The Billionaire's Courageous Lover (Bold, Alaskan Men Book 3) (8 page)

Knox crossed his arms over his chest, irritated that yet another piece of furniture had arrived.  But he relented and helped her, taking the knife from her and getting the pieces out of the cardboard.  “Where are the instructions?” he asked, astonished that she’d actually purchased a sofa that needed to be assembled.  He hadn’t known that was even possible until this moment.  In his life, he’d gotten his furniture off of whatever curb it had been left on by the previous owners, or, lately, called a decorator and explained what he wanted.  The room was magically decorated and he simply moved in. 

With a sigh of resignation, he helped Andie move the large pieces. In less time than he would have thought possible, the sofa was completed and set in front the fireplace.  When she flopped down on it, he looked at her, thinking she was incredibly lovely. 

But he wasn’t going to kiss her again.  That was just plain stupid. 

“Andie, about this morning,” he started to say. 

She jumped up and hurried into her kitchen.  “I know.  It was stupid to kiss and we should never do it again.  I’m sorry that I even initiated the kiss.  I should have just gotten out of your vehicle and ignored all of my…”

She couldn’t say another word since Knox had pulled her into his arms and was now kissing her.  That hadn’t been his intention.  She was saying all of the things that he’d meant to say.  But hearing the words come from her lips made him go a bit nuts.  He had to prove to her that she was wrong, that they should have kissed this morning and now and forever, if he had his way. 

“Shut up, Andie,” he growled as he pulled her closer.  His hand moved up underneath her sweater and he felt all of the soft, delicate skin hidden from him.  His frustration was almost physical as he tried to pull away, only to be lured back to her when she made that sound, that soft, sexy sound that he couldn’t really define as a whimper or a purr like a kitten.  Nor did he give a damn!  She felt good, she tasted good, and she was his.  Not for long, but until she came to her senses and moved away, this was his woman. 

“Hello?” a feminine voice called out.

Knox pulled away and looked around, cursing when he saw Andie’s neighbor about to knock on the door again. 

He stepped away from Andie and straightened her sweater.  There wasn’t anything he could do about the dazed look in her eyes and his body hardened to throbbing levels once again when he noticed that her lips were swollen from his kisses. 

Damn, she was beautiful. 

He walked over to the door and pulled it open, then turned back to Andie.  “Let me know if any other furniture comes in.  I’ll help you put it together as well.”  And then he walked out of the house and drove away, trying not to think about the gossip that would be all over town by the end of the day. 

“Want to come?” Violet asked.

Andie looked up at the two other women who looked eager and excited.  She wasn’t completely sure if their eagerness was all about getting her up on the mountain for skiing or if there was something else going on.  She’d sort of…drifted off. 

Andie knew she’d been doing that a lot lately.  She blamed it all on Knox!  The man kept kissing her at the most inopportune moments!  The kiss before school, then again after putting the sofa together…she was so lost!  If only he would finish what he started! 

Blinking, she realized that she’d just done it again and her friends were looking worried.  What were they asking?  Looking around, she bit her lip, trying to recall even small bits of their conversation.  They’d asked if she wanted to go somewhere with them, to do something.  “I don’t know…”

Tyla smiled.  “We’re all going tomorrow,” and she poured more wine into Andie’s glass.  “It will be loads of fun.  And if you don’t like it, you can sit in the lobby area where there’s a huge fireplace, drink a cup of hot chocolate, and read until everyone is ready to head out.”

“I know you were probably just going to stay here and read on your new sofa,” Violet said slyly, already understanding Andie’s wariness.  “But that’s not going to get you out there and doing things that your parents wouldn’t approve of.”

Andie’s eyes narrowed at Violet’s challenge.  “I never should have told you about that,” she said. 

Tyla laughed.  “Oh yes, you should have.  And you know we’re right.  So just accept it.  You’re coming.”

They changed the subject and moved on to more interesting issues.  All the while, Andie thought about tomorrow’s adventure on the ski slopes.  It was the first run of the year, and apparently everyone headed up to the mountain to ski.  Unfortunately, she might have lived on the East Coast where there were plenty of places to ski, but she’d never tried the sport.  It was too elemental, her mother would say, too undignified.  Andie could just imagine her mother’s shudder at the idea of barreling down a mountain on pieces of wood. 

Just thinking about her mother’s reaction finalized her plans in her mind.  She’d go and if she liked it, she would continue to practice the sport.  If she didn’t like it, she wouldn’t do it again.  But until she tried it, she’d never know.

“You’re right,” she said with a decisive nod.  “I’m in.”  Her mind immediately jumped to the possibility of Knox being there.  But neither Violet nor Tyla had mentioned that Knox would be skiing as well.  So maybe it was just Creek and Saeger who would be there tomorrow.

That might be better.  She didn’t really care if she fell on her butt if those two men were around.  But she’d like to be a bit more adept if Knox were watching.  He might…well, she had no idea what he might do. 

By the following morning, Andie wasn’t quite so sure about the adventure.  When Saeger pulled up to her house, Andie had several excuses already planned out. 

“Nope!” Tyla laughed as soon as she saw Andie’s nervous expression and took hold of Andie’s hand, dragging her to the SUV.  “You’re going.  You’re not backing out now.  I promise, you’ll love it.  We’ll all help you learn, and we won’t abandon you.”

Andie settled into the back of the SUV, feeling like a third wheel.  But as long as they were all committed to helping her, she should be gracious and at least act like she was excited and not terrified out of her mind. 

Liars!  Andie stared at Knox, then at her friends’ retreating backs.  They were all liars! 

Tyla and Violet had taken one look at Knox’s furious face and suggested that he teach her to ski since he’s the expert. 

“You don’t have to teach me to ski,” she told him and pulled her rented skis closer to her.  She already hated the ski boots that made her thigh muscles burn.  She couldn’t straighten her legs completely so she had to engage her thigh muscles ever so slightly, just to be standing up.  They didn’t like that exertion and she hadn’t even gone down the hill for the first time. 

This was going to be bad!

Knox wasn’t listening to her.  He debated in his mind whether it would be better to encourage her to just head into the lodge and relax, which is where he could tell she was leaning, or teach her how to ski and see the excited expression in her eyes, that beautiful smile when she felt the exhilaration of coming down her first run.

That last thought cinched it for him.  He wanted that smile.  And he would make sure that she was safe.  Just a slow and easy run down the hill. 

“We’re going up to the first hill.  This way.”  He pointed to the line of skiers heading towards the ski lift.  “Trust me, you’re going to love skiing, Andie.”

He watched carefully, feeling that now familiar sexual ache in his entire body when she bit her lower lip, those silver eyes glancing up the hill with worry. 

“I think…,” she stopped when his finger reached out and touched the soft skin of her cheek. 

“Trust me,” he said softly, but still with that deep, husky timber than never failed to set her body on fire. 

Andie looked at the line, then at the top of the hill.  It wasn’t nearly as high up as where Creek, Saeger, and Tucker seemed to be headed.  Tyla and Violet had gone to one of the intermediate runs.  The guys hadn’t gone on the ski lifts at all.  Nope, they were all trudging over to a helicopter which would take them even past the multiple black diamond runs. 

The men were crazy.  There was no way she would fly around in a helicopter on these sharp mountain peaks. 

“You should go with your friends.  I know that you want to and I’m sure the views from the helicopter are wonderful.”

Knox shook his head.  “My priority is making sure you know how to ski before you break your pretty neck.  Come on,” he commanded, and tugged her over to a small area that had a slope but wasn’t filled with other people.  For the next twenty minutes, he gave her instructions on how to ski, to control her speed, and turning.  She probably would have learned much faster if someone other than a big, gorgeous lumberjack was showing her how to ski.  Knox kept touching her, putting his body behind her and repositioning her arms or spreading her legs more.  It was painfully distracting to have him do things like that to her.  And when he repositioned her, his voice was right in her ear.  She could feel his warm breath tickle her neck. 

It was a long twenty minutes, she thought with yet another shiver. 

“Okay, I think you’re ready to head down the hill,” he told her.  “Let’s go.”

Huh?!  Wait!  She’d been paying more attention to Knox’s hands and those amazing shoulders in his sexy ski jacket!  Go down the hill?

“Um…Knox…”

He was standing too close!  She was in her ski boots which were attached to the stupid skis.  He’d detached his skis and was….darn it!  He was close!  That’s not fair! 

“You’re going to be fine, Andie.  I promise.”

She shook her head, trying to convey that she hadn’t been paying attention to his instructions!  How could she?  He’d been using that sexy-Knox-voice!  How was a woman supposed to learn anything when he used that deep, husky voice?!  That was so unfair!

A dark eyebrow went up when she didn’t move, just continued to stare up at him.  “Andie, you’re going to be fine.  It isn’t a long or a steep hill.  And I’ll be right next to you the whole time.  Just remember what I explained.  We’ll go slow and easy.”

Andie wasn’t quite so sure!  She wanted to practice a few more times on the bunny slope, to get a bit more practice.  She didn’t care that most of the other skiers in this area were toddlers, some might be as old as five or six. 

She glanced up at the beginner’s slope, and just knew that it was too high.  The snow was too deep and…well, she didn’t really have a choice! 

Knox attached his skies and tugged her along to the line.  He had his hand on her back the whole time, and Andie wasn’t quite sure if she was skiing or if he was pushing, which would make this more of a sledding exercise. 

He wasn’t relenting though.  With swift instructions, he positioned her correctly so that the ski lift would just come from behind and swoop them up.  A moment later, they were lifted up, up, up, and she held her breath as the earth floated farther and farther from her feet.  Goodness, she hadn’t realized that she had a fear of heights until this moment. 

Knox must have sensed her fear.  “You’re going to be okay,” he promised, laying a gloved hand on hers where it had a death grip on the metal bar. 

He raised his ski goggles as they approached the top of the slope and she pushed her sun glasses a bit higher on her nose.  “I’m not ready for this Knox,” she told him, trying to be brave, but the quiver in her voice was giving her away. 

“You are,” he promised her.  “We’ll go down together.  I’ll be right beside you.”

She turned and looked up at him and she would have sworn he was smiling at her, but his eyes were once again hidden by the ski goggles so she wasn’t sure. 

The small quirk of his lips confirmed it.  He was laughing. 

Oh, that did it!  She was not going to be the cause of his humor today!  She was going down this slope, and if she broke her neck, well, she’d teach him!  That would prove that she wasn’t ready!  Maybe next time, he’d listen to her! 

With grim determination, she nodded to him, trying to be brave.  “Just remember what I taught you.  Slow and controlled, and you’ll be perfectly fine.” 

She moved around to the edge of the start area and took a deep breath.  “I’ll be fine,” she whispered.  She felt Knox’s hand on her arm and looked up at him.  “You’re going to be fine,” he assured her.  “Slow and steady.”

Andie nodded her head.  “Okay.  Slow and steady.”  With those words pounding in her head, she pushed off, pointing the tips of her skis towards each other so she was starting off slowly. And….

She was skiing!  The exhilaration of sliding down the hill was more exciting than anything she’d ever done!  Well, besides kissing Knox, she thought. 

But she was doing it!  Her legs were bent, her arms open, her poles ready and her skis sliding down the thick snow.  Putting her weight on one leg, she turned in the opposite direction.  Shifting her weight again, she moved in the other direction.  Over and over again, she swayed and gained confidence.  She was about halfway down the slope when she felt comfortable enough to go at a pace slightly faster than a snail.

And wow!  She was skiing!  She was moving down the slope! 

When she reached the bottom, she turned around and found Knox.  He was right there!  He was beside her and he had pushed his goggles out of the way so that she could see the pride in his green eyes. 

Most people wouldn’t think it possible to jump excitedly on skis, but Andie accomplished a reasonable semblance of a jump!  “I did it!  I really did it!” And she almost tumbled herself to the snow when she tried to throw herself into his arms again. 

Thankfully, his strong arms were right there, ready to steady her and he nodded his head, chuckling at her exuberance.  “Yep.  You did it.  You did a great job.  Very controlled and smoothly done!  Let’s do it again.”

Andie looked up at the slope, her eyes bright with confidence now.  “You’re on!” she laughed and headed towards the line of skiers, this time there was actual skiing involved.  He wasn’t pushing her to her death. 

They went down the slope three more times and Knox stayed with her the whole time.  “Oh, that was just awesome!” she gushed, when they were at the bottom again.

Smiling up into his green eyes, she sighed with happiness.  This was no longer about doing something her parents wouldn’t approve of.  This was all about spending a wonderful day with a great guy and learning something new.  A new life, a new skill, and a…

Whoa!  Knox wasn’t “her new guy” in any way!  He was gorgeous and wonderful and…yes, she still wanted to have an affair with him.  But…well, that probably wasn’t in the cards.  She had no idea how the man could kiss her like he did and not want to…do more.  But…she was trying to come to terms with the limits of what he was willing to give her.  Not-so-chaste kisses were his limit. 

That thought diminished her excitement slightly.  She needed space from this man, she thought.  Space where he wasn’t hovering, touching her, and snatching her breath away with one of his not-so-obvious smiles. 

“Okay, you go ahead and ski down your own slopes.  I know that these aren’t even challenging you in any way.”  And she tried to shoo him away. 

He immediately shook his head. “Not happening, Andie.  Let’s go again.”

“No!  You’re going to go down that one,” she said, and pointed to the run that looked like it was basically a vertical drop but she saw a few skiers running down the slope so obviously there was some way to ski.  “And I’m going my own way.”

He looked down at her with a look that made her stomach muscles tighten.  “How about if we go one more time, and then we’ll stop for lunch?”

Space!  She wanted space and to breathe.  Not happening with this big guy nearby.  “No!  You go do your thing.”

Knox sighed, and expertly snapped his skis off.  Andie instantly knew that she was in trouble when he came over to her and slid his bare hands underneath her ski jacket.  The shock and need was so sharp and so swift, she had trouble breathing for several seconds.  And then she couldn’t catch her breath.