she admitted. “You remembered that I liked French crullers.”
Lifting his gaze to her eyes, he allowed a rogue grin to grace his lips. “How can a man forget something that brings a woman such pleasure?”
The twist in his words wasn’t lost on her. Her eyes widened at his sexy innuendo, but surprisingly, she made no attempt to counter his brazen comment. Finally, she drew a deep breath and looked away, breaking that irresistible, tantalizing pull.
He was flirting, crossing that invisible line he knew he ought to respect even though she was no longer married to his brother. They were both bound to get tangled up in the sensual web he was spinning if he didn’t stop this madness. He tried like hell to rein himself back, to dismiss the attraction that intrigued and enticed him beyond reason or his better judgment.
He took a sip of his coffee. “You plan on skiing today?” he asked, striving for innocuous conversation.
She smiled, seemingly grateful for the change in subject. “Stacey and I are heading to the slopes in about an hour. Jessica doesn’t ski, so she’ll stay here.” She took another bite of her doughnut, this time careful not to display her enjoyment of the pastry.
“I could give her a few basic lessons.” Pushing off the counter, he slowly crossed the small space separating them. “She’d be skiing in no time.”
Wariness reflected on her face as he approached, and she smoothly slipped around him and went to the sink to wash the sticky icing from her fingers. “Thanks, but I think Jessica prefers to just hang out in the cabin.”
Lifting the lid on the bakery box, he grabbed a glazed buttermilk and bit into it, contemplating Brooke’s sudden skittishness. “I noticed that the other snowmobile was gone. Who’s using it?”
“Shane and Stacey went out for a morning ride.”
“They’ve seemed to hit it off well,” he said, guessing from the various comments Shane had made the previous night that he wouldn’t mind pursuing something with the other woman. “In fact, I think my friend likes your friend.”
“What’s not to like?” Brooke asked, rinsing her coffee cup. “She’s got a great personality, a perfect body, and she’s naturally sensual.”
He tilted his head, and let his gaze take stock of her attributes. “You’ve got a great personality, a perfect body, and you’re very sensual.”
She rolled her eyes at that, clearly disbelieving him.
Obviously, his brother hadn’t appreciated what an enticing wife he’d had. “It’s all in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.” He finished off his doughnut, and sucked the glaze from his fingers, then shrugged. “I happen to think you’re very sexy. Always have.”
A wry grin quirked the corner of her mouth. “Interesting, considering my packaging didn’t hold your brother’s attention for long.”
And judging by the guarded look in her eyes, she believed she couldn’t hold his attention for long, either. Though his short-lived relationships verified her unspoken opinion, he found himself unjustifiably annoyed that she’d lump him into the same category as his brother.
He started toward her, and she automatically skirted to the side again, away from him and back toward the table. He turned to face her, and jammed his hands on his hips, his exasperation mounting. “You’re acting as though you’re afraid I’m going to pounce on you…or kiss you again.”
There, he’d said it, finally brought the forbidden kiss out into the open so they could discuss it, and move on.
She seemed just as relieved to be offered an opportunity to talk about what had so obviously caused tension between them. “About that kiss—”
“Something happened between us, didn’t it?” he asked, stepping toward her from the side, so she couldn’t bolt around him.
“Yes, but I think it’s best if we chalk it up as a mistake.” Her chin lifted as he neared. “A casual kiss that accidentally flared out of control.”
Like wildfire. “No, I don’t think it was a mistake or an accident,” he refuted, trapping her against the solid oak table so that her bottom hit the edge. His body crowded her from the front, but didn’t touch her…yet. “I think we both knew what we were doing, but then you panicked.”
“I came to my senses,” she argued, pressing a hand to his chest to stop him from coming any closer. One more inch and they’d be more intimate than he’d been with a woman in too many months to count. One more inch and she’d discover just how badly he wanted her, despite the dozen reasons why he shouldn’t.
“Marc, this is all so complicated.” She shook her head, confusion clashing with the wanting in her gaze. “If it was anyone but you…”
The honorable intentions he’d vowed earlier, to leave her alone, dissolved in that moment. Suddenly, he had a point to prove.
She gasped as his hands clasped her hips, then lifted her a fraction so her bottom slid onto the flat surface of the table. “That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”
She frowned at him and his bold move, but the arousing shade of her eyes contradicted her prim attitude and countered the silent reprimand in her gaze. “It wasn’t meant to be a compliment, or an insult. It’s the truth.”
He grinned lazily and flattened his palms on her slender thighs. She sucked in a swift, shocked breath, and before she could guess his next intent, he pushed her legs apart and moved in between so her knees bracketed his hips, leaving her no possible escape.
Incredible heat shimmered between them. The initial panic touching her expression was quickly eclipsed by a thrilling rush of excitement that flowed hot and molten through Marc’s veins, as well, spiraling straight toward his groin. His erection strained against thermal and denim, full and hot and heavy.
No doubt, she felt his desire and hunger for her. She swallowed convulsively. “You’re my brother-in-law,” she attempted.
“Ex,” he breathed, dipping his head near her ear, squashing her paltry argument. Before she could issue a more obvious objection, that he was a Jamison, he distracted her by sliding his lips against the silken skin of her neck. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since that kiss.”
A tiny moan caught in her throat, and she gripped the edge of the table with her fingers, seemingly trying desperately to resist him. “Me, either,” she admitted, sounding miserable.
He slid his hand to the nape of her neck, curling his fingers just beneath the French braid she’d twisted her hair into. He touched his lips to her jaw, dragged them to the corner of her mouth, which was parted and trembling. He lifted his head, just enough to look into her soft blue eyes, brimming with anticipation, despite her protests.
That was the only assurance he needed to take this encounter to the next level. “You’re curious,” he murmured huskily, “I’m tempted, we both want it, so let’s try another kiss and see what’s really there.”
She shuddered, resisting, her body stiff with tension. He waited for her to give him the permission he sought, because this time he wasn’t about to take something she wasn’t willing to give.
This
