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We’re silent for a few minutes. I tidy up the tent, then light up another cake of gel to keep us warm. Daisy stays still, breathing steadily, but I can tell she’s awake. She’s found her shirt, which has dried over the night, and is clutching it to her chest like she’s covering herself. As I watch, she balls up even tighter, shivering.
She’s right. I am an asshole. She’s cold and naked and scared. We’re in the middle of a blizzard. She’s probably worried aboutdying,and I won’t even hold her after I fuck her. I close my eyes.
“Daisy.”
She ignores me. A new thought occurs to me. Fuck. Maybe I’m making her feelused. That’s the last thing I want, after everything else she’s been through. Setting my jaw, I lie down next to her. “Come here,” I say quietly.
She doesn’t move.
“I’ll hug you.”
She sniffs. “No need to force yourself.”
Christ. “Come here, sweetheart,” I try, keeping my voice soft.
She hesitates, then rolls into me, burying her face in my chest. She’s asleep in seconds, her little breaths fluttering against my skin. I watch over her, my heart beating in my throat.
Sleeping with her was stupid. But if I’m honest, my biggest mistake was kissing her.
One kiss. That’s all it fucking took for her to unravel me completely.
Thirty
Daisy
The next time I wake up, Cole is sound asleep. I take a few seconds just to look at him. He’s always so dark and tense-looking; I’ve never seen him so peaceful before. His face is easy, his full lips slightly parted. All of his muscles are loose and soft. His chest rises and falls slowly under my hand.
He’s beautiful like this.
I’m thirsty. I sit up slowly, careful not to jog him, and look around for one of the cans we drank from last night. I pick one up, but it’s empty. We need more snow. I carefully stand up, wincing at the soreness between my legs. It’s not abadsoreness, not really. In fact, I like the pinch. Even though Cole’s fast asleep, it’s like I can still feel him in me.
My mind flashes back to last night. I remember the way his hot hands cupped my breasts and shudder.God.I can practically still feel him on my skin. Heat flares through my belly, and I feel a little wetness touch between my thighs.
Jesus.
I don’t have time for this. We need water. And food. And I should probably light another one of those little heater things. I spot Cole’s thermal undershirt crumpled in the corner, and slip it on, along with my underwear and boots. Then I quietly zip myself out of the tent. The sudden rush of cold that rolls over my skin feels surprisingly good after being trapped in a tent for so many hours.
I cross to the mouth of the shack, already starting to shiver, and bend to scoop up some of the snow that has drifted in over the floor. A memory pops into my mind. Lying on my back as Eli rubs snow against my lips.
MaybeColewould do that. Except, instead of my mouth, he could slip the melting snow into other places. Between my breasts, down my navel, on the insides of my thighs…
I fill up my can, fantasising. I’m so lost in my thoughts, it takes me a second to work out that something has changed. I step out of the shack, wide-eyed.
It’s stopped snowing. Everything is still. The sky is a very pale, clear blue, and the landscape in front of me is completely blanketed in white, several feet thick. All of the hedges and bushes have been covered. It’s like someone’s taken an eraser and scrubbed away half the mountain. The whole scene twinkles gently in the sunlight.
It’s beautiful.
“Daisy!”
I turn just in time to get barrelled into by a giant, naked mountain man. Cole grabs my waist. “Are you okay?” He asks, frantic.
“Look! It stopped snowing!”
His eyes don’t leave my face. “Are you okay?” He repeats, his voice rasping with panic. His hands smooth up and down my body, like he’s looking for injury. “I woke up, and you were just gone. I thought you’dleftagain.”
“I’m sorry, I was just—”
“For God’ssake,” he growls, pulling me into a bear hug that lifts me right off my feet. “The last time you disappeared, you almost died. Would it kill you to stay in my line of vision?”
