Page 1 of One Snowy Seduction
CHAPTER1
Christmas Day
Chalet Beau Cadeau
Méribel, France
This was going to be the best Christmas vacation ever.
It had to be, ‘cause there was no telling when Teesha would ever get the chance to stay at a fancy ski resort in, of all places, The French Alps, again. This was a dream come true, one of the top three items on her bucket list that she’d never actually thought she’d get to scratch off. But thanks to an online auction that she’d found a month ago while randomly searching “dreams”—when she should’ve been working on her new gaming pitch—she’d just opened the door and stepped into an exclusive chalet.
Light poured in through a wall of windows across a huge living room with ivory colored fur rugs covering thick-planked wood floors. Snow-capped mountains and white-tipped trees provided a magnificent panorama to what she’d already assumed would be a fantastic chalet. Charleston Mariana Properties, the development company who owned this and several other resorts, was nationally renowned. She’d looked them up right after receiving the email notifying her that she was a winner. It didn’t matter that she was the runner-up—the first winner had missed the seven days allotted to respond in early December and Teesha’s bid had been the second highest.
It’d been a total fluke that she’d found the auction. Yet, the decision to bid the moment she saw this six-night, seven-day all-expense paid trip to the inclusive resort, had come quick. She’d bid the entire eight hundred and twenty-three dollars she’d managed to save in her Christmas club account. Of course, that money had been earmarked to purchase gifts for her parents, brother and cousins, but after the year she’d had, Teesha decided that she deserved to treat herself. Besides, the proceeds from the auction were going to a good cause—The Christmas Dreams Do Come True non-profit organization granted wishes and provided gifts to children nationwide. As a former youth leader at her church and the favorite big cousin in her large family, there was no denying her love of children. Even if she’d pushed the dream of having her own kids to the farthest corner of her mind, locked the door and tossed the key down the same dark hole she’d put the key to her heart.
She set her bags down and turned to close the door, but a sound from behind had her quickly jumping and turning back to face the windows. While she loved to ski, the great outdoors wasn’t her favorite place. Especially not wooded areas which she could clearly see through the large windows. Trees that stretched toward the sky, snow that sparkled, both had her itching to get out on the slopes. What she wasn’t in the mood for was whatever might be lingering behind those trees once the sun went down.
Easing down the two steps into the sunken living room area, she tiptoed through the space, looking around for what could’ve caused that sound. Praying whatever it was, wasn’t inside this place with her. She moved past a sectional that could easily fit eight people, which made sense considering the chalet had five ensuite bedrooms. This place was clearly designed for group accommodations, but for the next seven days it would be all hers. That pleasant thought had her momentarily forgetting about any sounds, other than her little squeak of glee as she started doing a little two-step. She was on a week-long vacation in a French resort and all it had cost her was a charitable donation. Merry, merry Christmas to her!
Teesha’s dance of joy at that thought took her into a circle, her arms going up in the air the way they did whenever she heard music—albeit in her mind this time—because she’d always loved to dance. Even if most times it was to her own rhythm. Nevermind that, there was no one in this chalet to see her stiff and uncoordinated moves so she felt free from judgement and embarrassment. In fact, she just felt free. Swaying her hips as she turned again, she was just about to drop it low when she saw…it…
A scream died in her throat as her two-step moved her back until she bumped into the circular coffee table. And her eyes remained transfixed on the mostly naked man standing across the room.
“What the—” she tried to choke out the words, but her gaze kept dipping down to where a beige towel hung low on his hips, down to the undeniable bulge beneath that towel and…and she coughed because that bulge was so…so...
“Who are you…wait, Teesha?”
She blinked, her gaze shooting back up to the just about naked guy with the big…and stared into familiar gray eyes. “Kendrick?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I can ask you the same and why are you naked?” Not that she was complaining about the view because, damn, she so wasn’t complaining. When did her ex-college bestie start looking like a whole caramel-toned snack?
“I thought there was a damn intruder down here and I came to check it out.” Was his voice deeper? Had the sound of it always run across her skin like warm oil?
Her brows arched. “In a towel…and nothing else?” It was the nothing else that had her swallowing the insta-lust that threatened to choke her. “And again, what are you even doing here?”
She hadn’t seen him in nine years. They’d both been seniors at Virginia Tech then. They’d been friends for three years prior to that, but after the internship debacle, that friendship had ended and she’d never thought about Kendrick McLaughlin again.
That was a big ‘ole whopper of a lie. But he didn’t need to know that. Just like he didn’t need to know how she was reacting to seeing him standing there with nothing but that towel keeping a cordial distance between them.
“This is my place,” he snapped and adjusted the towel so that it appeared tighter around his waist now.
“And you were gonna defend it with what? Your um…” She couldn’t help it, her gaze dipped low again, to that neat V that disappeared below the towel. She licked her lips and then shook her head to clear the wanton thoughts from her mind. “Wait, did you say this is your place? How’s that possible? I won a trip to stay here for the week.”
He took a step forward and she attempted to stand up straighter, but the effort only led to her bumping into the coffee table again. This time she almost toppled backward. She had to do some more feet shuffling to keep from landing on her ass in front of the guy she’d sworn would be her enemy until her dying day.
“Whoa,” he said and came even closer. He reached out like he intended to grab her, but she skirted around the table, until the wide glass-topped circle now separated them. He huffed. “I rented this place for the week as well,” he continued. “At least I had my assistant make the arrangements and I was given a key to this place when I got here.”
She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her key. “So was I.”
He ran a hand down his face. A finely sculpted face with just a hint of dark hair brushing his chin and a thin mustache. His brow was furrowed as if he were just as perplexed as she was. Familiar and yet, different. That’s what she’d say about his features. There was enough that she’d known it was Kendrick right from the start, but that chiseled chest, those expertly carved and tatted biceps, the six-pack, the bulge, all that was different. And mouthwatering.
“Okay,” he said with a nod before his bare feet moved him across the room. “This is just a mix-up and I’ll get it taken care of ASAP.”
He’d moved into what was the kitchen area of the massive space now and she followed because what else was she supposed to do? There was a long wood-topped table with ten ivory leather-backed chairs around it separating the living room from the big open kitchen. On top of the table was a black messenger bag that he flipped the top open and reached inside to grab his phone.
Teesha watched him swipe his fingers over that phone and then take a couple of steps toward the other end of the table before putting it to his ear. He stood with his back to her now and she marveled at the curve of his ass, the strength in his shoulders. Even his calves were sculpted and sexy as sin.Damn.Kendrick had grown up to be one seriously fine dude. Too bad he was also the spawn of the devil with a devious streak that had sabotaged her career before it had even begun.
