Hot Winter Nights

by Codi Gary

  As he kneeled down, he teased lightly, “You’re not going to faint on me, are you? Might have to kiss you if you pass out on my couch. Maybe even cop a feel.”

  “Pervert.” A ghost of a smile played across her lips, even as pain filled her eyes, wet with unshed tears.

  He pulled back the towel and the cut started bleeding again. Dex was half tempted to put her on the snowmobile and take her up for some stitches, but it was nasty out there and hardly worth endangering their lives for a stitch or two when he could do them just as well.

  “Think you can man up while I clean, stitch, and wrap this? It will hurt like a mother, but I think I have some Tylenol with codeine or might even have a couple of Valium.”

  “Tylenol is fine. Narcotics make me sick.” Weakly, she slapped his shoulder. “That’s for stringing together one very sexist sentence.”

  “What? Woman up, then. For a nurse, you’re pretty squeamish. It’s cute.”

  “I can handle other people’s blood, but I get woozy when I see my own,” she said.

  He handed her the pain pill and finished doctoring her thumb. He patted her knee comfortingly. “I’ll get you some water.”

  She covered his hand with hers, and held it to her knee. His gaze rose to meet hers, and he was shocked when she leaned over and kissed him. It wasn’t anything more than a peck, but it left him wanting to bury his hands in her hair and bring her back for more.

  Instead, he just smiled as he stood up. “You’re welcome.”

  Chapter 22

  “You’re a cheater!” Dex’s green eyes danced as he said it, so she didn’t take it personally. It was nearly seven in the evening, and since the snow was still going strong, they had spent the day watching movies and playing card games. Dex had been the one to suggest a game of slapjack, and she couldn’t help if she was better at it than he was.

  “Am not! I’m just faster.”

  “You totally pushed my hand out of the way,” he said.

  “Wow, I didn’t know such a big man could be such a sore loser.”

  “You know what? You’re gonna pay.”

  Allie squealed and jumped up from the table, laughing as she ran. Bluebell and Kermit chased after her, yipping and howling, but she didn’t get very far. Dex’s arms wrapped around her from behind and he lifted her up, spinning them in a circle until she was dizzy.

  “Uncle! Uncle!”

  He stopped and turned her to face him, practically wheezing with laughter.

  “Do you confess to your dirty, rotten cheating ways?”

  “Never!”

  God, when was the last time I’ve laughed this hard?

  “Then I have no choice but to tickle you into submission.” His fingers attacked her ribs and she screamed, reaching to grab his hands…

  And then cried out when her injured finger got bumped.

  He stopped wrestling her and gently took her hand in his. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I just forgot for a minute,” she said, her voice tight with pain. The first pill had made her drowsy, so she’d been holding off from taking another.

  “Me, too. I’m sorry.”

  To her surprise, he raised her hand up and placed a gentle kiss on the palm.

  She caught her breath as the spot warmed with the press of his lips and breath. Allie stared at him, their eyes locked, and the air around them practically sizzled.

  “Allie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Am I going to have to apologize again?” he asked.

  “For what?”

  He trailed his fingers over her cheek gently, taking a step closer. “If I kiss you right now, am I going to have to apologize later?”

  Her heart skipped as understanding sank in. This was it. Did she take another leap and give him one more chance? Or did she pull away?

  Dex dropped his hand and started to move back, obviously taking her hesitation as a refusal. With her good hand, she grabbed the front of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks.

  “Only if you stop.”

  The shift in Dex’s expression stole her breath away and in the next moment, his lips claimed hers. Mindful of her sore thumb, she hooked her other arm around the back of his neck, giving in to his kiss and the touch of his hands, which seemed to be everywhere at once. Her arms, her shoulders, her neck…it was as if he couldn’t stop tracing every curve of her body. With a sigh, she melted into him. This was what she’d been craving, not the quick, fiery passions of her past, or the tepid stirrings of Hunter’s kisses.

  Dex was like a warm wave, rolling in and picking her up, carrying her through pure bliss. Briefly she wondered if her issues with Dex had to do with them both fighting what they wanted. If they had just given in and let things develop the way they were meant to, would they have gotten here sooner?

  She couldn’t deny that she felt it. In his kiss, and the way his arms held her against him, it was as if he couldn’t get enough of her. And never wanted to let her go.

  They stumbled toward the bedroom, their clothes leaving a trail down the hallway. The last thing he wanted her to do was change her mind, especially as every brush of her bare skin against his felt like an electric shock.

  In the most fantastic way.

  No one else existed in this room but the two of them. He’d shut out Bluebell and Kermit, ignoring their protests, too caught up in the way Allie slid her bra down her arms, her full breasts falling beautiful and free.

  And all mine.

  The possessive thought didn’t even stall him as he tossed his last bit of clothing, his boxer briefs, across the room, and pulled her to him. His mouth found the pulse at her neck, and moved down over her shoulder and across her collarbone, worshipping her body. Dex wanted to explore every inch of her until she came apart in his arms while he was buried inside her, rocking them both into oblivion.

  The tips of her fingers slid into his hair, bringing his gaze up to hers. The look on her face was gentle. Smiling. Soft.

  Love.

  And that’s when Dex realized why he’d never been the type to commit, why he’d fought so hard against settling down.

  He’d been waiting for Allie.

  She was stubborn and obstinate and a giant pain in the ass…but she was also funny, caring, and her beauty was so arresting that sometimes he had a hard time looking away from her.

  As he kneeled before her, his lips made their way down her torso. He lost himself in the symphony of her pleasure, working his mouth over her sensitive flesh until she shattered against him.

  Lifting her onto the bed and laying her down across his comforter, he took it all in. He’d spent the last five weeks imagining what she’d look like sprawled across his bed with her arms open for him.

  Now he didn’t have to fantasize anymore.

  Once he had the condom on, he crawled up and over her, claiming her mouth once more as he flexed his hips. Her legs wrapped around him and he slid home, groaning in ecstasy as her warmth engulfed him. Rocking against her, he got lost in the taste and feel of her, the sweet sounds of her little moans as he buried his head in her neck, relishing the squeeze of her muscles around his cock as she came again.

  When he followed her down, he knew. It had never been this good, felt this right.

  It was all Allie.

  And this time, he wasn’t going to mess it up.

  Chapter 23

  On Sunday morning, Dex waited in the parking lot of the hospital for Hunter. It was hard to stop smiling, considering how he’d spent the last three days with Allie. Besides making love, they had talked…about their childhoods and their friends. His time in the army and her failed attempt to appear on some reality singing competition when she was eighteen. Who knew being snowed in could be the most fun he’d had in…well, his whole life.

  It was the second day since the snow had stopped and he needed to be back at work, especially since the avalanche danger level was high. He’d snuck out from under Allie’s soft body, resisted her sleepy attempts to lure him back
to bed, and stopped off in town for two coffees. One would be a peace offering for Hunter. Dex was hoping he’d get to keep his friend, but he wasn’t counting his chickens yet.

  Hunter pulled up next to him, and when he climbed out of his car, he gave Dex a nod.

  “What’s this?” Hunter asked.

  “Coffee, with a side of ‘We need to talk.’”

  Hunter came around the front and took the proffered cup. “Aw, are you breaking up with me?”

  The joke didn’t have the same tone to it, not after the last five weeks. There was a definite edge to it, and Dex wasn’t going to bullshit his friend. Not anymore.

  “Look, I know that I’ve screwed up, especially with things between us, but I gotta be honest—”

  “You slept with Allie.”

  Hunter didn’t sound ready to throw the scalding coffee in his face, so he took that as a good sign.

  “It’s not like that. I…” Ah, hell, spit it out. “I care about her, Hunt. I didn’t know it, or at the very least, wasn’t ready to admit it, but I do. A lot.”

  Hunter took a drink from the coffee cup before saying, “Well, that’s it, then.”

  “If you want to take a swing at me…wait, what does that mean?”

  “It means I knew after you kissed her I had lost. I just figured you’d lost, too, when you acted like a total prick. But she gave you another chance?”

  “Not at first. Her battery died and her power was out, so she stayed at my place—”

  “I don’t need details, really. Good for you, though. It seems like she makes you happy.”

  “She does, I’m not gonna lie. I’m really lucky.” Dex was at a loss. Of all the ways he’d expected Hunter to react, cool and collected hadn’t been among them. “Well, thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

  “I’m not going to do cartwheels, at least not anytime soon, but I also am not going to hold a grudge against you for falling for someone.” Then Hunter grinned as he added, “Besides, with you off the market, the next hot, single woman that rolls into town will be all mine. No contest.”

  Holding his coffee cup out to his friend, he gave a toast. “Here’s to love.”

  Hunter’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Love, huh?”

  Dex shrugged with a sheepish smile. “What can I say? She had me the first time she glared at me.”

  While Hunter laughed, Dex’s cell phone rang. “Belmont.”

  “Dex, we got a couple of snowmobiles at the base of Bear Mountain. You think you can catch up and tell them they gotta call it for the day? At least until we can get some of the snow packed and adjusted? I’m afraid all that noise is gonna bring down the whole top.”

  “Yeah, I’ll take care of it.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Dex and Bluebell had parked on the side of the road, just under the mountain, when a thunderous sound made his blood run cold.

  He looked up and watched as a tidal wave of snow slid down the steep, rocky peak toward the bottom. Dex pulled out his binoculars, but he didn’t need them to see the two machines racing away from the base, trying to beat the avalanche.

  They disappeared into the snow and Dex sprang into action. As long as they had an air pocket, Dex had fifteen, twenty minutes to find them before they suffocated.

  He called 911 and gave them the location as he pulled his snowmobile and sled out of his truck. Arming his own beacon, he secured Bluebell on the snowmobile, her vest and beacon activated as well.

  “All right, girl, let’s save some lives.”

  Allie had overslept a little, and used up all of Dex’s hot water during her shower, but since he wasn’t home, she figured it was fine. Besides, her cabin’s power was still out, so he was kind of stuck with her.

  Allie didn’t really think he minded, especially given the things she had planned to do to him tonight after she got home from the hospital.

  It was going to be her first day back and she figured she was about to have at least one heavy conversation with Hunter. She wasn’t going to explain or make excuses, she was just going to be honest about her feelings for Dex. Considering she’d made no romantic moves toward Hunter for weeks, she didn’t think he’d care, but still…she was a little stressed about the whole thing.

  It took her longer than usual to get to the hospital, because she had to wait for Penny to show up to watch Kermit. She’d agreed to let Allie borrow her car for the day, but insisted they go shopping for a four-wheel drive for her this week.

  Allie didn’t have a problem with that at all.

  She walked into her office and had barely shrugged out of her coat when Rebecca knocked on her door.

  “Allie, prepare for incoming. We’ve got two snowmobilers who got buried in an avalanche at the base of the mountain.”

  “Thanks, Rebecca, glad to be back. Do they have it covered?”

  “Yep, Dr. Gracin is standing by. Just wanted to let you know.”

  “Thanks. Did you have a good weekend?” Allie asked.

  “I did, actually. Just normal family stuff. Hey, what happened to your hand?”

  Allie had almost forgotten about the cut. “Oh, I sliced my thumb while cutting vegetables. No big deal.”

  “That’s exactly why I don’t cook. Well, I’ll let you get back to it. I’m sure you’ve got lots to catch up on.”

  She did, and now it looked like she’d have to wait until Hunter wasn’t knee deep in avalanche survivors to deal with one of those things.

  The first kid had managed to break the surface of the snow by the time Dex reached him, although he was holding his left arm limply against his chest.

  “You okay? What’s your name?”

  “I’m Graham, and I think I broke my arm. But my brother, Chris, I can’t find him.”

  All right, time for Bluebell to earn her kibble. “Bluebell, find.”

  Bluebell jumped from the back of the snowmobile and sank into the snow. Dex used the snowshoes he’d strapped on to make a path less deep. In the distance, he could hear the sirens signaling help was coming.

  Before too long, Bluebell gave an excited howl and started digging, diving headfirst into the snow.

  An EMT on another snowmobile pulled up, and Dex waved, pointing to Graham. “Possible broken arm. The other rider is buried. If you get him out of here, we’ll work on this.”

  Dex grabbed his snow shovel and started digging with Bluebell, yelling for Chris. After what felt like hours of work, he heard a voice hollering from below and Dex started using his hands. “Chris, start moving toward the sound of my voice. You’re getting closer, man, just a little farther.”

  Finally, Chris broke through the snow, gasping, his arms flaying. “Get me the hell out of here!”

  Taking the guy’s arms, Dex pulled, dragging him out. Chris lay on the ground, breathing heavily. “Thank God, I thought I was going to die down there.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Just my head. I think I flipped a couple of times.”

  “Okay, I’m going to strap you to the sled. Can you walk?”

  Chris stood a little unsteadily, and Dex helped him to the sled before strapping him in. He waved toward a couple of EMTs headed back out.

  “Let’s go, Bluebell.”

  Dex took off, heading toward the road. He saw the EMTs spin around and kick up snow. Other people were jumping up and down excitedly, and at first, Dex thought it was in celebration.

  And then he felt it. The handlebars were shaking in his grip.

  Because the ground was trembling.

  Glancing briefly over his shoulder, he saw the second avalanche descending the mountain, gaining on their tail. His heart dropped out of his chest and hit the bottom of his stomach with a sickening thud.

  “Shit. Hang on,” he shouted, knowing Chris probably couldn’t hear him. He pushed the speed, silently chanting, Come on…come on.

  He was so close to safety, but he could feel the cold air at his back, the leaden snow reaching out for him. So he took a deep breath.

 
And waited for impact.

  Chapter 24

  When Hunter got the call, it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his gut, making him want to hurl.

  The second thought that raced through his head was Allie. Did she know?

  At a full run, Hunter rushed into her office. She looked up from the paperwork littering her desk, much like she had the first time he’d seen her, only this time Hunter was there as a friend and nothing more.

  “Allie…”

  “Hey, aren’t you waiting on an incoming trauma?”

  “Yeah, but Allie, you should know—”

  “Actually, if you got a minute, I should go first. I am so sorry, but I think it should come from me—”

  His voice boomed in frustration. “Shut up and listen!”

  Her jaw dropped in surprise, and while she was speechless, he finished. “There was a second avalanche while Dex was bringing in one of the patients.”

  The blood drained from Allie’s face. “Oh, my God. Is he okay?”

  Allie stood in the middle of the intake door, waiting for Dex, her whole body quaking with adrenaline.

  Two ambulances carrying the injured teenagers pulled up, and as they unloaded them, wheeling them in side by side, Allie overheard one tell the other, “Man, that guy was a fucking badass. You should have seen him.…”

  The doors closed behind them, so she didn’t catch the rest of the conversation, but she didn’t need to. She knew enough about what happened to know exactly what she was going to do to said “badass.”

  Dex’s truck pulled into the parking lot and he climbed out, all six-foot-plus feet of him perfectly healthy. Allie couldn’t decide what she wanted to do to him more: kiss or kill him.

  He caught sight of her and broke into a trot, a broad smile on his face.

  “Allie, you are not going to believe what happ—”

  Swinging her fist, she punched him as hard as she could in the arm. “Are you crazy? I heard all about it, you idiot! Why didn’t you wait for help before charging off like the Lone Ranger?”