Dark Promise. M. L. Guida
Lilly lifted her hands. “All right, all right. Forget I brought it up.”
Tired of this argument, Cassandra put her hands on her hips. “You want some coffee?”
“Sounds good to me. Are you going back to Copper?”
Holding her sweater and ski pants, Cassandra sat on her bed. “Yeah, I want to use the last of my four passes. I wish you could go.”
Lilly flicked her hair behind her shoulders. “Me, too, but I’ve got to pack to go out of town tomorrow. Can’t wait to go to Indianapolis in the winter time.”
“That’s what you get the big bucks for.” With her brand new shiny black Cadillac Escalade parked outside, Lilly wasn’t hurting for money. Cassandra couldn’t afford to buy the Escalade's hubcaps. One day without her expensive jewelry, designer clothes or chic restaurants, Lilly would go into shock.
Lilly rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. When I get back, we’ll go to Winter Park one last time.”
Cassandra pulled her sweater over her head and yanked on her white ski pants. “You’re on.”
Cassandra and Lilly headed down the stairs for breakfast. The aroma of waffles, sausages, eggs and coffee made Cassandra’s mouth water.
Cassandra headed for the coffee table with three silver coffee urns and poured herself a cup. She doctored it with half and half.
“Let’s go sit by the window,” Lilly said.
“Sure.” She followed Lilly to a two top green table between a young couple and a group of women. Outside a bay window, the snow fluttered onto the quiet street. Carrying her cup, Cassandra slipped between the tables.
One of the women said, “He’s so damn yummy.”
The man of her dreams sat reading a newspaper at a table set for two, but this look-alike had on a tight black sweater that covered his broad chest. She was drawn to those bulging arms, remembering how he’d held her tight last night.
Her heart pounded blood between her temples. Oh, shit. It couldn’t be.
Lilly ran into her. “Cassandra, what’s wrong?”
Cassandra shook her head. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her. She was skiing out of control down a run about to hit a huge pine tree dead on.
“Cassandra, what’s going on?” Lilly spoke too loudly, and the man glanced up from his coffee.
Their eyes met and she remembered how his had burned with passion. He raised his eyebrow.
Cassandra winced. Had he guessed what she was thinking?
In her dreams, he had smoldering dark brown eyes. She had run her hands over his naked chest, exploring every rippling muscle, every sculpted crevice. How could the man from her sexy dreams be sitting in a green Avalon chair next to the patio doors?
Her fingers itched to run through his thick black hair the way she had done in the dream to see if it felt as silky as it had been last night. His kisses had left her skin chafed and she loved it, craved it. Heat swept over her body.
“You’re white as a ghost.” Lilly snapped her fingers in front of Cassandra’s face. “Hello, Earth to Cassandra?”
“God, I’m losing my mind.”
Lilly grabbed Cassandra’s arm. “Come on.” She marched her across the room to their table. “Now sit. You’re pale as a ghost.”
Heat rushed over Cassandra’s cheeks. Lilly sat across from her and gave her a quizzical look. Dizziness swept over Cassandra. She put her elbows on the table and rested her forehead in her palms.
Lilly tapped her long red nail on the table. “What is your problem?”
Cassandra’s stomach tightened and she whispered, “It’s him.”
Lilly scanned the room. “Him. Him who?”
“You know the guy I keep dreaming about?” She hoped the man couldn’t hear.
“Yeah, so?”
“Well,” She leaned closer. “He resembles the man sitting over there.”
“He’s cute, very cute.” She turned and winked at Cassandra. “You wish, girl.” She put both of her hands on the table and stood. “You can sit here and drool, but I’m getting coffee.”
Lilly was right. She had to get a hold of herself.
But how could she? She had never seen anyone who favored him, not even Luke. In fact, Luke was the exact opposite—a ski bum with long, shaggy blond hair and blue eyes. Cassandra had read romance novels with super hot guys on the cover, but the man in the corner beat them all. And he sat less than five feet from her. Outside the patio window, snow fell onto the wooden patio furniture. Down the straight was Walter Byron Park and what they did in the park…
Damn, she had to get out of here before she dissolved. As if reading her sinful thoughts, the man gave her a devilish smile—the same one he had bestowed on her in the dream last night. Chills ran down her spine and her heart threatened to burst.
She looked up and accidently caught his eye. He rose and began crossing the room toward her.
3
Sizzling beneath his gaze, Cassandra jumped out of her chair, whacking her knee on the table. “Crap.”
She half-limped back to the coffee table to refill her cream-colored cup, but she stole a glance at Mr. Yummy. With his tight blue jeans hugging his long legs, his long black hair falling across his shoulders and tight sweater, all he needed was a Harley Davidson and he could be a sexy hell’s angel. He got up and she jerked, splashing hot coffee on herself and the counter. “Shit!” She waved her hand. “Shit, shit.” She wiped her burning hand on her pants. Hoping no one noticed, she grabbed a cloth and mopped up the spill.
Turning around, she bumped into a hard wall of muscle and staggered backward. Someone grabbed her, steadying her. “Are you all right?”
His deep brown eyes mesmerized her. Her knee throbbed but she couldn't care less. His firm touch sent tingles through her and he smelled of cinnamon. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it fast. She couldn’t help focusing on his wicked lips. An urge to kiss him, to see if he tasted like cinnamon swept over her. God, she was a snow bunny in heat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”
“I doubt that,” he murmured. He released her arm, stepped around her and filled his cup. He sauntered back to his table like a black panther.
The group of women wandered away from their table. She tried to maneuver between them and tried not to spill her coffee. The ladies cast admiring glances at the man as he sat at his table. He was honey to hungry bees.
Lilly slurped her spoon. “Tall, dark and handsome. My favorite man candy.” She leaned close to Cassandra. “With those steamy looks, he could melt the snow outside.”
Cassandra wanted to shake her, tell her to back off, and stake her claim, but she gripped her coffee cup tight to keep from strangling Lilly. “He’s the best looking guy I’ve seen for a long time, and I just slammed into him like a mindless snowboarder.”
Lilly smiled. “Sure, you did.”
“It was an accident. I swear.”
Lilly lifted a forkful of eggs to her mouth. “Honey, you’ve haven’t been able to take your eyes off him.”
“Neither have you.”
“So?” Lilly shrugged. “If I had bumped into him, I wouldn’t have ran and hid like a scared fawn.”
“I didn’t shy away.”
“Then why are you talking to me and not to him?”
Cassandra