Chapter 8
“Laura.” Nash lost himself inside her with a shout.
He’d known they’d be explosive together and except for his initial blunder of taking her too quickly they’d found a rhythm that set them ablaze and kept that fire stoked.
At this rate they wouldn’t need either of the heating options the Inn had. They’d be dead from heat stroke if they kept this up and he had to believe they would—keep it up. His dick had been up for hours now. No matter how many times he lost himself inside her, the damn thing was never satisfied.
Every time they came together they were combustible. And they’d come together a lot over the last few days.
She’d said it hadn’t been like this for her before and he was right there with her.
He’d had his share of women, especially in his early twenties, but nothing and no one compared to Laura. And he knew it wasn’t just their physical compatibility. He loved her. Had for a while.
He wanted to say it, tell her how he felt, and it took everything he had to hold the words back, but he knew he had to. She’d had a mini freakout about moving in together, telling her he loved her would probably send her running out into the storm that still raged outside.
Day three and there was no sign of the blizzard blowing itself out yet.
Not that he was complaining. He’d loved every second of this time with Laura.
They’d talked about anything and everything since they’d been trapped inside.
They weren’t only physically compatible.
They liked the same foods, movies, book, they even enjoyed the same outdoor activities.
He couldn’t wait for summer when they could hike through the surrounding mountains together.
The storm might have forced their confinement. Held them captive when before yesterday she’d avoided him as much as possible.
Yeah, like the skinny dipping stupidity, telling her he loved her would be a bad move.
“Can’t. Breathe,” she huffed beneath him.
“Shit.” He lifted onto his forearms, cursing himself for getting lost in head—and his heart. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I think it was that last orgasm that sucked my lungs dry.” The smile on her face was full of satisfaction.
Rolling to the side, he took her with him, his softened cock slipping from between her legs made them both groan, and he tried to think of something to distract himself from fucking her again. “We should eat something.”
“Hmm…”
They’d been in bed for hours. And hours. Since waking the morning after finding her in the storm, he’d lost count of the number of times he’d made her come. He was pretty sure she would kill him eventually. Or the need for her would kill him.
Christ, he’d come five times himself since they woke up in bed together that first morning and his cock still hadn’t fully deflated. They were either making up for years worth of deprivation or they were always going to be like this, in which case, yeah, she was going to kill him.
“Laura?”
“Yeah?”
“I know you’re not ready to hear this and I don’t expect you to reciprocate but I have to say it.”
“If you use the L word before I say yes to moving in here Nash Yates I’m going to shoot you.”
The lack of heat in her words and the smile on her face told him she wasn’t serious and he could hold in his chuckle.
“Woman, you won’t need to shoot me, you keep fucking me the way you are and I’ll be dead before long.” He swallowed his next laugh, his tone going serious. “And I’m not going to my grave without telling you how I feel.”
“Fine. But I reserve the right to still say no to moving in.”
“Wait, what does me saying the L word have to do with you moving in?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Shouldn’t the L word get thrown around before the moving in or should the moving in happen before the L word?”
“I’m not even sure what that means.” He pressed his lips to hers. “Laura Murdock, move in or not, I love you. I’ve been in love with you for years and now that I have you you’ll need one of those fancy restraining order thingys you’re good at enforcing to keep me away.”
“It’s not too soon?”
“It doesn’t feel too soon to me.”
She finally opened her eyes and looked at him. Her gaze searched his and he could see the fear and longing tangled together. “Nash?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t feel like it’s too soon either, but I think my dad might have a heart attack if I moved in here with you before we’d even been on a date.”
“So we’ll keep the whole love thing just between us until you’re comfortable with everyone else knowing we’re together. But make no mistake, they will know. As soon as this storm moves on we’re going to Della’s and sitting right were the whole town can see us. On a date.”
“You’re okay with that? Taking it slow in public?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“It doesn’t seem fair.” Her gaze moved down my body. “Especially when I’m naked in your bed and your professing your love.”
“Laura, it’s what you need and I’ll always give you what you need. I love you just as you are.”
“You love me as I am.”
“Yeah, as you are.”
“You love me, Laura Murdock.”
“We’ve established that.”
“I’m not sure if what I’m feeling is the same as you because I’ve never done this before but I can definitely say that I love you as you are too.”
Nash grinned. “You love me as I am.”
God. He wanted to sink inside her again. But they needed to eat.
Throwing back the covers, he rolled out of bed and stretched. It wasn’t as cold in the bedroom as it had been. The fire he’d been stoking for days had kept the living area warm and slowly permeated into this room. It helped that he’d left all the doors open.
“I know you have a physical job, but that body…”
He glanced over his shoulder to see Laura staring at his ass, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. The urge to nip at that plump lip tore through him and he was already turning around when she spoke again.
“You have to have a workout routine.” Her eyes move up, her gaze lighting his skin on fire as she took a tour of the front of him.
When her gaze finally landed on his, he grinned. “I do. But it isn’t what you think. And the last few days I’ve had a different program.”
She arched on eyebrow.
“C’mon, you don’t want to talk about my fitness plan.” He reached over and grabbed her ankle. With a yank, he pulled her toward him. “Let’s get some food in our bellies and take a look outside. I think the wind has died down.”
“It has?” She cocked her head and listened. “You’re right. It’s no longer whistling through trees.”
“Considering it was supposed to ease up yesterday, I’ll assume we’re seeing the tail-end of the storm now.” The idea of venturing outside, back into the real world, and giving up their little bubble made his stomach cramp.
It was one thing to be snowed in together, it was another to live their lives together. He had to have faith that Laura didn’t change her mind once they could leave the Inn and head into Winter Lake.
Nash had no doubts about his own commitment and he was pretty sure he knew she was all in but it had only been the two of them and when they left here they’d have to deal with both their jobs and the people in their lives.
“Why the frown?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Just thinking about clean up around the lake,” he lied.
She gave him a look, one he recognized well. “Nash…”
He should have known she’d call him out on his lie. “Fine. I was thinking about what might happen when we can get out of here.”
“You’re worried I’ll change my mind.”
She was a cop, she could spot a lie and read a person too easily for him to hide his thoughts. Especially now she wasn’t ignoring him and was actually looking. Knowing he had no other choice he told her the truth. “Yes.”
Pushing to her knees, she moved to the edge of the mattress and placed a hand on his chest. Right over his heart.
“I’m not going to hide the fact I’m scared about where we’re going.
How fast we’re going there. But I won’t change my mind.
I want to be with you. I want to date you and help you fix up the Inn.
I want everyone in town to know we’re seeing each other. ”
“Good.”
“And I don’t care what anyone thinks. There might be talk. People might think we’ve rushed into this because we were trapped together here, but that doesn’t matter. The only two people I’m worried about it us. As long as we’re in it together, nothing else matters.”
“I’m in.”
She grinned. “Good.” Pushing on his chest, she said, “Now feed me.”
“I’ll feed you.” He tumbled her back on the bed, caged her face with his forearms beside her head, his body pressing down on hers to keep her still. “I love you.”
Her eyes went soft. And the smile curling her mouth brought a smile to his own face. “I love you, too.”
“You love me as I am.” His smile turned to a grin.
“You love me as I am.”
“I do. Holy hell do I.” Dropping his mouth to hers, he kissed her.
Slow and deep.
His cock perked up but he ignored it. He’d lived with a hard-on for years for this woman, he could certainly live with one for however long it took them to make out then get some lunch.
He never thought he’d fall for someone like Laura. She wasn’t his usual type. And maybe that was why he was thirty-eight and never married. He hadn’t found the woman mean for him yet.
Pulling his mouth from hers, he stared down at the woman he was going to married, the mother of his children. “I hate that you were caught in the storm but I love that it brought us here.”
“Me too.”
“And before we get caught up again, we should eat.”
“I’ll call the station and see what the weather situation is like.”
“First thing I’m doing it getting a snowmobile. You need to be able to get to town the next time we’re snowed in. Does the department have any?”
“Yes, two.”
“But if you had your own it would help, right?” His brain was whirling with everything he could do to make her job easier—safer.
“I see that brain spinning. I’ve lived in Winter Lake all my life, Nash, and I’ve worked at the department for longer than you’ve known me. I don’t need you to take care of me. I’m not a delicate flower.”
“No, you’re not, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to take care of you. I know you can look after yourself. That’s not why I want to protect you.”
Her frown said more than words.
“Okay, protect is the wrong word…” He shook his head. “I can’t think of a better one. Just know that I will always make sure you’re safe, that you have what you need and want because you’re precious to me, you own my heart, and if anything happened to you I’m not sure I would survive.”
He’d never seen Laura’s face so open. She’d dropped all her guards and stared at him with such astonishment he realized he hadn’t been clear enough with his feelings or she needed reassurance.
“I love you. I don’t know how I lasted this long without you in my life.
And I have no plans on living the rest of it without you.
” He cradled her face in his hands, lowered his forehead to rest on hers.
“I promise you, I will do anything and everything to make you happy, to love you until I take my last breath. If I have to remind you of that multiple times a day, I will.”
“You really do love me as I am.”
“Yes. Even the parts I don’t like, and those aren’t really you, well not exactly.”
She laughed, her breath hot against his face. “And what parts are those?”
“The fact you carry a gun and chase down criminals.”
“Ah.”
“I don’t want to change anything about you except you address.” One side of his mouth kicked up in a smirk. “And maybe your last name.”
He swallowed her gasp with a kiss because he didn’t want to hear any protests about what he’d said. she would change her name, not this week or next, but as soon as he could convince her to marry him, he would and she’d be Laura Yates.