t bump anything. I have several boxes in each room that are left from the move.”
Stay close? No problem at all. Braden slid his hand around the dip in her waist and gave her a light squeeze as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “How’s this?”
Beneath his touch, her body trembled. Just the reaction he’d wanted...except now he was on the verge of trembling, too, because damn, she smelled so amazingly good and her silky hair tickled his lips. Wait, wasn’t he the one who was supposed to be seducing? She wasn’t even trying, and she nearly had him begging.
“Well, maybe not that close,” she murmured as she attempted to put distance between them.
He moved with her, keeping their contact light so as not to freak her out right off the bat. Let her get used to his touch, his nearness. He planned on getting a whole lot closer.
“You realize this isn’t a good idea?” she asked.
“Lighting the logs is the best idea. It’s going to get colder in here if the electricity doesn’t come back on.”
Her soft laugh filled the darkness. “You know what I mean. I work for you.”
“I’m aware of your position.” With his hand on her waist, Braden held his phone toward the living room. “I know we need to get heat in here, and if it’s not with the logs, then we’ll have to use a more...primal method.”
Zara slowly started forward. “Acting on any desire because of the circumstances is a bad, bad idea for both of us.”
“I’ve forgotten nothing, Zara.” He allowed his body to move with hers, making sure to stay close. “Why don’t we work on keeping warm and finding more sources of light? Then we can discuss the circumstances and what’s going on between us.”
Zara threw him a look over her shoulder. “We can settle this right now. I need this job and even if I was attracted to you—”
“Which you are.”
“If I was,” she countered in a louder tone to cut him off. “I wouldn’t risk sleeping with you and damaging our working relationship.”
He could barely make out her face in the darkness, and his light was facing ahead. But the way her body slightly leaned against his, the way she continued to tremble beneath his touch told him that her little speech was as much for her as it was for him. A slight obstacle but nothing he couldn’t handle.
At first he’d been all about searching her home, and he still was, but there was no reason a little seducing couldn’t come into play. He was an expert multitasker, and having Zara plus finding his family’s heirlooms would be the icing on the proverbial cake.
After a fun romp and hopefully discovering his family’s scrolls, Braden would be on his way, and she’d never even have to know his true intentions. Nobody would get hurt, and everything about this situation was legal. See? He did have a moral side, after all.
She could deny wanting him, but he was a master at lying and recognized that trait in others. So, let her think what she wanted...he knew the truth, and he’d completely use her attraction to his advantage.
“Fair enough,” he told her. “I’ll not mention it again.”
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t touch her or seduce her with his actions. The darkness provided the perfect setting for seduction, but it could make it a bit harder to snoop. Granted, the darkness could also provide him the cover