Chapter 6 Ivan
IVAN
It’s been three days since I last saw Ruby.
Three painfully long days and four sleepless nights.
Every morning I head into the woods—ignoring the biting cold and twinges in my leg—and start chopping wood in the thicket of fir trees near the rental cabin.
I spend all day out there sometimes. Waiting.
Hoping for a glimpse of Ruby. Hell, aside from a quick trip to Thorne’s to borrow a hatchet, I haven’t left my post except to sleep.
But I haven’t seen her.
Not once.
I imagine she’s holed up inside, avoiding the cold.
I can just picture her curled on the couch, sipping hot chocolate, wrapped up in a Christmas sweater and looking adorable as hell.
She can’t see me from the cabin. The windows are too high up.
But sometimes, I find myself peering out of the trees and staring up at the front door, praying for it to open.
Yeah, I’m a fucking mess, and I know it.
It’s torture—being so close to her and feeling so damn far away.
But I brought this on myself. When Ruby invited me to her brother’s place for Christmas, my “no” was instinctive.
I don’t like being around people. The holidays don’t change that.
And in that moment, I saw myself as she must see me.
A washed-up old loner. Someone to invite to places out of pity.
I still wish I’d swallowed my pride and said yes.
At least then I’d have a reason to see her again.
Hell, I’ve thought up a million excuses to knock on her door.
Anything to hear that pretty little voice and see her face light up when I call her Candy Cane.
But I never get farther than those damn stairs.
Something always stops me. I’ll remember how young she is, how sweet and full of life.
How a grizzled old grump like me has no business wanting her.
Or I’ll remind myself that she lives in Miami.
That no matter what happens, this can only end with Ruby leaving.
Fuck, this angel has really messed me up.
Now it’s Christmas Eve morning. The day before Ruby is due to check out and head to her brother’s. I blink up at the ceiling. It’s been another night of tossing and turning, listening to the wind howling outside. Thorne warned me there was a storm brewing. Sure sounds like it.
I raise my head to see North curled up near my feet, a white heap of fluff.
I try not to disturb him as I ease out of bed, my leg screaming in protest when I stand up.
After a quick shower, I pull on some clothes.
I fill up North’s bowl, but don’t bother making breakfast for myself.
I used to be hungry as hell in the morning, but since Ruby arrived, my appetite is basically nonexistent.
The living room is dark, with the wooden shutters still closed.
The only light comes from the dying fire in the hearth, which I relight and stoke until it’s blazing.
Then I pull open a window, reaching through it to unlatch the shutters.
I try to push them open. But they don’t move.
I push harder, the wood groaning beneath my hands, but there’s something blocking them from the outside.
The hell?
I try another window, but the shutters won’t budge. I have a feeling I know why. Just to be sure, I crack open the front door. An icy chill hits me, and through the gap, I make out a wall of white. It blocks the entire doorway.
Shit.
My thoughts instantly go to Ruby. The rental cabin is high up, so she won’t be snowed in. But her power could be out. And her car—that rusty old tinpot—will almost certainly be buried. I need to get to her. Make sure she’s okay.
I put on a coat and then pull down the ladder to the attic, ignoring my aching leg as I clamber up it.
My snow shovel is in the corner, so I grab it.
There’s only one window up here, but it’s big, and the shutters open easily.
The snow is piled high on this side of the cabin.
So high that I can reach the top without even jumping.
I ease myself down the drift, shovel in hand.
When I reach the bottom, I get to work, digging a path to my front door as fast as possible. Then I start walking.
Torrents of snowflakes tumble to the ground as I trudge through the forest. With every step, my boots sink ankle-deep into the top layer, glacial winds clawing at my face.
God-fucking-dammit.
It takes me twice as long as it usually does to reach the rental cabin.
As expected, all I can see of Ruby’s car is the vague outline of the roof.
The stilts supporting the cabin are half buried, and so are the wooden steps.
But the front door is unblocked, and I climb toward it, knocking loudly to be heard over the storm.
Ruby pulls open the door. For a second, I can’t move.
I drink her in like an addict finally getting my fix.
She looks more beautiful than ever, her fiery hair falling in waves past her shoulders.
She’s still in her pajamas, a row of white Christmas trees printed on the fleecy material, which does nothing to hide her thick curves.
But when I meet her gaze, my heart sinks.
Those big doe eyes are red-rimmed, still glistening with a sheen of tears.
“H-hi, Ivan,” she says, her voice thick and stuffy.
“What’s wrong?” I ask immediately. “Are you okay?”
She swallows back a sob and nods, beckoning me inside. “Come in out of the storm.”
The cabin is warm, the remains of Ruby’s breakfast still on the table. I join her by the fire, watching her like a hawk. Seeing her cry hurts like hell. It makes me want to do something…anything to make her smile again.
“What’s going on, Candy Cane? Talk to me.”
Ruby shakes her head. “It’s nothing. Sorry, I’m being dumb…
I shouldn’t be getting so upset.” She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand.
“I just got off the phone with my brother. He’s snowed in, and the road to his cabin is totally blocked.
I thought it might clear up in time for tomorrow, but”—she gestures miserably at the window—“it’s not letting up.
So, I don’t think I’ll make it to his cabin for Christmas. ”
“Shit,” I mutter. “I’m sorry.”
I hadn’t even considered how the snowstorm would ruin her Christmas plans.
“It’s okay. Just one of those things, I guess.” Ruby musters up a watery smile. “Thanks for coming to check on me. Do you want a hot chocolate?”
Fuck, she’s so sweet. Her tears are barely dry and she’s already offering me drinks. I can’t let this angel spend the holidays alone. But before I can find the right words to ask her, I’m already grunting like a damn caveman. “Come over.”
She blinks at me. “Sorry?”
“Do you…will you come over?” I clear my throat. “To my cabin. For Christmas.”
Ruby cocks her head. “But you hate Christmas?”
I shrug. “Yeah. But you don’t, and it would suck for your day to be ruined ‘cause of some snow.”
She’s still looking at me. I can’t figure out her expression.
Maybe she’s trying to think up a polite way to say no.
But I need this. Hell, I need it way more than she does.
I need her. She might think I’m just trying to be nice by inviting her over.
But the truth is, I can’t keep my distance any longer.
The last three days have felt like a fucking eternity.
Even if she’s heading back to Miami soon…
even if I’ll never see her again…I still want to savor every second.
Sure, I don’t give a damn about the holidays.
But Ruby?
Well, I guess I care about this curvy little angel more than is good for me.
“Look, I know it’s not exactly your dream Christmas,” I tell her, breaking the silence. “I know I’m just an old Grinch with no holiday spirit. But I’ll try to make it special. We can do whatever you want—”
The final word is barely out before Ruby rises on her tiptoes and throws her arms around me, pulling me down toward her.
I’m too shocked to move. Frozen. My heart roars in my ears.
Then she squeezes tight, and I jerk to life, hugging her back.
She’s so tiny that I have to crouch a little, my thigh tingling in protest. But I don’t care.
I could be in agony right now and I still wouldn’t let go.
All I care about is Ruby: her vanilla-sweet scent, the feel of her plump curves melting against me. Driving me wild.
Fuck.
I can feel my cock swelling against my jeans. Soon, she’ll feel it too, pressing against her belly, impossible to ignore. The rock-hard evidence of exactly what she’s doing to me. But then she pulls away just in time.
I miss her warmth instantly. My body feels cold and taut without Ruby in my arms. But then she beams at me—a bright, beautiful beam that radiates from every pore.
“Thank you, Ivan,” she says. “I’d love to come to your cabin for Christmas.”
And suddenly all the warmth comes flooding right back.