told me she wanted to get away from well-meaning people sympathizing with her over her divorce.”
“She’s divorced?” Veronica sounded startled. “I didn’t hear anything about it.”
Colton didn’t want to go into the nondisclosure clause that Lauren had earlier told him about over the phone. “It was kept quiet,” was all he said. A moment of silence passed. “Mom, I’m using a satellite phone under the stars. I’d better go. I’ll call you again tomorrow.”
“Okay, baby, I’m glad you were able to let us know where you are and that you are safe. You’re in good hands,” Veronica said confidently.
“Good night, Mom,” said Colton with warmth.
“Good night,” said Veronica softly.
He’d gone a few yards from the cabin to make his call and now he turned and carefully walked back. The snow came halfway up his legs with each step. He took it slowly, not wanting to fall down in the powder. He’d had enough of the cold for one night.
He guessed Lauren had been watching him from a window because as soon as he reached the cabin, she was there in the doorway, wearing a hooded jacket as if she was ready to come to his rescue should he need her. “Hey, did everything go okay?”
“Yeah, no problem,” he assured her.
“Good,” said Lauren, “Then get in here. It’s freezing!”
Colton was more than glad to oblige. Feeling sure of his footing, he jauntily put one foot on the bottom step, slipped, lost his balance, and went flailing backward, arms windmilling in an attempt to regain his equilibrium. He wound up on his back in the snow. He was thankful the snow was all he’d landed on.
He found the whole situation ridiculous and started laughing uproariously.
Lauren, in her rubber-soled boots, was off the porch and by his side in a matter of seconds. Laughing, she helped him to his feet and brushed snow off his coat. “Are you all right?”
As they held each other upright, Colton peered into her beautiful face. “No, I haven’t been all right all day. My father’s gone and I seem to have lost my senses. I drove up here on a whim and ended up unknowingly intruding on your solitude. But now that I’ve met you and put a personality to the image of you I’ve seen over the years, I find that I’m strongly attracted to you. I’m definitely not all right.”
Lauren’s heartbeat accelerated at his admission. “Well, that’s normal,” she said, her voice warm and gentle. “We’re both hurting, needing comfort. And we’re here alone. The situation is rife with potential for sexual attraction. I’ve been checking you out, too.”
They took the steps together and made it to the door without another mishap. Inside, Lauren shut the door and they quickly removed their jackets. She then busied herself hanging the damp jackets on the coat tree, appearing to Colton that she wanted to drop the subject.
But he wasn’t ready to do that just yet. “And what do you think?”
She looked up at him with big brown eyes and said as innocently as she could muster, “About what?”
Colton smiled. “You know what.”
She turned away and began walking toward the back of the cabin. “I think you know you’re hot, Colton Riley. How could anyone not? You look in a mirror every day.”
“Are you saying I’m conceited?”
“No, I’m saying I’m hot, you’re hot, but we should just leave it at that. Any further discussion could lead nowhere good.”
“Oh, I think it might lead to somewhere good and something memorable,” he contradicted her. “And you think you’re hot, too?”
This made her turn to stare at him. “Are you saying I’m not?”
“Hell, no. I think you’re smokin’ hot. I like the fact that you don’t deny it and try, like a lot of women I’ve met, to fish for compliments. You’re confident in your sexuality. I like that.”
“Honey, there is nothing wrong with my sexuality. Just because my ex was a cheating bastard doesn’t mean I wasn’t holding up my end!”
“Touchy subject, huh?” asked Colton. “You don’t have to convince me that your ex is a bastard. I don’t like him, never have.”
“He doesn’t like you, either.”
There was a calculating light in her eyes that made him wonder something. “Did he tell you how he cheated me out of several contracts?”
She harrumphed. “I didn’t know and didn’t want to know anything about his business dealings. And if you think you can get back at him for some dirty deal by sleeping with me, think again. He doesn’t care about me. I’m a starter wife, his first wife, but apparently not his last. He’s already engaged to number two.”
“I don’t even think like that,” Colton vehemently denied. “My wanting to sleep with you has nothing to do with Adam Eckhart. Does your wanting to sleep with me have anything to do with the fact that he hates me and if it got back to him it might piss him off?”
“No!” Lauren cried.
“Then you do want to sleep with me?”
“Yes, but...”
He moved in. Lauren looked him in the eyes. Her stare was penetrating, as though she could see right through him. He found her scrutiny thrilling and invited it. He had nothing to hide. He wanted her to plumb deep and discover that for herself. He didn’t wonder why he was unafraid of being so vulnerable. He just knew she made him grateful to be alive at this moment.
At last, she spoke. “There have to be some ground rules. You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”
“There is no one special in my life,” he assured her.
She was looking at him suspiciously. “I won’t have a part in another woman getting hurt over infidelity.”
“Scout’s honor,” he said with a straight face.
She seemed to be satisfied with his answer. “Okay, then. What happens here stays here.”
“Done,” he promised.
“You can’t tell anyone.”
“Understood,” he agreed. “That goes for you, too. Not even your girlfriends.”
“Not even your boys,” she countered.
“Not even your priest,” he said.
“Not even God,” she said with a smile.
“I think He already knows,” said Colton as he backed her against the wall and planted a sensual, bone-melting kiss on her sweet mouth.
Bodies pressed closer and warmth ensued shortly afterward. By some silent consensus they agreed that this seduction would be slow and deliberate. When they came up for air from that first kiss, their eyes met and they smiled. It was confirmed. They were a good fit. She unbuttoned his shirt, curious to know whether his chest was hairy or smooth. She was rewarded with a hairy, muscular chest and a washboard stomach.
He was patient as she ran her hands over his pectorals and admired his biceps after she had finished removing the shirt. “I like your guns,” she said.
“Speaking of guns, you don’t keep yours under your pillow, do you? I don’t like those kinds of surprises in bed.”
She laughed sexily. “No, it’s back in the safe. The only thing exploding in my bed tonight will be you.”
After that there wasn’t very much talk. She took him to her bedroom, which was two doors down from his. When he walked in the room, he saw that her bed had been turned down already, and there was a book on it. She had obviously planned to read until she fell asleep.
He