Sarah Morgan - Snow Crystal Trilogy - Sleigh Bells in the Snow / Suddenly Last Summer / Maybe This Christmas

Pressed up against feelings she normally avoided, Kayla felt a flash of panic.

Who would have thought that a sleepy little resort in Vermont could have ripped at her like this?

Jackson appeared in front of her, his powerful shoulders blocking her escape. “Surely you’re not planning to walk this path alone after what happened last time?”

“I’ll be fine.”

His muscular physique formed a sold barrier between her and her forest sanctuary. “You’ve suffered enough punishment for one day. I’ll walk you to the door.” He took her hand, and Kayla felt the warmth and strength of his fingers as they closed over hers.

“This is definitely breaking the client-agency code.”

“There’s a code? Damn. You probably should have mentioned that earlier.” His tone was light and he tightened his grip. “On the other hand, I’ve never been big on rules and codes.”

It was all too easy to believe that. He was a man who knew what he wanted, his toughness concealed under layers of velvety charm. She’d seen it in her offices that day in New York, and she’d seen it a moment ago when he’d refused to let her leave.

Desperate, she looked up at him. His jaw was strong and darkened by a day of stubble, his mouth a sensual curve in a face that made her want to revisit her own rules and codes. Never before had she been remotely tempted to kiss one of her clients, but neither had she ever walked out of a meeting. Apparently it was a day of firsts.

She rarely thought about sex, didn’t have time to think about it, let alone do it, but she was thinking about it now. Hot sex, with no ties or promises, no past or future, just a moment of raw physical passion. And with Jackson O’Neil you just knew that moment would be good.

Heat rushed across her skin And desire uncurled inside her.

“I’m pretty big on rules and codes. And tomorrow I’m buying all the gear in the store. Any ice-walking-shoe-boot things That might help keep me upright.” For the rest of her stay, she was going to be professional. No more falling on her back in snowdrifts. No more falling apart in meetings. That was a one-off lapse that wasn’t going to happen again.

“We have some gear we can probably lend you. A decent coat and some ski pants. And some ice-walking-shoe-boot things.” That mouth flickered at the corners and then he reached across and opened the gate.

The cabin glowed warm and welcoming in the darkness. The trees by the front door were studded with twinkling lights and the same tiny lights were twisted around the windows.

The cold numbed her face and seared her lungs. Her toes were freezing through her soaked shoes. She knew it was nothing that a hot shower wouldn’t cure. The cold inside her? That was going to be harder to fix.

As they reached the door, she pulled out her keys. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She tried to tug her hand away from his but he tightened his grip, hauling her against him.

“Are you going to tell me what happened tonight? Because I sense it was personal.”

The fact that he’d noticed her reaction made her feel as if she’d been caught sleepwalking naked.

“I’d like to forget about tonight and start again.”

“Yeah, I get that. But starting again might be easier if you tell me what went wrong in the first place. You were in a panic.”

There was a soft thud as snow slid from the roof behind her and landed on the deck. “I’m allergic to gingerbread.” She kept her tone light. “It always has that effect on me.”

He reached up and brushed flakes of snow from her hair. “Me, too. I can only eat a ton of the stuff before I want to resign.”

Kayla relaxed slightly, relieved he’d backed down so easily. “Do you feel like resigning?”

“Every damn day.” He smiled. A slow, sexy smile that made her want to strip him naked and do bad things to him.

Oh, shit, she was in trouble .

“But you don’t resign.”

“The one thing a person can’t resign from is their family.”

Oh, yes They could . She knew that for a fact. And knowing it created the distance she’d been struggling desperately to find. They were on opposite sides of an enormous chasm. This man, wrapped in the big warm blanket of O’Neil love and affection, had no idea what it was like to be shivering in the cold by yourself.

The words snapped her back to her own lonely reality.

“Your family is lucky to have you. Thanks for walking me to the door. Good night.” She unlocked the door but couldn’t move, because he’d planted an arm on the door frame, trapping her. She stood there, locked in by muscle and hot man, staring into those knowing blue eyes.

“Tell me, Kayla. Tell me what happened in there.” The gentleness in his voice matched the look in his eyes.

“Why? Why would you even care?”

“Maybe I can fix it.”

She was willing to bet he did that a lot. Jackson O’Neil was a man who fixed things for other people. That was why he was here, fighting his family so that he could save their home.

And now he wanted to fix her.

A different type of woman might have been tempted. Maybe she was, too…a little.

But she knew some things couldn’t be fixed.

“Thanks, but I’ve been fixing myself since I was thirteen years old so I’ve had plenty of practice. Good night, Jackson.” She ducked under his arm and stomped over temptation into the warmth of the cabin.

I’VE BEEN FIXING myself since I was thirteen years old .

He wondered what she’d been fixing.

Whatever it was, something or someone had upset her tonight.

Jackson turned up his collar against the cold and took a long, last look at the closed door before crunching through the snow back to his car.

Maybe it was just being here.

Maybe it had finally hit her that in her eagerness for the business, she’d volunteered to give up her Christmas. Maybe seeing his family had made her think of hers. Maybe she was homesick.

It could have been any number of things, none of which were his business.

Ignoring the powerful urge to make it his business, Jackson reversed out of the parking spot and drove back down the track that led to the main lodge. He was guessing his brother would be there, and he was right.

Tyler was seated at the bar, entertaining a group of guests with stories of bear encounters and downhill daring. Spying Jackson, he threw a remark at the group that had them laughing, then made his excuses and joined his brother.

“You look as if you need a drink, and I guess I owe you one.”

“One? You owe me at least a hundred.”

Tyler reached across the bar and snagged a couple of beers. “So did you drive her back to the airport?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because when she stumbled out of the kitchen she didn’t look like she was planning on staying around.”

Jackson closed his hand around the beer. “Does she seem like a quitter to you?”

“No. Anyone who can still be talking business while Mom is forcing food on them and Grams is trying to wrap them in lurid green is definitely not a quitter. But she seemed serious about her job and anyone like that isn’t going to last five minutes in this place.”

“Thanks.”

“You don’t count. You’re tied here by blood and a guilty conscience.” Tyler glanced over his shoulder as the door swung open letting in freezing air, a flurry of snow and another group of tourists. “So if she isn’t on her way back to New York, where is she? The least you could have done was invite her for a drink. God knows, if she’s working for this family she’s going to need one.”

Jackson wondered how his brother knew about the guilty conscience. It wasn’t something he’d talked about. “I offered. She wanted to go back to the cabin and do some work. Talking of which…” He leaned across to the bar and called Pete over. “Can you send a pizza over to cabin ten please?”