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from anyone went against the grain. Still holding her gaze, he tugged his gloves off with his teeth, an oddly erotic thing all in itself. Then he peeled her ski sock down.
    She hissed.
    He went still. “Hurt?”
    â€œYour hands are cold.”
    He flashed a grin. “Suck it up.” With efficiency, he wrapped her knee, then pulled her sock back up and her pant leg down over her boot. “You should soak it when we get back. Do employees get to use the hot tub?”
    â€œActually…” She stared down at him, into those amazing eyes. It was unusual, and it made no sense, but she wanted him to know the truth. She wanted him to know her. “I’m not quite an employee.”
    He straightened, standing a good head taller than her. “No?”
    â€œNo. I, um…” She smiled wryly. “I own the resort. Inherited it, actually.”
    He didn’t even blink. “So I’m taking it you get access to the hot tub.”
    She stared at him, then laughed. Still no ridiculously invasive questions, not a single joke, none of the usual stuff that always so completely and totally irritated her when she revealed that she, a twenty-five-year-old punk, owned a ski resort.
    â€œCan you board down with your knee?” he asked.
    As her other option was lying in a litter while a pair of her patrollers took her down the mountain, she nodded. Though she went slower this time, he didn’t try to pass her or continue their race. Instead, he followed, presumably to help her if she needed it. And though she’d skied with plenty of men she’d planned on sleeping with over the years, she’d never felt so…aware of one as she was of Logan.
    The slopes were filled with skiers heading down to the lodge on their last run of the day as the sun began to sink. Halfway back, her walkie-talkie chirped again. It was Chris this time, with a new emergency on the east side. A boarder had fallen out-of-bounds. He was uninjured but unable to climb back up the sheer rock to safety.
    â€œJust shoot me now,” Lily muttered, then lifted an apologetic gaze to Logan. “Fun’s over. Again . I have patrollers on their way, but I’m going over to help.”
    â€œWhoever you were talking to sounded worried.”
    â€œIt’s going to be a little tricky getting him back up. It’s getting dark. And where he went over is sheerrock, covered in two months' worth of ice, topped with some powder.”
    â€œAvalanche waiting to happen.”
    â€œYou got it,” she said grimly. “There are signs making it out-of-bounds for exactly that reason.”
    â€œMaybe I can help.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œI have ten years’ climbing experience.”
    She let out a breath. He’d fixed her binding. With duct tape. He’d wrapped her knee when most wouldn’t have even known she’d been hurt. Mr. Safety and Security, she’d give him that, and yet he willingly threw himself into any risk.
    Damn if that wasn’t unbearably sexy all by itself. “All right, fine. You’re hired. Let’s go, ace.”
    â€œOkay, Lily Rose.”
    She arched a brow. “Use my middle name again and you’ll be the one left out-of-bounds.”
    His laughter rang out in the snow-filled air and made her smile.

4
    L OGAN WATCHED L ILY’S PETITE form glide down the steep incline in the snow, doing so far more purposefully and carefully than she had earlier. He wondered just how badly she’d hurt herself.
    He could hear Wyatt now… You can take the man out of the SAR team but you can’t take the SAR team out of the man.
    Yeah, yeah, sue him. After a lifetime of watching after his two younger siblings for his overworked father, and then working search and rescue, taking care of others was nothing but pure instinct for him.
    Granted, she was tough as hell and damned up-front and practical to boot, and could undoubtedly take care of