I don’t let her finish. I’m up the ladder and on the roof with her, pressing a passionate kiss to her lips. She tastes of peppermint hot chocolate and long, sweaty nights and the beautiful beginning I’d been so afraid to hope for.
“I love you, too,” I tell her when we’re both dizzy and light-headed.
“I just want you to have pretty Christmas lights,” she pants. “I wanted you to know how much I care about you.”
“You are my light and my warmth,” I tell her, wrapping my arms around her and tugging her close. She’s the best gift I’ve ever been given, and I’ll spend the rest of time cherishing her.
Holly
You’re never leaving me. Hunter’s words from yesterday replay in my head as I wake up next to him. After he took me in the kitchen, he carried me to the bathroom and cleaned both of us up. The way he looked at me made me think that maybe he’s in love with me, just like I am with him.
The knowledge warms me from the inside out. I want to find a way to show him how I feel. No one has ever taken the time to make him feel wanted or loved. I just have to figure out how to do that.
He shifts in his sleep, and I use the opportunity to leave the bed. After I take care of my business in the bathroom, I let the dogs outside to relieve themselves and play in the fresh snow.
The worst of the storm finally passed over us last night, not that I was even aware of it. I was too busy under Hunter, writhing as he demanded one more orgasm from my exhausted body. I love the way he pushes me to the brink, intent on giving me every second of ecstasy that he can.
I brew a pot of coffee and wander through the cabin, pausing when I find a large box with an inscription in black marker that reads: I love you. - Mom
I smile. I’ve never met Emma May, but I know I already love her for the way she took in Hunter and his brothers. I open the box and gasp as soon as I see the contents. The storm has stopped so it’s perfect.
Grabbing the lights, I whistle a tune under my breath as I head to the garage to look for a ladder. I know just how to show the mountain that I love him.
I’ve only been working for about an hour when he leaves the cabin. I haven’t set up the lights as well as I’d hoped. Turns out, I keep tangling them and now that I can see him scowling up at me, I’m nervous. I wonder if this was a good idea. What if he hates it?
The roads were cleared yesterday. I saw the alert on his phone even though I pretended it didn’t. Is he going to send me away now? Have I completely misread the situation and made a complete fool of myself?
“What do you think you’re doing?” Hunter demands. He does not sound happy. Not even a little bit.
Guilt twists in my gut though I try not to let it show. “Oh, you’re up already? I wanted to finish by then.”
He crosses his arms over his chest, pulling his flannel tight in all the right places. I wonder if he’s as deliciously sore as I am. “What are you doing up there without a harness? Get down here!”
I glare back at him, surprised at just how much his angry side turns me on. “I was decorating the roof for you.”
“Why on earth would you do that?” He stalks to the ladder and starts climbing up.
“Because I love you, you big idiot,” I shout. I’m making the most romantic confession of my life, and I just called him an idiot.
He pauses halfway up the ladder. He looks completely shaken by my revelation. “You love me?”
“Yeah, and I want you to have all the Christmas lights, even if I’m pretty sure I created a tangled mess. I just want–”
He doesn’t let me finish, joining me on the roof. He presses a soft kiss to my lips, and my arms go around his neck. This man kisses me like I’m the only woman in the world, the only person that matters.
“I love you, too,” he whispers when he pulls away long enough to press kisses to my jaw and neck.
“I just want you to have pretty Christmas lights,” I pant, angling my head to give him better access. “I wanted you to know how much I care about you.”
He lifts his head and stares down into my eyes. His gaze is filled with all of the affection and tenderness that he feels. “You are my light and my warmth.”
We’re still making out when an unfamiliar car pulls up into the driveway. I wonder if this is Emma May and hope that our introduction isn’t me mauling her son on the roof of his cabin. But it’s not Emma May or any other stranger from town. It’s my mom and my sister.
“I think that’s my family,” I say to Hunter in complete shock.
A look of guilt flashes on his face. “The roads became passable last night, but I wasn’t ready to tell you.”
“I already knew they were. I wasn’t ready to leave you.”
