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The little minx.
“Daddy?” she purred as he carried her inside.
“Yeah.” he replied as he put her down and closed the heavy cabin door behind them. The sudden rush of interior warmth wrapped around them—crackling fire in the great room, the rich scent of cedar and pine, the faint trace of her vanilla lotion still lingering in the air. Sage walked to the staircase slowly and then paused.
She tilted her head up to look at him, eyes sparkling. “Would you do me a favor?”
“Sure, baby. What?”
She looked at him with that mischievous, hungry grin. “Spank me some more?”
“What?”
“Spank. Me. More. Please.”
Cal stood dumbfounded as she turned and climbed the wide staircase, shedding clothes as she went—a sweater tossed over the banister, leggings kicked aside on the landing—revealing smooth skin flushed from cold and growing arousal. At the top she paused, body arched just right, that perfect ass and the glistening promise between her thighs on full display.
“Daddy: zero. Princess: five.” Her voice was pure singsong tease.
Good Lord… Thank you for the love of my life.
Cal followed her up the stairs, smiling slowly, already rolling up his sleeves.
35
CAL
The sunrise was stunning.
A golden symphony spilled across the snow-covered ridges as the sun crested the eastern peaks, igniting the valley in brilliant shades of rose, amber, and molten white. Every drift and slope shimmered like scattered diamonds, the light so pure it almost hurt to look at. Cal sat in the oversized chair on the wrap-around porch, elbows on his knees, mug of hot chocolate cradled between his big hands. The steam rose in lazy curls, carrying rich cocoa and a hint of cinnamon.
Brutus lay sprawled at his feet, massive grizzly head resting on one paw, snoring softly. The bear had followed him after the usual morning routine of ice and training, loyal as ever. The cold mountain air wrapped around them both—crisp, pine-sharp, laced with the distant tang of woodsmoke drifting from the cabin’s twin stone chimneys. Neither man nor bear paid it any mind; they were built for this kind of winter.
Cal took another slow sip, the sweetness warming his chest even as his heart sat unusually heavy.
He thought of Sage still sleeping upstairs in the bed they now shared. A soft smile tugged at his mouth as the memory surfaced. Her breathless little moan last night when he’d worshipped her with his mouth for what felt like hours — slow, reverent strokes of his tongue, her fingers twisted in his hair, thighs trembling around his ears.
Oh Cal. I can’t wait till we can make love.
The words had come out wrecked and needy, and they’d undone him completely.
He sighed. Brutus lifted his big head, dark eyes watching him with that calm, knowing patience Cal had come to know so well.
“I’m afraid,” Cal admitted quietly.
Brutus huffed once, a deep rumble, then settled his chin back down but kept one ear cocked.
“I want to marry her but… I can’t. It wouldn’t be fair. Not until she knows the truth. About what I did…” he looked away and whispered, “what I still am”
The grizzly’s ears twitched as Cal continued, voice low and rough.
What I still am.
Cal grimaced and closed his eyes. The fear coiled tight in his gut — unfamiliar, cold, sharper than any mountain wind. He could lose the best thing that had ever happened to him. Probably the best thing that ever would.
He opened his eyes again and stared out at the blazing horizon. The snow glittered so brightly it blurred.
I’ve changed. I'm not the same as I was.
