Billionaire Untamed - Tate(12)
She didn’t even see the house until they were nearly on top of it. Tate slowed and came to a stop in front of a large log home.
“Get inside and get warm. The front door is open. I have to put up the sled.” His voice was powerful and no-nonsense.
Lara didn’t argue. She clambered off the back of the machine, hanging onto Tate to compensate for her gimpy leg. As she staggered to the door, she saw him disappear into the haze of white almost immediately.
She turned the knob on the beautiful front door, and it gave easily. She stepped onto the gorgeous wood floor in the foyer, and stripped off her snow gear as quickly as possible. Lara frowned; she wished she had entered in a mud room of some kind. After she gathered up her wet boots, socks, snow pants, jacket, and other saturated winter gear, she veered toward what looked like a kitchen, and passed a lovely, rustic living room with antique fire equipment that decorated the walls and shelves on her way. With her arms full of wet gear, she didn’t have time to admire the kitchen, although it was definitely large and looked like any cook’s dream. Relieved, she located the laundry room and mud room to the garage off the kitchen. She hung her wet things on the hooks provided and searched the kitchen for a towel. The house was gorgeous, and she didn’t want to leave water on the beautiful wood floors. It might be a log home, but it was more of a mansion than a little cabin in the woods. Everything was custom, the detail put into the construction evident in every wooden beam adorning the ceiling to the luxurious wood floors. It was interesting how the builder had managed to make the home feel rustic…yet elegant.#p#分页标题#e#
She was wiping down the puddles on the floor by the door when Tate came into the house, worried that the water would damage the flooring.
“What the hell are you doing?” His voice was low and reverberated with what sounded like anger.
“I’m cleaning up the water on the floor. My stuff was soaked.”
“Leave it.”
Lara finished the job quickly and rose, but flinched at her sore thigh.
“You hurt yourself?” His voice turned to gentle concern.
“I’m okay. I hit a tree with the resort’s snowmobile, though. I broke one of the skis. I’m sorry.” She walked toward the laundry room to dump the towel.
“I said leave it.” He took the towel from her hand, led her to the couch in the living room and motioned for her to sit. “I’ll have somebody go out and get the snowmobile when the weather clears. It’s no big deal.”
She sat and sighed as the weight of her body was taken off her leg, allowing her thigh muscle to finally relax.
Tate went to dump the towel in the laundry room after he switched on the gas fireplace, returning in a few minutes with cups of hot chocolate and a blanket. He wrapped the blanket around her body and handed her one of the steaming mugs before he dropped onto the other end of the sofa.
“Would you mind telling me what in the hell possessed you to stay out when you knew a storm was on its way, and then to leave the damn snowmobile trail on top of that? Colorado blizzards are no joke. I talked to Chloe. She said she warned you that a storm was coming,” Tate grumbled. His gray eyes surveyed her cautiously as he took a slug from his own cup.
“I-I got…lost,” she lied unhappily. She didn’t exactly want to deceive the man who had gone out in such a vicious storm to retrieve her, but she had no choice. “Was Chloe worried? Did she send you after me?”
He nodded and gave her an annoyed expression.
“I’m sorry. It was a stupid thing to do.”
He nodded again, his gaze sharp and assessing.
Great. Now he thinks I’m an idiot, a dumb blonde who isn’t smart enough to get out of an incoming blizzard. I honestly can’t blame him for thinking what he’s thinking right now. But I don’t like it.
Strangely, she actually cared what Tate thought about her now. He’d risked his own life to come out and save her. He was irritated, and rightfully so. She kind of found herself missing his usual dimpled grin and cocky attitude. Right now, he looked dark and intense, more serious than she’d ever seen him, and that fierce expression made her squirm.
“Why did you do it? What were you really looking for, Lara? You left the trail, and I don’t buy that you were totally lost.” He locked eyes with her; his probing look drilled into her soul.
She opened her mouth and then closed it again, unsure of what to say to him.
I don’t want to lie to him.
A small yip saved her from having to say anything as the cutest little German Shepard puppy Lara had ever seen scampered into the room, and prevented the need for her to speak.