Blaze of Winter: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (7 page)

“Why are you wearing your hair up?” he asked abruptly.

Surprised, she reached up to pat her twist. No loose strands. “I—I like it up. It’s more secure that way.” Safer.

He stepped closer. “It’s fine up, but it looks better down.”

“Yes, well,” she said, swallowing, “it’s more distracting down. And now I need to go. Thanks for dinner. Good night.” She moved to step around him, but he reached out and curled one huge hand around her upper arm, stopping her. Frozen in place, she didn’t even try to pull free. Heart beating crazily in her chest, her pulse rate skyrocketed. Every inch of her body was tingling from his touch. Concerned about what she was going to see, she raised her gaze to meet his.

“You never answered my question from before,” he said huskily, his eyes a deep, dark green. “What do you want?”

All the tension that had been building throughout the evening bubbled up to the surface and Avery lost the tight rein she tried to keep on her emotions. “I have no idea,” she retorted. “What do
you
want?” It was a pathetic response, but his nearness was making it hard to think straight.

“You,” Theo said, just before he slid his other arm around her and claimed her lips with his own.

CHAPTER 5

Stunned by the electricity of his touch, Avery stood utterly still, eyes wide open, as he wound those powerful arms around her. Without warning, a shock wave of pleasure began at her lips and radiated outward until her entire body thrummed.

When that jolt traveled up her spine, she shivered—this time, not from the cold. It was clearly the reaction he’d been seeking. Tightening his grip, he slid one hand up her back to pull her in closer. Pressed against him, her breasts tingled. She gasped in surprise at the sensation and he took the opportunity to plunder, slipping his tongue between her lips and gently stroking. He tasted like mint, cool and sweet.

She was tall, but Theo towered over her, putting her slightly off-balance. Instinctively, she slid her own arms around his waist, and at her simple touch, he groaned. Her eyes slid shut of their own accord and she forgot why she was fighting her undeniable attraction to him. Sensation coursed through her and for the first time in a very long while, Avery’s mind stopped whirring, focusing only on Theo and the way their bodies were pressed together so intimately.

And my God, he felt good—his big hands holding her securely, his tender mouth coaxing her higher. At that moment, she would have agreed to tell him anything, so long as he kept his mouth on hers.

Then a door slammed loudly, and the spell was broken. Avery blinked, then pushed away from him. Reluctantly, he let her go. “Did you hear that?” she asked, jerking her head toward the back of the Inn.

Theo nodded. “Do you leave the back door unlocked, too?”

She shook her head. Though the front door was typically left open, the back door was usually locked. “Aunt Kate?” she called out. No one else should be in the Inn at this time of
night. When no one answered, she said, “I’m going to see what it was,” and briskly strode to the door.

He grabbed her arm. “Like hell you are. Stay here. I’m going.”

Incredulously, she looked at his hand, then up at his face. “No way. I’m responsible for this place while Kate’s out. I’ll go.”

Theo set his lips in a straight line. “Fine. We’ll go together. But let me take the lead.” He swept her behind him and then moved purposefully down the corridor, through the kitchen and down the back passage, flicking on lights as he walked. Before Avery had time to wonder how he knew his way through the Inn, he’d flung open the back door and stepped out onto the porch into the cold night. He scanned the grounds, which were dimly illuminated by a floodlight on the roof. She peered around his broad back, trying to see what was out there.

The back of the Inn faced a gravel parking lot and driveway, most of which was covered with half an inch of snow. Her own small car was parked there, blanketed with white. Beyond the lot was a small expanse of lawn. Ashumet Avenue was to the left, but there was a heavily wooded area to the right.

Theo pointed out two sets of footprints, which were rapidly being covered with fresh snow. “Someone was here.” One of the benefits of the Inn’s seclusion was the relative privacy it afforded its guests, but now Avery was beginning to realize the downside.

“Some
one
?” A small pit formed in her stomach.

“Same footprints. One set up. One set back.” He squinted into the night. “Whoever it was is gone now.” He turned back to the door and bent down to examine the lock. “Look,” he said, pointing at the door frame. “Jimmied and then picked.”

“How can you tell?” she asked, bending to get a good look.

“See here? There are scratches on the outside frame, but no scrapes inside. Whoever did this tried to pry the door open before picking the lock. Why didn’t you throw the dead bolt?”

She shrugged. “Aunt Kate never does, so I didn’t see the point.”

He stood, holding out his hand to help her up. Ignoring it, she straightened without assistance. “Maybe you should start using it, and locking both doors,” he said, shutting the door and sliding the dead bolt home. “For safety.”

“If you’re worried about safety, rest assured that your room has three locks on it, including a chain and a dead bolt,” she said stiffly, coming to the unpleasant realization that this might not be the first time someone had broken in. In fact, that might explain the missing food items and the moved furniture, but she didn’t want to mention that to Theo.

He gave her a look. “It’s not
my
safety I’m worried about.”

“I see.” Of course he wouldn’t be worried about himself. It was all too clear that he could take care of his own safety. Embarrassed by how poorly prepared she was for this situation, she studied the intricate molding on the ceiling. “At any rate, I don’t even know where the front door key is. I’ll have to get Luke Bedwin from the hardware store here to take a look.”

“Do that,” he said, his voice tight. “Preferably tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” she agreed.

“And you need to call Cole tonight to report this.”

She sighed heavily. “Fine.” She walked back to the foyer, Theo following closely behind. When she reached the reception desk, she picked up the phone and dialed the Sheriff’s Department. Rhonda Lee, the secretary and dispatcher, picked up on the second ring.

“Star Harbor Sheriff’s Department, Rhonda Lee speaking. State your name, location, and the nature of the emergency.”

“Hi, Rhonda Lee, it’s Avery Newbridge at the Inn,” she said, picturing the woman with her poufy blond halo of hair. Kate had introduced them at the hardware store the other day when they were buying a power strip for the Inn. “No emergency, but I’m calling to report a possible break-in.” Theo’s brows furrowed. “Er, make that an actual break-in.” She frowned back at him.

“Okay, Avery,” Rhonda Lee said. “Are you safe? Is the place secure?”

“Yes. Theo Grayson’s here with me and whoever it was is gone.”

“Okay.” She heard a keyboard clicking in the background. “Hank Jacobs is on duty tonight. I’ll send him over to take a look.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“No problem, honey. He’ll be there in two.”

Avery hung up the phone and leaned against the desk. “Deputy Jacobs is coming.”

Theo nodded and assumed an identical position right next to her. “I’ll wait here with you.”

“You don’t have to,” she said, standing upright.

He gave her an even look, his gaze steady and firm. “Yeah, I do.”

They waited there in silence for several awkward minutes, until a rap sounded on the door. Avery went to open it.

A good-looking man with dark blond hair stood there in the heavy snowfall. “Ms. Newbridge,” Deputy Jacobs said, tipping his cap at her.

“Thank you for showing up so quickly. I’m sorry to bring you out on a night like tonight. Please come in.”

“Thanks.” He stepped in and shook off his coat. “Where did the incident occur?”

“Back here.” She led him through the corridor, Theo trailing behind. She couldn’t help but notice that while Hank wasn’t a small man, Theo dwarfed him.

Fifteen minutes later, Hank had what he needed to make his report. He’d come to the same conclusion as Theo—one person had forced entry and then returned the way he’d come, right back into the woods. Nothing seemed to be missing or out of place, so Hank left after telling her to have the lock repaired in the morning. And to start locking up at night.

“Well, that was useless,” Avery said as soon as Hank left. “He said exactly what you did.” She crossed her arms under her chest and looked at Theo crossly.

“Well, I’m a smart guy.” He stepped toward her. “Now, where were we?” he said huskily.

She took a quick step back. “I was just leaving.” She knew she should ask if he needed anything else, but she was almost afraid of what his answer might be. Before he could respond, she grabbed her coat off the desk and opened the front door, not even bothering to throw it on.

“Good night,” she said, stepping into the cold, wet snow.

“I’m walking you home, so you might as well put on your coat.”

She stiffened at his tone but did as he asked. There was no way she was going to be able to stop him after what had just happened, and she didn’t need to freeze just to get away from him.

They walked back to Kate’s house in silence, his strong hand in hers. Despite the tension between them, she couldn’t deny that she felt safe with him. Grudgingly, she had to admit that he’d known exactly how to handle the break-in. She probably would have called Kate before calling the Sheriff’s Department, but calling the police first was definitely the right thing to do. Hank had gotten there so fast. If there had been any actual danger, he would have been able to take care of it immediately.

A few moments later they reached Kate’s little Victorian at the corner of Ashumet and Edgar. She took her key out of her pocket and slipped it into the lock. But before she opened the door, she turned.

“Thank you again for dinner. And for your assistance at the Inn tonight.”

“My pleasure,” he said, his gaze boring into hers. “We’ll do it again sometime. Without the intrusion.” It was a promise, not a question.

Not if she had anything to say about it. The hammering of her heart felt strangely like fright. Except it wasn’t fright. It was something much, much more dangerous—a nameless longing, a craving for something she wished she didn’t want. Dipping her head, she ducked into the house and shut the door.

That night, it was a long time before she got to sleep.

“How did you say this happened?” Luke Bedwin asked, peering up at Kate and Avery from where he was kneeling near the busted lock. Skin creased from wind and weather, Luke was dressed in typical New England fashion—fleece-lined khaki pants, a button-down plaid shirt, and worn work boots. His Boston accent was pronounced, though not as thick as Babs Kincaide’s.

Avery took a quick look at Kate, who was wearing another bright scarf, this one in a yellow paisley pattern, before meeting Luke’s steady gaze. Curiosity and calm exuded from his soulful brown eyes.

It was nine-thirty on Thursday morning and Avery had already had three cups of coffee. Coffee wasn’t as good as hot chocolate, but she needed something to keep her awake after her less-than-restful night. “Someone broke in yesterday evening,” she said.

“Weird,” Luke said, scratching his cheek. “Everyone ’round here knows Kate keeps the front door unlocked, and people would have noticed a stranger in town this time of year.”

“Very weird,” Kate agreed. “There’s really nothing in here worth stealing, anyway.”

“What time was this?” Luke asked, removing the metal lock from the door and examining it.

“Ah, around ten-thirty,” Avery said. “I came by the Inn after dinner to organize things for today. Do you think you can fix it?”

“Well, it’s a really clumsy job. Amateur, but at least there’s not too much damage. A few of the pins inside are bent, so I’ll need to swap them out,” Luke said. “But at least I won’t need to replace the wood.”

“Yes, that’s what Theo said.”

Luke jerked his gaze up. “Theo Grayson?”

“He’s staying at the Inn.” No need to tell Luke what Theo was
really
doing when they discovered the break-in.

Luke chuckled. “Leave it to Theo to be near all the action.”

Avery was curious. “Why do you say that?”

“Well,” Luke said, leaning back on his heels, “I could tell you stories about that boy that’d make your hair curl.”

A small shiver ran up her spine. “Really?” she asked coolly, even though she felt anything but cool.

“Oh yeah,” Luke said, laughing. “Like the time he and his brothers broke into the high school during senior week, stole every chair in the whole damn place, and arranged them on the front lawn of the school to spell Star Harbor High.”

Avery frowned. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“I didn’t tell you that they chained all the chairs together. Took school administrators a couple of days to figure out how to get ’em unhooked without destroying the chairs or the chains. Called me in to do it, and eventually I just cut the chains.” He shook his head at the memory. “Or the time when they took old Mr. Runyon’s goats and set ’em loose on the Green. The mayor was not happy, seeing as how he’d just had the whole thing reseeded. And those goats were mean. Bit anyone who came near ’em.”