Chapter 20 #2
They were silent for a moment. The wind picked up, blowing the loose snow around like frozen glitter, only it didn’t stop. “Oh, wow, it’s really coming down. Where is everybody?” Cassidy asked.
Liam hadn’t realized that they had fallen so far behind the group. He’d been too caught up in listening to Cassidy’s story. The trail was disappearing beneath the heavy snow, and if they weren’t careful, they’d get turned around.
“I know right where we are,” Liam said. “Or… I’m pretty sure I do. There’s a shelter nearby—the llama barn.”
Cassidy knew Liam’s family was opening up a llama sanctuary, and truth be told, she’d been desperate to see it.
“On my family farm. Follow me.”
They pushed on through the deepening snow. It was easily almost up to their knees by now, falling in thick flakes, making the trail harder and harder to see. The only sounds were the crunch of their boots and the whisper of the wind through snow-laden pines.
They moved in silence until the shape of the barn appeared ahead, its dark silhouette a welcome sight against the pale winter sky.
Liam pushed open the heavy wooden door. “We can keep going if you want,” he said, brushing snow from his coat as they entered the barn, “but it’s probably another fifteen minutes to the main house.”
The air was warm, still, and quiet, carrying the faint, comforting scent of hay and wood shavings. “No, this is great. Let’s stay here for a minute.”
The barn was rustic, with exposed beams crisscrossing the ceiling and a row of four stalls lining one side. In the open area at the back, fresh hay had been spread in golden piles, and thick wool blankets were folded neatly on a bench.
The llamas barely acknowledged them at first. One looked up briefly then went right back to munching alfalfa from a trough, its ears flicking lazily.
Cassidy tiptoed closer, careful not to startle them.
One of the llamas—an especially fluffy one with lopsided bangs—wandered toward her, blinking slowly. Cassidy grinned then hesitated.
“Is she friendly?” she whispered.
“Mostly,” Liam said, trying not to smile. “That’s Daisy. She likes attention, but she’s been known to nibble if she’s feeling ignored.”
“Good to know,” Cassidy said, carefully extending her hand. Daisy sniffed it then pressed her velvety nose into her palm, as if granting her approval.
“Well, hello to you too,” she murmured.
Just then, another llama—this one shorter and rounder—shuffled up behind her and started nosing at her coat pocket.
“Oh! Hey! That’s not a snack!” she said with a laugh, gently nudging it away.
“That’s Tinsel,” Liam said. “He’s obsessed with granola bars. If you have one on you, he’s not above pickpocketing.”
Liam pulled out his phone and texted Zoe. She replied within minutes—everyone had made it back safely, Tyler and his daughter were already in their truck, and the rest of the group had settled in at the farmhouse.
She looked around, her eyes catching on the string lights, the tidy stalls, the quiet glow of the space, and Liam swore the tension in his chest pulled tighter.
Because she was smiling, and the barn felt different with her standing in it.
It was just a shelter from the snowstorm, just a stop on the way home.
But with her there, it felt like more.
Liam knew she must be freezing. He was, and he had on far better gear than she’d brought.
He walked over to where the tools were stored and grabbed one of the thick blankets. He shook it out and brought it over, wrapping it around her shoulders.
“It’s not Christmassy, but it looks good on you,” he said, referring to the hot-pink, lime-green, and yellow-striped blanket they regularly used to keep the llamas warm.
“Thank you. And don’t worry, I still have plenty of hot cocoa.” She pulled a second flask from her back pocket.
“How many of those did you carry with you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She winked and uncapped the flask, taking a long sip before handing it to Liam.
“It does hit the spot,” he said, taking a drink and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“It does, doesn’t it?” Cassidy said, accepting the flask back.
As she did, the blanket slipped off her shoulders. He stepped forward and caught it, helping to secure it in place, but this time, he didn’t let go.
The two of them stood face to face, alone in the barn, with nothing but straw surrounding them and the wind howling outside.
Liam should’ve stepped back. Should’ve made some awkward joke about the weather. Changed the subject. Distracted himself with anything but the look in her eyes. It was wide and searching, as if she was asking him a question. Can you feel it too?
And God help him, he could.
Being with her like this—alone, close, warm—was the closest thing to true happiness he’d felt in years.
What would happen if they kissed, if they gave in to the sizzling temptation that crackled and snapped between them?
He stepped closer, just enough to test the air between them.
She reacted by placing her hand gently at his waist and tilting her face up to him.
That one touch burned through every boundary he’d tried to build. Every reason not to… disappeared.
Liam bent his head slowly, giving her every second to pull away.
She didn’t.
His lips brushed the corner of her mouth—gentle, tentative, testing.
She made a soft sound, full of longing.
He deepened the kiss.
Cassidy melted into him like she’d been waiting for this—like they both had. Her arms slipped around his neck, pulling him closer, and Liam was gone. His hands gripped her waist, anchoring himself to the one thing in the world that suddenly made sense.
She tasted like warmth and chocolate, like the promise of something real. Of something worth believing in again.
This wasn’t just lust. He knew that. And that was what undid him. Because Cassidy wasn’t someone you kissed to pass the time or to forget the ache in your chest. She was the kind of woman who could burn herself into your life, who made you want things you’d sworn you’d stopped wanting.
Liam still carried the ghost of a Christmas past that had ended in heartbreak.
But with Cassidy in his arms, soft and alive and kissing him back like she wanted every part of him, the past felt quieter, the edges dulling beneath the heat rushing through him.
She opened to him, and he didn’t hold back.
He lifted her easily, her legs wrapping around his hips, her breath catching as he pressed her back against the post in the darkened corner of the barn. His body fit against hers, solid and hot, every nerve lit up as she rocked against him, kissing him deeper.
She let out a soft sound, half sigh, half plea, and it nearly undid him.
His hands roamed down her thighs, gripping, sliding back up to her hips, pulling her tighter, closer, until there was nothing between them but heat and need.
God, she felt good.
Her scent surrounded him—sweet cocoa and cold winter air, mixed with the warm, wild fragrance of her skin—and it made him dizzy, made him forget every reason he’d given himself to stay away.
Cassidy kissed him like she wanted this as much as he did, like she trusted him with this moment, her breath, her body.
And he wanted it all.
Her kisses. Her laughter. Her warmth pressed up against him in the quiet of the snow-dusted barn.
She’d tossed her gloves on the ground long ago, her fingers digging into his shirt.
His thumb brushed the waistband of her jeans, and he longed to continue to explore. He wanted to know every curve of her body, the softness of her skin, taste the sweetness between her legs. He wanted everything.
“Knock, knock! Rescue crew is here!” Zach’s voice shouted from somewhere in the barn.
They froze, breaths coming in hard, unsteady bursts, hearts pounding so loud it was a wonder Zach couldn’t hear them.
Cassidy’s hands tightened in his shirt, her lips still parted, her eyes wide and glassy with want. His hands were still on her hips, her legs still wrapped around him, and for a moment neither of them moved, neither willing to break the spell that had been so abruptly shattered.
Liam let out a shaky breath, jaw clenching. Of all the damn timing…
He pressed his forehead to hers, closing his eyes, trying to catch a breath that wouldn’t come.
He didn’t move. Didn’t want to. “Five more minutes.”
“Liam…”
“Just five,” he rasped, brushing his mouth against her jaw. “They can freeze. I’ll warm you up.”
Cassidy let out a breathless laugh—half flustered, half wrecked—but started to wriggle down anyway. Her cheeks were scarlet, her hair mussed, her lips kiss-swollen and tempting as sin. “I can’t. I need…” She shook her head. “If I don’t go greet them, they’ll know exactly what we were doing.”
“They’ll know no matter what.” Liam’s hand slid over her hip again, holding her in place for one more second. “Next time, I’m tying you down.”
“That a promise?” she shot back, voice low as she slipped past him.
She grabbed the fallen blanket, quickly smoothing her hair and trying to pull herself together.
Liam stayed frozen for a beat longer, pulse pounding, jaw tight.
His hands itched to reach for her again, but instead, he forced himself to call out, “Back here!”
Cassidy shot him a look over her shoulder—half you’re trouble, half I want more—and damn it, he knew there was no going back now.