Forever Wild (Wild 2.50)

“It’s cold!” I whine, though watching the heat ignite in his stare stirs desire in my lower belly.

“Speaking of cold, do you want to hear about how I froze my balls off, sitting in a ditch for an hour during a blizzard on Christmas Eve because my soon-to-be wife has a lead foot?”

My heart leaps with that title, even as he criticizes my driving. “Fine.” I slip from the comfort of our bed, smoothing my hands over my hips as my bare feet touch the cool wood floor. I let the unbuttoned flannel top slide off my arms and tumble off, earning his curse.

The bed creaks under Jonah’s hefty weight as he settles in, shucking the shirt he just pulled on to reveal that ribbed torso and muscular chest I’ve spent countless hours splayed across.

“Any special requests?”

Linking his fingers together behind his head, he lies back against his pillow and bites his lip in thought. “What’s underneath that?”

“Not much,” I tease, my pulse racing. Even now, I still catch hints of that same nervousness I felt the night we were stranded in the safety cabin and stripping off our rain-soaked clothes in front of each other.

“Turn around.” His voice has taken on that gravelly sound I love.

I oblige, making a slow circle to the sound of Jonah’s sharp inhale.

“Show me.”

My fingertips are grazing the faux fur-trimmed hem when the power cuts, throwing us into pitch-black darkness.

“Are you fucking kidding me!” Jonah’s roar of frustration carries into the night.

Chapter Ten

I wake to Jonah’s soft lips on mine and his beard tickling my skin. “Merry Christmas,” he whispers, his voice husky with sleep.

“Merry Christmas.” I revel in his warmth for a long moment, lingering in that comfortable space where I could close my eyes and drift away. But a murky predawn sky pokes in from the gap in the poorly drawn curtain, suggesting we’ve slept much later than usual. “What time is it?”

“After nine. The power’s still out.”

I groan. I can’t say when we actually fell asleep, but it was late, after what felt like hours of slow, torturous play in the dark, the challenge of keeping silent in the still night while making the other break a game we were both eager to win.

“I need to get moving, but I didn’t want you to wake up without me.”

I smile. “That’s sweet.”

He kisses me again. “Yeah. That’s me. Sweet.”

“Is that what you called what you did to me last night?” I wouldn’t be surprised if I have a map of fingerprint bruises marring my flesh.

His chuckle vibrates deep in my chest as he slips out of the bed, stark naked and unbothered by the chill in the air. He peels back the curtain to peek outside, revealing a thick frame of snow along the sill.

“Is there a lot?” I murmur, distracted by his sculpted muscles and his morning erection as I burrow deeper into the covers.

“I’d say almost two feet fell overnight.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Might be even worse than last year’s storm.” He squints as he peers up at the sky. “At least it’s slowed down a bit. It’ll make plowing the driveway easier.”

“Seriously? On Christmas? You’re a workhorse.” Though sometimes I think that tractor is more a toy to Jonah than anything labor-related.

“Well, yeah. Muriel and them will want to drive up for dinner.”

“Yeah. I guess.” I add, “And Roy.”

He snorts. “Babe, Roy’s not comin’ to Christmas dinner.”