That’s Tanner?!?
That’s my new stepbrother?!?
I stumble back as my eyes bulge open and the nerves and the shock and the sudden squeeze in my core throw me off-balance. The skis and poles slip out of my arms. I try to save them by awkwardly juggling them, which makes it all worse and makes me look like a total buffoon. The skis and poles fly into the air and land on the ground with a loud, embarrassing clatter.
Everyone is staring at me in silence. My heart is pounding. My cheeks are burning red.
Not exactly the first impression I wanted to make.
“Eleanor!” my mother says as she rushes over. “Are you okay?”
We both kneel down to grab the skis. My face is on fire right now.
I’m so humiliated, but I still can’t help but peek over at Tanner.
He’s… not what I was expecting.
David is always impeccably dressed and put together, but his face is kind of goofy. He has a nose that’s too big for his face and ears that stick out a little too much. I was expecting the same from his son, but Tanner is…
He’s gorgeous. There’s truly no other way to describe him.
His face belongs on a Renaissance painting. He has the kind of timeless beauty that would turn an average painter into a legendary master if they were lucky enough to capture his essence.
I’m in shock as I stare at him, trying not to make it too obvious. He’s walking over. Oh shit, he’s walking over!
My heart is pounding as I look down at the skis. My insubordinate eyes dart back up to him almost immediately.
I just… can’t… take my eyes off him…
That dark damp hair falling messily on his forehead. God, I just want to brush it back as I gaze into those intense brown eyes. His lips… They look so soft. So kissable. So freaking tempting.
And his jaw… I want to run my hand along it and feel the stubble tickling my palm. I want to feel it on my thighs, I want to—
Chill, Eleanor! I scold myself. This is your stepbrother for fuck’s sake!!! Enough with the perving out!
I close my eyes for a moment, take a deep breath, and force my attention back onto the skis. It’s just… his arms… they’re like—No! Bad Eleanor!
Wait. What was I doing again? Oh, right. The skis.
I gather my poles as he arrives. It’s winter here in Breckenridge and he’s out here in jogging pants and a t-shirt. My core clenches when I see the tattoos running along his muscular arms. I want to trace them with my fingers. I want to take pictures of them and stare at them all night in my bed. I want to write love poems to them.
“Hello, Tanner!” my mother says in her nervous voice as she drops the skis and pops up. “I’m Linda. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Linda,” he says in a smooth deep voice that makes my core squeeze into a tight little ball. “And you must be Eleanor.”
He said my name. His eyes are on me. Those dark brown eyes are even more magnificent, more magnetic, more mesmerizing when they’re looking directly at you.
I drop my poles and get up with an overzealous fluttering in my chest.
“That’s me!” I say in a shrill voice. “Eleanor Dixie at your service.”
My mother turns and looks at me funny. I close my eyes, wishing a meteor would come hurtling out of space and hit me in the forehead at this exact moment.
I force my eyes back open. He’s grinning as he looks at me.
“I guess we’re family now,” he says as he watches me with… something in his eyes. I can’t quite place it, but whatever it is, it’s making me all light-headed and shaky.
“Yeah,” I mutter back as I stare in awe at the god of sex and beauty in front of me. “Family.”
I have to remember that.
He’s family.
And it’s taboo to have dirty thoughts about family. It’s dirty, it’s obscene, it’s lewd, it’s immoral, it’s wrong.
You hear that, brain?
So, knock it off!
CHAPTER TWO
Eleanor
* * *
His hand is so soft.
I’m having an out-of-body experience as I shake hands with him. I swear I’ve floated out of my body and am watching it from above.
“Let go of his hand, Eleanor,” my mother’s tight voice says, yanking me back into my body.
I rip my hand away as my cheeks start blushing even more.
“Let’s get you settled into the cabin,” David says as he grabs my mother’s bag out of the trunk. “Tanner, can you grab Eleanor’s stuff?”
“Sure,” he says as he flashes me a sexy look. “I’ll gladly grab anything of Eleanor’s.”
Those seductive brown eyes slowly look me over before he walks over to the trunk.
Holy shit…
I’m tingling all over. Heat is flowing to the area between my legs like a damn just burst and twenty years of arousal and lust have exploded out.