“Done!”
After a flurry of chopping, boiling, mashing, seasoning, and searing, the cabin was filled with the scent of mashed potatoes with copious amounts of butter, maple-glazed tarragon carrots, and juicy steaks cooked to medium rare, just the way I liked them. Every time our hands brushed or our shoulders bumped, he lingered just a little longer than necessary, like he wanted to be touching me constantly. I didn’t mind at all. I wanted to touch him too.
It wasn’t a traditionally festive meal, but it was the thought and effort that really counted. It felt like I was celebrating the season with him, and not just some stranger he was helping out. But I wasn’t really a stranger anymore. It felt like I’d known him forever, which sounded really silly when I thought about it too hard.
Axel leaned back in his chair, eyes locked on me over our dirty plates. I still couldn’t believe the amount he’d just eaten. Two large steaks, and enough carrots and potatoes to last me a week. And to finish it all off was a pumpkin pie he’d picked up yesterday at the bakery, served with indecent amounts of whipped cream.
“This is nice,” I said, nudging his foot playfully under the table.
He reached across the table and caught my hand, his thumb stroking over my knuckles. “You being here makes it better. I didn’t realize how lonely I was and how quiet this place was until now.”
I swallowed hard, the warmth in my chest blooming into something more. “You’re really good at this, you know.”
“At what?”
“Making me feel wanted. And like a storm didn’t just dump me in your path.”
His gaze darkened. “Youarewanted. This is the best time I’ve had in a while. Maybe the storm dumped you in my path for a reason. There’s a belief amongst my kind that says that nature will always provide for us.”
“I didn’t expect you,” he said. “But now that you’re here, I don’t want you to leave. I can’t stop thinking about how good it feels to have you close.”
The space between us turned almost electric. I shifted in my seat, suddenly hyperaware of the way his foot slid along my calf. I couldn’t help but remember exactly how it felt to be close to him.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to forget this dinner exists.”
I grinned, then licked my fork exaggeratedly. “Impossible! The food is too yummy.”
“Not as yummy as you.”
“You don’t know that, you haven’t even had dessert yet.”
He stood, walked to the counter, and grabbed the canister of whipped cream, a mischievous look in his eyes.
“You’re right, we have to be fair,” he said. “You can’t be declared yummier unless you’re covered in whipped cream and properly taste-tested.”
I backed away from the table, laughing. “Don’t you dare.”
He advanced slowly, shaking the can. “Too late. Scientific method demands it.”
I darted around the couch, laughing, my heart thudding with adrenaline and anticipation. He lunged, missed, and I squealed, slipping behind the armchair. I was fast, but he was huge, and his place was tiny. There were only so many ways to avoid him.
He caught me near the fireplace, one arm around my waist, the other holding the whipped cream victoriously like a trophy.
“You wouldn’t,” I said, breathless.
“Oh, I absolutely would.”
He pressed the nozzle, and I squealed as cold whipped cream landed on my cheek. I tried to wriggle free, laughing so hard I nearly collapsed. He got another streak across my jaw, then a dab on my nose.
He leaned in and licked the cream from my cheek. Then slowly, deliberately, his tongue traced the line to my jaw, then to the corner of my mouth. I stopped laughing, the thrill of the chase turning into something a little more sensual.
His hand slid to the small of my back and pulled me closer. The heat of him burned right through my clothes. He kissedme, whipped cream and all, his mouth warm, hungry, and possessive. I clung to him, my knees weak, my fingers clutching his T-shirt, dinner forgotten.
“Come here,” he said, voice low.
For a moment I was confused, since I was already in his arms, but he moved and I was suddenly lifted off my feet. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and the cabin blurred as he carried me to the bedroom. I landed in the center of the bed. But before I could even move he was on me, tearing the clothes from my body and licking every inch of skin exposed. He continued until every piece of clothing was on the floor.
But just as I reached for the button on his jeans, he caught my wrist.
