Winter Fire: A Red Hot Winter Story Read Free

the flames on the logs.
    “Did you design this?” he asked.
    “Uh huh.” It was one of her favorite pieces. An intricately woven gold chain with tiny diamonds embedded along its length.
    “Impressive.” He gave an appreciative nod. “I’ve never seen gold quite that color before.”
    Rachel smiled, enjoying the feel of her arm in his hand. How would her breasts feel in that same hand? “Copper gives it the pink tinge.”
    He looked up, clearly surprised. “You mix gold with copper?”
    “Uh huh. Mixing gold with different metals creates the different shades of gold.”
    “You’re an alchemist,” Garreth murmured.
    “Hardly.” Rachel chuckled. “I don’t make gold. I simply alter its color a little.”
    Garreth flashed her a seductive grin. “Same difference.”
    The wine settled in her belly in a pleasant puddle. Her limbs relaxed and her muscles loosened. She didn’t try to pull her arm away. She was more than content with it in Garreth’s hand. He had long, slim fingers. Fingers she could easily imagine trailing up her arms and over her shoulders, leaving goose bumps in their wake.
    “So, what else did you need a break from?” he asked.
    Ah. Back to that conversation. “Life in general. Nothing specific.” No need to mention her spectacular failure at building romantic relationships, or the little issue of spending the last twelve years in love with a man she could never have—no matter how much they might want to be together.
    He raised an eyebrow. “Not even a man? A certain journalist friend perhaps?”
    She gaped at him. How on earth had he singled out Jackson so quickly?
    “You blushed earlier,” he said.
    “When?” Her free hand flew to her cheek. Was she still blushing? Flushed at the thought of Jackson?
    “When you mentioned your friend. Your cheeks turned pink. Just like your bracelet. A most alluring color on you I might add.” His gaze settled on her face. “It’s a damn pity.”
    “What is?”
    He smiled at her ruefully. “That there is a Mr. Beautiful out there.”
    Rachel’s jaw dropped. Good grief. Just how much had he determined about her feelings for Jackson. She couldn’t be that open a book, could she? She licked her very dry lips. “Jackson’s a friend. Nothing more.” They could never be anything more, and they both knew it. No matter what they felt for each other, they’d had to shove it aside and pretend it didn’t exist.
    History had taught the Brooks siblings that terrible things could happen if they dated each other’s friends. And Rachel was Jenna’s best friend.
    “I had to ask,” Garreth said, and then smiled his devilish smile. “I had to check out the competition.”
    Rachel arched an eyebrow.
    “If I have any hope of getting you into my bed tonight,” he explained, “I have to know exactly what I’m dealing with.”
    “You’re hoping to get me into bed tonight?”
    “Kissing beside a fire is nice. Making love in a king-size bed is sensational.” The smile was gone. His eyes burned with the intensity of his words.
    She tilted her head. “So if I climbed into that king-size bed with you, there wouldn’t be any kissing?” She gave him a pouty frown. “Pity. I’ve been fantasizing about those heated kisses beside the fireplace.”
    “And I’ve been fantasizing about making love to you in the king-size bed in my chalet.”
    “Hmm.” She tapped her finger on her lips, pondering the quandary. “Seems we’ve reached an impasse. I want one thing, you want another.”
    “Seems we have,” he agreed.
    “What to do, what to do?” she wondered out loud.
    “You big on compromise?” he asked.
    “Depends on the terms of the compromise,” she answered.
    His green eyes sparkled. “What if the king-size bed were beside the fireplace?”

Chapter Two
    It wasn’t.
    His bed was on the other side of the luxurious chalet. Flames leapt behind an iron grid in the fireplace, which sat against the opposite wall of the large room, facing a double