by Ember Leigh
In fact, even more necessary than copulation, was having a partner who made her insides bunch with bliss.
Her limbs refused to resume their normal consistency post-coitus, everything still jumbled up and jelly-like since she’d retreated into her room. Furthermore, the warmth that had spread through her during their impromptu sexcapade in the shower wasn’t only from corporal heat. A lot of it had to do with something wily and sinuous winding its way out of her heart and throughout all her limbs, an emotion she hadn’t strictly authorized.
She didn’t understand it yet, but whatever was going on between her head and her heart was both illogical and painfully honest. Beyond that, she didn’t want to think about it. Nor did she want to acknowledge she wouldn’t exactly mind being holed up here for another week or so. Provided she could make contact with Emmy’s mom.
So maybe she’d gone insane. Maybe this was one of the effects of being trapped in the Pennsylvanian wilderness during a snowstorm. Weren’t there jokes about this somewhere? Some sort of inevitable psychosis accompanying long winters in the mountains.
That made things a little better, temporarily at least, knowing this was a biological reaction to cabin fever.
Or something.
Rose’s playdate with Emmy lasted until dinner. When the regular knock came at her door, she jumped. Had so much time really gone by in front of a baby with a bunch of old toys? They’d been practicing words and all manner of motor skills—something Rose thought her mother might appreciate. She got up to unlock the door.
Garrett grinned back at her. He leaned in the doorway, his hand propped above his head. “Hey, there.”
She smiled back, uncomfortable with the way her stomach somersaulted at the sight of him. “What’s up?”
“Food’s ready. I made you a fancy steak dinner.”
“For me?”
“Well, for everyone. But I thought of you when I made it, so pretend like all the guys aren’t eating it too, okay?”
A corner of her mouth lifted. “Deal. Let me get the kid.”
Garret waited for her as she scooped up Emmy, and she relished his gaze on her, wondering if their shared afternoon burned on his mind like it did in hers, a freshly singed scar that might never fully heal.
“So how’d the rest of your afternoon go?” Rose hoisted Emmy onto her hip on their way out.
“Not as well as the first part of the afternoon.” He looked over at her, cheeks flushed, the most adorable grin lighting up his face. Rose’s stomach somersaulted again, and she wanted to melt for the briefest of moments.
“I’m not so sure you’d be able to top that, mister.”
He let a low whistle. “I think you’re right. Though I’d be willing to try.” His eyes flashed darkly, and she didn’t respond as they entered the dull roar of the dining room.
Heart pounding from the merest glance, she’d be perfectly content launching a mission to outdo themselves. For as long as he’d allow it.
****
Time was running out. After half a day scolding himself for acting like a schoolboy in love, while similarly chomping at the bit to get a glance of Rose again, one thing was for certain.
Garrett needed more of her, for as long as he could have her.
The snowstorm was the elephant in the room. Their time together would only end. They both had independent lives—she had a child, for God’s sake—and any thoughts to the contrary were pure childish fantasy.
Besides, were he insane enough to suggest Rose and Emmy stay with them for a while and see how things worked out, the hotel renovation life was no way to raise a child. What would he even say? Hey Rose, I’ve known you for less than a week, but I thought it would be really fun and logical if you and your daughter abandoned your lives and stayed with us at our work-zone hotel.
Right. That alone ruled out anything and everything. So he had to make do with right now.
Even if it meant he’d be thinking of Rose for years afterward.
The dinner had been equal parts raucous and comfortable. As always, the easy banter between the brothers, work crew, and Rose made for a fun time. And the longer she stayed around the guys and opened up to them, the more she felt like one of them. Garrett could practically envision her coming to work with them. In an alternate universe, maybe.
At any rate, he would make the best of this. He was young, vigorous, and intelligent. Not to mention moderately attractive and handy with a hammer. And he knew exactly what he wanted. Nobody could stop him.
He and Rose parted ways after dinner with the plan to stop by her room after cleaning up. The feeblest television signal had been caught that evening, much to everyone’s joy. They’d made a plan to watch the least crackly channel together, though it sparked a distant melancholy inside him; if a signal could make it in, then Rose wasn’t far from leaving.
So kind of like a date. Instead of a movie theater, they had a health-threat hotel and five crackly channels. Totally romantic and sexy.
Garrett rushed through cleanup and got to Rose’s room as soon as he could. When he knocked, she opened the door like she’d been standing there waiting.
“What took you so long?”
She grabbed him by the belt loops and tugged him inside, kicking the door shut with her foot. As he opened his mouth to say something, she covered it with her own. The air in his lungs disappeared as he melted into the kiss.
“My apologies for keeping you waiting,” he said, when he’d finally caught his breath. She smiled up at him like she had a plan for him.
“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll make it up to me.”
Rose sauntered toward the television set, which glowed with a non-responsive channel. “Looks like we’re going to have to make our own drama tonight. None of these channels are working.”
Good news for a variety of reasons, first and foremost being he might be able to snag an extra day with her on the mountain. He watched as she eased onto the bed near Emmy and lay back, arm draped over the arc of her waist, head propped up by her hand. A more sultry gaze impossible.
“What a shame. I can’t think of a single thing we could do without television.” He sat at the edge of the bed, playing it cool. He wanted to provoke her a little. Make those claws come out, or maybe the choke holds.
“Definitely nothing else we could do to occupy our time,” Rose echoed, lifting a brow as she sat Emmy in her lap. “So once the baby goes down we’ll have to…sit here.”
“Yep.” Garrett fought a smile as they exchanged playful glances. “Sit here and not touch.”
“I wouldn’t dream of touching you,” she said. “Nor would I ever kiss you.”
“Oh, god.” He waved his hand as though pooh-poohing the idea. “Never. I can’t believe you even brought it up.”
“Sorry, such a gross idea.” She smoothed Emmy’s hair down. “Not as bad of an idea as taking our clothes off, though.”
Garrett feigned shock. “Would you actually dare do such a thing?”
“Me?” Rose pretended to contemplate the idea. “I don’t think I’ve ever taken my clothes off in someone else’s presence before.”
“Certainly not in front of a male. Or in a small bathroom.”
She nodded. “Yeah. I’ve never done that. Don’t plan to, either.”
They shared a long, playful look. Garrett’s heart swelled as they bantered, loving the ease with which they always got on.
“Well, thank God,” he said. “I’m happy knowing that once Emmy goes to sleep, we won’t be touching, kissing, or taking any clothes off.”
Rose finally let a giggle escape. “Until she does go down, I have to show you what she learned today. We were working on this all evening.” She propped Emmy up on her feet. Her curls hung loosely around her face, and she looked expectant, like waiting for a prompt from one of them.
“Honey girl,” Rose said. “What’s your name?”
Emmy gurgled and smiled at her.
“What’s your name? Tell me your name.”
“Em.” One of her tiny fingers found its way to her mouth. “Emmmmm.”
“Good. Almost there. Tell me your whole name.”
“Emmmmmmm,” she repeated, letting the consonant buzz between her lips. “Emmmmy.”
Rose’s face lit up with delight, and she tickled the baby’s tummy. “Good job, Emmy. You did it! You said your name.”
Garrett nodded, actually impressed. “Not bad. She’s an old pro already.”
“I’ve been trying to teach her hunger and potty cues,” Rose explained. “So we can avoid constant cloth diaper changes.”
“Oh, potty cues?” Garrett pretended to think. “So like, using the toilet? Maybe I could learn from that. I’m still using cloth diapers myself…”
She laughed and swatted his arm. “What a turn-on.”
“How do you think I attract so many women? It’s definitely not from these muscles or this killer smile, I’ll tell you that.”
“You’re right, Garrett. The cloth diaper reeled me in. Had nothing to do with you showboating your penis.”
His mouth dropped open, loving their back and forth. “Showboating? Honey, that’s not showboating, that’s displaying an honest-to-God talent…”
She laughed. “Right.”
“I can’t help it if I was blessed with admirable genitalia.” He leaned back on the bed, contemplating the ceiling at he spoke. “Don’t hate because I have the penis you always wanted.”
Rose’s mouth fell open this time, watching him shocked and laughing. “Oh, really? Is this because I can put you in a chokehold and do more push-ups than you?”
Garrett wanted to laugh and high-five her but kept quiet. “I can beat you five to one on push-ups, honey.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Her face appeared over top of his, eyes glinting with humor. “And for the record, this isn’t the first time someone’s called me out on penis envy.”
“I can’t imagine you being envious of anything.” Garrett disappeared in her gaze. The blue of her eyes swirled and pulsed the longer he watched her. He thought briefly about what likelihood there was of her being a robot. Or at least some creature from the heavens.
“Why’s that?”
“You’ve got it all, Rose. Look at you.” His eyes drifted down her neck, caught a tantalizing glimpse of her breasts through the collar of her shirt as it hung open, and down the length of her body. “You could kill a man if you had to.”
“Maybe I already have.”
His eyes narrowed. “I sort of believe you. Wait, are you here on a hit? Did one of my ex-girlfriends hire you to kill me?”
She leaned closer and kissed him, lips feathery and cool against his own. “What would their complaints have been?”
He sighed, squinting at the ceiling as he thought. “I didn’t marry them. Or maybe I’m a workaholic.”
“Well, I promised her I wouldn’t reveal my plan to you. Let’s say ‘no’ for now.”
He grinned. “Fair enough. If that means we get to not kiss or touch later on tonight, I mean.”
He and Rose shot the shit for hours. Time melted beneath their sparring and banter like he was in college again, hanging with friends with no place to be, no expectations, only pure relaxation. They alternated between playing with Emmy, rough housing each other, and enough conversational sizzle to make sure Garrett would be recalling this night fondly for years to come. By the time Emmy nodded off, Garrett resisted the urge to jump on the bed and pump his fists in the air.
“She goes down really easily,” Rose commented as she tucked Emmy into the nest of bedding in the extra bed. Kissing Emmy on the forehead, she whispered “Good night,” and then joined Garrett on the bed.
“That’s good, right? Because in my world, ‘going down’ means something else.”
“Very good,” Rose confirmed, laughing. “You gonna have kids someday?”
“I doubt it,” Garrett said. He fingered the bedspread, guilt springing to life. He didn’t want them now and couldn’t imagine himself wanting them in the future. Was that an automatic turn-off to women, especially if their kid slept ten feet away?
“Me neither,” Rose said.
Garrett laughed. “You mean more kids, right?”
Rose paused, looking over at Emmy and then back at Garrett. “Right.”
“Is that, like, a big no-no for men to admit they don’t want kids?” He could say anything to her, bare both his soul and his penis to her, which produced a tingly sensation throughout his entire body whenever he thought about it. “Be honest.”
She shrugged. “I don’t think so. I think there are plenty of woman who don’t want children.” She hesitated. “But then again, I’m probably not the typical woman to ask.”
“I haven’t met one who doesn’t want kids,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair to be with someone who wants them when I don’t.”
Rose watched him intensely for a moment, something heavy clouding her eyes. Great, Garrett. Way to kill the mood. He’d overstepped something huge but didn’t know what nor how he’d done it. Why did he feel self-conscious for speaking his truth? Probably because he secretly wanted something with Rose…even though it was the most ridiculous and unlikely idea in the world.
“I think that’s very wise of you,” she said. “I wish everyone thought like you.”
He offered a small smile, reaching for her hand. “You might be the first person to ever tell me more people should think like I do.”
She grinned. “Put it in the record books.” Leaning back on the bed, she pulled him down to join her. Garrett blew away a few wisps of hair that had fallen across her eyes. A few moments passed, both endless and light, lost in each other’s gaze.
“What are you thinking about right now?” She inched closer to him, resting a hand at his hip.
“Honestly?” He sighed. “I’m thinking about how it wasn’t great we wrecked your car, but I’m really happy I got to meet you.”
She bit her lip and inched closer again. “I feel the same way.”
Garrett pulled her into his chest, an urge that had sprung from the depths of his being. She nuzzled her head against him, and they stayed there, unmoving, the only noise the pounding of his heart against his ribs, and the echo of a whisper in his head that this encounter with Rose would prove itself to be no accident at all.
Chapter Twelve
Rose cracked open an eye at six thirty the next morning. A full half hour of rest could be hers, but something had alerted her.
Garrett snored softly at her side, his body a welcome pressure beside her. He hadn’t woken her up, though—if anything, he lulled her into a more restful sleep than she ever imagined possible.
She opened the other eye, drawing a long inhale, dregs of the night before swirling to life in her heart.
Why had she woken up? Emmy wasn’t fussing, a rare morning she hadn’t stirred for some attention around five a.m. A murky fragment of her dream reappeared—some sort of buzzer signaling the end of…a race? A competition? She couldn’t remember. The dream had vanished into thin air.
Maybe the lack of Emmy’s fussing had startled her. Maybe she was really adapting to being a mother, to fussing over a kid and making sure needs were met. She turned to watch Garrett. His head propped on an arm as he slept, both angelic and intolerably sexy. She salivated to get a repeat of their afternoon in the shower, and even more eager to repeat their night together. A night that had, surprisingly, not included sex.
Their evening had started with conversation and ended that way too—delving into territories so tender and romantic Rose’s heart hurt from recalling it. God, she’d wanted to spill everything to him. Wanted to let him know she wasn’t who he thought.
Something buzzed in the room. She sat up, one eyebrow arched severely. The buzzing from her dream. She looked around, trying to figure out where it had come from.
Bzzzzzz. Her gaze fell on the bedside drawer. She pulled it open, and inside, her phone blinked, signaling a new message.
&n
bsp; Her stomach took a dive to her toes. This could be either extremely good or extremely bad, but the chances it was good were a million to one by this point.
She picked up the phone tentatively. A text message stared back at her.
WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU.
A million to one had been optimistic. The sender was her boss; the date on the message read two days ago. Her phone had no bars; the message must have slipped through on a weak and random signal.
She put the phone away and eased back into bed. Bad. Extremely bad. She had to get to a phone ASAP. If her boss had sent her the message two days ago, who knew what level of insanity things had reached by now.
“Who is it?” Garrett’s voice sounded groggy and rough. He shifted his position beside her.
She glanced at him, surprised he’d been taking stock of her movements. Maybe he was sneakier than she’d suspected. “My boss.”
“Shit.” He rolled onto his back, eyes drifting open and shut. “They’re probably screwed without you there, huh?”
“Oh yeah.” Her stomach seized again, and tears stung the corners of her eyes. She hated being helpless more than anything, and that’s all she’d experienced from day one at this hotel. Things needed to be rectified, and now. “I’ve gotta get in touch with them somehow.”
“We’ll try the phone again,” he said. “If you got a text and the TV worked last night for a minute, maybe the phone is back up.”
“I hope so.” If it didn’t, she’d turn to extreme measures. Rose rolled out of bed and searched for her pants.
“Don’t you want to rest anymore?” Garrett sounded like he was already on his way to sleep again.
“I can’t. I’m an early bird. But don’t worry, I’ll go try the phone real quick. Stay there and sleep, it’s fine.” Besides, on the off chance she could connect to her boss, he couldn’t overhear the conversation. She shrugged her shirt over her head and then leaned down to kiss his forehead. “I’ll be right back.”
He didn’t protest. She jogged to the hallway with the rotary phone, deciding Plan B would be another trip into the ice world beyond.
And Plan C was somewhere between stealing the brother’s truck and driving to town herself, or making a sled out of aluminum and sliding the fuck down the mountain.