CHAPTER 17
LIAM
By the time the cabin finally came into sight, the sun was setting beneath the trees. It was absolutely freezing out here and I had to stop and take frequent breaks. The cold air pierced my throat and every time I started to breathe hard, my chest would tighten. My arms were going numb from carrying everything and my toes were frozen solid but the smoke wafting from the chimney was a wonderful sight to behold.
I walked up the porch and knocked the snow off my body but, before I could open the door, it whipped open for me. Whitney was standing there in clothes that were way too big for her and it took me a second to register whose clothes she was wearing.
She was wearing mine and I felt the entirety of my body throb at the sight.
“Oh, thank fuck.” She grabbed my coat and tugged me into the house. Prying the bags from my hands, she tossed them onto the floor. Then, she slid my coat from me.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I was mesmerized by the way my flannel shirt draped around her and the way she’d tucked my pajama pants into a pair of socks. Her hair was wild and had a kink to it that I found absolutely breathtaking.
She was a dream, running around in my clothes, and I felt my cock lurch to life as she continued to undress me.
“Come here,” she said.
Taking my hands, she pulled me over to the couch. With the fire roaring and the embers crackling, she piled blanket after blanket onto my body. She was frantic while she tried to warm me up and it seemed like the only thing I could do was rake my eyes over her.
I wanted to hold her close to me with her body clad in my wardrobe.
“You’re not going out into this shit again until it’s safe to drive,” she said. “I don’t know why in the world I ever let you out of this cabin. We could’ve made do with paper towels or napkins for toilet paper. This was absolutely insane. Look at you, Liam. You can’t even keep your jaw still!”
Her hands cupped my cheeks and I shivered at her warmth. I would’ve smiled at the earful she was giving me had I not been so damn cold. I still couldn’t feel my toes and that was beginning to worry me. With all the layers I had on and the fire going in front of us, I should be able to at least move them by now.
But I couldn’t.
She looked into my eyes and I felt myself relax. The bags by the door were long forgotten. A gust of wind lurched the door open and snow came pouring into the cabin. Whitney jumped from my lap, sliding across the wooden floors so she could catch the door. It took all the strength she had to get it closed. Then, I heard her gather up the bags and toss them onto the kitchen counter.
I still couldn’t feel my toes and I knew that wasn’t good.
“Whitney,” I said.
“Yes?” she asked. “Yes, I’m right here. What is it?”
She ran around to face me and I could tell how worried she’d been while I was gone. Her eyes were red and her hands were shaking as they sat on my thighs. I couldn’t imagine the worrying she must’ve done once the sun started to set.
“What do you need?” she asked.
“I can’t feel my toes.”
Immediately, she dropped to the floor. I felt her pick up one of my legs and set it in her lap while she slowly worked my boot off. My socks were practically frozen to my legs, and I could hear her drawing shaky breaths as she peeled the crackling fabric off my feet.
“You’re not going out again in this,” she said. “I’m very serious, Liam.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I knew her hands were cupped around my toes but I couldn’t feel them. I looked down and willed my toes to move, trying my best to get them to jump start. I could feel Whitney’s worried stare on my face as she worked my second boot off. Then, she worked on getting my frozen sock off before she tried warming them up herself.
She grabbed a blanket off my lap and wrapped them around my feet. She rubbed her hands together and tried to scoot herself off to the side so the heat of the fire would hit them. My shivering was subsiding but that deep, aching cold was still there. My joints were stiffening and my muscles were beginning to ache.
This just wasn’t going be enough.
“Could I ask you a question?” Whitney asked.
“Sure,” I said.
“How many times did you deploy when you were in the Navy?”
She looked up at me with those big blue eyes and I shook my head in exasperation. I was way too cold to have this conversation, nor was I ready to open up that chapter of my life again. I’d come to the mountains to get away from that life. To never have to talk about it or indulge it or think about it ever again.
“Whitney, I’m just too… cold… right now,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” she said, snickering. “Really bad timing.”
I saw the guilt rush over her face but I could also see that it didn’t diminish her curiosity. If she was wearing my clothes, that meant she had to go rummaging around in my room. That didn’t really bother me too much. I figured she’d want something new to wear eventually. But it meant she’d probably found my Purple Heart.
“I know what’ll warm you up,” she said.
She dropped my feet and all I wanted her to do was come back.
I heard her rummaging around in the kitchen before she stuck something into the microwave. A few minutes later, the wonderful smell of coffee permeated the room and I could feel my salivary glands kick into overdrive. I wanted the blackest cup of coffee she could give me, at the hottest temperature she could make it.
And when she brought it over to me, I sighed.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Not a problem. I’ve got soup coming in a few seconds, too.”
I sipped the hot coffee gratefully. It warmed my insides, knocked the icicles off my bones, and helped my joints relax. I felt the couch cushion compress beside me and I looked over to see Whitney with a bowl in her hand and a smile on her face.
Her gaze danced around my head.
“This new hairstyle looks good on you,” she said.
“Compliments to the stylist,” I said.
“I hope you keep it up after I’m gone.”
Her words pierced me more than they should’ve and I tried my best not to show it.
When the old man at the shop told me we’d be stuck here for at least two more days, I hadn’t been as annoyed as I should have been. When Whitney had first shown up in my life, she’d been nothing but a nuisance. But over the past couple of days, I’d gotten to know her. I’d discovered both a sassier and a softer side to her. I’d felt her beneath my body and I’d woken up to her presence in the same room as me.
She’d etched herself into me somehow and it was going to be hard to let her go.
I traded her the mug for the bowl and tipped it up to my lips. I practically poured the hot soup down my throat, ignoring the burn and savoring the way my body was finally thawing back to life. My arms didn’t hurt when they moved and it no longer hurt to breathe, but when I went to move my toes, they still weren’t budging much.
“Would you like some more?” she asked.
“Actually, I think I’m gonna need some warm water. My toes still aren’t moving much.”
I saw the worry cross her face but she quickly took the dishes to the kitchen. I heard her pad down the hallway as I got up off the couch. I gingerly walked my way into the bathroom. She was hunched over the tub as she fiddled with the knobs and, the moment the hot water started steaming up the room, I started shedding my clothes.
The water ran while Whitney helped me take off the rest of my clothes. She unbuttoned my shirt and slid it down my arms before I tossed it into the hamper. I noticed her clothes were in there as well and I figured she’d taken a shower while I was gone. I could see her cheeks flushing as she helped work the frozen buckle of my belt loose. I watched her turn away from me as I sat my naked body into the deep tub.
“Need anything else?” she asked.
“There is one thing,” I said.
“What?” she asked.
She whirled around before her eyes widened. She was flustered beyond belief and it honestly looked good on her. The red tint to her cheeks was starting to trickle down her neck and the way her eyes raked over my body caused me to bite back a groan. Whether or not she realized it, her breath was coming in shorter pants. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips. Her fingers were twirling themselves in the excess fabric of my sweatpants.
Every involuntary sign was there that told me I should simply go ahead and ask for what I wanted.
“I’d like you to get in with me,” I said.
Her eyes shot up to mine and I could see them widen. I feared she was going to turn me down. I thought maybe I’d overstepped my boundaries when I saw her fists clench at my question. I could tell she was deliberating, trying to figure out if this was a good idea or not.
The water was still running, filling the tub and finally defrosting my toes before she made a decision.
She walked over to the water and turned it off. The moment she turned her back to me, I figured I’d been turned down and I honestly couldn’t blame her. We were both in awkward territory and trying to figure out how we were going to get her back to the resort. I could tell she was still limping slightly on her ankle and, eventually, she’d feel too cooped up to stay any longer.
I heard something fall to the floor and whipped my head up.
Slowly but surely, she inched her way out of my clothes. They fell to the floor in piles before she turned around and I got my first good look at the beautiful body I’d taken a couple of nights ago. Her skin was lightly tanned and glistened with a reddish tint. Her hips were thick and her breasts were supple. Every curve and every dip of her body was begging to be touched by my hands. She stepped into the tub and settled right between my legs and, immediately, my dick jumped to life as she settled back into my chest.
“How are your toes feeling?” she asked.
“I can move them now,” I said.
“That’s a good thing. Wouldn’t want to lose those.”
“That wouldn’t be ideal in this situation, no.”
I allowed my hands to slide up her arms while her head laid back on my shoulder. Her skin was soft underneath my fingertips. My erection pulsed at the small of her back, aching for her. She pressed into me, pulling a sigh from between my lips before I moved her hair off to the side.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Whitney,” I said into her ear.
She opened her neck to me and I planted a small kiss on her skin. I could feel her shivering and her hands ran up and down my legs. I wrapped my arms around her stomach and pulled her closer to me, the water sloshing around us while my lips savored the taste of her neck.
“Liam,” she said in a whisper.
“You like that?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“What about this?”
My hand slowly inched up her body and cupped a luscious breast. Immediately, her nipple sprang to attention, begging to be touched. I massaged her skin, her nipples poking between my fingers. I squeezed down on it ever so slightly, pulling moans from her mouth as she rolled her hips right against my cock.
“Yes,” she said breathlessly.
“What about this?”
Slowly, my other hand inched down between her legs. Her pussy folds were swollen with desire, waiting for me to part them and explore her body. I slipped my fingers into her and felt her press down onto them, a wanton groan escaping her lips as she spread her legs farther for me.
“Yes,” she moaned.
“Do you want more?”
I paused, feeling her entire body tighten up at my question. This wouldn’t have to go any further, not if she didn’t want it to. I was perfectly content with holding her body close to mine and simply feeling her draped against me. It’d been years since I’d allowed myself the pleasure of the female form and Whitney’s form was as perfect as they came. Supple curves. Soft skin. Tits that reacted to me and a pussy that was currently dripping onto my fingers. There were so many things I still wanted to do with her. So many areas of her body I wanted to taste. I wanted to go slow and explore her body this time. I wanted to keep the animal in its cage until I’d satiated my thirst for her.
But if that wasn’t what she wanted, then this didn’t have to go any further than what it currently was.
“Yes,” she said, whispering. “I want so much more.”
I shivered at the thought of what I would do to her tonight as my lips drew in a patch of skin at her neck.
“Then lean into me,” I said. “And spread those legs wide.”