Chapter 8
Lorne
I blink my eyes open to see brightness filtering through the windows, though the storm continues to rage.
Stretching, I remember my overnight guest and glance over to see the curvy billionaire curled up on the other side of the bed.
When I realize I'm rock hard, I jump up horrified and rush into the bathroom, turning the shower to ice cold.
After torturing myself with the icy shower, I dry off and throw on jeans and a plaid shirt. I walk out to find my surprise guest sliding an egg casserole into the oven. Alana then showers as the breakfast cooks, filling my small cabin with the delicious smells of bacon and coffee brewing.
When the casserole is ready, we sit down together and eat quietly at the table. Alana takes a sip of her coffee and studies me with her dark brown eyes.
"Listen, Lorne. Thank you for rescuing me."
Shaking my head, I say, "Of course. I would never leave you out in the snow. That would have been a death sentence."
"Well, yeah, even so, thank you. I'm sort of butting into your whole holiday week here."
I shrug and say, "Well, now I have some help with decorating the tree, I guess."
Watching the beautiful woman giggle, I feel my stomach flip.
"I would love to help you decorate the tree. I love Christmastime."
"Perfect. We can do that after breakfast."
Placing her mug on the table, my houseguest fixes me with her eyes.
"I think we should start over, don't you?"
"I would love to," I say, reaching out my hand.
When Alana takes it, the electric thrill from her touch engulfs my entire body, and I fight the urge to pull her to me and capture her mouth with mine.
"Nice to meet you. I am Lorne Morrison," I quip.
She laughs, her porcelain skin blushing.
"Alana Fairchild, it's a pleasure to meet you as well."
With Frank Sinatra crooning Christmas songs in the background, we string the holiday lights and then hang up my ornaments.
"These are really unique," Alana says, studying them.
"I am quite the loner mountain man type of guy, but I have traveled. And whenever I do, I always pick up a couple of ornaments where I am."
Once the tree is decorated and glittering with lights, we settle in front of the roaring fire to read. At one point, Alana looks up and asks, "Do you still have Wi-Fi right now?"
"Yeah. I don't think I've lost service," I say.
"Do you mind if I log in to social media and post about where I am and that my phone service is out?"
"Oh, yeah. Good idea," I say, grabbing my laptop and handing it to her.
She settles back with her book after posting, and I find myself stealing glances at her. The firelight flickers across her pale cheeks as she reads.
Damn, this woman is a curvy knockout.
After a second night sharing a bed with the voluptuous beauty, my body is reeling from another cold shower. We've grown more comfortable with each other in my tiny cabin. Alana has already started planning what we could make for Christmas dinner with the groceries I have on hand.
"Oh, yay, you have cornbread mix," she says, staring into the pantry.
We spend the evening before Christmas Eve doing our new routine - relaxing by the fire with our books. When Alana finishes hers, she places it on the coffee table and stands up to stretch. She walks over to my shelf of DVDs and gasps, pulling out a couple of movies.
"You have Die Hard and Gremlins!" she says with obvious excitement in her voice, making me laugh.
"I do have Die Hard and Gremlins."
"We should totally do a movie night," the curvy billionaire says, bouncing on her feet.
"Sure, let's do it. I have some microwave popcorn too."
As the popcorn pops in the microwave, I glance out the window, saying, "Looks like the snow finally stopped."
"Good," Alana says as we sit together on the couch to watch Die Hard.
By the end of the night, the two of us have killed a couple of bottles of wine and are giggling our butts off at Gremlins.
"I love that you chose two movies people always debate about being Christmas movies," I say with a laugh.
"Of course they're Christmas movies. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong," she says, giving me a look.
I put up my hands in surrender. "Oh no, I agree with you. We're on the same side here."
Alana giggles, giving me a playful push, and my body is once again consumed by the sizzling heat from her touch.
We stare at each other for an intense moment on the couch. Then the curvy billionaire clears her throat, standing to clean up the empty popcorn bowl.
Less than an hour later, we lie in my bed with the pillow wall between us. I fall asleep easily, but later wake to the sound of the wind outside. I'm startled to find Alana snuggled in my arms with her head on my chest, making a surprised involuntary movement.
She blinks her eyes open, looks up at me, and suddenly pulls herself up to steal my mouth with hers. The way her soft lips feel against mine makes me instantly hard, and our tongues explore as we both sigh with pleasure.
Pulling back, I whisper, "Are you sure?"
"Yes. I want you. Do you want me?"
I choke out a yes that's rough and full of want, and we continue to kiss as she climbs over, straddling me on the bed.