Chapter 2

Two

T his could not be happening.

Willa rested her forehead on the steering wheel in the hopes of finding some kind of enlightenment, guidance... whatever. Hell, she didn't know, but whatever it was needed to come, and fast. She was about to step into the wolf's den, and a little backup would be nice.

She took a deep breath, killed the ignition, and let her shoulders droop. She caught her reflection in the rearview mirror and she wanted to cry all over again. Faint shafts of light from the house revealed the remnants of her pity-party-for-one earlier this evening.

Absentmindedly, she combed through the contents of her purse looking for something to cover her puffy red eyes, but to be honest she'd need sunglasses the size of Texas.

Her vision swam. Damn it!

Why did doing the right thing have to hurt so much?

She'd planned this day for months. Waited for the right time. Waited for him.

But it never came. When he was home on leave, he avoided her like she was a breathing nightmare.

What was she supposed to do?

Resigning from the Grant family construction company, Black Oaks, was the best thing for her, but she wouldn't deny it hurt more than she thought possible.

She'd click her boot heels together if only it would take things back to the way they were. Guess that kind of magic only worked in the movies.

Every time Nathan returned, they slow-danced around one another, never really taking their obvious attraction to the next level. She would advance and he would retreat, pushing her away before she could get close enough to figure out what kept him just beyond her reach. Because he couldn't make up his mind she'd done it for the both of them and planned her final retreat no matter how much it hurt.

But the unthinkable happened. Nathan's father passed away before she could get Chicago's skyline behind her, and now here she was. Sitting outside Nathan's house at a quarter to eleven and no exit strategy in sight.

Snow piled up fast. She reached over and turned up the radio dial to hear the forecaster announce a large winter system so big even Santa wouldn't be able to get through it for a month.

Trees and wide-open spaces and not another person for miles in all directions lay beyond her hood. And snow. Knee deep in some areas and rapidly piling in others. It started the second she left city limits and hadn't let up since.

Worry formed a heavy lump in the pit of her stomach. What if she couldn't go through with it? Walking away from Nathan seemed cruel at a time like this.

She hadn't planned it to work out this way, but it was too late to back out now. Or was it? She hadn't turned in her resignation yet or sent in her job acceptance letter to the other company.

Frustrated, she abandoned her search for her facial powder and tossed her purse on the seat with a heavy sigh. Why the hell did he want to see her now anyway? Shouldn't he wait a few days before tackling the workload his father had left behind? Pure Nathan style, he would probably want to charge head-on. Only he didn't realize he'd picked the day she'd sealed both their fates with a pen stroke.

Not even an hour had passed since his number flashed across her screen, taunting her to pick up. She'd been tempted to let voicemail take it, but something had her finger reaching out to press that little green button.

Several months had passed since her last visit, but everything looked the same, considering the change of seasons. In the height of summer, the fields were alive with wildflowers of all kinds. But the wintertime was her favorite. In past visits she would sneak out during holiday gatherings to watch as beams of moonlight played in the snow-covered fields to create an illusion of a million diamonds. Each sparkle like a dream waiting for her to make each and every one her reality. All she wanted was him. Her entire body shivered with the need for his touch, his body, his lips claiming hers.

She straightened her back and raised her chin, sealing her rampant thoughts. Later, when this meeting was over, she could go home alone and fall into her fantasies where she dreamed of being Nathan's. Of letting him take her tight virgin pussy.

But right now, she needed to shove those desires back into the closet before anyone got hurt.

If her brother could see her now he'd tell her in his none-too-hurried drawl that she needed to shut that shit down. He'd made damn sure she understood Nathan was the type of man she couldn't handle. The echo of his harsh words cut deep, resounding with a final warning of forbiddance. Guess big brothers didn't know everything, after all. Because the minute he'd said she couldn't, it was all she dreamed about.

She had no desire to be holed up with a man she couldn't have, but if it came down to it, was she prepared? Could she weather such a powerful storm and come out on the other side with her heart intact?

She reached for the handle and opened the door, the thumping of her heart like a bass guitar in the tight confines. If only there was some other way out of this without hurting Nathan, but that time had come for her to decide.

Either stay and lust for a man that didn't love her or move on and try to rebuild her life.

Or worse, stay and watch him fall in love with someone else.

Her heart clenched and she rubbed a hand across her chest. Leaving was the only option because no matter how much she craved his touch, she wouldn't survive the heartache of seeing him with someone else.

She pushed the door wide and stepped out into the cold. Mind set on what she had to do, Willa opened the rear door and grabbed for her briefcase. She needed her copies of the contracts Nathan requested if she was going to help him with this one last task. No matter what, come tomorrow, he would find her resignation in the mail and the whole avalanche would come barreling down the mountain. She doubted he'd want to be in the same room with her, let alone go over contracts by then.

Willa waved her hand around in the area she always placed her satchel but came up emptyhanded. How could she have forgotten the one thing she needed to bring? Then again, easy enough, considering the man consuming her every thought.

With a deep sigh, a sinking feeling formed. Yes, her stomach sank. Sank right to her toes and lurched. She flicked on the back seat light, desperate for a better look.

" ?Ahí por Dios! ?Que más! " Fear brought out her native language with a vengeance. Curses rolled like waves on a Hawaiian beach she'd rather be sitting on right now. And when they hit her stomach rolled and tumbled right along with them.

The briefcase in question held more than just the contracts. She'd also placed her newly-minted resignation alongside a letter from Black Oak's rival, accepting her new job in California.

Realization hit and cold air rushed into her lungs on a long gasp. She'd left it at the office. This night had just gone from bad to worse with a second helping of fuck me sideways.

She swallowed hard.

But she couldn't get past the fear lodged deep in her throat. She clenched and unclenched her fingers.

Breathe, Willa.

If she thought on it much longer she'd start shaking.

Oh damn. Too late.

It started in her toes and worked up her legs until even her fingers trembled.

Just because she'd left the briefcase didn't mean he'd gone digging in it the minute she'd walked out the door. Never assume, right?

"Thought maybe you were going to leave before coming in and getting warm by the fire."

Willa whirled, the snow crunching underfoot, and came nose-to-chest with a wall of well-defined, USA grade-A Marine muscle wrapped in a tight navy-blue T-shirt. The man had no sense of just how cold it was. He'd been that way for as long as she'd known him.

She could bounce a quarter off those pecs they were so hard. A strong scent of soap mixed with a hint of whiskey filled her nostrils.

Nathan. All one-hundred percent melt-your-panties, fuck-me-right-here-I-don't-care male. Suddenly contracts, betrayal and the idea she needed to be three thousand miles from where she stood flitted away on the snow.

"Plan on coming with me tonight, or did you want to sit out in the cold?"

Before she could part her lips to answer him he stepped in, his body warmth in her personal space. He leaned in slowly, eyes locked on hers, and reached around her to close her car door.

What a damn tease. She had to stifle the whimper he nearly dragged from her.

Her gaze shot up and locked on his.

It seemed Nathan read her mind because a wicked glint flashed across his deep, dark eyes.

Arrogant bastard.

"Inside, I mean," he rumbled, voice rough and low as his eyes lit with mischief.

Willa lightly rested her hand on his bare forearm, the heat of his flesh blissful against her hand. "There for a minute I thought you were going to kiss me, Nathan. What's the matter? Scared?"

She had no idea where the bravado to say what was on her mind came from, but once the first syllables left her lips there was no stopping them.

And just like that something in him snapped. His eyes flashed with a hunger she'd never seen in him before as he pinned her smaller body against her car.

Cold from the metal at her back seeped through her thin sweater in contrast to the wall of fire at her front. From chest to hip he pinned her body; his mouth poised a whisper away from her all-too-ready lips. She couldn't tell if it was from the cold or how he felt against her that made her nipples rock candy hard.

"Trust me, Willa, you're playing with a fire you cannot control. Be very careful how you handle it. I'd hate for you to get burned, baby."

Baby?

Oh, hell yeah, she wanted to get burned.

Cold weather forgotten, his growled words sent another kind of shiver through all five-feet-four inches of her body.

He could scorch, burn, set her ablaze, and she'd take it all if it meant he was finally ready to take her.

In a low voice, she taunted back. "Big words for a man afraid to touch, don't you think, Nathan?"

Nathan growled and her whole body did the full shiver thing again complete with an aftershock of tingles.

This was how it always ended up—with them circling each other like animals in heat.

It wasn't far off.

She braced herself for impact. Had she finally hit a nerve that would spur him into action? She's risk getting a cold if he wanted to strip her and ravish her naked body in the snow. She could feel it in the air, the need that shimmered between them. Like he wanted to tear into her and would fight anything or anyone that would stop him.

Good.

Because she was ready for some freaky snow sex.

But something stopped him, held him back, toeing some invisible line between them. Invisible because she sure the hell didn't see a speck of anything between them.

She slowly stepped back and out of his reach but caught the flash of anger her words caused. Or was that pain she saw in his eyes? In the low light she couldn't tell, but she knew well enough what his silence meant.

Her shoulders dropped and she turned to apologize. Before she uttered a syllable, he brought down a wall, effectively closing her out. Arms crossed and jaw set, Nathan stood there, his stance no longer filled with challenge.

Annnnd, just like that, the fire was doused. This was how it always ended.

With him impersonating a snowman, leaving her hands itching for a blowtorch. Anything to turn up the fucking heat and melt the polar ice caps that had become his emotions.

Willa hated when he did that to her. Shut her out completely when she hit a little too close to home. Must be nice to have the ability to shut down the way he did.

When her brother died, she'd wished long and hard for the ability to block out all the pain. Maybe things would be different for her now somehow.

Fat chance, she guessed.

Ignoring her heart only got her so far, that much she knew. Proof stood two feet in front of her and she was the one suffering from being so damn soft-hearted.

As for Nathan, no doubt in her mind his ability to switch his emotions on and off had saved him countless times while out on a tour of duty with his Recon unit. Here in her world, it just infuriated her. Right now she didn't care if her words sliced to the core. He wasn't the only one hurt by the death of loved ones. About damn time he realized it.

Words meant to slip the knife a notch deeper poised on the tip of her tongue. He closed the space between them before she could speak. He placed his hands low on her hips and hoisted her up to sit on the trunk. With his big hands he parted her thighs and slipped between her spread legs. With one tug he pulled her into his warm muscled body, her pussy snug against the ridge of his hard cock with only a few pieces of clothing between them.

His eyes narrowed on her a second before lowering his face next to hers just enough so his day-old scruff scraped seductively against her cheek. He spoke close to her ear. "Sweetheart, it's time you learn the truth about how I feel about you. Make no mistake, by Christmas morning every inch of flesh on your beautiful little body will ache with pleasure from knowing my touch and my cock."

Every single word pelted her nerves and struck her core, forcing her eyes shut. Her whole body clenched from the growled promise of his words. Every heartbeat sent a hammered pulse through her body until her clit throbbed with the need to orgasm long and hard.

His lust-roughened voice, or the brush of his soft beard—probably a combination of all three—caused warm liquid to wet the strip of silk between her legs in anticipation. Anything she was going to say now lay crumbled in the corners of her mind, forgotten.

Her breasts grew heavy, and with every breath Nathan took, the light caress sent a lick of fire straight to her clit.

She shoved against his chest, but he didn't budge.

Right. Solid wall. Remember, you like that kind of thing.

"Step back and let me down, Nathan." She didn't have time for games. He should know that by now. "Don't play with me."

His dark eyes on hers, he eased back enough to give her space but not lose contact. His warm hand engulfed hers where it still rested on his chest, his thumb gently smoothing the skin across her knuckles. As if he wanted to calm her when it had been her who'd hurt him with her words just moments before. He was always thinking of others. It was what she loved about him.

Willa raised her gaze from their linked hands. So many questions ached for a voice, but the look in his eyes begged her to accept what was happening between them. How could she fight that when she wanted the same? Wanted this reaction from him like she wanted to breathe?

Nathan cupped her cheek with his free hand and tilted her chin higher, his eyes ablaze with a fire she felt in her veins. "Fuck, Willa," he groaned low. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" she asked quietly, her breath lodged in her throat.

"Like I won't fuck you and make you mine."

And just like that, her panties were drenched. He had her in his arms and the door to his cabin kicked open before she could decide if she wanted the Marine quick and dirty on the hood of the car or long and slow in front of a roaring fire.