His to Command

“I’ll walk back to the main road. A mile isn’t that far. Then I should be able to get a cab. Or you can get your driver to meet me there.”

“Are you really going to try walking out of here on the icy road? And in those boots?”

She glanced down at her high spike heels. She did wish she had her other boots. They were more practical, but she’d come here for a business meeting and she’d wanted to look her best, so these dressy boots were the right choice.

“I’ll manage.” She pulled on her leather gloves and threw him a defiant glare, then crossed the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “Are you coming?”

She really should just storm out of here on her own, but she was a bit leery about traveling out into the dark icy night on her own.

He shrugged, still with that annoying grin on his face, and walked to the closet by the front door where he retrieved his coat and pulled it on. He slipped on his gloves, then opened the front door for her.

The rain continued to fall, freezing on every surface it hit, glazing the already slick ice with a supersmooth finish.

As soon as her foot hit the porch pavement, it slipped forward. She steadied herself, then started to walk carefully, lifting each foot up, then placing it down again carefully as she walked. It had gotten much worse since the driver had dropped her off.

There were a few steps down to the path that led to the driveway. She grasped the icy railing and stepped down. As she shifted her weight, her foot slipped out from under her. Following closely behind her, Matt grabbed her arms and prevented her from crashing to the ground. He steadied her and set her back on her feet, then continued to grasp her arm. She wanted to pull away from him, but his hold on her gave her a sense of security. And she realized that with the icy path ahead, she was much more likely to get out of here with his help than without it.

She tried the next step and again slid forward, but with Matt’s help remained on her feet.

They finally made it to the bottom of the three steps.

The whole path, steps included, were interlocking bricks. There was a shiny layer of sheer ice coating them. She tried to walk steadily along the path, but her feet kept wanting to slide out from under her.

“Maybe we should walk along beside the path,” she suggested.

“Whatever you say.” Still holding her arm, Matt guided her to the side of the path.

She lifted her leg and tried to jab her heel into the snow, hoping to get traction, but instead of punching through, her heel just scooted along the surface, and the force of the unexpected motion sent her off balance. She fell back against Matt, knocking him to the ground, with her on top of him.

Her body lay sprawled across his and she scrambled to stand up, but she couldn’t get purchase. Her feet just kept sliding across the surface of the ice.

“Relax, Kate. Give me a minute.”

He set her on his outstretched leg, so she was sitting on his thigh, then he slid off his coat and laid it on the ground beside her. He set her on the coat, then rolled onto his knees. She watched as he slid along the path to a cedar bush and grabbed it, then successfully pulled himself to his feet.

She could see the wet splotches growing on his shirt as the rain continued to fall. He’d given her his coat so she wouldn’t get wet as she sat on the ground, but now he was out in the freezing weather without protection from the cold.

While continuing to hold on to the bush, he leaned down and grabbed the edge of his coat and slid her toward him.

“Kate, roll onto your knees, then I can help you up.”

She did as he said. His coat protected her stocking-clad legs from the damp ice below.

He grabbed her arm and held on tight while she put one foot, then the other onto his coat, then pushed herself to her feet.

Once standing, she gazed down at his damp coat.

“Here, hang on to the bush,” he instructed.

She grasped a handful of the evergreen branch and took a step off the coat. When she found a firm footing, she took her other foot off the coat. Then Matt picked it up. It was drenched.

“Kate, I’d offer to carry you, but we’d most likely wind up flat on the ground again. Why don’t you just come back to the house?”

She glanced along the road that disappeared into the woods. A mile of this. Every step would be a challenge. It would take her forever to get back to the road, if she even made it at all. She might wind up sprawled in the ditch. She could hit her hea

d, maybe get knocked unconscious. She could break her ankle.

No, it was too dangerous.