Chapter Four

Laura

Laura put the saddle back on the holder and wiped her brow. She glanced around the barn, seeing a million things that still needed to be done. It seemed as though there were always a million things that needed to be done. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like she was ahead of her work.

Still, she was enjoying the quiet of the barn. All the billionaires and children where at the main house eating dinner. She could only imagine what the conversations must have looked like between billionaire CEOs and foster kids. It must have been an interesting dinner.

She had stayed away from the party. She told herself it was because she was busy, but she knew the real reason. Ethan was in there. He was the last thing she wanted to think about, yet he seemed to be everywhere. Every time she turned around, he was there.

It didn't help that he looked good enough to eat. It didn't help that her body remembered exactly the way he made her feel. It certainly didn't help that she couldn't stop thinking about him. Why did he have to be here?

She groaned and pressed a hand to her temple. Now she was thinking of him. Now she was remembering.

* * *

One year ago...

W Motors Christmas parties were always spectacular. Employees eagerly awaited their invitations each year to the party of the season. W Motors always put on an elaborate party in an amazing location. This year was no different.

This year, the party was held at the California Science Museum. W Motors had rented out the entire building with all the exhibits open for guests. There was a live band with dancing near the dinosaurs, a buffet by the mummies, and an open bar by space exploration exhibit.

Laura had never seen anything like it. She wandered around the museum, admiring the different exhibits and pretending to learn as she went. The museum provided docents at each exhibit to answer questions, and Laura suspected, to make sure that drunk people didn't decide to try and ride the T-Rex.

She reminded herself that she needed to thank Carter again for sending her to the party this year. It was above and beyond what she expected as an employee. Technically, she wasn't an employee of W Motors. She was an employee of its Chief Technical Officer, Carter Williamson. But he decided that she should go, so he'd given her the weekend off, a plane ticket, a hotel room, and some money for cabs and food. She didn't know that bosses could be that awesome.

She took a sip and moved on from the exhibit on butterflies in Patagonia toward the music. She wasn't quite ready to dance, but she wanted to see the dinosaur exhibit. She wandered along, looking at displays as she went. She stopped to admire a display on the mating behaviors of dinosaurs. Apparently, the penis of the T-Rex was supposed to have been around twelve feet long.

“Damn,” she murmured, taking a sip of her wine. “I'm not sure if I'm jealous or really, really glad I'm not a female T-Rex.”

She kept walking, reading more on the proposed behaviors of long extinct animals. It amazed her that scientists could figure out that much about them by just looking at bones and how other living animals used similar bones. It was fascinating.

The band announced they were taking a short break. They put on some fun pop music for people to dance while they prepared to perform another set. So far, she had liked their music. Whoever was in charge of this party had done an excellent job of picking entertainment.

“You should be careful where you stand,” a male voice said from behind her.

Laura turned to see a man in a suit holding a wine glass looking at her. He was tall with broad shoulders and closely cropped blonde hair. The first thought that hit her mind was that he was gorgeous. The second thought was to wonder if he was anything like a T-Rex. She blushed at her own dirty mind.

“What? Why?” she asked, looking around. Maybe she wasn't supposed to be in this part of the museum?

The man motioned to something above her head. “You're under the mistletoe.”

Laura looked up quickly to see the small green branch with red berries and a white ribbon. Someone had hung it up directly where a person would stop to read about the mating behaviors of dinosaurs.

Laura blushed and quickly stepped away. “Thanks,” she said to the handsome man.

He smiled and somehow got more attractive. “You got lucky. Creepy-Dave from accounting has been sitting here waiting for a pretty girl to step under that. He just went to get a drink.”

“Creepy-Dave?” she asked, looking around.

“He named himself,” the man replied. “I'm not sure it's the best tactic, but he's trying it.”

Laura chuckled. She doubted there really was a person named Creepy-Dave, but she wasn't about to say so. “Thank you for saving me and not taking advantage of the mistletoe yourself.”

The man put his hand to his chest and bowed slightly. “I'm nothing if not a gentleman.”

She laughed. “Who put mistletoe up at a company party anyway?”

“Creepy-Dave, of course,” the man said with a straight face. He smiled at her. “I don't recognize you. Do you work for W Motors?”

“Not exactly,” Laura replied, walking over to the man. He was even more attractive up close. He had a strong chin and an easy smile. And dimples. When he smiled, he had dimples. Laura nearly swooned.

“Ah.” The man narrowed his eyes and evaluated her. “Either you are someone's date or you snuck in. Either way, I don't get to buy you a drink.”

“I was invited,” Laura told him. “I work for Mr. Williamson on one of his Colorado properties. He gave me a ticket.”

“Oh, the secret Colorado horse ranch,” the man said, nodding. “I guess I don't have to call security on you then.”

“You know about the Colorado ranch?” Laura asked. It was supposed to be a secret. Mr. Williamson had recently purchased it, but he didn't want the location to be public knowledge. He wanted to make it his secret hideaway.

“Carter won't stop talking about how his mares are going to love the mountain air and how he wants to add an arena for training or something like that.” He took a sip of wine. “I just smile and nod, and it makes him happy.”

Laura chuckled. “You know Mr. Williamson?”

The man nodded. “I work with him at the California offices.” He smiled and held out a hand. “I'm Ethan, by the way.”

“Laura,” she said, taking the handshake. It was firm and strong, much like she imagined him to be under that suit. She liked the way her hand felt in his and was almost sad when they had to end the handshake.

“You said you don't work at W Motors, right?” Ethan asked with a half smile as if he were waiting for her to realize something.

She nodded. “That's right. Why?”

He grinned. “Then I can buy you a drink and flirt with you without having to worry about you quoting the employee handbook on appropriate professional interactions.”

“So you're going to be inappropriate?” Laura asked, putting a hand on her hip.

“I plan on being very appropriate,” he replied. “I just like to know my options. Especially with mistletoe around.”

Laura laughed and took a sip of her wine. It had been a while since a man a flirted so blatantly with her, and she was rather enjoying it. It wasn't every day that an attractive guy in a suit basically told her he wanted to kiss her.

“So, you from here?” Laura asked Ethan. “California, I mean.”

“Mostly,” he replied. “I was born in northern California, and then my parents moved all over the country. Now, I'm back.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“Very,” he assured her. “Is this your first time here?”

“Yes.” Laura blushed. “I've stayed close to home.”

“Have you gotten to see the sights yet?” he asked, taking a sip of his drink. She realized that his suit wasn't actually black like she'd first thought. It was a beautiful very dark blue.

“Just this and the ocean yesterday so far,” she replied. “I have two more days before I go home. Anything you recommend I should do?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “That depends. What do you like to do?”

She shrugged. “Anything outdoors. I was planning on just going there again, or looking for a rock climbing spot.”

He looked over, pleasantly surprised. “You like rock climbing?”

She grinned. “Yeah. I'm pretty good. I do mostly sport climbing, but I did a 5.12C route a few months ago.”

She waited to see if he understood the terminology and was pleased when his eyes widened.

“That's pretty good,” he replied. “The hardest I've ever done was a 5.13. It nearly killed me.”

Now it was her turn for her eyes to go wide. “That's really advanced.”

He chuckled and waved his hand through the air. “It was nothing. And like I said, it nearly killed me.”

“Still, I'm impressed.”

He grinned at her. “Then it was worth it.”

To hide her blush, she took another sip of wine. This party was shaping up to be a lot of fun. Especially since she met Ethan.

“Where was this climb?” Laura asked, wanting to continue the conversation.

“West Virginia,” he answered, his eyes lighting up with his story. “You climb up the slab past the first two bolts, and then there's this great overhang, which isn't my favorite thing to do, but...” He paused and looked at her. “Are you actually interested? I don't want to bore you by talking about climbing.”

“I am very interested.” She grinned. “If you let me, I will talk your ear off on what kind of rope is best. After horses, climbing is my favorite thing to do. Honestly, I would marry you on the spot if you're any good at bouldering.”

“I happen to be very good at bouldering,” he replied with a confident grin. “Should I propose now or later?”

“I have to see you in action first,” she said. “How do I know that you aren't just trying to sucker me into marrying you so that you can learn my awesome climbing skills? I need proof before I say 'I do.'“

“Okay.” He took a sip of his drink and grinned. “If you're interested, I can show you a great spot to climb not too far from here,” Ethan said with a small shrug. “It's only a 5.6, so not too hard, but it's still a lot of fun. And there are plenty of boulders to climb over, so I can show you that I would make an excellent climbing husband.”

Laura took a sip from her drink before answering. He appeared nonchalant, but his thumb tapped his nervousness out on his wineglass. She liked that he was nervous about asking her out. It made it feel real and less like a line.

“I actually like the easier ones,” Laura admitted, with a smile. “I like feeling like I know what I'm doing. It sounds perfect. I'd love to go with you.”

His smile widened. “Excellent. I'll have my people call your people.”

She went to reach for her phone to give him her number when the band's microphone screeched with feedback. Everyone cringed and put their hands to their ears to stop the sound.

“Sorry about that,” the band called out once they fixed the problem. “Let's get the dancing started!”

Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman came from their instruments, filling the museum with the rhythm and sound. The band was good. It made Laura want to dance.

“I love this song,” she told Ethan. “It was my favorite to dance to in college.”

He looked at her again, pleasantly surprised. She rather liked that look on his face.

“You swing dance, too?” he asked.

She grinned and shrugged. “My college roommates got into swing dancing, so I used to go with them.”

“A rock-climbing swing dancer from Colorado,” he said. He put his hand to his chest. “Are you messing with me? Because you might just be the perfect girl.”

She chuckled. “Well, of course I am.”

He set his drink down on a cocktail table and held out his hand. “Wanna dance?”

A thrill of excitement went through her from the tips of her toes all the way up to her scalp. “I'd love to.”

She took his hand, and her body instantly warmed. She was glad they were walking, so he wouldn't be able to see the excited blush growing in her cheeks. He didn't let go of her hand as they worked through the crowd to get to the dance floor. His touch was making her heart rate do funny things.

Once out on the dance floor, he spun her into a perfect Lindy Hop. Her feet followed his lead despite not having danced since college. She flowed back into it, and he led her like a professional. The man knew exactly what he wanted, so it was easy to move along with him. He was an amazing dancer.

Unfortunately, her amazing dancing skills only lasted about half a song. She went to spin into a turn and ended up smacking him directly in the jaw with the back of her hand.

“Oh my god, I'm so sorry!” she gasped, reaching toward where she'd hit him. He rubbed his jaw a little.

“You have a heck of a right hook,” he said, giving his head a shake. She felt terrible until he smiled at her and held out his hands for her to dance with him again. “How about again, but with a little less Mike Tyson?”

She nodded, blushing furiously. Luckily, she managed not to hit him for the rest of the song. He still kept spinning her around and leading her into turns like he wasn't afraid of her doing it again.

When the music stopped, they were both panting and breathless. She couldn't stop smiling. It had never been this much fun to dance with someone in school. He was laughing and breathing hard, apparently having a good time himself.

“Again?” he asked.

She nodded as the music started up with another fast-paced swing song. Ethan spun her across the floor, leading her into dance moves that she hadn't done in years. It was if he knew her better than she knew herself. He kept his fingers on the small of her back, pushing and pulling in all the right places to make her turn into or away from him. As long as she paid attention to his touch, she knew she wouldn't clock him again.

Two songs became four. Luckily, there were slow songs interspersed between the fast ones, so they had time to catch their breath. Laura almost wished the slow songs would never end, For those, he held her close to his body, their chest pressed together and arms wrapped like lovers. As much fun as the fast songs were, having his body pressed to hers was better than anything.

“I think I need a drink,” Laura whispered as a slow song ended. Her hips were up against his, and she wished there wasn't so much of crowd. Or as much clothing. The way his hand caressed her back had her thinking of things that required a private room and at least three dates. She needed to stop touching him because she was craving more with every minute.

They walked over to where they'd left their wine glasses before dancing to find they'd been taken.

“At least we know the staff is really on it, right?” Laura joked to him. He chuckled.

“I'll buy you a new one,” he offered, motioning toward the open bar.

“You'll buy me a free drink?” she asked. “How does that work?”

“I go to the bar and get two drinks instead of one,” he replied with a grin. “I'm a big spender. I'll buy you free drinks all night long.”

Laura laughed. “Well, I'd hate to spend all your hard earned money, but I do like drinks. I'll take another white wine.”

He grinned at her and started walking past the display on dinosaur mating habits. Laura looked up to see the mistletoe still hanging there. She smiled. She still wanted to touch him, and this was the perfect excuse. Laura took the opportunity.

She ran over and kissed him.

For one terrifying second, he just froze. Laura was sure that he was going to back off and say there were mixed signals or something along those lines. But he didn't. Instead, he stepped back, smiled and then put his hand on her neck and brought her in for a better, less surprised kiss.

There were some men who just knew how to kiss. He was one of those men. He was the kind of man that was able to start a fire with just a touch. He was the kind of man that romance novels were written about. This was a kiss that would make Romeo and Juliet jealous.

His lips fused to hers as he sucked the rest of her energy and swallowed her whole. Heat zinged down from her lips, through her chest, and straight to her core. She was fairly sure her little black dress was about to go up in flames.

“Wow,” she whispered, panting with desire. She'd never been so turned on by just a kiss in her life. She suddenly understood the phrase, “panty-melting,” because hers were ready to puddle around her ankles after that kiss.

“What if we check out an exhibit?” he said, taking a step back, but keeping his hands on her.

“An exhibit?” She was confused. She didn't' want to see a science exhibit. She wanted to kiss him. And do more than just kiss him.

He nodded. “No one has gone into that Rocks, Crystals, and Gems exhibit. It looks pretty empty.”

“You want to go look at rocks?” She frowned, trying to figure out what was going on. “I mean, I guess they're kind of related to climbing, but really?”

He nodded again. “No one has gone in there all night. We'd have it all to ourselves.”

“Ooooh.” She smiled as she realized what he was saying. She looked around to see that their kiss had more than a couple of people watching them. An exhibit without any onlookers suddenly made a lot more sense. “I would love to look at some Rocks, Crystals, and Gems with you.”

He grinned and grabbed her hand, leading her to the exhibit. It was a clever exhibit if she had actually been paying attention. It was designed to mimic the inside of a mine, with displays placed like mother-lodes throughout. It was dark and very private.

They did a quick scan of the exhibit, making sure that the place really was empty. She'd never been happier to have a science exhibit all to herself in her life.

His hand went to the back of her neck again, pulling her into him. His big hand tangled in her hair and he tugged gently as he kissed her. She felt the pull from her scalp to between her thighs, and she whimpered.

“That's a dangerous sound,” he whispered, his voice low and full of desire. He turned her, so she pressed up against the glass of a display. She thought it had gold or something inside of it, but she really wasn't paying attention to the display once his hips pressed against her. She could feel his desire press up against her, and she moaned again.

Sweet, hot, and her tongue tangled with his as he kissed her again, stealing her moans. He gripped her hair harder, wanting still more and she arched her hips into his. All she had on under the dress was a very tiny thong. It wouldn't be hard to slip it to the side. If he undid his fly, he'd slide right in. The idea made her shiver with desire.

“Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” she whispered, pushing her hips against his. The way his pupils dilated nearly did her in.

He nodded, reaching for the hem of her skirt. His hand was hot against her thigh as he felt her skin. He took his time, tracing his palm along the hem of her dress. The waiting made her want it all the more. Slowly, so slowly it made her writhe, he slid his hand up her skirt. She held her breath as she waited for him to reach the top of her thigh.

“Excuse me, sir? Miss?”

The voice was not Ethan's. It was not anyone she knew. She froze, and he quickly took his hand away. Ethan slowly turned his head, and she suddenly saw the security guard standing with his arms crossed behind them.

“Officer,” Ethan said, sounding completely casual and not like he'd just had his hand up a woman's skirt. Laura pulled at the bottom of her dress and wondered just how obvious what they were doing was.

The security guard pointed up at the ceiling. “There are cameras in here.”

Laura followed his finger to see the small black camera pointed directly at the exhibit her back was pressed up against. Whoever was watching was getting an amazing show. She glanced at the exhibit to see that the state's largest gold nugget was inside. Of course, they would have someone watching that at all times.

“I'm so sorry,” she whispered, trying to smooth her hair. “We'll get out of here.”

“Please do,” the guard replied. “Go back to the party. Or a hotel.”

The guard shook his head and walked off, leaving the two of them standing there. Laura felt mortified. Her cheeks had to be bright red, and she knew her hair was a mess.

“Note to self, Rocks, Crystals, and Gems is not the best place to make out,” Ethan said. He smiled at her. “I'm so sorry.”

She laughed. “It'll make a great story someday. Plus, I'm sure that guard was bored. We probably made his night.”

He grinned at her and held out his hand. “Do you want to go back out and dance some more?”

She took his hand, remembering the feel of his fingers on her thigh. She did not want to go back out and dance. She wanted to finish what they'd started. She was already going down this crazy road; she was going to finish it.

An idea came to her, and she smiled. “I have a better idea.”