Chapter Two
The first thing Greer thought when she came to was that she was floating, her body swaying as if in mid-air.
Then she realized she wasn’t floating, but cradled against something hard, with steel bands under her shoulders and knees.
And the third was that her head hurt like a son of a bitch.
Greer opened her eyes and blinked against the harsh sun sparkling through the white trees, sure she was dreaming. Otherwise, she was looking up into the smiling face of a man.
A seriously hot, sexy man with a dimple in his left cheek.
“There you are. I was worried you weren’t going to wake up. Looks like you took quite a spill.”
She couldn’t think of a single cohesive sentence as she stared up at him. His eyes were a bright, cobalt blue and his hair a rich brown that nearly came to his shoulders. His jaw was square, covered in a day’s growth, and had her wondering if the hair would be soft or scratchy against her lips.
Greer started to shake her head, and groaned in pain. She had to be concussed. There was no way she’d be thinking about kissing a complete stranger’s stubble unless she was out of her head.
“Who…who are you?” she asked, softly.
“Xander Thorson. And you are? If you can remember your name, that is. Your noggin took quite a hit.”
It might take her a second, but hell yeah, she could remember her name. “It’s Greer. Kimble.”
“Greer.” The way he said it, as if he were tasting the sound of her name on his lips, made her shiver. “I like it.”
“Well, I’m glad because it is the only one I’ve got.”
He chuckled. “If you can be that sassy, I think you’re feeling better.”
“Sure, except for the evil gnomes tap dancing on my brain and every ache and pain throughout my entire being, I’m right as rain.”
His brow furrowed, and his blue eyes were so filled with concern, it warmed her all over.
Damn it! I have a boyfriend and I am sitting here lusting after another man.
“I’ll take you to the hospital. My home is just around this bend.”
“You live in Twilight? I’ve never seen you before.” And boy, would she have remembered him.
“I’m just renting a place for the winter. Figured I’d do some snowboarding, drive into Sun Valley. Maybe meet up with a few people.”
Greer tried to remember if she’d seen him in any movies or TV shows. Anyone who rented a place here and had friends in Sun Valley had to be a celebrity of some kind. The only reason she could afford her home was because her parents had left it to her when they died.
“Actor, model, or billionaire?” she asked.
He actually laughed, throwing his whole head into it, and Greer’s gaze involuntarily traveled over the column of his neck. He had a beautiful one.
Who thinks necks are hot besides vampires?! I am such a creeper.
“I’m none of the above, actually. The house I am staying in belongs to my uncle, who spends the winters in Arizona.”
“Oh, well, that’s cool. I live over on Moonlight Way.”
He grinned down at her, a sexy slant of his lips that did bad things to her nethers.
And now she was thinking like Kaylee from Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Never mind creeper, she was a full-on spaz.
“That’s just one street over,” he said, his arms squeezing her tighter. “We’re practically neighbors.”
“Great. I’d bake you a “welcome to the neighborhood” cake, but I’d burn it.”
“Not much of a cook?”
“Technically baker, but yeah, boiling water is a challenge for me.”
That smile of his was dangerous. “I’m actually pretty good at all of it. I’m no Iron Chef, but if you let me make you dinner sometime, I promise it will be edible.”
“I have a boyfriend,” she blurted.
Did he look disappointed or was she losing her mind?
“That’s okay. He can come too.”
Oh God, how embarrassing. She’d totally assumed he was flirting with her and he was probably just being nice.
“Sorry if that was a little abrupt. I shouldn’t have thought you were flirting—
“You should have because I was.” Her jaw dropped and he met her gaze, his blue eyes a mix of heat and humor. “What? I come upon a beautiful woman in the woods in need of rescuing? Of course, I’m going to hit on her.”
His brutal honesty couldn’t have surprised her more if he’d sprouted fangs and a tail.