“The place is spotless. And I can make my bed.”
My argument has been ripped away from me, so I offer the fallback. “I’m not allowed.”
It’s impossible not to share a stupid amount of eye contact with him. He’s so pretty to look at. And he seems to like looking at me too. “A guide would be welcome.”
“There are guides I can book for you. Female ones.”
“You’re female. You ski.”
I inhale, my head fighting my natural instinct to give in. Deciding to be blunt, I lie, “I won’t sleep with you.”
His head tilts fractionally, his gaze sinking into mine. “We’ll see.”
My heart explodes. It’s neither an ultimatum nor a threat. It’s a delicious promise, one he knows I’m open to hearing. “I’m not allowed to sleep with the guests.”
“No one needs to know.”
“They’ll find out.”
“How?”
“It doesn’t matter how. I’ll lose my job.”
“You won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”
“As soon as you leave they’ll just fire me.”
He leans his hands on the counter, directly opposite me. The muscles in his forearms tighten, his shoulders and biceps bunching as he supports his weight. Wordlessly, he assesses me. When he’s read from my face what he needs to, his voice is a deep baritone threaded with irrefutable command. “Thank you for keeping me company. I’ll see you in the morning. Bring everything for the slopes.”
I almost wish he did give me an ultimatum.Bring everything or else I’ll make a complaint. But he doesn’t. And it’s because he doesn’t need to.
Whether I want to admit it or not, I’m a sure thing.
And Luca Wolfford knows it.
CHAPTERFOUR
Last night,I crashed. When my head hit the pillow my brain shut down. Worried that I’d toss and turn over the evening’s events, remembering the tempting, shared looks and building sexual tension was pointless. Strangely, calling Elias might’ve given me some peace of mind. When I revealed I’d been asked to be Luca’s ski guide in the morning, Elias just muttered, “Good.”
We all know catering for one guest is vastly different from the usual four to eight guests that book cabin one, so he was relaxed about the unusual request. Maybe he even expected it, his next comment hinting at something I never want to have to discuss with Elias again. “When he arrived, he seemed to be happy with you. I hope that means he will continue to be.”
I’m not sure what it sounds like when your boss is pimping you out, but I hope that wasn’t it, especially as all our conversations so far have been aboutnotdoing that, something I’ve been trying to stick to.
But if Elias doesn’t care anymore…
Shit, who am I kidding? I’m going to let Luca fuck me senseless.
After fielding questions from Emily, Justin, and Betsy via text, I take the shuttle to the hotel and go directly to the cabin. I leave all my ski paraphernalia in the boot room before peering into the main living space. The cabin is quiet, the spot Luca has claimed as his workstation stacked with files and papers.
Quietly, I leave for the hotel, clocking in by Maria’s office before collecting fresh supplies from the hotel kitchens. Back at the cabin, I lay out the freshly baked bread and mini pastries that I may have snaffled two of.
Shortly after, Luca emerges from his bedroom. Waiting for him to make his entrance has been like holding my breath for good news. I’m almost as jittery as that time I waited for my former boss to deliver his verdict on whether I still had a job.
Of course, you’re fired for screwing two guests, Winter! This is not the standard of behavior we expect from our staff!
I wanted to point out that they left very happy, sure to tell all their friends about the great hotel and fabulous service. But my head was a war zone on account of theotherbombshell that had landed that day. In that moment, leaving Aspen was all I wanted. Finding the strength to fight my corner had instantly evaporated.
Luca moves towards me. What if I misread his signals? What if he’s changed his mind about skiing with me? With sleeping with me? Missing out on the slopes today wouldn’t be so bad, but not taking a ride on the man who seems to have the world under his command would be a crying shame, because if it’s possible, he looks better this morning than he did last night. And holy hell, as he draws near I catch his scent. It’s provocative and masculine. It has my core pulsing, my veins drunk on pheromones.