AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My eyes damn near bug out of my head. “Forty-five minutes. You were walking out in that for forty-five minutes?” I sharply punctuate the statement with a pointer finger aimed out the kitchen window where the snow has started to fall hard again.
She nods. “Didn’t really have much choice, Boone. It was either hoof it or freeze in my car. At least hoofing it, I managed to find you and stay mostly warm.”
“Goddammit, woman. Have you ever heard of frostbite?”
Her shoulders jack up to her ears, and I know I’m gonna get it.
“What the hell was I supposed to do? Sit and wait for someone to stumble across my dead body when the snow eventually melted? I had no cell service—still don’t—so it’s not like I could call for help. I did the best I could given the circumstances, and sitting in your kitchen getting a lecture—even while eating this admittedly very tasty stew—isn’t helping matters.”
The wind chooses that minute to howl against the window, and we both stare out against the backdrop of falling snow.
I shove a hand through my hair, irritated. “Well, you’re not going anywhere tonight. The storm probably knocked out some cell towers. In the morning, we’ll see what we can do about getting your car dug out and you back to town.”
She looks around the cabin as if it just occurred to her that she might be spending the night, and she glances back at me. “Not to be a picky stickler, but this place doesn’t happen to have two bedrooms by chance, does it?”
Her gaze is trained on the living room, which doesn’t have a couch, just two comfy, upholstered chairs, and I bite back the sigh knowing exactly where she’s going with this.
“It doesn’t. You can take the bed; I’ll sleep on the floor.”
She’s shaking her head before I can get the offer out. “Absolutely not. You’re injured. I can take the floor. The only thing I hurt today was my pride by running out of gas and getting stranded. A stiff back is nothing compared to that.”
My mama wouldn’t just roll over in her grave, she’d leap out of it Matrix-style to whack the back of my head if she found out that I let a lady sleep on the floor.
“It’s fine,” I grit out.
Instead of arguing more, Jem stands and rinses her bowl in the sink before retreating to the back of the cabin. I’m two seconds away from following her when she calls back, “This is your bed?”
The tone of incredulity in her voice is enough to have me hobbling my way toward the room.
I’m a big guy. Cramming myself into a smaller bed in my cabin didn’t appeal, so I loaded a California king into the small space. There’s no room for shit on either side of the bed, so it’s a tight fit, but I’d rather be comfortable sleeping than have a nightstand or two anyway.
“Yeah,” I say.
She blows out a breath that ruffles the line of bangs on her forehead before saying, “Well, that’s fine then. You take one side of the bed and I’ll take the other. We’re both adults. It’ll be like a sleepover.”
I’m a good person. I pay my taxes and volunteer across various committees in town. Why the universe thinks it’s a good idea to punish me like this is a fucking cosmic joke.
“Not sure I’ve had a sleepover in the last ten years,” is all I can say.
Jem’s smile is brighter than a supernova star exploding across her face.
“Well then, you’re in for a treat.”
And I thought this day couldn’t get any worse than a snowstorm and a bum leg. Apparently, that just opened up karma to send me a stranded brunette bombshell that I have to share a bed with.
What fucking luck.
4
JEM
Intense heat pulls me out of whatever I was dreaming. Sweat beads along my hairline, and a drop of it trails down the back of my neck where I can feel Boone’s breaths against the overheated skin.
I’m fully wrapped in six plus feet of sexy, bearded park ranger, and his fingers are inches away from my clit. A clit that’s pulsing with its own heartbeat as I try my hardest not to squirm against what feels like a thumb pressed centimeters from my sweet spot.
Holy Jesus.
My legs feel like Jell-O. My knees are weak, even though I’m lying in bed wrapped up in his arms. His hand somehow found its way between my thighs in the middle of the night and took up residence without waking me. The impressive erection nestled between my ass cheeks also went unnoticed in my slumber.
