Page 16 of Cold Snap

Everyone else has already headed to bed as he takes my hand and walks me to my room to quickly grab something to sleep in, and then up to his suite. This is probably the only chance I'll ever have to be with a guy this gorgeous. No matter what the future holds, I'd be an idiot if I didn't take it.

When we reach his room, Baz pours me a glass of water, setting it on the end table closest to the fire. "Between me and the flames, you're going to be toasty warm. Okay?"

"Sure." I'm already addicted to his laugh. "Do you laugh this much with everyone? I got the distinct impression that you're a super quiet guy."

In an instant his hand snakes around my waist and his body is pressed to mine. "Gorgeous, I'm normally the grouchiest of the grouches. I actively avoid people. Moore and Dylan are pretty much the only people I laugh with, other than my brother once in a while." His hand slides down, caressing my ass and outer thigh, testing my boundaries. "You're…I dunno, opening me up. Making me see new sides of myself."

"What if we run into a brand new side that you weren't ready for?" I laugh. "Like an inner tap dancer?"

"It would be worth it, as long as I end up with you." He steps back when he notices my face falling. "What?"

"You can't just say things like that." My voice is tiny. "I'm not the kind of girl that… It's just crazy to say things like that so soon."

He frowns and his entire body slumps forward. "Go get ready for bed, then you and I are going to have a chat."

Changing into my pj's and brushing my teeth in his lovely bathroom, I can't help noticing the huge difference between the guest rooms and the staff quarters. We're on different levels in so many ways. Yet he doesn't seem to see it. Or refuses to.

I don't want to shatter the illusion, but I also don't want to lead him on. He can't be seen with a girl like me out in the real world. That fact has been driven into my mind for years.

When I come back out into his room, I stop short – he's made a fort with pillows and blankets in front of the crackling fire.

And Baz is… My mouth falls open, as I strain to take him in. He's wearing nothing but his pajama pants. His broad, tanned chest is massive. Bigger than a lumberjack's. Closer to a professional bodybuilder. Definitely the kind of man that nobody would ever mess with.

He's so unbelievably hot. My nipples tighten and my inner thighs twitch. This is the kind of man most girls would probably dream of being with. It sends a pang of guilt through my chest.

He pats the space beside him invitingly, snuggling me onto a cushion snagged from the small easy chair in the corner. Once I'm wrapped in a blanket, Baz turns to face me head on.

"You were joking about your bed being an honesty zone. Well, this blanket fort is one, too. Now: tell me everything that's worrying you."

His warmth is comforting as he squeezes around my waist, yet the sexiness of having so much of his exposed skin and muscles right in front of me is also very distracting.

"I'm the kind of guy who always wants to move forward, Rosa. Tell you everything I'm thinking. But you're not like that. You're hesitant. I understand – this is happening so fast. But I can't figure you out until you tell me. So please… Tell me everything you're afraid of."

His gaze is too intense, so my eyes drop to his chest. Placing my palm in the center, I feel tingly just from caressing his skin.

Focus,I mentally yell at myself.

He'saskingme to tell him everything that's wrong with me. So the honest thing would be to do just that. Then he'll see that I'm a mess, and not worth his time. It would be cruel for himto not think otherwise, simply because he's wrapped up in this fantasy of finding a girl at the chalet like his friends did.

"I can see a thousand flickers of doubt in your eyes," his gruff voice says softly. "Just let it out. Tell me." His eyes search mine, almost desperate. "Please, angel. I really need to know."

"It's nothing really terrible," I say quickly.

Baz pulls himself closer, facing me head on, as he clasps my hands in his. "Good. That makes it even easier to tell me."

Well, he asked for it.

"I moved to a new school when I was fourteen. I'd been going through weird growth spurts, and ended up pretty…well, chubby. My boobs grew really quickly… By the time I was sixteen, they were pretty much this size."

His gaze drops as he grins. "I think your breasts are supremely hot. Go on."

Taking a deep breath, I resolve to just power through it. "None of the girls at this new school had fully developed breasts yet. They decided since I was from a large city that I must be a total slut. I know the guys were checking me out; maybe they were jealous. Anyway, the girls hated me, bullied me, made up horrible stories about all of the disgusting things I did with the guys in the ravine behind the high school. Everyone believed them, because I was too quiet to stand up for myself."

He squeezes my hands gently, whispering, "Go on."

"The girls wouldn't talk to me, except to insult me. The boys wouldn't talk to me either, at least not in front of everyone, because it would make the other girls mad. But anytime a boy could get me alone for a second, he tried to cop a feel. I wouldn't let them, of course, but some of them would go back and tell their buddies that they did. There were so many stories swirling around that it didn't matter what I said. It didn't matter what the truth was."

Staring down at our hands, I force myself to get the rest of it out. "I didn't go to parties. I stayed home and cooked instead. Baked. Puttered around the kitchen. Then I took up walking, because it quieted the echoes of those girls' voices in my head. I started cooking healthy, and combined with all the walking, I slimmed down. But I'll always be top-heavy with a big butt."

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