Bad weather was coming.

Elijah couldn’t always tell. But now all the signs were there. The air was different. Birds roosted. The squirrels hoarded their food, and the rabbits weren’t acting right, either. Animals always knew.

He turned back towards the cabin, noting the smoke from the chimney hung low in the air. Beyond that, in the distance, cirrus clouds formed a halo around the sun. They could be in for a long siege of snow.

Elijah was already mentally cataloging all the things he’d have to prepare, in case it was a real bad one. It was poor timing. In winter, food was scarce enough anyway, and it had been over a month since his last supply run. With Gia in the cabin, he wasn’t sure he had the resources to keep them both fed and warm through the worst of it. He’d need to gather all the food he could, and stockpile the wood. Maybe bring the chickens in and keep them in Pa’s old room for now. The cabin would be cramped, but he’d make it work.

Already he regretted not taking Gia down the mountain when he could. Her ankle would have been sore, but she would have survived. And she would have been safe, warm, and comfortable somewhere instead of stranded in a cabin with him during a potentially deadly snow storm.

He sighed. It was too late now. And in reality, Gia’s safety was not in question. He’d do anything to protect her.

But protect himself? His heart? That, he wasn’t so sure of.

He’d spent the last few days outside as much as possible, keeping a distance from her. Now, they’d be trapped together in an enclosed space for God knew how long, and Elijah didn’t know how he could keep his hands off her. Not when he wanted her as badly as he did. Not when his cock throbbed any time he caught sight of her.

He sighed. He’d have to get back soon, start to prepare. But he risked staying out a little longer, collecting the animals from the traps he’d set. They’d need the meat to see them through.

By the time he got back to the cabin, the wind had already picked up, speeding the clouds, pregnant with snow, towards them.

“Snow’s coming,” he told her. She stood near the tomatoes, peering through the padding of leaves he’d put up to protect them from the weather.

Gia’s gaze snapped over at him. “You move so quietly I never hear you,” she said, placing a hand on her heart.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Habit. I don’t want to disturb the animals in the forest.”

She nodded. “That makes sense. You should stomp a little around me, though. I don’t frighten as easily as the animals. Not unless someone appears from nowhere.”

He grinned. “Sure, I can try.”

“Put a little bell on you,” she suggested.

He laughed, and Gia’s face lit up when he did. His heart flipped. Yeah, it wasn’t only his body that would be in trouble the next few days. It was his heart, too.

“We should pick those tomatoes,” he said, gesturing to the straw and wood structure she’d been studying. “They won’t last the snow.”

“Is that what they are?” she asked, face clearing. “I wondered. Wait, snow?”

He gestured to the clouds on the horizon. “Coming in now. Feel the wind picking up?”

She studied the clear sky, and then to where he pointed. “You sure that’s snow?” She shielded her eyes and peered closer.

He nodded. “All the signs point in that direction.”

“If that’s true, you must be better than a professional meteorologist.”

He shrugged, his cheeks heating at the compliment. “Just a thing you gotta know out here.”

She stared at him for a long moment. “Seriously. It’s like you have to be a genius to live out here. Some people think mountain men like you aren’t the brightest, but you’re one of the smartest guys I’ve met.”

Now his cheeks were really blazing. He hoped his beard hid his embarrassment and pleasure at her words, but her amused expression told him it was written across his face.

“I’m not smart. I didn’t even finish school. I simply know this mountain.”

Her eyes grew serious. “There are all kinds of smart, Elijah. And you’re one of them.”

His heart didn’t only flip at that, it practically tumbled out of his chest. He couldn’t look at her, couldn’t bear to know if she was teasing him, or even if she wasn’t. What the hell did he do with information like that?

“Let’s get these tomatoes in,” he mumbled. They’d have to can them so they’d keep. Hopefully the vegetables in the ground would survive.

Once the tomatoes were inside, Elijah secured the shutters over the window. He brought in as much wood from the lean-to as he could, spending the remaining hours chopping more to keep his supplies up. The chickens he left for now. They were close enough to the house he could risk going out to check on them, and he didn’t want to have to secure all the food he kept in the spare room.

He also clambered onto the roof to check the chimney was clear and there were no potential leaks. All clear. He hopped down to find Gia bringing her soap mold into the house. He grinned. Not what he would have chosen as a priority, but he found it endearing.

Her actions also reminded him to cover the lye, and his compost bins after emptying the toilet. He added another layer of leaves, too.

Finally, he figured he was done.

And he had no more excuses to avoid going inside.

Gia was sprawled on the bed, as if waiting for him. But as soon as he entered she sat up and pressed her hands together.

“So what do we do now?” she asked.

“We wait,” he said simply.

She nodded. “You said you don’t have any hobbies except work. What do you do when you’re trapped inside?”

He knew what he’d like to do. He wanted to join her on that bed, spread himself over her, and taste every inch of her skin. He wanted to please her, bring her pleasure, over and over again. And then he’d thrust into her until he came, planting his seed deep in her belly.

His cock hardened painfully and he turned away, opening the pantry and stared blindly into it. What had her question been? Nothing about sex or him impregnating a woman he’d just met. Though the idea sent a bone-deep satisfaction through him. He wanted that, wanted her, could see them building a family together. It was mad, but it was true.

Lust was clouding his mind. That’s all it was. Lust making him crazy.

It wasn’t any wonder. He hadn’t been this close to a woman since he was fifteen, and his cock begged to finally know what it was like to experience a woman’s warmth. His hand didn’t quite cut it, though it’s all he’d ever had.

Now, though, he knew there was hope for him. Hope he’d finally lose his virginity.

And not just to any woman. To this woman. One that made his heart flip in his chest. One he wanted to care for, and provide for, and protect.

Gia.

Question. She’d asked him a question. He focused his mind on a jar of beets and tried to focus his mind.

“I knit,” he blurted out. “And do my leatherwork, of course.”

“You knit?”

There was a note in her voice he couldn’t quite understand, so he risked a glance at her. She was both amused and surprised, judging by her expression.

“Of course,” he said, shoulders creeping to his ears. “Where do you think that sweater came from?” He pointed at the one she wore. It hung on her like a sack and still didn’t manage to hide her curves. He’d never wear that sweater again without thinking of her.

“You made this?” she asked.

He nodded. “No one else will do it.”

She grinned at him. “You have to teach me.”

“Now?”

“We’ve got some time before dinner.”

He stared at her a long moment. Was she serious? Her face was perfectly straight. He shrugged and collected his needles and yarn from the shelves in the storage room and brought them out. He sat next to Gia on the bed, ready to show her how it was done.

And immediately realized his mistake.

She was so close. Heat radiated from her, and the scent of her and his soap mingled together, hitting him right in the gut. He tried to focus on the needles, to explain what she needed to do. He cast on for her, his muscle memory taking over when his mind shut down.

But he couldn’t think of anything but her and how damn close she was.

He sighed.

It was going to be a long snow storm.