Read Online Bound to the Bachelor by Sarah Mayberry - Free Book Online
Authors: Sarah Mayberry
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shifting as she sought a more comfortable position.
He sighed inwardly. It was going to be a long day, what with her sharp tongue and his stupid libido. The next time he had an altruistic impulse, he was going to step on it, hard.
*
It had been years since Lily had gone skiing, and it took her a while to find her ski legs once they hit the slopes. Even though she could sense Beau’s impatience to get going, he hovered nearby as she made her way down the resort’s easiest green circle run, handling the gentle bends with practiced aplomb.
When they got to the bottom of the trail, she turned to him and pushed up her goggles.
“This cannot be fun for you,” she said.
“It’s a great day for skiing,” he said, his glance taking in the bright blue sky overhead.
“Way to not respond to my comment.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Get out of here. Go find a double black diamond trail somewhere to pit your alpha male aggression against.”
“I’m fine right here.”
She stared at him. Having him follow her around was like having a barely-domesticated panther at her heels. It didn’t help that he looked like freaking James Bond in his ski gear.
Of course, he had such an amazing, rock-hard body; he’d probably look good in anything. Or nothing.
That’s so helpful, thanks a lot , she told her brain.
“Listen –”
“Give it up, Lily. I’m not abandoning you on the slopes.”
“Awesome. Then we can just keep having a super time together, then,” she muttered, sliding her goggles back down.
As it turned out, it wasn’t completely awful. After a couple more easy runs she felt confident enough to try a blue square trail and managed not to embarrass herself. Beau bought hot chocolates from the kiosk near the ski lift afterward, and as she stood in the winter sun, hot chocolate warming her belly, she glanced across at him and couldn’t stop from smiling.
“You were right. It’s a great day,” she said.
“Can I have that in writing?”
“The bit about you being right?” She pretended to consider it for a moment. “Nope. Probably not. And if you ever tell anyone I said it, I’ll deny it to my dying breath.”
“You give any ground, ever?”
“Do you?”
“I’m going to take that as a no.”
“Ditto.”
She was still smiling as she tossed her hot chocolate cup in the trash, though.
They tackled another couple of runs before calling it quits and heading back to the resort for lunch. Lily didn’t say anything, but she’d started to feel the unaccustomed exercise in her legs, and she was more than grateful to shed an outer layer when Beau led her into the resort.
“We’ve got a choice of fine dining or burgers and beer by the fire,” he said as they checked their coats.
“You made two reservations? Isn’t that a bit sneaky?”
“I was trying to anticipate the needs of a demanding customer.”
Lily bit back a laugh at the provocative remark. “Just for that, I’m opting for burgers and beers. So there.”
True to his word, they were shown to a table by a roaring open fire in a huge stone-built fireplace. The decor was rustic mountain with a few whimsical touches, and floor to ceiling windows offered breath-taking views of the mountain. It wasn’t until Lily sat down and dragged her gaze from the panorama outside to the man across the table that she realized his eyes were the exact color of the clear winter sky.
Like that was fair. Thank God he’d been wearing sunglasses all morning.
“You should be warned, I’m not one of those dainty women who orders a salad and picks at it,” she said as she opened the menu.
“Knock yourself out,” he said.
“Wouldn’t that save us an awkward conversation?” she murmured.
His mouth quirked into a smile. She shifted her gaze back to the menu, disturbed by how compelling she found him.
It was his eyes. And cheekbones. And the way he had of smiling in slow degrees, as though he was thinking something private and
He sighed inwardly. It was going to be a long day, what with her sharp tongue and his stupid libido. The next time he had an altruistic impulse, he was going to step on it, hard.
*
It had been years since Lily had gone skiing, and it took her a while to find her ski legs once they hit the slopes. Even though she could sense Beau’s impatience to get going, he hovered nearby as she made her way down the resort’s easiest green circle run, handling the gentle bends with practiced aplomb.
When they got to the bottom of the trail, she turned to him and pushed up her goggles.
“This cannot be fun for you,” she said.
“It’s a great day for skiing,” he said, his glance taking in the bright blue sky overhead.
“Way to not respond to my comment.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “Get out of here. Go find a double black diamond trail somewhere to pit your alpha male aggression against.”
“I’m fine right here.”
She stared at him. Having him follow her around was like having a barely-domesticated panther at her heels. It didn’t help that he looked like freaking James Bond in his ski gear.
Of course, he had such an amazing, rock-hard body; he’d probably look good in anything. Or nothing.
That’s so helpful, thanks a lot , she told her brain.
“Listen –”
“Give it up, Lily. I’m not abandoning you on the slopes.”
“Awesome. Then we can just keep having a super time together, then,” she muttered, sliding her goggles back down.
As it turned out, it wasn’t completely awful. After a couple more easy runs she felt confident enough to try a blue square trail and managed not to embarrass herself. Beau bought hot chocolates from the kiosk near the ski lift afterward, and as she stood in the winter sun, hot chocolate warming her belly, she glanced across at him and couldn’t stop from smiling.
“You were right. It’s a great day,” she said.
“Can I have that in writing?”
“The bit about you being right?” She pretended to consider it for a moment. “Nope. Probably not. And if you ever tell anyone I said it, I’ll deny it to my dying breath.”
“You give any ground, ever?”
“Do you?”
“I’m going to take that as a no.”
“Ditto.”
She was still smiling as she tossed her hot chocolate cup in the trash, though.
They tackled another couple of runs before calling it quits and heading back to the resort for lunch. Lily didn’t say anything, but she’d started to feel the unaccustomed exercise in her legs, and she was more than grateful to shed an outer layer when Beau led her into the resort.
“We’ve got a choice of fine dining or burgers and beer by the fire,” he said as they checked their coats.
“You made two reservations? Isn’t that a bit sneaky?”
“I was trying to anticipate the needs of a demanding customer.”
Lily bit back a laugh at the provocative remark. “Just for that, I’m opting for burgers and beers. So there.”
True to his word, they were shown to a table by a roaring open fire in a huge stone-built fireplace. The decor was rustic mountain with a few whimsical touches, and floor to ceiling windows offered breath-taking views of the mountain. It wasn’t until Lily sat down and dragged her gaze from the panorama outside to the man across the table that she realized his eyes were the exact color of the clear winter sky.
Like that was fair. Thank God he’d been wearing sunglasses all morning.
“You should be warned, I’m not one of those dainty women who orders a salad and picks at it,” she said as she opened the menu.
“Knock yourself out,” he said.
“Wouldn’t that save us an awkward conversation?” she murmured.
His mouth quirked into a smile. She shifted her gaze back to the menu, disturbed by how compelling she found him.
It was his eyes. And cheekbones. And the way he had of smiling in slow degrees, as though he was thinking something private and
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