Jingle Spells (4 page)

“No. Well, technically we're all dying, but—”

“Don't give me some existential bull. Are you terminally ill?”

“No. Taryn, don't quiz me, okay? It's getting us nowhere.”

“It could get me somewhere, because if I guess the right thing, you won't be able to lie about it. I know that about you.”

“You won't guess it.”

“That's what you think.” The light of battle gleamed in her eyes. “I've solved tougher puzzles than this, buster.”

“Then I'm asking you, for both our sakes, to stop trying. Please let it go.”

“But that means I have to let
you
go.”

“And vice versa.”

“And that's what you want?”

“No.” His brain continued to fizz with sexual frustration. “Well, yes, for your sake.”

“Damn, you're stubborn.”

“Says the pot to the kettle.”

She looked into his eyes for a moment longer. Then she sighed. “Okay, then, let's head to Colorado and get this over with.” She loosened her grip on his head and backed out of his arms.

“Right.” He leaned down and picked up the handle of her suitcase. He couldn't remember feeling more lost and alone.

They walked in silence to the elevator. As the doors opened and she stepped inside, she glanced at him. “Nice kiss, by the way.”

“Thanks.” He was afraid his longing was being reflected in his eyes, but he couldn't summon a poker face right now. “You, too.”

She leaned against the brass railing as the elevator started its descent. “So let me get this straight. You want me, and I want you, but we can never be together for reasons you can't tell me, and it's all for my own good. Is that what you're saying?”

“Yes.” He stayed on the opposite side of the elevator.

“But, because I hacked into your database, you need me to correct the weaknesses in your system, which means we'll be in the same general area for a few days.”

“True. In fact, I'll be the one driving you back and forth from the inn to the office.”

“Hmm.” Speculation shone in her hazel eyes.

He'd always enjoyed watching her think about technical issues, but now she was thinking about
him,
and he wasn't entirely comfortable with that. “I'm the logical one to do it.”

“Makes sense. You hired me, and we already know each other. I also assume you want to know about what I find, so we'll have to work together during the day.”

“Some.”

“Won't that be...frustrating?”

He couldn't pretend to misunderstand. “Probably.”

“Won't you want to kiss me again?”

“Yes.”

“And take me to bed?”

He swallowed. “Yes, but—”

“Then why not enjoy each other before we go our separate ways?”

His heart hammered. Earlier today he'd been very clear in his mind about why that was a bad idea. But he wasn't the one who'd suggested it, which made all the difference. “You'd be okay with that?”

She smiled. “I'll take you any way I can get you.”

Chapter 4

T
aryn loved having the last word, and handing Cole's earlier comment back to him had been a triumphant moment. The elevator opened immediately after she delivered that line, which worked out well, because they were no longer alone, and wouldn't be for some time. He'd have hours to contemplate her suggestion with absolutely no way of acting on it.

At the end of that time, he should be a testosterone-driven, heat-seeking missile. That was the Cole Evergreen she wanted in her feather bed at the Nutcracker Inn tonight. And tonight would be only the beginning of her two-pronged attack.

Now that she knew he wanted her, she wasn't about to let him get away, at least not easily. He might refuse to tell her what the barriers were between them, but she was heading into his territory, and the answer was there. She just knew it.

By day, she'd take every opportunity to snoop around. By night, she'd drive Cole insane in bed. If she hadn't made him hers by the time she left Colorado, then maybe it was an impossible task. But she wasn't giving up without a fight.

The Evergreen corporate jet proved to be a luxurious way to travel. Increasingly, she had trouble believing that Christmas ornaments, beautiful though they might be, were financing this kind of perk. If nothing illegal was going on, and she trusted Cole's answer on that, then what explained the company's success?

If she found the answer to that, she might discover the big secret that Cole wouldn't reveal—the one that kept them from living happily ever after. She hoped it wasn't a dangerous secret, the kind that a person had to be killed for once they knew it. That was highly unlikely. Cole would never put her in danger. She knew that as surely as she knew he loved her.

She'd figured that out two seconds into their kiss. As a college student she might have confused love with lust. She wouldn't make that mistake now. He lusted after her, all right, but the passion of his kiss included a large measure of tenderness. Then she'd made him look at her, just to be absolutely sure.

He was in love and always had been. Ditto for her. If she'd ever doubted it, that doubt was gone. For some reason, he hadn't been able to figure out a way around the issue that divided them, whatever it was. She brought a fresh perspective, and—if she allowed herself to be honest—a tiny bit more analytical ability than Cole had.

Once she understood what she was dealing with, she'd find a way to make everything work out. They deserved each other, and they'd already missed out on ten years of happiness because she hadn't been proactive. She didn't intend to let them miss out on any more.

Throughout the first half of the flight, Cole kept glancing at her, as if still wrestling with the ethics of her suggestion. They couldn't talk about it, of course, because the flight attendant never strayed far. She served the meal and refilled their wine glasses. Then she cleared the main course and brought out dessert.

Taryn made small talk about changes in the tech industry since they'd been in school together. Cole participated in the discussion, but his mind wasn't on it. She could always tell those things. He was thinking about whether he was capable of a fling.

Poor man. He wasn't the kind who had sex with a woman for the hell of it. Even in college, they hadn't taken that step until they'd established a solid friendship. The thought of a short-lived affair would stick in his craw.

She didn't intend for it to be the least bit short. If all went according to plan, this affair would last for the rest of their lives. But she couldn't tell him that and tip her hand. She had to mislead him, which was heartbreakingly easy to do.

After she'd accomplished her goal, she would never lie to him again. She'd been touched by his willingness tonight to believe what she told him, even when it had been something as illogical as putting out the cat eighteen stories up. His trusting nature would serve her well in the days ahead, but in the long run, a man like Cole should never be lied to. That was taking unfair advantage of an endearing trait.

Toward the end of the meal, he smothered a yawn.

She glanced over at him. “You're tired, aren't you?”

“A little.”

“Then take a nap.”

His dark eyebrows rose. “Now who's the bossy one?”

“Just don't think you have to entertain me. If you're sleepy, recline your seat and rest up.” She fought the urge not to smile. Little did he know she had ulterior motives for wanting him well-rested when they arrived in Gingerbread.

“Nah, I'm fine.”

“If you say so. But I'm going to read for a while.” She dug in her messenger bag and pulled out her tablet. Moments later, she glanced up from the screen. He was out. For all she knew, he'd been up all night worrying about her invasion of his database.

She couldn't help feeling remorseful about what she'd put him through, but apparently it had been for a worthy cause. He'd been pining for her as much as she'd been pining for him. She returned to the screen, but it wasn't nearly as interesting as the man beside her. Turning off the tablet, she leaned her head against her seatback and watched him sleep.

She used to do that all the time in college. Maybe his habits had changed, but at that time he'd required eight to ten hours a night, while she could get by on five. When she'd wake up in his bed and he'd still be dead to the world, she'd lie there and study his features—the high cheekbones, the elegant nose, the square jaw.

Sometimes she'd sketch that face. Tucking her tablet back in her bag, she took out the small sketchbook she carried with her, along with her favorite pencil. Although she'd never taken an art class and had no desire to study the subject, she sketched because it relaxed her.

After Cole had left MIT so abruptly, she'd ripped up every sketch she'd made of him. Then she'd regretted destroying them, because they'd captured him in a way photographs never had. Now she could create some more.

She became so lost in her work that she was surprised when the pilot announced they were landing. The flight attendant sat down and buckled up, which put her out of earshot.

Cole blinked and lifted his head. Then he glanced at the sketchbook in her lap. His gaze met hers. “You're still drawing?”

“Yep.”

“You used to have a whole bunch like that. Well, I looked younger in them. In this version I notice a few extra lines here and there.”

“Gives you character.”

“Sure, it does.” He chuckled. “Whatever happened to the other ones?”

“I tore them up.”

He flinched. “Don't blame you.” He lowered his voice. “That was a bonehead way to leave, but I had no choice.”

“So I gather.”

Regret darkened his green eyes. “That idea you had? It won't work.”

She wasn't about to let him wiggle out of her trap. “I was twenty when I ripped up those sketches. I'm not that same girl. I've toughened up.”

He smiled. “Maybe I haven't.”

“Well, I can't speak for you. But personally, I think it would be a crime to waste the opportunity.” She tapped the eraser end of her pencil against her lower lip, hoping to draw his attention there.

It worked. He watched as she caressed her lip with the eraser. “I'm worried...” He stopped to clear his throat. “I'm worried about fallout.”

“Are you?” She nibbled on the eraser. “We never had that problem before. Everything stayed where it was supposed to.”

He launched into such a violent coughing fit that the flight attendant called back to ask if he needed water. “I'm fine,” he said in a strangled voice. “No worries.”

“Here.” Taryn took out the complimentary bottle of water she'd been offered during the limo ride to the airport and thrust it into his hand. “Drink.”

He nodded and gulped some water. Then he sank back against his seat. “You need to warn me before you say something like that.”

“That would take all the fun out of it.”

He handed her the bottle with a grin. “Honest to God, Taryn. There's no one quite like you.”

“I am somewhat of a special snowflake.”

His eyes probed hers. “Can you promise me you won't melt?”

“Absolutely.”

His voice dropped even lower. “Because you tempt me more than I can say.”

“Back atcha. Oh, and I've been told that someone booked me into a room with a feather bed and a woodburning fireplace.”

“Is that right?” His tone was casual but his expression was not. “How thoughtful.”

“So what happens after we land?”

“I left my car at the airport, so I'll drive us to Gingerbread and...drop you off at the inn.”

She didn't think it would go that way. “Will I need to check in?”

“Not tonight. I didn't want to disturb Mrs. Gustafson at this late hour, so I asked her for the front door key and your room key. You'll sign the register in the morning. You're on the second floor. You can go straight to bed.”

She lowered her lashes. “That sounds lovely.”

“Doesn't it, though?”

“I'll need some help with my bag.”

“I bet you will. I suppose you'd like me to bring it up for you?”

She lifted her lashes. “Oh, yes, please. All the way up.”

“Good Lord.” He sucked in a breath. “What have I gotten myself into?”

“Nothing, yet. But I'm hoping before too long, you'll remedy that.”

“
Taryn.
”

“If you keep feeding me these great lines, how can I resist?”

“The bigger question is, how can
I
resist?”

“You can't, and you know it.” She smiled at him. “Surrender to the inevitable, Cole Evergreen.”

* * *

Cole was going to do exactly that. He'd been a sucker for her smart mouth back at MIT, and nothing had changed. She still delighted in taunting him, and he wanted her more with every saucy word that passed her sweet lips. Luckily he found a twenty-four-hour drugstore on the way back to Gingerbread.

Because he had to concentrate on his driving instead of thinking about sex, especially on snowy roads, he resorted to a trick he and Taryn had come up with at MIT. Switching on the car radio, he found a station that played eighties tunes—the same music they'd memorized as kids. Then the two of them belted out the lyrics along with Duran Duran, a-ha and The Police all the way to Gingerbread.

Somewhere on that journey, as they laughed and sang together, he became twenty-two again, complete with reckless thoughts and powerful sex drive. When he'd first heedlessly plunged into a relationship with Taryn, she was the hottest, smartest female he'd ever met.

She was everything he'd wanted, with one tiny exception. She wasn't a witch, let alone a witch from the Winter Clan. He'd glossed over that detail, certain that he'd find a way around her inconvenient status as a non-magickal being. But then, he'd been called away on a family emergency and he'd never gotten the chance to return to college and figure out a way to address the problem.

Someday he might bitterly regret falling in with her plan. But that was someday, and this was now. A now filled with the kind of heart-pounding excitement he hadn't felt in a very long time.

After parking the sleek black sedan in a lot adjacent to the inn, he hauled her suitcase out of the trunk and they hurried, still laughing from their sing-along, to the inn's front porch.

She stood next to him, shivering a little, as he located the keys in his coat pocket. “I feel like a kid out after curfew.”

“It's the music. We stepped in a time warp.” He opened the front door and gestured for her to go inside.

“Exactly.” She spoke in hushed tones. “It's just like that first time we spent the night together. Remember that?”

“I'll never forget it.” He breathed in the scent of lemon oil and apple strudel. The main floor was dark except for a small light on the antique desk by the front door. Wall sconces glowed at intervals along the stairway leading to the second floor.

“I was so nervous.” Taryn walked on tiptoe to the bottom of the steps. “I was afraid you'd think I was too skinny.”

He followed her up the stairs, careful not to let the suitcase bump against the railing. “I was afraid I'd come too fast.”

“Which you did.” She giggled softly.

“Yeah, but I made up for it later.”

“Yes, that's true.”

“Saved my rep.” That first time, he'd been so incredibly turned on by her he'd lasted about thirty seconds. But at twenty-two, his recovery time had been phenomenal. During the next go-round, he'd given her two orgasms.

“That was my first orgasm with a guy.”

“It was? Wish you'd told me. We could have celebrated.”

“I was too shy to admit it. I figured you'd think I was a dork. I wanted you to think of me as cool and sophisticated.”

“I did.”

“Really?”

“You were the coolest girl I'd ever met. You understood string theory.” He paused. “Your room's at the end of the hall, on the right.”

She headed down the hallway, her footsteps muffled on the patterned carpet runner. “I didn't want to be cool because I was smart. I wanted to be cool because I was sexy.”

“You were sexy, too.”

“You're just saying that.”

“Nope.” He followed her down the narrow hallway. Soon. Very soon. “Smart is sexy, at least to me, it is. Besides, you had a killer body.”

“
Had
?”

“
Have
.” He thought it was cute she was worried about that, especially when she had nothing to worry about. “Still. Even more so.”

“Yeah, right. You're supposed to say stuff like that when you're about to see me naked for the first time in years. I'm nervous just thinking about it.”

“You think you're nervous? I figure I'm destined to repeat that first night.”