Normally, Nathan wouldn’t even think twice about trying something with a girl like Aiyanna, one who clearly didn’t have an issue with switching New Year’s getaway dates at the last minute then jumping into bed with another dude. She’d likely make for a real good time. He knew just the type. But there was something about her that had him holding back.
“Better?” he whispered in her ear.
“Much better,” she murmured in such a satisfied way it made him squeeze his legs together.
Thank God he’d put his jeans back on. If he was wearing his basketball shorts, there’d be no hiding the movement going on in his pants. Hearing her murmur that way, coupled with the feel of her body pressed against his and his nose so close to her hair, he’d be more than ready to go soon. Morning couldn’t come soon enough because this night just might turn out to be a torment.
Chapter 4: Snowed In
Aiyanna
Waking in Nathan’s strong arms was heaven. It made Aiyanna sad that he was leaving today. She turned gently, not wanting to wake him, but she wanted to peek at his sleeping face. Slowly she managed to turn her body slightly around so she could see him, even though he never once loosened his arms around her.
Even sleeping, the man was beautiful. How could she have not made the connection? The resemblance was uncanny now that she knew who his brother was. While Nathan was a big guy, from what she’d seen on TV and her sister’s poster, Rage was a monster in comparison. Clearly, Nathan was more than big enough for her liking. She felt tiny in his arms.
He moved again, embracing her even tighter and buried his face in her neck. When she felt him kiss her neck then suck, she froze, even as parts of her quivered in response. Finally gathering her wits, she pulled away and he awoke. His expression was clear enough. Instantly, he knew what had just happened, but to her surprise, he smirked. “Sorry. Habit.”
She pushed him away with a tad more force. “You said you didn’t have a wife or a girlfriend.”
“I didn’t actually say that,” he said with that same stupid grin on his face, and for a moment, she was flooded with the memories of Jace that awful night. “I said I was on my way to spend New Year’s with my buddies in Aspen and asked you what you thought.”
Aiyanna pushed away from him even harder, and she saw the surprise in his eyes. “I’m kidding,” he said, looking at her strangely.
“You’re not married and you don’t have a girlfriend, but doing that is habit?”
That smirk she thought so sexy last night was infuriating now. “I’m not married or have a girlfriend, but I have woken up with a woman in my arms enough that doing that even in my sleep is habit now.” The grin waned a little and then he added. “Just don’t tell your boyfriend about that.”
“I told you,’ she said, pulling her legs off the bed, still a little miffed and not understanding why. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
She walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her, and immediately confirmed the power was back on. When she was done in there, she went back into the bedroom where the bed was empty now. She strolled out into the front room and froze in place when she saw Nathan standing at the open front door. The wall of snow at the door was up to his neck.
He turned around as wide-eyed as Aiyanna felt. “Holy shit,” he said, rushing to the window. The entire window was covered. The only good thing was that from the foot-wide opening at the top of the doorway they could see it was sunny and it’d stopped snowing.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said, turning back to Nathan.
“How the hell am I gonna get out of here?” Nathan said, tiptoeing to look out the small gap on top of the doorway. “This is crazy. My rental’s probably buried if the snow’s this high.” She saw him shiver suddenly then turn back to her. “Can you imagine if I hadn’t broken in here last night? I would’ve been buried in that SUV right now.”
This time Aiyanna shivered. “I don’t even want to think about you not being here with me last night and waking up to this. What are we gonna do?”
“Check if the cable’s back on since the power is,” Nathan said, pointing at the older-looking TV set.
She did, but as expected, it wasn’t. “No signal,” she said, reading the same words that had been on the screen since yesterday afternoon.
“That means it’s a dish of some kind.” He turned back to the gap at the top of the doorway. “If I can get out there and clean it off, maybe we can at least find out what’s going on. They usually give tips on what to do and what not to do. I don’t know about you. I may be a firefighter, but I’m from So. Cal. I know all about fighting fires, emergency first response, hell, even rapid water rescues, but I don’t know shit about dealing with this kind of snow.”
He hurried into the kitchen and grabbed the barstool in there then rushed back to the doorway. Placing the barstool right in front, he climbed on to the barstool on his knees to get a better look. “It’s beautiful,” he said, glancing back at her. “All fresh powder, but I can’t even see the road. It’s all covered.”
Aiyanna watched nervously as he put his boots on. “Are you really gonna go out there? What if something happens to you? What about the bear?”
“I have to, babe. And that bear’s probably buried somewhere himself.”
Ignoring her fluttering heart at the term of endearment, Aiyanna suddenly remembered something she was glad she hadn’t last night. She rushed to the bedroom and into her purse then rushed back out. “Here,” she said, handing him her pepper spray. “Just in case.”
Nathan stared at it for a moment; then his eyes were back on hers. “You had this and you got me with a frying pan?”
“I know. I know.” She shook her head. “I was so petrified I ran right past the fireplace poker too and grabbed a pan instead. I panicked. But aren’t you glad I did? You might’ve gotten a face full of pepper spray.”
Nathan nodded. “Yeah, I guess I am.” He slipped the spray in his pocket then turned to his snow jacket with a frown. “I’ll never fit through that gap, wearing that thing.”
“You can’t go out without it.”
“I’m gonna have to. But you can hand it to me once I’m out.”
Aiyanna held the stool for him as he struggled to climb through the small hole, pushing a lot of the snow into the cabin. Once he was finally out, she pushed the jacket through and he took it. “Holy cow. Everything is covered. I know I didn’t walk that far. I should be able to see the rental from here. It’s bright red. I don’t see anything but white for miles.”
Hearing that made Aiyanna even more nervous. She made a mental note of how much food they had. Luckily, she’d been so bored yesterday morning she’d taken a drive into the nearest small town and stocked up on a few things: eggs, juice, cold cuts, bread, coffee. “Oh my God,” she whispered to herself. “Coffee sounds so good.”
She climbed onto the barstool and looked out. It was an incredible sight, the kind that puts into perspective how insignificant we are in this vast world. The cabin they were in would probably look like nothing more than a speck to a plane flying by.
“I’m gonna go look for the cable dish,” Nathan said. “At least we know those are usually up high.
Aiyanna nodded, not looking forward to him being out of sight soon. “Hurry back, please.”
Oh the irony. She was begging him to come back now when last night she was praying he’d go away before he came through the window.
“I will,” he said with a soft smile. “Make coffee if you have it.”
“I was just about to ask you if you wanted any.”
“Yes, please.” He smiled even bigger, despite the predicament they were in.
Aiyanna smiled, feeling all warm and fuzzy as she walked back into the kitchen. The memory of his lips on her neck that morning came to her, and the very thought had her quivering again. Was it possible he might be just the slightest bit pleased that it appeared they might be stuck together for another day and night and on New Yea
r’s Eve no less.
He probably hadn’t even thought that far ahead. Then she thought of the comment that morning and frowned. Sorry. Habit. A guy like Nathan was likely looking forward to a lot more with a girl on New Year’s Eve than just spooning all night. After being in his arms all night, she could only imagine the bliss of being one of those girls who got more than just spooning from him. She still couldn’t believe her luck, not just because of who she was stuck there with, but that she’d been fortunate to not be there alone. If she’d been jumpy all day yesterday, she really couldn’t imagine not having him there now.
She’d just finished putting the pot on for the coffee when she heard him at the door. “Aiyanna, you have to come out here.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“No, but this is something you have to witness for yourself. It’s incredible. Get your boots and snow gear on. I’ll help you out.”
“Okay, let me go get my stuff on.”
She rushed into the bedroom, glad that the new snow bib she’d bought special for the occasion wasn’t such a waste after all. It excited her actually because she bought it special with stupid Jace in mind. She thought for sure she’d be sleeping with him regularly by now, so she wanted the outfit to be sexy. She’d gone with bright purple and got the snug-fitting short matching jacket. Slipping quickly out of her sweat suit, she pulled the tags off her new bib and slipped it on. She rushed into the bathroom, fixing her hair up a little before running back into the bedroom and putting her snow boots on. She took a minute to fix her hair again then walked out into the front room. He was still standing by the gap at the door.
“Here’s my jacket,” she said, pushing it out as she climbed onto the stool and getting nervous now about climbing out.
“Just give me your hands and I’ll pull you out.”
“We’re gonna make a mess in here with the snow,” she said, looking down at the mess they’d already made.
“Don’t worry about that,” he said, taking her hands. “I’ll clean that up when we get back in.”
He pulled her out until she was on her knees on the snow then lifted her, but the snow was so soft she stumbled against him. Nathan stared at her for a moment as she landed against his chest; then he glanced down, taking in her outfit. “Very nice,” he said, his eyes devouring her.
Feeling her heart speed up, she smiled back. “Thank you. Did you find the dish?” she added, feeling the need to change the subject.
He ignored the question, staring at her hair instead. “Funny your hair didn’t look this blond in there. I mean I noticed the gold but . . .” She was treated to one of the most sensual smiles yet. “Wow.”
The way he followed up with a smoldering gaze made her incredibly nervous, but at the same time, it thrilled her. It was as if he was seeing her for the very first time and his eyes were taking in every inch of her. But it morphed into the same intensity she’d seen in his eyes a few times last night and he glanced away. “I don’t think your boyfriend’s gonna make it here today.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” she reminded him again. “But you’re right.” She glanced around. It did look like they were in the arctic somewhere. “If the storm was this bad, I doubt Scott’s even gotten on a plane yet.”
He mumbled something under his breath, but she didn’t catch it. Then he slipped his hand in hers and started walking. “Be careful. There’s a lot of holes you could step into. Walk slowly.”
He finally answered her question. He had found the dish and cleaned it off. They walked around for a little bit, taking in the incredible scenery, even threw a few snow balls and laughed, running around chasing each other.
Aiyanna slowed to a stop when she saw them. “Oh my God,” she whispered as Nathan stopped with her.
He glanced at her then followed her gaze. “Deer,” he said softly as the deer stood about ten yards away, just as still and staring at them too.
There were three of them, a mother and her two fawns, only the biggest of the three—the mother—was all white.
“Is the white one a deer too?”
“Looks like it,” Nathan said just as softly as Aiyanna spoke so they wouldn’t spook them.
The little ones seemed to lose interest and began walking around again, but the biggest one, the mother, stayed in place, staring at them for a moment longer. When neither of them moved or appeared to be a danger to them, she began walking toward her fawns cautiously.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen an all-white deer,” Aiyanna whispered, still standing perfectly still. “I didn’t know there were all white ones. But her babies are the regular color. Isn’t that odd?”
Suddenly another one came out of the bushes, a bigger one that stared straight at them. This one had the same coloring as the baby deer. “Uh oh,” Aiyanna said. “That one doesn’t look as friendly as the other ones.”
“I don’t know much about deer,” Nathan said. “But I’m pretty sure the ones with the antlers are the male ones. Dad maybe?”
“Maybe we should start heading back?” Aiyanna suggested. “That look on his face isn’t the most inviting, and we know what kind of week I’ve been having.”
Nathan laughed at that. They started toward the cabin slowly, turning to make sure papa deer hadn’t begun charging them, but all four deer had begun walking in the opposite direction, so they appeared to be safe. The wind had since picked up, and it got too cold to stay out, so they decided they should head in and get warm. On their walk back, Aiyanna cheerfully told him about her only trips to the snow prior to this one. She could literally count them on one hand.
“My parents weren’t big on the snow, I guess, and the only other time—”
“Aiyanna, run!”
She looked up at Nathan then jerked her face in the direction he was staring. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw the bear charging at them. “Run!”
It was hard to run in the snow, but the adrenaline and utter terror kicked in, and she ran the relatively short distance to the doorway where she slipped and just fell in, knocking the stool out of the way in the process. “Get in! Get in!” she said, scurrying back to her feet as she heard the bear roar.
Nathan fell in after her, but the bear was there too. They tried to close the door, only there was too much snow at the entrance. “Kick it out of the way,” Nathan shouted, kicking the snow frantically away with his boot.
That’s when she saw the blood droplets on the white snow, as Nathan continued to kick at the snow. “You’re bleeding.” She gasped.
“Never mind that,” he yelled again. “The snow, Aiyanna!”
The bear was still clawing inward, trying to get in, and their efforts to clear the snow were in vain because the more he clawed at them the more snow fell in, and the gap at the top was getting bigger by the second. “The pepper spray!” she said. “Spray him so he’ll go away.”
Nathan took it out, and Aiyanna nearly slipped on the wet floor, running back to the broom closet in the kitchen where she’d seen the snow shovel. Without thinking, she also grabbed the pan off the stove and ran back to the door where Nathan was still trying to get close enough to the bear to spray him.
When she was close enough, she whacked the bear’s paw as hard as she could with the pan, and it recoiled back enough that Nathan was able to spray the bear a little closer. It backed away for a second then started to come at them when Aiyanna whacked him again. This time Nathan was able to get even closer and sprayed him close enough they heard him growl in reaction. The second he was gone Nathan began shoveling fast. “Fucking bear,” he muttered as he continued to shovel with Aiyanna now helping him sweep the snow away with a broom. “Isn’t he supposed to be hibernating or something?”
“That’s what I thought, but my mom told me they don’t all stay put the entire winter. It’s why she got me the bear-strength pepper spray.” She stopped sweeping for a second when she saw the droplets of blood again. “Where are you bleeding from?”
They’d final
ly shoveled enough of the snow away so that Nathan was able to close the door. He fell against it on his back, still catching his breath, and touched his neck. “That fucker got me good just as I slid down.” He winced, touching the wound, then glanced over at where she’d dropped the pan when she ran for the broom. “And what’s with you and that frying pan? You could’ve poked him with the poker or stabbed him with a knife instead.”
“I know,” she said, feeling stupid again. “I panicked again and just grabbed it. C’mere.” She took his hand and pulled him to the bathroom in the bedroom. “Take your jacket off. Surprisingly, this place has a first-aid kit. I saw it yesterday when I was searching to see if by chance someone had left shampoo before I had to leave and buy some.”
They walked into the bathroom, and she opened up the drawer where she’d seen the small box. “It probably doesn’t have a whole lot in here, but let’s see.”
She glanced up into the mirror. Nathan had already removed his jacket and was trying to see the wound, but it was too far back. Aiyanna was almost afraid to look at it, but she knew she had to. “Stop touching it,” she said, meeting those intense eyes in the mirror as she wet a towel in the sink. “You might infect it. Go sit on the bed where I can reach it better. I’ll clean it up a little before putting anything on it.”
Following him out of the restroom, her heart thudded when she got her first look at the gash. That stupid bear had gotten him good. It looked deep, but fortunately it appeared the blood around the wound had already begun to clot.
He sat on the bed, and she brought a knee up onto the bed next to him. “Bend your head down a little.”
He did, and, Jesus, even his big thick neck and the muscles around his shoulders were impressive. She cleaned the area around the wound where the blood had dripped and then gently tapped the gash itself. “Tell me if I’m hurting you.”
Nathan nodded but didn’t say anything until he stated the obvious, and it made her insides flutter. “I hate to break it to you, but it looks like we’ll be spending New Year’s Eve together.” Aiyanna smiled until he added, “Your romantic New Year’s with Scott ain’t gonna happen.”