by Luxx Monroe
I panicked when I saw the amount of snow that had fallen during the night. I must have been more tired than I thought, because I had slept through one hell of a storm. The crazy part was the snow was still falling.
My phone buzzed on the dresser and I discovered I had missed ten calls from Mandy and a few from my mom.
I pushed play on Mandy’s first voicemail. “Sutton, it’s fucking crazy here. I don’t know if I’m going to make it tonight, but I’ll call you first thing in the morning. Why aren’t you answering your phone?”
Message two: “You better have worn those batteries out, because you still haven’t answered me. I hope you’re okay. It’s still snowing and I’m nervous. Call me, you dirty bitch.”
I laughed and played the last message she had sent around three this morning. “Okay, I’m assuming you’re dead—Okay, you’re dead. Now, I hope to hell you aren’t getting as much snow as we are, because if that’s the case, then I’ll need a freaking bulldozer to get to you. Call me.”
I clicked on the green phone icon, and she answered before the first ring was even finished.
“Thank God! Are you okay? Is it snowing there?”
I laughed and looked back out the window. “I’m fine. I just fell asleep and didn’t hear my phone.”
“Well, I thought you were dead.”
“Yeah, I listened to your messages.” Just then my phone buzzed, indicating it was close to dying.
“I’m glad you’re okay. You didn’t tell me if it was snowing or not.”
“Yes, it’s snowing as we speak. I bet there’s four feet on the ground out there. Hey, my phone is about to die. Will you call my mom and let her know I made it?”
“Of course.”
Looking again at all this now, I wondered if I’d made a good decision about driving here last night. “This is crazy, Mandy. How are you going to get here?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll figure something out. I need to go. I, um…”
I heard her laugh, but it was a little muffled. I could also hear a guy in the background and figured she was at Simon’s place.
“I’ll let you go. Call me when you find something out.”
She told me she would, and the phone went dead. I tried to turn it back on, but the power sign lit up.
I reached down to connect it to the wall, but nothing happened.
“That’s strange.”
Reaching over to the light switch, I flipped it on but nothing happened. Shit, I bet the power was out. All of a sudden, I noticed how cold the air in Mandy’s room was, so I grabbed a sweater out of my bag.
Gathering my courage, I opened my door and peeked down the hallway. I couldn’t see anyone, so I figured the coast was clear.
I had made it to the living room before I saw Chase sitting at the kitchen table with his back to me. I started to turn back around when he let me know I had blown my cover.
“Well, look who’s awake.”
The blush that warmed my cheeks was very apparent, and I wanted to die right there. I knew I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so I put my big girl panties on and walked over to introduce myself properly this time.
“Hi. I’m so sorry about last night. I didn’t know anyone was going to be home.”
Chase turned around and for the first time, I had a perfect view of his face. He was hot. Really hot.
My breath hitched, and he knew he was having an effect on me. I’m sure this happened to all the girls did.
“I kind of figured that from what I caught you doing in my parents’ bathroom.”
He was also a complete jerk. No wonder Mandy couldn’t stand him.
I rolled my eyes at him and continued trying to have a civil conversation with him. “So, the power’s out?”
“It is.”
The warmth of the fire from the fireplace in the living room drew my attention. “Well, at least we have a fireplace.”
“We do.”
Rolling my eyes, I shuffled over to the coffee pot. “Coffee?” I gazed at him with a confused expression, wondering how in the world he had made coffee without any power, but I really didn’t care if it meant I was, hopefully, going to have a cup. “May I?”
“You don’t have to ask. You’ve already made yourself comfortable here.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me and laughed.
As I turned my back to him, I wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else than in that kitchen. “Very funny.”
“I think so.”
I poured a cup of coffee and marched past him without making eye-contact. Sitting next to the fire, I warmed my hands and wondered again where that pot of coffee had come from.
A few minutes later, I decided I needed to get this over with and introduce myself. I had to ignore his smart-ass comments and see what the hell was going on with our current situation.
I found Chase still in the kitchen reading a section of the newspaper.
Sitting down beside him at the breakfast bar, I sipped my coffee. “I’m Sutton. Mandy’s friend.”
Chase glanced over at me and then went right back to his paper. “I figured so. My mom mentioned something about her bringing a friend.”
I took another drink and then set my mug down. “So this storm, it’s bad. Have you heard anything?”
“Just that it’s snowed a lot.”
I was really becoming annoyed with his attitude and before I could stop myself, I slammed my hand down on the counter, finally gaining his attention.
Chase set the paper down on the table and shifted around so he was facing me. “It’s snowed almost thirty-six inches in less than twelve hours. The power lines are down and they’re calling for two to three more inches before noon. If you had any plans, I would cancel them. Looks like you’re stuck here with me, sweetheart.”
I closed my eyes and let out a loud sigh. “What about Mandy? Your parents?”
“Well, unless they have some sort of magical snowmobile, it looks like they’re shit out of luck.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Are we going to be okay?”
I finally realized I really knew nothing about this guy; only that his sister hated him and I wondered if he reciprocated the feeling.
“Of course.”
A man of few words.
“Well, I wish I could say it’s been a pleasure meeting you, but it hasn’t.”
I stood and watched his eyes rake over my body. “Oh, it was a pleasure to meet you.”
I almost smacked him right on his cheek, but instead, I turned around and stormed out of the kitchen. I could hear him chuckling in the background and the sound of the newspaper rustling.
I was going to get out of this house because there was no way I was going to be stuck with an asshole like that.
Chapter 4
Chase
I should have felt bad about the way I was treating my sister’s friend, but I couldn’t seem to help it. I would have never thought in a million years that when I drove home in a freak blizzard, a gorgeous girl would be getting off in my parents’ bathroom. When I finally realized it wasn’t my sister and I wouldn’t go blind, I had to hide the instant hard-on bulging in my pants when I saw her naked body on display right in front of me. I should have been thrilled I was snowed in with a beautiful girl, who had a killer body, but for some reason, it pissed me off. Hell, everything lately pissed me off.
Growing up in my parents’ house wasn’t exactly pleasant, so being back for the first Christmas in years had me in a sour mood. Especially when I had to think about the real reason I was here.
Sutton, however, should have perked me up a bit, but with the huge snowstorm rampaging outside, I was feeling even more confined and agitated than usual. The storm was bad, and who knew how long it would be until we had someone come all the way to butt-fuck Egypt to plow us out.
Looking over my shoulder, I watched Sutton stomp back up the stairs. I had upset her, but I didn’t need to be all buddy-buddy with her. I didn’t need to get close to one of Mandy�
��s friends just so she could turn her away from me in the end.
Mandy and I had never had a great relationship. From the day she was born it was clear we had polar-opposite personalities, and some kind of rivalry quickly formed. Therefore, we have never been able to get along.
Finally, I set down the unread newspaper and poured the rest of the coffee in my mug, actually thankful for my over-the-top paranoid parents and their huge generator in the garage. I had a feeling this storm was going to be bad, especially when it changed course so fast and hit us like a fucking ton of bricks.
Just as I was getting ready to pull some eggs out and cook up a little breakfast, I heard footsteps behind me. I almost decided to be a little less of an ass, but that’s all I had known for so long when it came to Mandy or anyone she was close to. I’d almost forgotten how to be civil to my family, or even their friends.
Taking a sip of my coffee, I decided I didn’t want to like Sutton. Any friend of Mandy’s wasn’t a friend I wanted to have in my life. So, I decided to be a complete asshole. “You know, if you’re that hard up for an orgasm, I’ve got all the time in the world to lend you a helping hand.” I smiled to myself and couldn’t help the excitement coursing through my body. I hadn’t bantered with a woman in a very long time. It was short lived, however, because Sutton didn’t quite respond the way I thought she was going to. A slap to the head? No. A grunt and a dramatic exit? Nope.
“You must have been reading my mind.”
I twirled around so fast that I almost spilled my coffee right down my shirt. When I was face-to-face with Sutton, I had to remind myself to breathe. She was fucking gorgeous. Not in a ‘New York model’ kind of way, but a more down-to-earth, natural beauty that you rarely saw anymore, kind of way. I must have looked as shocked as I felt, but she looked very serious.
Her eyes locked with mine as she took a few steps toward me, so she was practically standing on top of me. “I knew the minute I saw you, Chase, that you knew your way around a woman. I’m not going to lie and say it hasn’t been a while, but I really could use a good lay.”
In the last twenty-five years of my life, out of all the women I’d been with, not one had ever rendered me speechless. I must have looked like a fool, standing there with my mouth hanging open, but I clearly had no idea how to react to her.
Sutton reached forward and placed her hand gently on my chin, pushing my mouth shut. A chill ran through my body and my dick twitched with excitement. I hadn’t felt this way around a girl in a very long time, especially when she had just barely touched my face. I could give her what she wanted, hell, what I wanted too.
She slowly ran her fingers down my chest, and just as she was about to reach the top of my jeans to find me eagerly awaiting her touch, she brought her hand back up and shoved hard against my chest. “You really are an ass, aren’t you? I wouldn’t let you touch me if you were… if we were… stranded in a damn snowstorm!”
Her hair whipped around so fast that I didn’t have the chance to turn my head before it smacked me right in the face. The smell of strawberries invaded my senses, and I had an urge to grab her right there and show her what an orgasm from a man felt like, not from some piddly vibrator.
I kept my thoughts to myself, and before she made her grand exit, she turned back around and looked me right in the eyes. “I will find a way out of here soon, so don’t worry about having to be stuck with me.”
I should have stopped her to apologize. I was acting like a complete dick and I knew it. That would have been the perfect moment to tell her I was sorry and we could have started over right then, but my pride kept me quiet. I watched as she stomped out of the kitchen.
Stepping back, I placed my hands on the counter. I couldn’t find Sutton attractive, she being my sister’s friend. I had already gone down that road in high school and it ended in a complete disaster. Honestly, I went after Mandy’s best friend just to piss her off. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t a jerk to Mandy her whole life, because I was. Sometimes I wondered if things would have been different between us, if I would be happier in my adult life.
Thinking about Sutton, her dark chestnut hair and hazel eyes, gave me a glimmer of hope that I may actually have the capacity to care about someone. Now, if only I could change my ways and actually be a decent human during our crazy situation, I may actually enjoy myself.
I decided to avoid Sutton for the next few hours, but when it came time for me to finally head outside and check the few animals my parents still had, I was going to need her help. Even if she was a bonafide city girl.
Pushing Mandy’s bedroom door open shouldn’t have been as hard as I was making it. Push it open and ask her to come outside in a snowstorm. Easy, right? No. It was killing me having to man up and ask her for help. Granted, we only had two horses, some chickens, and a few goats, but I needed her to help me shovel the ridiculous amount of snow we’d gotten, and in complete honesty, I wanted to see her again. I probably could have done all the work on my own, but frankly, the fire I saw in her intrigued me.
“Sutton?” I asked loudly, this time warning her of my presence instead of barging in like last night. That sight would forever be engraved in my mind. I had seen more than a few naked women in my life, but for some reason, I couldn’t escape the image of her touching herself. “Sutton, I need to talk to you.”
I started to think she had slipped out, and just as I was about to turn and leave, a very faint, “Yes?” came from inside the bedroom.
I pushed the door open and found Sutton lying on her stomach on Mandy’s childhood bed, reading a book with her feet crossed in the air. She set the book down and looked up at me with the most beautiful brown eyes I’d ever seen.
After quickly clearing my throat, I decided it was time to get over myself and be a gentleman. “I’m sure you noticed when you got here yesterday that we have some animals, and I was wondering if you’d like to go outside and help me see if they’re okay?”
Sutton closed her book and pushed off her stomach, giving me a glimpse of her perky tits. As I tried to readjust my pants, I imagined what they felt like. Did they feel as soft and creamy as they looked?
“Why do you need my help? I’ve never been on a farm.”
I ran my hand through my hair and attempted not to stare at her too much, trying to keep my cool and not lose it. “If you haven’t noticed, there’s a ton of snow. I could use some help with the shovel and feeding the animals. We have grain in the barn, and luckily, our neighbors put the horses in before the storm got too bad.”
Sutton stood and looked over to the window. “You have horses? Is that what I heard last night? It scared the hell out of me. It sounded like a woman was being murdered out in your field; but it makes sense now.”
I tried to hide the laughter that was making its way up, but I failed. My head fell back as a very loud and genuine belly laugh escaped me. It felt good and strange at the same time. I hadn’t reacted to a girl like that in a long time, and I had to admit it was nice. “A woman dying? Have you never heard a horse whinny before?”
The look on Sutton’s face told me she didn’t find her lack of knowledge near as humorous as I did, which didn’t help; it actually made me laugh harder.
“Really? I grew up in downtown Boston. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a horse hanging around Beacon Hill.”
“No, I guess not.” I chuckled again and walked over to stand next to her by the window. “Look, I’m sorry I was a jerk earlier. It’s just that I’ve never gotten along with any of Mandy’s friends. I know it’s a shitty excuse, but I shouldn’t have judged you. I’m also a little pissed that I had to come down for the holidays. I have something I need to discuss with my parents, and if you haven’t noticed, this isn’t exactly my favorite place.”
Sutton continued to look out the window, but finally responded. “I know this isn’t exactly how the week was supposed to go, but we are stuck with each other for God knows how long. We might as well try and get along,
right?” When she finally turned her head toward me, I noticed a few small details I had missed earlier. Small freckles were scattered across her nose and she had a small circular scar on the edge of her right cheek. I wanted to reach over and place a kiss on that mark and ask her how it happened. I quickly shook my head to clear that thought and wondered what the hell was wrong with me. Maybe it had been too long since I’d had a good lay, and I was taking my horniness out on my sister’s friend.
“I agree. I have no idea how bad this storm really is, but it’s bad enough that the power lines are down. I have a back-up generator, but I think we should conserve it. That’s how we had coffee this morning. I turned it on for a minute to make a pot.”
“I see.” She didn’t say anything else but looked at me to continue, to say something that could get us over the horrible way we met.
“Look, get bundled up. Mandy probably has some old clothes you can borrow and I’ll meet you downstairs. Get ready, city girl. You’re about to get a lesson on how it works out here in the country.”
I noticed a quick look of panic cross her face, but Sutton hid it well with a smirk. “Oh, I’ll be fine. And you’re one to talk. New York City is a long way from the sticks, Chase.”
Hearing my name roll off those beautiful lips had me wanting to hear her say it over and over again, preferably without any—Shit. I needed to get the hell away from her before I started something I couldn’t finish. “Just meet me downstairs in ten.”
I turned around and didn’t look back. I didn’t know what it was about that girl, but for some reason, she left me wanting something I hadn’t felt in a long damn time. Happiness. She made me want to be happy.
Chapter 5
Sutton
It took exactly thirty minutes for Chase and me to shovel a small pathway to their barn. It had snowed so much in such a short amount of time that I was having a hard time throwing the snow high enough over my head so it wouldn’t come barreling back down on me.
“Damn, this is a lot of snow.” Chase huffed and started to shovel the snow around the barn doors. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a storm like this. We had a pretty bad one when I was a kid, but I don’t remember there being even close to this much snow.”