Chapter 3
THREE
ELISE
Morning dawns with a hazy gray light.
The storm has dwindled, but it hasn’t completely given up. Snow smatters against the window pane, but the wind is no longer as strong.
I’m tucked into a cocoon of warmth on the bed in a small bedroom. Hayes' blanket still wrapped tightly around me.
From my nest, I can hear stirring in the other room. A slow grin spreads across my lips as I imagine Hayes moving around the great room. Rekindling the fire. Brewing a pot of coffee.
No doubt looking sexy as hell in whatever he’s wearing.
It’s a sight too tempting to miss. Even if I am ridiculously cozy.
Wrapping the blanket more securely around me, I quietly open the door and stand at the threshold, taking in the view.
I watch the confident, capable way he moves, the quiet concentration on his face as he strikes a match. Everything about him radiates a rugged strength. It tugs at something inside me. Something that could burst in flames—like the fire burning in the hearth—if given the chance.
Rubbing my lips together, I can almost pull back the feel, the taste of him as he kissed me. I can imagine the way his hands roved my body, leaving a trail of tingles and desire with every caress.
I’d wanted to scream in protest when he pulled back and put an end to it. He’d all but sent me to bed like I was a naughty girl.
If only I could show him just how naughty I’d like to be.
As if sensing my gaze, Hayes glances over his shoulder. Our eyes lock. The spark inside of me grows.
“Did you sleep okay?” he asks.
I nod slowly. “Like a log.”
He swallows hard. “You should eat something.”
“Okay.”
He gestures to the small table. “I made some toast and bacon. You like bacon?”
“Only on days that end with Y.”
His lips twitch. “Go on and help yourself.”
I push the blanket aside and stride across the room. Keeping an arm’s length away, Hayes hands me a mug of hot coffee. Our fingers brush, and my breath catches.
“Thanks,” I murmur.
“Yeah.” He clears his throat. “I don’t have any cream, but I could get you sugar.”
“I’m good.” I raise the mug slowly, keeping my gaze locked on him. “I don’t need any more sweetness.”
His jaw ticks and he tears his glance away as he takes one of the seats.
We eat in relative silence, but it’s not uncomfortable. Oh, there’s tension in the air. An underlying current of electricity just waiting to snap.
Unable to draw Hayes into a conversation, and unable to keep still with the unleashed desire growing inside me, I wander aimlessly around the cabin. It isn’t big, but it’s sturdy. Tidy. Every inch of it seems to have a purpose.
But it’s far from spartan.
A row of framed photos line the mantle. There’s an old photo of a couple with a baby dark eyes and dark hair on their lap. There’s a photo of him holding a fish that’s at least half his size. There’s a picture of Hayes, my dad, and some of the guys from their platoon on one of their deployments.
I smile at it, tracing the frame with my fingertip.
“He talks about you a lot,” I say.
Hayes clears his throat. “Good things, I hope.”
“Always the best things.” I turn to face him, heart thudding. He’s watching me closely. Intently.
He shifts, almost like he’s about to say something, but then shakes his head. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
Pulling on his coat, he grabs a second one and tosses it my way. “Outside.”
Bundled up, we step into the frozen white world. The wind has died down, leaving a pristine blanket of snow, untouched and sparkling under the muted light.
Hayes grabs two old wooden snowshoes leaning against the side of the cabin. “Have you ever gone snowshoeing?”
“I haven’t.” A grin erupting across my face. “But there’s a first time for everything.”
“So you probably don’t know how to put them on.”
“You’ve got me there.”
“Yeah. I’ve got you.”
He steps closer, kneeling in front of me. His fingers brush my ankle as he secures the bindings, slow and methodical. Even through wool socks he’d laid out for me, the touch sends a shiver racing down my spine.
“There.” He gives the bindings another tug. “You’re all set. Just don’t fall.”
“Easier said than done.” As if to prove the point, I take my first step, and the awkward length makes me stumble.
Hayes is there in an instant. His hands grip my hips to hold steady me. A rush of warmth floods me at the contact. I glance up, his mouth is quirked in a rare, soft smile.
“You’re okay,” he says. “You’ll pick it up in no time.”
“Says the guy who is a master at all things outdoors.”
He chuckles, the sound rich and deep. It sets my heart racing. But with his help, I take a few steps. It’s slow moving at first, but I find my rhythm.
We trek through the wilderness. The world around us is silent and pristine. Sparing me a sly sidelong glance, Hayes stops suddenly and leans over.
“What are you doing?”
He doesn’t reply, but he scoops up a glove-full of snow and packs it together. My eyes widen and my jaw falls open when I realize what he’s doing.
Which is a second before a snowball hits me in the shoulder.
I gasp in outrage. “How dare you!”
“What?” He leans over to scoop up another ball. “I didn’t take you for a coward.”
“Oh.” My eyes narrow. “It’s on.”
With a laugh, I scoop up my own snowball and launch it at him. He steps aside as it goes flying by.
Lucky jerk.
Undeterred, I duck from his next snowball and mount my next attack.
Snowballs fly through the air, occasionally hitting their mark. We race around, scooping and throwing and dodging. Laughing until our cheeks are red and my sides hurt.
Then I do it. I land one right smack against his face. With a growl, he launches at me, wrapping his arms around me.
We fall into the snow, our chests rising up and down rapidly as we gasp for breath. His hard body presses against me, and a delicious ache settles between my thighs.
My gaze lowers to his lips, and I moisten mine instinctively. Is he going to kiss me again.
Clearing his throat, he pushes himself up and offers me a hand. “Come on. We should go back inside to warm up.”
Funny, I felt plenty warm lying in the snow with his body against mine.
Neither of us speaks on the trek back to the cabin. Once inside, we peel off our outer layers, shaking the snow from our hair.
Despite the sexual tension raging between us, our game in the snow takes a little of the edge off. We’re able to talk more comfortably. He’s no longer keeping the entire length of the cabin between us.
As night falls, the wind picks up again. With a sigh, Hayes turns to me. “Want to play a game?”
I blink. “What kind of game?”
“Never have I ever.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “We used to play that in high school—college,” I correct myself. “It’s more fun when drinks are involved.”
With a smirk, he retrieves a bottle of whiskey from a cabinet. “Will this do?”
I incline my head. “You’re on.”
He pours two fingers each into two glasses and hands me one. We sit cross-legged on the floor in front of the fire, the bottle between us.
“You go first,” he urges.
I grin. “Never have I ever… gone skydiving.”
His eyes narrow as he takes a sip. I know full well that he had paratrooper training. He opens his mouth and I raise the glass to my lips and sip.
His eyes widen. “You have?”
“On a dare.”
“What did you think of it?”
“It was terrifying. Thrilling.” A lot like the feeling of kissing him. “Your turn.”
We volley back and forth. Learning more about each other and laughing as the level of whiskey in the bottle grows lower and lower.
After confessing that I have, in fact, kissed a woman—once on another college dare—his knee brushes mine. Our gazes connect, and the desire between us burns hotter.
His hand moves against mine, deliberately tracing a design with his fingertips.
Heat blossoms low in my belly.
I clear my throat. “Never have I ever… gone skinny dipping.”
Hayes lifts his glasses, drinking deep. My mouth goes dry.
“I bet there’s a story there.” I slide my teeth over my bottom lip. “I’d love to hear it sometime.”
“Maybe someday.” His fingers trail higher, sliding up my forearm.
The fire pops, the only sound in the room aside from our breathing.
I set my glass down carefully. “Your turn.”
He leans in. “Never have I ever wanted someone I shouldn’t want so badly.”
Instead of sipping my glass, I lean forward for a taste of his lips.
Hayes groans low in his chest and pulls me closer. Wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his lap.
I part my lips for him, welcoming the caress of his tongue against mine. Tasting whiskey, tasting him. I’m not sure which is more intoxicating.
My hands slide under the hem of his flannel and trace the lines of his muscle. His skin his hot. Tight. His muscles clench under my fingertips. He growls into my mouth.
His hands rove up and down my back, sliding to my thighs, kneading them in his grip.
I’m vaguely aware of my own shirt sliding up my body. Of his work-hardened fingers trailing along the smooth skin of my waist.
He kisses down my jaw, nibbling at the sensitive spot below my ear. With a gasp, I clutch him, my eyelids fluttering in pleasure.
Hayes shifts our position, lowering me to the rug, his body covering mine. His weight, his heat, his scent—it’s overwhelming and perfect.
His hand continues its upward progressing, cupping my breast through my bra. His thumb slides over my nipple, hardening it. I arch against him with a cry.
His other hand slides between my thighs, and my whole body coils in anticipation.
But just as he starts to reach the edge of my leggings, he stills.
His forehead drops to mine, his breathing ragged. “We have to stop.”
My eyes fly open. “What?”
“We can’t.” His voice is rough. “Not like this.”
Some of my irritation lessons. “Like what then?”
“I want…” He presses a kiss to my temple, my cheek, my lips. “I want us to be sober. I want us to both be completely aware when I take you.”
I whimper, but nod. I can’t deny he’s correct. I don’t just want a drunken tumble with him. I want to be completely aware of everything he does to my body.
I want to be fully aware of everything I do to his.
He tugs a blanket over us and wraps his arms tightly around me. Pulling my back against his chest.
“Sleep, sweetheart” he says into my hair.
Pressed so close to him, I’m painfully aware of every inch of him pressed against me. Especially the prominent, unmistakable bulge digging into my ass.
I bite my lip, trying to stifle the rush of heat that floods me. I shift slightly, testing?—
He groans, low and dark, tightening his grip to still my movement.
Good. He wants me every bit as badly as I want him.
I fall asleep with a grin.