She urged Indie forward. The mare didn’t need more than a free bit, and she took off after the man and horse, who were getting harder to see by the second.
ALMOSTTWOHOURSLATER, Kenzie stepped into the one-bedroom cabin she’d been given and shut the door. She struggled out of her wet boots, her feet so cold they were tinged blue. Next came the soaked jacket, and then she started peeling off the jeans. That was when she remembered her last question to Eli: “What does Tyson think about this arrangement?”
He never answered.
“Sneaky freaking lawyer,” she muttered.
Tossing her jeans into the stacked washer-dryer combo, she padded toward the bathroom on near-frozen feet. She needed a hot shower to thaw out. Then she’d reassess. The hardest part of the whole thing was that it was a half blessing as well as a half curse. She’d have to get Tyson to be vulnerable by doing the very same.
How far can you take it without crossing the line marked This Point is Too Far?
She’d had a hard time living with the lies she’d told so far. What would it do to her to manipulate Ty into recovery? How deep an emotional marshland would she have to traverse to secure his buy-in? And finally, how many more lies could she—wouldshe—have to tell to get out of this mess?
That was all disturbing enough. But a single question she hadn’t been brave enough to ask hung around, nagging at her conscience, demanding its due.
At what point, if any, did she confront the feelings she and Ty had been so actively avoiding? The ones that had been coming to a head prior to the accident?
Fear choked her.
What if he doesn’t remember that, either?
If she had to, she’d make him. Lord only knew how, but she’d find a way, because his reaction to what they’d had then said everything about how he felt about what they might have now.
How do I make a man closely examine something he doesn’t even want to glance at?
The answer was so easy that she grinned. You teased a little. You made it desirable. And then you made it irresistible.
Outside, the worst storm northern New Mexico had seen in thirty years raged on.
It was nothing compared to the storm brewing in her heart.
ONLYHALF-AWAKE,TYopened his eyes to find that the sunrise had set the world on fire, reflecting off the dazzling snow packed outside. He must have dozed off and left his curtains open last night. And he must have left the door unlocked, too. Because there was someone in his room.
Light created a brilliant nimbus around the individual. He blinked his eyes, trying to bring her into focus. Her? Yes, her. The swell of hips, the narrow shoulders and the outline of long hair pulled up in a sloppy topknot said she was female. She turned a bit. High breasts and a tight ass presented a tempting profile.
No, she wasn’t “female.” She was 100 percent authenticwoman.
Below the covers, his cock stirred. He jolted, tipping his chin down as far as he could with his neck brace on but loose. How long had it been since he’d woken with his typical morning arousal?
“You awake?”
In the haze of half-sleep, he wondered for a moment if she was talking to him or his groin. “Has to be you,” he mumbled, blinking faster.
“Who else?”
Grumpy tone or not, her voice glazed his skin and wound around his senses. Allure and sensual promise. That was what she was. He recognized it. Recognizedher.
His cock shifted. Arousal crowded out everything but the memory of his hands on her body. Her response and his overwhelming desire to fill her senses and her mind.
Her.It was her. She’d been responsible. Mackenzie Malone.
“What are you doing here?” he rasped, throat dry from another night of sleeping on his back and breathing through his mouth.
“Came to check in on you.”
His stomach did a lazy, nauseating roll. “I thought we left things pretty clear yesterday.”
“They may have been clear for you, but I still have some things to work out. Besides, I can’t leave now anyway.” She gestured absently toward the window. “Snowed in.”