Tate’s face turned into a look of astonishment. “They both died in the attack on the World Trade Center?”
Lara nodded slowly, her eyes moist with tears. “South Tower. They never had a chance. My dad was a lawyer. He had business in New York, and Mom went with him because their wedding anniversary was on September 12th. They wanted to celebrate in New York City. She went with him to the World Trade Center that day. Mom had told my aunt that morning that my dad just needed to make a quick stop and then he was taking her out for brunch. They were both just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” How many times had Lara thought that? It wasn’t like her dad had gone there every day. If only her parents had gone the day before. If only her dad wasn’t such an early bird and they had planned to go later. If only…
“I’m so damn sorry, Lara,” Tate rasped as he moved next to her, put his arms around her shoulders, and lowered Shep gently to the floor.
He pulled her unresisting body into his arms and cradled her head against his chest, and Lara let him. It felt so damn good to feel a human connection again, to let him comfort her, even though she shouldn’t. “I still miss them.” That fateful day would be forever burned into her mind.
“I know. I still miss my dad sometimes, too, even though it’s getting harder and harder to remember him.”
“What happened?” Lara knew Tate’s father had died years ago, but she never had learned the exact cause.
“Strangely enough, he died in an act of terror, too, but it didn’t happen in the US. On a trip to the Middle East in the mid-nineties, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like your parents. He was killed when a car bomb exploded. It wasn’t his car. He just happened to be right beside the vehicle when the bomb detonated. Terrorists claimed responsibility for it later, happy that they’d killed an American,” Tate growled into her hair. “Bastards.”
Lara’s eyes grew wider in surprise. The coincidence that they had both lost someone dear to them in an act of terrorism was strange enough. But the fact that something like this had happened to Marcus was even more bizarre.
Her mind whirled as she took in all the implications of what Tate had just related. She could tell by the sorrow in Tate’s voice that he still mourned his father’s death. Did Marcus? If he did, things were even stranger and more puzzling than Tate could even imagine.
She clung to Tate and wrapped her arms around his neck as he rocked her gently, remorseful and nauseated at the thought that this crazy, cocky, arrogant yet kind man was going to be even more devastated when he found out the truth.
Very little surprised Tate Colter anymore, but Lara’s revelation earlier in the day that she’d lost her parents in the worst terrorist attack on US soil had thrown him for a loop. His family had been torn apart when they’d lost his father. He could only imagine the pain Lara must have suffered when she’d lost both of her parents at the same time. His whole family had mourned his dad for years, but they’d had his mom to keep them grounded. She’d kept their lives as normal as possible. Lara had been displaced, and lost the two people most dear to her in a shocking event that had rocked the entire country. She’d lost her home, everything normal in her life along with her parents.
“Holy shit,” he whispered to himself vehemently. Those facts about her life hadn’t been in the information he’d gathered on her, but then he hadn’t been looking for her parentage. He’d been looking for current information about her and what she was doing in Rocky Springs.
Lara had wanted to get back to the resort, but he’d refused. Sure, he could get back to the resort if he wanted to, even though the roads were technically impassable by trucks or autos until they were plowed. Over a foot of snow had already fallen, and many areas had drifts even higher because of the high winds. And the white stuff just kept on coming. They’d be seeing several feet of new snow by the time this storm was over.
Tate had told Lara that they were stuck until the roads were plowed and he could take her safely back to the resort in his truck after the storm.
He didn’t tell her that he had a Jeep in his extra garage with a big ass plow.
Earlier, his motivation had been clear when he’d brought her back to his place: get her into his bed so he could stop this growing preoccupation he had with fucking her senseless. Then find out all of her secrets.
Now, he wasn’t quite sure what his objective was exactly. Yeah, he still wanted to fuck her more than he’d ever wanted any woman in his entire life. But everything about her grew on him, drove him crazy, and sent his obsession with her into overdrive.
He turned away from his position by the picture window. Was Lara naked right now? She liked to eat, so she’d cooked an enormous amount of food for both of them, and they’d put away a good dinner before he showed her his personal hot springs. The muscle in her thigh was probably still sore, so he’d offered her the use of the springs. Now he wished he’d made a suggestion to share the water.
She would have refused.
“Fuck!” Tate clicked the leash on Shep’s collar and walked outside. The pup looked up at him with sad brown eyes that reminded him of Lara’s. Hell, just about anything reminded him of her right now. He crouched down and stroked the dog. “I’m not leaving you, boy. I’d just rather you didn’t do your thing in the house.” Tate knew the pup still had the fear of abandonment, but he wasn’t going anywhere. Once he had decided to take on a responsibility, he took it seriously. What kind of asshole could dump a tiny, defenseless animal beside the road, knowing it would probably die?
The motion lights in front of the house clicked on, but it didn’t help much. The blizzard still raged, and the visibility sucked. He urged the puppy toward the edge of the woods. He’d stepped out without a jacket, hoping he could cool down his heated body, and that his ever-present erection he sported whenever he thought about or saw Lara would finally deflate.
Tate was cold by the time Shep had emptied his bladder, but his dick was still hard. It was damn near impossible to clear his mind of the image of Lara lounging naked in his private mineral bath, so damn close to him that he could almost touch her.
“Let’s go, buddy,” he urged the puppy, pissed off at himself for getting so worked up over a woman. Shep bounced happily in front of him, eager to get back to a warm environment.
Tate kicked his boots off on the covered porch. He entered the house again and let Shep off his leash, hanging the tether on a hook next to the door. Tate patted the dog. “Good boy.” He didn’t know much about training a puppy, but he hoped a little praise would go a long way toward Shep not making a puddle on his floor.