Shit!

Garrett was here? He owned the Indian Peak Ski Resort? She’d left him not eight hours ago with thighs still slick from their amazing sexcapades. She hadn’t expected to see him again so soon. She’d figured that she would likely run into him again—at the club.

But not here, at a place where she had hoped to find employment. Her stomach sank with dread into her toes and she wanted to go beat her head against the wall. How could this be happening to her? This was a prime example of why she didn’t make impulsive decisions. They tended to blow up rather spectacularly in her face.

Garrett’s sexy blue gaze raked over her as he sat down behind his impressive, glossy cherrywood desk. She’d been sitting, rather innocuously, in the comfortable leather wing backed chair, staring at the desk and matching bookshelves that spoke of understated wealth. The entire suite of offices held that deep in the bone luxury, each piece expertly crafted, with hardwood floors. There were no hints that it belonged to the sinfully handsome Dom who had made her orgasm too many times to count mere hours before.

Besides, it wasn’t like she knew what to look for or what he liked or, hell, that his last name was Brooks. When his secretary had seated her in Mister Brooks’s office, the name had not registered even a minute warning blip. Why didn’t his desk have one of those nameplate thingies that said Garrett Brooks? That would have clued her in. Perhaps set off some alarm bells. If she would have known that he was the person she was meeting with, being interviewed by, she would have escaped and canceled the interview to save her dignity. But now she was stuck.

“Cora? I didn’t expect to see you here. What can I do for you?” Garrett asked.

His voice shivered through her body and warmed her from the inside out. “Um, yeah, hi. I didn’t know this was your place,” she admitted, wanting to find a hole to crawl into. It was bad enough that she’d not made it home until almost two thirty. But Milo had decided he wanted pancakes at six o’clock this morning.

“You’re interviewing for the yoga instructor position?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Why else would I be here?” If wishes were horses, she’d wish she had the preternatural ability of foresight. If she’d known last night that her one-night stand owned the resort she would have turned him down flat.

The dark slash of his brows scowled her way. Shoot, she’d forgotten. He’s not just the owner of the resort. He’s a Dom. As in: her flippant remarks could get her in a world of trouble and disciplined in whatever manner he saw fit. She knew that. Hell, it was her cousin who’d warned her what would be expected if she decided to play.

But they weren’t at the club now. So the rules didn’t apply.

Cora returned his scowl with as bland an expression as she could manage. The last thing she would show him was just how unsettled she felt. Or that watching him take the seat behind the desk, in his dark gray slacks and ivory dress shirt, made her lady bits stand at attention. Mainly because she knew precisely what lay beneath. And had felt every spectacular inch of him. He had a lot of inches.

Jesus, she was acting like a horny teenager instead of a single mom who needed a job.

Garrett regarded her. Gone was his initial pleasure-infused smile upon seeing her—and she wasn’t going to ponder the fact that his happiness had zinged through her, spreading warmth and awareness in her form—only to be replaced with that intense, inscrutable expression he had worn last night while he’d watched her in the club. It caused every single one of her nerve endings to light up. Because what he’d been thinking about had been naughty, pulse-pounding sex—with her.

The memories from the previous night assailed her and her insides turned to molten lava. She wanted him. Again. And this was why she didn’t do one-night stands.

“Well, let me take a look at your qualifications,” he said, lifting what she knew was her resume. After a minute, he looked at her and said, “You’re certainly qualified. And if I asked the references you’ve listed, what would they say about your teaching?”

“That I was a favorite among all the instructors. My classes were always full and booked well in advance in Seattle. Many of them cried when I told them I was moving.”

“Then why move to Jackson Hole?” he asked.

“Because I couldn’t afford to live in Seattle anymore. The cost of living here is much more amenable,” she explained, even though really it wasn’t and in some respects, Jackson Hole was more expensive. It was just that her cousin had offered her and Milo a place to rent on the cheap. The thousand square foot, two-story condo normally went for twice what she was paying, and for that Cora was infinitely grateful to her cousin. And that was all Cora would explain. She didn’t care that he owned the resort. Or that he had given her multiple orgasms just hours before. Really intense, ‘couldn’t remember her own name’ orgasms, but that was beside the point.

“And why would you want to work here?” he asked.

“Let’s be honest, you are not seriously interviewing me, right? Not after last night. I think you know as well as I do that we should end the charade right here.”

“No,” Garrett replied before she could make good her escape.

“What?” she asked, stymied by his refusal.

He raised a dark brow and gave her a rather sardonic glance. “I think your hearing is excellent. No, I’m not going to stop the interview. This place needs a new yoga instructor. And judging by your qualifications, you fit the bill.”

Cora wasn’t expecting his response. Had he written off last night as just a bit of fun then? She felt altered by the experience. But, in the scheme of things, did it matter when she needed a job? “Why did the other instructor leave?”

“We loved her but Shelly’s husband was relocated to Texas by his company.”

“And how long have you owned this place?” she asked, more curious about him than she cared to admit.

“Nine years. I bought it after my four-year stint in the army.”

“Really? You don’t seem like the army type.” Then again, he had the body and bearing of a soldier. He missed nothing and exuded a control that not many could master.

A seductive and rather secretive grin spread over his lips and caused fires to ignite in her system. “Well, I’m full of surprises. Why do you want to come work at the resort?”

“The advertisement in the paper made it appear like it would be a good, steady job, and as an outsider in this town it’s harder than you might think to find work.” Considering the only place she’d been able to find employment so far was her cousin’s naughty club, that didn’t bode well for her prospects. And she’d not told her cousin that she’d applied for this job because then he would step in, like he always did, to try and help. As much as she loved him, she had to stand on her own two feet.

“It is; we are a tight knit community in Jackson. Here at the resort, the hours can be tough. I won’t lie, we have a rather demanding clientele that visits this resort and they expect a certain level of—”

“Ass kissing,” she interjected, not holding her tongue. Cora couldn’t take the job here, not with the history she had with Garrett.

The corners of his mouth twitched. “I was going to say they are the high-end crowd and like to be catered to. I like what I’ve seen so far and am offering you the job.”

Of course he would offer it to her.

“Thank you for your time, but I’m going to turn it down.” Doing that sucked, and she figured she might just have to stop at the store to pick up a bottle of wine and pint of chocolate Häagen-Dazs to soothe herself. She’d wanted this job, had been planning in her mind that she would get it. And she had, but there was no way she could work at the resort, not after last night. She might not know much but she knew mixing business with pleasure was not only a terrible idea, it would be catastrophic. Cora couldn’t afford something that wasn’t stable and a sure thing.

“Why not? I’m offering it to you. You wouldn’t have come in for the interview if you didn’t want the job in the first place,” he replied. His voice carried a touch of arrogance, like he knew she was being an idiot for turning the job down and was unused to people telling him no. She certainly hadn’t told him no last night.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” she said, even though it meant she’d have to reassess what she would do. Eventually she hoped to have her own yoga studio, but something like that would take time and money. She had to build her savings up and have the capital handy to take a risk like that.

“Why is that, exactly?” he asked, steepling his fingers together.

“Do I really have to spell it out for you? We slept together, and I think it would be weird.”

“Ah, I see. You still want me.” A salacious grin spread over his face.

Heat pooled in her belly.

“No, it’s not that,” she lied. It was definitely that. Not that she would ever admit it. She’d had her one night of fun. She couldn’t afford to be reckless.

“You sure about that?”

“Look, I appreciate the offer, but I can’t afford to make an irresponsible decision. And working for you would be a bad idea.” Because then she would be close enough to touch him, every day. The only way out of this conversation was if she left. That she hadn’t headed out the moment he walked in proved just how potent he was—that he was something she could become addicted to if she allowed it. Cora gripped her purse in her hands and stood. Better to leave now than make more of a fool of herself.

“I won’t accept a no, Cora. Take a few days to think about it,” Garrett said, standing with her as she headed for the door. She had to get out of there before she said yes, before she asked him to put his hands on her again and take her out of her mind. Before she did something like begin to care about someone who was only supposed to be for a night.

Her gaze connected with his at the door and her heart did a little tumble in her chest. “The answer will still be no.”

And then she escaped his office.