by Sophia Gray
I looked at him inquisitively, then frowned. “What do you mean? No time to take it easy?”
He stepped away from me and I jerked towards him automatically, worried he was going to take a tumble or something, but he seemed steady. Or like he was working really hard to be steady. “Look, I’ve got something important to take care of. We need to get out of here. Is your car outside?”
I blinked at him. My car? Oh, yeah, it was outside. Outside and buried in what might as well be a cave in given the huge amount of snow piled on top of it. “Um, well, technically, yes,” I started, but didn’t get the chance to really say more than that.
He nodded at me, then stalked towards the door.
I watched him go and noted the rippling muscles along his back and shoulders as well as his firm rear end. I shook myself free from my distraction and hurried towards him. “But you can’t get to it!”
He spared me a glance as he noticed the stack of sweaters I’d brought with me from the back room. He looked through them, not really caring for them it would seem, but he found the larger of the two and slid it over his firm upper body. A sweater probably shouldn’t have looked good on him, but this one did. It was a dark forest green color and made his eyes really pop. I doubted he appreciated it in the same way I did.
“Seriously,” I pressed, trying to make him understand. “My car is buried in the snow out there! And even if you can dig it out, it probably won’t start. It’s a real piece of crap.”
His eyebrows rose in question at that, but he ignored the piece of crap part. “We really need to head out and that car is our best shot at it.”
I frowned. Why is he so eager to leave? I was about to ask him—because really what was this thing that was so damn important that he wanted to unbury my piece of crap car—but he spoke again before I got the chance.
“Besides, this storm’s probably going to get bad again tonight. If we wait to try to dig it out there’ll only be more snow tomorrow.”
I frowned. That was probably very true. Although the snow was soft and light now, there was no guarantee it would stay that way all day and night. And even if it did, that still meant snow was falling down on my car steadily, if not heavily. He was right, though I still didn’t think he should have been going out there to try to dig up my car. “Okay, then maybe we should check the front office and see if there’s a phone—”
But he’d already turned around and was pulling open the door. Instantly, a rush of cold air slid over me. My legs were still bare so I shivered as gooseflesh trembled across them. Ciaran glanced back at me. “Get back by the fire. Warm up. You’re wearing practically nothing.” His eyes flashed as they raked up my body, clothed only in that damn sweater.
A shiver ran through me and it wasn’t because that door was open. Instead, it was one of warmth and pleasure. “Um, are you sure—”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back in a little bit.” He smiled and it was just as sexy as the rest of him. “Get warm.” Then he turned and left.
I called after him about the string that would lead him to the car, then accepted that it didn’t matter in the slightest what else I told him. He was determined to dig out that car.
I wasn’t expecting him to be so eager to leave me, I thought, feeling a little hurt. Which was silly. Of course he wanted to get home. Wherever that was. I was sure he had a thousand things going on back there and needed to get back to them. Especially since it was so close to Christmas in the first place. He probably had a family or something waiting for him.
I frowned. A family? Was he married? Kids? I didn’t think so. I hadn’t seen a ring or anything on his finger, but maybe he’d been mugged and his ring taken. Or what if he was a mechanic or something and just didn’t wear it for safety reasons? He looked like the kind of guy who was comfortable doing hard and gritty work.
“Which is not sexy,” I murmured to myself. “Definitely not sexy.”
Not that I believed myself in the least. I closed the door, but pulled back my makeshift curtains slightly so I could look out the window. I watched as Ciaran followed the red string towards my car, which I now realized was a lot closer than I had thought it was. I could actually see it from the window, though it was just barely. Ciaran struggled through the snow, widening the path I’d used earlier. When he reached the car, he began swiping at the snow on top of it with bare hands.
I winced. That couldn’t feel good. It made me feel like my fingers were freezing just looking at it. I watched him, wishing he’d give up and come back inside, but he lingered there with my car, trying to desperately dislodge the snow covering it. He managed to get the hood clear and part of the windshield before I noticed that he was exhausted. He leaned heavily on the car and finally just fell back into the snow.
“Ciaran!” I cried out. Furious, I grabbed my still wet boots and put them on without worrying about my pants, then jerked open the door. I raced out into the snow, immediately regretting not being fully dressed. But I didn’t go back. Instead, I pushed forward to get reach the car and Ciaran before we both froze out here in the damn snow.
I got to him a few moments later. He’d slumped back into the snow and there was sweat on his brow.
“Damnit, Ciaran,” I cursed as I helped him up. Thankfully he was still conscious, though he had to lean heavily against me as I began to lead him back through our trails in the snow. “If you have a fever again, I’m going to be really mad at you!” I threatened. I thought I saw him smile lightly, but I couldn’t be sure.
We moved as fast as we could back to the cabin and I immediately began helping him out of his clothing. I jerked off his sweater and his shirt before I realized he was staring at me intently. I froze. His torso was exposed now, the hard muscles looking even better than I’d thought beneath that thin cotton shirt. I realized that I’d been frantically undressing him and blushed furiously at the thought.
I stepped back from him. “Um, sorry, it’s just…” I broke off and tried again, gesturing back towards the fireplace. “That’s what happened to me. My clothes got soaked because of the snow, so I took them off so they could dry and…” I stopped again and forced myself to look up into his eyes.
He was staring at me with a knowing smirk, but I was surprised when his hands went to the jeans at his waist and undid the button there. My eyes went wide and I couldn’t help but sputter.
“Um, I mean, I can go in the other room so you can…” Can what? I demanded silently. Sure it was all well and good for me. This sweater was huge and came down mid-thigh on me—it was still mostly dry, though the hem of it was wet I noticed, and I realized I’d have to change out of this, too. It covered all the private bits on me. But what about him? No way were the sweaters I’d found going to be long enough to cover his…well, his crotch.
The thought and the movements of his hands had my eyes riveted there. Was it just me, or was there a slight bulge straining at his zipper?
Stop thinking about that!
I jerked my gaze away, turning to put my back to him. My cheeks were burning furiously. “I’ll, uh, find you something to wear.” Before he could say anything more, I dipped out of the living room and into the kitchen. I shut the door behind me, resting my back against it, and released a whoosh of air. Oh hell, I thought. I thought I heard something that might have been laughter—or maybe my own imagination.
Oh God, he’s laughing at me. I’m so stupid.
Shoving myself away from the door, I went to the hallway to see if I could find anything. I hadn’t before and didn’t think I would this time, but I could check those drawers and things, too. I searched the closet and still didn’t find anything that would cover his…privates. Moving on, I checked the drawers to the desk, too, but there was nothing there but socks. Literally, two pairs of mismatched socks. And they probably weren’t even his size.
At least not for his feet.
The thought went through my head before I could stop it and suddenly I was picturing him standing there naked with a sock
over his—
“What is wrong with me?” I muttered, sitting heavily on the bed. My weight made the springs groan a little and I heard what sounded like scraping. I frowned. Scraping? I bounced a little on the bed and the scraping sound happened again.
Getting off the bed, I knelt down and found that there were a couple of boxes beneath it. I pulled them out and lo and behold, clothes! None were my size, of course, but there were some sweats in there and they would definitely cover his crotch and hopefully save whatever little remained of my dignity.
I pulled out several articles of clothing and rushed back to the living room. I pushed open the door and said, “I found some sweats. They might be a little small on you, but they should work just fine for now.”
I froze as soon as I entered the room. Standing there in his full glory, back to me, was a fully naked Ciaran. A shudder went through me. He was standing in front to the fire, making his body just a little more than a silhouette and emphasizing that his body was built perfectly. Those tight muscles of his shoulders. That narrow waist. That firm, squeezable ass.
But as soon as I had spoken, he started to turn towards the sound. And he didn’t just turn his head. No, he moved his full body until I got a good, full view of his front side, too. His body was cut from granite and damn if my own body didn’t react to it.
I held out the sweats, but couldn’t say anything.
He grinned at me. “I didn’t think you’d find anything.” He sounded slightly disappointed. “Are you going to give me the sweats or what?” He was smirking at me now, no doubt enjoying the fact that I was still staring–no, gaping–at him.
Shaking myself free of the spell his perfect body had cast on me, I chucked the sweats at him. He caught them easily, laughing a little as I made a point of turning around so he could slip them on. A moment later, he said, “I’m decent, baby. You can look now.”
I shuddered a little at the word baby, though I shouldn’t have. I didn’t need some guy I didn’t know giving me pet names! Though if they all said them in that low, gravelly tone, I’d probably let a lot more of them slide.
Doing my best to keep my blushing down to a minimum, I turned around and found the sweats didn’t help a lot with my sudden and intense attraction to him. They were low slung, barely hanging on his hips, and let me see a small trail of soft, feathery light brown hair tinged with red trailing down beneath the waistband of his sweats. His torso was still exposed, his muscles just as strong and cut as before and I had to work hard not to let my eyes linger on them for too long.
Clearing my throat, I headed over to the fireplace. I made a point of keeping some distance between us, but I was cold and I needed to dry off a little bit.
“Didn’t find anything for yourself, I see,” he commented.
I ignored it, though I caught his green eyes raking over my legs once again. Instead, I changed the subject. “Okay, now you’ve checked the car and nearly made yourself pass out again. Can we leave it?”
He didn’t say anything, making me look over at him. His expression didn’t look happy, his full lips tugging down into a frown. I waited for so long for him to answer that I finally just figured he wasn’t going to. Then he opened his mouth and said, “We can’t stay here forever.”
It was my turn to frown. “Not forever. Which is why I say we should check the front office. They’ll probably have a phone or something.”
“One that works?” he asked skeptically.
I hesitated. There was actually a really good chance that no, it didn’t have one that worked. But what else were we supposed to do? The snow was too deep to drive out of here even if we could miraculously get my car uncovered and running again. So I said, “Probably. I think this place is like a resort or something, so I’ll bet they have a main phone to use in the office.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t flat out argue with me either.
“Okay,” he told me. “Fine. Then we’ll warm up a little bit and try again.”
“Once our clothes are dry,” I reminded him. “And when you say we, you mean me, because you’re still not one hundred percent yet.” He opened his mouth to argue, but I shook my head. “I’ll check the office later. You’ll stay here and get warm.”
He didn’t look pleased at the order and I doubted for a moment that he would listen, but then he just offered me a half smile and said, “Alright, then. Deal made.”
Chapter 6
Ciaran
I found her to be as adorable as she had been in my dream. There was a sweet innocence to her that I found refreshing—and a bit frustrating. She seemed to worry and fuss over me, a complete stranger, and while part of me reveled in her attentions, the rest of me just wanted her to leave me the hell alone. I’d dig out her damn car if I wanted to.
Even though that hadn’t gone so well.
Still, the whole taking off of my clothes to get me warm again thing…that had been fun. I hadn’t been embarrassed by her sudden and frenzied need to take off my clothes, but she certainly had been. I’d been half hoping that she’d drop my pants too and say hello to my manhood, but she’d caught herself just in time. And worse still, she’d managed to find some Goddamned pants, too. They were sweats at least and I was grateful for their warmth, but I was enjoying making her uncomfortable with my nakedness.
At least my shirt was still off and that was apparently enough to make her a little uncomfortable and flushed. And she looked damn good flushed.
My dream had revved me up to begin with and I had to remind myself that she hadn’t experienced that same dream. It hadn’t been real, which meant she hadn’t swallowed my cock like a pro until I shot my load down her throat. Which was unfortunate on some levels, but would probably make everything a little less complicated in the long run.
Besides, I didn’t need to be worrying about her any more than I already was. Which was quite a bit to start with.
I was worried because whoever beat me over the head with that tire iron the night before was still out there. If it were Shane as I suspected, that posed a slew of different problems for me. If it were just some random mugger, I would at least have the duration of the storm before I had to worry about any trouble from him. No one was going to find my body out there in the snow and he would know that, so he wouldn’t notice that they hadn’t found it until the storm began to clear.
It was a miracle that Elle had found me in the first place, I thought, examining her once again as we sat in front of the fire. Her long, bare legs were pulled up beneath her as she held her hands out towards the flames. I was sitting off to the side, my shoulder pressed against the wall so I didn’t have to sit up, but still got most of the warmth. She was a damn pretty little thing with her dark hair and blue eyes and those long, long legs.
Doing my best to focus on the problems at hand, I reminded myself that staying in the cabin, as Elle seemed content to do, was foolish. Because if it were Shane, there was a good chance he knew I wasn’t dead. He probably left me to freeze the night before and now was out there digging around for me. And even if he weren’t, he was back home telling my boys I was dead. Which meant the Lucky Skulls were without a leader.
And that really was dangerous.
Shane could try to take over. He could persuade some of my boys to switch sides, and those who stayed would face his wrath. The Irish Hounds were already a thorn in our side and plenty dangerous. If they picked now to start a war or try for a hostile takeover, a lot of my boys were going to die. And it was my job to prevent that.
I couldn’t do that from this damn cabin.
That being said, I needed some way to get the hell out of here—or to get ahold of my boys and let them know what was going down. But there was a little hiccup in my plans and what needed to be done, and it had nothing to do with the storm.
It had to do with Elle.
I was beginning to realize I only had a few options with her. I could dig out her car and steal it, leaving her behind and effectively making sure no o
ne knew of the connection between us. That would make sure she stayed safe and that Shane didn’t decide to come after her for saving my life. The other option was to dig out the car and have her drop me off where she’d found me the night before. My bike was still there, hopefully, and that would mostly keep the two of us from being linked.
Unless someone’s out there looking for me.
Unfortunately, both of those plans hinged on one thing: Elle’s car. If I couldn’t dig it out, it didn’t matter. If it didn’t start, it didn’t matter. If I couldn’t plow it through the snow-covered roads, it didn’t matter. And, unfortunately, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure I could manage any of those things.
I decided I’d try the car again in the morning when I was feeling a little better and hopefully while she was still asleep. That way she couldn’t get angry for my deliberately ignoring her earlier insistence. This afternoon, I would let her try for the damn office, but I already had a pretty good guess that she wasn’t going to find a working phone. If there wasn’t one here—I noted a landline here in the living room—then whatever phone she found there probably wasn’t working either. But I’d let her try to keep her complacent.