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three-car garage where one of the garage doors was going up. He
parked inside next to a small, red, foreign convertible. This guy
had every toy they made.
    After shutting off the engine, he turned to
her. “Just to be safe, if you hear a helicopter or airplane flying
over, get inside or under a tree.” He opened his door. “It’s never
happened up here, but there’s always a first time.” He jumped out
of the truck.
    Tracy opened her door and got out, closed the
door, and walked around to the front of the truck.
    He met her halfway. “You should let the
gentleman open your door for you.” He went back for their bags.
    “I appreciate your old world chivalry, but
you can’t begin to imagine how excited I am to see your little
cabin.” She shivered in the cold.
    Closing the truck door, he followed her to
the entrance and pressed buttons on a keypad. The door popped open.
“Make yourself at home. Anything you want is yours.”
    She looked into his beautiful gray-green
eyes. There was an invitation in them, and in his words. “Thank
you.” When she felt a blush heat her cheeks, she turned and walked
into the house.
    The foyer was huge, all golden pine logs and
gray rock. She slipped off her shoes and padded barefoot over the
warm wood floor to the great room. The heat was on. Was someone
here? To the left, dark blue leather living room furniture
surrounded a rock fireplace. To the right, a long rough wood table
with at least a dozen chairs around it separated the living room
from the big, modern kitchen accented in black and gray.
    Her breath caught at the view. The wall of
windows overlooked the slope down to the lake. She walked to it,
crossing her arms against the thrill that ran through her. “It’s so
lovely.” Cabins dotted the shoreline along the water’s edge, and
pine trees stood tall and green on the snow-covered
mountainside.
    Steele walked up next to her in his stocking
feet. “Yeah. My favorite time of day.”
    “Cozy.” She rubbed her bare arms.
    “Are you cold?” He wrapped an arm around her,
staring out the window.
    His touch sent warmth through her. “Just a
little.” Would he make his move now? Or did he have a longer
seduction in mind? The thought sent heat flooding to her belly.
    “Roaring fire or spiked hot chocolate?” He
looked down at her.
    “Both?” She leaned a little closer. “But
first, can I use the powder room?”
    He let her go, and the loss of his touch
nearly made her cry out.
    “Explore a little bit.” He gestured to a wide
hallway at the back of the house leading off to the right. “There
are three bedrooms on the lower level, three on the upper, and my
studio and bedroom are in the other A-frame.”
    “Oh, I’ve got to see this. Which bedroom do
you want me to use?”
    His eyes darkened. Would he tell her she’d be
sleeping in his room? Would she make a fool of herself screaming, Yes, take me now !?
    “You choose.” His lips curved into a half
smile. “Whatever you want, Tracy. You call the shots this
week.”
    She wasn’t breathing, and had to force her
lungs to work. She heard what he was telling her, but didn’t know
how to respond. “Okay.” She gave a little wave and turned, walking
past the kitchen and down the curved hallway.
    The open stairway on the right led to the
upper level, and on the left, the three bedroom doors stood open.
She explored each one, all similar layouts with a private bathroom,
and either twin beds or a queen, and a club chair facing a big
window overlooking the lake.
    Upstairs, the three bedrooms were nearly
identical to the ones downstairs, except for the last one, which
had a big multi-headed shower in the bathroom. “Mine!” She plopped
onto the big bed, sinking deep into the peach-colored quilt. “Oh,
definitely mine.”
    Jumping up, she left the room and walked
further to the double doors at the end of the hall. This must be
Steele’s room. She cracked open one door and peeked inside, then
couldn’t resist