Mountain's Captive (9 page)

Q
uickly drying off
, Chloe wrapped an oversized towel around her body. The mornings in Montana were extremely chilly. Even though the rest of the lodge was warm, the bathroom always stayed cold, especially after a shower.

Grabbing her dirty clothes off of the floor, she hugged them to her chest. She had once again forgotten to bring a change of clothes to the bathroom with her. At home, she was used to being able to walk through her house however she pleased. Sighing, she knew she was going to have to make a run for it. Not that she expected Everest to be around. He was probably hard at work.

Things had been good between them since his peace offering the day before. She had been at the lodge for nearly two weeks and she couldn’t believe how well she had adjusted to the new lifestyle. Everest was right. She had been able to get a lot more work done, after she had grown used to the silence.

Her impending birthday did weigh heavily on her mind. She knew she owed it to a lot of people to get married. She did her best not to think of it. There was nothing she could do snowed in on a mountain. She only hoped Devon could find a clause to extend her time period. Her father was so careful with details, surely there would be some clause to protect her should she get in an accident. And being snowed in was certainly an accident.

Chloe poked her head out of the bathroom and around the corner. Seeing she was alone, she made a run for the bedroom door. Since she held the dirty laundry and the towel she found it hard to maneuver the doorknob.

“Oh, sorry.”

Chloe froze when she heard Everest behind her. Licking her dry lips, she swallowed nervously. She refused to turn around to face him.

“Do you need some help?” he inquired gruffly. Everest cleared his throat. She heard him take an uncertain step toward her. Her body ached fiercely. Her limbs shook and she felt like she wanted to cry out from the agonizing pain of her need.

Chloe turned and gave him a guilty look. She felt too exposed under his intense gaze. “No. I forgot to bring my clothes with me to the bathroom.”

“Let me get the door for you.” Everest came toward her. His eyes strayed to the wet tops of her exposed breasts. They were the color of silken cream.

Chloe pulled the towel closer to her, unaware that it pressed her breasts up to show a disarming amount of cleavage. She stepped aside. She could smell the fresh scent of his flesh as his thick neck neared her. She shivered, aching to drop the towel and touch him.

Everest leaned down and pushed open the door. Little beads of water sprinkled her skin, beckoning him to lick them off of her. He refused the temptation. Her wet hair brushed against his shoulder and the scent of herbal flowers drifted up to him. It was the same smell as her shampoo. She had left it in the shower and he couldn’t stop himself from smelling it. It seemed she was leaving little pieces of herself everywhere in his home. He was beginning to not even mind her little messes.

“Were you looking for me?” she asked, not wanting to leave his nearness. The bedroom door creaked slowly open drawing their minds instantly to the warm bed within. Chloe was surprised when he didn’t back immediately away.

“Yes.” Everest smiled down at her, not remembering why he had sought her out.

Chloe gazed deeply into his piercing hazel-green orbs, mesmerized by the strength of emotion she saw in them. Under the rugged, hard surface Everest was a deeply passionate man.

“Why?” Chloe whispered in breathless awe. Her throat became dry and she swallowed nervously. She refused to come on to him again. She wondered if he even realized how beguiling his nearness was or how disconcerting.

Everest stared at her lips, unable to answer for a moment. He could almost see the sparks that lit between their heated bodies. He clenched his fists to keep from touching her.

“Oh,” he mumbled, stepping back. He shook his head as if to clear it. “I wanted an opinion on something, a New Yorker’s opinion.”

“Oh,” Chloe echoed in disappointment. Cocking her head cutely to the side, she inquired, “Give me a minute?”

“Take as long as you need. I’ll be in the workshop.” Everest averted his gaze and quickly left the room. He wasn’t sure he could calm his desires and he had the feeling that they were burning dangerously out of control. Taking a deep breath, he tried to slow his rapid pulse. He didn’t know how he was going to last the rest of her time at his home. If he saw her in a towel again, his guess was he wouldn’t last at all.

Chloe threw his large flannel over her tank undershirt and tied the drawstring at her waist. The sweats were rather big, but felt wonderful. Feeling very relaxed, she left the bedroom. Her hair was still wet from her shower and she brushed it back away from her face. She was starting to feel more like her normal self.

She was extremely comfortable in the lodge. Everest’s quiet solitude soothed her in an odd way. She felt safe there, as long as he was near. He had left the lodge only once to check the mountain pass. They were still snowed in. Neither one of them had thought it would be otherwise.

It had been unsettling to be caught in her towel, and she couldn’t help but notice Everest’s violent reaction to her near naked state. Chloe scolded herself for being ridiculously hopeful. She usually paid little attention to her baser needs, discovering at a young age that sex in theory was usually better than the real thing. But, with Everest, she began to doubt the logic. Every fiber in her pulled to be with him. No doubt that is how she got into her current situation. Drunk she would be no match for his animalistic allure.

Hell, thought Chloe with a wry lift to her head, I’m no match for it sober.

She felt honored that Everest would seek her opinion about his work. It was one of the greatest compliments he could have paid to her. Not wanting to keep him waiting and more truthfully wanting to see him again, she made her way to his workshop. She knocked on the door even though it was cracked open.

“Come in, Chloe.”

Chloe pushed open the door. His voice was soft like a gentle caress, but low like a rumbling mountain storm. Her eyes immediately picked him out of the room, sweeping over his gladiator-like form before he glanced to her. She smiled innocently at him, a blush barely visible underneath her white skin.

Everest leaned over a clock, sanding its grooves with a fine paper. She watched the powerfully precise movements of his strong hand and the straining motions of his muscular arm. Her smile widened when he finished and looked fully at her.

“I see you got them to fit,” he said eyeing her outfit. She looked damned sexy in his clothing, more so than when she was dressed up. The sweats belonged to Grandpa though he never wore them, but the flannel was his. For a moment his gaze got trapped at her narrow waist as it tapered off into the sweatpants. The tie string hung in a small loop, enticing his fingers to loosen it with a bold flick.

“Yeah. What are you working on?” she asked as she moved toward him, only wanting to get closer. The faint stirring of dust settled in the air. It fell about him like a mist through the light of his work lamp.

“This one is almost done,” he admitted. “I only have to polish it and put in the timepiece.”

“Will you show me?” she asked, intrigued.

Everest looked at her in astonishment. In his disbelief, he questioned, “You really want to learn?”

“Yeah,” Chloe laughed at his doubtful expression. “It would be fun to say that I got to help with a Beaumont. It would give me a story to tell at all those boring New York parties the publishers put on.”

“All right. Come over here.” Everest led her to a drafting table. “This is where I put the inside of the clock together. I’ve already done that.”

Chloe nodded. She was studying his face instead of his hands.

“And then you just insert this into here,” he instructed, not bothering to look away from her. Chloe nodded again.

“Then what?” she sighed, her words whispered past his neck to caress him under the ear.

“Chloe.” Everest let go of the clock pieces and turned fully toward her. “You know we shouldn’t do this. It’s wrong.”

“What are we doing?” she questioned innocently. Her eyes hardened slightly, but her smile stayed persistently intact. “You’re teaching me to build a clock. Can I help it if I’m an inattentive student?”

Everest ignored her vague humor with a grim shake of his head.

“You have to feel it as I do.” Everest took a step away from her. “It’s not right, you’re engaged.”

“Oh, you mean Paul.” Chloe took a step after him, stalking him boldly. She couldn’t stop herself. He admitted he wanted her, which was more than her body could shrug off. If he didn’t desire her, that would be different. But she could see no reason why they should torture themselves if they both wanted the same thing.

“I don’t understand you. You say it like it’s no big deal. You are engaged, Chloe. It’s a very big deal.” Everest didn’t back away again. He found himself almost not caring.

Chloe took another step to him. “Let me tell you something about Paul. I have never met him. I will owe him no loyalty until we are married. And then, according to his lawyers, loyalty is optional as long as I am discreet.”

“You’re telling me you have never met your future husband?” Everest shook his head in disbelief. It did make sense. The way she hardly thought to mention him, the way she was able to marry the wrong man and not know it until it was too late. “Then, why?”

“Why would I throw my life away, you mean?” Chloe let loose a frustrated sigh. She didn’t want to discuss it, but she didn’t want to lie to him either. “My father sort of arranged the marriage. I don’t have a choice.”

“Everyone has a choice. We’re not in the Middle Ages. Besides, I thought you said that your father was dead.” Everest took a step back and was brought up against the table.

Chloe didn’t pursue him. “How can I even begin to explain? I don’t have a choice. I have to marry Paul. If I don’t I won’t get my inheritance.”

“So you’re marrying him for money,” Everest concluded in disgust. He had thought she was better than that. It proved he really didn’t know her.

“No, I’m marrying for my inheritance,” Chloe flung defensively back at him. She was angry he doubted her character so easily. Hissing under her breath in aggravation, she said, “I didn’t say I was to inherit money.”

“Then what?” Everest questioned. “What inheritance is so important that you would give up your happiness for it?”

“I will get some money, but I don’t care about that. Part of the will’s stipulation is that I am not to talk about it,” Chloe frowned before dejectedly adding, “with anyone but my lawyer.”

“Then don’t tell me.” He turned to leave her.

“Wait,” Chloe snapped a little too harshly. Lowering her voice, but not her hard tone, she stated, “Let me finish.”

“What?” He turned back to her. He placed his hand defiantly on his hips.

“I am going to tell you on your promise that you will never mention it. I’m taking you at your word.” Chloe felt her insides shake. She had a hard time trusting men and she was taking one of the biggest risks of her life in telling him.

“I give you my word.” Everest knew he should tell her he didn’t care. He should tell her not to risk it if it was that important. But he couldn’t do it. He found himself needing to know.

“My father’s will stated that I had to marry by my thirtieth birthday and bear a child by my thirty-second birthday, unless it was medically proven I could not have children or was having a hard time conceiving. In such a case, I would have to provide medically documented proof that I had been trying for at least a year and would continue to try.” Chloe closed her eyes and turned away from him. “My future husband had to be tested for fertility before the match was made.”

“And the inheritance?” he asked quietly. The very idea of such a strong-armed will made him physically ill. What kind of father would do such a thing?

“My father’s publishing house, his printing warehouses, and a couple dozen other businesses he owns, his entire estate and one hundred million dollars.” Chloe answered. “All to be given out in time allotments throughout the marriage, or upon the birth of children, or under proven necessity, et cetera, et cetera. There is a bunch of legal clauses as to the disbursements. But after ten years of marriage we will be allowed to divorce and the entire remaining inheritance will be mine. My husband will be given an ample pension, if you will, for time served and we’ll be allowed to go our separate ways.”

“So you are marrying for money,” Everest concluded. Stiffly, he added, “I’m glad that I’m not a part of that arrangement.”

Chloe shook her head. Somehow she had known he would look down on it as she had. She was relieved that his character was such that he hadn’t even thought to get in on the deal himself. “No, not just the money. I have plenty of my own. But, if I don’t do it, a lot of people will lose their jobs. A lot of people I care about and have grown up around. If I don’t do it the businesses will be torn apart, sold to the highest bidder and the some eighty thousand plus workers turned out on the streets. I can’t allow that to happen.”

“I see.” Everest found his opinion of her changing, though he couldn’t tell her. Her fate was sealed. She was to marry Paul. And in doing so she was giving one of the ultimate sacrifices—her happiness.

Chloe turned to him, desperate to not have him hate her. Tears brimmed over in her eyes. “Do you think ill of me? I wouldn’t blame you if you did. This is a disgusting mess.”

“No, Chloe.” Everest shook his head and took a step toward her. She looked so alone in the world. He wished he could have a moment with her father, so he could teach the bastard a couple lessons about love, compassion and family. He wrapped his arms around her narrow shoulders to comfort her. “I admire the sacrifice you’re making.”

“You’re angry?” Chloe shook in his light embrace. He felt so safe and warm. She was glad he understood that for her it was a sacrifice, not a blessing. Yes, she would never want for money. But what was that to her? She had everything she could ever need, a home and a solid career. Well, she had almost everything. She didn’t have a true family. Her father had made sure of that in life and would continue to guarantee it in death.