I shouldn’t look at him like this.
I shouldn’t want like this.
But I do.
He turns his head slightly, just enough for his lips to brush my jaw. The contact is featherlight. Barely there. But it sets everything inside me alight.
“You warm?” he whispers.
I smile into his hair, my hand still pressed to his stomach. “Not as warm as I’m gonna get you.”
Caleb shifts again, rolling just enough to meet my eyes. There’s mischief there, even through the sleepiness. “Oh, yeah? I think you’ve forgotten something.”
“What’s that?”
“No lube,” he sighs, sounding disappointed.
I trace a thumb along his jaw, my pulse thudding steadily. “I never said I was gonna fuck you here, pretty boy.”
His brows lift, breath catching. “No?”
I shake my head slowly. “I’m just building up the anticipation for later. Maybe I want you so needy for my cock that as soon as we get back to the cabin, you beg me to fuck you.”
His pupils blow wide. “You’re such a tease.”
I grin, low and dangerous. “Tell me, baby, are you gonna beg for my cock?”
He laughs, quiet and warm, pressing his forehead to mine. “Probably. You’re crazy… all of this just to tease me?”
“Maybe,” I murmur, brushing my lips against his temple. “But you’re the reason I’m crazy. You’re my insanity, pretty boy. Just lock me up and throw away the key.”
Light creepsthrough the cracks in the door, and he’s blinking awake. Caleb slept for nearly two hours and now it’s getting closer to the afternoon. It will take us longer to get back to the cabin because of his knee, so we need to get a move on. The bruise looks better, his knee’s stiff but manageable. I help him into his layers again, tucking my scarf around his neck.
“What about you?” He says, the words muffled.
“I’ll be fine. What I care about is you staying warm.” Placing a kiss on his nose over his balaclava.
When I open the door, the snow outside is lighter now, flakes drifting lazily and slow.
“You sure you can walk?” I ask, making sure his zipper is all the way up on his coat.
He gives me a look that’s pure stubbornness. “You think I’m gonna let you carry me all the way back?”
I smirk. “Wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
He mutters something about me being a caveman and masculinity, but he’s grinning as we step outside. The path back isn’t too bad. Two miles, downhill most of the way. The trees glisten with a layer of ice that catches the afternoon light, turning everything into glass.
“It’s so pretty outside.”
For a while, neither of us talk. Just the sound of our boots crunching and the occasional puff of white breath between us. The quiet feels sacred after the wildness of the night before.
But it doesn’t last.
About halfway back, he slows and falls behind. I hear the shift in his steps before I turn around, his rhythm’s off.
“Hey,” I call softly. “You good?”
Caleb nods, but the grimace says otherwise. “Just… stiff. Feels like my knee’s staging a protest.”
