Page 15 of Cabin Fever

"None of your business." His jaw tightened before he ground out, "Enjoy your meal." Carter folded his arms as he watched me head toward the kitchen.

Much as he promised, there was lots of bacon piled high on a plate in the middle of the table.

"I see there's a little bit of potatoes, too. Thank you."

"Anything for myguest." Carter waved his hand toward the stove where the bacon and potatoes were left to warm.

Something was different. His tone. His smile. His attempt at being nice to me made him appear uncomfortable, but the odd part was that he was trying.

Perhaps he was starting to thaw. Beginning to realize that the longer he stayed irritable, the worse it was for everyone.

I filled my plate and sat. Within moments he placed a steaming mug of coffee on the table next to my plate. "For my guest."

"You have coffee? I never saw you make coffee before."

"I use it sparingly. It's Fire Lake Coffee, made locally by a brother and sister team. It's the best coffee you'll ever taste. I always pick up some at the Fire and Ice diner whenever I'm in town."

I lifted the warm mug to my lips and hesitantly sipped the drink. While I prefer coffee with my breakfast, I'm not a coffee fanatic like my sister.

My eyes widened when the hot drink touched my tongue. "My God, uh, goodness, this is amazing. Is it flavored coffee?"

Carter sat at the table. "No. It tastes like it is, but it's their medium roast morning blend. Love the stuff."

All I could do was hum my approval. It had hints of chocolate and smoke. I had never tasted anything like it. If this coffee went wide, it would blow every coffee maker away.

Before I knew it, I had emptied my cup. "I usually put milk in my coffee to help ease the bitter aftertaste, but this didn't need it. No wonder you hide it away like gold."

And that's when something happened that I never thought I would see . . . Carter laughed. It was devastating and my heart beat against my chest with cries for more. I didn't know which I was more in awe of, the coffee or Carter's heartbreaking grin.

"I thought you were hungry?" He pointed to my plate, unsure as to why I wasn't eating.

I was but I couldn't tell him why I couldn't take a bit of that delicious meat candy he made for me. How would I explain that watching his mouth shine with happiness was like seeing a rainbow for the first time? A rainbow that was capable of inducing an explosion of ovaries within a two-mile radius.

"Just savoring the coffee." I licked my fingers like an idiot.

Not a drop of coffee had spilled on them, yet I had to suck on something for fear of what other word might slip out of my mouth. Words likekissableorsexyor one I knew he wouldn't like,fuckable.

Carter had a very fuckable mouth.

"I think I made enough for another cup. Why don't I get that for you?" His lips twisted at the side and I was discovering it wasn't because he was plotting my demise, that was just his nice face. The smile he gave people when he wished to be kind.

How would I survive the next day or days, depending when the phone line was fixed, if he kept being nice to me?

A brief thought flew through my head. What if I had a fling with Carter?

He's hot and I won't be here very long. It's obvious he's a virgin, I might be doing him a favor. Unless he's saving himself for a future wife. If that was true, there couldn't be anything between us. I was ready to stick it to Derrick by getting it on with a cranky, sexy mountain man, but I would never force anyone to do something they didn't want.

I felt uneasy as I studied Carter and his winning smile. I realized I wasn't the one-night stand type of person.

As much as I hated Carter treating me like a second-class citizen in his home, I couldn't use him as my rebound fling. What if he fell hard for me? It's not like I'm sticking around here. His cabin's cute and all, and it's nice to rough it every once in a while, but dating a sheep farmer wasn't on my list of priorities. In fact, dating, in general, was a no-go for me. I had to face it; I wasn't qualified to seek out men who would make favorable partners.

I hadn't put much thought into the men I'd dated. If my mother approved, he was date-able. If my father liked the guy, then he was marriage material. But I never asked myself ifIwanted more from the man. I needed to take some time and find out what I wanted in a partner. And based on Carter's personality and lack of charm, it definitely wasn't him.

I had to keep our relationship the way it had been. Like he's the Lord of the manor and I'm some lonely peasant.

"It's about time you began serving your guest." I hated breaking out the "rude" card but felt it necessary for fear of what I might do to his fuckable lips.

I held up the mug and as he came near, I turned my attention to the bacon. Carter cleared his throat while taking the cup. Just as he turned, I held up my plate.

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