Stone Cold Sparks

by Cami Checketts

  “The woman was pregnant.”

  She waited but nothing else came. “Did she …” She couldn’t say it.

  “No. She survived. I have no clue about the baby.”

  Abi usually had plenty to say, but right now nothing came to mind. The seconds seemed to tick by slowly, and everything felt so awkward between them. She should’ve moved away, but if this was the only chance she had to have Stone hold her for longer than their usual brief hugs, she wasn’t really strong enough to deny herself the experience.

  Yet she didn’t think she could handle it if they were trapped here all afternoon and night and still be denied a chance to take their relationship beyond friends. Maybe this was the chance she’d always hoped for. She had Stone cornered. They were closer physically than they’d ever been, and if the pulse thrumming quickly against her cheek was any indicator, it was affecting him as surely as it was her. If she was ever going to have an opportunity to break through his barriers and show him that she loved him, this could be it.

  She opened her mouth to ask him something. What, she didn’t quite know, but it would be good, and it would somehow break down his walls. Then she stopped in her scheming when she realized he was shaking. Oh, no, what was going on? Stone was a rock. Had she pushed him too hard asking about the wreck and why it reminded him of Virginia?

  “Stone?” she whispered.

  He said nothing, but his breath was coming quicker. If she didn’t know Stone as well as she did, she would assume he was crying. This definitely wasn’t the opportunity to move past friendship. Stone was experiencing emotion, and she’d never seen that before. She’d reign in her own desires and hopefully be able to help her friend through his pain.

  Chapter Seven

  Once his body started trembling, Stone could not stop the hurricane of emotion, and he hated himself for it. Here he was, holding his dream woman in his arms. True, they were in an ice cave in the middle of a blizzard, but they were safe right now, and she was close enough with their coats unzipped and his gloves off that he could feel the curves of her perfect body. For some insane reason, he’d opened up to her about what had happened in the accident last night. The combination of touching her and thinking about the baby he’d lost brought emotions to the surface he didn’t even know he had.

  Suddenly, Abi’s voice penetrated through the fog. She was calling out to him. “Stone? Stone?”

  “I’m okay,” he said, but there was wetness on his face. What in the crap was that? He hadn’t cried in years. The last time was when they went to the ultrasound and the doctor told him and Virginia the baby was a girl. He’d cried then. He’d had every intention of loving baby Abigail and being almost as good a dad as his own father had been.

  Then his young wife and baby Abigail had plunged off a cliff a few weeks later, minutes after Virginia had yelled at him that he was a horrible, cold husband. When he lost Virginia and the baby, he hadn’t cried. He’d shut down and focused on his schooling and fitness, determined to be the best firefighter he could be and maybe prevent other families from suffering like he did every day of his life.

  “Stone.” Abi’s voice came again. “You are not okay, and that’s all right. You went through something horrible, losing the love of your life and your baby. It’s okay to talk, cry, feel for heaven’s sake.” Abi’s voice rose with passion.

  But Virginia wasn’t the love of his life. Would Abi ever know that? No. It wasn’t fair to her when he couldn’t reveal his secrets and give her all of him. Abi was so good and true to him in their friendship. Virginia and Jace had crossed the un-crossable friendship line and look where they had ended up. It couldn’t happen with him and Abi. He’d never do that to her. He’d already killed one wife. He’d never risk Abi. Not that Abi would be in physical danger with him, but he’d been a cold, unemotional husband to Virginia. If he allowed himself to fully let Abi in and then he hurt her emotionally, it would destroy him.

  “I’m fine,” he said again. How was he going to stop her from prying out all his emotional crap? Abi was as persistent as a wolf stalking a chicken.

  “You are not fine.” She huffed a breath against his neck, and tingles raced along his skin. “Well, you’re fine looking, perfect looking really, but that is completely beside the point.”

  Abi thought he was perfect looking? The cave was getting warmer. He would’ve wiped at his brow, but he wasn’t releasing his grip on Abi for anything.

  “But you aren’t fine. I know that you think you’re all tough and cold, but it’s okay to be emotional about things, important things.”

  He rubbed his hands along her lower back, savoring the feel of her as he pulled her tighter against his body, shutting out any thoughts but Abi.

  “Stone?” she said questioningly.

  When he didn’t answer, she started up her rampage again. “I know how much you wanted that baby girl and how hard all of this has been on you, but it’s been seven years, Stone. Seven long and lonely years. Let me help you. Let me be there for you.”

  “You want to be there for me?” He sort of grunted it out. She had no clue how lonely he’d been for her the past seven years, dreaming of having her close like this. If only they could be there for each other. No. He should push her away right now. His hands didn’t seem to get that message and pulled her in even tighter as if his body was rebelling against his rational mind.

  “Of course I do,” she said. “Haven’t I shown that?”

  She had. She’d been the best friend any guy could ask for, putting up with his silence and bringing happiness and light and fun to his structured, boring life. She kind of wiggled against him and blew out a frustrated-sounding breath against his neck. Stone couldn’t take it any longer. She was probably frustrated he wasn’t expressing his emotions, but he’d been frustrated for years loving her and not being able to show her.

  “Stone.” Her voice had that warning tone that always made him smile, even though he shouldn’t because he knew from experience it would make her madder at him. “I can help you through this.”

  “You want to help me?” he asked, much too aware of her in this small space. It was overwhelming—her defined body pressed against him, her cinnamon and vanilla scent swirling around and making his mouth water. He couldn’t see her, but he had every feature memorized— from the long, dark hair to the sparkle in her dark eyes and the smooth curve of her cheek. He released one hand from her waist and lifted it to cup her face. It was as smooth as it looked.

  Abi gave a cute little gasp. “Stone?”

  “I’ll show you how you can help me.” Then, without allowing himself to think about the consequences for one more second, he tilted her face up and kissed her. Everything seemed to explode. His head felt light, and his lips were singing from the joy of touching hers. His hand trailed back under her coat, and he pulled her up closer.

  Abi framed his face with her hands and pulled back from the kiss. “Stone. You can’t just interrupt important conversations by kissing someone.”

  He couldn’t? Well, that sucked. That was the best interruption of a conversation he’d ever had. He rubbed his hands up and down her back, and she let out a groan. “Oh, to heck with it!” she said. Then she was kissing him.

  Stone didn’t take time to process his surprise. He just reveled in each movement of her lips. He’d never imagined an ice cave could be heaven, but it surely was for him. The kisses became more urgent, and Stone had no problem responding wholeheartedly. His brain completely shut down as he let himself feel and give in to the desire he’d had his entire life—having Abi and her perfect lips all to himself.

  Chapter Eight

  Abi had no clue what was happening, but trying to stop this river of emotion and passion would’ve been like a twig trying to stop Niagara Falls. Stone’s lips were the ideal match for hers, and they moved in a synchronized dance of desire, yet their long-standing friendship and respect for each other was there too. Abi loved him. She loved him so much she couldn’t contain it as sh
e gave as much as she took from his kiss.

  Stone’s hands were warm and strong against her back. He didn’t push any boundaries, but she could feel how much he wanted her by the urgency of his hands pulling her in tight against him and the hunger he poured into his kiss. Abi’s head was in a happy fog. She gently pulled back, and though she couldn’t see him, she could hear his quick breath, smell his musky scent, and picture those grayish-blue eyes. She wished she could see them. Would they finally be warm and expressive?

  “Oh, Stone,” she whispered, in shock with what had just transpired between them. Where would this lead them? She was so happy she could float out of the cave and down the mountainside. “We need to talk about this.”

  He laughed softly and brought one hand back up to cradle her face. “Abi. You talk too much.” He kissed her again, and for maybe the first time in her life, she agreed that talking was highly overrated. Abi gave herself completely to the kiss. They didn’t have much room to move, and all their snow clothes kept them from getting too close, but that was probably for the best. The fire his kiss brought to her could easily consume them both.

  After what might have been minutes or hours, Stone pulled back and simply held her close. He said nothing, and she really wanted to know what was happening with them, what he was thinking, feeling. She enjoyed just being in his arms for a few minutes before asking, “What are you thinking?”

  Stone chuckled. She didn’t know that she’d ever heard him laugh this much. “I don’t think there is any thinking going on here.”

  She could agree with that. They’d just blown past boundaries that had been set since middle school. Yet Stone had ignored all the boundaries with Virginia. Could Abi ever compare to her? Could the love of her life ever feel the love for Abi that he had felt for Virginia? A rush of guilt and jealousy hit her simultaneously. Virginia was gone, and Abi wanted her friend’s man. Oh, how she wanted him.

  Her cheek was up against Stone’s neck. His smooth skin smelled and felt wonderful. How many times had she daydreamed about being in this spot, and it was happening and was better than anything her imagination could conjure up. She couldn’t resist turning her face up and placing a lingering kiss on his smooth jaw. A low growl came from Stone’s throat as he tilted her chin up and captured her lips with his again. Abi had always known her calm, level-headed, non-emotional friend had this kind of passion inside of him—passion that was heating her up and bringing her so much joy. An irrational and complete happiness enveloped her just as strongly as Stone’s arms.

  The kiss went on, and Abi had no complaints about any of it. When Stone ushered her cheek back to his chest and whispered, “Try to sleep,” she thought he had gone completely insane.

  “Sleep?” She jerked up, but sadly, couldn’t see him in the dark. Were his eyes a true blue and warm, laughing at her, or were they solemn and regretting the amazing time they’d just spent? Fear wrapped around her, chillier than the snowstorm. Stone couldn’t have gone cold on her again, could he? “How could I possibly sleep after those kisses?”

  Stone didn’t answer.

  “Come on, throw me something here.” She’d take a baseball to the head over him retreating from her again.

  He stayed silent.

  “Stone.” She wrapped her hands around his shoulders and tried to shake him. “Please don’t do this to me.”

  “Do what?” He grunted out.

  “Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be? Kiss me for hours, and then you don’t want to talk about it?” Her voice was rising with panic, and her chest was tight.

  “Abi.” His voice was calm and reasonable, and it made her even madder.

  “Don’t ‘Abi’ me. Don’t do it, Stone.” Tears were coming, and she didn’t want him to know how much she loved him, how he would break her heart if he turned his back on this like he did on everything else. Please no. Was it possible she was jumping to conclusions? Maybe everything was fine. Stone wouldn’t have kissed her like that if he didn’t feel the same way she was feeling. He was too good of a man. He couldn’t do that to her.

  “Calm down. It’s all right.” Stone pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. “You know I struggle talking about stuff, but it’ll be all right. Can we just enjoy this?” His arms tightened around her. “And talk about everything else when we get back home?”

  “You promise?” She didn’t like him putting her off, but she didn’t want to be the irrational, dramatic woman. She did fit that stereotype sometimes, and though it seemed to amuse Stone, maybe that was why he hadn’t ever crossed these intimate lines with her like he had with Virginia. Virginia had been sweet, kind, and proper. Basically Abi’s opposite.

  Stone nodded against her forehead. “Yes. Let’s try to get some rest and get home safe. Then we can … talk.”

  He said talk like it was a poisonous scorpion, and Abi was far from reassured, but she was willing to be put off and enjoy being close to him physically if there was hope of figuring things out emotionally between them at some near point in the future. She wanted so much from him, and she knew she had to be patient. If only patience didn’t bite the big one.

  Stone kept a hold of Abi even though he knew he should push her away, sprint out into the storm, forge their way home, immediately break off their friendship, and live with the loneliness of no Abi in his life. Talk? He couldn’t talk. He’d promised Virginia he’d never reveal the truth of who her baby’s father was, and he lived in constant fear of Abi drawing it out of him. How could he have a relationship with Abi without breaking his word and telling her the truth about everything, including the day Virginia had died and how miserable she’d been with him? How he’d basically driven her off that cliff?

  He had no clue what time it was, but the long hike, building the snow cave, feeling that emotional junk, and then losing his head completely and kissing Abi like the sun wasn’t going to rise again had taken a lot out of him. He was tired. They’d probably kissed for hours, and luckily, he’d stayed in control. The feelings Abi inspired in him were insanely strong. He’d never felt like this about Virginia. He’d known it would be like this with Abi, had known and avoided it for years. What had he done now? If he was lucky, they’d both sleep for a bit. The storm would pass, and he could get her home and never deal with the mess he’d just created by giving in to his need for her. But this was Abi. He was going to be far from lucky, and he knew it.

  He cradled her close and enjoyed what time he had left with her in his arms. Her breath evened out, and he savored her sweet-spicy scent and the pressure of her soft but strong body. This would never happen again, so he planned to make the most of it.

  Chapter Nine

  Stone finally fell into a restless sleep, but woke up to Abi snoring softly against his chest and his arm tingling from being completely asleep. He automatically shifted to try to get his arm to wake up. Abi groaned and rolled off of him, and he regretted moving at all. What was a dead arm if he could have her close?

  Stone flexed and released his fingers until sensation came back with the pinprick feeling. Abi hadn’t said anything, which completely surprised him.

  “You awake?” he whispered, in case she was still resting.

  “Unfortunately.” She shot back.

  He smiled. “Let’s see if we can get out of here.” He was still surprisingly warm in the little cave, but he wanted to move, and he didn’t want to “talk” about what had happened between them.

  He rolled onto his stomach, trying to avoid touching her too much. That was dumb seeing as how he couldn’t stop touching her last night, but even without the light of day creeping in to shed light on his idiocy, he knew he’d had his one heavenly experience with Abi. Now, he had to be strong enough to let her go.

  He made it to his stomach and wriggled forward, dislodging the tree branches he’d used to create a door. The branches were heavy with snow built up around them. He hoped the storm was over. No way could he be stuck in here with Abi while they were both awake and he was thinking
about how he’d kissed her repeatedly. She would dig until she pried the truth out of him—that he’d always loved her and that he’d hidden secrets from her for the past seven years. Nope. Not happening.

  Pushing harder, he finally moved the boughs and snow out of the way. A rush of cold air came in. Fortunately, it looked like the snow had stopped falling. It was pre-dawn, and a faint trace of light filtered in. Stone continued to shimmy out. The wind was still blowing, but the storm had calmed. Hopefully, he could find the trail and get them back to his cabin. With any luck, the road would still be passable so Abi could get home. He’d created the biggest nightmare imaginable by kissing her last night. He paused, remembering the kiss, actually a long string of kisses. He couldn’t find it in himself to regret one second of the exchange, which only proved how unworthy he was of Abi. She was like sunshine, and he had to stay in the dark.

  He turned around and offered Abi a hand out. She glared up at him and pushed his gloves and backpack into his hand. Stone arched an eyebrow and clutched his gloves in his left hand, setting his backpack to the side. He offered his hand again.

  Abi ignored him and army-crawled out of the little space. Stone tugged on his gloves, sad that their time here was over. His first and only kisses with his dream woman. He’d come back up here by himself soon. At least, he could relive it in his mind.

  Abi stood, zipped her coat up, put her backpack on, and tugged on her gloves. She stomped around him. Stone wondered how she knew he wasn’t going to talk like she wanted. He’d evaded it last night while trying to reassure her it would happen sometime, but Abi knew him too well. He zipped his own coat, swung his backpack back on, and dug through the snow for a bit before finding both of their snowshoes. He offered Abi’s to her, and they set off through the clearing, neither saying a word. This sucked.