Stroke of Love (36 page)

She looked around the living room again, and her eyes caught on the glass doors that led to the garden in his backyard; then they lifted to the glass panels that spanned the back of the room and arced over the far end of the living room, giving it a greenhouse feel.

“Sage,” she said in one long breath as she walked toward the doors. “Oh my gosh.”

He picked up a remote control from a sofa table by the wall and pressed a button. The garden illuminated from the ground up, and Kate gasped another breath. “You must spend hours out there.”

“I always thought I would, but I never made the time.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the side of her neck. “But I will now.”

She turned in to him, and he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her until he couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t been in his arms. When they drew apart, she was looking at him with all the love and all the desire that swelled within him. Jack’s words whispered to him:
You just liked what you were doing more than you liked who was waiting for you
, and Sage knew, without a doubt, that with Kate in his life, he’d make the time to do all the things he always thought he would but had never done. Loving her like she’d never been loved before was on the top of his list.

The End

SIX INCHES OF fresh snow covered the roads. Even with the windshield wipers set to high, Cash Ryder could barely see a few feet in front of the all-terrain vehicle he’d borrowed from his buddy Tommy. The roads appeared empty, but he knew that in a storm like this one, there could be fifty cars just outside his limited range of visibility. It was as if New York had been swallowed by snow, and Cash wondered how many accidents the local fire department would have to deal with. As a firefighter, he’d seen it all, from overconfident teens skidding into trees to truckers unable to stop their massive rigs from rumbling over the tops of cars that had collided on black ice. Cash was headed to his eldest brother Duke’s house, just outside of New York City, and the storm had come out of nowhere. He needed a break from the city. Hell, he needed a break from life. Visiting his brother for the evening had seemed like the perfect escape. He hadn’t seen him for a few months, and the last time they’d been together, Cash’s emotions had been raw. He’d laid into Duke—and everyone else who was in his path—with a venomous rage that even he hadn’t known he possessed. Luckily, Duke wasn’t a grudge holder. He understood that even the most prepared person could be knocked sideways on occasion, and Cash knew that Duke would always be there for him.

He gritted his teeth as memories of the tragic day that completely fucked with his mind played through his head like a bad rerun. His pulse sped up, chased by full-body chills. Sweat beaded his brow despite the cold.
Shit
.
I couldn’t get to the guy
. He tried to comfort himself with the last, and most difficult, reminder the therapist his chief had told him to speak with had given him. The one she felt was the most important—and the one that he could barely stomach.
It wasn’t my fault.

Skid marks across the fresh snow pulled him from the painful thoughts. Not just skid marks, but thick trails, as if a car had skidded sideways. He eased up on the gas and craned his neck, squinting into the storm.
Shit
.
Definitely recent. Definitely over the edge of the mountain
. He pulled onto the shoulder, cursing under his breath, and pulled his woolen cap over his head, zipped his parka, and slid his hands into his thick gloves. He pulled out his cell phone and reported the accident to 911. Then he grabbed the emergency bag that contained a first-aid kit, a glass-breaking tool, and other rescue items he never left home without and headed into the storm.

SIENA REMINGTON’S TEETH chattered as she struggled against the airbag pressed against her chest.
Okay. Okay. Calm down.
Wasn’t that the key to surviving? Remaining calm? Her heart slammed against her ribs, which ached from the impact of the accident. She tried to get her bearings, but all she could see was white. The car leaned to the right, and she had no way of knowing if she was on the edge of a precipice or on solid ground. She hadn’t seen anyone on the roads, and she’d skidded off the pavement ten minutes ago. She hadn’t even told her friend Willow that she’d left the city and was on her way.
Oh God.
Her cell phone rang. She scanned the floor.
Goddamn phone.
She hadn’t even reached for it when it rang as she was driving. She’d glanced at it—for a second, maybe two—and then
wham!
Her car was skidding off the road toward the edge of the mountain. Now the frigging phone was nowhere in sight.
And I’m going to die out here in bum-fuck New York
.
Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Hey, you all right in there?”

A man’s deep voice broke through her worry. “Yes! Help me. Please!”
Oh, thank God.
“Hurry. Please hurry.” She grabbed her hat from her pocket and pulled it down low over her head, debating braving the conditions and getting out of her car. She couldn’t remember ever being so cold.

A gloved hand cleared the snow from her window; then a set of eyes pressed close, one hand shielding them as the window fogged from his breath. Siena gasped a breath before realizing that any sane person would be covered up in this weather. Her heartbeat picked up as she stared at the mask that covered everything but a swatch of skin around serious, dark eyes.
Sexy dark eyes
,
filled with serious concern
.
Jesus, what am I thinking?

“Please help me.” She struggled with her seat belt.

“Are you hurt? Injured in any way?”

Siena moved her legs and arms. “No. I don’t think so.”

“Good. Your car is sideways.” His voice was muffled behind the mask and the window. “It’s stable, but when I open this door, it could jostle it into a slide, so I want to get you out as fast as possible. Can you get out of your seat belt?”

She pulled at the buckle. “Yes. Yes, I think I can.”
Oh God. Please get me out
.
Sideways?
“A slide? Like I could slide off the mountain?” Tears pressed at her eyes.

He looked away, then back through the window. “I don’t think so. You’re on a pretty flat spot. Got the seat belt off?”

“Yes. Wait. You don’t
think
so? What if the car slides? Am I near a big drop? Jesus, I don’t want to die.”

His eyes narrowed. “Calm down,” he commanded.

Siena clenched her chattering teeth.

“I’m a firefighter. I can get you out, but you have to remain calm. Can you do that?”

She nodded.
A firefighter. Thank God. Hurry. Hurry
.

He didn’t seem to struggle with the door. He opened it slowly, and his powerful arm circled her shoulder. “I’ve got you. Now slide your legs over and out of the car. You sure you’re not injured?”

She felt safer just knowing she wasn’t alone, but as she stepped from the car onto the steep incline, she slipped and reached for the first thing she could hang on to—him. She clung to the man’s thick parka as he pulled her away from the car, his arms circling her. Her legs began to shake. Or maybe they’d been shaking the whole time and she just hadn’t realized it.

“You’re okay. I’ve got you.” His voice soothed her.

He did have her. His body was so big, it practically consumed her. She opened her mouth to speak, but her jaw was shaking too much to form any words. She nodded again, looking down to keep the snow from her eyes.

“I’ve gotta get you up there.” He pointed to the road. “The emergency crew should be here soon, but I want to get you into my truck and warm.”

It was snowing so hard she could barely make out the road at the top of the hill. Her cute Burberry coat did nothing to warm her from the cold that was quickly settling into her bones. His masculine scent permeated her fear as he pressed his body against her, and the combination of being safe in his arms and his warm, earthy scent comforted her. She climbed up the bank, still within his grasp. Every time she lost her footing, he held her up.

“You’ve got it. That’s it.”

She clung to his encouragement like a lifeline.

“That’s it. Take your time. I’m right here.”

Back on the road, she focused on the headlights from his vehicle.
Safe. I’m safe
.

“Let’s get you into the truck.”

The tracks from her car were almost completely buried beneath fresh snow. If he hadn’t come along, she would probably still be down there.

“Th-thank…you,” she managed. He’d spoken with such care, so different from the men she socialized with. They’d never brave a blizzard to rescue her. She was sick of those kinds of men. They treated her like she was stupid and easy just because she was pretty. She wanted to be loved and cherished, romanced, not taken out to dinner with the expectation of sex. She didn’t want to be wined and dined with diamonds on every finger. She wanted a man who would look at her the way her brothers looked at their girlfriends and fiancées. Her brothers would go to the ends of the earth to rescue her or their girlfriends, no matter what the risk.
Romance. Yes, that’s what I want
. How much more romantic could things get than being rescued by a mysterious stranger in the middle of a snowstorm? She allowed herself to fantasize about it for a moment, giving herself something to focus on besides the fact that she’d just slid fifty feet down an embankment and had nearly frozen to death. As if the accident might have almost been worth it. As if fate had a hand in it.

The man settled Siena into the passenger seat, and she saw his eyes darken, growing more serious. Then he climbed into the driver’s seat, sighed, and cranked the heat.

She took off her thin leather gloves and put her bare hands in front of the heater. “Ahh. That’s so much better.” Her shaking calmed to a mild tremble. “Thank you for helping me.”

He shifted his eyes to hers. “I have to go back for my bag. I called 911, so the emergency crew should be here soon. Stay here, okay?” He climbed from the truck, leaving Siena to nod after him.

Now that she was out of danger, reality came rushing back to her. She was supposed to be at her friend Willow’s parents’ house over an hour ago.
Damn it
. She needed to call Willow. She waited for her rescuer to return, thankful for the warmth. Twenty minutes later, she wondered what was taking him so long. She could probably climb down and get her phone herself instead of making him do everything for her and, she realized, she also needed to retrieve her purse. She wasn’t hurt, and now that she knew she wasn’t going to die, she wasn’t as frightened. Siena put her gloves back on and trudged through the thick snow to the edge of the road, shivering and regretting her decision. She peered over the edge of the mountain but didn’t see the guy anywhere.

“I told you to wait in the truck.” His stern voice came from nowhere. “Visibility is near zero. If a car comes by, you could be killed.”

She strained to see him through the falling snow.

“I’m right here.” He climbed up over the edge of the road with a bag strapped to his back. “Don’t you get how dangerous these conditions are?” He grabbed her arm and dragged her back toward the truck.

Too fucking sexy, even without being able to see his face, and a big-ass chip on his shoulder
.
Fantasy dead. Moving on
. Except her heart wasn’t moving on. It hammered against her chest.

Siena pulled her arm from his grasp. “I have to get my purse.”

“I’ll get it.”

“I need my phone.”

He opened the truck door and shoved her in, then pinned her to the seat with his dark, sexy stare. “Use mine.”

She looked down at his thick gloves, one on her thigh, one on her arm, keeping her from leaving the truck. A flash of fear shot through her. She didn’t know him, and she was no match for his strength. What if he wasn’t a firefighter at all? She took a deep breath. If he wasn’t there to help, why had he left her alone in the truck? Wouldn’t he have taken her off to some kind of rape-and-pillage shack in the woods somewhere?

I’m being stupid. Of course he’s here to help
.

She pushed aside the thoughts and followed her gut instinct. Something in his eyes made her feel he was trustworthy, although she definitely wasn’t used to being told what to do. Siena was one of New York’s top fashion models. Men lavished her with gifts and went to great lengths to get her attention. She didn’t even like being lavished by the wealthy suitors who pursued her, but she definitely preferred that to the attitude-ridden rescuer before her. She dropped her eyes to his broad shoulders, square as the day was long, and she could almost hear the hot-man-on-the-premises warning bells go off in her head.