Page 79 of Seduced By You

It took us a while to return to the lodge. Lee kept losing her balance. I half considered dumping her skis and carrying her over my shoulder back to my lair, like a Neanderthal.

The chalet maid had visited while we’d been gone. A roaring fire burned in the grate, and the delicious smell of a casserole wafted through from the kitchen. I helped Lee out of her ski jacket, her boots, and her salopettes before removing mine. She collapsed onto the sofa with a sigh.

“If you want sex, you’re going to need to do all the work. I’m exhausted. And freezing.”

I laughed, hauling her upright. “Go get in the shower. That’ll warm you up. I’ll check on lunch and put some bread in the oven.”

“I thought you’d pin me to the wall the second we walked through the door.”

“Believe me, I was tempted.” I pointed toward the nearest bathroom. “But sex in a hot shower sounds far more appealing. Go. I’ll be in shortly.”

“Yes, sir.” She saluted. I groaned. That woman would be the death of me.

I turned the oven on and stuck my nose in the Crockpot. My stomach grumbled at the smell of beef and ale casserole. I rubbed it.You’ll have to wait, buddy.I put the lid back on, catching sight of Dash sitting on the window ledge. He had an evil glint in his eye.

“Whatever you’re planning, you little fucker, save it.”

I picked up my cell phone and checked my messages. Nothing urgent. I scanned my emails, deleting a few junk ones and filing a couple of work-related messages to review later after Lee went to sleep. A new message appeared right when I was about to put down my phone and go join Lee in the shower.

My heart stopped.

My legs quaked.

I braced a hand on the kitchen table for support.

I looked again at the message from Joseph, the private investigator I’d hired to find Samuel. The subject line gave me palpitations.

Every single email he’d sent until now had the same subject line: Update.

This one said, “You’ll want to read this.”

My mouth dried up. I folded an arm across my stomach.Breathe.Only one explanation made sense for the change: he’d found Samuel. Or, at least, he’d uncovered informationaboutSamuel. What if he was dead? What if, like Ayesha, he’d taken his own life, the horrors of what had occurred at that school haunting him until he couldn’t take it anymore? Or he was on his seventh marriage because he couldn’t get over what happened?

Oh God. What if he’s in prison because he abused others?I’d read about such things. Abused kids, in adulthood, inflicting their own trauma on others.

My finger hovered over the screen. No. I couldn’t do it. If it was bad news, it’d ruin Christmas with Lee, and I refused to drag her down with me. She had her own troubles, and I wouldn’t add to them.

I filed the email away in theFor Actionfolder.

If only it was that easy to file away the knowledge that it was sitting there, waiting for me to find the courage to open it.

Chapter25

Leesa

The universe fucking hates me.

The embersof last night’s roaring fire flickered in the grate, a last attempt to cling to life that would ultimately end in failure. I pulled my robe around me, shivering. Stuffing my feet into furry slippers I’d had the foresight to leave beside the hearth, I trudged into the kitchen and filled the kettle.

While I’d slept, fresh snow had fallen, the blanket of white pristine in the early morning light. It wouldn’t last long. All too soon, skiers would emerge from their cabins and hotel rooms and ruin nature’s perfection. On Christmas Day, too. Heathens.

But not us.

Not today.

Our plans comprised opening our gifts, cooking a hearty breakfast, and curling up by a fire I hoped Kadon either knew how to make or had someone coming in to make. I’d brought a book to read that, so far, remained unopened. I hadn’t expected skiing to exhaust me so much. It had to be all this fresh mountain air. Or the fact that I was so dreadful at this skiing lark I spent most of my day falling over and having to get back up again.

What was it Kadon had said before we’d left? You’ll nail it. No problem.

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