by Sadie Sears
Then I kicked his ass. “King me,” I said triumphantly as I waited for him to king my last red circle.
“The snow water is hot,” he said. “I’ll be right back. Go ahead and finish me off and reset the board. I know you’re about to take my last black pieces.”
He was absolutely correct. He took the tub off the heat with potholders from the kitchen and carried it over to the small counter before returning to me. I hadn’t bothered actually capturing his pieces, just reset the board. “Okay. Let’s do this.” He scooted the chair closer again. “I’m going to win this time.”
Spoiler alert—he lost again. I wiped the board with him.
“Can we play something else?” he asked after my fourth consecutive victory.
I snorted. “Can’t take the heat?”
He tugged at his collar and flinched. “I can take the heat, but this is an inferno. How about a game of rummy?”
He must’ve forgotten that rummy was my jam. “Sure,” I said, trying not to sound smug. “We can do a few hands of rummy.”
Bless him, I kicked his ass at that, too. An hour later, he slapped the cards down on the table. “Nope. I give.”
Giggling, I gathered the cards up and shuffled them. “You did that on purpose.”
He shrugged. “No, but I did remember how good you are at it. I just figured after all the practice I’ve had against my buddy, Cam, I’d beat you. I beat him all the dang time.”
I’d forgotten for a while to be angry and resentful. But now that I remembered, my chest ached with pain and anger. Damn him for being so charming that I let my true self slip through. I didn’t want to have fun with Vince.
I yawned, fighting the exhaustion from the day. Vince noticed and jumped up. “Let’s get you in the bed. I’ll make sure the fire stays stoked all night to keep us warm.”
Sitting up, I accepted his help getting to my feet. “Thanks,” I said. “I’ve been sitting for too long.”
He pointed to one of the doors I hadn’t been through. I took a step that way, pleased with how my ankle felt after several hours off of it, wrapped, and iced.
Vince eyed me, and once he saw I could walk, he hurried forward and opened the door. “I would’ve opened this already, but this fireplace is sort of in both rooms. There’s a pipe thing that helps heat that room, but it’ll be warmer if we leave it open, I suppose.”
I picked up one of the candles over the mantle and carried it into the bedroom with me.
Vince turned down the blanket. “The bedding is fresh. I don’t even smell any dust on it.”
Nodding, I set the candle on the bedside table. “Thanks,” I whispered. Looking around, I realized the bedroom was pretty big. “Is this a one-bedroom cabin?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Well, that was hardly fair, even if he did deserve it. “That couch is half your height,” I said. “I’ll fit on it fine.”
He shook his head. “No, you need to be able to stretch out for that ankle. It’s fine. If I don’t fit, I’ll make a pallet on the floor.”
I snorted. “That’s ridiculous.” Damn it. I couldn’t believe the words that were about to come out of my mouth. “This bed is a queen.” I eyed it. “Maybe a king?”
He nodded. “I think so.”
“We can easily both sleep here.” I nodded toward the bed. “We can even put a blanket barrier between us if you’d like.”
He sniffed. “Are you sure? I don’t want a blanket barrier. I promise I won’t attack you in my sleep. But we really don’t have to do this. I can really sleep on the floor.”
I was getting a little angry. How noble of him to offer to sleep on the floor now. Where was his sense of sacrifice nine years ago? “Just lie down, Vince.”
He sort of bowed and held his hands up. “Okay, I concede, but I’m going to blow out the candles and tend the fire. I’ll be right back.”
I snuggled deep into the blankets and fluffed the pillow. Damn, these were nice sheets for some random cabin bed. My exhaustion washed over me. I was ready for the relief of sleep and to pass several hours in unconsciousness before getting the hell out of here in the morning.
That sweet in-between space, where I wasn’t quite asleep but not awake, called to me. I sighed and relaxed. Then, the bed depressed on the other side and Vince sighed. “Well… goodnight, then.”
I jerked fully into consciousness. “Yeah. Night.” As I lay beside him, I couldn’t help but think about the last time we’d been in a bed together. He’d lain there that night, so long ago, knowing he’d taken the check. He got up the next morning and left for work. He never even told me.
Soon, I had to kick the blankets off. I’d forgotten how hot he was. He ran hotter than anyone else, thanks to his dragon blood. Even though he wasn’t a fire dragon, it didn’t matter, apparently. All dragons ran hot.
Vince’s even breathing tormented me. He was asleep, while I flopped around, burning up, resentful, and damn it all, a little turned on at lying beside Vince. Gorgeous, muscular, best-sex-I-ever-had Vince.
Damn it all. Just one night, my ass.
4
Vince
Incredible warmth was the first thing I noticed when I woke up the next morning. I peeked my eyes open to find dark chocolate hair spread out across my pillow and a lithe backside pressed into mine. Her steady breathing told me she was still sleeping, so I took a moment to admire her beauty. The fine strands of her hair, her flawless medium-brown skin, her slightly parted and entirely kissable lips.
My dragon, however, had other ideas and made them physically and painfully obvious. Apparently, he wanted to pick things up right where we’d left off. The nuances of our unresolved tension had nothing to do with him, but I didn’t want to rush the conversation that I knew we’d have to have. I wasn’t sure if I could handle rejection a second time.
As carefully as I could, I eased out of bed, making sure to tuck the warm blankets back in around her. Adjusting myself in my pants, I padded out of the room, intent on making some kind of breakfast. I glanced at the windows on my way through the living room and froze in my tracks. The windows were dark. Looking back into the bedroom, only the barest hint of light peeked in from one corner of the window, just enough to see by.
Curious, I approached the door and cracked it open. A solid wall of snow met me, as high as my head. We were snowed in. Totally snowed in. While one part of me celebrated the extra time with Damini, another part dreaded her disappointment. Closing my eyes, I pushed my senses outside. The wind was still incredibly strong, still too much to risk leaving in, but I could tell it was starting to tire itself out. The storm would be over within a couple of days or so, but I wasn’t sure that answer would be acceptable for her.
I walked back to the generator room and grabbed a few more logs. There were plenty enough to keep us warm for a week or more if it came down to it. The fireplace was still warm, red embers glowing in the bottom, so I put the new logs on and stoked it back to life. I’d done the same in the night, giving us a toasty cabin to sleep in.
As this place was a regular stopping point, the pantry was also fairly well-stocked with nonperishables. They just couldn’t be bothered to keep track of the fuel levels for the generator, apparently.
The cabin had an old microwave, which was how I normally cooked a lot of my meals, but without power, I was limited to the woodstove. I mentally kicked myself for not learning more from Cameron while I stayed at his creepy mansion. He’d taught me a few things, sure, but it was basic stuff. I didn’t have the patience to learn the complicated gourmet meals he whipped up.
After I got a fire in the stove going, I rifled through the pantry, looking for something easy to make for breakfast. Milk, eggs, and bread all would’ve gone bad between visits, so despite all the food, our options were limited. There was an old-fashioned icebox, but it was generally empty unless someone was planning to use the place, otherwise, the ice melted, and the stuff inside spoiled. There were also cured
meats, but I wasn’t the gourmand that Cameron was, and I had no clue how to prep or cook something like that. I grabbed a blue box off of one shelf and a pack of powdered milk off another.
Sliding a nearby window open just a bit, I scooped some fresh snow into a pot and put it on to boil. Probably not the most sanitary option, but with the water lines frozen, there was only so much I could do.
While I waited on the water, I walked back over to the bedroom and leaned against the doorframe. Damini still slept soundly, entirely on my side now, the comforter pulled up to her chin.
With the storm outside, and the snow literally burying us in, I thought about the possibilities for our time stuck there. At last, we had an opportunity to clear the air, put the past behind us and move forward. My chest hurt to think that she might leave again, but there was really only one way to know for sure. We had to rip the bandage off.
I jumped when the sound of bubbling water reached my ears and, on silent feet, ran back to the stove. While I cooked, at least ten different conversations played out in my head, all of them ending back in that bed. That was likely my dragon’s doing. He was much more optimistic about the situation than I was.
Pulling two bowls out of the cabinet, I divided the food up between them then filled the kettle full of snow and put it on to boil. When I sat down on the edge of the bed, Damini rolled to look at me, eyelids drooping sleepily, then she shot up in bed with a gasp.
“I made you breakfast.” I handed her the bowl. She blinked rapidly at it, then took it with a confused look on her face.
“We don’t have time for breakfast, Vince. We should be getting out of here,” she said. She set the bowl on the nightstand and kicked her way free from the blankets. “I’ve got things to do, places to be, accounts that need to be prepared—”
“Damini.”
She froze just before she stood up when I put my hand on her shoulder. “What?”
“We’re not going anywhere.”
Her eyes narrowed and she pulled away from my touch. “What are you talking about? We stayed here last night because you said we need to wait out the storm. Now we need to leave.”
Shaking my head, I pointed to the window and the sliver of light peeking through the top corner. “Take your time with breakfast. We may be here another day.”
The blood drained from her face and she jumped up, nearly falling over when she put weight on her bad ankle. “Oh.” She moaned. “I forgot about that.”
I grabbed her and helped her hobble to the window.
Damini pressed her fingers against the cold, snow-covered glass and shook her head in disbelief. “Well, can’t you do something?” she asked, her voice pitching up into a panic. “Like, use your powers to unbury us?”
I moved her back to the edge of the bed to sit. “It’s not just being buried in snow, Damini. That would be relatively easy to dig through and then fly us back to town. Unfortunately, the storm is still going. You can’t hear it because the snow is dampening the sound, but I can feel the storm and wind, and it’s still bad out there.”
“Then wrap us in a wind bubble or something. I don’t know!” She threw her hands up. “Something other than just giving up first thing and trying again another day. I have important things that need to be taken care of. I can’t stay here!”
“It’s not that easy, Damini!” I stood and paced away from her, trying to keep myself in check.
She was understandably freaked out. Her hiking trip hadn’t gone at all the way she’d planned, her friend was probably worried about her, and her parents—yeah, I wasn’t about to go there. Still, her blasé attitude about my abilities was a little insulting. I couldn’t even call on our ether dragons, Cameron or Theo, without shifting, and I’d need to get outside to do that.
“Look, I could probably make the wind stop blowing in a small area near the cabin, but it’s not going to stop the snow and it’s not going to get us out of here safely. My powers are still maturing, much as I hate to admit it, and I don’t have the kind of precise control I’d like. It’s still too dangerous to go out, so unless you’d rather be a frostbitten popsicle, I suggest you eat your breakfast before I do.”
Damini pouted but snatched the bowl up, poking at it with her fork. “Mac and cheese is not breakfast.”
“It is when you don’t have eggs or bacon,” I replied, stuffing my own face. “I could’ve just made you a bowl of cereal with no milk.”
She made a face at that suggestion, then took a tentative bite, chewing it thoughtfully. “Your cooking has certainly improved, I’ll give you that.” Pointing at the bowl with her fork, she smirked at me. “I don’t even see any of the burnt bits that you used to claim gave it extra flavor.”
I almost choked on my food laughing. “Don’t remind me.”
“Oh, I most certainly will.” Damini giggled and my heart skipped a beat. “You remember that time you tried to use a grill and we ended up with charcoal briquettes in the shape of hot dogs?”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “Stop!”
“Ooh, or the time you melted a pot on the stove?” She threw her head back and laughed. “People say you can’t burn boiling water, but you basically did!”
At the mention of boiling water, I jumped up and ran out of the room, dropping my bowl of mac and cheese on the end table. Somehow, even with my fantastic hearing, the whistling hadn’t registered while we talked. Having her so near, smiling, laughing, had countered my other senses. On the stove, the water had nearly boiled down to nothing. I slid the window open again and scooped more snow into the kettle. At this rate, we’d be able to get out through that window soon, maybe. I turned and saw Damini hobbling out of the bedroom only to collapse on the couch.
“Hey, stay off of that foot,” I admonished.
She waved me off. “What are you making now?”
I jerked my thumb over my shoulder as I snatched up the resealable bag from the previous day. “I saw some instant coffee in the pantry. I thought you might appreciate some.”
“Could we maybe do hot cocoa instead? ‘Tis the season and all that.” She folded her legs up underneath her and batted her eyes. Well, when she put it like that, who was I to say no?
After filling and sealing the bag full of snow, I pulled her leg out from under her and put the makeshift ice pack on her foot again. The swelling had gone down some, so that was a good thing.
I went back into the kitchen area to make the cocoa. I found that there was indeed a half-empty bag of marshmallows in the pantry, but the news was unfortunate.
“The marshmallows are stale.” I gave her a sad face. “Sorry.”
She mimicked my expression. “That’s disappointing, but I think I’ll survive.”
Mugs in hand, I settled onto the other end of the couch and handed her one. She sipped at it carefully, moaning in delight at the chocolaty flavor. The sound did horrible things to my… well, everything. I drowned my baser instincts in the remainder of my mac and cheese.
“So, who raised you right and taught you to cook these past few years?” she asked.
I snorted a laugh. “My friend Cameron, actually. He’s an ether dragon that I lived with for a while. He taught me a few things after he had a rough patch and all I could do for him was bring him microwaved pizza rolls that he hated.”
“He sounds like a patient guy,” she said.
“He is. They all are, really.” I circled the air with my finger, indicating the cabin. “When all of us would come here for training drills, this place would get incredibly noisy. I would take a book and go up on the roof to read, but the steady drone of their voices was calming in a way. Then they’d drag me off the roof to train.”
“They’re your clan?”
I nodded and smiled. “They’re like brothers, which was something of a new concept for me. They’re always giving me a hard time about being the youngest. Especially Cameron and Theo, our other ether dragon. Cam is almost two hundred, and Theo is older than that. And Sam—he’s a fire dragon—used t
o pick on me when they would card me at the bar.”
“They sound like fun. I’d love to meet them.” She froze for a second as if her words had just registered, then she turned away and sipped her cocoa.
The idea that she wanted to, though, spun through my head. Even if it was just an off-hand comment, it dug into my brain and held on. I couldn’t help imagining what my life in Spruce would be like with Damini. She would really liven up the house I’d just bought.
I pushed that thought away quickly. There was no way I was diving down that rabbit hole right then. Besides, she was obviously still caught up in her family. Unless she broke free of that mess, there was nothing there for them. It hurt, but facts needed to be out there. I couldn’t afford to get my hopes up.
“This place smells weird.” Damini wrinkled her nose for effect. “Is that wood rot? How old is this place, anyway?”
“Is it not suited to your taste?” I asked jokingly. “It’s no luxury suite, but it’s keeping us warm.”
She rolled her eyes. “The entire footprint of this place could fit in the bedroom of my college apartment.”
“That’s because you had a high-end apartment close to campus since the student dorms were too small.”
Damini shifted uncomfortably. “My father insisted I pick something that they would be comfortable enough for them to visit. As long as they paid for it, I wasn’t going to complain.”
We were moving into dangerous territory. Her parents were the reason behind our split. Her mother, in fact, had tried to bribe me to stay away from her, and when that didn’t work, she’d resorted to threats.
“They’re probably worried about me. I was supposed to be back in Boston last night.”
I didn’t respond. The pain that surged at the very mention of her parents wouldn’t let me. I needed to give her some space. “I’m going to go, uh, see what else we have at our disposal.”
She nodded, so I backed out of the big front room. Off the bedroom was a tiny bathroom. Though the water lines were frozen, I figured a bath might help calm the building tension.