Snowbound Hearts (3 page)

It was difficult pretending for her family that everything was fine. Stephen was the only one who got it. He’d listen tirelessly, always sympathetic, never judging. The long conversations with her imaginary friend were the only things that got her through those lonely, depressing years. By her sophomore year of high school, she had developed pretty well and the boys had interests in her other than making her cry. She had met her fiancé, Daniel, that year, and having a real friend lessened the need for an imaginary one. The cruelty of her peers had faded as they matured, but the damage was done. Even when surrounded by true friends she still felt like an outsider.

After one short phone conversation the day before that contained the most devastating news she had ever heard, she had reverted back into her fantasy world, only this time she was projecting her imagination onto a real person.

Stephen sat drumming his fingers on the table scowling at her like a sore loser. “Did you play poker with your family for money?”

“No, just chips, just for fun.” Audrey wondered if he would have been as disappointed if they had been playing for money or if he was just bummed out because he hadn’t managed to get her clothes off.
He’d probably be even more disappointed if he
had
gotten them off.

“Oh, I had this image of the adults beating the kids out of their allowance.”

“You’re so silly.” She extended her hand across the table to him. “Good game.”

Stephen grudgingly shook her hand. “Yeah, not for me. That was no fun at all.”

“I had fun.” She gathered his clothes into a ball.

He cleared his throat, leaned across the table, and grasped his clothes, but she didn’t let him have them. “I’d like those back so I can get dressed. It’s cold in here.”

She shook her head, pulling the ball tightly to her chest. She wasn’t ready for him to get dressed. Relieving him of his clothes one piece at a time had been quite a thrill. Even more thrilling was the confused glare he gave her each time her hand beat his. After the heartbreaking event she had just experienced, Audrey needed all the enjoyment she could get, and she had a suspicion that Stephen could provide her with plenty. “If you want them back, you’ll have to earn them back.”

He threw up his hands in defeat. “All right, deal the cards.”

“I’m bored with cards.” She leaned back, gazing at his muscular chest. The layers of winter clothes he had been wearing had effectively hidden his toned body. A little flush rose to the surface of her skin. Playing strip poker had been a good idea after all. “Do you work out? You have nice—you look like you work out.”

Stephen shrugged as a pink hue spread across his cheeks. “Some. I get it mostly from carrying lumber, framing houses.”

She nodded slowly, drinking in the sight before her. His pecks, shoulders, and arms were well defined. Not freakishly large like a steroid-injecting bodybuilder, but big enough to make her palms sweat at the thought of running her hands over the rock-solid masses. “Do you like doing that?”

“It’s honest work, good as anything else, I suppose.”

The table obscured his body below the top of his abs, leaving her imagination to fill in the details. “You’re probably just as muscular all the way down, aren’t you?”

“If you really want to know, come over here. You have my clothes. I’ve got no way to hide.”

Audrey slid her chair back. As much as she wanted to take him up on his offer, she resisted the urge to stand. She had to be careful. With her prior commitment in such a tenuous state, she could easily see herself getting lost in the delicious man sitting across from her.
What harm is there in having some fun? After all, Daniel had his fun. No, I can’t turn this into some petty attempt at revenge. Still...
“Get up on the table and break dance for me. If you’re good enough, I may let you have them back.”

Stephen folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. “The only thing I’ll be breaking, if I’m on the table dancing, is my neck. I play a mean air guitar, but that would be stupid without any music.”

She pursed her lips for a moment, trying to stifle a grin as a mischievous idea came to her. “Okay, make me a snow angel and you can have them back.”

He shrugged nonchalantly as if it was no big deal. “I can do that, but I need to get dressed first.”

Audrey could no longer contain her smile. “No, you have to do it naked or not at all.”

Stephen hardened his expression. “That’s just cruel.” He leaned back in his chair, locked his hands behind his head, and gazed thoughtfully at her. “I’ll tell you what, strip down, and we’ll make naked snow angels together.”

“Nope, you lost. If you want your clothes back, you have to play by my rules.”

“
Aw,
you’re no fun.” Stephen glanced toward the window and sat there, brooding. Just when Audrey thought there was no chance he’d do it, he spoke up. “All right, come on.”

She opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. The snow was falling hard, but the wind had died down for the moment. The layout of the cabin was nearly identical to the one she had been staying in. The porch was the same size and faced the same direction. Less than twenty-four hours earlier, she had stood on that other porch with her phone to her ear and tears streaming down her cheeks. Audrey twisted her engagement ring around her finger, wondering how far she could fling it. If she could bring herself to cast it into the blizzard, never to be seen again, her problems might go with it.
Dammit, Daniel, you stupid, stupid man. I made you my world.

Audrey turned around and gazed at Stephen standing in the doorway.
One day my life goes to hell and the next I find
him
here waiting for me? No, it’s just a coincidence, that’s all. Daniel has my head so screwed up I’m losing it. Pull it together, Audrey, before you break down again. There’s a gorgeous, naked man standing in front of you. Do you want him to see you cry?

Stephen ran out into the snow and flopped onto his back, sinking much deeper than Audrey had expected. He made a halfway decent angel, given the excessive depth of the snow. By the time he jumped up, he was already looking blue.
That wasn’t funny. It was cruel, just like he said. What a dumb thing for me to suggest.

Audrey dusted his back and hair while quickly shuffling him to the wood-burning stove. She grabbed a blanket that was hanging on the back of the sofa, tossed it around his shoulders, and stepped inside it with him. As he drew her into his powerful embrace, the rest of the world fell away. Only the two of them remained, locked inside one perfect moment. Despite the frigidity of his skin, his body responded to the heat of the spot she had pressed firmly against him. And in that instant, she understood. She had been in the arms of a man before, but she had never been held. Another man had placed his hands upon her, but she had never been touched. She sank deeper into his grasp, heart pounding, longing to merge her soul with his, and marveled at how a simple hug could so profoundly alter her mood.

Audrey gazed up into his deep blue eyes and wondered if he could tell from the look on her face how much she wanted him. She raised her index finger, traced the thin line of razor stubble adorning his square jaw, and continued up into his thick, dark hair. The bulge planted against her crotch jerked, sending a pulse of pleasure racing through her. “You didn’t have to do that. I would have given you your clothes. I was just being silly.”

“Oh,
now
you tell me,” he said, going extra heavy on the sarcasm.

“Sorry.”

He grinned sheepishly. “I came prepared to stay a week. I didn’t need those clothes back, I have plenty more. I did it because you asked, not because I thought I had to. It got you into my arms, so it was totally worth it.” Stephen rubbed his hands up and down her spine. “Do you have any idea how glad I am that you’re here?” He lowered his face toward hers, obviously intending to kiss her.

Audrey shook her head and looked away, unable to lie while caught in his penetrating stare. “Don’t get the wrong idea. This is not a romantic hug. It’s just to help get you warm.” Even as those words crossed her lips, she considered pulling off her sweater, so she could feel the firmness of his bare chest pressing against her breasts.

He squirmed against her, holding her tight, leaving no room for her to doubt how glad he was that she was there. “Whether you mean it to be romantic or not, you still feel nice. What I mean is I think you’d feel nice, if my skin wasn’t numb,” Stephen said.

She swatted his butt and giggled.

“Hey! I felt
that
.”

Audrey reluctantly let him go. Her chest tightened as she stepped away, and the urge to rush right back into his arms nearly overcame her. She glanced down in time to see the result of her hug before he closed the blanket around himself.
Oh, God, what am I doing?
She poked her fingers against the corners of his mouth and pushed it into a smile. “Okay, how about I give you a consolation prize, since you’re so bummed out about losing our little card game.”

His face suddenly lit up. “You’ll do a strip tease for me?”

I’m not much to look at, Stephen.
“No, but I’ll fix lunch for you. What do you have to eat?”

***

Stephen slowly got dressed while racking his brain for another way to get Audrey naked. She stood gazing at him as if waiting for an answer. The ring on her finger caught his eye, making him question his morality. She was bound to another man, and he had no right to pursue her, but fate had dropped her on his doorstep. That had to mean something. Every detail about her fit the description of his dream girl, from her looks to her personality, with one glaring exception: that damn ring.

She glanced toward the kitchen, then back at Stephen. “Well, should I make lunch for us or not?”

He plopped onto the sofa and pulled on his socks. “I’m sort of hungry, but I was really hoping for some nudity.”

She sat beside him and patted his thigh. “There’s more to life than naked women, Stephen.”

“Yeah, that’s true. There’s more to a meal than food, but without it what’s the point?”

She huffed loudly, flopped against the backrest, and sat staring upward. “Why do guys always believe that if they’re alone with a woman, she should have sex with them?”

He followed her gaze to the exposed beams crossing the high ceiling and leaned back beside her. “I don’t know anyone who believes that. A guy may hope, but...” Stephen gave her a hopeful glance, but she wasn’t looking his way.

“Fair enough. Let me spell it out, so there is no misunderstanding.” She held up her left hand and conspicuously thumbed her ring. “I can’t have sex with you, Stephen.”

“Yes, of course. I know you can’t. I’m acting like a total ass. I’m usually not this big of a jerk, I swear. It’s just, for a moment I thought...”
Don’t tell her she reminds you of someone you dreamed, idiot. She’ll think you’re a psycho.

“You thought what?” She rolled her head toward him, and he turned to face her for an instant.

Stephen sat up, raked his fingers through his hair, and took a deep breath. He extended his hand for her to shake. “Hi, I’m Stephen. It’s really nice to have you here keeping me company during the bad weather.”

She huffed, rolling her head around as if completely annoyed with him. “We don’t have to start over. I’m not pissed at you. I gave you the wrong impression when I made the dumb joke about playing with me.”

“Yeah, and when you made that crack about warming you up. And the way you asked me what I wanted, all pouty and sexy. And what about that hug? You can say that it wasn’t romantic, but the way certain body parts got pushed together, what guy wouldn’t get the wrong idea?”

Audrey pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes for a moment. “Okay, I admit I’ve been a little flirty, and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry. I suppose I should have shown you my ring right away. When you opened the door, if I had held out my left hand and said, ‘Hi, I’m Audrey. I can’t have sex with you. May I come in?’ would you have slammed the door in my face?”

Stephen put his elbows on his knees and head into his hands. “Of course not. Sex is not a requirement for me to let someone in so they won’t freeze to death.”

She sat up beside him and rubbed his back. “So, if it had been warm out, would you have sent me packing?”

He groaned loudly and glared at her.

Audrey chuckled and gave him a little hug. “Sorry, I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Now that we’re clear, do you have a problem with me staying here?”

He stood and turned to face her, more to get her arm off him than anything else. He tried to tell himself that she wasn’t sending mixed signals, he was misinterpreting her actions, but that didn’t keep her touch from making him want to devour her. “Not at all. I’m
truly
happy to have the company. I would be much happier if you ripped off my clothes and jumped me, but I’m glad you’re here just the same. I can’t promise that I’ll stop saying stupid stuff like that. Apparently, my mouth has a mind of its own.”

Her gaze slid down to his crotch for a moment. She sighed, grasped his zipper, and pulled it up, holding on to his pants just a little too long. “Well, I’ll do my best to ignore your mouth.”

Audrey stood and strutted into the kitchen, swaying her hips as if she were intentionally trying to torture him. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her supple curves, even though staring at her unattainable body left him barely able to breath. At the moment she stepped into the cabin, his world came alive with hope, but now all hope was dead.

She opened the cupboard and stood shaking her head. Dead hope didn’t equate to dead desire. His groin tingled as he watched her bounce up and down on her tiptoes, shuffling the foodstuffs around, apparently trying to find something appetizing. The sensation of her body pressed tightly against him came rushing back. Had she really gotten so close only to help him get warm? He doubted it, but he didn’t get the impression that she was anything less than genuine. Maybe she had come to him simply to feel the touch of a strange man for comparison or reassurance to stave off a case of cold feet. Regardless of her reason, he wanted more, and the prospect of getting more was grim.