Page 3 of Snowed In With You

She slid into the seat next to mine, her strawberry and mango scent flooding the air and making my mouth water, but I ignored her in favour of reaching for the radio and hitting shuffle on my aux.Adelecame spilling out of the speakers and I saw her mouth twitch at my taste in music as she pulled on her belt. Even the small hint at a smile on those lips had my heart thumping hard in my chest as I pulled out of her drive. Maybe there was a chance my bed wouldn’t have to be so lonely.

‘Listen, about Rob’s wedding–’

Sara shook her head, raising a hand and waving me off flippantly before directing her gaze out of the window. ‘No, no, don’t worry. It’s been forgotten about. We can still enjoy the time away without any… complications.’

Oh.

‘Right, yeah, of course,’ was all I could think to say, disappointment a tangible taste on my tongue.

We turned out onto Ninth Avenue and began the long journey south, why had Rob and Tanya picked this place anyway? I was sure there had to be dozens of picturesque fancy lodges that weren’t out beyond civilization. My best friend and his new wife were flying into Anchorage and then getting a coach out to the bay, I looked up at the rapidly greying sky and worry churned inside me. I hoped their flight would be taking off soon, before the snow had a chance to truly kick-off. Driving through the thick Alaskan flurries was not a fate I’d wish on anybody unfamiliar with them, or the roads. I’d lived here almost three years now and hadn’t looked back to my life in New York. There was enough bustle in Anchorage that I didn’t feel on edge but it was also a peaceful life, one I needed to combat the stress of being a relatively big-name lawyer.

I slowly began to relax as the smell of the leather seats sank into me, we’d left early to avoid traffic and the roads were relatively clear. Sara fidgeted in the seat next to me and I raised aneyebrow in her direction, spotting the goosebumps on her arms immediately and reaching for the heat.

‘Thank you,’ she murmured and my dick gave a happy little jump inside my pants at the sound of her voice. I needed to get my shit together.

‘Anytime,’ I said. God, what was with my responses today? Normally, I had no trouble with women. At the wedding, we’d got on like a house on fire – our chemistry had been off the charts and she’d made me laugh more than I could ever remember a woman doing. Yet, now it was like all the charm and charisma had dried up, alongside my balls, this past long month.

Sara flicked through a page of her e-reader without another word and I sighed quietly. I’d brought this on myself, I knew that, but being so close to something you knew you couldn’t have was a form of torture I’d never experienced before.

Sara Bridges didn’t want me and I wasn’t sure I’d ever be good enough for her even if she did.

Chapter Three

Sara

The words on the page before me were blurring and I was certain I’d missed a big plot point three chapters back. It was hard to focus with the object of several fantasies I’d recently had sitting right beside me, the warmth of his skin ghosting over me and even the scowl on his face turning me on.

It was more than ridiculous, it was shameful. This man would not be getting back into my pants ever again. He was an asshole.An asshole who listens to Adele?

Okay, well, assholes could still have good taste in music. It proved nothing and who knew, maybe it was a ploy to make me think he was a nice guy rather than the spawn of Satan.

There were faint dark shadows beneath his sea-blue eyes that made me wonder if he’d been having trouble sleeping.Maybe he’s been busy screwing more hapless women,I thought snidely and then sighed. The truth was, I didn’t think Fletcher was like that, he’d made me feel so comfortable I hadn’t even questioned falling into bed with him straight away –it had felt utterly natural. Then to have that easy confidence ripped away had been… more than hurtful.

So why was I still staring at the cupid bow of his lips and remembering how it had felt to devour and be devoured by them?

My eyes drifted away from my page yet again and I checked the time on my phone absently. I stifled a groan, how were we onlyjust over an hour into this car ride? It felt like I’d been trapped in here with those big blue eyes and silky, dark cologne for a million years!

The truth was, being around Fletcher was comfortable. He had a nice smile and his deep voice was charming, relaxing me even when I didn’t know I was tense. But being in this car felt so far from all of those things, there was nothing between us except heat and regret. A terrible combination.

I shifted uneasily on the leather seat and continued to ignore the looks he sent me when he thought I wasn’t watching. I glanced up at the wrong moment and our eyes caught, heat travelled along my neck and up into my cheeks and I cleared my throat noisily as Adele wailed about taking it easy on her.

Fletcher’s eyes were intensely focused on mine and I half-worried about the road as our stare carried on and on. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it any more, he looked away and confusion rippled through me as my eyes settled on the perfectly straight line of his nose and curl of his lashes.

A sign for a gas station caught my eye through the whiteness of the small snow flurries that had started to gather speed. Fletcher opened his mouth and Iknewthat whatever came out was going to wreck me – for better or worse, I wasn’t sure. So I quickly cut him off, blurting, ‘Can we pull over? I need–I need to get out.’

Fletcher made the indication without a word, but a muscle in his jaw ticked and his grip on the steering wheel seemed a little tight.

I all but flew out of the car as it mostly came to a stop, rushing to the restroom even though I’d rather have died than gone inside. This one at least had a semi-dry red tiled floor and at least one cubicle had a working lock – small miracles. I stared myself down in the only non-cracked mirror stuck to the wall, this had to stop. The sex, the flirting,it had never happened. That’s what he wanted and it was what I should have wanted too– so why did something inside me want to curl closer instead of running away?

I couldn’t help thinking about the way he’d looked when we’d first met. I’d been sitting at Rob’s kitchen table, looking through different nail polish colours with Tanya, when my brother had led him in and Fletcher’s wide smile had snared me. I’d only met a handful of Rob’s friends over the years but none of them had looked like that – not even just Fletcher’s attractiveness, but the open and warm sincerity in every line of his face had taken me aback. He’d shaken my hand and then laughed bashfully at my surprise, explaining it was a lawyer-habit, and instead brought it to his lips and brushed a soft kiss along my knuckles.

You are not ruled by your emotions. Or hormones. Or whatever.I pushed the memory away and gave myself a stern nod in the mirror before exiting through the heavy door with an elbow to the handle. I debated running into the small store to grab some milk duds or something but one look at the icy set of Fletcher’s face had me slowly moving back towards the car. At least I knew I wasn’t the only one upset by the circumstances.

He climbed in and silently put it in reverse, manoeuvring us back out and onto the Alaskan Highway.

‘Thanks,’ I offered, figuring I should at least be amicable. Amicable was good. ‘For stopping I mean, I–’

‘I needed to get gas anyway. It’s fine.’

---