by Lila Kane
“What was that?” I cling to his shirt.
“Let me check.”
“Don’t go without me.”
He gives me a gentle smile. “I’m just looking out the back door. Here.” He clasps my hand with his. It’s strong and warm, heating up my cold one. “Let’s see.”
We walk to the back door and he opens it up. A whip of wind rushes through, chilling me again, but I wait while he peers outside.
“A branch, see?” He points. “Fell off that tree. Just missed the house. Damn, it’s cold.”
I shiver. “I know.”
He shuts the door and turns back. “Sorry.” And, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, he rubs my arms through the sleeve of my hoodie. “Let’s get you warm.”
His hands are already doing a good job, and so is that look in his eyes. The one that says he’d rather be touching more of me than he already is.
“The fire,” he says. “We can sit by the fire and eat.”
He grabs our bowls, and I grab our drinks, though what I really want is for Jace to continue to warm me up. We sit by the fire and eat and make small talk. I tell him where I came from and watch as he thinks about this and asks more questions. He doesn’t talk much about himself, but I don’t care. He’s already shared his home with me, what more can I ask for?
As the firelight flickers off his face, I’m struck by something. “You look familiar,” I say. “It’s so weird. Like I’ve seen you before.”
He stands abruptly. “I mean, sure, it’s possible, but maybe I just remind you of someone else.”
I follow his movement. “You’re probably right. Thanks for dinner. I think I’m going to head to bed early. You want some help cleaning up first?”
“I’m good.” He stops at the table and grabs the flashlight to hand to me. “Take this. And if you need anything in the middle of the night, you know where to find me.”
“Thanks.”
Damn right, I know where to find him. Under the warm comforter in his bedroom, just one door away from me. We’d probably be warmer if we slept in the same bed. Just for heat.
Though I wouldn’t mind if he tried warming me up his way again. I shut myself in my bedroom and get into the bed, but I can’t shut off my thoughts about Jace. It takes a while to fall asleep, but once I do, all I dream of is his piercing eyes and his strong, hot body, warming me in all the right places.
CHAPTER 4
___________________
JACE
I had to turn on the generator, which isn’t a big deal to me, but it might be one for Erin. It means the roads are still closed—no one can get out here to fix the power lines. The storm still rages outside.
I’m going to need more firewood. I’m about to head out when Erin appears.
My blood drains from my head and goes straight to my groin. She’s wearing a thin tank top, her nipples perky and jutting out enough to distract me. I guess she probably didn’t have anything else to sleep in, but still…now I can’t get her breasts out of my mind.
“I’m sorry I slept so late,” she says. “I was tired and…it’s still snowing.”
“It is.”
She walks to the window. “My car is going to be buried.”
“Not much you can do about that right now.”
“But…I should be going. I mean, I’ve already imposed enough.”
I join her at the window, shaking my head. “I’m not sending you back out there. Besides, I’m enjoying the company. It’s not a big deal.”
She swivels to face me. “Really? I mean, I’m grateful, but are you sure? I have no idea how long this is going to last.”
I swallow, my eyes dropping to her lips. I can’t help it. “I’m sure. Stay.”
She licks her lips before she says, “Thank you.”
I snap. I can’t help it. She’s standing so close. Smelling so good. All female. Waiting for me to kiss her. To take her.
I grab her around the waist and yank her to me. Her body molds to mine, breasts straining against my chest, hips aligned with mine. My cock hardens the rest of the way, jabbing into her abdomen.
Shit. I need her. I need this.
I ravage her mouth with my tongue, pressing deep inside, wishing it were my dick in there instead. I want to feel her naked body against mine, feel her go wild when I thrust inside of her.
She moans and presses closer. There’s not an inch of space separating us now. I slide my hand under her shirt in back and run my fingers down her spine. In response, she eases back and plants both hands on my abdomen.
I hiss and jerk back. “Shit. Your hands are freezing.”
She looks up at me, and I can’t read her expression. Shock? Regret? “I’m sorry. I…”
I start to reach for her again but she backs up and sags against the counter. “Holy shit. What was that?”
My hands clench into fists to stop from touching her. I try to calm myself. “A moment. We just had a moment. I…” I haven’t had a woman in years. And here’s one. A hot one, willing and ready. I couldn’t stop myself.
“It’s okay,” she says quietly. Then she smiles, amusing me. “No, it’s more than okay. I want…okay, what I want isn’t relevant. We barely know each other.”
“True.”
She said I look familiar, but she doesn’t remember why. If she really knew who I was, she wouldn’t be standing so close. Or wearing so little.
“Maybe we should just…” She glances outside. “Make sure we have enough wood for the fire. To stay warm.”
“You want to cut wood?”
She straightens her shoulders. “I want to help. You’re letting me stay here, I want to do my part.”
“But you—”
“No arguments. Let me grab my jacket and I’ll meet you out there.”
She walks down the hallway, and there’s not much I can do but pull on my own jacket. She probably won’t last long out there, but at least she’s trying.
I step out into the freezing morning. Wind bites at my cheeks. I’ve covered a pile of logs to keep dry, and I pull out a few to chop. There’s a stack under another tarp, but it’s not going to hurt to cut some more. I take my first swing and it connects.
Behind me, I hear the door open. Another swing and the wood cracks in half.
“Can I try?” Erin asks.
I hand her the ax. It’s heavy, but she grits her teeth and raises it when I put another log up. I stand clear and she swings. It hits the log in the middle, impressing me.
But when she tries to pull it back out, the ax won’t budge. She gives it another tug, and then stumbles and falls on her ass.
I can’t help but laugh. She’s not hurt. But now she’s covered in snow. She glares at me and then throws a snowball right at my face.
I sputter a response, then grin when she laughs again, and tackle her on the snow. She shrieks and tries to get away, but I lock her in my grasp. I’m planning on getting her back with another snowball, but she feels so good, I don’t want to let go.
This time, she kisses me. She leans up, mouth locking on mine. I’m still halfway hard from our kiss earlier, and now my dick is throbbing with need for her.
“Erin,” I growl, nipping at her bottom lip. “I want you.”
Her lips curve. “I want you, too.”
CHAPTER 5
___________________
ERIN
He hauls me into his arms and carries me straight back to the house. Inside, he sets me down and hurries to yank off his jacket. I do the same with mine, and then we come together in a flash of heat and need.
I’m freezing, but Jace’s body is on fire. I slide my hands under his shirt. He hisses again, but doesn’t pull away. He yanks off my tank top, and feasts his eyes on my breasts.
“Shit,” he murmurs. “You’re so fucking hot.”
“I want to feel your body on mine,” I say.
He yanks me to him again and kisses me like he hasn’t kissed a woman in years. At the same time, he walks me ba
ckward to the living room. Before I can even blink, he has a blanket in his hands. He pulls away for a moment to spread it on the ground, and then he’s kissing me once more.
“I need…your clothes…off.” He tugs at my leggings, pulling them down my legs along with my underwear. “There.”
His eyes are all over me, tracing every curve, lingering at every soft spot. I’ve never felt so wanted before. It’s so hot I’m practically ready to come standing right there on the blanket.
He takes off his own clothes, wasting no time, until he’s naked. And then he slows down, letting me get my own fill.
He’s a statue, all hard lines and perfect muscles. His cock is long and hard, and I get wet with imagining it sliding inside of me, filling me until there’s no more room.
“I just need…” He exhales, lifting his hands. “I need to touch. To taste.”
“How long has it been?” I ask.
“Too long.”
I believe him. His eyes are hungry, and his hands possessive as they trail over my body. He lowers me to the ground, and when I reach for him, he shakes his head. “Not yet.”
He touches me everywhere, starting with my shoulders and breasts, trailing down my abdomen, and then reaching my center.
“So wet,” he murmurs as his hand cups me and one finger slides inside my heat.
My back arches, and that seems to encourage him. He kisses everywhere he just touched, and when he reaches my clit, he breathes in deep. “Fuck. You smell good.”
Then he flicks his tongue against my pussy. It draws a sharp gasp from me, and I grab his head, squeezing my fingers in his hair.
“God, Jace—that feels so good.”
He reaches up to cup my breasts at the same time he fucks me with his tongue. “I want you to come, and then come again. Until you can stop.”
My body trembles, already on the verge of shooting over the edge. His words give me that extra push. And when his tongue pushes inside of me again, my whole body goes taut with the strength of the orgasm.
“Jace!” I shout out.
He doesn’t stop, circling my clit with the tip of his tongue, and then pinching my nipples. The sensation drives me wild. I come again, a wave of pleasure so powerful it’s almost painful. My nerve endings are alive and on fire.
“Wait—please—” I gasp.
He lifts his head, and then licks his lips. I squeeze my legs together, still so sensitive any further stimulation will push me over the edge again.
Jace kisses back up my body, his dick trailing along my leg and leaving drops of pre-cum.
“I need you. Now,” I say.
Something to help the throbbing I still feel, the need to feel completely filled up.
He growls under his breath, mouth locking on mine. I can tell it’s costing him to wait, but I understand why. He wants the whole experience. It’s been so long for him.
He nudges my thighs apart with his knee, and I spread for him, welcoming him to me. The instant his dick touches my slit, he grunts, and his body shakes with how hard he’s holding back. I’m impatient with wanting him, and I lift my hips to meet him.
Jace slides further inside of me, every inch another moment of pleasure. “Erin…” His voice is low, and barely controlled. “You feel so good. I can’t—I can’t stop myself.”
I spread wider to let him go deeper. I don’t care if he comes fast or slow, I just want him to feel good. I want him to have what he’s been waiting so long to have.
He nips my bottom lip before he starts thrusting. The thickness of his cock, and the friction of him moving in and out, gives me a whole new set of sensations. I hike my legs up so he can go as deep as possible, and I can feel it everywhere inside of me.
“Fuck,” he hisses, but doesn’t stop. He shoves inside of me over and over, hard enough his balls slap my ass.
I’m not cold anymore.
I rock my hips against his, getting into a rhythm, while I grip the back of his hair.
“Fuck me,” I tell him, not wanting him to hold back.
He pulls out of me, then grips my waist to flip me over. He hauls my ass up in the air and presses down on my spine, giving him perfect access to enter me from behind.
I almost come again, the motion and position so erotic, I’m wet all over again.
Jace shoves inside of me, keeping his hand firm on my back to hold me in position. Then he pounds me from behind, grunting with the exertion, and cursing under his breath. I can tell he’s so close.
I push back every time he thrusts, and it’s only one more minute before the next orgasm pummels me. Jace reaches around me, fingering my clit at the same time. I cry out again. Jace slams into me one more time and then clutches me hard from behind.
I feel his dick spasm as he shoots his cum inside of me. It goes on for an eternity, and I just close my eyes and shut out the rest of the world. I might have gotten lost yesterday but it feels like I’m right where I’m supposed to be today.
CHAPTER 6
___________________
JACE
She stays the entire day, and then the next, because the storm just keeps on coming. And so does she, because we don’t do much more than get outside to chop wood, cook together, and have sex.
But the more time that passes, the guiltier I feel. Because she doesn’t know who I really am.
We’re making eggs for breakfast when Erin angles her head at me. “Damn. I swear I’ve seen you somewhere before. I know I keep saying this, but…”
I turn to her, set the spatula down, and decide this is it. After all, I’m starting to actually care for this woman—and there’s no place for lies in any kind of relationship.
“Okay, so…I have something to tell you.”
“You look serious.” She frowns when I nod. “Really? How serious?”
“Pretty serious.”
“Do I want eggs first or not?”
I shake my head. “Maybe you’d better just listen first, and then decide.”
I scoop the eggs out of the pan and leave them on a plate by the stove. My gut clenches. I have a terrible feeling about this, but there isn’t another way around it.
She sits at the table and I join her. Her hands clench together tightly, and I try to stay calm when I tell her who I am.
“You think I look familiar because you’ve probably seen me on television before.”
Her eyes widen. “When? Why? Like…on a show?”
“Like on the news. I went to prison a few years back.”
She shakes her head slowly like she doesn’t understand, and then her eyes widen again. Her mouth drops open and she stands hastily from her seat. “Wait, you—you’re that guy. The one they caught when they found that girl in the alleyway. Beaten. Raped.”
I swallow. Images flash in my mind of the girl. That night. “I was trying to help her. I saw a guy with her in the alleyway and yelled at him. He ran off, and I stopped to help her, but…when the police came, they were suspicious. The girl couldn’t remember what happened even after she woke up in the hospital, but she thought my face looked familiar—so the police arrested me. I looked familiar because I was the one who saved her life. Erin, I didn’t hurt her. I swear.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before? Like when I first got here?”
“So you could judge me like everyone else does?” I say bitterly. “No thanks.”
“How do you know what I would have done? I might have listened. You were nice enough to let me stay here, I would have listened to you. I would have tried to understand.”
I stand as well and reach out to her. “I’m not guilty. I swear.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t believe you didn’t say something before. I slept with you. I—” She breaks off and backs away from the table. “I need some space.”
“Erin—”
“No. Leave me alone.”
I watch helplessly as she walks down the hall, and I hear her shut the door. Damn it. What have I done? I should have told her befor
e we slept together. But then what? She wouldn’t have listened to me then. Or would she?
Now I’ll never know.
I finish making breakfast, sure to make extra for Erin even though she’s not coming out yet. I set it all on the plate and walk to her room.
She’s probably all packed up by now, ready to leave. And if that’s what she really wants, I’ll let her.
I knock on her door. Nothing.
“Erin?” I ask. “I understand you’re mad. I would be if I were you, too. But I didn’t do anything to that girl, and the last few years of my life I’ve been trying to figuring out who did. And that was after I went to prison. My lawyer says they might have a lead now, but…” I trail off. She doesn’t need the back story. “Anyway, I brought you breakfast. I can leave it out here.”
When I’m about to set the plate down, she opens the door. “Hey,” she says softly.
“Hey. Can I come in?”
She nods, and steps back to let me inside. The room smells like her, and to my relief, it looks like she hasn’t packed anything yet. I hadn’t realized until now how much I enjoy having her here. Which means I’ll do whatever it takes to make her stay.
She’s made me believe in people again.
“I’m not guilty,” I tell her again.
She sits on the bed and I set the plate on the stand next to her, but keep my distance. “I believe you,” she says.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I’m a pretty good judge of character, and I don’t think you’re guilty. But I wish you would have told me the truth.”
“I know. And I’m sorry for that.”
“I forgive you.”
“Really?” I ask again. “Just like that?”
“There’s no reason not to.” She scoots over so I can join her on the bed.
Relief floods my body. I pull her close in a tight hug. “Thank you. That means the world to me.”
She lifts her chin to kiss my jaw, then places her lips on mine. She’s so gentle, so tender, I know I’ve found something good here. Something worth keeping.
“God, Erin. I don’t deserve this. You.”
