Billionaire Untamed - Tate(41)

“After breakfast, I need to go to the resort. I just told Chloe I’d meet her in the gym. I hope it’s not crowded by then.”

Tate groaned. “Chloe ratted me out, didn’t she?” His sister had been the one to tell Lara he had a snowplow.

“Not on purpose. She just happened to mention it.” Lara fried the bacon.

“Why are you going there?”

“I promised Chloe I’d teach her a few self-defense moves.”

“The gym is never crowded in the winter. People are getting their exercise by skiing. Nobody wants to be inside when there’s fresh powder.”

“I do,” Lara said adamantly.

“If I teach you to ski or snowboard, you’ll love it.” Lara was adventurous, and she’d take to winter sports if she had a teacher. And he knew just the guy to show her the joy of winter.

“I think I’d rather be sitting by a warm fire doing…something else,” she said innocently, but turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I think if I teach you the benefits of staying inside, you’ll love it,” she parroted him teasingly.

He kissed her, and admitted that she was probably right, especially if she meant staying inside her.



“I think I have the basics down, but do you think we could keep practicing?” Chloe asked Lara as she walked at a sedate pace on the treadmill.

Lara was up to a run, but she wasn’t out of breath yet. “Sure. We can go over it until I have to leave.”#p#分页标题#e#

They’d practiced basic self-defense for quite a while before they finished and Lara jumped on the treadmill to do her daily routine. She’d seen a few more bruises on Chloe, and her alarm bells went off pretty damn loud. “Chloe, is James hurting you?” She had to ask. Her conscience wouldn’t allow her to stay silent.

Chloe looked straight ahead as she answered. “No. Of course not. The martial arts thing was an accident. He got impatient and he’s under a lot of stress right now.”

“You have new bruises,” Lara argued.

“I’m a klutz,” Chloe said hastily. “I trip a lot and do some stupid things. I bruise easily.”

She knew she was putting Tate’s sister on the defensive, so she answered simply. “If you ever need to talk, I’m here to listen.” Sometimes it was easier to talk to a woman than a man.

It hadn’t escaped Lara’s notice that Chloe had never really called on James when she’d needed him, and during this family crisis it would be nice if he was around to reassure her.

“Thanks,” Chloe answered casually. “But I’m good. Every relationship hits some bumpy areas, I think.” She paused. “God, do you torture yourself like that every day?”

Lara thought that maybe most relationships did have ups and downs, but she was afraid that Chloe was hitting mountains instead of bumps in her relationship. “Yep. I have no choice but to work out every day. I have to be in good condition for my job, and I like to eat.”

“Me too,” Chloe answered with a sigh. “But I gain weight if I even smell chocolate or something fattening.”

“You’re not fat, Chloe,” Lara told her sternly, angry that some man had made her feel unattractive when she was actually gorgeous.

“James doesn’t really like curvy women.”

“Then dump him and find somebody who does,” Lara said angrily. “What about that handsome cowboy you were with the other night?”

“Gabe?” Chloe blushed. “He’s a billionaire cowboy, and just a friend of the family, mostly a friend of Blake’s. And we don’t even get along most of the time.”

“I think he likes you,” Lara countered, decreasing her speed to wind down her run.

“He doesn’t. He just likes to joke around. I don’t like it.”

Lara had a feeling Chloe didn’t like it because she didn’t believe Gabe when he shot her a compliment. “He looked pretty concerned when Marcus got arrested and Tate got injured.”

“He was nice,” Chloe admitted as she stopped her treadmill to get off. “But it didn’t last very long.” Looking uncomfortable, Chloe changed the subject. “Do you care about Tate?”

Lara felt a little uncomfortable as she slowed down to a walk, not liking it when she was on the hot seat. “I do. He helped me out a lot. He’s a very brave man, and I admire him a great deal.” And he’s so damn hot that I want to do him every minute of the day. She decided not to share that information with Tate’s sister.

Chloe rolled her eyes at Lara. “You know what I mean. Do you have the hots for him?”