by Evie Nichole
“Ain’t it cute?” Harbour brimmed with pride.
“You helped make this?”
“Yep,” she flashed him a toothy grin. “My twenty dollars please.”
“I don’t owe you money.”
“You made a bet.”
“I bet bucks. I’ll buy you some sheep later.”
She gave him a very familiar look. “You’re not funny.”
“No, but I’m good looking.”
Rolling her eyes, she headed to the door, already slipping off her backpack. The deck groaned under Derek’s weight. He paused for a moment to glance around but once again failed to spot any of the people that now lurked around them.
He had to duck to get under the doorframe. In the shade of the trees, the cabin had clutched tightly to the nightly chill. His breath frosted in front of him as he took in the shadowy area.
The low roof gave Derek only a few inches of grace from hitting his head. To his left was a fireplace made from gathered rocks. A metal tripod was arranged over the spent ash, with a large pot dangling off of a hook. Harbour crouched down in front of it, arranging the last hunks of wood and limited kindling.
Tucked into the corner behind the door was a small cabinet that served as the kitchen. On Derek’s right was a round table with three chairs. The only other bit of furniture in the cabin was the rickety looking bed pressed against the far wall. It was topped with a thin mattress and layers of fur blankets. Crossing over to them, Derek he ran his hands over the thick tufts. They were surprisingly soft and he found himself stroking them again.
“Did you hunt these?”
Harbour looked up, saw what he was looking at, and chuckled. “They’re fake, big boy.”
“Oh.”
She pointed to the wall above the bed. “The moose is real.”
Harbour came up behind him and stripped the backpack off of his shoulders as he studied the large pelt.
“Want to put that body of yours to good use?”
Before today her verbal slip-ups had been funny. Now, while they still made him chuckle, they also made his heart pick up its pace and his lower stomach clench.
He turned to look at her over his shoulder. “I knew you didn’t bring me all the way out here just to catch a stalker.”
She snapped around at his words. Had she really not realized how that sounded?
“I meant that you could chop some wood.” She purposefully started searching through the bag. Unable to fight off her embarrassment, she turned her back to him. “We’re going to need a lot more if you want to be warm tonight.”
It baffled Derek how he had never known exactly why he liked teasing her. She looked adorable and alluring and he couldn’t keep his hands from drifting to her waist. Her head snapped up again at the touch, almost hitting him in the chin, but she didn’t move away. Derek closed his eyes and just took in her warmth and smell. How the bones of her hips fit perfectly into the dips of his palms. Her hair was soft against his cheek, the delicate strands catching on his stubble.
“I can keep you warm,” he whispered into her ear.
Harbour jumped like a startled cat and whirled around to face him. Her pupils were blown wide and her cheeks were slightly flushed. He liked that look.
“What is going on with you?”
“What?”
“Don’t innocently ‘what’ me,” she waved her hands about to cut him off before he could respond. “You’re being super weird. I shouldn’t trust you with an axe.”
“It is weird to find you attractive?”
She seemed to relax under the teasing attention. But he supposed that was how they always communicated. Mocking jokes and barely-thought-through pranks.
“I’ll cut the wood,” she said. “You get the water.”
“I can chop the wood.”
“I wouldn’t even give you scissors right now.”
“But you trust me to collect the water that you will be consuming?”
He took a step closer and she immediately went over to the pot. She didn’t look back as she carried it out the door. “The axe is in the shed next to the outhouse.”
Derek nodded then paused. “Did you just say ‘outhouse’?”
Chapter Twenty
A steady heat pulsed through Harbour’s lips and, no matter how much she bit them, she couldn’t get it to go away. Not even as she reminded herself again that this was not the time to think about it. But she had only just gotten used to Derek’s displays of affections. This new physical development had completely blindsided her.
Crouching by the lake’s edge, Harbour took her time filling the pot. She had always liked it here when the fog hung low, but it did little to ease the constant swirl of her thoughts.
It was silly to dwell on it, she told herself again as she straightened. Derek was just joking, just messing with her like he always did. It didn’t matter that his new method of teasing her sparked something deep within her. It didn’t matter if she had actually liked kissing him. And it certainly didn’t matter that her blood seemed to turn into lava at the thought of doing it again. He was just joking, blindly poking to see what would get a reaction.
With a newfound determination to ignore him, Harbour carried the pot up the slight incline to the cabin. The few meager logs weren’t enough to chase off the chill. She made a mental note to make the blaze as big a possible when Derek had finished with the wood. He used the slightest dip in temperature as an excuse to cuddle up to her and she wasn’t sure she could take that kind of contact again without embarrassing herself.
Entering the cabin, she noticed the mess Derek had already made, leaving a few cut blocks piled in the middling of the room. The mud he had tracked in took away from how impressive his wood cutting speed was.
She set the pot back on its hook and fussed with the embers, adding more blocks of wood to the flames.. The sun was going down, leaving the night to close in quickly. They didn’t have long before this fog-induced twilight gave way to darkness.
The porch creaked and she spun to the noise.
“Derek, you are cleaning this up.”
Derek ducked through the door, one arm carrying an armful of wood while his other had the axe. It left his bare chest completely exposed to her wondering gaze. Harbour’s mind clicked off with one final thought of ‘skin.’ He had removed his shirt and the exertion had given his chest a thin sheen of sweat that glistened in the fading light.
He spoke but she didn’t understand a word, only heard the soft rumble of it and felt the sparks it created under her skin. Four quick steps and she reached up, cupped the back of his head, and yanked. His lips crashed into hers, the axe and wood clattering to the ground as he released a surprised yelp.
One taste, she told herself. Just one little lick across the seam of his lips and then she would stop. But the tip of her tongue didn’t find lips. Instead it found a soft, wet heat. Hunger exploded within her chest, strong enough to send her crashing into the mountainous wealth of his body. Her fingers clenched around the nape of his neck, holding him close and dragging him closer as she deepened the kiss.
Derek’s arms wrapped around her as his tongue met hers, slick and just as eager as her own. The skin of his back was scorching against her wondering palms, an intoxicating mix of silky skin and iron muscle. Each rasp of his stubble only added to the inferno blazing within her. Derek growled and chased after her mouth.
In a blur of movement and sensation, Derek crouched slightly and grabbed her hips, his wide palms curving along the shape of her rear. He lifted her clean off of her feet and somewhere beyond the rush of her blood she heard the door slam shut. Her head spun as she pulled back.
Derek watched her with hooded eyes, chest heaving as his swollen lips curved into a smile. “Didn’t know you had a housekeeping kink.”
“Did you just pick me up?”
Derek sobered slightly. “No.”
She leaned to the side, looked at her dangling feet, and then back at him.
“Yes,�
� he corrected. “But in my defense, my neck was cramping.”
“Put me down.”
His gaze locked onto her mouth. “Are you sure?”
In all the years she had known him she had never seen him eyes-to-eye like this. The alien angle made her blood thicken and the exposed skin under hands made it hard to think. He leaned towards her, a smirk pulling at his lips. Instantly she gripped his shoulders and pushed back.
“Now.”
Frowning in confusion, he lowered her down. The second her feet touched the floor, Harbour shoved him back and stalked towards the fireplace.
“What just happened?”
“Where’s your shirt? You know people are outside.”
The water was boiling now and she tossed the foil bags into it. It would only take a few moments for the pre-made meals to cook. Anger simmered under her skin. How could she have been that stupid? He just had this way of getting her riled up. Verbally twisting her up until she agreed to do things she shouldn’t, and then he just sat back and watched her pride force her to keep her word. But this had to be a new low. All he had to do was take off his top and she was pawing at him. He was never going to let her live this down.
“Harbour, I’m a bit confused right now.”
“You decided to strip, created a huge mess of the cabin, and dinner will be ready in ten minutes. There, all cleared up.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
He crouched down next to her and Harbour’s whole body trembled with the urge to reach out and touch him. She grabbed the fire poker and used it to stir the water, just to have something to do with her hands.
“Could you just start in on the jokes?” She asked. “We’ve got other things to think about, so we should get it out of the way.”
“What jokes?” He gently touched her jawline. “Look at me.”
Stupid, she hissed at herself again. She had always thought of herself as special, that one smart girl that didn’t fall for Derek’s playboy routine. It was humbling to know that all he ever had to do was try.
“Go ahead.” She tried to sound normal, but it still came out strained. “I’m sure you have something to say after a prank like this. Let me hear it.”
Derek narrowed his eyes. “Why do you keep making it sound like you were passive?”
“What?”
“We were kids; it was a game.”
“Games have other players.”
He sat down, stretched out his legs, and met her with a challenging look. “Then what do you call that stunt at homecoming?”
Was he deliberately trying to show off his chest?
“What stunt?”
“Dad had finally agreed to let me borrow his car. But someone,” he cocked an eyebrow at her, “had put about a ton of glitter into the heater vents. It took me months to clean that up.”
Harbour released a sudden burst of laughter. “I had totally forgotten about that.”
“One could make an argument that you were tormenting me.”
“I’m sure it was just retaliation for something you did,” she said.
The growing darkness left only the fireplace for light. The shadows glanced off of his skin, highlighting the contours of his chest and shoulders.
“And what about that time that you covered everything in my locker, and the locker itself, in My Little Pony stickers?”
“What are you complaining about? It only took you two days to turn it into a trend.”
“Everyone wanted to be me,” he shrugged with a smile. “And I suppose you don’t remember sneaking into my room and wrapping up my stuff.”
She hadn’t thought of that in years. “It was Christmas. I was being festive.”
“So your present to me was everything I owned?” He laughed. “You know, that’s breaking and entering. I could have pressed charges.”
She whirled to face him. “Hypocrite. You rigged an air horn to go off in my bedroom.”
“Your parents let me in.”
“That sounds accurate,” she mumbled.
“But I had nothing to do with the ice sculpture in your room,” he said.
“Oh, I know. That was me.”
“What?”
“I had my tooth out and they gave me these painkillers that made me loopy. When I work up I realised I had stolen this ice sculpture and it had melted all over my floor and my parents were ticked so . . .”
“So you framed me?” He stammered over his words. “I got the worst punishment of my life for that one.”
She shrugged, barely suppressing her laughter.
Derek glared at her but his smiled. “And you say you weren’t playing?”
“I didn’t know that I was.”
His smile grew fond as he gently brushed her hair back, exposing her shoulder and neck. He grazed his fingertip down the curve of her shoulder, the softest touch that left fire in its wake.
“Seems like we do a lot without knowing it.”
He leaned forward and Harbour’s eyes fluttered closed on their own accord, her lips parting in invitation. She trembled as his lips closed over her skin. A moan left her on a sigh when his tongue slipped out to lap against her skin.
Snapping back to her senses, she put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back. He pouted like someone had just taken away his favorite toy. It was such an oddly endearing look, she almost pulled him back down. As if noticing her temptation, Derek gave her his best puppy eyes.
“Seriously, what are you doing?” she said.
“What we should have been doing years ago,” he replied.
“Have you hit your head?” Harbour said. “You never once looked at me in high school.”
“And yet I dedicated a huge hunk of my life to you. Those pranks took a lot of preparation.”
“You never hit on me.”
“You never hit on me,” he countered.
She turned to the fire, pulling the bags out of the water to give herself more time. It didn’t help her think up a better way to say it.
“I’m not a one-night stand.”
His brow furrowed as he gave that statement some real thought. “Maybe that’s why I never hit on you. I knew we would last, and that’s kind of scary for a stupid kid.”
She looked over at him. “Sure. You had this deep-rooted love for me that you never knew about.”
“Exactly. I think we both needed time to be ready to discover it.”
“Discover it? Like this is Raiders of the Lost Ark? You had to go through a mental labyrinth to figure it out?”
“It’s more like having a crowded attic.”
“What?”
“Like, I knew it was up there somewhere, but it took a while to find it.”
Harbour shook her head, covering her face with both hands. “No one does that, Derek.”
“I did” He added with a smile, “So did you.”
Her hands hit her legs with a loud slap. “What was that?”
“You love me too. Don’t worry, you’ll catch up.”
“I’ll catch up?”
“I can be patient.”
“You don’t love me, Derek.”
“I got a tattoo for you.”
“That was drunk and crazy.”
“After it occurred to me that I might never see you again.”
“Derek,” she sighed.
“Harbour,” he mimicked her tone, his most charming smile crossing his face. His fingers slid along her neck, under her hair, his touch sending shivers down her spine. It was embarrassing how loud her swallow was. “Have you ever wondered why it’s so easy for me to talk you into things?”
“I’m gullible?”
To her annoyance, he dropped his voice to a whisper. He had definitely figured it out and she was going to pay for it.
“Or you don’t want to say no to me.”
She melted into his touch. This time, when she gripped his shoulder it wasn’t to push him away, but because she desperately needed something to hold onto. There was no resistance left in
her as he lowered her onto the cabin floor. As her mind reeled, sure that there was some very important reason they shouldn’t be doing this, her body seemed to know exactly what to do. Unbidden, her fingers trailed down his air-chilled skin, playing along the curves until his belt stilled its journey.
“I might take this as a challenge,” she said. “Just keep saying no to mess with you.”
He smiled. “I can be pretty convincing.”
“Well, there are some things about you that make a solid argument.” Just to watch his eyes bulge. she slipped her hand down and grabbed his butt.
His body rattled with laughter, the vibrations transferring to Harbour as he settled between her legs.
“When I do that, I get yelled out.”
“I didn’t yell.”
“You hurt my feelings.”
His stubble scraped across her neck as he pressed his smile to her skin. Their lips met in a slow, lazy glide. One of his hands carded through her hair while he rested the bulk of his weight on his forearm. Without tension, without the insanity of an impulsive act, without the constant question of what his intentions were, a new feeling settled in her bones. Something comfortable and secure and intoxicating all at the same time.
Not relinquishing her hold on his butt, Harbour dragged her other hand along his spine and pressed it over the nape of his neck, over her tattoo. He groaned and she was lost. That was when Jareth released a menacing growl.
Chapter Twenty-One
Derek snapped his head up, his eyes locked on the door. Night had fallen and it was as if a dark curtain had fallen across the window. He couldn’t see a thing beyond it. Jareth’s growl continued, gaining strength on every long breath.
Harbour’s fingers dug into his arms. He looked down at her. The way she watched the door made it clear that this wasn’t Jareth’s normal behaviour.
He kept his mouth close to her ear. “Is there a back door?”
“No,” she whispered back. “The cops are out there.”
“Did you see them?”
“No,” she said. “But I’m sure they’re there. We gave them plenty of time.”
Derek closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember every aspect of her. How could he have ever let so much time pass without this? Without her? He placed a kiss against her cheek and opened his eyes.
