Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances

by Nicole Morgan

  She heard him exhale. It sounded a lot like frustration. Well, screw him and screw her brother. She didn’t need their help and she certainly wasn’t going to be a nice little girl either.

  She tried not to read into the way her body reacted as his big shadow came closer. Tried to ignore how her pussy was creaming with heat. Tried to ignore how her hospital gown felt way too tight over her breasts and was riding so high on her thighs. She resisted the urge to pull it down. Let him get an eyeful. He could see what he’d been missing.

  The last thing she expected was to still feel anything for this guy. Sure, she’d had a crush on him since two or three years before the crash that took her sight, and God help her she still remembered every detail of the object of her infatuation. He always looked so scrumptious and the dark sexy shadow lining his cheeks and chin had always made her heart go pitter patter. His shoulder-length chocolate brown hair and the cute way he combed it straight back off his forehead. It made him look like a rogue, a dangerous bad boy hunk.

  His full, kissable lips…oh that scorching kiss they’d shared. She felt all hot and tingly just thinking about it and those gorgeous brown eyes that twinkled with mischief. He had a sweet slightly crooked nose too and when she’d asked him who’d socked it to him, he told her he’d gotten into a fight with Santa Claus when he was a kid. They’d been fighting over his mother’s freshly baked cookies one Christmas eve. As if she believed that tall tale, but it had been fun talking with him. He’d always treated her like an adult.

  “I need to ask you questions about this guy who attacked you while things are fresh in your mind. Are you up for it?”

  Her first instinct was to say no and send him on his merry way, but she knew it was important to catch this man.

  “I need to know everything he said to you, Summer. What he smelled like. Everything about him that affected your senses. Anything that you remember. Right down to the tiniest detail. But first I need to know if he touched you anywhere?”

  “I tried to kick him and he grabbed my ankle. That’s how I fell and hit my head.”

  “Okay, I’ll have them pay special attention to the socks and shoes and pant legs. I understand the cops have already taken your clothes, so Mary packed you a suitcase, which I have in my car. She also packed all the stuff you need for your work. That’s all been sent ahead. There’s a set of clothes in the closet for you.”

  God! He was taking over already!

  “I’m sorry, Nick. But I won’t let that man scare me into hiding.”

  “It’s okay to be scared. In this case, it’s healthy to be scared. This guy is too dangerous to fool around with. He’s killed several women and he wants you.”

  Wants her?

  “I have a flight booked for us. We’ll be in a safe house somewhere in northeastern New York until this blows over.”

  We. Like him and her? No way. She couldn’t hang out with Nick.

  “I told you I don’t need you as my babysitter, Nick.”

  “Did you scratch him?”

  “I said—”

  “I know what you said. Did you scratch him?”

  “No, I don’t know. I can’t remember. It happened so fast. No, I don’t think I was that close. I was afraid of the chloroform.”

  “Chloroform?” Nick stepped closer. She could feel his presence all around her. Big and powerful. His nearness soothed her, but his sexy scent simply destroyed her senses. Gosh, she wanted him even closer. Wanted him kissing her and touching her and oh my, her face was heating up. How embarrassing.

  “I…I don’t know for sure if that’s what it was. It was some kind of chemical. Like something rotten.”

  “He used a large dose then. He wanted to take you down fast. If he’d used a smaller dose it would smell sweet.”

  Oh.

  “That’s an interesting piece of info. I don’t remember anyone mentioning he was using chloroform on his victims. That’s hard to get as an individual. The government restricts the purchase of it, but it’s not impossible, especially with the Net. Do you think you would recognize the scent if we had an expert introduce you to smells?”

  “You mean like a mug shot but instead of pictures, you use smells?”

  “Exactly. Is there any way you got confused and caught a whiff of the mace Mary sprayed him with?” he asked.

  “No, I smelled it before I fell. And he mentioned his fallen angels and redheads.”

  “Fallen Angels?” Surprise laced his voice.

  “Yeah, he said other things too. Things I’d rather not repeat.”

  She heard the distinct sound of pen scribbling on paper. Suddenly she felt so frightened and vulnerable.

  “Tell me everything, Summer. Leave nothing out. No matter how embarrassing the details.” The serious command in his tone had her nodding. He was right. She needed to tell him everything so they could catch this lunatic.

  She fought back the rising fear of her close call with the man and told Nick Cassidy everything that happened.

  Chapter Two

  He shouldn’t have come for her, Nick chastised himself as he sat outside Summer’s hospital room while she got dressed. His attraction to her was still alive and well, kicking in big-time as he noticed she’d grown into a gorgeous woman with curves. Nice curves. Nice body. Nice cock reaction.

  Shit. Focus on something else, Cassidy, he admonished and turned his thoughts away from his physical response to her.

  The doctor had given the all clear for Summer to be released and Nick was getting excited and nervous about having her with him all alone in the safe house. Actually, it wasn’t a safe house, per se, but a friend’s cabin nestled near the Adirondack Mountains in northeastern New York state. He’d been there eleven years earlier for a weekend of fishing with Ryan and their friend who owned it, and he’d enjoyed the place immensely. It was the perfect atmosphere for an artist. He was sure she would like it.

  Just as he’d enjoyed the sight of her creamy thighs, long legs and pink painted toenails. She’d been sitting on the edge of her bed, the mint green hospital gown hiked high, giving him an eyeful. From the angle where he stood, he clearly saw her full back and he’d felt the stirrings of lust. His fingers tingled with the urge to cup her ass cheeks while he thrust into her pussy. Something had tugged inside him as he watched the golden highlights gleam in the thick mass of strawberry red hair on her head as sunshine splashed in through the window onto her.

  He liked the spattering of her freckles over the bridge of her nose and cheeks and something dangerous arrowed through him as he studied her luscious strawberry red lips. He remembered from the night they’d kissed and she’d pushed herself against his chest that her breasts were full. Generous. And he’d ached to fill his hands with them. Wanted to take her nipples into his mouth. Taste her and kiss her there.

  He’d always loved her cool blue eyes too. They were the color of a clear October California sky. Just like the sky looked today. Warm and beautiful.

  He couldn’t get over how different she looked. The pictures on her website and in some of the art magazines he’d seen didn’t do her justice. Back when he’d known her, she’d been dating geeky guys and he’d thought of Summer as his friend’s little sister. Okay, so that was a lie. Secretly he did lust after her, but that was after a couple of years of knowing her. Shortly after she’d turned eighteen, the undeniable lust had hit from one day to the next. Just like a sledgehammer.

  He kept tabs on her through Ryan, who told him she’d trained at a blind school and had returned to art classes at the local university. Over the years, she became a renowned wood carver and it made him really proud to know she’d made her dreams come true. She sold her art over the Internet and at her gallery in California. He even had some of her work decorating his apartment in Saudi Arabia.

  He had some of her work and now he had Summer too.

  When Ryan had called him and told him Summer had been attacked, his first impulse was to catch the first flight out and make sure she was safe.
Then his cold feet had kicked in yet again. He’d wondered if she would welcome seeing him after so long a separation? Would she hate him for never coming back to visit?

  Nick sighed and shook his head. He was a bloody idiot for not coming back sooner. Maybe if he’d been around, she wouldn’t have become a target for this lunatic.

  “I’m ready, Nick,” her soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned to see her standing in the doorway, her white cane in hand.

  Man, she looked breathtaking. She was dressed in a tight pair of blue jeans that hugged her wide hips. A pink blouse peeked out from beneath a dark green cardigan that was wrapped snugly around her curves. Her fluffy red hair fell like a cloud over her shoulders and suddenly he felt unsure of what to do.

  Did he take her hand and lead her, or what? He didn’t have experience with a blind woman.

  She grinned as if sensing his discomfort.

  “Intertwine our elbows and lead me. The surroundings are unfamiliar. That is, if you don’t mind?”

  Nick swallowed. His throat went dry with a nervousness he hadn’t felt before. He stood and hooked his arm with hers. Warmth from her body slammed into him like a furnace. He could feel her burn seeping through his leather jacket as he led her down the hall.

  By the time they reached the parking lot and he helped her into his rental, Nick couldn’t believe how easily she’d managed. Or how freaking good she smelled. Heck, good wasn’t the word. Hot. She smelled hot and sexy and enticing.

  Revving up the vehicle, he then maneuvered the SUV out of the hospital parking lot and headed toward the nearest airport in Monterey.

  How the hell was he going to handle having Summer in the same house with him when all he wanted to do was kiss her and follow through on this insane attraction he had for her? Even after all these years he was still craving her.

  But he would restrain himself. He had to.

  Overseas he had plenty of opportunities with women he found fascinating. Most were married and bored, looking for some casual sex, but he’d restrained himself, preferring to find sexual release with unattached women who felt the same way as he did. No serious relationships.

  Summer, however, was different. She was wife material. Mother material. Sex goddess and shut the hell up, Nick, he chastised himself. He focused his thoughts on driving. Okay so he tried to focus on driving but with Summer sitting beside him, it was bloody hard not to keep staring at her.

  He wondered how she felt being blind. How she coped at being in constant darkness, not knowing if some deranged killer might be watching her. As he was doing. Watching her and still trying to get over how pretty she looked and how he burned to touch her.

  “And you mentioned you have all my work supplies?”

  “They’ll be waiting for us at the cabin. I’ll unbox them and get things set up for you when we get there.”

  “No need. Just put the boxes where I can work and I’ll take it from there. Are you a good cook yet?”

  He cracked a grin. “Not the best, but I do still cook a mean chili.”

  She laughed, obviously remembering their Friday night dinners. He had cooked for the family every Friday night when he was staying with her parents. His heart lightened even more at the musical sound of her laugh and suddenly things didn’t feel so awkward and serious anymore.

  “Then this Friday night you’re in charge of dinner. Is it a date?” She’d turned her head and was now facing him. Her warm blue eyes looking directly at him as if she weren’t blind. They must have taught her that in blind school. To look at the person she was speaking to.

  Nick grinned again. Cripes, he’d been doing a lot of grinning today. Probably more than he’d done over the last ten years.

  “It’s a date. Friday night chili.”

  “Good, then if you wouldn’t mind, I’ll take a bit of a nap. I’m kind of tired and have a headache still.”

  “It’ll have to be a short nap. We’ll be at the airport soon. But you can sleep on the plane and then again when we get to New York as the drive will be a couple of hours. Here, I’ve got your prescription bottle and some water. The doctor warned me you might have a headache for a few days.”

  Keeping his eyes on the road and one hand on the steering wheel, he dug in his jacket pocket and found the pill bottle. He handed it to her and told her a water bottle was on the console between them. She didn’t have much trouble popping open the pill container and took the medication and a few sips of water.

  “Sorry, I’m not the best of company.” She smiled after placing the pills inside her cardigan pocket.

  “You’ve got a good reason. Just nod off. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

  To his surprise he beamed even harder when she leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her gorgeous blue eyes. A car tooted in the opposite lane and he jerked the steering wheel to drive back on his side of the highway. Man, he was in trouble here if he couldn’t even concentrate on driving.

  He forced himself to drive without looking at her. It was hard though. Damn hard.

  He watched the taxi cab pull up in front of the old woman’s house. His heart picked up a mad beat as from the passenger side the old lady stepped out then headed up the walkway of the apartment building where she lived.

  He knew the old woman’s routine very well and she’d definitely deviated from that routine since he’d tried to capture Summer.

  Bitch. She’d blindsided him with that mace. His face still burned from her attack on him. He really should go in and kill her. Strangle her and watch her eyes bug out as she died.

  Excitement raced through him at that scenario, but it quickly died as he knew he needed her alive. Needed to sit and wait for her to contact Summer or for the Fallen Angel to contact her. While the old woman had been away, he’d explored her apartment and planted a bug in her phones. It hadn’t been hard to do with his security background in the military. Thanks to his contacts in the military, he’d also been able to obtain one of those listening devices that allowed him to hear through the walls of buildings.

  While Mary had been away he’d slipped a listening device against the outside of her basement floor apartment behind some shrubs allowing him to hear what was going on inside through his earpiece.

  He was still upset he couldn’t get close to Summer’s house. He knew they would probably have someone staking out her home by now and he was also pissed off he hadn’t been able to access her gallery. It had a good security system. That’s why he’d jumped at the chance the other night to grab her when he’d noticed her assistant hadn’t locked the door. Usually he wasn’t so impulsive but his need for Summer was great. From here on out he’d just have to be more careful.

  In the meantime, planting bugs in that old bitch’s nest as well as the listening device would let him know when they called each other. When he got the info he needed, he’d make sure Summer didn’t get away this time and he would kill anyone who dared get in his way.

  It was dark. Night. A gorgeous silver full moon hung low over the twinkling glass-like ocean. Bright stars blinked down at the two of them. At her and Nick. They both lay naked on a fluffy blanket. The warm sandy beach was a comfortable mattress beneath them.

  Nick was stretched on his side, his elbow pressed against the ground, his hand propped beneath his neck as he moved his head closer to her, his lips melting against hers in a tender kiss that shattered all her self-control. He slid his tongue into her mouth and she whimpered at the wet heat and at the carnal sensations sizzling through her.

  While he kissed her, his hand glided over her bare hip, his fingers trailing along her tummy and abdomen to settle between her widespread legs.

  He broke the kiss and whispered against her mouth, “I know you’ve been waiting a long time for me to touch you like this, haven’t you, babe.”

  “Yes,” she said, gasping and bucking as a finger slid against her swollen, sensitive clit.

  “And you’ve wanted me to fuck you for so long.”
>
  “Yes. Too long.”

  She moaned as he parted her labia and slipped a finger inside her wet vagina. Quivering with tension and awareness, she felt his finger slip out of her and smooth warm cream covering her clit as he massaged her. Erotic sensations shimmered and built like a storm.

  With each massage of his finger on her clit, her tension mounted. Her breaths came harder, faster. Her thighs tightened, but she kept her legs apart, allowing him full access. He rained kisses along her neck and brushed his mouth on her right nipple, creating new sensations. She arched herself, pushing her breast closer to his lips. She became aware of every breath he took, every plunge of his finger into her pussy and out again to smear wetness over her clit.

  When his mouth latched onto her nipple, she shuddered. Reaching out she feathered her fingers into his hair, touching his scalp, loving the scorching feel of him beneath her fingers. As he sucked her nipple, she went wild from the wicked sensations. Cupping the back of his head, she brought his face into her breast. He gently bit her nipple, making her gasp. Making her let him go.

  He moved farther down her body. His kisses were intense and she writhed beneath them. He maneuvered his body lower and when his head dipped between her thighs, she couldn’t stop herself from wrapping her legs around his neck and crying out at the warmth of his breath against her clit. Her thighs strained and quivered as his lips latched over her pussy and his mouth branded her flesh. Extreme pleasure ripped through her and she moaned, clasped her legs around his head.

  “This is what you’re looking for, isn’t it, babe.” His voice sounded like a wild growl against her pussy and she wondered how he could speak with his face buried there. But she didn’t care how. She just wanted to feel these amazing sensations lashing her.

  “Yes,” she agreed, very eager for him to continue.

  Her tension mounted as he untangled himself from her legs and hovered over her. She cried out as she came down on top of him and she felt the tip of his hard, heavy shaft lodge against her vaginal opening. “Yes, Nick. Now. Fuck me, Nick.”