Page 65 of Snow River

He nodded gravely, tucked a stray strand of flyaway hair behind her ear.“I’m sorry,” he said simply.“I was going to tell you in the supply room, before we got interrupted by that ridiculous brawl.But I shouldn’t have waited even that long.It’s not because I don’t trust you, though.Didn’t,” he corrected himself before she could.

She smiled, puzzled.“Then why?”

“What you think is important to me,” he said simply.“The stakes were really high.”

“Mmmm.”Turning her cheek again, she nestled against his chest.Finally, he could take a full breath, that tight anxiety gone along with his secrets.“I did tell you about my intuition, right?Why would you have any doubts about what I would think?”

He shook his head.“Logic said you would understand.Fear said I couldn’t be sure.”

“The great and mighty Bear Davis was afraid?”

A laugh burst out of him, such a relief after all that worry.“I am human.Just because I’m a big one doesn’t mean I don’t have all the usual human emotions.”

“Mmm, like what else?”She pressed her stomach against his hips.He had the normal male human reaction to that move.

“Like I want to throw you down on that bed in there and show you how fucking amazing you are.”

He felt a shiver run through her body.“Then what’s stopping you?”

30

They tumbledinto bed as if they’d been apart for months instead of only a few hours.Lila could feel the need trembling through Bear’s body.Those hours of thinking that she was angry with him had affected him deeply.

Bear had a vulnerable side, especially when it came to her.She saw that clearly now.And it made the taste of his skin, the slide of his flesh against hers, so much infinitely sweeter.

He took her deep this time, so deep.Long thrusts impaling her to the mattress, bringing moans and shrieks from her lips.During her time staying with him, they’d made love nearly every night, and it had been glorious.

But this…this was different.He’d shared something painful with her.And now their lovemaking had a raw edge to it that she’d never experienced before.

He knew her secrets.She knew his.There was nothing to hide from each other.

When he hiked her legs over his shoulders and delved into the soft wetness between her thighs, she let herself fly to a new place where freedom and joy reigned supreme.When he turned her over and took her from behind, on hands and knees, one hand clamped to her pussy, she surrendered without a touch of doubt.

When they got tired of the bed, he stood up to take a stretch, but the sight of his sculpted bronze body was too much for her.She jumped him like an oak tree and he speared her right there in the middle of the floor.He pumped his hips until he emptied into her.No more condoms for them; she was on the pill and he’d recently gotten a clean bill of health from a clinic.

They couldn’t get enough of each other.And we never will, she thought.This is it.Hunger, deep satisfaction, joy beyond words.

It was also nice to curl up next to him once they’d temporarily exhausted their lust for each other.Who needed blankets when you had a six foot five hunk of pure body heat next to you?

As they were falling asleep, he murmured, “Remind me to tell you what I found out during that damn brawl.”And then he conked out.

It was such an intriguing statement that it came back to her as soon as she opened her eyes in the morning.Bear was still asleep, so she climbed on top of him and gripped him between her thighs.

“Again?”He started awake.“I’m ready.I’m ready.Give me a minute.”

She laughed and pulled the top blanket over her shoulders to protect against the morning chill.He was so adorable with sleep creases in his right cheek and his hair a silky mess.“Relax, I think we at least need some coffee first.I want to know what you found out during the brawl.You said to remind you.”

That woke him up.He blinked the haze out of his eyes and focused on her.“Right.They were fighting because someone’s been staying in Bennie Thomas’s barn and eating eggs out of his chicken coop.He thought it was Jed Chilkoot because he’s the nearest neighbor and they’ve had issues in the past.After sorting it all out, we determined it couldn’t have been him.So some stranger is out there.Thought it was worth checking into.But then everything else happened and…” He trailed a finger down her chest, between her breasts.“I’m ready now.”

She laughed again and scooted off the bed.“We have work to do.”

He groaned loudly.“You know I’m not a morning person.That’s why I bought a bar.”

“Well, you know me.I always wake up like this, and you’re in my house so get used to it.”Laughing, she pulled off the top blanket and wrapped it around her.“I have to let Buttercup out.Her bladder must be about to burst.”

She sat on the bed to pull on her favorite warm socks and padded across the floor.At the door, she paused.Buttercup was still fast asleep on the couch.The fire in the woodstove was still going.Sunshine streamed through the old storefront.Bright, so bright.A foot of sparkling snow had fallen overnight.

She clapped her hands and jumped up and down with excitement.It was here—winter!Back in Barlow, Indiana, they’d gotten some snow every winter, but it usually quickly became a nuisance, something you scraped off your car or shoveled off your sidewalk.Here, a whole new world opened up when the snow came.Dog sleds.Snowshoeing.Skiing.Snowmobiles.She couldn’t wait to get out there and play.

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