Blaze of Winter: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (11 page)

Her mouth grew dry and she swallowed, trying to get some moisture inside. “I … I can’t,” she whispered.

Theo tilted his head. He slowly peeled off his gloves and placed them in his pocket.

“Why not?”

“I’m afraid of what might happen.” And she was. Deeply afraid that whatever she was feeling for Theo had the power to overwhelm her.

Theo’s gaze softened. “Don’t be afraid. We’ll do it together.” Gently, he cupped her jaw and kissed her softly on the lips. It was comforting, soothing, and despite her apprehension, she found herself warming to the sensation. Using his lips to open hers, he carefully slipped his tongue inside and stroked. The taste of him—dark, smooth, and faintly alcoholic—was intoxicating, dizzying. He kept teasing her with his tongue, testing her reaction. When he wrapped his arm around the back of her neck and pulled her to him, heat rose inside of her, hot and slick.

Why had she been fighting this, anyway? It was insane to try pushing away this sinfully attractive man, especially when he could kiss like this. Emotion was part of her inner fiber. She should embrace it, right? Figure out how to work with it instead of against it.

Then, as the tingling from her lips moved down her body, she stopped thinking and started feeling. Her nipples hardened under her clothes and lust shot straight to her core. She gasped, and he caught the sound in his mouth, answering with a moan of his own. Pulling her even closer, he urged her mouth to open wider so that he could plunge deeper inside.

Once the floodgates had been opened, there was no shutting them. She wound her fingers into his thick hair and answered his thrusts with her own. Avery couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so overwhelmed with need. And this was just a kiss. He nibbled down the tender skin at the side of her neck, and she shuddered against him as he hit a sweet spot behind her ear.

The door was still open, cold wind rushing in, but Avery was burning up. Her face was flushed, the nape of her neck damp, and she clutched at his jacket. Before she could even articulate what she needed, Theo stepped forward, half-carrying her into the hallway, shutting the door behind them. He ran one large hand down the front of her jacket, popping all the snaps open in one long sweep, and then pushed the jacket off her shoulders. When it fell to the floor he shoved it aside with his foot, never once breaking contact with her lips. Free of the heavy coat, she moaned and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him near.

At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to press her naked body up against his. The thought shocked her, thrilled her. Theo must have had the same inclination because he stripped his own coat off. He pulled her back to him and her breasts dragged against his chest as she grabbed at the bunched muscles of his arms.

Then his hands were in her hair, and he found the clip she’d used to secure the coppery mass on the top of her head. He tugged and the clip snapped, sending her hair down her back in a shower. One of his hands immediately curled back into her hair as the other slid from her waist up her side.

But the sound of the clip breaking had triggered a kind of panic in her. She had to stop this madness, right now, before things went too far.

Opening her eyes, Avery shoved at his chest. It took him a moment, but Theo stopped kissing her. Still, he didn’t release her. “We shouldn’t have done that,” she said softly.

“We both wanted it.”

“No.” She looked away, but he carefully grasped her chin in his hand and turned her face back to him.

“Don’t deny it. Not to me and definitely not to yourself.” Theo released her and grabbed his jacket from the floor as he strode to the door. Opening it, he turned back to her. “Sometime soon, we’re going to talk. And you’re going to tell me everything.” He tipped his head. “Good night, Avery.”

She stood there, shell-shocked, as he gently shut the door.

Theo walked back to the Inn through the brisk night air, ignoring the throbbing in his groin and the pounding in his chest. It had taken only a few short minutes for both of them to reach a fever pitch. He’d never gotten so hard so fast. All she had to do was look at him with that wide-eyed gaze and he was ready. Groaning out loud, he realized that now, more than ever, he needed to take it slow. Show her exactly what she was capable of feeling. She’d bloomed under his touch like a hothouse flower. How hot would it be once they actually slept together?

He was having more fun with Avery than he’d had in a long time. So much fun that he’d begun to reclaim his old self—the man who was more substance than style. The man who was as much at home in a tavern as he was at a wine tasting. The man who’d literally sweep a woman off her feet, instead of worrying about whether she was impressed by his latest novel. Caveman, indeed.

When he’d told her she brought out the best in him, he’d meant it. Strangely, this gentle woman was shifting his perspective. She was more than intriguing; that huge heart of hers was just waiting for someone to claim it, and he wanted to be the one. But there was more to his attraction than that.

Coupled with their intense physical chemistry, Avery’s vulnerability made him want to show himself to her. To reveal everything—the real Theodore Grayson underneath the polished façade. In fact, he was looking forward to rediscovering parts of himself he’d long since hidden. Just a short time with her and he was feeling more like himself than he had in years. The introspective guy he used to be was back, coupled with a powerful physicality he hadn’t known he possessed. It shocked him—the almost primal desire to make her his, to slowly strip away all her reservations until she was bared before him, both physically and emotionally. And to reciprocate in kind.

Imagining her letting loose in the throes of passionate lovemaking nearly undid him. The last thing he wanted to do was get arrested by his own brother for public indecency, so he willed the hard bulge in his jeans away by focusing his mind on something else. His book.

His research had gone well today, but he had more to do tomorrow. Soon he’d take a trip to Boston to check out the Bostonian Society’s library. They had a good selection of works on pirating up and down the Gold Coast. He might find something useful about the
Siren Lorelei
or her captain that he could incorporate into his manuscript.

The key was warm in his pocket. He was glad Luke had repaired the back lock and even gladder that Avery and Kate had decided to start keeping the front door bolted. Kate had given him a key that morning, and not a moment too soon, because he’d noticed fresh mud on the pristine white snow in the backyard. It had obviously been dragged out from the woods, and he was sure as hell it wasn’t an animal that had done it. Yet when he’d mentioned it to Avery, she’d seemed remarkably unconcerned. Just so the Sheriff’s Department had a record of the incident,
Theo had reported it. Of course, without an actual crime committed, there was nothing they could do.

Arriving at the Inn, he walked up the front path and pulled his key out. He didn’t even bother going up to his room when he got inside. Heavily aroused, he knew he wasn’t going to get to sleep for a long time. Not with thoughts of a gorgeous blue-eyed, red-headed woman scorching his mind. Instead, he headed for the parlor, where he stripped off his coat and set up his laptop. Tension
was
good for him. Pouring all his built-up hunger into his work was making him more productive than he’d been in ages. He worked steadily for the next two hours, compiling the notes he’d taken that day into some semblance of an outline.

By midnight he was ready to wrap things up. He stood, stretching his arms above his head before shutting down his laptop. Gathering his belongings, he started for the foyer. But as he walked, he heard a creak and then a hollow sound before a gust of freezing air hit him. Frowning, he stopped in his tracks. He’d personally locked the front door and he knew the back door was dead-bolted. Avery and Kate wouldn’t have left any of the windows open—not during winter. So where was the cold air coming from?

He put all his stuff down and stalked into the foyer. Nothing. The door was still locked shut. He did a sweep of the first floor, checking that every window in every room—the dining room, the kitchen, and the great room—was closed. He quickly surveyed the second and third floors, too. A few of the guest rooms were locked, but he doubted a cold gust of air could have made its way through a tiny crack underneath the door and down the stairwell.

Satisfied that nothing was amiss, he circled back to the parlor to get his things. The insulation in these old buildings was poor, and it was likely that one of the windows just wasn’t sealed properly. He grabbed his belongings, carried them up to Smuggler’s Cove, and set them down on the desk. Taking a quick glance out the window, he noticed that the snow was still falling. White now fully blanketed the town, and the temperature was dropping fast, which meant that the snow would be iced over in the morning. It was early in the season for this kind of
weather, and poor Avery would have a tough time navigating from Kate’s house to the Inn. Maybe he’d get her some cleats.

No. It was much more fun to have her clinging to him as he carried her around. Smiling, he turned up the heater and stripped down to his boxers. Soon, the room would be warm. Sliding underneath the sheets and the heavy down comforter, he fell asleep dreaming about a woman with bright orange hair and a wary smile.

CHAPTER 9

“Yes, yes, I understand, Yvonne.” Avery was sitting at her aunt’s kitchen table, her cell phone pressed to her ear. Kate walked into the room in her heavy jacket and scarf, obviously preparing to leave. With her free hand, Avery motioned for her to wait. “Next Wednesday at eleven? Hold on.”

She covered the mouthpiece of the telephone. “My boss needs me for an emergency meeting next Wednesday morning. Will that be okay?” she whispered.

Kate nodded. “It’ll be fine,” she said. “I’ll make sure not to schedule any appointments until the afternoon, and I can cover the tea if you run too late.”

“Thank you,” Avery whispered before uncovering the mouthpiece. “I can make it. All right. See you then. ’Bye.” Terminating the call, she shoved her cell phone in her pocket and sighed heavily, leaning against the table.

“What was that about?” Kate asked.

“One of my old clients, a woman named Wanda, disappeared a week ago. Her mother has already called the police to report her missing, but they want to meet with her caseworkers. Yvonne thinks it’ll be helpful if I’m there.”

Kate frowned. “I thought you were taking time away from the Center.”

“I know,” Avery said, rubbing her eyes. “I am.”

“Couldn’t someone else meet with Wanda’s parents?”

“The caseworker she was assigned to after I left already met with them, but they want me, too. I get it. She was
my
client. I might be able to help in some way. I’m going to think back through our sessions together, see what I can dredge up. Maybe she mentioned something to me that could be useful.” She met Kate’s concerned gaze. “Look, if it weren’t a dire situation, I
wouldn’t be going in. She’s got a son, but she’s only nineteen. They think she’s relapsed and at this point, she’s been alone on the streets for a week. They wouldn’t have called me if they weren’t desperate. The least I can do is help.”

“Just take care of yourself, dear. I worry about you.”

“I worry about me, too,” Avery muttered, just as Kate began to cough. “And now I’m really worried about you. When did you start coughing?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” her aunt said. “I’m sure it’s just something in the air.” Silently, she slipped out the door.

Avery looked after her aunt with concern. She’d have to keep an eye on her—she was clearly less worried about herself than she should be. Kate needed rest, and Avery would make sure she got it. It had been tough getting her aunt to slow down after her last chemo treatment. She’d been raring to go within a few days, but Avery—with Emma’s help—had convinced her to take it easy for another week. Now, she forced her protective instincts back down. Kate had said it was nothing, so she’d have to take her words at face value for the moment. If her aunt kept coughing, she’d worry more.

In the meantime, she returned her focus to her own situation. What did it mean that this was the second of her clients who’d had serious issues after she started working with them? It wasn’t unusual for clients to be tough, but having one die and another disappear within a few weeks was not exactly normal.

Wanda MacGreeley had been one of her more challenging cases, not least of which was because she was whip smart. Like many of her other charges, Wanda was a single mom referred to the rehabilitation program by Family Services so that she could keep custody of her child. But unlike so many of the others, Wanda seemed to have the genuine desire to get better—to kick the addiction and her demons—and graduate from the program.
Just like Mia
. Wanda had been doing so well when Avery left the Center. She was keeping clean, and she truly seemed to be
motivated to stick with the program and get her son back permanently. What had made her deviate from the positive path she’d been following?