Page 43 of Since Day One

I stared into Gunnar’s hazel eyes which were filled with concern and nothing else. Maybe a little something else. He’d been enjoying that, too, and he’d been fully aware of what was going on.

“I need you to know that I’ll never let you do something to me I don’t want. Nor will I ever do something to you that you don’t want. You say no, and I’ll stop immediately. Understand?” His face tightened as he waited for my response, entirely serious about what he was saying. I nodded, and he raised his brows before smiling softly and brushing a few strands of hair from my face.

“Why didn’t you say anything so I knew you were awake?” I sheepishly asked.

“Why didn’t you say anything?“ he asked in return, and I glared at him as his lips twitched with a teasing smile.

“Well, to begin with, it caught me off guard. Which, if you noticed, I didn’t move in return to what you were doing… at the beginning,” I muttered, and he tilted his head before slowly lowering his hips against my body once more. Inhaling sharply as he made contact, I swallowed stiffly, fighting back what I knew would happen if I pressed against his hard arousal.

“But you still didn’t say anything,” he muttered, rocking against me softly, and my legs parted on their own. The dull throbbing begging for release from him pulsed again. I stared at him, everything in me confused and fighting between logically discussing things with him and what he was beginning to do again.

Gunnar placed a hand under my chin and lifted it up, tilting my head to the side. His lips brushed against my ear as he whispered, “Stop being so respectful, Princess. If you want something, take it.”

I wanted something, very much so, but I’d already told myself not here. Slowly, I shook my head, and he immediately stopped moving. “Not here,” I mumbled softly, and he raised a brow, that playful smile of his coating his lips.

“That’s not a never,” he said, moving away from me and sitting back on his heels once more.

“Don’t push your luck,” I bantered breathlessly, but he was right. My body was not denying the fact that I was wanting something from him that I’d never desired before. It was taking all of my self-control to remain true to my conviction of not giving in right now. I wanted whatever happened to be organic, not forced because we were stuck here and bored. After we got out of here, and if he still wanted it, I wasn’t sure I would tell him no.

He took a deep breath and slapped his thighs, breaking my attention away from his gorgeous eyes. My gaze darted between his legs, drawn to the wet spot upon his gray sweats, and I snapped a hand over my mouth in shock. Gunnar furrowed his brows and then followed my stare.

Never in my life had embarrassment burned my entire face with the intensity that course through me the moment his gaze followed mine. “That’s your fault, Princess,” he said, narrowing his eyes darkly.

“I-I-I’m so sorry,” I stuttered in response, terrified. Instead, he threw his head back, a giant roar of laughter echoing through the small cabin.

“Oh, you are cute. I am anything but angry about that,” he replied with a massive grin. Grunting, Gunnar rose from the floorboards and adjusted that which was still rock hard and very noticeable through his sweats. “Well, I’m gonna go try to take a piss with a raging boner.”

A rather unladylike snort rumbled from my nose as he headed toward the bathroom. “I’ll get started on breakfast. Good luck with that.” I chuckled as he faced me and rolled his eyes.

“You’re welcome to come help, Princess. Seeing as you could so easily fix this issue.” He winked and stared at me with hopeful eyes.

I shook my head. “Didn’t I already warn you about pushing your luck?”

Gunnar flashed his ever-present smile and disappeared into the bathroom. I groaned, leaning back against the floor for one more moment. It was becoming harder and harder to deny my attraction for him.

And if someone didn’t come to rescue us soon, I was certain I would not be able to withstand his charms for much longer.

Another day had come and gone, and the snow was finally beginning to slow. Part of me was disappointed, and I was becoming a little bored being cooped up all day. But the possibility of a plow making it up here also meant I began to worry that I would never be held by him again.

Meanwhile, it had become an unspoken rule that if he were reading, it would have to be out loud to me while we cuddled, and I had full permission to stick my hand in his pants. No protest. And it became expected to the point where Gunnar would read two words before stopping expectantly if I had yet to put my hand in his pants.

Though he never let it cross over into territory I wasn’t quite sure I was ready for, despite how uncomfortable I could see it made him at times. Not because he wasn’t enjoying it, but because he was enjoying it a little too much. He often excused himself to go to the restroom, or made up some reason that I needed to remove my hand from between his legs before it progressed to that finish line, which did almost happen a few times.

He had kicked my butt on The Game of Life yesterday, but today I was crushing him at Candy Land. I was sitting in his lap wearing yet another button-up as he drew the next color and groaned.

“You totally rigged this,” he gruffed, and moved his character to the immediate next space.

“How could I rig this game?” I asked, drawing the next card.

“Are you kidding me?” he exclaimed as I giggled and hopped all the way to Queen Frostine. “I don’t even want to draw the next card because it’s going to probably send me backward.”

Gunnar ran one hand across my thigh, tingles dancing on my skin as he reached around, grumbling the entire time, but drew the next one. And stared in frustration at it. Though it didn’t send him backward, he once again moved only one single space.

“See?” He placed the card in the discard pile and grumpily moved his character forward to the next square.

I grinned and patted his cheek. “You’re just so cute when you’re angry,” I taunted, and he scowled before leaning away from the board and resuming his tantalizing finger movement up and down my bare skin. The next card I drew was, of course, one that sent me to the end of the board, and I threw my hands in the air in excitement.

“Nope,” he said and I knew what that meant.

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