8. Lee
Chapter 8
Lee
H ours after the most intense lovemaking of my life, I wake up and expect regret. I expect to find Nix gone, or at the very least staring at me with regret in her eyes. Instead, I blinked until I could focus on the room around me and found her delectable curves snuggled in close to me. I wasn’t foolish enough to think it was just me, of course. I knew some of it had to do with the cold that permeated the air, but I thought some of it was me and what we did last night. The level of intimacy shared between strangers.
Rather than waiting for her to wake up and regret everything, I held her close, pulled her close to my chest and buried my face in her hair. My early morning boner poked into her flesh and she moaned as she drew closer to the heat of my body. My hips moved on their own, confident in what they wanted.
Nix’s round ass pushed back against my morning wood with a moan, but when my hand slipped between her thighs, she went still. “As much as I would love another round amazing with you, and I really, really do, there are practicalities I need to take care of first.”
Practicalities. I chuckled at her euphemism. “If we must.”
“We must.” She kicked off the blankets and got her feet with a heavy sigh. Nix ignored the cold as she jogged up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. A moment later, the water turned on and I was left alone wondering what to do next. I wasn’t a man to wallow or second guess myself so I went upstairs to the guest bathroom and took care of my own practicalities , but of course I returned to the living room a full ten minutes before Nix.
I wasn’t the type of man to walk on eggshells but I didn’t know what to expect from Nix after last night. It was rare to be so sexually compatible with a woman, especially one who considered me an enemy, and my mind raced with the possibilities. I wanted her, again and again, but I wasn’t sure how to move forward.
When Nix jogged down the stairs in nothing but a robe that told me she was still without a bra, my hands itched to touch her again. To taste her. To make her scream my name while she came. But Nix didn’t return to our makeshift bed, she went to the front door and stared out the window for an extended moment. Her eyes widened and a soft gasp escaped. “Wow.”
Intrigued, I went to her and stood behind her, resting my hands on her hips and my chin on top of her head. There was nothing but white as far as the eye could see. Snow covered every surface, several feet high and it was still coming down. “Is this normal?”
She shrugged. “It’s not abnormal but it’s been a few years since we were hit by this kind of storm.” She was so calm and relaxed about it all, it was damned impressive. “I ought to check my messages.” She freed herself from my hold and darted back upstairs, leaving me to follow her.
I stopped in the guest room and rolled my eyes at my phone, stuck on twenty-nine percent because my charger was still in my car which was likely buried under six feet of snow. “Mine is low on juice.”
“Mine is almost fully charged,” she called out before she met me in the long, narrow hallway. “The problem is that I can’t get a damn call through.” She tapped her screen multiple times, grunting after every failed attempt to call out. “I’ll keep trying but right now, coffee sounds good.”
Coffee sounded amazing but I wasn’t sure how to get it done without electricity to power the coffee pot. “Do you have magical powers or something?”
“Of course I do.” She filled a small pot with water, grabbed coffee grounds from a small glass container and settled the water on the edges of the fireplace. “You were an Eagle Scout, this isn’t new to you.”
“We did things in the great outdoors and I was too young for coffee.”
“All I hear are excuses, Mr. Lancaster.”
My brows shot up in surprise, but my body responded at her breathy words. “Coffee sounds good.” I watched as she busied herself making two mugs of coffee, smashing the coffee grounds in the bottom of each mug before she added hot water.
“Okay, all we need now is milk if you take it and a sweetener. I have brown sugar and maple syrup.”
“Brown sugar is perfect, thanks.”
Nix handed me a mug with a smile before she took a fortifying sip from her mug. “It’s not the good stuff but it’s good enough.”
I took a sip and bit back a groan at the bitter taste of the instant coffee, smiling at her as if it was the best thing I’d ever drank. “Is it?”
She reached for my mug. “If you’re in a position to be picky then you can wait until the gourmet coffee delivery services knocks on the door.” She rolled her eyes and reached for my mug, which I quickly snatched from her grasp.
“Maybe next time. Gourmet coffee does sound incredible.”
She rolled her eyes. “Gourmet coffee is always incredible but we’re stuck inside for at least the rest of today, possibly tomorrow depending on how long it keeps snowing.” I couldn’t tell how she felt about that and the fact that I was worried about it, annoyed the hell out of me.
“Is that okay with you?” I shouldn’t have even asked the damn question but there was something about this woman that made me care. I held my breath and waited for her answer.
Nix nodded first and licked her lips. “I’m more than okay with it. And it’s not because I don’t have a choice.” She didn’t even try to hide her amused grin.
“You’re a bit of a smart ass aren’t you?”
“More than a bit,” she shot back. “As much fun as it is to tease you, we have to figure out a few things including what we’re going to eat to keep up our strength today.”
That sounded like last night wasn’t just a one night thing. Didn’t it? And this was exactly why I didn’t get too close to women. They were confusing as hell and I never cared enough to question it. “Anything I can do?”
“I’m going keep trying to call Torey to see what’s going on in town and then I’m going to check the pipes downstairs. If you have any culinary skills, they will be very much appreciated. Later.” Her eyes sparkled and a short laugh escaped before she left me in the living room.
She was a damn fine woman. Gorgeous and capable. She didn’t need me here, didn’t require me to make all the decisions to keep us safe and warm. It was refreshing, actually. “Okay Lee, figure it out.” I dressed again in her brother’s clothes and headed to the kitchen to see what I could make for breakfast, at least I thought it was breakfast but the sky was gray and everything else was white so it was unclear.
Luckily I was trapped inside with a chef who kept her fridge stocked with essentials. The problem was, like I told Nix, I hadn’t cooked over an open fire since I was a boy. Then again, it had been a long time since I wanted to impress a girl. I spotted what looked like homemade sausage, eggs and everything I needed to make breakfast.
I whipped together eggs, salt, black pepper and heavy cream before I added cheese in one bowl and chopped sausage in the other. It took a bit of maneuvering before I found the right spot in the fire, but soon enough the whole house smelled incredible.
“My goodness, what is that smell?”
I smiled at her over my shoulder. “It’s called breakfast. Aren’t you familiar with it?”
She folded her arms and rolled her eyes. “Not really. I get up at the crack of dawn and my breakfast mostly consists of coffee and pastries, which is why my body looks like this.”
I laughed. “Then we should tell the women of the world how to get your amazing curves.”
She blushed prettily. “Who knew you were also charming?”
“I knew.” People didn’t see me as charming or personable or any of those things, but I had my moments. “I reserve it for those who really deserve it.”
“You’re really trying to make me like you, aren’t you?” She didn’t seem as put out about it as she wanted me to believe, which was comforting.
“Would it be so terrible if you liked me?”
“Yes. No. Maybe.” She pointed to the steaming skillet, a reminder to keep stirring. “I don’t dislike you Lee. In fact, what I know about you I like.”
“But my resort and ruining the town and all that?”
She laughed. “Something like that yeah.”
“I like you Nix. Even though you’re opinionated about my business and you don’t want to listen to reason, I like you. I love your body. I really love being naked with you and I’m not sure what to do with all of that.”
She flashed a grin and fell back against the front of the sofa. “You can feed me and then maybe, if the food isn’t horrible, we’ll do some more of the getting naked together.”
My dick responded immediately but the sound of the sizzling skillet forced my gaze away from Nix and back on the skillet. “Well the food is ready. Almost.” I got to my feet and grabbed two plates and two forks from the kitchen. “Let’s hope it’s edible.”
She smiled and accepted her plate with a smile. “It smells amazing.” She stabbed the eggs and sausage and slipped the fork between her lips with a low, sexy moan. “Not only is this amazing but you are the first man to cook me breakfast. How pathetic is that?”
I laughed. “Not pathetic for me. Or you. It’s not your fault those men didn’t realize the amazing gift they had in you.” What in the hell kind of men had she been dating?
“Easy for you to say. I’m sure the women who line up for you are princesses, CEO’s, socialites and brain surgeons.”
I shrugged. “Mostly the women, no matter what they do for a living, want to land a billionaire.”
She frowned. “I mean sure, that’s appealing. But you’re gorgeous and when you’re not destroying towns you’re charming and kind of funny.”
I barked out a laugh. “That was mostly a compliment.”
She shrugged but a laugh escaped. “It was a full on compliment and the words you’re looking for are thank you.”
“Thank you?” The more I got to know about Nix, the more I liked her, which was ridiculous because this couldn’t happen. When the storm ended, so would we.
“You’re welcome.” She smiled wide before she returned to her breakfast, moaning with every bite she took. “So good. Thank you.”
Yeah, I was totally screwed. And for the life of me, I couldn’t find it in me to care. “My pleasure.” Eating breakfast cooked inside a fireplace was more enjoyable than any Michelin star restaurant I’ve eaten in with anyone else. “Definitely my pleasure,” I added when she moaned again.
Her eyes opened wide and a blush stained her cheeks. “Sorry, but you got the edges of the sausage perfectly crispy. I love that.”
And I loved that sound. Now I understood the appeal of chefs and why my chefs get so many women out of their league. Who knew watching—and listening to—a woman eat food you prepared was such an erotic experience?
“Eat your breakfast before I do.”
If she promised to keep making those sounds, she could have it.