Page 19 of The Millionaire's Mechanic

Forty minutes later, he pulled up in front of a cabin surrounded by pines on three sides. The sprawling log structure was just as Garret described. Nudging Georgia awake, he murmured. “We’re here.”

Her long lashes fluttered. She blinked, sitting up with a dazed expression. One look at their surroundings and she undid her seatbelt, scrambling outside.

Georgia sucked in a breath, the cold enough to make her exhale into fog. “Snow!” she exclaimed, bending over to scoop up a handful.

A light but dirty dusting covered the ground. “It’s not very clean,” he pointed out with a wince. “It hasn’t snowed here for over a month, but with the cold temperatures, it hasn’t had a chance to melt.”

His friend Garret warned him that it could make the road a little hazardous if it got below freezing, with hidden patches of black ice. But Rainer had driven well below the speed limit on snow tires.

His guest was precious cargo.

And, apparently, that guest enjoyed the snow.Well, at least someone does.Rainer sighed, wishing he could have used his property in the Bahamas instead. But retreating to a known haunt would have defeated the purpose.

“Holy shit,” Georgia murmured as he ushered her toward the six-bedroom cabin lodge. She had been so distracted by the snow that she hadn’t looked at it. “I thought we were supposed to be in hiding?”

Rainer dropped their bags just inside the threshold. One step below them was a large open space with a living room on their left and a shiny chrome kitchen on the right. The two areas were separated by a bar that doubled as a kitchen island.

His mouth pulled down. “We are.”

She raised her arms as if trying to touch the ten-foot-high ceiling. “This is hiding?” She laughed. “It looks like a freaking hotel.”

Rainer smiled at her enthusiasm, even if he didn’t share it. “This place belongs to my friend Garret. No one knows he owns it, so they can’t trace it back to him—or me by extension.”

He stopped in front of the massive fireplace across from the couch. “I’m sorry it’s not going to be all that much fun. Garrett only uses this place when there’s a good snowfall projected. He likes to ski.”

Georgia’s lips twitched. “You are apologizing because you brought me to a luxurious mountain lodge?”

Rainer lifted a shoulder. “I’ve never been one for winter sports. I would much rather be at my place in the Bahamas, lounging at the pool.”

Georgia sidled up to him, peeking out the window next to the fireplace. There wasn’t much of a view—a short distance away, the pines began to crowd the house. “Oh. Well, now I’m sorry we’re not in the Bahamas, too.”

“Well, Garrett did mention a hot tub.”

He’d meant the words to be commonplace, but even he heard the undercurrent of innuendo that somehow got away from him. Judging from her blush, so did Georgia.

“For the residual bruising,” he explained with an awkwardness he hadn’t felt since he was a teenager. “You can use it as much as you like. The solar panels on the roof mean we’ll never run out of power. Many of the bedrooms also have a gas fireplace, supplied by a big tank outside.”

But despite the nap in the car, Georgia was starting to fade, wilting before his eyes. “I think the grand tour can wait until after a nap,” he said. “Unless you’d like to eat first?”

“Not hungry.” Sitting on the armrest of the couch, she sighed, slumping over. “I don’t get why I’m so tired. I hurt my head, not my body.”

Her words managed to keep his eyes from roaming over that tight curvy figure—but only just. Georgia was small, but that just meant Rainer could pin her against the wall with ease.

Stop that.She has a head injury, he reminded himself. But his mind flashed back to that moment in his office when they’d first met. The way she’d looked at him—a slightly shocked visceral appreciation normally reserved for great works of art.

Powell had noticed, too. “She looked at you as if you were made of gold.”

Of course, that had just made his head of security suspicious, but Rainer had read the genuine discomfort in her face. Georgia was embarrassed by her reaction to him. She still was, judging by the way she’d turn away or duck her head whenever he caught her watching him.

Fuck it. I like the way she looks at me—like she can’t help herself.

He liked that a lot.But now was not the time. Rainer was responsible for Georgia. Not to mention the fact that they were being targeted by kidnappers with unknown resources. Once they were out of danger, he’d reevaluate the Georgia situation.

“It takes time to recover from a blow to the head,” he said. “But I don’t want you to worry. Even though we’re here alone, we’re not cut off from civilization. I have a direct line to Dr. Bennett’s office, and there’s a fully equipped medical lab a short drive down the mountain if you need it. We have an appointment tomorrow morning.”

“We do?”

Resolve crumpling in the face of her honest bewilderment, he moved to put his hands on her shoulders. “Georgia, I would never take you to the middle of nowhere with a head injury without a plan.”

---