“I mean, I have an old small one, but it’s only big enough to power the fridge. I’ve been meaning to get a bigger one, but I’ve been a little busy lately…”
I try to focus on adding more logs to the fire to avoid staring at her, but she’s so distracting. Especially after tasting her, I won’t be getting her out of my head anytime soon. I told myself I would wait, but I’m apparently a weak man when it comes to Alexandra. She flooded my system all at once, and none of my nerve endings wanted to be without her. They still don’t, but I want to make sure this is something she really wants. With everything else she’s been through, I can’t be selfish, yet. Dad always told me to get out and live. I couldn’tjust take care of him or work the rest of my days, but I haven’t let myself trust anyone enough to follow his orders. Nothing feels difficult with Alex, but maybe that’s my dick talking.Can’t trust that guy.“It will be fine, I’m sure the city will have it back up in no time.”
She scrunches her nose like she doesn’t believe a word I say. “What are we supposed to do until then?”
“Well…” I wave my hand at the fire I’ve been tending. “We will have to move your bed into the living room for the night, since the walls aren’t that insulated to keep you warm through tomorrow. I’ll stay up and make sure the fire keeps going, and in the morning, I will have to bring more wood in for the rest of your stay.” Alex fidgets with her shirt, unsure. “Does that sound okay?”
I don’t want to spook her, but there aren’t any other options. We are essentially cut off until they can move the snow and fix the power.
She sighs. “I guess I’ll get the blankets.” She trudges down the hall into the room. I try really hard not to watch her walk away, but my eyes can’t stop their pull towards everything about her. It’s like they’re dying of thirst and Alex is the finest wine around. They won’t stop drinking her in every chance they can get.
I clear the furniture from the center of the room, pressing the couch and chairs to the walls, then grab the mattress and lay it on the rug near the fireplace, but not too close in case a stray log decides to jump out. Alex goes back to the room when I start arranging the blankets and pillows on the bed. She returns a moment latercarrying an easel, wet canvas, and paints. She starts setting it up just so on the side of the fireplace, making multiple trips back to the bedroom to bring out more supplies. By the time she’s done, it looks like a mini art studio has been set up.
“So, this is what you planned to do while you were here?”
She sits on her stool, picking up her brush before she looks at me. “You sound surprised.” She flourishes her arms at her tiny tank and shorts not suitable for painting. “Do I not look like a painter?”
She holds my stare without laughing or smiling, and I’m not sure if she’s offended or if she really believes that outfit makes her look like a painter. I run my hand over the stubble starting to grow. “Well … that’s not something I would choose to paint in per se.”
Alex blinks at me a few times. I’m starting to sweat under the stare, but then she breaks and doubles over laughing. “Oh my gosh. Your face.” She sucks in air. “You look like you’re going to pass out. I was kidding.” She wipes at a stray tear. “Ashlyn.” she points at herself. “She insisted on packing my bags and said it would be a healthy experience to free my sexuality.”
My shoulders relax.Thank God.“She wants you to experience painting in the nude then?” My imagination is in overdrive and it’s causing blood to travel to places it shouldn’t.
Red creeps up her neck and across her cheeks, and it’s beautiful. She’s beautiful. “Um, I mean, yeah. I think so,but I can’t do that with you here, now can I?” She spreads out the paints before she dips the brush in and starts sliding it across the canvas.
“I wouldn’t mind, but I’m not going to be pushy.” I make my way around to see the canvas. So far, it’s a mixture of blues and grays. “What is it?”
She looks over her shoulder at me. “It’s a background. You’ll have to wait and see what the final product is.” She turns, dipping her brush in more paint before adding more depth to various areas. “If I let you see it.”
I laugh at that. I don’t think anyone has told me I can’t do something since the company took off. They all just want to throw ideas and work at me to see if I can make them rich overnight. Not that that’s exactly what happened with our company, but that’s all outsiders seem to see. Or women who want me for my money. Like my ex, Rebecca. “I have a feeling you’ll let me by the end.”
“Cocky. Good thing you won’t be here to find out, since you’re leaving in the morning.” She sends me a pointed look.
Shaking my head, I make my way out the door to grab the generator, gas can, and an extension cord for the fridge, while she gets lost in her work. I’ll be seeing all of her paintings eventually because she will be mine. I can see her sharp edges softening. She wants to open up. She just doesn’t trust herself yet.
I feel a dip in the mattress and rub my eyes. I must have dozed off while Alex was painting. “Sorry. What time is it?”
Alex slides under the blankets and pulls them up to her chin. She’s shivering. “Uh, late. I’m not sure.” I can hear her teeth chatter together, her body shaking the mattress.
I look over at the mini vintage grandfather clock near the fireplace and see it’s two in the morning. I glance at the fire. Shit. It’s down to embers. I get up and stack more logs within the cage, watching as the dry wood catches fire from the coals.That should last us until the morning. I settle back in the bed when I’m done and hold the blankets open. “Come over here.”
Alex looks adorable, tucked in her little burrito, but her lack of clothing isn’t helping her at the moment. “I don’t think we should cross that line,” she mumbles through the blanket, still shaking.
I growl at her and tug her towards me. She yelps but doesn’t fight it. “You’re freezing. I’m not going to let you sit over there and shiver. Now that I know about whatyou’ve packed for clothing, I’m not going to be able to leave until the power is backandthe roads are plowed.”
She hums in response. I’m going to take that as an agreement. Her shaking is slowing as my body heat bleeds into her. I wrap my arms around her waist and thread my legs through hers, so we are touching everywhere. I refuse to leave her here in the middle of nowhere without everything she possibly needs.
Her shivering fully stops as she nuzzles in closer to my body. Her scent of vanilla floods my senses. I want to take a deep inhale of her hair, but that would be weird. Instead, I rest my chin on top of her head and squeeze her tighter, ensuring she’s stuck for the night, and listen to her breathing even out as she falls asleep.
I wake up to the sun streaming through the large windows. Alex is still tucked in my arms, sound asleep. My arm is numb, but I slowly slide it out from under her as stealthily as possible. She rolls onto her stomach but stays in a deep sleep. I watch her for a moment. Her hair is spread all over the pillow. I watch her mouth as shemumbles something in her sleep that I can’t catch. My mouth turns up in the corner. I could stand here and watch her sleep all day, but I need to check the weather and clear the snow. I turn, making my way to the front door and slide my boots and coat on.
I open the front door and stop. The snow is piled up in the doorway to almost half the height. And it’sstillsnowing.What in the hell?
I quietly click the door shut, checking that I didn’t wake Alex before going to the back door. It opens without an issue, the tree coverage providing additional wind protection from the storm. I check the small generator powering the fridge and topping it off with gas before I pull my gloves on and trudge my way through the snow to the shed.
I swing the door in and hop over the mound of snow to try and keep as much of it out of the building as possible. I prop the doors open for outside light, and I make my way to the workbench searching for the old radio I keep in case the power goes out. It has a solar power plate, so it’s perfect for this little getaway that is prone to power outages in bad weather. Hopefully it still has a little charge left.
I find it buried under old newspapers left from when my dad would come out here to tinker on machines and walk the property. I must have stacked the papers on the radio the last time I was in the shed. I keep trying to come out and get rid of his things, slowly. But even with all of this time passing, it’s still really hard to accept that I’llnever see him walk through that door. He won’t ever get to experience a night at this cabin again. He’s gone.I miss him.
