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His face twisted. “A-are you washing your hands?”

I nodded, chuckling at his expression. It wasn’t
that
strange.

“Can’t clean your body with dirty tools. Kind of defeats the purpose.”

After rinsing the soap off, I used my freshly cleaned hands to wash my body. When I glanced up at Derek, he had a small smile on his face as he lathered away.

“How are you feeling?” he asked once we were out.

I shrugged, brushing my hair back with my fingers. “Not bad, not good.”

“Well, at least one part of you feels good about all of this, right?”

My pulse throbbed between my legs and I smiled. “One part feels great.”

He smiled wide, making my heart flutter. “Well, that’s a good start.”

I went back to fixing my hair. Was it a good start? Or was it the beginning of more darkness that I didn’t need in my life?

8

After changing into a fresh scoop neck sweater, I picked up my destroyed cardigan. The buttons were scattered across the floor, and the holes were ripped to shreds.

“Sorry about your shirt.”

My eyes darted to his, a scowl on my lips. “No, you’re not.”

He laughed. “No, not at all. One less sweater I have to see you in.”

Covering my new and old hickeys with a striped infinity scarf, I shook my head. “There’s nothing wrong with sweaters.”

“There is if you wear them to hide. Hungry?”

I sighed, nodding as I balled up the sweater and trashed it. He prepared sandwiches, leaning against the counter as he took his first bite.

I rolled my eyes. “I hate when you stand up and eat.”

He shrugged, his slacks hanging dangerously low off his hips, chest bare. “I know it drives you crazy, so I do it to get some emotion out of you.”

My eyes narrowed as I put my sandwich on a plate and went to sit at the breakfast bar.

“So, you going to sleep with me tonight?”

“The guest room is just fine.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

I ignored the large crumb that fell to the floor as he took a bite. “Why do you want to?”

“Nothing better than curling up with a warm body at night, especially after a great day like this.”

My brows shot up. “Aw, you’re a snuggler. I knew you had a soft side. Tell me, are you big spoon, or little spoon?”

He leaned towards me. “I told you, I’m whatever you need me to be,” he said with a wink. I ignored the chill that ran through me at the sound of his purring voice.

“That sounds terribly uncomfortable.”

He dropped his sandwich on his plate, eyeing me with suspicion. “Have you never spooned?”

I shook my head. “Who wants their space invaded while trying to sleep? A hot, sweaty body on you while you’re trying to relax.” I shook my head. “Uh-uh.”

He dusted the crumbs off his hands. “You’re a real… weirdo.”

My brows shot up and I laughed, tossing my head back in a fit of giggles. “So we’re adding ‘weirdo’ to the Shae thesaurus? I’m a stubborn, uptight, weirdo? Is that the best insult you could come up with? You’re losing your touch, Mr. Anderson.”

He approached with a smile. I locked my eyes on his with a raised brow as he cupped my face.

“What?” I took another bite just to drop my gaze from his intense stare.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh,” he said in a small voice.

I scoffed. “I laugh all the time.”

“No, you don’t. You chuckle, snicker, and paste on fake smiles- but you never laugh. The real you is starting to shine through. And she's beautiful.”

My cheeks heated, and I stared at my sandwich. “Oh, stop it. You’re so dramatic.”

“It’s true,” he said before going back to his sandwich on the counter.

I jerked awake when I rolled over in bed and felt another body next to me. The sun was just beginning to shine through the curtains, bright enough for me to see Derek’s sleeping form next to me.

I’d just woken, and I’d already wanted to smack him. But it was no one’s fault but my own that we’d ended up in bed together.

I lifted the covers, inspecting my naked body. My skin felt gross from a dried layer of sweat. My hair was matted on top of my head, and my face was sticky from the previous day’s makeup. I never went to bed like this.

But he’d offered me his body once more, and my current skill level didn’t allow me to say no to him. We must’ve fallen asleep right after.

I didn’t even remember falling asleep. After the crazy day I had, I must’ve just collapsed from mental and physical exertion.

I jumped out of the bed and into the shower; I wouldn’t have been able to focus on anything until I cleaned myself up. I rummaged through my suitcase, picked out a clean outfit, and grabbed my makeup bag.

Spotless and refreshed, my thoughts slowly organized in my head. I searched online for the next available flight out, cringing when I saw the delay notice from Telluride Regional Airport. I stuck my head out the curtains, scowling at the new snowstorm outside. I was trapped in the cabin with Derek… again. Only this time around, it didn’t bother me as much.

Despite my situation, I found myself to be in a rather good mood. As I applied a light layer of makeup, I looked at my reflection in the mirror only to notice a small smile on my face. I woke up on the right side of the bed, although the bed wasn’t one I expected.

I brushed off my slight irritation; it had been so long since I’d genuinely smiled, I’d almost forgotten what I looked like with one. Derek was right- the day before was my first time really laughing in a long while.

I put my makeup back in my suitcase and cleaned up the mess I’d made in the bathroom until it was even cleaner than before.

He was still asleep, and I was stuck in his house without his Wi-Fi password. With nothing on TV and nothing to do, I decided to cook a little breakfast.

“Whoa, what’s going on here?” he said as he came downstairs about a half hour later.

I shrugged, hiding my smile as I kept my back to him to finish cooking the eggs.

“Just thought I’d be nice. And to show my appreciation for your hospitality.”

He walked to the coffee maker with two mugs. He sat them down and turned to me. I glanced up at him, my eyes wide as I noticed he was still in the nude.

“What are you doing? Put some clothes on!”

He shrugged, eyeing me quizzically. “Um, why?”

I turned off the stove. “Because that’s what civilized people do during daylight hours.”

He threw his hands in the air. “There’s no one here but us, and I have nowhere to go. I like to be comfortable when I’m home, and you’re walking around as stiff as ever,” he said, yanking the colorful accent scarf I wore tightly around my neck.

I swore I felt his manhood tap against my leg as he walked up to me, but I wasn’t sure. And I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to start thinking about his manhood again.

I snatched the scarf and re-wrapped it around my neck. “Well, now I
have
to wear this scarf after what you did to my neck.”

He leaned over and nipped at my throat. “You liked it.”

He reached around me to grab a piece of bacon, and blood rushed to my face. I could still smell sex on his body, and the scent brought back memories of the evening before.

It was no longer a one-time event. It wasn’t a goof; I was really starting to like having sex with him. What did that say about me? I wasn’t raised like that. I believed in decorum, in the streets
and
in the bedroom.

It didn’t matter- as soon as the newest storm cleared, it was back to my original plan. I’d be on the next available flight out.

He took a bite of bacon, not batting an eye as a large crumb dropped to the floor. I wanted to bend down to pick it up, but I knew I’d hear his mouth. Plus, that would’ve put my face a little too close to his exposed crotch.

As I prepared breakfast, I was looking forward to a few bites of bacon, but now all I could think about was what Derek would taste like in my mouth. I’d never had those types of urges. They startled me, but above all else intrigued me. And then came the panic.

My eyes drifted to his magnificence, which looked like it was only a kiss away from a full-staff. My goodness, the thing was always ready, always lusting after me. It was unbelievable.

Well, not really unbelievable, because my body responded the same way to him. And while his attraction to me was a little less clear-cut, it didn’t concern me much.

Lust, desire, and urgency were things I never associated with sex. But with Derek, I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

I wanted more. I wanted it harder. And I wanted it now.

I gasped loudly as I shot my eyes back up to his.

“What?” he asked with a raised brow after hearing my quick intake of air.

I shook my head, ignoring the blaze in me that refused to go away. “Nothing.”

I pulled out two plates after wiping my damp palms on my pants. I’d have to wash them again if I kept sweating so much.

“Excuse me,” I said, attempting to get in the utensil drawer behind him. He didn’t move, continuing to block me until I looked up at him again.

“Shae?”

“Yes?”

He placed the uneaten half of his bacon strip on the counter. I avoided looking at his mouth as he sucked the grease off his fingertips.

“You were staring at my dick.”

I chuckled, and it sounded as fake as Reggie’s love for me. Taking a step back, I folded my arms in front of my chest to add some distance between us.

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Now, now, I thought you told me you’re not a liar.”

I’m not a lot of things when I’m away from you.

Without looking at it, I could see it growing in my peripheral vision. His eyes glazed with a darkness that would consume me if I stared too long. He was ready to play.

My heart skipped a beat as I felt him weakening my resolve for the umpteenth time. This man was going to be the end of me.

Refusing to cave to his baiting, I spun around and grabbed the plates, scooping us each a healthy serving of eggs.

“If you want it, all you have to do is ask.”

“I… what… it’s-” I scoffed, shaking my head profusely. Why couldn’t I form words? “
Breakfast
!”

I felt his erection poking me from behind followed by his breath on my neck. I jumped, the spoon slipping out of my hands and clattering on the floor. Eggs flew in the air, some landing on my chest and others on the floor near the dropped spoon.

He grabbed my waist and hoisted me up onto the kitchen counter in a split second.

“I need to get the spoon off the floor. Th-there’s egg splatter and bacon crumbs all over.”

“You
need
to tell me what it is you really want. And don’t lie to me, because I know it ain’t breakfast.”

He slipped the scarf back off my neck, and I pushed him away. “It isn’t the time for this. It’s not even nine in the morning!”

“That’s where you’re wrong; it’s always the time for this.”

I moaned as he buried his face in my neck, kissing me softly. “But we’re right next to the food. And-”

He licked up the egg that had fallen on my chest. “And I’m about to fuck you right next to the food. And you want it. So say it.”

When his fingers reached for my pants, I feared I was approaching the point of no return.

He effortlessly lifted me with one hand and used the other to slide my pants under my butt.

“Am I too heavy?” I said, trying to relieve his arm that held me.

He rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

9

“I can’t believe Reggie and Danni are my next door neighbors right now,” I said, taking a bite of the eggs from the pan on the stove as I stared off into the distance, my mind not fully functioning after being taken in the kitchen.

Derek put a piece of bacon to my mouth, and I opened to take a bite.

“Forget them.”

“I hope they’re miserable,” I said once I finished chewing.

“I hate to burst your bubble, but they seemed pretty happy. One of my managers pointed them out to me while we were having lunch yesterday afternoon. So forget about him.”

I sneered in his direction. “That’s not what I wanted to hear.”

He shrugged. “Well, if it makes you feel better, his girlfriend didn’t look like she was in too good of a shape. They probably won’t get to do much until she feels better.”

“I hope she has internal bleeding.”

“What?”

I jumped at my response. My brain was still scattered, I didn’t mean to say it aloud. I put my fork down, sighing.

“When they barged in the house, I hit her a couple of times with your ski pole.”

Derek’s laugh boomed throughout the room, causing me to smile. He handed me my cup of coffee. “There’s hope for you yet.”

“It’s not funny. And you shouldn’t laugh at my violent outburst. I’m not like that. Ever. I feel like I’m unraveling.”

“Oh, come on. You can’t tell me she didn’t deserve it.”

I shrugged, glaring at the thin white swirls in my coffee with narrow eyes. “She deserved more than that.”

“Atta girl.”

I was embarrassed at my actions, but I wasn't ashamed that Derek knew about them. If anything, talking to him was almost reassuring.

I glanced up at him. “You know, I still don’t know anything about you, and you’re learning more and more about me. Tell me something.”

He took a big bite of toast and shrugged. “Like what?”

I stared back down at my coffee. “Are you single?”

It was probably the worst question to ask. Snowed in at a cabin far away from our homes, we were in a fantasy land. There was enough distance from home to ease some of the guilt at the thought that he had a lady waiting for him.

“Always.”

I couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

“Have you ever big in a serious relationship?”

“Once.”

He took another bite of food. He’d told me he’d had his heart broken once. I didn’t blame him for not wanting to get into another relationship after that.

“Is this all you do for a living? Rent out properties?”

“I do a little bit of everything.”

“Okay…” I took a sip of coffee, noticing his shoulders tighten more with each question I asked. He couldn’t say it was too personal, not when he knew so much about me.