Chapter 5 Fable
Fable
Sunshine turned my eyelids golden in the way that meant I’d slept in.
Shit, I hadn’t meant to do that. The short days in the winter meant it was still dark when I woke up most mornings.
Sleeping in was a luxury I couldn’t afford—literally!
My heart gave an uneasy patter as I panicked for a brief second, thinking I was late for work.
It took me far too long to remember there was no work.
This wasn’t my bed in California, certainly, it was too soft.
And there was a band of weight over my waist and a furnace at my back that tempted me with the promise of more sleep.
I forced my eyes open, confusion at war with panic for dominance at the forefront of my brain. I was met with wood, wood, and more wood. Every surface was gleaming, swirling woodgrain and so stinkin’ cozy.
Ah. The cabin. Right.
And that weight around me? Heart pitter-pattering, I lifted the edge of the blanket to confirm what I already knew. Yep, it was Guy’s tanned arm, his palm tucked under my hoodie and splayed possessively over my bare stomach.
My mouth went dry, before doing a 180 and flooding with saliva. He was just inches away from… Nope. Not going there. That was a dangerous game to play, no matter how tempting.
Who initiated the cuddle? It would’ve been easy to blame Guy for breaking his promise, but when I blinked my bleary eyes clear and observed the expanse of empty bed in front of me—what had been my side—I realized the truth.
I was nowhere near where I’d been when I fell asleep last night.
That pillow wall? Long gone. Not sure why I’d thought pillows would make a sturdy barrier, but I was fresh out of bricks and mortar.
And I had a feeling that was what would’ve been necessary to keep me away from this sexy inferno currently glommed to my back.
I knew I should pull away, knew I should at the very least feel a modicum of embarrassment for the way my ass was snuggled right up to his crotch, but…
he was so warm! What could it hurt to just pretend for a few minutes?
So, I closed my eyes and cozied into this burly alpha’s big spoon and imagined what it would be like to wake up like this every day, instead of cold and lonely.
Except I lost track of time, and as the minutes lengthened, so did something else…
Guy began to stir, and he flexed his hips, grinding his growing erection against the cleft of my ass.
And of course, the only appropriate response for my body was to create an excess of slick, ready for any potential action. Shit.
I froze, pretending to sleep, even as Guy’s hand on my stomach pulled me in, hard against him.
He groaned in his sleep and buried his nose into my neck, breathing deep.
He murmured something that sounded like, “Notre,” and even though I had only the vaguest idea what the French word meant, I felt it straight down to my core.
It took everything in me not to moan out loud when his fingers began to inch under the elastic waistband of my pajama pants.
I was rock hard and weeping, so close to taking his hand and putting it right where I wanted it.
Even one second more and my resistance would’ve broken.
I felt the exact moment he woke up. He went stock still, from predator to prey in the blink of an eye.
His shaky breath skated over my neck as he extricated himself from my neck.
He withdrew his hand carefully and rolled out of bed, leaving a startling chill in his wake.
I swore I could feel the guilt coming off him in waves, but still, I kept my eyes shut tight and my breathing even.
I didn’t need his apologies, especially while I was just as guilty. Maybe more…
I listened to him rifle around for a minute, and as soon as the bathroom door closed behind him, I groaned in relief.
I’d never felt such sexual tension around anyone before.
He wasn’t even my type! I tended to go for the nerdy guys, like me, straightlaced and tightly buttoned, always in control.
Guy was the total opposite, like a pot of slow-simmering stew: hot, meaty, and likely to boil over onto my stovetop if I wasn’t paying attention.
He certainly had the potential to be messy, since he obviously didn’t live anywhere near here, but he would sure be fun for a holiday fling.
Someone had told me once that the kind of man we were attracted to changed depending on what part of our cycle we were in.
If I didn’t know any better, me suddenly liking the whole rugged thing could’ve meant I was fertile or something, but I literally just had my heat a couple weeks ago. I wasn’t due for another anytime soon.
I heard the toilet flush and water running in the sink.
Without missing a beat, I shuffled over to my side of the bed like I’d been there all along, and as soon as the door opened, I made a production of “waking up,” yawning and stretching my arms over my head.
“Oh, good morning,” I chirped, chipper as could be. “How’d you sleep?”
He arched a brow at me, not buying my act for a second.
Yeah, I didn’t buy it either. There was a reason I was given the part of Tree #3 in my elementary school’s drama production of Robin Hood, but I was all about the fake-it-till-you-make-it approach.
Anything to avoid the awkward conversation.
Luckily, he seemed willing to let it slide. “Very well. You?”
“Mm,” I said, noncommittally. In fact, it was the best sleep I’d had in years—maybe ever! But I wasn’t about to admit that. “Their website said the breakfast buffet is included. Would you like to go check it out?”
His smile was slow but kind of gooey, with a dash of mischief. “I would be delighted.”
We both got ready to go, taking turns in the bathroom to get dressed.
He insisted I use the dresser for my clothes, since he said he’d only packed a few things.
I suspected it was just because he could envision the disaster the cabin would soon become if I was forced to live out of my suitcase.
And rightly so! Every time I tried to find one thing in my suitcase, three more fell out, until it looked like my clothing had become sentient, socks and t-shirts caught mid-escape, crawling across the floor.
We somehow avoided too much contact in the small space. But every time we so much as bumped shoulders, it sent an electric current right down to my fingertips. I thought I was imagining it, but when I tripped on a shoe and caught his arm, he let out a gasp, his pupils dilating.
There was something going on between us. Could I label it? Nope, but I refused to ignore it either.
“Is that the only jacket you brought?” Guy asked skeptically.
I looked down at myself in my blue windbreaker. “Yeah. What’s wrong with it?”
“You’re going to freeze out there.” He glared down at my shoes next, which were still damp from last night. “Here, at least wear my toque.”
“What’s a toooook?” I asked, trying out the word. “How do you spell—” but he’d already yanked off his beanie and shoved it on my head. It was so warm, and I sighed as his woodsy scent enveloped me. “Thanks.”
It took Guy a good shove on the door to push the snow away that had piled up against the frame overnight.
It was cold enough outside that the skin of my face tightened like clingwrap, even though the sun shone bright overhead.
I’d forgotten how much I hated Oregon winters.
I was surprised I hadn’t been shivering all night.
When I glanced at Guy, though, he didn’t seem at all bothered by the cold.
Maybe his blood just ran warmer than mine.
It was a short walk to the main lodge. Thankfully, it seemed staff had been out this morning already to clear the paths.
The closer we got, the more people we saw, coming from their own cabins for breakfast, and when we entered the lobby, stomping snow off our shoes, I could hear the chatter of voices from the dining hall.
I eyed the front desk on the way by, the clerk very obviously avoiding eye contact.
I’d expected Guy to suggest that we should go clear up the cabin mistake.
He probably wanted his own bed tonight, right?
But he didn’t even pause in his stride, gaze fixed determinedly on the dining room ahead.
Strangely enough, as eager as I’d been to fix the error last night, I now found myself unwilling to bring it up either.
My lips twitched with a smile as I hurried to catch up with him.
As I walked by his side, our arms brushing with an electric zing, I leaned into the contact, however brief.
The high-ceilinged hall was full, nearly every seat taken.
There were a lot of couples, I noticed; I guess that made sense since this was a well-known romantic destination.
We made our way down the main aisle toward the buffet, surrounded by the clatter of cutlery, but I noticed there was also quite of bit of sniffing, much like Guy had been doing last night.
I hoped this wasn’t about to be some kind of flu outbreak.
Ooh! But maybe then I could get out of going to the reunion by being sick! One could only hope.
Guy went first through the line. He grabbed a plate and began to load it up, but then before I could grab my own plate, he turned and asked, “French toast or pancakes?”
“Huh?”
He gestured with the tongs in his hand. “Which do you prefer? I’m making you a plate.”