Frost led me over to the truck and pulled down the tailgate. I peeked inside and noticed some short boxes stacked on top of one another on one side, and a box labeled coffee beside them. He nodded at the stack. ""I hope you don't mind donuts, and the coffee powder with water was supposed to help them slide down."
I snorted. "Have you looked at me lately?"
His eyes swept over me and so did that familiar warmth that came with the look of admiration in his gaze. "That goes without saying, but I must warn you they are delicious."
I turned to him and pointed a thumb at the supplies. "So what exactly are you doing with a bed full of donuts?"
He sheepishly smiled and shrugged. "I was supposed to be hosting a conference about now, but the blizzard had other plans."
"And they desperately needed coffee and donuts sent over the pass?" I wondered.
"The lodge is notorious for skimping on their coffee powder, and the donuts are the best in the state," he told me. He looked up at the dark sky. "Maybe we should save any other questions for after we get settled into the cabin. Otherwise we won't be able to tell the difference between a donut and a bolt."
A chill wind blew past us and swept through my aching, stiff bones. "Good point. I'll get the bags and you grab the grub."
I grabbed my essential bag and his, and he managed to pile the donuts into his arms with the box of coffee on the top. Frost led me down his path to the cabin and I caught a better rear view of his-well, rear. It was even cuter up close. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't exactly horny, but it kept me warm admiring his assets.
We reached the cabin and squeezed through the door. Emphasis on the squeeze part for me. I wasn't exactly thin and the door wasn't exactly a two-lane highway. I wiggled my jiggle and inched into my new abode. My first look told me it almost wasn't worth the effort. The cabin was a single room with a large stone fireplace at the rear, and fourth-hand furniture close around the hearth. One the left side was a kitchen, if you could call a rusted sink and a table with four chairs a kitchen, and on the right was a single large wooden double bed. On the same wall as the bed were stacked a half dozen cots for the poor saps how drew the shorter straws. The whole place was covered in dust and smelled of bug repellent. The only source of light were the windows at my back.
Beside the fireplace was a stack of dry wood and kindling. Frost strode over to those. Draped over a couch that stood in front of the hearth was a warm-looking woolen blanket. I dropped the bags behind the couch, snatched the blanket off the back and was doused with a healthy dose of dust. It flew into my face and stuck to my wet clothes.
Frost turned at my coughing and choked on a laugh. "I guess the hunters don't believe in tidying the place up for the winter," he mused.
I dropped the dusty blanket and waved my hand in front of my face to dispel the dust cloud around me. "I don't think they believe in tidying the place up, period," I retorted.
He snatched a flint lighter from the mantle and knelt in front of the dark fireplace. "No, but they know wood when they find it. I should have a good fire going in no time," he told me.
With the dust cleared I watched him pile sticks, and stuff them with kindling and paper. "So you get stuck on mountaintops often?" I wondered.
He paused to look over his shoulder. His eyes swept over me and there was a sly smile on his face. "Not often, and never in such fine company," he returned.
I blushed under his scrutinizing gaze and my hands fidgeted in my lap until I told them to knock it off. "I-I suppose a skinny girl would have gotten blown away in that blizzard."
He chuckled and returned to his reenactment of a cave-man movie. "Probably. It's going to be a bad storm before it's over."
I felt the color drain from my face. "You mean it's not going to finish any time soon?"
Small popping and crackling noises came to my ears, and there was a faint glow in front of him. He blew on the glow, and flames erupted. He leaned back and the flickering light shined on his smile. "That should do it. We can change out of our wet clothes and hang them here to dry," he suggested.
I felt the color drain from my face. "But there's no other room to change in," I pointed out.
"I would suggest outside, but it's a little cold," he teased.
I whipped my head left and right. Nowhere to run or hide. I returned my attention to my decidedly male companion. "You have to promise to look away."
Frost stood and crossed his finger over his heart. "And hope to die," he swore.
"All right, turn around." He turned so he faced the mantle. I grabbed my bag and ruffled through it for my extra pair of pants. In a thrice I whipped them out, unbuttoned the wet ones I wore, and slipped them off me. My eyes watched my companion, but he only rocked on his heels and whistled. "You're not helping," I scolded him.
"Hmm?" he returned.
"By whistling," I explained.
"Oh, sorry."
I hopped into one pant leg and then another. A quick button and zip, and I was done. "All right, you can turn around now."
He turned and walked around the couch to his bag beside mine. "Now it's my turn."
"No looking, right?" I teased.
Frost paused and tilted his head up to grin at me. "Only if you don't want to."
I blushed and spun around so I faced away from him and at the lone bed. "I-I'm fine," I replied.
"Suit yourself," he quipped.
I heard rustling behind me. My imagination conjured up images of sexy, flexing muscles slipping out of his tight jeans and shirt. I felt heat pool between my legs as my mind's eye ran up and down his lithe, naked body. His body rippled with sweat and he would wrap his arms around me-
"Whoa there, Crystal. . ." I whispered to myself.
"You say something?" Frost asked me.
"Just-um, just talking to myself," I replied.
"Oh? Mind if I join the conversation?" he teased.
"Yeah, it's-well, it's ladies only," I told him.
"I see."
He resumed his clothing, and I resumed my curiosity. After a few seconds I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know. I slowly leaned to one side and changed a glance over my right shoulder. He faced the back of the couch and stood in only his tight briefs. That left little to my imagination, and my eyes gobbled up all the sexy muscles I saw. There was the perfect ass, nice and tight, and the strong hips, perfect for thrusting.
I whipped my head away. There were those thoughts again, the ones that didn't have a chance in hell of happening.
"All right, I'm finished," Frost told me. I turned to him and slapped a strained smile on my face. He nodded to the food he'd placed on the kitchen table. "Now what about dinner?" he asked me.
"Sure, but how much can we eat? I have to worry about surviving on my fat?" I insisted.
He stood and brushed the dust off his pants. "Probably not. Besides, I happen to like you the way you are."
I blushed harder and turned away to stare at an interesting knot in the wood floor. "You're the only one. . ." I mumbled. I started back when a hand interrupted my vision. It was held out for me to grab. My eyes followed the arm up to his smiling face and teasing blue eyes.
"You look hungry. Let's see if I can make as good a coffee as a fire," he suggested. I blinked at him, but took his hand. He pulled me off the couch and over to the kitchen area. There was an old coffee kettle on the counter, and he pushed a box of donuts towards me. "You start on these, I'll start on the coffee."
I munched away on a large claw of a bear while I watched him dole out copious amounts of ground coffee into the kettle. "Do you generally drink your tar like that?" I asked him.
"I usually have a machine to do it for me so I'm not really sure of the quantities," he admitted.
I stuffed the rest of the donut into my mouth, and snatched both the coffee and the kettle from him. "I'd better handle this before we choke to death on a drink," I suggested.
He stepped away fro
m me and bowed at the waist. "I will accede to your demands, my lady."
CHAPTER 4