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My face splits into a grin. “I shot at you, remember?”
“But you were kind enough not to hit me,” he says with a laugh.
We eat in companionable silence for a few minutes. Woof is suspiciously quiet, so I glance around for him to make sure he hasn’t gotten into something. I shake my head when I see that Jax is giving him belly rubs with his foot.
“You’re going to spoil him,” I say, shaking my head.
“As if he’s not already spoiled. Besides, he deserves it,” Jax says. “Hey… my foundation donates to lots of great causes. After meeting you and Woof, I’m thinking about helping wounded K9 dogs. Covering medical bills and rehabilitation, perhaps? Maybe covering general living expenses in their retirement?”
I stare at him in stunned disbelief. This man is too good to be true. “That would be lovely.”
His face brightens and he leans forward. I find myself mirroring his body position. I’m hanging on every word that comes out of his mouth.
“Did Woof ever swim in the hot spring?” he asks. “Did it help with his recovery?”
The elation that I’d just been feeling turns to disappointment in less than a heartbeat. This is all an act. He doesn’t care about Woof or wounded K9s.
He doesn’t care about me.
He just wants to take a dip in my hot spring. I could just lead him to the spring. Maybe he’d take a quick plunge and leave without a fight. But the hot spring is wonderful, and people always want to stay. They even convince themselves that it’s more than just a lovely, natural pool of hot water in the middle of nowhere. That it has magical properties. There is some evidence that it’s cured people of ailments in the past. It’s probably just the placebo effect, or the power of the mind to heal. I’ve never experienced anything miraculous in the spring.
I close my eyes, willing myself to take control of my emotions. It’s time for Jax Whalen to leave, but there’s something I need to do first. For myself.
I stand, cross the room, and place my lips against his. He pulls me into his lap, deepening the kiss, our tongues sliding together. This is my one opportunity to kiss him, and I’m making it count.
His hands slide up to cup my tits, and I moan into his mouth.
He trails his tongue down the scar on my jaw, planting a rough kiss beneath my ear. He nibbles my earlobe and whispers, “You’re so fucking delicious. I want to taste you, Winnie… all of you.”
His cock is hard and I grind against him, dry-humping him as I move my mouth back to his. One more searing kiss, filled with every last bit of my emotions. I pour everything I have into him until I have nothing left to give. My heart is a block of ice as I pull away, slowly peeling myself away from his embrace.
He watches me with lusty eyes as I walk away from him. “Are we taking this to the bedroom?” he asks.
I shake my head, reaching for the rifle next to the door. I level it on him. “It’s time for you to go. Don’t come back unless you want a bullet in your skull.”
Chapter 6
Jax
As I drive back to town, I’m thankful that I opted to rent the Audi Q7 with four-wheel drive. With the newly fallen snow coating the road, the drive is treacherous. I’m gripping the steering wheel so tightly that the color leaches from my fingertips.
The only good thing about the poor driving conditions is that it’s making it impossible to focus on Winnie—and that bone-melting kiss. What the fuck just happened? Did I do something wrong?
The car hits a patch of ice, and I hold my breath, waiting for catastrophe to strike. Fortunately, the four-wheel drive does its job. I slow down, taking the drive at a snail’s pace, not taking any more chances.
This trip was supposed to be for healing. But I’ve been in Frosty Crest for less than a day and I’ve nearly died of hypothermia, barely avoided a bullet to the chest, and am now in danger of sliding right off the mountain in an overpriced luxury SUV.
When the road levels and widens, I sigh with relief. I’m alive.
Alive, yes. But still an injured hockey player with no clue what to do next. And now, because of a sexy brunette, more confused than ever.
Looking for the Mountain of Youth was a stupid thing to do. I’ve never paid attention to superstitious nonsense before. When teammates swore by lucky socks, kept good luck charms in their lockers, or even just prayed for a victory, I wrote them off as fools. If there’s a God above, he certainly has better things to do than pick the winning side of a hockey game. And if stinky, unwashed socks are lucky, no thank you! Yet here I am risking my life to find a magical hot spring.
It was worth it to meet Winnie. Even if she is a little, well, homicidal. She has other wonderful qualities.
A small smile dances on my lips at the thought of her witty sarcasm and delicious curves. And that kiss! I never knew a woman could knock a guy out with a single kiss, but it’s like she unlocked something within me. Love has never been on my radar, but now? I could love Winnie McAllister. I really could.
And that scares the shit out of me.
