Her good sense returned. “And what happens when the festival ends? When it’s time for me to leave?”
He shrugged. “Does it matter? Let’s take it one day—” his eyes grew slumberous “—and one night at a time.”
Yes, an affair would suit him just perfectly.
“I’d want to think about that.”
His look of surprise would’ve been comical if Avery had felt like laughing.
“I’m sure there’s enough work in all the exclusive Aspen resorts and restaurants to keep you busy for a while. I’m sure I can help you secure some contracts.”
“I’m sure you can,” she muttered, her irritation with him escalating. Didn’t he have any idea how that would look? People would take one look at her, at her obvious closeness to Guy and she’d be written off as a millionaire’s paid-for mistress. The professional reputation she’d worked so hard to establish would be gone in a puff of smoke.
Of course, it was partially her own fault. She should never have fallen into his bed so quickly. But she’d been unable to resist him. She’d thought he was her soul mate.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
Discovering Guy still set her on fire would make it so easy to agree. She wasn’t caving in so easily this time. She stood up and the water streamed off her. Conscious of Guy’s smoldering gaze, she squared her shoulders. “I’m not sure I want to stay in Aspen.”
“Why not? You know you want to.” The corners of Guy’s mouth curled up. He reached up and ran a finger down her leg until it came to rest in the hollow behind her knee. “I’m here.”
His arrogant certainty took her breath away. She stepped away, over the lip of the hot tub. Picking up her terry robe she slid her arms into the sleeves and yanked the sash into a knot, then said brightly, “And so will I be—until the end of the month but I can’t guarantee anything past that.”
“Maybe by then the flame would have burned itself out.”
She could only hope…
“Maybe,” she agreed. “And maybe I’ll be homesick for California.”
“There’s that, too.” Reserve entered his tone and the slumberous warmth seeped out of his eyes. “Not even this kind of chemistry will survive the distance. In terms of my father’s will, I have to stay in Aspen. So we’ll only have the time you’re here.”
Lifting her shoulder, Avery let it fall carelessly. “Working with me every day, you’ll have had enough of my company.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” But Guy’s expression was brooding.
So he wasn’t happy about that? Good. Because she wouldn’t concede more than she already had. Even though she was unbearably tempted to settle for the affair he offered.
Sashaying away from him took every bit of nerve she possessed. She tossed her reply over her shoulder. “I’ll consider your offer. But don’t hold your breath.” He deserved to sweat.
Avery didn’t know what she was going to decide. One part of her, the part full of defiant bravado, was dying to say yes…have glorious get-over-him sex and walk away, sated and smiling. Cured. The other more cautious part of her was terrified she’d be addicted for life.
And where would that leave her?
At the door, his voice arrested her. “Uh, I meant to ask. Any consequences?”
“Consequences?” She swung around and stared at him blankly. He’d almost broken her heart. Did that count? Or did that only rank as mere collateral damage and therefore…inconsequential?
“Pregnancy,” he said a trifle impatiently from the steaming tub as she continued to gaze at him.
Oh. “I’m not pregnant.”
Thank heavens for that!
“Good.” He gave her a thin smile. “That’s one complication neither of us need at this stage of our lives.”
Speak for yourself. But Avery knew better than to voice her soul-deep yearning for a child…a family. Guy would never understand.
The water swirled as he rose. Avery’s eyes widened, but she forced herself not to look away from the sight of the water droplets running down his chest…over his flat, muscled stomach. Despite everything he’d done, she really did still want him. God. She was not going to survive this.
“I almost forgot. Art was going to come along to the first of the balloon landings tomorrow—we do a champagne breakfast on landing and I have some ideas for a new menu.” Her breaking dismay must’ve shown on her face because Guy added with a mocking smile, “You don’t need to come if you don’t want.”
How early could it be?
“I’ll be there,” she said, pursing her mouth. “What time?”
“The ascent is at dawn.” His grin deepened at her horrified groan. “I haven’t forgotten you’re not a morning person. Dress for comfort—jeans, boots and a jacket work best.”
In one bound he was over the edge of the hot tub. Avery didn’t wait another second, she fled.
Five
To Guy’s surprise Avery was already waiting in the lobby early on Sunday morning, studying the framed photos of the celebrity guests that had been taken every season since the resort opened.
She must’ve sensed him because she swung around at his approach. To his surprise, the Avery who peered at him resembled a sleepy, fluffy owl rather than the svelte, petite doll he was more accustomed to. She was even wearing spectacles—something he’d never seen her don in daylight.
At his curious look, she said, “I didn’t get enough sleep for my contact lenses to be comfortable. I’ll put them in later.”
“You don’t need them.”
He suspected she’d suffered lack of sleep for the same reason as he had. That quick coupling in the spa hadn’t been nearly enough; he’d wanted her in his bed, all night long. Lust bolted through him. Just in time he stopped himself from babbling that she looked just as beautiful with glasses as without.
Not flattery, but true, he realized with a slight sense of shock as he inspected her.
Wearing figure-hugging white jeans and a cropped denim jacket, she glowed with vitality. The glasses simply added a scholarly twist to the sexy package. The hint of studious, good girl added by the glasses only served to accentuate the simmering sexuality that her pouty mouth and curvaceous body radiated.
To his relief, the group booked to go ballooning trooped into the lobby, providing a much-needed distraction from just how much of his thoughts Avery consumed. But not before Guy took in the appreciative smile one of the men bestowed on her. A sharp pang of annoyance caused him to turn away, before he snarled at a guest of the resort.
Hot damn but he had it bad.
Shoving his hands into his jeans’ pockets, Guy hunched his shoulders and headed through the open, double glass doors, past the sleepy doorman in blue-and-gold livery, and out into the crisp, cool dawn air. Autumn was not yet here, but soon it would be.
To one side of the Manor Lodge, on a wide concrete apron that doubled as a helipad, he made out the figures of three pilots and a few members of the chase crew tending to the colorful nylon envelopes spread out on the concrete, while wicker baskets waited for passengers. The rest of the chase crew, including the resort staff who would be attending to the state-of-the-art catering, stood around joking and chatting and drinking coffee from paper cups.
An engine-driven fan droned to life and the red envelope of the closest balloon began to inflate. Minutes later the burners started to hiss, heating the cold air, and the envelopes rose above the baskets amidst whoops of delight from the guests. Twenty-odd guests quickly sorted themselves into three groups and entered the baskets to pose for last-minute photos and wave to well-wishers.
Once the first balloon started to ascend, the others swiftly followed.
“Isn’t that simply stunning?”
Avery spoke from behind Guy as fingers of sunlight poked over the mountain ridge behind them and caressed the vivid balloons with morning light, brightening the dawn sky to a blaze of red, magenta and yellow.
Guy turned. The blue of her eyes was blinding, and her smile caused a fresh rush of heat. He swallowed. “You can go up one morning if you want,” he said, his voice sounding hoarse even to his own ears.
She shook her head. “Never in a million years. I’m afraid of heights.”
“You?” Guy gave a choke of laughter. “I can’t imagine you afraid of anything.”
Although Avery might be delicate and fine-boned, she could be as fierce and fiery as a tigress with cubs. That thought caused him to grin—because Avery was the least maternal woman he’d ever met. It had been a major reason for his attraction to her back in New York. She was so focused on her career—which suited him just fine. He’d made a habit of steering clear of starry-eyed women with marriage written all over them in diamond-bright letters.
“I get dizzy,” she said with clear regret. “So you’ll never catch me up there.”
“In a balloon you don’t get that vertigo feeling.”
“Oh, sure.”
“Really! The ride is smoother than I can ever describe. You move with the wind. No swaying or jostling. So never say never.”
“Forget it, Guy!”
“Sometimes one needs to take risks, walk a little on the wild side.”
She took a step away from him and wrapped her arms around her stomach. “I’ve done some dumb things in my life, but this sounds too wild for me.”
Her face had closed up.
Was she talking about sleeping with Jeff…or what had happened last night between them? He had no intention of discussing Jeff—the anger hadn’t yet settled. “I never pegged you for a ‘fraidy cat,'” he taunted gently in an effort to bridge the chasm that suddenly yawned between them.
“Too bad. You’re not talking me into this.” She hunched her shoulders. “I’m too risk-averse.”
Risk-averse? Avery? Puzzled, he frowned at her. “Not sure I swallow that.”
She glowered at him. “Because I leapt into bed with you the first day we met? Not my smartest move, I’ll admit. It’s contaminated everything you think about me.”
Did she count their affair as one of the dumb mistakes she’d made? That offended him.
“Contaminated? Hardly!” He moved closer to her, and lowered his voice to a husky growl. “Hey, let me tell you, there was nothing wrong with what we did together in New York. It was one of the most memorable times of my life. And last night was pretty damned amazing, too.”
He wasn’t lying.
He’d missed her, dammit.
Laying a hand along her cheek, he cupped it in his palm. “You’re so honest in bed, there’s none of the pretence women often play at.”
For a moment he thought she was going to fling herself into his arms. There was a luminous expression in her eyes that made his chest tighten in a way that was new…and more than a little disconcerting.
She started to say something, then she pulled away. “Not here, Guy, we’re in public.”
Annoyance jabbed him at her stubborn insistence to keep him at a distance. “Are you too scared to let anyone know that we’re—” he searched for a word to describe the scorching electricity they shared “—lovers?”