Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over.
They pulled back quickly, at the same time. “No,” she said, adrenaline surging, filling her with a flight-or-fight response. Men didn’t touch her. Not anymore, not without asking first.
“Not good,” he agreed, his words tripping over hers.
It might have been comic if she hadn’t been left feeling hungry and bereft. It was ludicrous, she told herself as she waited for the rising tide of passion inside her to ease. Ridiculous. Bundled up like Inuit on a frigid mountainside, what could they have done anyway?
And it was wrong, so wrong, to risk their professional relationship on something like this. They had to work together, and everything else could just go hang.
“DeeJay?”
“Mmm?” Talking seemed difficult.
“Clouds moving in. I think we’d better get off this mountain.”
By the time they reached the foot of the slope and trudged toward the resort, she felt frozen to the very bone. Except for one kernel of white heat between her legs.
Nothing seemed capable of freezing that.
Luke Masters drove them down the mountain a short time later. “I see you didn’t get up to the crime scene,” he remarked.
“No, but we learned you’ve got some great snow for skiing here,” Cade answered smoothly. “Hell, I’d pay to ride the lift to the top just to take in the view.”
“I was hoping for that reaction. We may have to make some of our own powder at times, mainly in the early winter and spring, but mostly I think nature is going to take care of us. And it is beautiful up there.”
“The way you angled that one slope we were looking at is amazing. It opens up the view.”
“Some of that was necessitated by geology, but it worked out well. All the slopes have great views.”
DeeJay decided to speak even though her lips still felt frozen despite the heat blasting inside the car. “Are you going to be open the rest of the year for hikers?”
“We’re thinking about it. But we need to work things out with the forest service. Like I said, they surround us, pretty much. You might want to talk to someone there about that.”
“They would have people who know those mountains like the backs of their hands?”
“Absolutely. Some of them live in them year-round. Craig Stone might be the best person to talk to. He ranges all over those woods constantly and has for years.”
He dropped them at their car, excusing himself to get back to work but making sure they exchanged cards. “Any questions, call me. Oh, wait, I promised you those photos of our plans.”
They were in their car, waiting for it to warm up, when he darted back out of the trailer with something that looked like a large portfolio. “I’ll need these back,” he said, “but they’ll give you the best idea. In the back there’s an envelope of smaller photos you can keep.”
“Don’t I feel like a sham,” Cade said as they drove back toward town.
“Yeah. I always wind up thinking of that line about how undercover cops have to lie.” She slid down a bit in her seat. “He was a nice guy. I didn’t like lying to him.”