Then he shut the door, leaving Emma red-faced...but slightly turned on.
2
ERIK EYED THE ROADWAY, looking for patches of ice, and then glanced over at his sister’s best friend. “The road looks okay. They’re clear around Denver, but my buddy at highway patrol said traffic was still a nightmare. This shortcut will get you there faster.”
“Good,” Emma said, her hands folded primly in her lap. She wore a thick sweater with a scarf, a pair of black leggings and suede boots that stretched up her long legs to the bottom of her thighs. She looked amazing, especially with her blond waves falling over her shoulders and those pretty green eyes flocked by thick sooty lashes.
How in the hell would all those frat boys stay focused on Chaucer instead of their English lit professor’s nice ass?
Probably with her cool demeanor. There was something so untouchable about Emma.
He’d insisted on driving her after fighting with a hobbling sister who had finally admitted she was in no shape to travel with her friend. Luckily, he’d showed no effects from the temporary smoke exhaustion. Apparently, eight uninterrupted hours of sleep worked wonders.
“Thank you again for driving me. I really wanted to be there to see my parents receive their award.” Emma twisted her fingers and glanced over at him with those guileless green eyes.
“I wasn’t letting you go alone in this weather, and, hey, at least I don’t have to listen to Alexis bitch all weekend about her ankle.”
“Poor Lex. Her ankle was so swollen. I feel bad for leaving her.”
“It’s a sprain. Layton said he’d drive her to get an X-ray, but it’s not serious.” Erik narrowed his eyes, looking for the turnoff. Normally, he’d never take a back road when the interstate and other well-traveled highways would be salted and much safer, but the dinner and dance honoring Emma’s parents started in less than two hours. If Emma wanted to make it, then he had to make up for lost time. The ice storm had been bad and the interstate had opened a mere hour ago. Finding the correct turn, he slowed and carefully steered Emma’s Lexus SUV onto the narrow two-lane highway.
Emma made a face. “I’ve never been this way before.”
“I came this way all the time when I was in college. Don’t worry. I’ve driven it in weather worse than this.”
“I forgot you went to the Air Force Academy.”
“For a year.” He gave a shrug, slightly embarrassed he’d abandoned academia for something so mundane as being a firefighter. Deal was, he loved his job and knew it was where he belonged. Every hour he’d spent in a classroom had been excruciating. College hadn’t been his cup of tea.
A few miles down the road that no longer felt familiar, he noted more frequent patches of ice. The road had been plowed at some point, but the salting had either been overlooked or the county hadn’t bothered spending the money on a seldom-used byway. He needed to be very careful, so he decreased his speed and vowed to stop eyeing Emma’s firm thighs. However, he could do nothing about the sensuous perfume that took his thoughts to places they had no business going.
The tires on the car slipped a few times, making Emma clutch the dashboard. “I’m sorry I’m being a nervous Nellie,” she said, laughing at herself.
“Well, it’s a bit worse than I remembered,” Erik admitted, though he didn’t want to state he’d been wrong about taking the shortcut. He probably should have stuck to the cleared interstate, getting Emma to the community center late, rather than trying to play macho hero. He’d just seen that look of longing in her eyes and wanted to impress her for some odd reason.
A sharp curve lay ahead and Erik tapped the brakes to slow down. Just as he started the turn, he hit black ice. The car slid sideways, veering toward the guardrail and a steep embankment.
“Ah,” Emma squeaked as the back of the SUV fishtailed. He felt her grab the handle above her head but kept his eyes focused on the road and hands on the wheel. He managed to get control of the vehicle and had just breathed a sigh of relief when the back fender clipped the guardrail.
The Lexus did a 180-degree spin. The tires could find no traction as the SUV tilted backward over the embankment.
The seat belt jerked him against the seat and he heard Emma screaming.
Oh, shit.
He pressed the brake, locking up the tires, but he couldn’t slow the momentum. They went down the steep embankment. Branches whooshed by and then the vehicle hit something that spun them another 180 degrees so that they were hurtling right toward a—