Page 17 of The Northern Lights in His Eyes

“Yeah. But for now, I have a couple of weeks where I don’t have to be anywhere. So if you can stand me for that long—”

Garvin cut him off with a kiss that stole away William’s words.

“You can stay as long as you like,” Garvin whispered.

William swallowed hard, looking deep into those purple-flecked blue eyes. “That wasn’t how you felt a few days ago.” Damn, why did he always feel the need to poke the bear? Why couldn’t he just let things go?

“Do you really want to talk about this now?” Garvin asked.

William shook his head, glad that Garvin seemed willing to let this particular topic pass.

“Maybe we should head to the other room.”

Sasha went over to the door, so Garvin slowly got up and let Sasha out for a few minutes while William added more wood to the stove. It continued putting out heat, and William stretched his hands over the top and rubbed them to soak up the warmth.

Garvin let Sasha back in and wiped his feet off. The dog made a beeline for the bedroom, and Garvin shook his head.

“Let me guess. He’s staking out his claim on the bed.”

“You better believe it.” Garvin locked the door and began turning out the lights. “You know, going to bed used to be such a spontaneous thing when I was younger. No one gave a crap about lights or stoves or anything. It was all about the heat of the moment.”

“Out here, I tend to think that spontaneous is probably not the best idea.” Still, William took Garvin’s hand and led him to the bedroom, where the first thing he did was kick Sasha out of the middle of the bed. “Is everything closed up for the night?” William sat on the side of the mattress.

Garvin nodded, meeting William’s gaze with equal heat. “And the cabin is all set. There’s nothing to worry about. It will probably snow all night, but the wind has died down again. We will be just fine. I can’t guarantee there won’t be some other crisis, but it shouldn’t be of our making.”

“Thank goodness,” William breathed and tugged at the base of Garvin’s shirt, pulling it up and over his head. “Because I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, and I don’t care if there is a flood, an earthquake, or even a tornado….”

“I see.” Garvin lowered his arms as William wound his around his waist. The room was chilly, raising goose bumps on William’s otherwise smooth skin. “How about we get undressed and under the covers? Otherwise things are going to get shrivelly, and neither of us wants that.” He pulled back the blankets before slipping off his shoes and socks and climbing into bed. William did the same, gliding naked under the crisp bedding.

“Dang, it’s cold in here.” He shivered and rolled onto his side. Garvin slid up to his back, pressing to him, spreading warmth that almost immediately stopped the shivers and added extra heat.

“Just give yourself a chance to warm up. It won’t take long,” Garvin whispered softly in his ear. Sasha decided it was his turn to join and jumped onto the bed, spreading out over William’s feet.

“Your dog is a real cockblocker. I hope he knows that.” He lifted his head to glare at the big ball of fur. Sasha blinked at him innocently before lowering his head to the covers.

“Sasha, get down,” Garvin told him, but he just lay there. Eventually Garvin got up and led Sasha out of the room. William watched that tight butt bounce as he walked, then welcomed Garvin when he returned and slipped under the covers and into William’s arms. “He should stay on the sofa. I made him a nice bed out there.”

“If you say so.” William drew Garvin into a kiss. He had waited so long for this, and when Garvin pressed him back on the mattress, his weight settling on top of him, William blinked and returned his kisses, reveling in Garvin’s solidity.

“I’m glad you came,” Garvin whispered. “It’s….” He swallowed and seemed at a loss for words.

“I know it’s been hard for you to move on.” William stroked back Garvin’s flopping hair.

He nodded, those big eyes filling with hurt for just a moment. “I honestly never thought I’d feel like this again. I thought that after losing John, real joy and passion would be gone. I doubted it would be possible to find this again.”

William paused. “You do know that I’m not John?” The thought of being compared to a man who had been dead for years scared the hell out of him. There was no way he could compete with a distant, much-beloved memory that would only have become more perfect with time.

“Of course you aren’t. John is gone,” Garvin said.

William held Garvin’s hand, his mood cooling. “I know he is. But is he gone for you?” He swallowed and blinked a few times.

“He’s been gone for seven years. Yes, I’ve held on to his memory hard because I thought he and I were meant for each other. That John was my soulmate.”

William sighed. “Maybe he was.” Suddenly the bed was cold. He had waited years because he thought Garvin was special. Hell, he’d carried a stupid torch for him for years, and maybe it was all an illusion. Maybe he really was the stupidest person on earth and should have just moved on. “And maybe your soul is already filled up.” William got out of bed. He grabbed a blanket off the top and wrapped it around him.

“Where are you going?” Garvin asked as William left the bedroom.

He sat on the end of the sofa, pulling the blanket closed and his feet up so he was encased in warmth. What the hell was wrong with him? William was really good at going with the flow, but he needed to take a minute to figure out how things had gone from potentially hot and heavy to him sitting on the sofa alone in a matter of minutes. Maybe he had suddenly had a moment of clarity or finally held a mirror up to himself and realized how pathetic he’d been.

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