Joanne Rock - Tall, Dark And Daring

A business dare? It was unlike Ines to challenge her with something so mundane and something Tessa would actually enjoy. Tessa loved a good test of her marketing skills.

Curious, she opened the file and stared at the business name on the cover sheet.

Mogul Ryders Snowboards, proprietor Mitch Ryder.

“Meet your new client, Tessa. I’m sending you to the beautiful Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York for your last week on the job.” Ines sipped her shot as calmly as if she’d just announced she’d decided to paint her bathroom. “I hear there’s lots of snow on the ground.”

“What?” Tessa’s heart kicked up a rhythm so fast her blood outpaced the salsa music. Ines expected her to go back to the scene of her long-ago affair and work with the man who’d turned her world upside down? “That’s not a double dare, Ines, that’s blackmail!”

“You are right, that’s not a double dare, querida. That’s just the first part.”

“There’s more?” The file folder fell closed in her hand as Tessa waited for the other shoe to drop. She suspected the bunny hop would have been a walk in the park compared to whatever torture Ines had cooked up.

“Si.” Ines’s self-satisfied grin revealed every tooth. “I dare you to stay out of his bed for the whole week, Tessa.”

A week? Last time she hadn’t been able to stay out of his bed for three days. The man was a walking aphrodisiac.

And somehow, Tessa had the feeling she’d just agreed to a lethal dose.

THE LAST TIME Tessa O’Neal had set foot in Lake Placid, New York, she’d been on a quest to lose her inhibitions. Now, as she strode through the Adirondack hotel eight years later, she was determined to win back every last one of them.

Shifting the bag of Florida oranges from her father’s groves on her hip, Tessa signed her name at the front desk. She always brought a bag of fresh citrus for her clients, and she figured it would help if she pretended this was just another marketing job.

A job that pitted her against the biggest temptation of her life.

Unfortunately, the four-star Hearthside Inn had been the site of many erotic interludes with Mitch. He’d worked in the pro shop the year they’d met, just about the time his career on the slopes had really taken off. His supreme confidence, his never-say-die attitude, had made Tessa feel more alive than ever before.

“Welcome, Ms. O’Neal.” The smiling desk attendant greeted her. The woman’s cable knit sweater and turtleneck looked at home in the Adirondack lobby with its oversize stone fireplace and sturdy pine furniture. “Mr. Ryder asked me to page him when you arrived.”

“He’s here?” Tessa battled a wave of panic. She’d known he was running his snowboard business from the hotel, but she hadn’t thought he might be working on a Sunday. She definitely wasn’t ready to see him yet.

“He’s here most of the time during the winter months. Want me to ring him for you?” She reached for the phone.

Tessa almost leaped across the counter. “No!” She succeeded in laying her hand over top of the woman’s fingers to prevent her from picking up the receiver. Tessa smiled apologetically and let go. “I mean, that’s okay. Just tell me where his office is located so I’ll know.”

“His rooms are just down this corridor to the left.” The clerk pointed.

Tessa thanked her and purposely walked in the other direction. Right now, as long as she knew Mitch was occupied in his office, she’d just check out the mountain view from the patio for nostalgia’s sake.

And to see if the back deck still encased the huge hot tub where she and Mitch used to watch the snowfall and gaze at the stars. Not that she was thinking of Mitch, she assured herself, just the beauty of those starry nights and how it had felt to have snow fall on her nose while hot bubbles tickled the rest of her.

Or had that been Mitch’s fingers?

She adjusted her sack of heavy oranges one more time as she clicked her way across the hardwood floors. Rounding the corner of the downstairs bar, Tessa heard laughter from the afternoon patrons. She thought she knew where she was going until sunshine from a wall of windows blinded her.

For a moment, Tessa paused to squint in the bright light, disoriented. Where she’d expected to find a door to the deck, she discovered a new addition to the Hearthside. A massive sunroom enclosed the outdoor oasis she had remembered, encasing the former patio area in glass.

The huge, sunken hot tub rested indoors, its continuous gurgle creating a rumbling backdrop of white noise. Its steamy depths fogged up a strip of window-panes, but above the opaque area of the glass, Tessa caught her first glimpse of skiers tearing down Mount Van Hoevenberg and the towering pines that dotted the slopes.

Her interest in the scenery outside lasted all of a second, however.

Just about the time it took for a familiar laugh to draw her attention to the hot tub and three bikini-clad snow bunnies vying for the attention of one very content-looking male who sprawled in the water like a pampered Poseidon.

And no wonder the mermaid trio romped around the tub for his amusement. Even some ten feet away, Tessa took a step back from the sheer impact of the man, and she’d been semi-prepared to face him again.

Mitch Ryder—her off-limits boss for the next six days.

His eyes were closed as if in heady abandon, but the rest of his face looked as if it could have been carved from an Adirondack mountainside. High cheekbones and a square jaw made him appear fiercely male, but he smiled too often for him to look truly dangerous. Dark hair lay in one slick wave over his head.

Only his face and shoulders were visible above the water, leaving her hungry for a better view.

She recalled once when she’d sat in this same hot tub with him. He’d been naked beneath the water. The idea sizzled over her, turning her as warm and liquid as the bubbling bath. She doubted he’d be cavorting around the Hearthside naked in the middle of the afternoon, but she found herself straining for a peek into the blue depths anyhow.

Oh, no.

What was she doing?

Eight years later, she acted as moonstruck as ever around Mitch. Maybe she could sneak away now and he’d never notice. She would tell herself it had been a good thing to get her first viewing out of the way so she wouldn’t be so cow-eyed tomorrow when they officially met.

It was a great idea.

In fact, she loved the idea.

Too bad her damn high heels were glued to the floor.

Before she could unstick her feet to make her exit, he moved. In a flash of sluicing water and flexing muscle, Mitch hoisted himself up onto the ledge of the pool and took a seat.

Tessa covered the involuntary squeal that rose to her lips. Whether she’d turned into a giddy coed because she could now see more of him or because he’d opened his eyes and might see her, she couldn’t say.

But she refused to let her hormones hold her hostage.

She made a fast turn on her heel before she could change her mind, forgetting all about the oranges. The netting sack swung wide and pulled loose from her arm.

She watched in slow-motion horror as her citrus bounced and hopped in a cheerful orange beeline for the hot tub.

Tessa stood motionless as the first piece of fruit splashed into the pool right beside a redheaded mermaid. Mitch’s gaze swung toward the orange and then to the impromptu citrus parade.

And then to her.

She gulped. Maybe she gasped. She searched for words and air and a small scrap of dignity to confront him with, because she definitely wasn’t going to stand here acting like one of his groupies.

Striding forward, she managed a confident step that would have made Ines proud. Too bad Mitch chose that moment to rise to his feet.