Free Business Affairs by Shirley Rogers Page B

suggested to Alex they get an early start for home, but he’d wanted to ski up to the last minute. When he’d asked her about changing the times of their return flight so they could ski longer, she hadn’t had the heart to refuse.
    In hindsight, maybe it hadn’t been such a great idea for them to postpone their departure. Seeing Alex straight ahead, she negotiated her way toward him. She’d thought she’d done a good job of navigating the snow until she plowed right into him, knocking him off his feet. She went flying, landing on top of him. Laughing, she smiled at him.
    â€œOops, sorry. Again.”
    â€œTaking a shot at me, huh?” Alex laughed with her, then grabbed a fistful of snow and shoved it under her scarf. Jennifer squealed and fought to get away from him. Grabbing her around her waist, he rolled her over and pinned her in the snow with his body.
    â€œStop! Please!” she begged. She was at his mercy, but she wasn’t really complaining. They’d had quite a few tussles in the snow over the weekend, each one ending up with her underneath him. Alex had taken the liberty of kissing her frequently since their sleigh ride. Jennifer knew she should put a stop to it, but she couldn’t. And each time he kissed her, she flirted with the idea of inviting him to her bed. So far she’d resisted the temptation. And today they were leaving.
    She was out of the woods. A few hours and they’d be back at home. Back to normal. No damage done.
    Except to her heart.
    â€œMake me,” Alex challenged, meeting her gaze. She stopped fighting him and he settled his body more firmly on hers.
    â€œYou have a hidden evil streak.” She pouted, her bottom lip prominent.
    Lowering his head, he traced it with his tongue. “You know I find that sexy,” he whispered, then kissed her mouth. A slow, deep kiss that caused her to moan. Alex had been testing his resolve not to touch her. It was a good thing their weekend was ending. If they were together another day, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to resist making love to her.
    â€œAlex,” Jennifer whispered when he pulled away. They’d tempted each other, but they’d never talked about it.
    It was a dangerous game.
    Soon they would return to the real world and he would change into the serious, driven man she worked for. This weekend she’d enjoyed getting to know the man beneath the cool facade he presented to the rest of the world. Though she’d known he could be charming, she loved his wit. He was easygoing to a fault, and compassionate and tender, which she’d learned when she’d taken a hard tumble on the slope. Alex had pulled off his gloves and run his hands underneath her ski suit, checking her all over to make sure she was all right.
    Jennifer had been far from all right, but it hadn’t been from falling. His hands on her body had been sweet torture. More than ever, she’d wanted to forget her promise to herself to keep their relationship platonic.
    â€œWant me to show you how evil I can be?” he asked, giving her a devilish grin. He pushed his hips against hers.
    â€œOh, Alex, you don’t play nice,” she teased, but her smile was more of an invitation. She sucked in a breath and tried to distract him. “All right. Enough. Alex, wehave to get ready to leave. It’s snowing harder. I’m starting to worry about going down the mountain in this weather.”
    â€œYou’re right.” He grumbled as he rolled off of her and stood. Helping her up, he brushed the snow off of them both. “Let’s head back.”
    They returned her skis and made it to the lodge. On their way through the lobby to their rooms, they noticed a small crowd around the check-in desk. They stopped to listen.
    â€œWhat’s happening?” Alex asked a young man standing nearby.
    â€œThey’re saying we can’t leave,” he told them. “Something about