Chapter Nine
Nine
They were all alone...
Leslie wondered why that thought bothered her when it shouldn’t. They had been alone on the flight coming here, but that was different. They hadn’t been in a parked car in the middle of nowhere in years. Total blackness surrounded them.
However, they did have a full moon in the sky that provided some light in the interior of the car. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sloan’s head tilt back against the headrest. She sighed. Sharing a parked car on a secluded lot with Sloan Outlaw was not a good idea.
She was about to suggest they forget about seeing the Northern Lights when he asked, “Have you ever thought about expanding your business beyond Alaska, Leslie?”
Sloan’s question made her realize whatever sexual chemistry she felt was one-sided.
The only thing on Sloan’s mind right now was business.
She should have been grateful for that, but she couldn’t help feeling a little let down.
There was a time when being in a parked car with him automatically meant only one thing.
Was he letting her know those days were long gone?
“I haven’t had time to think about it. Dad was contemplating it, though. He’d thought about testing the market by doing an exclusive line in Hollywood.”
“Hollywood?”
“Yes. There are several makeup artists there who only use our brand. We ship it directly to them.” After shifting in her seat, she said, “Why do you ask?”
“I was just wondering. Like I was telling the Yules over dinner, companies that are just doing business in Alaska are missing out on bigger markets.”
Leslie nodded. “I’ll eventually get there. After Dad died, my main concentration was holding on to the company. I got wind of what Martin Longshire was up to the day after Dad’s funeral. Unlike what he did with the Yules, with me he wasn’t keeping his plans a secret.”
She then recalled that she’d never asked how Sloan had known Cassidy Cosmetics was under a hostile takeover. “How did you know what Longshire was up to with my company, Sloan?” He switched on the car’s heater. She appreciated that and figured her occasional shivers had given her away.
“It was a conversation Redford shared with me at Tyler and Keosha’s wedding. Evidently he slept with one of Longshire’s employees, who shared the plan.”
“I see.”
When the car got quiet, she decided to keep conversation going and asked, “So what are your plans for Christmas?”
Sloan figured it would not be a good idea to tell her that his plan for Christmas was her. She knew he wanted her for Christmas. Now he couldn’t dismiss that things went a lot deeper than that. Even after they spent a week together at the cabin, she would still be alone for the holidays.
For days he’d been battling with the thought that he didn’t care, only to finally accept that he did.
As absurd as it might sound, he wanted her to spend the holidays with him even after the time they spent at the cabin.
It would be her first Christmas without her father, and he didn’t want to think of her hurt and all alone.
Why he even gave a damn he wasn’t sure, but he did.
Knowing she was waiting for his response, he said, “I told you about my cousins, the Westmorelands.”
“Yes.”
“Since getting to know them, it has become a habit to spend the holidays with them.”
She lifted a brow. “Why?”
He wasn’t surprised she asked, because she knew how, thanks to Bart, their family used to be considered unsociable and unfriendly years ago.
“We have a lot in common and enjoy spending time with them. Besides, their charitable foundation holds this huge event every year around the holidays. It’s a meaningful time together, and it’s also fun.
We consider it family bonding time.” He hoped she would get to see firsthand how meaningful things were for the Westmoreland family, a family the Outlaws were now a part of.
All of a sudden, he heard her sharp intake of breath.
He followed her gaze and saw what had caught her attention.
The Northern Lights. Prisms of color flooded the skies in a brilliant display.
He thought now what he thought every time he saw it—it was a powerful thing.
While growing up, he’d always felt fortunate that the state where he was born could claim this beauty in a way others could not.
“I have to get out of the car,” Leslie said, opening the car door.
Following her lead, Sloan got out as well. Outside, it seemed as if the sky was right there on top of them. Mr. Yule had been right. Sloan had seen the Northern Lights from several sites over the years, but he thought this particular location was the best.
He and Leslie were standing side by side in front of the car. When he felt her shiver, he turned to see her tighten her coat and scarf around herself while still looking up into the sky. “Beautiful.”
Sloan had to agree. However, he was not looking up at the sky but at her. She was as beautiful as the Northern Lights. In fact, the sky’s prism seemed to highlight her features in a way that brought out her beauty even more.
“Yes, it is beautiful,” he said and looked up into the sky. The last thing he wanted was to give away what he was thinking.
He then decided to tack on, “Mr. Yule was right. This is the best place to see it.” When she shivered again, he instinctively wrapped his arms around her to share his heat. Wordlessly, they stood together, looking up at the sky.
Sloan wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but the temperature had dropped even more, and they needed to get back inside the car. He was about to tell her that when he saw her staring at him.
At that moment, something happened that he hadn’t expected.
He momentarily forgot that she was the reason for his first heartbreak.
That she was the reason he refused to fall in love again.
Instead, he was remembering other times when they had gone to a secluded area, gotten out of the car and stood beneath an Alaskan sky. Usually, they would kiss.
They had never shared a kiss under the Northern Lights.
Why did he want to do so now? He mentally told himself to release her and step back, suggest they get in the car and leave.
However, for some reason he couldn’t do that.
Instead, he gave in to temptation and leaned in to capture her mouth with his.
The moment their mouths touched, the taste he’d thought he had forgotten renewed itself in every part of his being.
Ten years ago, he and Leslie had been a lot younger, carefree and in love.
Now they were older, serious-minded and no longer in love.
But that didn’t stop his gloved hands from moving over her shoulders while his mouth feasted on hers.
And when his hands lowered to her back, he could feel her heat even through his gloves and her coat.
She was kissing him back. That let him know she was enjoying the reunion of their mouths as much as he was.
When his tongue took hold of hers, he tried to convince himself he wasn’t retaking a claim.
He was merely enjoying the moment. Relishing her taste.
However, a part of him knew he was doing more when he began sucking on her tongue with a hunger he felt right in his groin.
Wrapping his arms around her tightly, he nearly groaned when even with the thickness of their coats, he could feel his solid, hard erection pressed between her thighs.
There was no telling how long they would have stood there kissing in the freezing cold beneath the Northern Lights if they hadn’t heard the sound of a moose call. One that was too close for comfort.
Breaking off the kiss and releasing her, he said, “I think we better get back in the car, Leslie.”
When she released a long sigh and then nodded, he escorted her back to her side of the car and opened the door for her. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he said.
After getting back inside, he started the engine to warm up the car. He also wanted to warm her up. Thoughts of pulling her across the seat and into his lap to kiss her again, while his hands opened her coat to touch her everywhere, filled his mind.
She squashed that idea when she said, “I’m ready to go back to the hotel now, Sloan.”
He wasn’t surprised that she regretted their kiss and was ready to bring this night to an end. Obviously that kiss had shaken her up as much as it had him.
“All right.”
“And, Sloan?”
He glanced over at her. He figured this was when she would tell him their kiss had been a mistake. “Yes, Leslie?”
“Thanks for sharing the Northern Lights with me,” she said in an almost whisper. “I enjoyed it.”
A part of him was tempted to ask if she’d enjoyed sharing a kiss with him as well, but he thought better of doing so. “Don’t mention it.”
While putting the car in gear to leave the observation point, he knew he would be carrying the memory of the kiss they’d shared under the Northern Lights around with him for a while.