Promises to Keep (10 page)

Someone grabbed him from behind. It was Hayley.

“You are a great skier,” she said.

“I’ve been doing it since I was Nina’s age, so I’ve
had lots of practice.”

“You want to come into the café, because I’ve
ordered us two hot chocolates with whipped cream?”

He removed his gloves and stepped out of the skis.

“That sounds too hard to resist.”

In
fact
,
a bit like
you.

****

If only she had a guy like Cole around the inn. She
watched as he lit the logs in the main fireplace on the first attempt.

“The key is to get the kindling fired up nicely
before you put a large log on top,” he said.

Both of them put their palms toward the flames.

“Nothing more welcoming than a roaring fire,” said Cole.

“Yeah, even if I only have the
one guest who’s had to light it.”

“You mind if I sit and read my book here instead of
up in the room?” asked Cole.

“You’re the paying guest, so treat it like your
home.”

Hayley straightened up the travel brochures at
reception as Cole returned and sat in the armchair, crossed his leg so his
ankle was resting on his knee, and dived into his book.

“Can I get you anything to drink or even some
popcorn?”

“Only if you’ll join me.”

Ten minutes later, Hayley had returned with a bowl
of buttered popcorn and two sodas.

She sat down on the chair opposite Cole, loving the
warmth of the fire on her cheeks.

“So how far do you have to drive to work?” she asked
him.

“It’ll be about forty minutes from here.”

She nodded, scooping up a handful of popcorn and
popping a piece into her mouth. “Have you always been a cowboy?”

“Cowboy…I like the sound of that. Yeah, I guess I
have.
My father and grandfather before me.
I thought
about buying a ranch but Amanda, that’s my late wife, wasn’t really the ranch
sort of girl.”

“Seems like you’ve done a
wonderful job for with your children.”

He nodded. “They’re great kids and I have three
sisters who have been a big help to me. You have siblings?”

She nodded.
“One older brother and
a younger sister.”

“And you never thought of going home after you and
your fiancé parted company?”

“I did but I guess I like it here now. I’ve told
myself I’ll give it to Valentine’s Day and then I’ll have to think about
selling it or trying to get a new partner.”

“Things will work out.”

She nodded.

“Well, I’m feeling heavy eyed and I have to be up
around six, so I think I’ll head up to bed.”

They both stood at the same time and knocked the
bowl of popcorn over, spilling the remaining kernels on the carpet.

They both dived down, hitting one another’s heads in
the process.

They rubbed them and laughed. She could smell the
popcorn he’d eaten on his breath, he was that close. They looked at one another
in the same way as they had on the slope earlier that day.

He kissed her again. This time letting his lips
linger on hers. They put their arms around one another and pulled their bodies
close together. He had an erection, which made her pussy pull in a way it
hadn’t in a very long time. Was this it? Had they crossed a hurdle?

Chapter
Twelve

That had been stupid.

Not the kissing Hayley again part. But kissing her
and then knowing you were heading up to bed to catch some shuteye because you
had to be up at the crack of dawn to earn your living.

His libido was in overdrive. His cock so hard, it
hurt. Cole eased the zipper down on his jeans, sucking in his breath with each
tiny movement.

Shit, it made his eyes water.

He tugged the pants down his hips and kicked them
off his feet. Good thing he’d worn boxers, because they gave his dick some
room. It throbbed and ached as he slid the underwear from his body.

A bubble of pre-cum clung to his head.

“Yeah, it’s been a long time since you got any use.”

He stroked his shaft, hoping the room didn’t have
hidden cameras and he’d been caught talking to his penis. He’d never done that
before. Well, not since he was a teenager and had his first hard-on.

A shower was what he needed. He took off his socks
and headed into the bathroom, each step becoming a little more uncomfortable.
The erection wasn’t going away anytime soon. Maybe standing under running cold
water might help.

Cole slid the curtain back and ran the water for a
few minutes before getting into the shower.
 
He let the water splash on his face as he pushed his hair back and then
turned around and allowed it to play on his back.
 
For one crazy moment he wondered what it would
be like to shower with Hayley by his side.

Yeah,
like that’s going to help get rid of your erection.

He imagined that her breasts were full, would feel
heavy in his hands, their nipples pink and hard in his mouth.

Without realizing it he was stroking his cock. Not
that he hadn’t masturbated since he’d become a widower. Yes, he’d done that a
lot, but tonight the image he saw wasn’t of his late wife, but the woman he’d
left sitting downstairs.

His hand moved faster over his shaft. He remembered
what it felt like to be inside a woman. What would it be like to be deep within
the walls of Hayley’s pussy?

He was being a bad boy, but a man could only be good
for so long. Every male had his breaking point, and he guessed Hayley was his.

Putting his free hand on the wall of the shower, he
moved the other one faster up and down his dick.

Mmm, felt so good, especially when he was thinking
about Hayley naked, legs wide apart…

Oh man, that’s all it took for him to find release.
He rested his forehead on the cool tiles lining the bath.
 
Phew, that had been good, but he couldn’t do
that sort of thing for very much longer. Sooner or later he was going to want
the real thing.

****

Hayley was frustrated.

Cole was sending her mixed signals yet again. Why
did men always seem to do that?

She dusted the same spot on the desk for the third
time. She was emotionally spent, and sexually frustrated too. When he’d kissed
her, her pussy experienced that oh so familiar pull that said
sex now, please
. She wanted him, and
only him. She thought he’d carry her upstairs and make love to her.

Okay the carrying her up the stairs had been a
little wild, but his erection gave him away. He wanted her as much as she
wanted him.

She’d heard the shower running about ten minutes
ago. His room was directly above the reception area. She should think about
taking a cold shower, too.

Picking up the duster again, she realized she’d polished
the same spot again. The veneer would disappear if she kept this up. She tapped
the desk instead. She’d known plenty of women who’d think nothing of marching
straight up to his room, knocking on the door, pushing him back until he fell
on the bed, and then proceeding to seduce him.

She wasn’t that sort of woman.

Damn.

Maybe she’d go bake some cookies.
 
Sadie had e-mailed her the recipe from the
ex-client she’d mentioned while she’d be staying here.
 

Hayley went to her e-mail and hit print. She carried
the recipe into kitchen and sat it down.
Gen’s Famous Chocolate Chip cookies.
 
Flour, brown sugar, butter,
chocolate chip cookies, preferably 60 percent cocoa, walnuts, eggs, and
add
lots of loving as you mix the batter.

These
goodies are the true way to a man’s heart
, Sadie had added
at the bottom.

Well
we’ll see about that.

****

Cole didn’t need an alarm clock to wake him the
following morning. He could smell breakfast cooking again. He hoped that Hayley
hadn’t gone to any trouble to get up early or prepare something just for him.
Still he wouldn’t complain, because a guy could get use to this sort of thing.

He got out of bed and stretched his arms in the air.
He walked to the window and looked out. By the look of the ice and frost on the
trees he was guessing it was cold out there and the sort of day when you’d
rather be curled up in bed for a few more hours.

Once he’d shaved, showered, and put on his work
clothes, he headed downstairs. The smell of sausages got stronger with each
step he took. He turned the corner to see Hayley setting the table.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Morning.
Did
you sleep okay?”

“One of the best night’s
sleep
I’ve had in a long time.”

Probably
jerking off helped big time.

“I hope you didn’t go to any trouble with breakfast
on my account,” he said.

“You’re a paying guest.”

“Yeah, but I’m probably up earlier than people who
are simply vacationing here.”

“It doesn’t matter because I get up early. Now if
you want to sit down I have eggs, sausage, and hash browns for you.”

His mouth watered just thinking about it. He pulled
out the chair and sat while Hayley went into the kitchen and came out with a
plate overflowing with food.

“This should chase away the cold from your day. I take
it you work outside a lot,” she said, placing it in front of him.

He nodded. “Today I’m moving cattle from one pasture
to another.”

“Wow, do you have to rope them too?”

“Not usually but you can get the odd one not wanting
to move to new land.”

“I baked some chocolate chip cookies last night. You
want to take some for a snack?”

“You baked cookies last night?
After
I went to bed?”

Hayley nodded.
“A recipe from a
friend of someone who recently stayed here.”

“Okay, Betty Crocker, if you have some spare, I’d
love some.”

Hayley smiled as he took his first bite.
A great combination to start the work week.

****

She should really lock these cookies in the safe.
She hadn’t been able to stop eating them, and was glad she’d given half a dozen
of them to Cole. Hayley looked at the plate again.
Only two
remaining.
Okay, eat them and don’t make another batch until right
before Christmas.

Biting into one, she let the chocolate melt on her
tongue. Maybe this was a poor substitution for sex. Sex didn’t make you gain
weight, these goodies surely did.

Whoever Gen was she should think about marketing
these babies. Maybe she’d get her phone number and tell her.

Not giving it another thought, Hayley picked up the
last of the cookies.
A moment on the lips; forever on the
hips.

Shit, these were almost orgasmic. And no, they
weren’t a substitute. For some reason they were making her want sex even more.
Not just sex with anyone, but only Cole.

She wondered what time he got home from work. If the
effects of these baked goods hadn’t worn off by then, she was going to grab him
and make love to him on the reception floor.

****

He’d always had a sweet tooth, but nothing this bad.
The last of the chocolate chip cookies sat staring back at him. He sipped more
of his coffee and finally gave in, nibbled at the edge of a cookie, and then
quickly devoured the rest of it.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hands, he felt
somewhat guilty. But like Hayley they’d been hard to resist. Maybe it was
because they’d been made by her.

Strange thing was he wanted her more than ever. A
way to man’s heart…

He sipped more coffee, knowing his mid-afternoon
break would soon be over. He wanted her to spend the night in his bed. Well,
technically it would be hers as she owned the inn. He laughed at himself for overthinking
everything. He could sleep with her without them dating, but he wasn’t that
sort of guy. But could he date again? He’d vowed never to.

Thumping the wood beam where he was standing, he
noticed a few stray chocolate chips sitting at the bottom of the bag Hayley had
wrapped the cookies in.

He reached in and then popped them into his mouth,
letting them melt over his tongue. Even the chocolate tasted like it had been
made in heaven.

“You okay?”