Breaking Free: A Colorado High Country Crossover Novel, Pamela Clare [i can read book club .TXT] 📗

gaze slid over her, pausing on her breasts and belly, sending a trill of excitement through her. It had been such a long time since she’d been with a man, so long since a man had made her feel desired or even desirable.

You’ll be sorry if you sleep with him.

Yes, she probably would. But she might regret it even more if she didn’t.

“You ready?”

Yes. Yes, she was.

Chapter 11

Jason had only himself to blame.

He could have turned down the Wests’ offer of a night at the ranch and gone back to McBride’s. He’d be shooting the shit with Zach over a couple of beers now instead of wondering how he was going to keep his hands off Winona.

God, she was perfect. Everything about her made him want her—the gentle curves of her breasts, the flare of her hips, her slender legs, the way her gaze moved over him. But he’d been down this road before, and it led nowhere.

None of those women were Winona.

They sure as hell weren’t.

Winona started toward the door. “This water is going to feel so good after hiking in the cold wind.”

“Yeah,” he managed to say, following her, his eyes drawn to the irresistibly sweet mounds of her ass, which shifted enticingly as she walked.

She opened the sliding glass door and stepped outside into the snow without the slightest hesitation.

Jason had never walked barefoot in snow before. “That’s cold.”

“Don’t tell me a little snow is too much for a Desert Person,” she teased. “In the winter when we do the inipi—our name for the sweat lodge ceremony—we often have to walk barefoot through snow. When I walk from the lodge to the women’s tipi to change afterward, my hair and clothes freeze almost instantly.”

He couldn’t imagine that. “Don’t you worry about hypothermia?”

“We’re so warm from the lodge that the cold feels good.” She held the handrail and stepped down into the hot water, her sigh of pleasure as she sank up to her chin sending a rush of blood to Jason’s groin. “Oh, this is wonderful.”

Jason did his best to hide his growing erection as he made his way down into the water, the heat sending tingles of pleasure up his spine. “Is now the time to tell you I’ve never been in a hot tub before?”

She gaped at him. “Never?”

“Never.”

Snow fell steadily from the sky, melting on the surface of the water and landing in their hair and on his bare shoulders, the forest around them silent. Even the coyotes were quiet now. Overhead, storm clouds hid the stars. It felt magical.

Or maybe that was Winona.

She moved toward him through the water and ran a finger over the scar on his shoulder, concern on her pretty face. “Is this where you were shot?”

His pulse tripped.

He looked down at the line of heat her fingertips traced over his skin. “Yeah. A trafficker took a shot at me from behind some rocks. It wasn’t bad—just a deep graze.”

“I bet it was painful.”

“At the time, I was just pissed.”

“Did he get away?”

Jason shook his head. “The Wolf pack surrounded him and brought him in.”

She ran her fingertips over his tattoo. “Does this mean something?”

He watched her as her fingers explored the maze, his blood hotter than the water now. “It’s the Man in the Maze. The little guy here is I’itoi, who helped Creator make our people. He’s a bit of a trouble-maker. We call him Elder Brother. The maze represents the journey of life and death—the choices we face, the unexpected turns, the dead ends. The center represents your dream, the purpose of your life, the end of your journey.”

Lips he wanted to kiss curved in a smile. “I like that.”

Then she touched the scar above his left nipple. “Were you shot here, too?”

Jason sucked in a breath, his control dangerously close to shattering. Was she doing this on purpose? If she was, it was working.

“That was a knife.” Jason fought to remember what had happened, his thoughts scattered, his senses and his mind focused entirely on her. “I was cuffing a guy. He went for my throat. We fought. His blade got beneath my body armor.”

“God, Jason.” Her fingers caressed the ridge of puckered flesh, her body mere inches from his now. “I’m so sorry.”

Jason knew he shouldn’t do this for both their sakes. He’d be leading them both down a path that went nowhere. He couldn’t abandon his people to be with her. She would never leave Chaska and her family. If they turned this corner, they would both pay for it later. But, God, he wanted her.

He cupped her face between his palms, touched his forehead to hers. “I want you, Win. I want to kiss you. I want to go back inside, strip off that bikini, and do all manner of things you. But there’s no way we can be together, and I don’t want to hurt you. Tell me to keep my hands to myself, and I’ll back off.”

She moved closer, ran her palms over his chest, and looked straight into his eyes. “Kiss me.”

Winona felt Jason’s heartbeat quicken beneath her palm, saw the heat in his eyes, sensed the battle inside him. Her heart was beating fast, too, her body shaking.

His gaze searched hers, a big hand coming to rest on her hip, then sliding slowly up her back, the heat of his touch making her gasp.

“Jason.”

He brushed his lips over hers, again and again, burning little hints of kisses, the contact sending shivers up her spine, making her lips tingle.

He drew back and exhaled, a slow, shuddering breath. “Tell me to stop, Win.”

“I don’t want you to stop. Can’t we have tonight?”

He moaned and drew her hard against him, strong arms enfolding her, his lips at last claiming hers.

God, yes.

He didn’t rush her, but took his sweet time, exploring her, tasting her tongue, nipping her lips with the sharp edges of his teeth. She gave herself over to his kisses, sliding her hands up his chest and over