Chapter 7
They pulled up to the cabin and John put the truck in park. Silence reigned as they both stared out the windshield, neither moving, each in their own thoughts. John broke the spell by clearing his throat and unbuckling his seatbelt. ”Are you ready to go in?”
Frankie nodded and gathered her bags, then opened the passenger door.
”Wait!” John shouted before jumping out.
A little grin tugged at her mouth as he practically flew around the front of the truck, holding his hand out to her. ”I don”t want you to slip. It looked a little slick when I drove up and you have to be especially careful on days like this. The sun will melt the snow and then it’ll refreeze in a layer that’s invisible but slippery as hell.”
She huffed a soft laugh as she climbed down from the truck and leaned into him, feeling spoiled and protected. ”Thanks, John.” His fingers threaded through hers.
I could seriously get used to this.
”If you”d like, I”ll let you take a shower first. I can get dinner started and I need to let Angus out,” John said as he opened the front door. Angus”s answering ”woof” brought a smile to both their faces. The dog padded over from his large pillow, his entire body wagging and his tail beating the air at their return.
”You”re such a sweet boy,” Frankie crooned, smoothing the fur back on his head which earned her a lick on her hand. ”I”ll take you up on that shower,” she added to John. ”I”ll be fast, I promise.”
”Take your time. I”ve gotta get this guy settled.” John held the door for Angus. ”Come on, boy.”
Shivering, Frankie raced to the bathroom, stripped down and turned the water to its hottest setting. It would feel perfect after a day spent outdoors. It had been cold and exhausting but exhilarating at the same time. The education and practical experience in just one day with John had given her a wealth of information to share with her team.
She stepped under the water stream, moaning at the luxurious heat. But true to her word, she lathered up quickly and rinsed off, toweled dry, and dressed in a matter of minutes. She didn”t want to waste one moment of her time with John.
Frankie smiled when she heard the front door close, a soft woof following it, and the deep, soothing murmur of John”s voice. She applied a light application of mascara and a layer of lip gloss just to complete the picture, then fluffed her hair, styling it into a messy bun. She stared at herself in the mirror, noting the way her hazel eyes practically glowed green and the deep rosy hue of her cheeks. Wisconsin suited her.
She pulled on a loose red flannel over her tank top, leaving it unbuttoned, pairing it with her favorite pair of black yoga pants. It was the most comfortable clothing combination invented and perfect for an evening spent in a legitimate log cabin. Then she carried her bags into the bedroom, setting them on the large reading chair by the window. ”I”m done in here,” she called out. ”You can get cleaned up.”
”Okay.” His voice drifted from the kitchen. ”I”m starting this soup, then I”ll hop in.”
Add ”he cooks” to the list. Just makes him hotter.
She strolled to the living room, loving the pleasant image—a crackling fire in the hearth, Angus curled up on his pillow gnawing happily on a bone. Outside, the sunset glowed a brilliant red that streaked across the sky, perfectly contrasted with the snow that still clung to the evergreens in half-melted clumps. It looked like a winter wonderland. And it felt strangely like home.
She turned her gaze to John who was busy chopping an onion on a stout walnut cutting board. Lined up on the counter were potatoes, celery stalks, and carrots. He threw her a brief, heated glance before returning to the onion. There was a lot in just that one look, and it took her breath away.
But as she watched him prepping the vegetables, it dawned on her that in the amount of time it took her to shower, he”d walked Angus, built a fire in the hearth, and started dinner. And that was after an all-day hike of how many kilometers? Was there anything this man couldn”t do?
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Nah. I’m almost done here.” He dumped the chopped vegetables into the soup, seasoned it, and dropped a lid on the pot. Wiping his hands on a kitchen towel, he threw her a grin. ”I”ll hop in the shower now. This will be ready in an hour or so.”
”Take your time.” She held up her grandmother”s journal. ”I”ll just read for a bit and make some notes about today’s hike while it”s still fresh.”
With a nod, he left her alone. Moments later, a whoosh from the bathroom told Frankie that the shower had started. Her imagination immediately kicked on, as steamy as the water that poured from those jets. Biting her lip, she pictured his naked body beneath the hot spray, practically whimpering at the mental image as heat pooled in her belly. She gave herself a firm shake.
Mind out of the gutter, please!
But no matter what she told herself, she couldn”t keep her thoughts from straying in that direction.
With a groan of frustration, she plopped on the sofa and thumbed through the old journal, looking for a specific date. If she remembered correctly, her grandmother wrote about an area that refused to respond to any restoration efforts. She wondered if it was the same one.
Sure enough, she found the entry written three days after her grandmother had stumbled upon Ben Robbins.
13 July 1950
Ben showed me a section of his land today, not far from his cabin, that stubbornly refused to respond to any treatments. It was depressingly stark and close to a mile long, surrounding a small, winding creek. Mostly devoid of vegetation except for random patches of wild prairie grasses. Ben believed it had once been polluted by a nearby manufacturing plant. It is a classic reminder of the damage that can be done with little to no environmental oversight.
Ben promises to take me swimming tomorrow. I can”t wait.
XOXO, Meredith
That sounded like the same area Frankie and John visited, but now there was more than just patchy areas of vegetation. There were still no trees, but the grasses, while mostly covered in snow, had been lush, demonstrating that there had been a modest degree of recovery in the seventy years since her grandmother had visited.
”Did you find something interesting?” John”s deep voice just behind her left ear made her jump and shriek.
”Oh my god!” She pressed a hand to her chest. ”You scared me.”
His hands were planted on the back of the sofa and his rich brown hair spiky on top from the shower as he leaned toward her, giving him a naughty air. A mischievous grin stretched across his face, completely unrepentant. He had deliberately snuck up on her, the rogue. ”It looked like you found something,” he said, pointing at the journal.
”Oh, yes!” She tapped the open page. ”I found the entry my grandmother made when your grandfather took her to the spot we hiked today. I thought I had remembered her note while we were there, and here it is.” She held it up for him to read. ”She doesn”t say too much but did mention that the vegetation was patchy with mostly bare areas. Yet now the grass is relatively thick with few bare areas that I could see, although they might be hidden by the snow. The bright side is that the area has recovered some in the last seventy years.”
John hummed, his voice so deep, she could feel the rumble in her chest. ”My grandfather wrote about that spot extensively. It drove him nuts because nothing worked. My guess is that it was too soon after the dumping for anything to take hold. It takes a while for the metals to break down.”
”Yes, exactly.” Frankie chewed her bottom lip. “If the pollution was going directly from the plant into the water, there would be damage up and down the stream. Have you seen anything like that?”
John shook his head. “No, not on that scale.”
“Then it must be something else, or maybe whatever they dumped here years ago is activated by a particle in the water.” She sighed heavily. “Sorry. Sometimes I get a little carried away.”
“Don’t be. I appreciate the perspective.” He still hung over her, looking breathtakingly yummy.
“I know this might sound ridiculously sentimental…” She paused. “But I love knowing we both walked where our grandparents visited so long ago.” Frankie smiled. ”I love being in the areas where they were together. I can really feel her presence here, as if it was a place she truly treasured.”
A brow arched over one glacially blue eye. ”You do realize they were also in this cabin together, right?”
Frankie”s eyes popped wide as she remembered her earlier discovery, her hands fluttering in the air. ”Oh my god! I completely forgot. I wanted to show you something.” She jumped from the couch and grabbed his hand, dragging him along as she ran to the bedroom. ”I found it when I woke up this morning.”
She led him to the bed”s heavy log headboard, scooted onto the mattress, her eyes scanning the underside until she found the spot. “Here!” She ran her fingers lovingly over the carved heart. ”Look what I found.”
She glanced up when she was met with silence, finding John standing between her legs at the edge of the mattress, an intense look of longing and hot desire plain on his face. She held her breath as he melted toward her, his gaze zeroed in on her mouth as her lips parted on a breath. Then his head turned to follow her fingers.
His mouth slanted into a lopsided grin and he placed his hand on top of hers as they traced the heart and initials together. ”I found this years ago when I moved in here. It always reminded me that my grandfather was human and once a romantic.”
”They were here together,” Frankie added, watching their fingers mingle together. She couldn”t tone down the awe in her voice.
John”s eyes turned back to her, a storm swirling in his gaze as if he were fighting for control.
”Are you all right?” she asked, worried she”d crossed some invisible line, and hoping at the same time that she had.
His head moved side to side slowly and edged even closer until their lips were barely an inch apart. ”No, I”m not. I can”t stop thinking about you, about what it would be like to kiss you, spread you out on this bed and make love to you.” His eyes were so intense it made it tough to breathe.
Frankie knew she was approaching a crossroads—the point that could change her life forever. But there wasn’t a chance she would stop this.
”Kiss me,” she whispered, her heart pounding and breath coming out in small pants. She was in overdrive already and he hadn”t done a thing to her yet.
His mouth brushed hers lightly and, with a groan, took full possession. Their lips twisted together in a hungry tangle, unable to get enough. She grasped the heavy flannel of his shirt in fistfuls, frantic to hang on, and answered his demands.
John climbed over her and settled his hips into the vee of her legs, nudging them wider apart as their lips continued their erotic dance. She clamped onto his hips and squeaked as his mouth drifted south, trailing a path down her neck, hitting nearly every sensitive spot she didn”t know she had. His tongue joined in as he licked a trail over her chest, following the line of her tank top.
”Damn, you taste perfect. I knew you would,” he muttered. ”Just like candy.”
She writhed beneath him, wishing there were no barriers between their bodies. He tugged aside the loose collar of her flannel shirt, exposing a shoulder, and his lips kissed down the delicate joint.
With an abrupt groan, John propped himself on an arm, panting heavily, his eyes hooded with desire. ”I”ll stop if you want me to.” She could tell from his bright eyes and rigid jaw that it was the last thing he wanted to do.
Frankie arched beneath him as she curved a hand around his neck bringing him back for more. ”Don”t stop,” she muttered into his mouth. ”Don”t you dare stop.”
He growled as his lips captured hers in a biting kiss, then he shifted, tearing off his shirt with one pull. The breath caught in her throat as his thickly muscled chest was bared before her. She tunneled her fingers through the dark hair sprinkled across the broad expanse. He was perfection…even better than she had dreamed.
She wrestled her arms out of the flannel shirt and he had her tank top over her head in a split second. With a wicked grin and gleaming eyes, he reached under her with one hand to unlatch her bra. If she hadn’t been on her back, she may have swooned. This guy was dangerous and he knew it.
In a flash, his lips were wrapped around a rigid nipple, sending electric sparks through her, lighting up her body. She squirmed against him, desperate for more. Her fingers threaded through his thick hair, holding him in place, afraid he”d stop. ”Please,” she gasped, writhing against him. ”Please.” His mouth dipped to the other side, showering her other mound with attention, and sending her desire through the roof.
John paused, his eyes holding hers as he snagged his fingers in the waistband of her yoga pants and tugged. ”You”re sure about this?” he asked again.
She nodded. ”Yes.” Her brain was so overloaded she could only manage monosyllabic words. But he didn’t need anything more, because in moments she was nude beneath him. He shucked off his pants in a split second and settled between her legs, cradling both breasts in his hands.
”Beautiful,” he murmured as he captured a peak, swirling his tongue around in a way that made her see stars. He released the tender nipple with a sucking pop before his mouth drifted down. ”I have to taste you.” Goosebumps popped out at his guttural voice.
She gasped and wriggled as his lips found every ticklish spot along her torso until they were teasing the top of her mound. Her knees dropped open as his hot exhale caressed her tender flesh. ”You smell incredible.”
Frankie held her breath as his breath coasted over her center just moments before his mouth landed heavily on her most sensitive spot, his tongue swirling rhythmically in full possession. In less than a minute, she was begging, pleading for release, her fingers clawing at his shoulders and scalp. He was relentless, refusing to stop until he brought her to a paralyzing climax. A shriek ripped from her throat and her body clenched as every muscle in her body spasmed in ecstasy.
He purred as he gave her one last lick, then trailed kisses slowly up her body until he hovered over her on outstretched arms. The pressure of his hot, rigid length pressed against her as he notched into place. He gave her a licking kiss. ”You okay?”
She nodded urgently, her body wrapping around his, craving more. ”Yes,” she murmured breathlessly, pressing against him. ”Don”t you dare stop.”
She panted as he squeezed into her, stretching her almost to the brink. His eyes scanned her face, hips moving forward in slow increments. She grabbed his ass with both hands, her nails digging into the muscled globes and wriggled her hips. She knew he was trying to be gentle, but she needed more.
With a wicked grin, he gave her a heavy thrust, making them both gasp. Then his hips began to churn in a tight rhythm that ushered her quickly toward another peak. ”Oh god, baby. You feel so good,” he groaned, dropping down to capture her lips.
Frankie cried out as her entire body shattered into a million pieces, her slick flesh massaging him in rhythmic surges as her orgasm took control. He tightened above her and a loud guttural moan exploded from him as he surged one last time, pulsing inside her.
They collapsed together, his body slumped heavily over hers, both gasping for breath. After a moment, he braced himself on his elbows and stared at her, awe and satisfaction written all over his face.
Glad I”m not the only one.
Finally, he managed to find his voice. ”Are you okay?”
Frankie laugh-snorted, her hands and legs tightening around him. ”If I were any better, I”d probably die.”
His brow crinkled, and then a deep chuckle rumbled from his chest. ”That doesn”t make any sense.” He rolled over and tucked her into him, her naked body draped partially over his. One hand cradled hers against his chest and the other curled possessively around her waist. A rough breath tore from him. ”This is how I”d describe heaven.”
She giggled, feeling suddenly shy. “Me, too.” She tugged her hand free and stroked across his chest. ”This was the last thing I anticipated when I took this assignment.”
He gave her a lazy look, his hand tightening on her waist. ”That we”d end up here?”
”Yeah.” She planted her palm over his heart. ”I mean my best friend, Sharon, would absolutely do something like this.” She paused, twisting her mouth to the side. ”Well, actually Sharon would have gone straight to the seediest biker bar she could find and picked up some random psycho.”
He huffed a laugh as his fingers threaded through her hair.
”But seriously.” She propped up on an elbow and held his gaze. ”After I learned about my grandmother”s connection here, I really wanted to meet you. I just didn”t expect us to feel so much…” She bit her lip, searching for the word.
”Heat? Connection?” he offered. His hands tightened for a moment and then relaxed.
She nodded slowly. ”Yeah. Heat and connection.”
He cupped her chin and brought her lips to his, lightly playing with them before they broke apart, breathing heavily. ”You”re dangerous,” he whispered.
Frankie beamed at him. She wasn”t quite sure why those two words made her so happy, because the words by themself didn”t sound great. But the look in his eyes told her this was serious.