The Billionaire's Courageous Lover (Bold, Alaskan Men Book 3) (5 page)

Andie paced back and forth across her family room carpeting, smoothing down her dress.  She should just call him back up and tell him that she was kidding.  She’d just done it on a dare. 

But would she be able to reach him?  Could she stop this whole, terrifying night?  She had to!  She remembered the night that Knox had saved her from the bear, the way his strong arms had wrapped around her body, holding her close. 

And then the doorbell rang.  He was here!  He was right outside her door! 

She’d made such a huge mistake!  She shouldn’t have said a word to him!  And hadn’t she mentioned something about him being gorgeous?  Big mistake!

She was standing there, her hands twisting together nervously when the door opened up.  There he was!  Goodness, he was huge!  So tall, he actually had to duck down under the doorframe.  And his shoulders!  My, they were so wide, so strong! 

“I made a mistake!” she blurted out. 

But did he stop?  Nope!  He simply stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.  Oh no!  He was carrying a bottle of wine!  She loved wine!  She didn’t drink wine, because she couldn’t afford the good stuff but yes, she thought wine was the best thing since…well, since Knox, who was even better than sliced bread!

“What mistake did you make?” he asked as he came closer.  Knox was trying very hard not to toss the bottle of wine into a corner and grab her sexy body, all wrapped up in some stretchy fabric that made his hands ache to hold her.  She looked…hot!  Beautiful and sexy, and all so warm and smokin’ hot! 

If she would just admit that she’d made a mistake in moving here…

Her hands were clenched together as he walked deeper into her home.  Deeper into trouble. 

“I shouldn’t have invited you here.  To dinner.”

He almost laughed at her outraged expression.  “I like the fact that you asked me over for dinner.”  He moved closer to her, the scent of both whatever she was cooking as well as the woman made him feel like a sex-starved teenager.  “Why don’t you tell me why you asked me to come tonight and we can go from there?” he told her, setting the bottle of wine on the counter and sliding his sport jacket off his shoulders.  He was wearing just a dark, collared shirt and black slacks now. 

She looked at him with wide, nervous eyes as her gaze moved over him, noting the way the dark material of his shirt pulled at the seams, stretching over the muscles in those arms.  “Just say it?  You won’t be offended?  You won’t get mad at me if you disagree?”

He would be disappointed.  More than he’d thought possible.  But it was the right thing to do.  “No.  Just talk to me.”

She took a deep breath that caught in her throat when his large, strong hands moved to her waist.  She grabbed his wrists and pulled him away.  “I can’t spill it out if you’re touching me,” she told him.

He leaned back against the countertop, vaguely noticing the table in the corner.  That hadn’t been here the last time he’d been in the house.  But she still didn’t have a sofa or anything else that would stamp this house as her home.  He tried to convince himself that he wasn’t upset by her departure.  It was the right thing to do.  It would keep her safe.  And alive.  Yeah, this beautiful woman definitely needed to be alive. 

Maybe he would even fly to wherever she settled next and take her out.  He liked that idea.  A lot. 

He noted the pink tinge to her delicate skin, making her look even more enticing.  “Okay, I’m standing over here, hands to myself.  Why don’t you just say it and I’ll help you with whatever you need?”

She smiled tentatively with those words.  “I hope you mean it,” she said, her shoulders tense and her hands tightly clasped in front of her. 

His eyes glanced down her body with delight.  Maybe they could have a burning hot affair, and he could even put her up in an apartment in the city of her choice.  Some place warm where she wouldn’t need to wear a lot of clothes.  “I mean it.  I promise, I’ll help.” 

She took a deep breath and nodded as if she were bracing herself for the news.  “I was going to say this over dinner.  Maybe over dessert.  But you seem open to ideas now so….I’ll just say it.”  She released the breath, then took another one as she looked up at him.  “I want to have an affair with you.” 

There!  She’d said it!  She’d spilled her guts and gone after what she wanted! 

Now she just needed to wait for him to…ugh.  She had no idea what he might say or do. 

Looking up at him, trying to gauge his reaction, she cringed at the shocked…was that horror…in his green eyes?  “Stop looking at me like that,” she whispered. 

Knox tried to respond.  He tried to think.  But all he could think about was peeling that dress off of her body and finding out what color her nipples were, what she sounded like when she climaxed.  She wanted to have an affair with him?  Not leave Alaska? 

He shook his head.  “Excuse me?”  His eyes lit on the basket of tennis balls right by the door leading to the basement, but he was still too focused on her suggestion.  Or her invitation? 

He’d been propositioned before, but never by someone like her.  She was too sweet and innocent looking for propositions.  Did he want her?  Hell yes!  But that’s not what tonight was about! 

“Dinner!” she gasped.  “Why don’t you think about it, and we can eat dinner and then you can tell me yes or no at the end of dinner.  Or not,” she said as she moved into the kitchen.  She slipped hot pads on and pulled out a warm loaf of bread. 

She had to put it on the top of the stove quickly because her hands were shaking so badly.  Goodness, this propositioning stuff was nerve-wracking!  Or maybe it was only difficult when Knox was involved.  She wasn’t sure since she’d never done it before. 

She’d already sliced the bread and added butter and garlic, the sauce was simmering and the pasta was finished.  She’d even found real
parmigiano reggiano cheese and grated it.  “There’s salad in the fridge,” she told him, and continued to busy herself trying to get dinner ready.  She was so nervous, so anxious that she just wanted dinner to be over. 

This bravery stuff sucked!

Knox watched her, wondering what was going on inside her head.  When she started to pass by him once again, he grabbed her arm and stopped her.  Taking the bread out of her hands, he set it on the countertop behind her.  “Andie, what’s wrong?”

She sighed and stared at the middle of his broad chest.  “You’re the straight-forward kinda guy, and I prefer just shying away from anything painful or serious.  Except literature.  I love that.  I introduced Fahrenheit 451 this week to my students.  They thought the idea of reading it was great but…”  She looked up into his eyes.  “We should sit down and eat.  The food is going to get cold.”

Knox accepted that she’d ventured into uncomfortable territory.  It might be turning him on like crazy to think that she’d stepped out of her comfort zone to proposition him, but he also thought she wasn’t the kind of woman who should be having affairs.  She was the marrying kind. 

So he sat and he listened to her talk about the students, most of whom he knew or knew about. 

As they ate pasta and cheesy bread, she started to relax, feeling somewhat better now that those shoulders and all of that incredible manliness was safely on the other side of the table from her. 

They argued about literature and politics, and Andie had to laugh at his challenging points.  He was an excellent debater, and she had to think hard and fast to keep up with him.  He kept up his end of the conversation so there weren’t any awkward silences which helped her relax even more. 

Knox was enchanted.  When this woman finally released some of the tension that seemed to keep her tightly coiled, he was amazed at the beauty of her laughter, the sparkle in her eyes.  She really was quite stunning. 

And a great cook!  They had been sipping the wine after eating all of the pasta and bread she’d made and Andie was feeling hugely better with all of that comfort food in her. 

“I have dessert too,” she told him, as she stood up to take their dinner dishes over to the sink. 

She felt him stand as well and all of her nervousness came rushing back. 

“What are you doing?” she asked him, when she felt him behind her. 

“I’m helping you clear the table,” he told her simply.  But they both knew that it was more.  The look in his eyes told her that and the trembling started up, full force.  “Why aren’t you heading back home, Andie?” he asked as he turned her around.  Taking the plates out of her hands, he moved even closer. 

She took a deep breath.  “I am home.  I love it here.”

He shook his head while his finger moved along her neck.  “You’re too soft for this life, honey.  You’re too pretty and you’re going to get hurt.”

She took his finger and pulled it away from her skin, disappointment searing through her.  “So this is a no?”

He wasn’t sure what she meant.  “No about what?”

She stared right up at him, holding her breath as she waited for his answer.  “About an affair?”

He searched her eyes, trying to tamp down the instant lust.  And the need to kiss her.  “We were talking about you going home.”

“I just told you, I’m already home.  I’m staying here.”  She bit her lip and glanced at his chest again, unable to maintain eye contact.  “But if you don’t want to have an affair with me, I understand.”

He was so turned on, so fascinated with her.  “What do you understand?”

She quivered with the rejection and tried to hide it from him.  “That you don’t want me.”  She slipped out from where she was trapped by the countertop and his hard, muscular body. 

Knox stood there for a stunned moment while her warmth moved away from him.  He might be confused about some things, but wanting her close to him was not one of them. 

“Oh no you don’t!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her around.  His mouth captured her lips in a kiss that singed the floor beneath them.  When he felt her arms go around his neck, he pulled her closer, moving her against him so that he could feel her breasts against his chest, her hips cradling his erection just like he needed. 

He worked the pins out of her hair and felt the softness tumble over his hands, his fingers diving through the silken tresses and he wondered if she felt this soft in her satin nightgowns.  He doubted it.  Nothing could feel this amazing. 

But before things could get even more out of control, he lifted his head, trying to stop the kiss.  Those rosebud lips were even softer than he’d thought possible, swollen and kissing him back and his body ached, knowing that he’d done that to her.  “Don’t even think about me not wanting you, Andie,” he groaned.  His hands moving down her waist, feeling her rounded hips and her soft bottom.  He even pressed her hips against his erection so that she was very aware of his desire.  “I want you.  But you can’t stay here.  You have to go back home.”

She pulled out of his arms, her shaking fingers reaching up and touching her lips gently.  They were still tingling, still wanting more. 

“I am home,” she finally whispered. 

Knox muttered something that she suspected she didn’t want to interpret too closely.  But his hands moved back to her waist.  “Andie!  You don’t know what you’re talking about!  That car alone is going to get you hurt!”

Wait, she was still trying to remember her name and he was berating her about her car?  “What’s wrong with my car?” she asked, looking out the window, but it was already dark.

His fingers gripped the softness of her waist, trying to get her to understand.  “The fact that you don’t know is only proving my point!”

“So explain it to me!” she came right back, not willing to take his ambiguous statements.  “I don’t claim to be an expert at living here, but everyone had to figure it out as they went along, right?”

He ran a hand through his hair.  “Andie, that car won’t even make it through the first snowfall.  The clearance is too low and you need four wheel drive to get over some of the snow drifts that build up around here.  I’m not talking about just driving along the road.  You can have several feet of snow piled up in your driveway.”

She nodded her head.  “Okay, so I need to get a shovel.  What else?”

She wasn’t getting it!  His voice went deeper as he watched her silver eyes take in his advice.  “You need a different car, Andie!  That thing is just like you!  It’s cute and adorable, but it won’t make it in the long haul.”

She narrowed her eyes, starting to bristle at his growling.  “I’m not sure if I should focus on the compliment about me being cute and adorable, which,” she tilted her head slightly, “might not even be a compliment.  But I’m going to take it that way because it hurts less.  But the other part, about me and my car not being tough enough to make it through the long haul, well,” she huffed for a moment.  “Well, you’re just wrong!”

He shook his head.  “No Andie.  I’m not.” 

“Oh yeah?”  She moved closer, angry now.  “Let’s make it a bet, okay?”

He almost laughed.  “No.  You have no idea what a real Alaska winter is like.  You come from Boston but there, when it snows, there are snow plows.  There are lots of streets and if one is blocked by snow or ice, you can just go down another street.” 

She moved across the room, turned around to glare at him with her hands on her hips.  “And?  There are streets here!”