Slow Burn: A Colorado High Country Novel Read Online Free PDF

question?
    Dude!
    A smile tugged at her lips. “Oh, lakes like Lake Michigan.”
    “Right. Yeah, I knew that.”
    Sure you did.
    “Have you gone boating on a real lake?” Victoria fired back. “Not that there’s anything wrong with this one. It’s cute.”
    Was she flirting with Moretti? And, hey, was she dissing the reservoir? Okay, so it was manmade and wasn’t very big, but not everything could be a Great Lake.
    Moretti grinned. “I grew up in a house two miles from Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. Does that count?”
    Irritated, Eric walked over to the starboard side and reached for the stern line. “Are we going to get out on the water, or are you going to stand there talking?”
    They got down to the business of unmooring the boat, Eric and Austin handling the lines, while Moretti started the motor and maneuvered the boat into open water.
    Sasha walked up to Moretti. “This is a speed boat, right?”
    “You want speed?” He opened the throttle, and they were off.
    Wind hit Eric full in the face, clearing his mind, easing his irritation. What did he care if Vic and Moretti connected? It’s not like he had any claim on Vic. She wasn’t his type anyway. He was attracted to sporty women, women who didn’t waste time on makeup and clothes, women who….
    Lust hit him square in the chest, derailing his train of thought.
    Victoria had taken off the short white dress she’d worn as a cover-up and was making her way toward him in a black bikini, her hair blowing in the wind.
    Holy hell.
    He’d known she had a knock-out body, but … damn . His gaze moved from the swells of her full breasts to her narrow waist to the curve of her hips and her gently rounded belly. He wanted to touch every sweet inch of her, kiss every inch, taste …
    She turned and bent down to grab a can of soda, her luscious, round ass barely covered by the fabric of her bikini.
    X-rated images flashed through his mind—her bent over just like that, his hands on her hips—
    “You might want to close your mouth,” Britta whispered in his ear.
    Eric snapped his jaw shut. Okay, so he’d been staring and thinking things he shouldn’t think. But, Jesus, who could blame him?

    * * *
    V ic sat next to Lexi in the stern, cell phone in hand, cheering with the others as Eric did another front flip. “How does he do that?”
    “He’s had lots of practice.” Lexi brushed a strand of damp hair from her cheek. “He and Austin have been wakeboarding for years. It’s what they do in the summer when they can’t ski or snowboard.”
    Amazed, Vic watched while Eric swung far outside the wake, then cut back toward the center, gaining speed. He launched himself off the wake, did some kind of complicated backward flip, seemed to land on his feet—and wiped out.
    “Oh!” they all said, more or less in unison.
    “He’s down!” Austin called back to Jesse, a grin on his face.
    Jesse cut the throttle to neutral, let the boat drift, then made a slow right turn and idled back toward Eric.
    Eric grabbed hold of the tow cable and motioned for Austin to pull him in. When he reached the swim platform, he hoisted himself out of the water, swinging his feet and the board onto the platform in one fluid motion.
    Austin stepped back to make room for him. “Humbled by the Whirlybird.”
    “Bullshit.” Eric stood, unlaced his boots, and stepped out of them. “I landed it, then caught an edge.”
    “Would you listen to this shit? You wiped out, man.”
    The two men had been ribbing each other all afternoon, and it was evident to Vic that they enjoyed trading insults almost as much as wakeboarding.
    Eric picked up his board and slid it into the rack on the boat’s tower, then unbuckled his floatation vest and tossed it aside. His broad shoulders made his hips look narrow, water running in rivulets down the tanned skin of his chest and belly, his dark nipples tight from the chill.
    A thrill shivered through her.
    Oh. My. God.
    She’d been right, of course. Those