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Lightning could strike twice. So she was going to do what Liza had demanded of her at the holiday party. She was waving goodbye to Sam through the rearview mirror, and she was putting herself out there. If that meant drudging through the online dating sites until she found the one, then so be it.
She stretched her arm across the mattress, wondering if Elio was still asleep and if she could entice him into expanding on their wild and wicked week. There were still some things she wanted to try—mainly the toys she’d brought with her—and time was running out.
Her eyes flew open when she realized the bed was empty, Elio’s side cold enough that it was clear he hadn’t been there for a while.
She sat up just as the door to the cabin opened.
Elio walked in with an armload of wood, grinning when he saw her. “Morning, sleepyhead. Talk about a sound sleep. I was planning to put a mirror under your nose to see if you were still breathing.”
“How long have you been up?”
“Long enough to plan our day for us.”
Gianna thought Elio had just been humoring her when they’d made the new menu, and then the first day’s plans, but since then, she’d gotten the sense he liked knowing what the day was going to bring as much as she did.
“Oh yeah?” she asked, a little disappointed as she really had wanted to convince him to go into overtime on the sexcapades.
“Yep. Thought New Year’s Eve needed a special theme, so today is Throwback Thursday.”
She’d forgotten it was New Year’s Eve. She’d been dreading the holiday a week ago, aware that for the first time ever, she’d have no one to kiss at midnight. Now that no longer seemed to be a danger. “What does Throwback Thursday involve?”
“If you can pull yourself from that bed,” Elio said, as he placed the wood in the box by the fire before throwing one of the logs onto the dying embers, “I’ll tell you all about it while I make you Margaret Moretti’s world-famous Poconos breakfast.”
Gianna’s stomach chose that moment to growl, and she recalled that they’d eschewed dinner last night, pigging out on chips and dip and Doritos and Oreos. “Oooo. I am hungry. World famous, huh?”
“Yep. I brought part of the ingredients, but—”
“Forgot some,” they both said in unison.
Elio chuckled. “I remembered the ingredients for the pancake mix but not the syrup. This morning, I was digging around in the cabinet and found an unopened bottle of maple syrup.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Gianna climbed out of the bed, reaching into the drawer for clean clothes. She and Elio had adopted a naked sleeping arrangement ever since tequila night.
She shivered when he wrapped his arms around her from behind, taking her by surprise.
“Oh my God.” She tried to bat his arms away, but Elio just tightened his grip. “You’re freezing.”
“That’s why I’m holding onto you. You’re going to warm me up.”
Gianna continued to struggle, squealing when he cupped her breasts with icy hands. She tried to pull them away, calling him every name in the book, but Elio, mischievous from the word go, enjoyed teasing her too much.
Or at least, that was how it started. When he pinched her nipples with that perfect amount of pressure, she became less aware of his cold hands, and more aware of the heat growing in her body.
“Turn around, Freckles. I need my good-morning kiss. Figure we should spend as much time as possible practicing for midnight.” He loosened his hold enough that she could spin within his embrace, his lips right there, ready to claim hers.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, his jacket chilly from the outside air too. Not that she cared about that anymore.
“Come back to bed,” she invited him. “And I’ll warm you up for real.”
She could feel Elio’s erection, straining against the denim of his jeans, against her stomach, so she was surprised when he didn’t take her up on it.
“I have a better idea. Crawl in and wait for me. I need to grab something.”
After his frosty hug, he didn’t have to ask her twice. She dove beneath the duvet, then watched as he walked back to the front door. There were several hooks on that front wall, from which hung an assortment of scarves and old coats. Beneath it was a basket overflowing with hats and gloves.
Elio grabbed several of the scarves before returning to the bed. “I’m not sure we fully explored as much as we could have yesterday.”
Gianna fought to restrain a laugh. She and Elio shared the same one-track mind. At least where this week was concerned. She’d never been this…well…wanton. This unrestrained. For the first time in her life, she was going off the Gianna script. She wasn’t overthinking, wasn’t worrying, wasn’t questioning every little thing.
