What just happened? Julia watched Iszak walk down the road with the shovel in hand and resentment burned in the pit of her stomach. How dare he come along and decide that she was done trying to get out of here. If this was his notion of seducing her, it was a failure.

It was probably a foolish though on her part anyway, since if he was out to seduce her, he should be doing everything he could to make her happy, and what would make her happy right now was getting her damn car out of the ditch. She looked at the vehicle in question with a twist of her mouth. The stupid thing was in there so deep that it was going to take more than a shovel to get it out, but at least she was trying to get out of here.

She looked at the heap of snow on the car, and a notion came in to her head, like a devil on her shoulder prodding her into mischief. She scooped a handful of snow from the top of the car and formed it into a ball. The snow was heavy and perfect for making a snow ball. She turned to face his retreating back, cocked her arm back and fired. She was nothing if not accurate, since she’d played softball from when she was a kid until her late teens. The ball sailed through the air in a perfect arc, and hit its target with a splat. The center of Iszak’s back was covered in a spray of snow, and as soon as the ball made contact he stopped in the middle of the road.

Giddy nervousness took over her body and she scooped up more snow in her hand and quickly formed another ball as he slowly turned to look at her. She licked her lips as she studied his face to see what his reaction was to her opening shot. He didn’t appear to be angry, just puzzled as he looked at her with the shovel still held in his hand. The sight of it reminded her of why she’d thrown the snowball in the first place, and she kept the new ball in her hand just out of his view.

“Did you throw a snowball at me?” He looked at her like she was a creature he’d never encountered before, and she decided in that moment that Iszak took himself way too seriously and needed to lighten up.

“I did. What are you going to do about it?” She smirked at him, hoping to entice him to play along. A tension had developed between them since they’d declared their truce with each other, and all she knew was that it needed a release before it developed into something else entirely.

“I’m not a child to play games. It’s cold out here and the cabin is nice and warm. I suggest we both go back and get out of the snow.” Refusing to play along with her was his first mistake, and turning his back on her to go back to the cabin was his second. He definitely took himself too seriously.

She threw the second snowball and it hit him in the exact same spot as the first one had. She let out a crow of laughter as she scooped more snow into her hand. He turned back to her again, with a scowl on his face.

“Enough nonsense. It’s time to go in where it’s warm.”

She wasn’t nearly cold enough yet, and she was starting to have fun, so there was no way she was going to go back to the cabin yet. The third snowball was in her hand and she drew her arm back and held it in the air. His eyes darted to it, and she wondered for a moment what he would do. Would he charge at her? Grab her?

She found the notion of his retaliation arousing but it didn’t make her lower her arm.

“I’m warning you, Julia. You aren’t going to like the consequences if you throw that.” His scowl deepened and it did nothing to deter her. She could see quite clearly that despite his protests that he wasn’t a child, he needed to play. She was just going to have to force him to do it.

Splat. The snowball hit him in the center of his chest and he looked down at the spread of snow on his coat then back up to her. He narrowed his eyes as he threw the shovel aside. There was an intent gleam in his eyes as he bent to scoop up snow in his hand. Excitement raced through Julia as she turned to move behind the back of the car to gain some protection. She’d almost made it to the other side when the ball he’d made sailed past her ear and she gave a derisive laugh.

“You’ll have to do a lot better than that if you want to win this.” She was all the way on the other side of the car and she crouched down beside it, furiously scooping up snow and forming it into a ball. When she felt the time was right she popped up to lob the ball at him. He must have been waiting for her to appear because he threw another snowball and this one hit her in the shoulder.

She gave another laugh as she ducked back down, and the sound of his laughter carried to her on the wind as he joined her in their shared mirth. It felt good to act like a kid, and as she scooped up more snow, she realized that she hadn’t done anything for the sheer fun of it for quite a long time. Perhaps it was the same for him. This was something they both needed, and she popped up again to throw another ball and didn’t see him anywhere. Where had he gone?

A ball of snow came sailing at her from the trees to her right, and hit her in the arm. She threw the ball she held but the only thing she managed to hit was a tree and his deep booming laugh floated to her from the direction he was hiding. A smile pulled at her mouth as she ducked down and scooped more snow in her hand. It would be impossible to hit him unless she lured him out in the open. A spark of a plan formed in her head. There was a way to lure him out, but it would be playing dirty.

She popped back up, and as she predicted, he lobbed another ball at her. Luck was with her because it sailed toward her face and she quickly raised her free hand to block it. In a swift movement that would not be seen from the trees, she moved her head slightly so that as the snowball exploded against her hand it looked like she’d been hit in the face. She let out a cry and slumped toward the car, holding her cheek as if hurt. Now all she had to do was wait to see if he would take the bait.

As she suspected, as soon as it appeared that she’d been hurt, he came out of the trees with a concerned look on his face.

“Julia? Are you hurt?” He strode toward her and through her fingers she could see his brows draw together as he got closer.

It didn’t appear that he suspected that this was anything other than what it appeared to be and she took that moment to strike. With a taunting laugh she hurled the snowball she had prepared but he saw it coming. He dodged his head to the left but not quite far enough and the snow splatted in his ear. He stopped mid-stride and scooped snow from it. He flicked his hand and flung the snow down to the ground as he strode toward her with purpose.

“Okay, that’s far enough.” She had no idea what he was about to do but she now regretted starting this whole thing. It had all been fun and games until she’d played dirty and tricked him. She squeezed her legs together because although she dreaded what was going to come next, a part of her thrilled at the look on his face. He was a man intent on something, and the urge to throw herself at him was so strong that she had to brace herself to stay where she was. “I’m sorry. Uncle. I surrender.”

She held her hands up in front of her and he grasped them in his. “Do you regret tricking me?”

“Oh yes. I’m very sorry.” She wasn’t really because in the back of her mind she knew that from the moment she’d thrown the first snowball she’d been building toward this moment. Her eyes darted down to his lips and then back up to his eyes and she saw his pupils darken as he caught the direction of her thoughts. He took a step closer until they were only a breath away from each other.

He tilted his head down so that only a few inches separated his lips from hers and she swallowed hard. This was it. He was going to kiss her. Was this what she wanted? Her breath came a little fast when she realized that this was exactly what she wanted. If she was honest with herself, she wanted a whole lot more than kissing from him.

“How sorry are you?” His voice was a deep, dark rumble that did funny things to her stomach, and she had to squeeze her lips together for a second to keep a whimper from escaping her. Oh God, if he didn’t kiss her soon, she was going to melt right here in the snow.

“I’m very sorry.” Her voice came out in a breathy whisper as she looked down at his mouth again. Her tongue darted out to swipe her bottom lip and his hands tightened upon her.

“What are you prepared to give me to make up for tricking me?”

“You can have whatever you want.” Just so there was no misunderstanding between them, she edged closer to him so that her lips almost touched his. It was all the encouragement he needed to take her lips with his own. His mouth crashed down on hers as he pulled her body tight against his.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and melted into him, losing herself in the feel of his lips as they molded against hers. A sigh escaped her as his tongue toyed with the seam of her mouth and she opened for him. A growl rumbled in his chest, like that of a beast held on a very tight leash and the sound of it sent desire spiraling through her.

There were all sorts of arguments to be made for why she shouldn’t be doing this. She had a life to focus on, a mission to complete before she could embark on her true path in life. But none of that seemed to matter as she was held against him and kissed deeply. They were alone out in the middle of nowhere, they were both adults and there was nothing stopping her from enjoying this moment. She wasn’t going anywhere right now, and there was no place she wanted to be more than in his arms.

He pulled back and a sigh escaped her. He brushed the hair that blew across her lips away with gentle fingers as he looked deeply into her eyes. There was a question there, one that he seemed hesitant to voice. As she studied the dark pewter of his eyes, she knew what her answer would be if he put the question to her in that moment. She didn’t know if she was ready to go further than a few kisses, but she was tired of standing out here in the cold.

“I think it’s time to go inside.” She raised up on her toes to press a swift kiss on his lips, and then she skirted around him and walked down the road toward the cabin. The crunch of snow behind her told her that he was following her and a smile played around the corners of her mouth. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to stay here with him for a little longer.

* * *

Iszak followed Julia as she walked down the road toward the cabin. When he’d come out here to get her to come back he hadn’t anticipated what would develop when he walked away from her. His plan to seduce her was proceeding quite nicely if a snowball fight could turn into their first kiss. After she’d tricked him, he could read the desire she had for him in her face and all he could think about was kissing her. It was a kiss that made him forget why he was doing this, and as he tasted the soft pillow of her lips underneath his, he found himself wanting more.

He’d have to be cautious for several reasons. First, he couldn’t afford to lose his heart to her, and now that he knew just how fantastic kissing her was, he’d be prepared to put up his armor. Second, he had to be careful not to come on too strong right now. Otherwise he might scare her away and she might leave here tomorrow once the road was clear without giving him a backward glance.

He picked up the shovel as he walked by it and quickened his pace so that he came abreast of her. He glanced down at her and the sight of her full, plump lips made him want to taste her again. He needed to wait until the time was right before he took this further than a kiss or two. While he might be able to sate them both right now, there was no guarantee that she would want it to be more than a one night stand. He’d seen in her eyes when he’d pulled away from her that there was a hesitation in her, a warring perhaps, between what she wanted to do and what she knew she should do.

“I don’t want to sleep with you when we get back to the cabin.” It was a good thing that he’d seen her reluctance to move beyond kissing, otherwise he might be offended by her speaking in such a blunt manner. She bit her lip and looked over at him, with a blush tinging her cheeks pink. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

“I would hope so. If you think I’m going to let you have my body after one kiss, you are mistaken. What kind of man do you think I am?”

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just…” She stopped in the middle of the road to face him, her mouth clamping shut as her cheeks turned a deep red. He raised his hand to put a finger on her lips.

“I’m teasing you. I wouldn’t dream of suggesting that we do anything more than kiss.” He couldn’t resist tasting her lips again and he removed his finger and replaced it with his mouth. Her lips were soft under his as she breathed a sigh. He kissed her with as much gentleness as he could muster. She was like a skittish deer and he had to be careful not to frighten her away. This was a long game he was playing, and while the time frame he had to work with was short, he was confident that he would succeed.

She pulled back and looked up at him with her deep blue eyes. They were eyes he could drown in, and it took all his control not to pull her back to him and kiss her again. He didn’t want to push her into anything she wasn’t ready for, and so he dropped his hands to his side. A shy smile pulled at her mouth as she put her hand in his and turned to continue the journey back to the cabin. It was an encouraging sign that she was receptive to his touch, and as he walked beside her, he knew it was only a matter of time before she was completely his.

They got to the cabin and the inside was snug and warm, although he noticed that as soon as he’d kissed her he’d ceased to feel the cold. She shrugged out of her coat, and he busied himself with doing the same thing so that he didn’t pull her into his arms again. That would only lead straight to the bedroom, and she’d already made it clear that was not what she wanted right now. Besides, there was a part of his plan that he needed to lay the ground work for before the road was plowed tomorrow. With her eyes soft from his kisses, he decided that now was a good time to bring it up.

“Do you have a place to stay lined up in Waldron Valley?” He walked over to the counter and set about making a pot of coffee so that he could pretend nonchalance while he waited for her answer. It was much too soon to start patting himself on the back. He should at least wait until she agree to stay with him.

“My father would have arranged somewhere for me to stay, since it was his idea that I go looking for Kevin.” There was a note of something in her voice, a clue that she wasn’t as sure of her answer as she appeared to be.

“You don’t sound sure. Maybe you should find out. I was going to suggest that you could stay at my place if you didn’t have anywhere else to go. A hotel seems so impersonal and it can get expensive if you end up staying longer.” She bit her lip and he knew that she was going to refuse. Damn it, he hadn’t prepared for this well enough. It was one thing for her to stay with him when she had no other choice, but he’d given her no reason to want to extend her stay with him. One kiss did not mean she was dying to spend more time with him. “It’s an option for you, if a hotel doesn’t work out.”

He didn’t want to appear to push, since that would definitely send her running in the wrong direction. He’d think of something to get her to agree to stay with him. He had until tomorrow to come up with it.

“Iszak, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the hospitality that you’ve offered me—” The ringing of her cell phone cut off what she’d been about to say. Iszak glanced at her as she picked the phone up off the table and looked down at it with a frown. “It’s my father. I need to take this.”

He nodded and she swiped her finger across the phone and put it to her ear as she walked toward the open bedroom door.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” She stepped into the bedroom and pushed on the door but it remained open a crack.

Iszak stood very still and strained to listen to what she was saying. If he’d been a normal human he would not have been able to hear her, and he had his dragon nature to thank for his superior hearing.

“No, I am not at Waldron Valley yet. I told you that I’d phone and tell you once I got there.”

There was a long silence that stretched out and Iszak wished he could hear what her father was saying to her.

“It’s not my fault. The snow is still too deep and I haven’t been able to get out on the road yet but I will soon.” Her voice was growing more exasperated, and Iszak wondered if she’d had to explain this to her father before.

“Is that all you care about? Kevin? I know I made the decision to go to the cottage but would you have rather I died on the road somewhere?”

Whatever her father was saying it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

“I’m not getting into that right now. Tell me you at least arranged a place for me to stay while I’m there.” Another long pause followed and Isaac went to the cupboard to pull two mugs down. “I can’t stay at Kevin’s place since I don’t have a key.”

There was no more conversation coming from the bedroom and he poured the steaming coffee into the mugs and brought them over to the table. The hinges on the bedroom door creaked, and he looked up to see her coming out of the bedroom. He offered her a smile and for the first time since she’d come to the cabin she didn’t return it.

“Is everything okay at home?”

“Just family drama.” She frowned and looked down at the floor.

He could see the hurt there, and he put both mugs down on the table so he could step closer to her. All thoughts of trying to angle the conversation back toward staying with him went out of his head. Something her father said wounded her and all he could think of in that moment was to offer her comfort. He ran his hands up and down her arms. It was an encouraging sign that she didn’t pull away. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” She leaned her head forward and rested it against his chest. He moved his hands so they went around her back and he held her loosely against him. It was like she was a fragile bird that could take flight at any moment and he wanted to show her that he had no intention of caging her. “I know it’s crazy, but sometimes I think that he loves his obsessions more than he loves us. He didn’t even ask me, not once in all the calls between us since I got here, if I was okay.”

Iszak kept his mouth shut. The muscle worked in his jaw as he kept from telling her exactly what sort of man he thought her father was. It was obvious to him that she wasn’t ready to hear it and it would only push her away from him when what he wanted to do was draw her closer.

“There are times when I’m tempted too say screw him and stop jumping every time he says so.”

“Why don’t you?” If she did that, there would be one less dragon hunter to worry about. And Julia didn’t strike him as a killer, but he couldn’t be certain of that since it was getting difficult to see anything but good things about her.

“I love him. He, Diana and Kevin are my only family. I don’t know if it’s the same for you, but I’d do anything for my family.” She put her arms around his waist and he pulled her closer. He understood what she meant, since he’d held a crossbow on his feral brother, with the intention of killing him if he had to.

“It’s the same for me, but you have to make yourself happy too. You can’t live your entire life solely for your family.” There was wisdom in that, and it was something he should heed as well.