Page 13 of Snow Drift

Her smile is unreadable as her fingers grip the back of my neck to pull me in for another slow, deep kiss.

Lifting her onto a small work-table, I keep one arm around her waist as I step between her thighs. Her legs instantly wrap around me, inviting me in. I attempt to keep a certain extremely erect body part from pressing against her but Kallie is having none of that, pulling me in with her ankles until I'm crushed right up against her jeans.

"Am I reading your body language correctly, beautiful? Do you want me, too?" She half nods as my lips glide down her throat.

We freeze at the sound of footsteps. I can feel her heart racing. Feel the pressure of her soft breasts against my chest. It's definitely two sets of footsteps that go by, and I swear I hear a girlish giggle that can only be coming from Mrs. H.

We wait in silence for another two minutes before relaxing and grinning at each other.

"So, we have established that you do want me." My right hand moves slowly from her back to her rib cage, then up to lightly caress her breast. "You know, you're welcome to stay in my room tonight. Then you could show me exactly how much."

Her mouth presses against my collarbone as she tries to stifle a laugh.

"What? It's snowing like crazy, which makes it an emergency situation. It's better to have a buddy in an emergency situation."

"Well,buddy, I have to finish my work."

Leaning forward, I pour all of my lust into a hard, deep kiss before stepping back and helping her off the table. "Like what?" I love that it takes her a second to catch her breath.

"Like I have to shovel the snow away from a couple of the outside vents, that's what."

"The hell you do. You have to instruct me, then engage me in delightful conversation while I shovel. Got it?"

"You're pretty bossy. You know that?"

"Again, this is an emergency situation, which calls for the big guy, not the…no disrespect…puny little girl." Lifting her arm by the wrist, I squeeze along her bicep. "See? Not designed for shoveling thick, heavy snow."

Kallie laughs too loudly, then clamps her hand over her mouth. We tiptoe out of the utility room, allowing ourselves to get a little louder as we approach the back door.

I make her stay on the sheltered part of the porch while I shovel, where she entertains me with more stories of all the hotels she's worked in.

I enjoy them, but they worry me. A young lady moving all over the country, never staying in one place for more than a few months?

I don't know what's worse. That I can't protect her from whatever she's running from, or that she doesn't trust me enough to tell me what it is.

8

KALLIE

After thanking Moore for his shoveling help, I don't want to send him away. Yet he's supposed to be spending time with his friends, not with me. It's super adorable that they get together for one week a year, spending so much of their time sitting in companionable silence reading.

It kind of punches me in the heart. How would it feel to have someone like that in my life? Someone I could rely on, who'd be right there if I needed help?

Moore's already been doing that. That shoveling would have taken me four times as long as it did him, and he did it with seemingly no effort. And I know that if I'd really put my foot down and said no, he'd have obeyed my wishes in a heartbeat.

He makes me feel cared for. That's not something I've ever expected to feel, but I'm quickly realizing it's something I've secretly always craved. Someone in my life to ground me. Be a real partner to me.

Maybe even someone with whom I could have a real home someday. Even though I'm not positive I could handle it, I bet it would feel like heaven.

I put away the last of the cleaning supplies, then walk to my room for my pre-dinner ritual of washing my face, brushing my hair, and checking to see if my clothing is too dirty to wear to the table.

On my way to the kitchen, right at the spot in the hallway between the dining room and the butler's pantry where I first ran into Moore, a huge gust of wind shakes the building, and the hunter green wallpaper turns black as the power goes out.

Ugh.I pull out my phone and turn on the flashlight. There are plenty of candles in the pantry, and I light a tray of tea lights before taking them into the kitchen.

"Stove's gone out, so I guess it's sandwiches tonight," Rosa calls out as I start placing candles around the room. "Can you get everyone started on some snacks?"

"Sure." I begin slicing cheese and arranging crackers on pretty platters, and find the good pickles. Maya joins us a moment later with another tray of candles, and starts helping Rosa with the sandwiches.

---