“Thank you!” they said in unison before hurrying away with some pep in their step.

  A group of four stepped up next. They were from California and I made them laugh with a story about the one and only time I’d tried to water ski. “You’d think I would be amazing at it after skiing on snow my whole life!”

  They’d given me a few pointers to tuck away in case I ever tried again, then I had them on their way.

  More people arrived, checking into rooms or showing up for some event in the lodge. By the time things finally slowed down, three hours had passed.

  “Thank you so much, Raven,” Cassie said with a tired smile. “I don’t know how you do that.”

  “Practice,” I laughed. “Now, go home and get some rest and have a Merry Christmas!”

  Cassie wished me the same and left just as Kameron showed up to start his overnight shift.

  He smiled at me as he hung his coat up on the wall by the key box. “Hey, Raven. Busy night?”

  “Yeah, but I think that’s about all the check-in’s scheduled for today, so things should be relatively quiet for you. But just call if you need Colin or me.”

  “Will do.”

  We high-fived as I walked out from behind the desk. I headed back into the Lodge, intent on checking in with the people running the two events taking place there--a bingo group, and a birthday party. Then I’d grab some dinner in the steak house before going to my little cabin right behind the inn and passing out.

  However, I’d only taken a few steps into the room when my vision was filled with a sexy body and green orbs that had butterflies flitting around in my stomach and other parts of me tingling.

  “It’s Raven, right?”

  As if his smile wasn’t enough to melt my panties, his voice was deep and rich like salted caramel hot chocolate. Holy snowman! I was pretty sure I just had a mini orgasm.

  I nodded and tried to hide my reaction with my trademark bright smile. “That’s me. Can I help you with something?”

  “Merry Christmas, Raven!” someone called out, and I glanced over to see one of our holiday regulars waving as she headed toward the front door with her skis.

  “Hi, Gladys! Great to see you back.”

  I returned my attention to Mr. Sexy. “Sorry about that. So, what can I do for you?”

  Two more people greeted me, and I waved.

  “You could let me take you to dinner.” His smile was crooked as he added, “Perhaps somewhere we won’t be interrupted by your many admirers.”

  Laughing, I shrugged. “Sorry. It comes with being the owner.”

  He shook his head. “It’s you, Raven. People are drawn to you. I’ve seen it over and over since I’ve been here.” He reached out and tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear. My ear burned from where his finger had touched it.

  I blushed from the sweet gesture and the compliment. “I don’t know about that, Mr…?

  “Caleb.”

  “Right. Well, regardless, Caleb, I appreciate the invitation, but I have a lot to do and—”

  “You have to eat. I’ll wait until you're done, but I insist you let me make sure you eat.” He gave me that adorable lopsided smile once more, and I nearly caved.

  “You’re very tempting, Caleb. But I don’t…um… you’re too tempting.”

  He raised an eyebrow—which was so freaking hot.

  I sighed and decided to be honest. “Look, you’re hot. Like, melt my snowmen hot. But I don’t get involved with guests. It’s a recipe for heartbreak, like Pumpkin Spice hot chocolate. It’s amazingly delicious, but then the season ends, and you’re left with nothing but the memory to keep you warm at night. So whether you meant this to be a date or not, I can’t risk it.”

  He watched me for a few beats, then nodded slowly. “I can respect that.”

  A little part of me was disappointed he didn’t try just a bit harder. “Thanks.” I gave him a small smile and tried to step around him, but he stopped me by gently taking hold of my arm.

  “That doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to back off. I’ll get you to have dinner with me eventually.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle at his tenacity. When I met his gaze, I saw the determined glint, and my stomach felt all fluttery. He wasn’t going to let me go without a fight. Then he pushed out his bottom lip and batted his enviously long lashes. “Please?”

  A laugh bubbled up, and I had to give him props. For all his good looks, he wasn’t playing the “hot” card to convince me. Before I could stop myself, I blurted, “Okay.”

  Oh, sugarplums. I’m in so much trouble.

  Chapter 3

  Caleb

  I felt like shouting in triumph when Raven agreed to have dinner with me. Which was really fucking stupid.

  I should have been keeping my distance; I should have backed off when she said no the first time. Or the second.

  But I’d been watching her for the last few days, and little by little, I’d found myself becoming a bit obsessed with her. And it wasn’t just her fit body with curves in all the right places, she was intelligent, capable, gorgeous, fun, and everyone here obviously loved her. Even the ones she’d met barely hours before. After watching her join her employee on the front lines and handle that crowd with finesse and skill, I lost control of myself. When she came back into the Lodge’s main room, I’d blocked her progress and practically begged her to let me take her to dinner.

  Three hours later, our meals long ago finished, we were still sitting at our table talking. I’d been curious if the persona she presented to the guests was genuine. It hadn’t taken long to confirm that she was just as amazing as she appeared. And her habit of replacing swear words with Christmas terms was adorable.

  I felt some regret that I’d danced around so many things. Raven had been an open book, and I’d avoided talking about my family and childhood as much as possible, with the exception of cute anecdotes here and there. Instead, I mostly spoke about college since it was a time when I’d stepped away from Preston Caleb Adler Barrington and became just Caleb. I wanted her to get to know the real me, not who I was in the media or how my job and “legacy” defined me.

  “Well, well,” a smooth male voice said.

  We looked up to see a tall, good-looking man with red hair and freckles approaching; her assistant manager, Colin. If I hadn’t observed their completely platonic relationship over the last few days, I would have been jealous and annoyed at the interruption, which shocked the hell out of me.

  I couldn’t remember ever being jealous over a woman. Or anything, really. There wasn’t much to covet when you came from the kind of money I grew up with. But I’d been feeling possessive and irritated with every person she smiled at because it wasn’t me.

  “What have we here?” Colin teased.

  Raven blushed, something she’d done when I complimented her earlier. It was beautiful, but I wasn’t too fond of the fact that she was embarrassed to be seen with me.

  Colin turned his assessing gaze on me and squinted for a moment, making my breath catch in my chest. “Do I know you?”

  I shook my head and leaned back in my chair, feigning nonchalance. “I don’t believe we’ve ever met.”

  He studied me for a few moments, then shrugged and smiled. “I’m sure you’re right. You just remind me of someone, though I can’t place who it is.”

  “Is there a reason you’re interrupting what was a delightful meal before you showed up and soured it?”

  “Ouch, Raven.” He pressed a hand against his heart melodramatically. “You’re full of zingers today.”

  She shrugged. “I wore my sassy Santa pants today.”

  Colin and I both burst out laughing, and Raven grinned.

  “Well, I’ll let you get back to your…meal?” He looked pointedly at the cleared table.

  “We were just about to have dessert,” I informed him, hoping Raven wouldn’t contradict me.”

  “Fantastic. She needs more meat on her bones. Enjoy yourselves, kids.” He gave Raven a snappy salute and a head nod to me before spinning on his heel and strolling away.

  “You want to have dessert?” Raven asked with a soft smile.

  “Absolutely.” I wasn’t ready for the night to end. I reached for a menu, but she stopped me with her hand on my arm.

  “I have a special pie and Italian hot chocolate that our pastry chef made for me back at my cabin.”

  I waited, not wanting to assume but sending up fervent wishes to Santa.

  “Would you like to come back to my place with me for dessert?”

  Hell, fucking yes. My cock jumped, reading the invitation entirely wrong, even though my brain couldn’t help but hope. I managed to keep my raging lust out of my tone when I answered. “Sounds wonderful.”

  She beamed at me and moved to get up, but I asked her to wait and quickly rounded the table to pull out her chair, offering my hand to help her stand. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, but I had an ulterior motive. After she was on her feet, I didn’t let go of her hand.

  Zings of electricity burst from the spot where our skin touched, sending a shiver through my body. She looked at me with the same shock I was feeling. I’d suspected we’d have great chemistry but…wow.

  Since I didn’t know where we were going, I let her lead and was pleased when she didn’t try to break our hands apart.

  “Don’t make fun of my snowmen!” Raven laughed as she fixed the little family of them on her fireplace mantle.

  I held up my hands in surrender. “I’m so sorry. Never again, Ms. Ashley.”

  She walked back to the couch where I was sitting, her hips swaying seductively and her large breasts peeking at me as her shirt shifted with each step. I’d thought she was gorgeous before, but when we came back to her cabin, she’d changed into leggings and a long sweater with a low neckline, sleeves that ended with a hole for the thumb, and the words, “I’m not short, I’m penguin-sized” printed on the front.

  She was exquisite. Perfect. Everything a man could ever want in a woman.

  Much too perfect for me. I pushed away the guilt trying to creep in and ruin my night.

  Raven plopped down next to me and leaned her body in my direction so she could curl her feet under her. I took advantage and slipped my arm around her waist, dragging her over to cuddle up to me.

  She sighed and rested her head on my chest. We sat in comfortable silence, watching the fire and listening to the cracks and pops of the wood. Finally, when I couldn’t stand it another second, I used my index finger to raise her face and bent my head to press my lips against hers.

  Fireworks exploded behind my eyelids, and lust whipped through me like a brush fire, leaving burning embers in its wake. Raven let out a tiny moan, but it opened her mouth enough for me to sweep my tongue inside.

  I groaned. Fuck. She tasted like cinnamon and chocolate, two flavors to which I was now addicted. My head tipped to the side, changing the angle so I could deepen the kiss, and Raven climbed over me and sat, straddling my lap.

  Shit. Shit. Shit. Don’t do it, asshole. She’ll never forgive you.

  “Caleb,” Raven sighed, and she rocked against the very prominent bulge in my pants. My hands fisted in the back of her sweater, and I plastered her body against mine, kissing her with even more fervor.

  I needed to feel her skin, so I bunched up her sweater and splayed my hands across the silky, hot skin of her back. When I didn’t feel the presence of a bra, I groaned. It would have been so easy to glide my hands around to cup her generous tits that had been teasing me all night. I even started to move in that direction, but when I felt her fingers on the buttons of my shirt, I put a hand over them, stilling her movements. Breaking our kiss was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my entire life—and I’d skied some of the most dangerous runs in the world.

  I panted as I tried to catch my breath and regulate my pulse.

  “What’s wrong?” Raven’s voice was quiet, and though she tried to hide it, I heard the twinge of hurt.

  “Shit, baby. Don’t think… I’m sorry…” I took a deep breath to get a fucking hold on myself. “I want you more than anything, Raven. I want you so fucking bad, I’m barely hanging on.”

  “Then…” she trailed off, her expression confused.

  “We just met, baby. I want to make sure this is really what you want. If you woke up tomorrow and regretted spending the night with me, it would kill me.” Or if we woke up, and I confessed, and she hated me. Yeah, that would gut me, too. How had I come to care so much about the opinion of someone I barely knew?

  “I won’t regret it, Caleb. I’m a grown woman, and I know what I want.”

  I cupped her face and gazed into her incredibly blue eyes. “Trust me, baby. I know exactly how much of a woman you are. But will you please just give me this? One night is all I’m asking.”

  Her expression turned soft, and she smiled. “Could you be any more amazing?”

  Yeah. A fuck of a lot. You have no idea what an asshole I truly am.

  “Okay, one night. But I want a favor in return.”

  I kissed her nose and released her face to loop my arms around her waist. “Anything.”

  “Will you come to dinner with my family on Christmas Eve?”

  My brows shot up, and I gaped at her. “You want me to meet your family?”

  Raven covered her mouth with her hands, but couldn’t contain her laughter. “You..hahaha…you should see your…hahaha…face!”

  I scratched my head, confused by what was happening.

  “Relax, Caleb. I’m not asking for a commitment and a ring. I asked for two reasons. One, I hate the idea of you spending Christmas Eve here alone. And two, it will drive my mother absolutely insane if I bring home a guy, who I know she’ll love, that leaves the next day.”

  She’d told me enough about her mother for me to understand why she wanted to needle her. “Shame on you,” I teased as I pinched her sweet, round ass and shook my head.

  She yelped and scrambled off my lap, only for me to tackle her. I took her down to the ground and tickled her until she cried surrender.

  “You are so fucking beautiful,” I breathed as I stared down into her clear, blue eyes. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was trying to catch her breath, which made her tits bounce enticingly.

  “Will you at least think about it?” she asked sweetly.

  I brushed my lips over hers and murmured, “Of course. Now, I better go, or I won’t be able to.”

  Raven looked as though she might argue, but instead, she just smiled and walked me to the door. “I’m glad I met you, Caleb Adler. Whatever happens, this night was totally worth it.”

  I hoped she still felt that way when she learned the truth.

  As I walked back to the inn, I wrestled with my conscience. By the time I arrived at my room, I’d convinced myself not to spend any more time with Raven Ashley. To just do my job and leave her to her life.

  Chapter 4

  Raven

  I woke up with the biggest smile on my face, feeling like spiced hot chocolate. Last night had been the most fun I'd had in some time, and I couldn't stop thinking about him. After getting ready for the day, and a quick breakfast, I headed to work, determined to talk Caleb into coming with me to dinner that night.

  Jenna was at the front desk when I stopped by to see how everything was going. I'd been fortunate to find her because she’d only been looking to work holidays and weekends. She had another day job she'd wanted to supplement. From South Africa, she didn't celebrate the American holidays, and for whatever reason—I didn't pry—she didn't celebrate Christmas.

  "Wow," Jenna said in greeting, looking me up and down. "You're glowing." She grinned suddenly and snapped her fingers. "You met someone!"

  I laughed and pressed my cold hands to my hot cheeks. "Does it really show?"

  "Nah,"she winked. “Only to those of us who know you well."

  "It's a bit tricky since he's visiting, but… there's just something between us. I've never felt anything like it." I sighed dreamily.

  "I smell love," Jenna teased.

  It shocked me when I realized that she might have a point. Was love at first sight real? Before I met Caleb, I would have laughed at the notion, but now…I wasn't so sure.

  Still, I avoided any further discussion of the subject with Jenna. "I have a meeting with Colin in twenty. Then I'll be doing last-minute checks to make sure everything is set for Christmas Eve and Christmas. Let me know if you need anything before I leave for my parent's place around four."

  "I can handle things," she assured me. "Have a great holiday!"

  I grinned. "Thanks!" As I practically floated into the Lodge, I wondered again if this chemistry between Caleb and I could be love. When I spotted him exiting the breakfast room, I blushed even though he couldn't know what I'd been thinking. My heart was bursting with happiness as I approached him with a ginormous smile. I was warm and fuzzy inside as if I'd downed a hot chocolate spiked with rum.

  He began to smile when he saw me, but then it melted away, replaced by a stoic expression.

  "Good morning," I greeted him as I walked up and went up onto my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. He bent down to accept the gesture, but his movements were stiff, and he didn't reciprocate.

  "Good morning, Raven. I'm glad I ran into you this morning."

  "Me, too!" I chirped, only slightly deterred by his strange behavior.

  "Thank you for the invitation to spend Christmas Eve with you, but I'm afraid I have to decline. I'm leaving first thing in the morning, and I really should prepare for my trip home."

  I took a few steps back, the cold emanating from him creating icicles inside me. "Okay. Um, well…"

  "Goodbye," he said tersely before stalking off.

  What the figgy pudding just happened?

  I'd thought last night had been magical for both of us. Had I imagined the chemistry between us? Maybe it had been one-sided, and I just didn't want to see it?

  Moving slowly, I headed to my office, asking myself a million questions about Caleb and our night together. Unfortunately, I only had more questions and no answers. By the time I was in my office and sitting in my chair, I'd almost convinced myself things were better this way since he was leaving. This was a prime example of why I didn't get involved with visitors.