At this point, Asher is the only Thompson I haven’t met. Out of his brothers and sister, I’m closest to Abby. Gideon is a giant flirt and his older brother Eli is a bit cold but Noah said they had a sibling rivalry thing happening and not to take it personally.

From what he’s told me about Asher, we have a lot in common. I’m less of a recluse but I can be a homebody and we both work from home. Sure I’m a remote customer service rep for an insurance company and he’s a crazy talented woodworker… it’s close enough.

I pull on my robe and then tug my overnight bag down from the top shelf. “I can be all packed in thirty.”

Noah comes up behind me, his hand sliding around my waist as he helps lower my bag to the ground. The body heat from his bare chest warms my back through the material of the robe.

It’s insane how much I crave him physically. Two weeks ago we made love for the first time. We haven’t been able to keep our hands off of each other since. After we found out Allen left New Hampshire, we started sleeping at my house. Staying at his house delayed the work we were doing on the third floor.

Now that we’re back here it makes sense for Noah to sleep over, not that it’s work on the house that’s been keeping us up late. Last night we got sidetracked when an innocent kiss turned into hours of sex and I already crave him again.

Turning in his arms, I jump and he catches me. My robe is off and lying on the floor by the time we make it to the bed.

Before he climbs over top of me, I roll over to my stomach and rise up onto my hands and knees. “Like this,” I plead. “I want you like this.”

He presses his hand to my back. “Ask and you shall receive.”

I give him a sultry look over my shoulder, catching the heat in his eyes as he stares down at me.

His hand continues to move down my back and over the swell of my ass. He kneads my flesh, the rough feel of his fingers only turning me on more.

I grab a condom from my bedside table and pass it to him. He makes quick work of putting it on before driving into me. My head rears back as I fight the impulse for my arms to buckle.

“Fuck,” he groans.

I feel that word all over. There is nothing in the world sexier than the power my body seems to have over him. What’s even better, is I feel the same way about his.

We go at each other each morning before work. The hours that we’re apart during the day I crave him. When he comes over after work, I practically jump him at the front door. Most of the time we’ve been able to make it up to my bedroom. The times he laid me out on the dining room table, spread me on the stairs and took me on my kitchen countertop were the only exceptions to that.

His fingers dig into my hips as he pulls me back onto his cock. I fall forward onto the bed and reach my hand between my legs.

“That’s it. Touch yourself baby, come all over my dick,” he orders.

There’s no other sound in the room save the slap of our flesh. He curls his body over mine and turns my face toward him. His lips find mine and he takes my mouth with the same intensity that his body is taking mine.

I cry out my orgasm against his mouth. Not long after, he grunts as he finds his release. When he pulls out he gives my ass a swat. Laughing I wiggle it and both of his hands come down to cup and squeeze my cheeks.

“Face down and ass up, it’s like you’re trying to kill me,” he says, pushing my hip until I topple over to one side.

I watch him as he walks to the bathroom to get rid of the condom. His body was beautiful even before I knew it as well as I do now. Muscular calves that lead to thick thighs and an ass sculpted by a master. His back is nothing to sneeze at either.

If I had to pick a body part I loved the most, other than the one he just pounded me with, it would be his arms. I’ve never felt more secure anywhere than wrapped tightly in them.

“That doesn’t look like packing,” Noah jokes as he walks back into the room.

“I don’t think I can move,” I groan. “You broke me.”

He trails his fingertips across the arches of my feet making me pull away. He chuckles at my reaction. I pout but get ready, mainly because I’m excited about meeting Asher.

It’s early December, the roads are clear but it’s surreal to see snow on either side of the road. Despite my dad’s protests, I have driven in the snow. I haven’t gone far and it’s been the only times Noah has rode shotgun. He didn’t want me to be scared of running to the store or of driving if there was an emergency.

Our drive north is peaceful, a winding two lane highway thick with forests and glimpses of mountain peaks. These are parts of New Hampshire I’ve never seen before and I’m happy to silently drink in the view with Noah’s warm hand resting on my thigh. Two or so hours later, we’re turning onto his property.

“That’s his house,” Noah says pointing out the windshield. “And that’s his workshop.” Then he nods his head in the direction to a path. “And, the cabin we’ll be staying at is down that path.”

It’s like a Thomas Kinkaid picture come to life. Asher’s house is the biggest of the three, an oversized cottage in a snowy fairyland. The workshop is smaller; it’s simple architecture blending into instead of distracting from its surroundings. The cabin is the smallest building of the three. That in no way dulls its charm.

“It’s beautiful out here,” I murmur, opening my door.

“Just wait until you see the lake,” Noah replies.

He leaves our bags in his truck and leads me toward the front door.

He knocks on the door but there’s no answer. “He’s probably in his workshop.”

I look over at the direction he’s gesturing. “He knows we’re coming right?”

He nods his head and shrugs. “Knowing Asher, he’s working on something and lost track of time.”

As we get closer to the workshop, we hear the sound of a power saw. Since there’s no way his brother will hear our knock, Noah pushes open the door.

Asher is facing us, his head down as he cuts a piece of wood. After the wood is cut, he lifts his arm, the saw turning off as he looks up. When he sees us, he tilts to the side before he pulls off his safety glasses.

“Hey bro,” he calls.

Asher, who I’ve only seen in pictures, is proof positive that these Thompsons have amazing genes. His brother is taller than Noah by maybe three inches. Where Noah and Gideon share their mother’s coloring, Eli and Asher are dark haired like Mr. Thompson. Noah’s hair can get shaggy between cuts but Asher has that whole mountain man thing going on, with his shoulder length dark brown hair and full beard.

To put it mildly, he’s seriously hot. As in, off the grid if zombies took over the world you’d want him in your bed – er, by your side – kind of hot.

He sets his safety glasses next to the saw and moves around it to come greet us. Noah pulls him into a hug, patting his back a couple times before letting him go.

“This is Finley,” he says, introducing me as I offer Asher my hand.

He takes it, his rough-from-work fingers reminding me of Noah.

“It’s nice to finally meet you.”

He smiles at me and then turns to Noah. “She’s pretty.”

Noah drapes his arm around my shoulders, a hint of possessiveness in his movements causing my heart to flutter. “I noticed.”

My eyes move around the workshop. It’s brilliantly set up. There are large vents above the table saw to pull wood dust from the air, and separate zones for wood carving and staining. There are pieces in various stages of completion around the space. Each one is more stunning than the last.

“You keep working. I’m going to show Finley the cabin.”

“I’ll come down as soon as I’m done in here,” Asher says.

Once we’re back outside Noah says, “Don’t be offended if we don’t see him again until we leave.”

I laugh and take his hand. “I’ve been warned.”

As we make our way to the path Noah pointed out earlier, I get my first glimpse of the lake. It roots me where I stand. Noah, not realizing I had stopped, rocks to a halt when he tries to move forward and I don’t come.

“It’s so beautiful,” I sigh.

He squeezes my hand. “I thought you’d like it. Wait until you see the view from the cabin.”

That gets me moving. The cabin is simple. It’s a log cabin with one main room and a small bathroom. The focal point of it is a large picture window overlooking the lake.

“Wow,” I breathe, crossing the room to stand in front of the window.

The lake is small; some would even call it a pond. Its size does nothing to distract from how beautiful it is. If anything it makes it seem all the more magical with its lush circle of snow dusted pine trees surrounding it.

“Can we walk down there?” I ask, pointing to the water.

He offers me his hand. “Let’s go.”

There are stone steps leading down to the water’s edge. Someone, probably Asher, cleared the snow from them. There’s a wooden dock to the left of the base of the stairs, below Asher’s workshop. There’s another set of stone stairs on the other side of Asher’s workshop, this one leading to a small beach.

“He has a beach!” I point at the beach and jump up and down excitedly.

Noah laughs and tugs me onto the dock. “We can come back next summer.”

“Good. You were right. This place is amazing.”

He smiles at me. “I thought you’d like it here.”

“You thought right,” I reply, and then add, “are you sure we couldn’t ice skate on that lake?”

His head jerks with his laugh. “If it’s cold enough, maybe in January.”

We both sit at the end of the dock and take in the beauty of this place. It’s almost too perfect up here. I’m happy to have Noah to share it with. This place, though peaceful, is lonely in a sad way. My thoughts shift to Asher and my heart hurts that he has no one to keep him company here.

“Do you ever worry about your brother?” I ask, changing the subject.

“All the time. I hate that he isolates himself the way he does and feel guilty I don’t come up here to check on him that much.”

“Does he deliver the pieces he makes?” I ask and Noah shakes his head.

“He does most of his business online and has a delivery service handle the shipping and installation.”

“What about food?”

“There’s a woman who comes out once a week to clean. She also does his grocery shopping. She even stocked the cabin for us this weekend.”

“Does he date?”

He tips his head down to look at me. “Why? Are you interested?”

I elbow him. “I’m curious, not interested. But, I have to say I have about ten friends in Texas that would sleep with him on sight alone.”

Noah blinks. “What?”

I grin up at him. “Your brothers are hot. Don’t worry though, I think you’re the hottest of the bunch.”

He growls and gives me a kiss so hot my toes curl. “Don’t you forget it.”

We sit there for what seems like hours. I pull out my phone to snap pictures for my mom.

It’s not until Noah’s stomach grumbles and we both want to warm up that we head inside. I stay in the cabin and get a fire going in the woodstove while Noah walks back up to his truck to get our bags. He’s faster than I am and starts a late lunch for us after I refuse his help with the fire. I’m a New Englander now; I need to be able to start my own fires.

After I get the fire going and confirm Noah has lunch well under way, I explore the small cabin. “Did your brother make all of this furniture?”

“Not only the furniture, he built his house, the workshop and this cabin.”

My mouth drops open. “He did?”

He grins at me. “He had help, but yeah Asher built these.”

“That’s so cool.”

He carries two plates over and we sit on a wood framed sofa to eat. “It was a big project for him to tackle.”

“What did your parents think about him moving up here?”

From what I’ve seen of his family they are all close and tied to Woodlake.

“The land has been in the family for generations on my mother’s side. My uncle inherited it and since he didn’t have any kids, he offered it to us before he sold it. The money wasn’t important to him but keeping it in the family was.

“He didn’t have any kids and was moving to Belize. My parents didn’t want it but would have bought it if none of us kids wanted it just to keep someone else from buying it. Asher surprised all of us by not only wanting the land but wanting to build on it.

“He was working for my dad before Eli took over the store and hated it. He’s never been comfortable around people and with the way he looks, he got attention he didn’t want living in the city.”

“Was there anything up here or did he have to build from scratch?”

“Our uncle used to fish up here so there was a shack. It was where this cabin sits now. He lived in that shack while he built his house. I’ll never forget the day he finished it. He proved everyone wrong.”

“He sure did.” I look around, even more impressed now. “So, where are we sleeping tonight?”

One thing I noticed about the cabin was its lack of a bed.

Noah stands and walks over to a cabinet built into one of the cabin walls. He grasps a hook I didn’t notice and pulls downward.

“Oh cool,” I say as I stand. “It’s a murphy bed.”

Once Noah has the bed all the way down he lies across it. “Care to join me?”

I cross the room to the door and flip the lock. “Should we close the curtains?”

“And miss out on the view?” Noah counters, tugging off his sweater.

I undress as I close the distance between us. “Will you be looking out the window or at me?”

He pulls me into his arms and kisses me, effectively giving me his answer. For the rest of the weekend we do our best to ignore the view.