Daring to Love: A Contemporary Romance (The Armstrongs Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

way!
    Suddenly, he mentally cursed himself, his stupid bet, and his thrill seeking attitude. He cursed Hannes and the whole World Cup circus. He even cursed Tanner for choosing this particular woman. She was exactly his type and Tanner knew that. Dammit!
    Again, his daredevil nature had brought him into a mess of a situation. Holy shit! You’ve got yourself into a fine mess this time!
    His lips finally released her so they could both take a breath. Breathless, he saw the hunger in her eyes and in a rare move to do the right thing, he took the most difficult decision of his adult life. He backed off.
    “Sorry. I didn’t mean to maul you.” I actually want to rip of your clothes and spend the next hour devouring every inch of your skin, but I can’t.
    He wanted her. There was no doubt about that, and his body was clamoring for him to forget his conscience and go with the feelings of the moment. But he just couldn’t turn his head off. Don’t treat her like this. She’s not a trophy, or the winning prize in a competition. She deserves better than this.
    “I guess we should head back down the mountain, huh?” He could see the disappointment in her eyes as her ardor cooled, and it cut right into his heart.
    He hollered to the attendant to get his attention, “Hey, we’re back down.”
    “Sure thing. Get over there and take the chair after this one,” the attendant told him.

Chapter 5
     
    Charlene was still trying to deal with her turbulent feelings as she sat down on the chair lift and they began their descent. She felt as if someone had just thrown her into the Arctic sea. Her body, that only moments ago had been hot and steaming with desire, was now about to freeze over into an iceberg.
    The hottest kiss I’ve ever had, and after all of his flirting, he apologizes and goes cold? Do I kiss that badly? The doubts continued to roll through her brain. One more reason to never make out with a client!
    The only bright spot she could find in this entire situation was that he hadn’t killed himself going down that double black diamond slope. So, in that respect, the kiss had been worth it. It was just a kiss! Just a kiss! She tried to convince herself of that, but she knew that kissing Evan had been so much more than just a kiss.
    When they arrived back at Eagle Mountain village, another worry clouded her mind. How was she going to handle instructing him for the next few hours. There were still two hours left on his original six, and she didn’t know how in the world she was supposed to forget what happened up on the top of the mountain and go forward.
    “You made good progress. Ready for another round on the bunny slope?” she offered him, mentally patting herself on the back for how steady her voice was. Nicely done. She was a professional. She could do this.
    “Thanks, you’re not a bad instructor. But I guess I’m done for today.” He said, removing his skis.
    “Well…,” she paused, unsure of how to act. Deciding to treat him as any other paying customer, she stuck her hand out, “It was nice meeting you.”
    He shook her hand briefly, avoiding to look into her eyes and then busied himself with releasing the clasps on his ski boots. With nothing else to do, she turned and headed off towards the employee locker room.
    She’d only gone about twenty feet, when a boisterous voice from behind her caused her to turn around.
    “Well, if it isn’t Evan Armstrong, the grandiose womanizer! That woman there certainly doesn’t look as if she’ll be hopping into your bed anytime soon. You owe me five grand. Next time better not bet with me, loser!”
    Charlene turned away, tears in her eyes as she rushed towards the locker rooms and solitude. She’d been nothing more than a bet? Evan Armstrong? Not Evan Miller? Who in the hell… Suddenly, the extent of the deception that had been played hit her. Holy crap! Evan Armstrong! I just spent the last few hours trying to teach the triple world champion how to