As if the thought of him had conjured him up, she saw Matt making his way from the parking lot toward the hotel. Slowing her pace, she looked him over. One hand was jammed into the pocket of a black ski jacket. In the other hand he held a white plastic bag that proclaimed he'd visited The Computer Warehouse. Faded jeans hugged his long legs, and snow crunched beneath his sturdy brown Timberland boots. He looked big and strong and sexy and-she shook her head to adjust her runaway thoughts. And completely… undelicious. Yup, that's what he was-the exact opposite of delicious.
He must have felt the weight of her regard, because he turned and their eyes met. His steps slowed, but then he shifted his direction and walked toward her.
Her stupid heart rate kicked up a few beats per minute, and her hormones perked up their ears. She shot her hormones an inward frown and told them to take a hike.
"Don't tell me you're still out here from this morning," Matt said as he neared her. "I've only been outside for a few minutes and already I feel like a Popsicle." He pulled his hand from his pocket, cupped his fingers near his mouth and blew to warm them.
Jilly's wayward gaze wandered over his dark, windblown hair, and she clenched her fingers inside her gloves to squelch the urge to brush back a wayward lock that fell over his forehead. Ruddy color from the cold stained his cheeks, lending him a very outdoorsy, masculine appearance. He looked incredibly appealing, and all the resolutions she'd just spent the past three hours making evaporated like a puff of steam.
Darn it, why did this particular man have to be so damn attractive? He shifted his feet, drawing her gaze down his long legs. Yikes. Last time she'd seen a guy fill out a pair of jeans that nicely had been… never. Her thought processes derailed, and her mind executed a mental striptease, peeling off his heavy coat and sweater. Whew, he sure looked good. She imagined sliding those Levi's down his long legs, then slipping off his boxer briefs-with her teeth.
A feverish flush washed over her, no doubt generating enough heat to melt the snow beneath her feet. She was going to look pretty stupid standing out here in a big puddle of water.
"Penny for your thoughts."
Her gaze jerked up to his, and she stilled at the speculative interest simmering in his eyes. Damn. Bad enough to indulge in such unacceptable fantasies, but it was bury-your-head-in-the-snow embarrassing for him to catch her indulging.
She attempted a laugh, inwardly cringing at the shaky sound she produced. "I, uh was just imagining how good you'd look…" naked "…covered in snow." Yeah, that's the ticket.
He cocked a brow, his gaze filling with a wicked gleam and alternating between her and the pile of snow near his feet. "Funny, I was thinking how great you'd look all covered with snow."
"Oh, yeah? Wanna put that theory to the test?"
He stroked his chin. "Hmmm. An intriguing invitation, and one I think I'll take you up on. And seeing how nice you were about loaning me your laptop, I'll even let you win."
"You won't have to let me win. I'm gonna whip your butt."
"Okay. But after that we're gonna have a snowball fight." A slow smile curved his lips and her heart tripped. Pointing to the deserted area beyond the parking lot, he said, "Shall we take this to yon empty field?"
"Lead on, sucker-uh, I mean, oh wise one."
He chuckled and they walked toward the parking lot. Glancing down at his bag, she said, "I see you found a computer store."
"Yup. Bought the software I needed. I was on my way up to the room to install it." He looked down at her, his eyes serious. "Thanks again for the laptop loan. That was really decent of you."
"I'm sure you don't mean to sound so surprised that I'd do something decent. How'd the presentation go?"
"Very well. He liked my ideas."
"He liked mine, too."
"I know. I liked yours as well." He shot her a cocky smile. "But I like mine better."
"Well, I wouldn't know, seeing as how I didn't see yours."
"Would you like to see mine, Jilly?"
Something in the husky timbre of his voice made her suddenly wonder if they were still talking about his presentation. "Sure," she said breezily, "if you'd like to show me."
Something flared in his eyes, something that indicated very clearly that he'd like to show her more than his presentation. And God help her, she wanted to take a good, long look at whatever he wanted to show her.
He huffed out a long breath that formed a cloudy vapor. After several long seconds of silence, he cleared his throat, then asked, "So… what's the prize for winning this snowball fight?"
How about a long, slow, deep kiss? Beating back the heat-inducing thought, she held up her small, shiny red shopping bag. "I'm willing to put up the box of candy I bought in town, which, I'll have you know, because they're my favorites, I wouldn't dream of risking if I wasn't completely confident of my winning."
"What kind of candy?"
"Homemade chocolate-covered marshmallows."
He shot her an odd look. "They're my favorite."
"Oh, sure."
At her dubious expression, he added, "Really. Always have been. Not that I admit that to a lot of people since marshmallows aren't exactly he-man like, but there you have it. Actually, growing up, it worked out well. I didn't eat my sister's Oreos and she didn't mess with my Mallomars." A wolfish grin curved his lips. "It's going to be sweet indeed to relieve you of your chocolates."
"Dream on, Marshmallow-boy. And just what do you plan to wager?"
"What do you want?"
"What have you got?"
"Since I'm so confident of my victory…" He leaned toward her, and his masculine scent, mixed with winter cold, invaded her head, fogging her brain cells. "If you beat me, I'll give you anything you want, Jilly."
Chapter 5
If you beat me, I'll give you anything you want, Jilly.
Matt's provocative words reverberated through her mind, whipping up a tornado of sensual images, proving beyond any doubt what she wanted. Forcing those images aside, she murmured, "Anything I want? Excellent. I hope you've got ten grand lying around that you won't miss."
"Ah, but I'm banking on you using that sense of fair play you pride yourself on." The expression in his dark blue eyes curled her toes inside her boots. "I'll give you whatever you want, Jilly. Within reason."
Oh, boy. She knew what she wanted-or at least her screaming hormones did. They wanted a bout of sweaty, mindless sex with Matt. Good grief, it was only about seventeen degrees outside, but she felt like she was melting from the inside out-and he hadn't even touched her. What the heck would happen if he put his hands on her? Don't even think about it.
As they neared the end of the parking lot, he paused beside a shiny, black Lexus that had been cleaned of snow, pulled a key ring from his pocket, then clicked open the automatic door locks.
Opening the driver's door, he set his bag on the beige leather seat. "In the spirit of fair play, would you like to leave your bag of candy in my car?"
"Sure." She smiled. "If you'll let me hold the keys."
"Now who's being suspicious?"
"I'm not going to risk you holding my marshmallows hostage."
"I won't have to. I'm going to win them fair and square."
"Then you have nothing to worry about."
"How do I know you won't hold my car hostage? A box of candy versus my Lexus." He shook his head. "Doesn't seem quite fair."
"You haven't tasted these chocolates." Reaching into the bag, she pulled out a red and green striped box and flipped the lid. Sliding off her purple wool glove, she picked up a chocolate square and held it out to him. "Taste."
Instead of taking his hands out of his pocket, he leaned down and took a bite of the morsel. His lips brushed over her fingertips, freezing her in place at the same time fire shot up her arm.