"Panic attack from being held too close," I muttered, not wanting him to know the truth.
"Don't lie to me." He pulled back enough to meet my gaze, but he looked ridiculous in the ski mask. I laughed, and he knocked his padded forehead against mine. "I like being able to hear your thoughts, but that, about my mom, that was more. And then you thought about something else, and it scared you."
"It's nothing."
He shook his head. "It's not, but we'll figure it out together."
He tugged me close again, and I could almost feelhis belief surging through our connection. I wished I could believe it, too.
By Thursday,our mild winter weather gave way to a furious snowstorm. Instead of going with Bettina to Lausanne, we found ourselves alone, thanks to impassable roads and white-out conditions.
Even my wolf was nervous. When Sebastian suggested going for a run in the blizzard that night, I balked. "After it stops snowing?"
He frowned at the snow drift as tall as the door handle, and a swirl of snow whited out the entire view. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."
We returned to our room to read each other spooky sci-fi stories. I'd just pulled up a story I hadn't read yet, probably another variation of an astronaut getting stuck on a hostile planet, when Sebastian grabbed my phone from my hand.
"We're going swimming."
"What? We can't leave."
"Who said we have to leave?" He tossed my phone on the bed, pulled me to my feet, and walked behind me to the door with his front pressed to my back. It would have been romantic if he wasn't so overbearing.
The power went out when we stepped into the hallway, but I could still see almost as well as when it was lit. When we reached the front desk, Sebastian picked me up and carried me through the dining room, his loping jog pressing me to his chest with each step. I wrapped my arms around his neck, but thatdidn't stop my body from sliding against his and turning me on.
He took me to a service stairway I'd never noticed before. For the first time, I could see only a few feet ahead in the dark, but Sebastian felt his way down with one hand gripping the railing. He held me against him with only one arm, which was sexy as fuck.
Along the floor, battery-powered lights lined the narrow path between two glistening stone walls. A distant trickle of water and the warmer temperature surprised the hell out of me. When he set me on the balmy stone floor, I wondered if we'd crossed into one of the sci-fi stories we'd told each other.
Sebastian laughed at my comparison. "That last story made me think of it," he admitted. "It's a hot spring. If the solar battery lasts, we'll have enough light to find our way to and from the wading pools. The sauna's out, though. No power to blow in the steam."
We had hot springs in the Rockies, I was certain, but I'd never had the time or money to go for a spa day before. "Don't we need our swim trunks?" The pair I'd found in my LA shopping bag made sense now, at least. I'd wondered why they'd bought me swim trunks for our winter adventure.
"I prefer you naked." Sebastian kissed the top of my head as he wrapped his arms around me. I felt his cock against my ass, not hard, but getting there.
I turned in his arms and slipped my hands behind his neck, pulling him down for a real kiss. "You brought me down here to get me naked. Why am I not surprised?"
"I could have gotten you naked back in our room."
I sighed. "You only like me for my body." I rubbed my thickening length against his through our clothes.
"I like more than that." He stepped away to pull his shirt over his head, and I did the same. I kicked off my shoes and pulled off my socks. I'd made the mistake of wearing jeans this morning. By the time I pulled down my zipper, he had stripped off his sweatpants and underwear.
Finally, we were both naked. I glanced up from folding my clothes into a pile and placing them on top of my shoes to keep them somewhat dry, to find him staring at me with heat in his gaze.
I dropped my hands to cover my erection, but he shoved them away and picked me up. My outraged cry cut off from the shock of cold water. From the rising steam, I'd assumed it would feel like a bath.
"I like when you talk back to me." Sebastian's body felt warm against mine. I shivered and huddled closer. "I kinda like it when you're bossy," he continued before kissing my jaw and down my neck, replacing the cold spray with the warm brush of his lips. "I really like it when you admit you were wrong."
I scoffed. "When have I been wrong?"
"I can tell." He nipped at my ear. "You had preconceived notions of me. You and everyone else. I love the look you get when you grudgingly change your mind."
"Grudgingly." I laughed. He was right. I hated being wrong, but he wasn't as bad as I had first thought. We had a lot in common, when I stopped pretending he was an asshole.
He was the total package. Hot body. Kind heart. Smart and wickedly funny. On top of all that, my wolfswore he was my mate. He was too good to be true. Though he was mine now, he would only break my heart and leave me when we returned home.
I couldn't help it. I was a weak man with a smitten wolf inside me. It might kill me later, but I couldn't resist him now.
