“Let’s go,” Spence said as he climbed onto the other.
“I . . . I was going to ride with—”
“We need to go,” Spence said as he revved the motor on Camden’s toy.
Sage wasn’t happy about this, but what could she do? After climbing on behind him, she was trying to sit at a distance when the machine jerked forward and she almost fell off backward.
“Hold on tight, Sage. We won’t be able to talk.” Then they were shooting forward, through the snow.
Sage buried her face against Spence’s shoulder as he maneuvered through the snowstorm. Even with the warm clothes, her body was racked with shivers, and she couldn’t lift her head from Spence’s shoulder; she was afraid her face would fall off if she did.
Spence slowed and turned his head so she could hear him. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Her teeth were chattering so hard she couldn’t answer. Maybe she should have just stayed at the hospital. This hadn’t been such a good idea.
“No, you aren’t okay. We’re going to make a pit stop,” he said, and she couldn’t even process the words, she was so miserable.
Vaguely, she heard Spence speaking to his brothers, but it was nearly impossible to hear, so she just held on and prayed the ride would soon come to an end. When he spoke a few minutes later, she let out a sigh of relief.
“We’re at my place, Sage. We need to go inside,” Spence said, and she noticed they weren’t moving through the snow anymore, but still she found herself unable to move. Was she going into shock? Maybe. She tried to assess her own condition.
Before long she found herself inside a place where blessed heat was biting at her face. The bitter wind and snow had disappeared, but she was still freezing.
“You need to warm up quickly,” he told her, and she felt herself being lifted. Instead of pulling away, she snuggled closer to him, though with all the clothes between them, the body heat she was seeking couldn’t be found.
When he set her down and she felt him tugging on her boots, she didn’t resist. Finally, the snow clothes were removed and she felt the heat from the house trying to soak into her frozen skin, but nothing seemed likely to work.
“Where are your brothers?” she asked through chattering teeth.
“They went on to our dad’s to check on him.”
That was when she realized they were not only at his place, but they were alone. Heat began seeping back inside her, but it was a whole different kind of heat from what she wanted right now. Then again, maybe not. Maybe this was the heat she needed.
Looking up, her eyes connected with Spence’s, and she found herself again without words. What was going to happen next? Sage needed to figure out, and quickly, whether she was going to allow anything to happen, because after their earlier romp in the snow, she knew that it would take only the smallest encouragement to get her into Spence’s bed.
“This isn’t a good idea, Spence.” Maybe if she was direct, they could act like reasonable adults.
“The two of us coming together seems like an excellent idea to me, Sage.” He began closing the gap between them. When he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, Sage still didn’t know what she was going to do. When he bent down and kissed her, even her will to think fled.
After washing her face, Sage glanced in the mirror and cringed at her mussed hair and glowing cheeks. Spence knew how to kiss—that was for dang sure. He had turned her to jelly in five seconds flat, and then had continued to tease her body for the next fifteen minutes.
And somehow, when she’d finally managed to pull back—she was amazed that her legs had been able to hold her up—he’d let her go. He clearly wanted to make love to her, and she knew she wanted that same thing.
But Sage had never been a stupid woman—she usually lived up to her name. And she’d never been one to make impulsive choices. She was the responsible one, the one who had put school ahead of all else, who had received the best grades. She was the girl who stayed in to study while her peers went out to clubs.
She wasn’t about to start making mistakes now. And besides the fact that Spence was currently her boss—who was taking notes on her performances and could determine whether she became a critical-care surgeon or not—he was also the one who’d broken her heart.
To sleep with this man, to have a one-night stand or, even worse, a short affair, wouldn’t be wise. So here she was, hiding in his luxurious bathroom while she tried to decide her next move.
Sage could insist he take her home, but since she’d arrived at his place, the storm had picked up even more, and was leaving the wisest decision? If they got lost and froze to death, that wasn’t going to do anyone any good. Not that she’d know anything about it later . . .
The real question was whether she’d be able to sleep in the same house as this tempting man without ending up in the sack. She didn’t know how strong she was, but she’d soon find out.
Figuring she’d hidden long enough, Sage left the bathroom and made her way back down his curved staircase, her hand trailing along the mahogany railing as she moved soundlessly, cushioned by the thick cream carpeting. Stepping onto the wood parquet floor covered by a stunning Oriental rug, she was surprised to find Spence’s home so stately yet comfortable.
He didn’t seem the type to have a Waterford chandelier hanging from the sixteen-foot ceiling, or to have a gleaming white marble fireplace as the centerpiece of the room. Stunning ten-foot-high windows offering a gorgeous view of the thick falling snow made this her dream living room.