Chapter Eleven
Eleven
On Saturday morning Sloan arrived at Leslie’s home just as he’d told her he would.
In the time since they had parted ways on Monday, he had thrown himself into his work, putting cautionary measures in place in case Longshire made a move in retaliation.
He’d also met with members of his board to give them his take on the Yuletide Toy Factory and his recommendations for next year.
He’d come up with a number of ideas, including one that would take the toy manufacturing company global.
Even with enough to keep him busy, he still had managed to think about Leslie. Not just a little, but a lot.
Tightening his coat around him, he rang her doorbell and remembered he’d stood in this same spot and at the same time last Saturday morning.
How could a woman he hadn’t had any dealings with for ten years become a regular feature of his life now?
Luckily for him, she was temporary. After their week together, she would go back to being out of sight and out of mind.
The door opened. “Good morning, Sloan.”
Before he could respond, Leslie stepped out, and he instinctively moved back. “You’re ready?” he asked, watching her lock her door.
“Yes.” Then she headed toward the car, with a duffel bag on her shoulder and pulling a piece of luggage behind her.
He quickly followed her and then opened the trunk to place her luggage next to his before opening the car door for her. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, closing the door.
Sloan slowed his pace as he walked behind the car to the other side, trying to pull himself together.
He’d thought he had everything under control, and basically, he had—until she’d opened that door.
Seeing her had done something to him, but he wasn’t sure what.
All he knew was that his heart had begun beating rapidly in his chest. It still was.
Opening the door, he slid behind the wheel and glanced over at her. She looked good. She smelled good. “You have everything?”
“Yes.”
She was staring straight ahead, refusing to look at him. However, he couldn’t stop looking at her. What was there about her this morning that had claimed his attention? That had desire flowing through his veins?
Like before, in deference to the cold weather, she was covered from head to toe. Wool coat, gloves, boots and a furry hat on her head. So what was there?
While he sat struggling with the dilemma, she glanced over at him. “Is something wrong?”
The only thing wrong with him was that he had missed her.
“Sloan?”
“No, nothing is wrong. I was just thinking about something.”
“What?”
He broke eye contact with her to start the car. “Nothing.”
Sloan backed out of her driveway. This coming week might be more of a challenge than he’d figured it would be.
Leslie watched Sloan as he drove.
They would be spending an entire week together, and if for one minute he thought he was going to ignore her like he’d done on the trip home from North Pole, then he was mistaken.
“I’d like a tree, please. A small one will work,” she said when he brought the car to a stop at a traffic light.
He glanced over at her. “What kind of tree are you talking about?”
She smiled and didn’t care that he didn’t smile back. “A Christmas tree, of course. I can’t imagine spending a week in a place not decorated for Christmas.”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t be celebrating it this year,” he said, breaking eye contact with her and moving the car forward.
She shook her head. “I didn’t say that. I told you this would be the first one without my father and I hadn’t made any plans. I believe that Dad would want me to still enjoy the holidays, so I intend to do just that. Does this cabin have internet?”
“Yes, it has internet. We have our own tower, since this section of the island is pretty secluded. Walker’s place, Hemlock Row, is about twenty miles away, so we share it with him.”
“Walker Rafferty?”
“Yes. You remember Walker?”
She doubted any woman could forget the former Hollywood actor.
When she’d accompanied Sloan home for Christmas that time, she had met Walker briefly.
“Yes. How is he?” She remembered his wife and son had been killed in a car accident, which was the reason he had left Hollywood and returned to Alaska.
“Walker is fine. He remarried and has a set of twins.”
“That’s wonderful. Who did he marry?”
“Bailey. She’s one of my Westmoreland cousins from Denver.”
Leslie settled in her seat, listening to him tell her how the two had met and the beautiful family they had now. She thought it was a wonderful love story, one she knew she would never experience. It had been a long time since the thought of that bothered her, but it was bothering her now.
“This place is awesome, Sloan,” Leslie said, entering the cabin and turning around in the huge living room. “It’s definitely a lot larger than what I imagined.”
Sloan entered after bringing in their luggage. She had removed her coat to reveal a pair of jeans and a chocolate-brown pullover sweater that clearly defined her curvy body. “Ready for a tour?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He took her around the huge five-bedroom, four-bathroom cabin that was located deep in the mountains and backed up against the Shelikof Strait, a beautiful waterway that stretched from the southwestern coast of Alaska to the east of Kodiak Island.
Each bedroom had a huge stone fireplace, and the cabin had been built in such a way that the waterway could be seen from every bedroom. There was a huge kitchen, dining room and a massive family room.
Sloan figured what had impressed Leslie more than anything was the movable wall that led to an underground tunnel. Like he’d told her, he wasn’t sure why his grandfather had built the secret passageway or why there was a gun case that held probably every type of weapon ever manufactured.
He went on to tell her that he and his siblings had their ideas. The repeating of those suspicions had pissed off their father so much he had ordered that they get rid of all the artillery. Unknown to him, they hadn’t.
Sloan glanced at his watch. “Before we start losing daylight, I want to bring in more wood for the fireplace.”
She nodded. “Do you need any help?”
“No, I got this.”
It took him a few trips to fill the wood box inside before he got a sniff of something cooking.
They hadn’t talked about what they would be eating, although he’d told her about calling days ahead to make sure the refrigerator and freezer were fully stocked before they arrived.
Sloan knew how much Leslie liked cooking and just how good she was at it.
“Something smells good,” he said, coming into the house with a load of wood in his arms.
“I checked out the refrigerator and cabinets and saw there was everything I needed to make a pot of chili, a salad and some yeast rolls. I was listening to the weather report and heard it’s supposed to start snowing tonight.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me.” Kodiak Island was known not only for its bears but also for harsh weather.
“I took the bedroom across from yours, Sloan.”
He glanced over at her, figuring that was her way of letting him know they wouldn’t be sharing a bed tonight. “That’s fine, Leslie. You can sleep in any bedroom you like.”
“They’re all beautiful.”
Sloan chuckled. “I’m surprised you think that, since they were all decorated for the men in the family. All except Dad, since he hasn’t been here in years.”
“What about Charm?” she asked.
“Charm rarely comes here. She finds the place too secluded to suit her. The farthest she’ll go whenever she visits Kodiak Island is Walker’s ranch.
She visits them often enough. She and Bailey forged a close relationship, and Charm has fallen in love with Walker and Bailey’s twins.
Charm hasn’t been around a lot of babies before. ”
He glanced out the window. Unlike Fairbanks, which usually only got four hours of daylight, Kodiak got six to seven hours. Now they had gone, and it was dark. “It’s snowing already and coming down pretty hard,” he said.
“Do you think we’ll lose power?” she asked.
“There is always that possibility, but we have a fully operational generator. We’re good.”
What he’d told her was true, they were good, and before he left here, he intended to show her just how good together they could be.
“You’ve gotten quiet on me, Leslie.”
She glanced across the dinner table at Sloan.
Funny he should say that. When he had picked her up from her house, he’d barely said anything to her.
But she’d been determined not to let him ruin what she’d decided would be a good time at the cabin, even if she had to entertain herself.
Ignoring his brooding attitude, she had kept up a steady stream of conversation, even when his responses had been a nonchalant grunt.
His less-than-friendly attitude had begun thawing out when they had landed on Kodiak Island.
Once settled in the rental car, he had told her about the time the cabin had become a stronghold against domestic terrorists, who’d been determined to kidnap his cousin Bane’s wife.
And while driving, Sloan had taken what he’d referred to as the scenic route that showed the beauty of the island with its abundance of hemlock trees.
That had been the extent of what he’d said since picking her up.
And now he wanted to keep the conversation going?
“I’ve talked enough for today, Sloan. Didn’t want to wear out my welcome, since you’ve been in a less-than-friendly mood.”
He nodded, as if he accepted her accusation. “I apologize for that. I had a lot on my mind this week businesswise, which is why you hadn’t heard from me.”
It hadn’t bothered her when she hadn’t heard from him. In a way, she was glad she hadn’t. She’d needed time to unwind her brain and put everything in perspective. So whether he knew it or not, he’d done her a favor. “Did you get a lot accomplished?”
“Yes. I wanted a plan that could help the Yules. They run a tidy operation, but I’ve come up with other ways to make it grow.”
She nodded. “I’m sure they will appreciate that. I like them. They are nice people.”
“Yes, they are.”
When he got up from the table and walked over to the counter to refill his coffee cup, she couldn’t help but notice how good he looked in his jeans.
When he’d been kneeling in front of the fireplace, she’d appreciated the way those same jeans stretched tight over his muscular thighs.
Thighs that she remembered well. They would ride her hard while making love to her.
She’d always thought he looked good in pullover sweaters, since they captured the broadness of his chest so well.
A chest she’d licked a number of times from top to bottom.
He definitely looked good in the one he was wearing now.
The tan color enhanced the darkness of his eyes.
There was a lot about him that had changed physically.
He was more built, and hard muscled, and solid, and—
“Would you like a refill on your coffee, Leslie?”
He had glanced over his shoulder to look at her. More than likely he had caught her staring. “No, thanks, I’m fine.”
He smiled. “Yes, Leslie, you most definitely are.”
She wished Sloan didn’t have the ability to seduce her with just words alone.
“So what do you plan to do the rest of the day?” Sloan asked, coming to sit back down at the table.
“Read. I brought my e-reader, and it contains a number of books that I haven’t started yet. And I am hoping we can get a tree tomorrow.”
He nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem if the snow lets up. There are quite a few Fraser firs on this property.”
She couldn’t help but smile at that. “Then we need to go out early.”
“And we will, granted it’s not snowing.” He took a sip of his coffee and then looked over at her in a way that made sensuous shivers race up her spine. “There’s something I need to ask you, Leslie. Information that will be vital when we make love.”
When we make love? Leslie wondered what part of I will not sleep with you this week he did not understand.
He’d said he wanted her for Christmas, in his bed.
She had explained to him, quite clearly, she’d thought, that the only thing he would get from her this week was companionship.
“Need I repeat myself, Sloan? I will not be sleeping with you.”
He smiled in a way that made more shivers race up her spine. “Then humor me and let me ask my question anyway.”
Feeling frustrated, yet at the same time curious as to what he wanted to know, she asked, “What’s your question?”
“When was the last time you made love with a guy?”
There was no way she would tell him that the last time had been with him. “Why do you want to know such a thing?”
She wondered if the kiss they’d shared had given her away. Could he tell that she kissed the same way she had ten years ago?
“Leslie?”
Instead of answering, she stood. “Even if I had agreed to sleep with you this week Sloan, the answer to your question would be that it’s not any of your business. I’m not asking you about the last time you made love to a woman.”
“You can if it interests you.”
“It doesn’t.” After loading her dishes in the dishwasher, she turned around and said, “I’ll see you in the morning, Sloan.”
She could feel the heat of his gaze on her back when she walked out of the kitchen.