Lost & Found (Possessed 3)

Nick took them from her before she got to place them on the counter.

“Howdy, miss. Find everything?” the owner asked her.

“I did, thank you.” She smiled when Ace wrapped an arm around her waist. Studying his profile, she saw a sexy as sin scowl on his face, practically stamping his ownership all over her while Nick paid for her items.

Not much else was said after that since they rushed her from the store into the SUV before she could be introduced.

She probably shouldn’t tell either of them that she loved their claim on her.

Chapter Seven

The whole relaxing and not forcing her memories thing was wearing thin on Pepper. It was hard not to think about. To just try and let go of everything and enjoy shopping with the guys. They’d taken her to a couple quaint, little shops to get her new clothes and winter gear as well as grocery shopping since it was starting to flurry.

She loved seeing the trees covered in snow as they drove along the highway back to Nick’s cabin. It was so majestic. Reminding her of every Christmas movie in history. The snow glittered off the icicles as it landed, creating a medley of small rainbows as it melted from the sun straining to shine through the stormy clouds.

“Are we supposed to get much accumulation?” she asked the quiet men up front.

“Close to another foot or so,” Ace answered. “The temperature is supposed to drop to record lows because of the wind chill, so we might have to shut up the rooms and bunk in the living room to conserve heat.”

Tilting her head, she smiled slyly. “Like a slumber party?” She was only half kidding. When a heated look entered his eyes, she was forced to look away. Not because she didn’t want Ace, or Nick for that matter, but because she wanted them both fiercely.

Achieving the intimacy they would expect terrified her. With two of them and only one of her, the imagination went wild with all the possible positions they’d demand of her. Having no idea what he

r sexual experience was, the thought was intimidating.

Shaking herself from her own morbid yet titillating visions, she decided to play with them a bit. “So, this slumber party…” They gave her funny looks. “Will it involve pillow fights? Truth or dare? Maybe eating raw cookie dough?” Both men looked incredibly perplexed by her questions. Pepper got a sick sense of satisfaction from it.

“What are you talking about?” Nick finally asked, his voice filled with amusement.

“Don’t those things normally happen at a slumber party? I wouldn’t want you guys to miss out or anything.” It was hard keeping a straight face.

“Oh, we won’t be missing out.” Ace winked at her “We’ll have the best entertainment in the province.” He paused for effect. “Nick is chopping wood.”

“I don’t get it,” she said as his cousin punched his arm, telling him, “Shut the hell up.”

“What’s that mean? Can you not chop wood? Is it that hard? You did it fine the other day. I mean, I’d likely chop a limb off or something.” She was genuinely confused, while they were both up there laughing like loons. Sitting back, she decided it must be an inside joke or something. Didn’t mean it wouldn’t drive her insane until she found out.

If only she could see the wood Nick was sporting while Ace made his stupid joke. It wasn’t even funny. He was laughing more out of embarrassment than anything else. Nevertheless, he wasn’t about to confess to her that just the thought of sleeping in the same room as her had him hard as a rock.

They weren’t lying when they’d explained just how cold it was supposed to get overnight. There were two backup generators to help circulate heat, but he knew they would have to use them sparingly over the next few days.

Arriving back at the cabin, they quickly unloaded all their bags just as the heavier snow began to fall.

“What can I do?” Pepper asked after removing her coat and boots.

“Grab all the pillows and blankets you can from the rooms and bring them out here. Ace and I will grab wood and see if we can’t find those air mattresses,” Nick explained.

“Aren’t they in the shed?” Ace asked him.

“I think so.”

“Won’t they be half frozen? There’s no way they’ll hold air without popping.”

“Shit, you’re probably right,” Nick agreed as Pepper went in search of the bedding.

His mind was running in a thousand different directions, the majority of which was centered around Pepper and her reaction to when Christmas was. Before they lost power, which was going to be inevitable with the storm coming their way, he knew he was going to have to look a little harder into the information she’d already remembered.

There had to be something. He might be a small-town sheriff, but even he knew people didn’t just go missing without a trace.