Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Chloe
Ihave to get out snowshoeing tonight. It’s not an option to skip it for the article, and if I don’t do it right away, I’ll have to do it tomorrow night instead of enjoying a relaxing evening to myself, working on my own writing.
Yes, I know that it’s probably not entirely ethical to use my free stay at the lodge to relax and work on my personal writing projects.
And yes, Lisa would probably have something to say about it, too.
But I need this. I’ve done nothing but hustle with any writing gig I can get just to pay my ridiculously high rent for my tiny apartment and still have enough left over for some macaroni and cheese for dinner.
No one gets hurt if I take one night off to enjoy myself and do something that fills my cup.
But only if I can get this assignment done.
“I don’t think you understand.” I use my most authoritative voice. “I will be doing the snowshoe activity tonight.” I point to the piece of paper I’ve placed on the counter. “It’s on the itinerary.”
I hate that my whole body reacts to the way Ryder smirks and shakes his head. “No,” he says simply. “You’re not. If you got out there before the storm, you’re going to lose your way and then I’m going to have to save you.”
Why is it that the thought of this big burly mountain man saving me from anything excites me? This is not one of your romance novels, Chloe, I reprimand myself while making a mental note to write in such a scenario in my next draft.
“And besides,” Ryder adds before I can protest again, “I’m the one in charge of the excursions, and if I say no, it’s a no.”
I open my mouth to protest. His self-assured cockiness is grating on me and only spurring me on to do the thing he’s standing here prohibiting me from doing. But before I can say anything more, he softens his gaze.
“Look, Miss Sullivan.”
“Chloe.”
“Chloe.” He nods. “I would take you out there myself if I could. But keeping guests safe here at WWW is our first priority.”
“WWW?”
His lips quirk up into that sexy grin again. “Wolf’s Wild Wilderness Lodge.”
He winks, and I’m done for. It’s infuriating that he has this kind of effect on me, especially considering he’s quite obviously the type of man who knows exactly what he does to women. Still, I find that I’m out of arguments. At least for now.
“Okay.” I slide the key over the counter and palm it.
“Okay?”
I nod. “Okay. You said no snowshoeing. So…” I shrug. “No snowshoeing.” I take my time turning around. “Which way to my room then?”
“Right.”
He clears his throat, and I try not to laugh because he obviously wasn’t expecting me to give in so easily. His big, muscly arm appears next to my face as he points across the foyer.
“It’s just up the stairs there and to the right.”
Without turning around, I start to walk but I only get a few steps away.
“And, Chloe?”
I can’t help but tremble a little at the way he says my name. I pull in a sharp breath and turn to face him.
“Hopefully the skies will be clear tomorrow and then I’ll take you for that snowshoe myself.”
There is literally nothing I can say to that. Not unless I want to lose the little composure that I have. So instead, I do my best to smile and go find my room.
Ryder
Who the hell was that?
I watch Chloe Sullivan walk away from me, and it takes everything in my power not to leap over the reception desk and chase her across the floor of the lobby, toss her over my shoulder, take her up to the room I keep in the lodge and make her mine.
It’s what I want to do.
Hell, it’s what every single cell in my entire body is telling me to do.
But I can’t. I promised I wouldn’t mess around with the reporter who’s writing the article that could potentially secure the reservations for the rest of the winter and into the spring for the lodge. And Chloe Sullivan is that reporter.
More than that—and the reason I should be scared as hell—she makes me feel things. Things I’ve never felt before. And that’s insane, because I just barely met her. And like I told my brothers, she’s not my type.
She’s young and obviously inexperienced. Plus, she’s a city girl.
If I’m ever going to settle down and only think about one woman, it sure as hell won’t be with a city girl.
City girls are fun to mess around with. Perfect for a one-night stand. Which is the only thing I’ve ever wanted.
Until now.
Damn. That thought came out of nowhere, and I know it’s only because of the conversation I had with Briggs earlier that it even popped in my head at all.
Still.
There’s something about her.
I wait until she disappears up the main stairs of the lodge to her room, feeling like an ass the entire time for not helping her with her one small duffel bag before I focus my attention on something, anything that will take my mind off Chloe, alone in her room.
Chloe
The room is gorgeous. If it really is the best room in the lodge, I can see why.
The king-sized bed frame is made of timber and the bed itself has the softest, plushiest blankets and pillows I’ve seen in a long time.
It’s so inviting that I almost dive right into the blankets and settle in with my laptop to start writing.
But the claw-foot bathtub in the bathroom also grabs my attention.
Visions of a decadent bubble bath while I sip a glass of wine fill my head, too.
It all feels absolutely sinful and decadent.
And very, very appealing.
But I have a job to do. I need to focus.
The huge picture windows I have face out onto the mountain range beyond the lodge. Just as it always does, gazing at the mountains fills me with a sense of peace. It’s like coming home.
I may be a city girl now, but it’s not by choice.
I was born and raised, at least in my younger years, in mountains similar to these. In a town that was probably a lot like Rock Creek, from the little I saw of it as I drove through on my way to the lodge.
When my parents died, I was taken to the city as part of the foster care system. But the mountains still held a special place in my heart, and I longed for a life where I never had to leave.
It may have been awhile, but I still remembered a few things about mountain life. And one of those things was that I knew a storm when I saw one.
And I didn’t see one.
The sun was sinking low already, the way it did in the winter, but the clouds that filled the skies didn’t look very threatening to me. Sure, we were probably going to get some snow. But a little bit of snow was very different than a full on storm.
No doubt Ryder Wolf was just trying to get out of doing a little extra work tonight. He did say he was the one in charge of the excursions.
I was definitely going to put that in my review.
But first, I was going snowshoeing.