Page 33 of Snow Globe Secrets

My response was to kiss him. It was supposed to be searing and dirty and quick, but my arms wrapped around him, and his found purchase on my thighs, and the kiss went on for minutes. The wind picked up, and I was envisioning throwing off the blanket and shoving him onto the floor on top of it until he was absolutely sure how sexy I found coding. I got as far as tugging the blanket out from under Randall’s hands when a muffled pop from outside startled us apart. The lights flickered, and the white noise of the heat and other appliances pulsed before all sight and sound gave up.

We were without power as we pulled apart, both of us looking around as we came to understand what had happened. The relative darkness increased the intensity of the glow coming from the fireplace. It cast his face in an ominous frame, firelight flickering on one side, a dark shadow on the other.

He heaved a sigh full of emotion and dropped back onto the coffee table, his hands behind him, holding him up. An energy surrounded him, but I couldn’t pin it down. Was it emotional? Sexual? Or merely frustration over our situation?

I really couldn’t tell. I sat back and took him in. I really, really wished I could tell. I wanted to be able to read his every emotion, to clock his every need, and to be the person who could answer his every desire.

His arousal was apparent, tenting his sweatpants as he sat, his legs spread open in front of me. He ran his fingers through his hair, and it pulled my focus from his groin to his face. He let out a long sigh as his hands slowly raked the top of his head.

“Randall?”

A mechanical noise kicked in as I was saying his name in question. He didn’t move except for the hand that finished raking his hair.

“There it is,” he said, not as relaxed as I would have liked to hear him.

“Is that the generator kicking in?” I asked.

“Yeah. It should power the refrigerator, the HVAC, and the hot water. It powers my loft as well. I house a backup server here. I need to check and make sure everything’s functioning properly.” He paused, but I could tell he had more to say.

“Maybe you should check in with your parents.”

I jumped up, feigning enthusiasm and hoping that would help adjust his mood as well. “I texted with my folks a little bit ago, but you’re right. I’ll let them know we’ve lost electricity, and that we’re going to power down our electronics. I’ll check the fridge and the hot water heater—in the garage, right? You go check your server.”

He’d slowly worked his way to a seated position while I prattled on.

I held out a hand to him as he ran an anxious hand through his hair again. “And then,” I insisted, “Maybe we can take a nap?”

His mood lightened, and he smiled at me. It was a simple, almost-shy smile, but my heart reached out to it, wanting to wrap it up and protect it from the world outside. From asshole exes and friends he couldn’t confide in about being gay. From the Midwest family he hardly saw to whatever else had led him to think a life of isolation in a cabin made for romance was the life for him.

“You already had a nap,” he said matter-of-factly, and I couldn’t tell if he was disappointed.

“Did I snore? I snored, didn’t I? I’m so sorry. I was trying so hard not to disturb you. I can’t imagine how detailed that work you were doing is. Having to get the code exactly right, calculate it all. I’m sorry if I disturbed you.”

“You didn’t,” he assured me. “I … I shouldn't have opened my blasted laptop. We did say we’d spend the afternoon … with a holiday romance.” Was he making a joke? His lip quirked. I couldn’t help but kiss it off him, my smile matching his until they were linked.

“Afternoon’s not over, babe. And you had work to do. No harm, no foul. Now go check your server. Make sure everything’s okay. Alert the corporate office or call Anson Day. Whatever important, business-y thing you have to do. I’ll make sure we have heat and food, then we’ll see what else we can get up to this afternoon.”

“Austin.”

I matched his tone. “Randall.”

“We should …”

“Yeah, we probably should. But whatever the next thing we do is, we’re going to do it confident that the generator is working, and we’re going to do it snuggled under a blanket. Okay?”

“Okay.” I couldn’t get enough of his shy smile. After a pause, he added, “Good.” I loved that subtle accent.

“Good,” I agreed.

Randall hoisted himself up, and I couldn’t help but clock the boner that hadn’t yet subsided. He passed the thermostat on his way up the stairs to the loft where my stuff was, but where I had yet to sleep.

“Heat seems to be working.”

“That’s good news,” I replied on my way to the kitchen. I placed a hand on the side of the refrigerator before opening it for a few seconds to confirm the light came on, listening and feeling for the hum. “Fridge seems to be on.”

“Great,” he yelled down from the loft. Server’s kicking in. I just need … I’m sorry, but I need a few minutes to check in and let them know everything’s still functioning. This is the first time I’ve lost power since I bought the place.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. I’m gonna kick the fire up a notch.”