Page 39 of Until You Found Me

“Nah.”

“So you’re a stick in the mud, is what you’re saying?”

He opens his mouth to reply with some smart-ass comment, but the second ball explodes against his chest and he growls instead. “Okay, that’s it, you asked for it.”

She shrieks when he lobs snow in her direction and then he’s in the middle of a ridiculous snowball fight, getting gobs of it in his mouth, his ears, down the back of his coat. He’s never smiled harder or felt better than he does right now, chasing her around the trailer while she races away, a laugh on her lips and gleam in her eyes, the dog barking at their heels.

He grabs her around the waist when he catches her, nothing but victory on his mind, knowing she’s padded enough that he couldn’t hurt her unless he tried. She lets out a high-pitched squeak as he pulls her down into the snow, pinning her on her back with a satisfied grin.

“Gotcha,” he says triumphantly.

Her teeth snag on her lower lip, her words delicate and inviting all at the same time. “I guess you win.”

He should get off her but he’s frozen, having only just noticed the way they fell, with his hips nestled between her thighs that seem to have parted for him on instinct alone. The light-hearted, childish nature of their game crackles and breaks into something that sizzles like fire in his blood.

She hasn’t pushed him away or rejected him, just like she didn’t that night on the boat when his only thought was kissing her, knowing he shouldn’t. It felt close then, only a hair’s breadth away before the dog startled them.

That dusting of freckles across her chest that he wants to lick with the tip of his tongue gleam in early winter sunlight, beckoning him forward, while excitement laced with a healthy amount of fear rolls in his gut.

A shiver runs through her hard enough that he can feel it through their layers and he uses it as a delay tactic. “Cold? Lemme help you up.”

Reluctantly, he leaves the safety of her body for the harsh weather surrounding them and offers his hand to pull her to her feet. Her obvious confusion fuels his regret for not taking a risk. He failed a second time and isn’t sure how many chances he has left.

“I should go back to the dome,” she says softly. “It’s been a long day. You’re probably tired.”

“Not tired. Don’t go yet?”

“Logan…”

“I got Swiss Miss in the cabinet and movies on the laptop.” He’s not sure what he’ll do with more time if she grants it to him, but he’s ready to beg for it.

She raises a brow. “Will you let me pick a cheesy rom-com?”

“The cheesiest one ever made.”

“Sold.” She smiles, gifting him with mercy after his fumble.

All he has to do now is not fuck up again.

* * *

He let her pick the movie and to his surprise, she went for some sci-fi thing washed in bright colors and filled with aliens. Somehow, and he isn’t exactly sure how, she ended up in bed with him.

Every jump scare has her inching closer until their shoulders brush and he’s starting to think she picked this movie for that exact reason. Hopes she did, at least. When the music crests and the character on screen is attacked by a flying monster, she presses her cheek to his arm, curling toward him as if it might burst through and grab her.

“You wanna switch to that cheesy romance yet?” he says, speaking into the crown of her head.

“Nope. I’m invested now. I have to see if they survive.”

“The main guy, the angry one, he’ll live. The others, it’s not looking so good for them.”

“You’ve seen this before?”

“No, only guessing.” Logan shrugs. “He’s got some sorta redemption arc going on. Can’t kill him if he’s supposed tobe the hero.”

“Fair point. The cop is definitely a goner. Maybe the woman too, but the kid might live. I hope she does.”

Her voice fades at the end and he knows she’s thinking about the daughter she can’t fully remember. He lifts his arm to wrap around her shoulders, relieved when she lets out the softest sigh and melts into the curve of his embrace. He doesn’t make a habit of holding anyone like this. There’s an innate desire to fight anything that leaves him open and vulnerable, to pull away and shore up the wall he’s spent so long building but every time she pushes past his defenses he’s only left better for it.

---