Page 34 of Out of the Cold

In answer, he stroked a thumb into her folds and thrust into her, his expression fierce and determined as he watched her. Once, and then again, and she broke around him, splintering into finer and finer waves of pleasure. He drove into her, his final thrusts sending her even higher before he groaned into her neck and shook with his own release.

He held on to her, his forehead pressed to the wall as they caught their breath. Then he pulled away and let her slide gently down until her feet hit the floor.

She gripped his waist as her legs wobbled, his arm around her the only thing holding her up.

Gradually her breath slowed, her skin cooled, and the mindless haze cleared.

Dear God, what had she done?

His jeans abraded the bare skin on her legs, reminding her she was naked from the waist down. She stiffened in his arms and he did the same. She couldn’t even look at his face.

Keeping her eyes to the ground, she let go of him and bent to grab her pants. He was still fully dressed and already tucking himself back into place. Turning away, she dragged her pants on without bothering with underwear, then shoved her feet into her sneakers without tying them.

“Lucy, I—”

She made herself raise her eyes to him and waited for what he had to say.

His face was taut with whatever inner conflict she’d intruded upon. He’d been in the throes of something, some kind of emotional pain, but what was her excuse?

“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice shredded.

“I think so.”

He blanched. “Did I—”

“I’m not hurt. I’m just...I don’t know what that was.”

He sat heavily in a chair and let his head fall into his hands.

“Gabriel...are you okay?”

He looked up, his mouth in a grim line. “Not really. But there’s nothing anyone can do.”

“I’m a good listener.”

“I know you are. But I can’t talk about it.”

There was so much pain there, and it wasn’t like her to walk away from someone who was hurting. But he didn’t want her help. Or maybe he didn’t know how to receive it.

“I’ll leave you alone then.”

He hunched his shoulders and said nothing.

“I think I need these more than you do,” she said, grabbing the brownies from the counter. “But you should eat the soup. It’ll do you good.”

Then she was out the door and heading back toward the warm lights of her cabin. Slightly dazed still, she sat at the kitchen table, opened the Tupperware container, and shoved a brownie in her mouth.

Never in her life had she had sex with a man she barely knew, never mind half-naked up against a wall. But she didn’t regret it.

She’d spent years trying to leave her body or think her way out of it. Had been disconnected from it without even realizing it. But what happened back in Gabriel’s cabin...she couldn’t remember ever being so completely in her body. She’d felt powerful, strong enough to take him on.

Having sex with him was a stupid thing to do, a ridiculously unnecessary complication to an already awkward relationship. But her whole body was alive and humming. If it wasn’t dark out, she’d have gone for a hike.

She’d never felt like this with Mark or Sean, the only other men she’d slept with. Maybe three really was the charm.

Too bad they couldn’t do it again.

Getting up, she pulled out the ingredients for blueberry muffins. If she couldn’t run or hike off her excess energy, she’d bake it off.

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