Page 9 of Snowed in with the Bear Shifter
She shifted, her core grinding against his cock. “Liar,” she said, her tongue tracing the seam of his lips.
With a groan, he grabbed her by the nape and kissed her like he was starving and she was the feast he’d been missing all his life. His tongue twirled around hers, their breath co-mingling. They made out like they were teenagers, their hands gliding over clothes as they ground against each other. His entire body felt as if it might explode if he didn’t get more of her. He’d never tasted anything as sweet as her, and he wanted to go on kissing her forever. For the rest of his life.
But the reasons for not agreeing to her adult card game earlier still held. As much as he wanted to keep kissing her, to touch her, to bury himself in her heat, he wouldn’t. Not tonight.
With great reluctance, he pulled back.
She raised an eyebrow. “Am I too much for you, mountain man?”
“Oh, absolutely,” he said, his fingers tangling in her dark honey locks. “You’ve always been too much for me.”
Her thighs tightened against his legs. “You’re a big guy. I’m pretty sure you can handle me.”
“Is that what you want? To be handled?”
The corner of her mouth quirked up, and she squirmed on his lap. “Maybe?” She traced the swell of his biceps and gavethem a squeeze. “I mean, you’ve certainly got the, uh, fortitude for it.”
A flush of heat raced through his body.Dammit. Can I get through one conversation with her without blushing like a shy teenager with his first girlfriend?
But his propensity for blushing didn’t seem to be off-putting to her. She planted a last kiss on his lips before sliding off his lap with a jaw-cracking yawn. “Look at that. One session of heavy petting, and you’ve worn me out. Can’t wait to see what happens when we make it all the way to third base,” she said, giving him a wink and snuggling up against him.
He couldn’t help the wide smile that blossomed on his face. Even though he stopped their make-out session, she still wanted more of him. It hadn’t turned her off or made her think less of him. Not that he’d ever thought she’d be that shallow. She was the kind of person who respected the boundaries he set, no matter why he’d set them.
As the movie finished and the bad guys met their satisfyingly violent ends, he realized she was sound asleep. A rumble rolled through his chest as a feeling of peace and contentment washed over him. His mate was safe, and she was here, in his house, beside him on his couch.
Careful not to wake her, he gathered up her warm body, allowing himself just a moment to hold her. Honestly, he could stay right here all night, Eloise cradled in his arms.
She mumbled something and rubbed her cheek against his pectoral, her hand kneading his chest.
Sliding to the edge of the couch, he stood up and made his way to the guest room where he settled her in the bed. For a moment, he debated whether he should change her into something more comfortable and pajama-like. Ultimately, he decided not to, though he left a clean t-shirt behind, just in case.
With one last look of longing, he closed the door and made his way upstairs to his own cold bed.
8
ELOISE
Rinsing the fancy conditioner she’d found in the jack-and-jill bathroom connecting the two downstairs guest rooms, Eloise wondered what the hell she was going to do about Roarke Hargrove. Yesterday’s vision of them together and happy had her spinning. In truth, she’d never seen herself as settling down with anyone. Never saw herself married and certainly not with kids. She liked being single and completely in control of her own life and choices.
But that vision told a different story.
Of course, she didn’t have to pay attention to it if she didn’t want to. It was just one possible future, not a must-do from the universe. She could stay here in this cozy cabin, snowed in until the roads cleared, and then just leave. No muss, no fuss, and no looking back. That was an option.
Another was to fully enjoy her time trapped with the hot shifter, maybe even go on an actual date or two later, and fool around some more until it eventually fizzled out for one reason or another. But she’d done that often enough to rule it out immediately. No way did she want to play with him or his heart.It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair. Roarke was an all-or-nothing kind of guy.
Then there was the last option. To truly open herself up to the possibilities presented in her vision. She knew Roarke was interested. It was hard to ignore the heated looks he kept sneaking her way or his low rumble of contentment when she snuggled up against him during their movie night.
And she was more that a little intrigued with the bear himself. On the surface, he seemed like a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of guy: mountain man, shifter, carpenter. But there was a lot more depth to him, and she wanted the chance to plumb those depths to see what she’d find.
Wrapping her hair up in a towel, she surveyed her clothing options, deciding between the comfort of the silk leggings she’d worn under her jeans on yesterday’s cold hike and the jeans themselves. Hard pants were not in the cards today, especially since a quick check out the window told her she was stuck here for another day at least. Plenty of time to do some reconnaissance and pick a direction for how she wanted to proceed with Roarke.
She eyed the black cotton bra and panties still drying on the towel rack. If she hadn’t crashed so hard last night, she might have clean undies today. But she didn’t. So she was going without. It felt deliciously naughty, wearing nothing under her clothes with Roarke around.
Slipping into the oversized t-shirt she’d found on the corner of her bed, she giggled to herself, wondering if — when? — he’d notice. After all, he had checked out her ass more than once last night.
She left her room in search of fresh socks and one of Roarke’s flannels, though it would swamp her the same way his t-shirt did. At least she’d be warm. And surrounded by his scent. The idea made her stomach all wibbly.
Making her way up the stairs to the as-yet unexplored second floor, the one he’d helped his grandfather build, she pulled the collar up to her nose and breathed in his pine-and-musk scent.Nice.
