Winter Interlude (22 page)

All day, he’d diligently worked to keep his eyes off her svelte form. Too often
,
thoughts of unzipping her ski suit, to see exactly what lay beneath had flashed inside his mind
.
Thoughts that
wouldn’t shut off
,
no matter how many times he’d flipped the
mental
switch
.

He shook his head and snatched both pairs of boots, holding them with a firm grip. His internal switch was still on the fritz so he was glad to have something to keep his hands busy, preventing them from following that crazy impulse to explore underneath
Kate
’s clothing.

“You ready?” he asked, surprised that
the steadiness of his
voice revealed nothing of his inner turmoil.

She nodded with a smile
and reached for her bag.

Paul
started for the door, refusing to be taken in with such a beguiling expression. Yet his mind continued paying no attention to his commands to ignore the way her hips swayed with each step
as she
walk
ed
toward him
.
He sighed, then
averted his gaze
a
s he
held the door open, waiting until she was out before following, purposefully not looking at her butt
.

Halfway to the car, he noticed the white
-
out conditions and wondered how long
it would be
until James arrived
.
It couldn’t be too soon for his peace of mind
.
He had no idea how he’d survive the rest of the day trapped with her in a winter wonderland of snow,
snow that continued to fall
relentlessly.

By the time he and
Kate
reached his BMW
,
they were almost white again
.
He brushed as much as he could off her and opened the passenger door.

Once she was seated,
Paul
quickly put the boots and bags into the trunk
.
He shook
snow from his body
before he opened his door
,
then
slid in
next to
her
,
and started the car
.
“I’m glad I put the chains on earlier.”

“Yeah
.
There’s only one thing worse than taking chains off a car in a parking lot, and that’s putting them on in the same parking lot during a blizzard.”

He nodded and shifted into gear
.
Both remained silent as he
steered carefully
out onto the road
.

Forced to drive
at a crawl because of the conditions, he chanced a couple of surreptitious peeks in her direction
.
On his last, several emotions played across her face and ended in a
c
heshire
grin that drew his gaze to her lips
.
“What’s so funny?” he asked
.

“Nothing,” she said too quickly, as her glance darted to the window
.

“Nothing, huh
?”
His tone sounded skeptical
.
The experience was too similar to the other times he’d caught her smiling throughout the day
.
She was definitely hiding something
.
“That’s what you said this morning
.
I think it’s a secret.”

She offered a half
shrug
.
“Maybe.”

He shook
his head
and
grinned
.
“You know, I have ways of finding these things out.”

“Oh
,
really
?”
She crossed her arms
.
“Good luck trying
.”

His focus landed on that self-satisfied smile again
.
“I bet I can get you to talk
.”
He meant the words in jest, but they came out in a flirty, almost seductive tone
.
He stared
at her lips a little too long, having a hard time remembering why he shouldn’t have
made the comment
in the first place
.

“I’m sure you could,” she countered in an equally sultry manner that sent a signal south and brushed Judith and James further into the background of his thoughts
.
“Which is why I’m not willing to risk it.”

“Spoilsport
.
I would’ve enjoyed trying to loosen your tongue,” he murmured, wondering for a
fleeting
moment what it would be like to kiss her
.

Kate
didn’t reply
. She whipped her head around to stare
out the passenger window as if fascinated with the
snowy vista
.

Just as well, he thought, sighing
.
Thinking about kissing her wasn’t the best idea either
.
He concentrated more on driving, intent on ignoring this hum of attraction that continually overrode his good sense
.
Still, as much as he struggled to expel them, images
—
of the methods he’d use to loosen her tongue
—
clung to his mind
.

Quit thinking about locking lips with her.
H
is mental urgings did no good, as his gaze kept zeroing in on her mouth
.

He blew out a silent expletive
.
Not good, Morrison
.
Not good.

His only recourse at this point
?
Put some distance between them
.
Thank God, she was staying in the guesthouse
—
well away from him and his crazy desires
.
He turned on the radio.

As Train’s
“
Soul Sister
”
slowly faded, a news bulletin interrupted in a loud blare, informing drivers that the winter storm system had stalled
.
The forecast called for flooding in the lower elevations
.
Interstate 80 and Highway 50, the main thoroughfares from the mountains to Sacramento were a mess
.
The highway patrol required chains through Donner Pass,
a
common event
.
The storm had already produced twenty inches in the last twelve hours and the weather service predicted another twelve to twenty-four inches.

“Damn
.”
The one word came out in an explosive rush of annoyance
.
Stilling the urge to hit the steering wheel, Paul gripped it tighter and glanced at
Kate
, frowning
.
“No way Judith will make the trip now
.”
She’d check the news and would never attempt to drive in a snowstorm, let alone deal with putting on chains. He mentally snorted. Not that he believed she’d have made it before the storm hit harder than expected
.

“I hope James is okay
.”
Kate
grimaced, then sighed and shook her head
.
“This weekend isn’t going the way I planned.”

“Don’t worry
.
He should be fine with four-wheel drive,” Paul said, not adding his other similar thoughts
.
This weekend wasn’t even close to what he’d expected
.
Awareness was a bitch, he thought, unable to shake the thought that for years he’d given the woman sitting next to him grief over something he was
equally
guilty of
—
a humiliating realization, to say the least
.

Though slow going, they eventually arrived at the house and he was only too grateful to see
Kate
veer toward her haven, mumbling about having things to take care of
.

Paul got another fire going in his room
,
then started for the kitchen, glad
he’d had
the sense to load the wood
bin before two feet of snow made it more difficult
.

He
found that he was starving, and
rummaged through the cupboards and fridge
.
Thankful
they’d stocked up the night before, he found plenty to work with
.
After fixing sandwiches, he poured himself a glass of wine, hoping to dull his out-of-control thoughts
.
To complete
the
feast, he added cookies and chips
.

P
late in hand, he went to the guesthouse and knocked
.
“I fixed something to eat.”

Kate
opened the door and eyed the offered food
.
“Oh you sweet, sweet man
.
How’d you know I was ravenous
?”
Grinning, she quickly took the plate from him
.
“Thank you
!”

Paul couldn’t contain his smile at the animated joy in both her voice and her expression
.
She certainly had a zest for food
.
Then his thoughts shifted, as the notion of her looking at him with the same eagerness and hunger infiltrated his brain
.
Blood rushed south in a hurry
.