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It’s her.
Aspen Steele.
She’s standing in the living room in nothing but a small white towel wrapped around her body. Her hair is hanging in wet tendrils down her face, and she’s shivering. That’s what kicks me into gear as I tear my eyes away from her creamy skin.
“Aspen, it’s me. Conrad.”
“C-Co-Con,” she sputters out through her shivers.
“What’s going on?” I drop my bags and slam the door closed. In a few long strides, I’m standing in front of her. The smell of lavender washes over me, and my dick takes notice. He and I are on the same page. How could we not? She’s a goddess, an almost naked, standing in front of me, soaking wet and freezing goddess.
“The heat is out, so I took a hot shower to warm up. I didn’t realize that the hot water would be out too. The water was warm, and then it wasn’t.”
“Shit. Where are your clothes?”
“In my car. I w-was so c-cold I forgot that I hadn’t brought in both of my bags yet. Just my toiletries.”
Reaching around her, I pull the thick blanket from the back of the couch and wrap it around her. She’s still shivering, so I do the only other thing I can think of at the moment to warm her up. I tear off my sweatshirt and T-shirt all in one go, open the blanket, and pull her into my arms.
Chapter 3
Aspen
Conrad wraps his arms around me, and I melt into him. My teeth are still chattering, but I’m still able to release a sigh as the warmth of his bare chest and the blanket surround me. His hands are roaming over my back. I know he’s just trying to help me, and he is, but he’s not just warming me from the cold. He’s turning me on. Conrad Riggins has been hiding a perfect six-pack under all those suits he wears, and even on the verge of hypothermia, I can appreciate how damn sexy he is.
“Better?” he asks when my body stops shaking.
I don’t want to say yes, because I’m not ready for him to pull away. It’s been way too long since a man has held me in his arms, even if it’s for survival purposes. “Yes,” I eventually say. I go to pull away, but he tightens his hold on me.
“Let’s go have a seat.” He manages to lead us to the couch, where he sits and pulls me into his lap, wrapping the blanket around both of us. “Tell me what happened.”
“By the time I reached town, the snow was falling hard. When I got here, I had to use the restroom, so I grabbed one small bag, my phone, and purse and made my way inside. The cabin was freezing, still is freezing.” I shiver. “Anyway, I couldn’t get the thermostat to work. So I thought I would make a fire, then call Aurora and Grant to see what I was doing wrong. All the firewood is covered in snow. I went outside to grab some anyway to bring it in and thaw out. By the time I was done, I was frozen to the bone. The only way I knew to warm up was a hot shower. The hot water ran out not long after I got in. So, I got out and came in search of my phone to call someone to come and help. That’s when I heard the door open, and well, you know the rest.”
“Shit,” he mumbles as he tightens his grip.
“What?” I try to sit up to look at him, but his hold on me is strong. I don’t fight him and keep my head resting on his shoulder.
“The thermostat isn’t broken. It’s locked.”
“Seriously?” I ask. “Why in the hell is it locked?”
“That’s my fault. Do you remember when me and my brothers came up here for the weekend back in September to go fishing?”
“Yeah. Aurora had to practically force Grant to go.”
“So did Sawyer and Layla.” He chuckles. “Anyway, it was cooler weather outside because of the wind, so we had to bundle up—nothing we’re not used to. When we got back to the cabin, we had a few beers, and Marshall was whining that he was hot. He still had on all of his layers and a few beers in him. He kept trying to mess with the thermostat to turn on the air, which me and the others agreed that we did not need, so I locked it.”
“You locked it?” This time when I try to sit up, he lets me. He has an apologetic frown on his face. “How did you lock it?”
“IT guy, remember?” He shrugs.
“So, it’s not broken?”
“No.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He holds the screen so that I can watch him. He taps a thermostat icon and turns up the heat. The furnace immediately kicks on. “We have it, so we can program it from anywhere. We do that so that we can maintain the temperature before we come up, and keep it high enough in the winter that the pipes don’t freeze, and also not cost us a fortune to heat it when there is no one staying here.”
