There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he’d catch her if she did decide to jump him. The man was seriously huge. Well over six feet, probably closer to six and a half feet tall with yummy broad shoulders and a massive chest. Shoulders that a linebacker might envy. Olivia assumed Micah benefited from being an avid outdoorsman.
His hair shone that glorious dark brown-so deep and rich it probably looked black in certain lights. Still, variations of color shifted through his hair, making her want to touch it to see if it was as soft as it appeared.
The shirt hugged him so close that he might as well not be wearing it. Every muscle stood out, deeply defined. She dragged her gaze back up to his face, snagging on his mouth. Sensual lips, perfect for kissing, pursed slightly at her perusal. She finally raised her eyes to his and saw an answer to the heat filling her body.
He felt the attraction just as deeply as she did if that look could be taken seriously. Her brain froze. One thing she knew for certain. No way could she ever sleep with him or anyone for that matter. She couldn’t trust herself-couldn’t trust the monster who lurked in her.
“So, ten years. What did you do before you opened the lodge?” Determined to gain her footing, she dragged a standard interview question out of her subconscious. Breaking eye contact with him took more willpower than she expected, and breathing had to be seriously overrated right now.
“I was in the Army.”
She waited for him to elaborate, but he simply stood there, watching her. She had the feeling if she moved too quickly, he’d pounce. Olivia turned her head slightly so that she wasn’t tempted to keep staring at his face-or his body. Glancing outside, she noticed it had started snowing again. She latched on to the safest, most inane subject known to man.
“How long will the snow last?”
“We may be in for a blizzard.”
She knew he’d moved closer, she could feel him. No, that wasn’t quite right. She could smell him. He smells like warmth, like summer sunshine, like cookies. Cookies? Olivia shook her head slightly.
She must be hungry, though she’d never been much for breakfast. As though he’d read her mind, he moved toward the stove and away from her. As weird as it seemed, she almost missed his closeness.
“There are biscuits left from earlier this morning and I’ll make you an omelet. Will that set you up for breakfast?”
“Actually, I’d really just like a cup of coffee. I’m not much of an eater in the morning.” Olivia moved toward the round oak table in the center of the kitchen. “Would you rather I went into the dining room?”
“No.” He glanced at her briefly, a faint color highlighting his cheeks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so abrupt. It’s just that since you’re the only guest right now, I hoped you wouldn’t mind taking your meals in here. With me.”
It was her turn to flush with color as a sudden and not entirely unwelcome vision of stretching him out on the counter behind him and nibbling her way from his toes to his luscious mouth hit her. “Not at all. Really, though, don’t go to any trouble for breakfast.”
“Miss Decatur-”
“Olivia.” She interrupted him quickly, wanting to hear him say her name.
He smiled briefly and she knew she was in serious trouble. That look turned the lust she already felt right up to molten lava explosion time. She wondered what he would say if she just asked him to strip down so she could let her lips do the walking.
“Olivia.” The sound of her name on his lips had another shudder going through her body and this time she knew the cause to be the man standing in front of her. She dragged her attention back to him, only to find him looking at her again as if he could read her thoughts.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That’s not a myth or something parents made up. Gareth said you were interested in winter sports. If that’s true, and you plan to go outside with me later, you’ll need all the energy your body can store.”
“Okay,” she laughed, giving in gracefully, she hoped. “Okay. An omelet would be great, thank you.”
He nodded as he set a cup of coffee in front of her. After offering her cream and sugar and watching her doctor her coffee until it resembled dark milk, he turned back toward the refrigerator and started pulling covered containers out.
“So, you’ve been here for ten years and before that you were in the Army. But you don’t live here year-round?”
“Not yet. I hope to change that, starting now.” He glanced over his shoulder at her and then went back to chopping things. She couldn’t see exactly what he was doing.
“When did you open the lodge for business?”
“Six years ago. I had to do extensive repairs to the original building and then I wound up adding the third floor. The cabins have been added as funds became available for them. I think Gareth showed you a couple of them?”
“Yes. They’re lovely. Did you do the decorating yourself?” She watched the muscles in his back and shoulders move. The man was truly gorgeous.
“No, I had a professional decorator friend come in to do the cabins. As for the main building here, well, some of it was dictated by what already existed, the rest I just wanted to be welcoming.”
“You’ve succeeded.” Whatever he was cooking started to smell really good. Olivia sniffed appreciatively then picked up her coffee. “So, you opened six years ago. How long are you open?”
“The lodge is open year-round. Only four of the eight cabins are centrally heated, so they’re the only ones used during the winter months into spring. The others are used in the summer and fall.”
“Eight? I only saw seven.”
He nodded briefly, glancing at her again. “The eighth is actually Gareth’s. He built it pretty much on his own. When I need to be away, he’s in charge of things. I have a married couple who also come in to help out when we’re full.”
“You must trust him a great deal.” She glanced down as he set a plate in front of her. Shaking her head, Olivia laughed as she looked up at Micah. “There’s no way I can eat all that!”
He’d piled her plate with an omelet stuffed with onions and peppers and what she thought might be ham and then put a heap of fried potatoes on the side along with two fluffy biscuits.
“Try.” Micah sat down at the table with her, putting a matching set of salt and pepper shakers on the table. Olivia shook her head but picked up her fork.
“I won’t need to eat again for a week. Do you feed all your guests like this? I’m surprised you don’t have to roll them down the drive.”
She laughed but the laughter died when she looked up to find his dark brown eyes focused directly on her face. The sheer beauty of his features caused her breath to catch. She wondered what it would be like to just run a finger or her tongue over his sensual lips. She made herself take a breath as she refocused on what he was saying.
“They get enough exercise to make it worthwhile.” He grinned briefly, showing his teeth before his face went back to its customary impassiveness.
Olivia dropped her eyes to her plate and cut off a small bite of omelet. After tasting the first bite, it seemed as though she couldn’t get enough. With Micah sitting there beside her, telling her more about the amenities of the lodge in winter, including snowmobiles, cross-country skis, snowshoe trails, ice-fishing huts and dogsledding, she managed to eat about a third of the omelet.
Finally, she pushed the plate away, sure she wouldn’t be able to move for at least an hour and wanting nothing more than to curl up and take a nap, preferably in Micah’s lap. She raised her gaze to meet his steady one. He nodded as he got to his feet and cleared the table.
Though she offered to help, he insisted that she just sit. She was content to do so, sipping her coffee as she watched him. Micah was one beautiful male animal. He just oozed sexuality. Olivia laughed at herself. Check your hormones, Olivia Marie!