Shades of Desire: 10 Sweet & Spicy Romances

by J. A. Coffey

  "Get up," she ordered. Her arms crossed over her chest.

  "Come'er. It's cold." One of Mik's hands gave half an attempt to reach toward her. "I wanna keep you warm."

  Obviously he was still in some sort of dream state since the cabin was very warm. He must have turned up the temperature sometime in the night, but at least she'd been able to sleep. Heat blasted from the registers in each room, which woke her up earlier than necessary this morning.

  And curling in bed with him would be nice. "Mik?" She walked over to the bed, tempted to crawl beside him.

  "Fine, Gabi. You're going to hurt me in the end anyway." He pulled the blanket over himself. "Who cares if I love you?"

  Her mouth dropped open. It didn't matter if he was asleep or not. He really felt that way? Bullshit. He was the one playing the games. One minute he couldn't stand to be around her and the next he was claiming to love her. "Mik, get your ass up. We're going to town."

  "Wha-" One eye opened but squinted as she threw open the curtains, sending light from the cloud covered sky into the room.

  "We are going to town."

  "But... did... shit," he said, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "How long have you been in here?"

  She yanked the string to the other set of blinds. "You aren't making much sense so quit mumbling. Get up and let's go. Ten minutes and we're leaving no matter how you're dressed."

  "Gabi..."

  She paused inside the door. If he asked her to join him now that he had totally woken up, she'd believe that the game playing had come to an end. "Yes?"

  "Did you-" He cut his words off.

  "Did I what?" Want you to keep me warm last night? Yes. Tell me you love me like I love you? Definitely. Sleep on the uncomfortable couch because you wouldn't bring me to the bed with you? For sure.

  He cleared his throat. "Sleep well?"

  "Sure," she snapped and passed through the door. Why did he have to do that? He had been sexy lying in the bed half-nude. The very thought made her nipples tingle. She sighed as she slipped her shoes on and went out the front door. I need to get a grip on my feelings before I blow this whole thing.

  The porch didn't creak as she walked outside as cabin porches were supposed to. Her father definitely had great taste in real estate. Gabrielle sucked in her breath and let the chill of the mountain air engulfed her like a heavy curtain. The beautiful view was the only thing that the place had in common with ordinary cabins. The deep rolling hills and cascade of trees looked like a shot a photographer would take. A morning fog had melted away everywhere except in the cresses of the hills. No matter what happened a minute later, this was worth all of it. Right here with Mik.

  The door behind her opened and then shut quickly behind Mik. She kept her back to him as his fingers brushed against her shoulder. "Wow. That is extraordinary scenery," he said, his hot breath tickling the bare skin between her ear and her neck.

  "I know," she said softly, not wanting to lose the contact with him. "It's too bad we won't be staying here long." Disappointment flooded through her when he finally did break the contact. Her body ached for him to return and give her so much more of him.

  "Why?" The simple question broke the serenity between them.

  "Don't worry. I'll explain everything soon," she said.

  "Okay."

  "By the way, no funny stuff," she said, ice etched in her voice. "I have two things in this pocket of my hoodie. The one thing you need to worry about is the gun."

  He gave a short chuckle as they walked down the stairs. "Whatever you say, Gabi."

  *****

  It seemed like everyone in the small town had decided to go for groceries the same time as Mik and Gabi. The store was packed, making it hard to maneuver around the tiny aisles while keeping track of Mik. She glanced down at the items in their cart. Yes, she was going overboard with the shopping, figuring they'd take some non-perishable's on their journey away from Nevada. And she didn't want to make another trip to town.

  She handed cash to the woman behind the counter. The name tag read, "Bernie". Gabi smirked as the woman fluffed her blonde hair and batted her eyes in Mik's direction.

  "Please hurry," Gabi mumbled. She glanced over at Mik who thumbed through a tabloid magazine.

  "It's wise of you to stock up," Bernie said with a wide grin.

  "Why do you say that?" Gabi's hand froze over the enter button on the card machine. Does she know? That's stupid. How would this woman know what she'd done? She smiled sweetly and punched in her pin.

  "Oh you must be a tourist! Well, honey, you picked the wrong time to visit up here. There's a storm coming in. Should be here within a few hours."

  Gabi shot Mik a worried glance. He eyed her back. Yes, he had heard but didn't say anything. He loaded bags into the cart and headed toward the door. As soon as they got out of earshot of the cashier, he asked, "Gabi, there is a storm coming?"

  "So she says, but honestly, Mik, this is Nevada. It rarely snows here."

  "It rarely snows in Las Vegas, but how often have you been out of the city?" He shook his head. "Maybe we should go home. It's not too late. I'll just deal with whatever issues are there."

  Gabi grabbed the front of the cart, bringing it to a quick stop. She whirled around to look him in the eye. "I'm calling the shots here, not you. And we're not going back. We can't, Mik." Worried about making a scene, she let go of the cart, allowing him to push it out of the store. "We need to get back to the cabin."

  "This storm sounds like bad news, Gabi. If the storm is bad as that clerk made it sound, this could get dangerous." He tossed the bags into the back of the SUV and closed the trunk. Once behind the wheel he turned to her. "I understand you have a reason for us to be here, but this isn't safe."

  "Hey." She grabbed his hand in hers. "If I tell you why I have done this will you promise to stay with me?"

  Pulling his hand away, he started the ignition and swerved around the cars that were coming into the parking lot like a herd of cattle. He had to brake a few times before they made it out onto the main road. "I might be a bit mixed up with the directions. Is the cabin this way?" he asked as he turned down one of the roads leading out of town.

  She nodded. "Do you need anything else?"

  "I'm fine right now. We're going back to the cabin and discussing this like adults. We'll make a plan together from there."

  "Do you want to stop for clothes?" She watched as they passed by a clothing store. "There is our chance to get you something."

  He reached over and patted her hand. The simple gesture shot sparks through her like it had when he'd touched her on the porch that morning. What a magnificent feeling. Her heart continued to flutter even after he pulled his hand away.

  "Don't worry about it. You planned this out as best as you could."

  "I did," she said softly, wishing he would put his hand back on hers.

  "There wasn't any way for you to cover every base. You did what was important. Knowing the probability of men's clothing in the cabin, you didn't have to worry about that, too."

  "True," she said. This new side of Mik surprised her and she realized she really didn't know him as much as she wanted. If nothing else happened from this experience, at least she'll get the chance to know the real Mik, the loving, intelligent Mik. No, Gabrielle, that can't happen. He turned you down, remember? At the thought, her face grew warm. She dropped her hand that had been resting in the middle of them back into her lap. Her gaze turned toward the window as the car started the trip up to higher ground.

  "I'm fine with the clothes up in the cabin..."

  "But it's not too late to turn around."

  "I'd rather be stuck up in the cabin than in town. I didn't see any hotels. We'd end up sleeping in the car."

  She glanced over at him, and as hard as it was to acknowledge, decided he was right. A small smile tickled her lips but faded as they turned into the driveway the same time as the first snowflake fluttered against the windshield. "But this is Nevada," she said with
a sigh.

  "And it's the mountains. It does snow here." He let a small chuckle but even that sounded as if it was laced with worry.

  "I'm sorry I didn't check the report. I was in a hurry to get out of there." Heat rushed over her cheeks.

  He shrugged.

  She stared up at the cabin, the very house that was supposed to provide a safe place for them to stay long enough to grab some cash and make plans while her father worked out the situation with the real killer back in Las Vegas. Now they might be stuck here in the snow. The positive side to the situation, she reminded herself, if they couldn't get out nobody could get in.

  She said, "I wonder if there's firewood."

  "I noticed a small pile inside the cabin, so I'm sure there's a storage shed somewhere around here."

  "Very observant."

  "Just something I do." He pulled the SUV to a stop. "It was part of my training."

  "And what exactly is that?" she asked. So he worked for her father, but what did he do exactly? She slid her gaze from his head down his chest and then over his lap, trying to ignore the thought of the package inside his pants that she'd love to claim.

  Focus, Gabrielle. Mafia Families have bookies, right? He probably did something along those lines. He seemed like more of a calm, paperwork sort of guy with a bodyguard to do the roughing-up when the job turned sour.

  "I can't tell you." His face flushed as he turned away from her. "We need to get everything inside before the weather gets worse."

  So he had avoided her question? She shouldn't be surprised one bit but she was. He seemed to have loosened up a little bit. Now they've just taken another step backward.

  As she pushed open the car door, a blanket of freezing air wrapped around her. She didn't like the cold, especially the snow, not that she had much experience with it. Seeing snow a handful of times were too much for Gabrielle. At this point going somewhere tropical seemed ideal.

  She joined him at the trunk of the SUV to help carry in the bags.

  He glanced over at her. "Go inside. You shouldn't be out in this cold."

  Mik's caring side warmed her heart. Stop, she thought, catching herself from getting all mushy over the guy she held captive. "I want to help."

  "Don't worry, I have these." He hoisted a bag in each arm.

  Why did he have to be so difficult? It wasn't like she'd never carried in grocery sacks before. "I'm helping. All of this was my doing and when it's done I don't want any stories around about how you pampered me here. I'm not a princess, you know."

  He let out a groan before saying, "Gabi, there's no need to try to prove yourself to me. I know what you are and what you are not."

  With two bags in her arms, plus the house keys, she climbed the stairs after him. "What do you mean by that?"

  "Exactly what I said. My opinions of you were formed long ago, Gabrielle."

  "And what exactly are those?" she shot back. She followed him where he dropped the bags onto the counter. Her arms crossed over her breasts as she stared at him, waiting for an answer.

  "Now is not the time," he mumbled while averting his brown eyes down to the floor.

  "Bad thoughts?" she asked, not knowing how she'd respond if he answered with a yes. Trying to grasp at some hope, she asked, "Or something good?"

  "Seriously, Gabi, we'll discuss this later."

  What a jerk! How could he make such a statement without explaining himself? Trying to push away her anger, she flipped open cabinet doors to scan the contents, which didn't turn out to be much of anything to look at. She turned to him with her hands on her hips. "You can't do that, Mik. It's not fair."

  He snapped his eyes to her. "Haven't you realized life isn't fair yet, Gabrielle? The world doesn't always smell like roses for most people. And my opinion isn't important right now."

  Just as she expected, even Mik thought of her as some sort of princess. Well, damn it! Gabrielle was far from it. Somehow she'd have to prove it to him and they happened to be in the perfect place. "I found that out long ago, Mikolas, but you can't say things like that without being specific. A generic statement leaves room for a lot of speculation."

  "I'm bringing in the rest of the food. Stay inside," he mumbled, turning toward the door. They hadn't bought a lot of groceries and Mik wasn't wasting any time getting them inside even though most wouldn't spoil. He was doing a great job avoiding her question. That fact didn't sit well on Gabi's nerves.

  Momentarily forgetting about the task of putting away the food, she rushed through the door. "You said we'd talk like adults but when it came time you turned your back on me and rushed out of here." She bounced down the stairs after him. Heat rushed over her cheeks. She had come here partly to prove to everyone that she was more than some pampered female. Yet here she was acting like a spoiled teenager trying to get her way.

  He shrugged. "So be it," he said, keeping his back to her.

  But he did care. Didn't he? Doubt swirled inside her stomach.

  As Mik moved toward the stairs again, one of the bags ripped open, sending the packaged food tumbling in a pile at his feet. He set the other bag on the ground to scoop as much into it as he could. "Go back inside. I don't want you out here."

  She pushed some snowflakes from her hair. "Go to hell. I'm the boss here and will do what I damned well please."

  He let out a laugh. "Fine," he muttered before disappearing into the house, leaving her there with the rest of the groceries to carry in.

  She sat down on the back of the SUV and covered her face with her hands. Good thing she wasn't a crier or she'd be bawling right now. Her intentions had been good. Mik shouldn't have been doing all of the work himself, but she'd had a purely selfish reason to follow him out. She'd wanted to push the conversation further. Maybe to argue? No matter what, it had all backfired. She'd just screwed up the truce they'd called on the way to the store.

  Now it was time to prove herself to him. She wouldn't whine to him or show she was mad in the least bit. Gabrielle could do this! She'd change Mik's opinion of her one way or another.

  She scooped up the groceries from the ground, glancing around for Mik on the trip inside and didn't see him anywhere. This had to be hard on him. Maybe giving him some space would do him some good. She turned her focus on the job at hand as she tried to ignore the rapidly decreasing temperature that had intruded inside.

  After all the perishable groceries were put away, and still no sign of Mik, she made her way to the bedroom. Besides, she needed to pack the gun. Obviously, Mik didn't plan on running away so what point was there?

  "What are you doing?" she asked as she found him rummaging through the closet in the bedroom.

  "Looking through this box of clothes. There is a washing machine in the shed out back. I want to do my clothes before the weather gets worse."

  "Will you have time?" Through the window, she watched the snow fall.

  "Yes," he mumbled. He glanced up at her as he asked, "When are you going to put the gun away?"

  "That's why I'm in here. I figured if you were going to leave, you would've done so before now." She dropped the gun into the dresser that sat across from the bed.

  She turned the heater up a tiny bit before crawling on the bed to watch him set clean clothes on the dresser. With him being close to the firearm sent her senses into high alert. She kept her attention fixed on him, prepared to deal with whatever happened.

  He crawled onto the bed with her and leaned against the headboard. His gaze locked with hers. "What do you think about us going back?"

  She looked over to the snow falling outside. "We can't."

  "Gabrielle, did you decide to bring me here for a vacation or anything along those lines?"

  She stayed turned toward the window. He was being so gentle and sweet right now. She didn't want to do anything to change his mood back to the harsh one he was fully capable of having with her. This version of Mikolas made her heart pound like a steel drum. "I'd prefer to be here on vacation, but this has nothing to do
with fun."

  "Safety?" He trailed a finger over her hand and then dropped his hand on the bed beside hers.

  "Yes, but we were supposed to be out of here early this morning by the latest." And now they didn't have time. She turned toward him, melting in his soft gaze.

  "What are we waiting for then?" He moved his hand closer to hers as if he'd make the contact at any second.

  Do it! Change everything between us. Damn he made her crazy. Trying to keep her attention on their conversation instead of the yearning swirling inside of her, she said, "Can you just trust that I have a reason to stay here a little longer?"

  He stared down at their hands for a minute. When he looked back at her, a mischievous smile turned up the corners of his mouth. "Only under one condition."

  Gabrielle didn't like conditions. People either wanted to do something or they didn't. "What?" she asked.

  "We used to be friends, Gabi." His hand moved closer to hers. One more inch before they'd be touching. "And I miss the relationship we had. If we stay here I want to let go of the hostility and get to know each other again as friends."

  Friends. Could she put such a limit on her love for him? She didn't think it was possible, but she'd rather have him in her life as a friend than nothing. She slowly nodded. "We can do that." Way better than the constant fighting of who had control.

  "So you'll be able to treat this more like a vacation for us?" The corners of his mouth rose in a half smile.

  "I think I can."

  "Great." He gently squeezed her hand for only a second but left her yearning for more. "I'm going to do the laundry. Need anything washed?"

  She pointed to the clothes she'd discarded from her bag the night before. "Those right over there." Laundry wasn't her priority because she'd brought enough clothes, but she did need him out of the house for a little while, giving her some privacy.

  She waited until the front door clicked shut behind him before slipping her cell out of her bag to call her mother to let her know that Gabi hadn't left the cabin yet. Biting on her bottom lip, she pressed the number one button and watched the window until the ‘connecting' icon changed to ‘no service'. She moved to the other side of the cabin and tried to call again, reaching the same result.