Hard Impact: An Alpha Billionaire Romance Novel (12 page)

She gazed up at me, her expression befuddled and expectant. Finally, she stamped her foot with impatience. “What is it?”

“I get to ask you a question again.” I enjoyed teasing her and was beginning to feel that she wasn’t in the least impressed by my bank account, or how many properties I had. She seemed more interested in learning why I did what I did. A nice, refreshing change of pace. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was just warming me up. Inevitably, I knew
the question
would come out.

“Tell me, Misty, what do
you
like to do for fun?”

She thought about it, opened her mouth, then changed her mind. She flashed me a brief look of chagrin. “I don’t have a lot of extra time on my hands,” she replied, offering a one-shouldered shrug as she returned her gaze to the distance, watching the slow circling of a hawk far overhead.

“And if you did have more time?”

She sighed. “Oh, I don’t know. I used to like horseback riding, which in Texas certainly isn’t anything new.”

“Did you have a horse growing up?”

She gazed up at me and lifted an eyebrow. “It’s your turn, Blake. Now will you please tell me that something you don’t, or can’t do. That something that gives you the shivers?”

I offered a short laugh. “Spelunking.”

“Cave exploring,” she said, offering a slight shiver of her own. “I wouldn’t do that if you paid me.”

“I don’t either,” I said. “Never have, even when I was little. I’m not sure why because I’m not afraid of much of anything…not even the dark.” My voice trailed off as I thought back. I couldn’t remember exactly when my fear of caves or tunnels developed, but I’d experienced it for most of my life, at least as far back as I could remember.

“Interesting,” she said. “Why?” The question was soft, contemplative. “You’re an adrenaline junkie, I get that. Most adrenaline junkies thrive on thrills—”

“My turn,” I broke in. “You like to ride roller coasters?”

She offered a short burst of laughter. “Hell no! If I turn around too fast, I get dizzy.”

“Then what do you like to do for thrills, Misty?”

I wasn’t surprised to see the flush creep up into her cheeks. I’d seen her blush before, several times already, and the emotions she held inside piqued my interest. Why the flush? What secrets was
she
hiding? Despite my attempt not to, I became more curious about her.

The cry of the hawk soaring high overhead interrupted my thoughts and I gazed at it for several moments, admiring its grace and beauty. Then I turned and headed back for the ATV. Playtime was over. We needed to get back to the ranch house. “Come on, Misty, let’s head back to the cabin.”

She nodded and followed. As she climbed onto the back of the ATV, she wasn’t able to stifle another groan as she swung her leg over.

“You’re starting to feel sore from your fall, aren’t you?”

She replied without hesitation. “Yes, and I have a feeling I’ll be even more sore tomorrow.”

“I’m sure a hot bath tonight will go a long way toward soothing your aches and pains,” I said just before I started the ATV. Her response was drowned out by the roar of the engine. I shifted my hand, opened the throttle, and then we took off back down the hill. Once again, Misty held on for dear life, prompting me to smile.

I could just imagine what was running through her mind. Spending the night alone with me in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere? Then again, maybe not. Maybe she wasn’t concerned at all about my presence. It wasn’t like I planned to seduce her or anything anyway. Still, I wondered why she wasn’t protesting having to spend the night alone with me. Her assignment? Was she worried that if she didn’t complete the interview she would be fired?

As I made my way carefully down the mountainside, I wondered about that. Just how far would she go to complete her assignment? Not that I was thinking of taking advantage, far from it. I reminded myself that she wasn’t my type. But what if she were? Would I feel tempted to make a pass at her? Offer an innocently phrased comment dripping with innuendo? An outright invitation to spend the evening doing something other than contemplating the silence or reading a book in the main room? I thought about that. Every time her breasts bounced against my back, I thought about it. At the same time, I knew that doing so would come with severe ramifications, especially if she wasn’t open to such advances.

Maybe that’s what made me so curious about her. Would she or wouldn’t she? I wondered how she would react if I made an overt advance. I tried to focus on the dirt trail. What was I thinking? I wasn’t the type to play around with people’s feelings or emotions. I’d been on the receiving end of that far too often. I shook my head, uncertain where all these feelings came from.

I didn’t know Misty Rankin. I had no interest in getting to know her either. She was here for an interview. Nothing more and nothing less. I had agreed to answer her questions, to a limit, and then we would each go our separate ways.

Still…

By the time we got back to the cabin, it was mid-afternoon. The sun was slowly dipping toward the west, the warmth soothing but not overwhelming. A breeze flowed through the tips of the pine trees and tugged at my hair. I pulled the ATV back into the barn and turned off the engine. She climbed off the back first and I followed suit.

“What now?” she asked, heading for the barn door.

What now indeed…?

By the time Misty got halfway to the house, I noticed her stiffness. I knew instinctively that every muscle in her body protested. I had fallen a time or two myself. As she took the three short steps onto the porch, she couldn’t help but wince. Unfortunately, I saw it.

“You’ve hurt yourself, haven’t you?”

She turned to me, automatically shaking her head. “No, I don’t think it’s anything serious, just bumps and bruises. I’m not used to… I’m not used to falling off four-wheelers and my muscles are reminding me of that.”

She seemed surprised by my frown of concern. “If we don’t do something about this now, you’ll barely be able to move tomorrow,” I said, opening the front door and allowing her to enter in front of me.

“What do you suggest? It’s not like I can take a backsie, can I?”

“A what?” I asked, not understanding.

“I can’t go back for a do-over,” she explained.

Misty

I didn’t like it when he grinned. In fact, I really wished he wouldn’t do that. It made him far less intimidating and so much sexier. And sexy was the last thing I wanted to think about when I looked at Blake. It was hard enough as it was. That grin made it just about impossible. Every nerve in my body came to attention and I found myself staring at him again.

“I can make up a liniment,” he commented. “It doesn’t smell that great, but it does work wonders.”

“What’s in it?” I asked warily. I’d been around liniment plenty of times in my youth.

Again, that damned grin.

“A little bit of this, a little bit of that.”

I sighed. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. At least any more than I do already.”

“Why don’t you go upstairs and take a shower or better yet, soak in a hot bath for a while. I’ll gather the ingredients and whip up a batch. It takes about an hour, so take your time.” He thought a moment. “Go ahead and use the same room as before. It has an attached bathroom. Some of the others don’t.”

“I’m not interrupting any plans you have for the rest of the day, am I?” I asked as I headed for the bottom step. I glanced up at the second floor, mentally counting the steps I had to navigate to get there.

“Not this afternoon. I need to look over some paperwork in the office, nothing exciting. Tomorrow, I have to head into Klamath Falls for a while, but like I said, if you get much stiffer than you already are, I won’t be taking you with me.”

Misty sighed. “I’m sorry, Blake, I don’t mean to interrupt any of your plans—”

“You’re not, and besides, it was my fault for going too fast.” He gestured upstairs. “Can you make it? You want me to carry you?”

I did a double-take. While my mind shouted yes, that I would love for him to carry me upstairs, the reality of it caused me to frown. While he certainly looked strong enough, I wasn’t about to get that up close and personal. It was awkward enough, the way he was glancing at me. Was he assessing my weight? I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. What else
could
he be thinking?

“No, I don’t need you to carry me,” I said. “I can get upstairs all by myself, thank you very much.” Again, he grinned, and I realized that he had been joking. A least I hoped so. Nevertheless, my nether regions began to tingle and throb at the very thought.

“Only one thing,” he added. “Not more than four inches or so of water in the tub, okay? Until I get the resort up and running, we only have a limited supply of water in the tank.”

I looked over my shoulder at him, surprised. “You’re going to ration water usage when you have guests?”

He nodded. “For the short term. Besides, this place won’t be listed as luxury accommodations, but rather rustic. I’m not sure if you noticed, but none of the rooms have televisions or even Internet access. And as I mentioned, even cell service is sporadic. Nothing like a getaway to get away, right?”

He turned and headed for the kitchen as I took the steps slowly, one at a time, gritting my teeth at the stiffness in my hips, and the protest my thigh and hip muscles shouted at me with every upward step. The back of my left shoulder was also extremely sore. I hoped I hadn’t pulled any muscles, but the one between my shoulder and my neck definitely felt a lot stiffer than it had even an hour ago.

By the time I got up to the second floor and slowly walked down the hallway, I was looking forward to a nice, long soak. I didn’t want to take too long, but enough to rinse the dirt from my hair and my skin and maybe soothe the growing ache in my muscles. I was surprised that the tumble had caused my body such distress, but I had landed hard and then rolled numerous times.

I stepped into the bathroom and stooped down over the bathtub, groaning again. I placed the plug into the drain and then turned on the faucets, adjusting the water temperature to my liking. While the water ran in the tub, I slowly undressed. I stepped naked into the bedroom, assessing my body in the large mirror on the closet door. Viewing myself, I didn’t notice any severe bruises. At least none that showed up yet. A few scrapes, but nothing serious. I wondered what Blake would think if he could see me naked right now.

Shit. Why do I keep thinking about him?

What I saw in the mirror was a shapely form, maybe more padded than others, but hadn’t that been all the rage during the Victorian age? Ample, plump breasts that despite their size were surprisingly firm and didn’t droop. Dark areolas and nipples, which instantly hardened at the thought of Blake looking at them. An hourglass figure. As far as I was concerned, I was appropriately proportioned. Still, not for the first time, my gaze focused on the large birthmark that ran like a jagged and loosely formed lightning bolt from the bottom of my left breast across my chest and meandered its way toward my right hip.

I hated that birthmark now more than ever. Would Blake find it as abhorrent as I did? None of my ex-boyfriends had ever seen it. Well, just one. After that, anytime I’d had sex, it had been in the dark; sex in the backseat of a car in high school, a nighttime rendezvous in my dorm at college, and once with a guy I met in a bar. Much to my chagrin and shame, I’d done the dirty standing up in an alley that time. My only excuse was that I’d been off my ass drunk.

And there it was, my limited experience with sex. If I could barely stand the sight of the birthmark, how could I expect anything else from a sex partner? I sighed and walked back into the bathroom. A cloud of steam rose in front of me and I jolted myself to awareness when I realized that the bathtub was quickly filling with water. I stepped to the faucets and turn them off, steam rising from the water’s surface. As I gingerly stepped in the tub, I told myself how silly I was being. Blake wasn’t interested in me sexually. He would never see my birthmark. Never assess my figure.

As I slowly lowered myself into the tub and eased into the extremely warm water, I sucked in a breath and then stretched my legs out in front of me. I made contact with the bottom of the tub and leaned back, allowing the water to wash over me. I let out a soft groan of pleasure, feeling better already. I thought back to my tumble and what happened afterward; the urges that had swept through me. Blake had kissed me.

Why? Instinct? Habit?

I wasn’t sure. Nevertheless, the memory of that kiss had my body tingling again, and it wasn’t just the heat of the water or the soothing sensation of the warmth against my skin.

Sneaking a peek at the doorway, I lightly brushed my hands up along my abdomen and then cupped my breasts, filling my hands with their weight. Imagining Blake’s hands doing the same, I squeezed gently and thumbed my nipples. They instantly hardened.

With a sigh, I closed my eyes, and with images of Blake in my mind, I pretended it was his fingers tweaking and plucking at my nipples. The hard little nubs tingled with desire, shooting a stream of electric sensation all the way down to my pussy. I skimmed one hand down along my stomach, then touched myself. I found my clitoris, surprised that it responded instantly.

I relaxed my legs, pulled my feet up toward my buttocks and allowed my knees to spread until they rested on the sides of the tub. Slowly, feeling self-conscious yet thrilling to the sensations, I slowly parted my lips and slid a finger into my slit. My palm rubbed against my clitoris. But it wasn’t my palm. It was Blake’s.

His finger explored slowly at first, then began to delve deeper inside. He withdrew, then delved again. His other fingers swirled, tweaked, and tugged at my nipple. I felt electrified. I imagined the feel of his lips on mine once again, soft and exploring at first, and gradually increasing in intensity and passion.

My hips began to gently rock, and the sound of water sloshing against the side of the tub distracted me, but only for a moment or two. I was so caught up in my fantasy that there was no stopping the momentum now. In my mind’s eye, I saw him hovering naked over me, his broad, masculine chest, a trail of black hair trailing down to his lower abdomen and what must certainly be a glorious cock, now hard and riddled with veins throbbing with his desire.