Chapter 16
We spend the rest of the day clearing the driveway up to the bridge. I laugh when I see just how far from the road I was when the Prius got stuck.
“My god. No wonder you saw me coming.”
Sam grins. “Had to see who was tearin’ up my yard.”
Phern says, “You’re really lucky he saw you, Charlotte. That could have been bad.”
There’s a haunted look in her eyes, and Sam reaches over, throwing his arm around her shoulder.
“It’s okay, sis. Everyone is fine.”
She hums and moves from his embrace to move some debris.
“What’s that about?” I ask in a low tone.
“I’ll tell you later.”
We work, clearing off tree branches until the bridge is clear. On the other side, a tractor similar to Sam’s drives up, clearing the last bit of snow on that side. A man hops out, grinning. Based on his looks alone, he’s somehow related to Sam .
“Holy hell, that’s a lot of snow.” He stops. “And who is this?”
Sam’s arm goes around me. “This is Charlie.”
Liam flashes a grin that’s all easy charm and wind-chapped cheeks. His eyes, though? They’re sharp. Curious. Definitely taking in the way Sam’s arm is wrapped snug around my shoulders.
“Charlie, huh?” he says, pulling off his gloves. “You the city girl who came storming in with the blizzard?”
“Guilty,” I admit, unable to stop the laugh that slips out.
“She also nearly floated down the creek in a Prius,” Sam adds, smirking.
Liam lets out a bark of a laugh. “Now that’s a story I got to hear.”
Phern rolls her eyes. “Liam, you don’t have to flirt with everyone.”
He raises his hands. “I’m just sayin’—a woman who braves a flood and ends up snowed in with my grumpy cousin? Sounds like a legend in the making.”
Sam shakes his head, which makes Liam grin wider.
He turns back toward his tractor. “I’ve got a radio in the cab. You want me to call in and let folks know the bridge is clear? Get it fixed up for you?”
“Yeah,” Sam says, glancing toward the planks now clear of snow and debris. “Might as well.”
As Liam climbs back into the cab, I glance up at Sam. “He’s a lot.”
He chuckles. “That’s why we only let him visit.”
“Hey, I heard that!” Liam calls from the cab, laughing.
Sam just winks.
Beside us, Phern tosses one last branch to the side. “I’m going to start heading back. That stew isn’t going to make itself. ”
She walks past us with a quick smile that doesn’t quite meet her eyes.
I glance at Sam. “You still owe me a ‘tell you later,’ by the way.”
His smile fades a little. “Yeah. I know. Phern almost drowned in a flood when she was sixteen in a similar situation as yours. My friend, Will, saved her.”
“Oh my gosh.”
“It was pretty traumatic for her.”
“I can imagine!”
He takes my hand, lacing our fingers together, the gesture warm despite the chilly wind curling around us.
“Let’s head back,” he says.
He leads me to the tractor, climbing into the cab first. Hand out, he helps me up before pulling me onto his lap. His jaw grazes my neck.
“I missed you.”
I turn, kissing him. “Missed you, too.”
Liam honks his horn across the creek and a radio beeps.
“Hey, lovebirds. I can still see you.”
Sam replies, “Then head on home, Liam, or you might see more than you want.”
“See you in the morning, cousin. Bye Charlie!”
Sam chuckles low in my ear as Liam’s tractor rumbles away, the snow crunching beneath its heavy tires until the sound fades into the hush of the open field.
“Little shit always has to get the last word,” he mutters, but there’s affection in his voice.
I stay where I am, settled on his lap, my back pressed to his chest, both of us tucked in the narrow space of the cab. His arms come around me fully now, not just to hold, but to keep. Like he needs the contact .
“You really missed me?” I ask softly, turning just enough to see his face.
He nods, brushing his nose along my temple. “More than I should’ve in half a day.”
I smile, resting my head against him. “Same.”
For a moment, the cab goes quiet, filled only with the soft hum of the engine idling and the occasional creak of the tractor settling under its own weight. The snow sparkles outside, sunlight catching on every icy branch like it’s trying to hold on to the magic for just a little longer.
“I like this,” I say quietly. “Just you. Just me. No pressure. No pretending.”
His hand finds mine again, fingers lacing easily. “Then let’s keep it like that.”
I nod. “Even when we go back?”
His jaw tics slightly, but he presses a kiss to my shoulder, like a promise. “Even then.”
The weight of it settles between us. What “back” might mean, what the world expects once we’re no longer snowbound. But right now? It’s just this. Just the warmth of him, the soft ache of still wanting more, and the comfort of not having to run from it anymore.
He shifts beneath me, his breath warm at my ear. “We should head back before Phern sends out a search party.”
“Mm. Let her wait a minute,” I murmur, tilting my head to kiss him again. Just a taste. Just enough to remind both of us that what we found here is real.
“Keep doing that and my body’s going to get ideas, and I know you need to recover.”
I snort. “True. But there are other things we can do.”
“Oh? I’m all ears, darlin’.”
I hold up my hand, ticking off fingers. “Blow job. You go down on me. Titty fucking. ”
“Titty fucking?” His eyebrows shoot up. “Holy hell.”
I laugh. “My point is that we have options.”
He hums low, the sound vibrating against my back. “You really just threw out ‘titty fucking’ like you were listing groceries.”
“I mean…” I grin, tilting my head to look at him. “It’s a classic for a reason.”
His hands flex on my thighs, holding me in place on his lap like he’s trying to remember how to breathe.
“Fuck, Charlie. You’re gonna get us stuck in this damn tractor for an hour if you keep talking like that.”
I shift just enough to press back into him, not-so-innocently brushing over where he’s already growing hard beneath me. “Is that a challenge?”
His breath hitches, grip tightening.
“Keep doing that and you’re gonna find out real quick how serious I am.”
“Mmm.” I toy with the collar of his flannel. “But I thought you were worried about my recovery.”
“I am. But I’m also a man with a pulse and a beautiful woman on my lap talking about blow jobs in broad daylight.”
I laugh, biting my lip as I turn a little more to face him. “Okay, fine. I’ll be good.”
His brow arches. “Liar.”
I kiss him and slide off his lap, settling onto the side console like nothing happened. “Let’s go, cowboy. You promised me stew.”
He mutters something under his breath that sounds like a prayer and a curse all in one, then throws the tractor into gear.
As we bump down the path toward the house, I catch him adjusting himself behind the wheel .
I grin, satisfied. Because he’s definitely still thinking about that list. And the best part? So am I.
Dinner is a blur as Sam and I fight real hard to keep our hands off each other under the table. Phern is lost in her thoughts or is purposely ignoring us. We rush through dishes until it’s just the two of us.
Silently, we make our way to the bedroom.
The house is quiet now, the only sound the low pop of the fire and the occasional gust of wind brushing against the windows.
I take off my sweatpants, throwing them in the laundry basket.
I’m not wearing panties, but I don’t think Sam knows that yet since the sweatshirt hangs past my thighs.
Sam stands in the doorway, arms crossed as he leans against the frame, watching me with that slow burning heat in his eyes. It’s the kind of heat that makes my skin prickle with awareness even before he says a word.
“I’ve been thinking’,” he drawls, voice low, lazy.
“Oh?” I stretch out a little on the bed, the oversized sweatshirt slipping just enough to bare one shoulder. “Dangerous.”
His lips twitch. “That list of yours earlier.”
I grin. “Yeah?”
He pushes off the frame, sauntering toward me with that same confident stride that says he knows exactly what he does to me. “I’d like to circle back to it.”
I sit up, playful. “Which part?”
He drops to one knee between my legs, hands sliding up my thighs, pushing the hem of the sweatshirt higher. “Well, I was real fond of the blow job idea, if I’m bein’ honest.”
I tilt my head, mock thoughtful. “Is that so?”
“Mmmhmm.” He presses a kiss just above my knee. “But I think I’d rather start with my favorite. ”
I suck in a breath as he lifts my legs, sliding them over his shoulders.
“Oh,” I murmur, voice gone soft. “Going with option two, are we?”
He smirks, mouth brushing just shy of where I’m already aching. “It’s not even close to fair how good you taste, darlin’. And I’ve been thinking about this all-goddamn day.”
My head tips back, a moan slipping past my lips as his tongue finds me again—slow, thorough, and unapologetic.
He eats like a man starved, hands gripping my thighs, pulling me closer, deeper into his mouth until I’m gasping, writhing, helpless against the pressure of his tongue and the heat pooling low in my belly.
“Sam—” My fingers tangle in his hair. “God—yes, there?—”
He hums, the sound wicked and smug, sending vibrations straight through me.
And when I come clenching around nothing and everything at once, he doesn’t stop. He draws it out, coaxing every tremor from my body until I’m twitching under him.
Only then does he pull back, lips glistening, breath hot as he moves up over me on the bed. “Now about that titty fucking…”
I laugh, dazed and breathless, and tug him down for a kiss that tastes like sin.
I say, “I’m all ears.”
He doesn’t rush. Not this time. Sam’s gaze drags over me like he’s memorizing every inch all over again, and I can feel the weight of it settle into my bones. Admiration. Possession. And pure, feral hunger.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” he murmurs, thumb brushing my bottom lip. “You say something like that and expect me not to lose my damn mind?”
I smile, slow and dangerous. “I was hoping you would.”
His chest rises, tight with restraint, as I shift beneath him, guiding his hand beneath the hem of the sweatshirt. He palms my breast, groaning low when he feels I’m not wearing a bra.
“You're unreal,” he says, voice wrecked. “You lay there like a goddess and just offer. And I’m supposed to stay calm?”
I slide my hands down his chest, nails teasing the lines of muscle beneath his shirt. “Who said anything about staying calm?”
I move and rise up, pulling the sweatshirt over my head in one fluid motion before laying on back on the bed.
His eyes darken instantly.
“Jesus, Charlie.”
I reach for his jeans, brushing over the bulge already straining beneath the denim. “This what you wanted?”
Breath hisses through his teeth. “You’re gonna be the death of me.”
“Then what a way to go.” I smile, voice low and thick with need. “Now, I think those jeans need to go.”
Sam stands slowly, watching me with hooded eyes as he unbuttons his fly, dragging the denim down his legs in one smooth motion. His boxers follow, leaving him completely bare in the glow of firelight—thick, hard, and already leaking.
My mouth waters, and I don’t even try to hide it.
“Fuck, Sam,” I murmur, eyes locked on him. “Please let me taste you.”
He lets out a sound that’s deep and raw and steps in closer, his hand tangled in my hair as I lean in. My fingers wrap around him, slow and deliberate, my thumbs teasing over the velvet-soft head. I feel him twitch under my touch, feel the tension coil through his thighs.
But before I take him in, I glance up. “Tell me what you want.”
His voice comes out broken. “I want whatever you give me, darlin’. I’m yours.”
That sends a thrill straight through me.
Smiling, I take him into my mouth, savoring the taste of him, the weight, the way his breath stutters hard in his chest. His fingers flex in my hair, but he doesn’t guide. Doesn’t push. He just watches.
“Jesus,” he groans. “You look so fucking beautiful with that sassy mouth full of my cock.”
My eyes stay locked on his as I take him deeper, letting him slide across my tongue, hollowing my cheeks just enough to make his knees wobble.
“But,” he adds, breath hitching, “what I really want is to slide between those perfect tits and forget my own damn name.”
I let him fall from my mouth with a soft pop, licking my lips slowly. “Good answer.”
I lean back, settling onto the bed as he straddles me, and when I press my breasts together, he lets out a sound that’s downright filthy.
“Think we might need some lubrication,” he says, voice rough.
Without hesitation, his hand dips between my thighs, fingers gathering the wet heat already waiting there. He strokes himself once, coating his length, eyes never leaving mine.
“That’s so fucking hot,” I breathe, heat pulsing in every part of me .
“I know,” he says, his voice reverent now, like he can barely believe this is real.
He guides himself between my breasts, and I press them tighter, feeling every thick slide of him as he moves. He goes slow at first, then faster, the tip brushing my lips with every pass. My tongue flicks out each time, teasing him, catching the salty taste of him as he groans above me.
“Fucking hell,” he pants. “You’re gonna wreck me.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” I whisper, licking again.
His rhythm stutters. Sweat beads on his chest. His eyes darken to something deeper, something hungry and raw.
“Not gonna last long, darlin’.”
“Then let me finish you.”
We shift and I take him into my mouth again, this time with purpose. I suck hard, deep, my hands wrapped tight around his hips as he loses himself completely.
“Charlie—fuck—Charlie?—”
When he comes, it’s with a choked cry and a shudder that rocks his whole body. I swallow him down, every drop, holding him through it, feeling a wicked pride bloom in my chest.
When it’s over, he collapses beside me, pulling me into his arms like he needs me against him to breathe.
I nestle in close, lips brushing the line of his jaw.
“You really are gonna destroy me,” he murmurs, voice hoarse with awe.
I grin, smug and sweet. “Only if you’re lucky.”