Page 39 of The Millionaire's Mechanic

She doubted that, but Georgia didn’t argue. “So, it’s more of a symbolic gesture. But maybe it’s one that your subconscious will appreciate.”

Rainer stared down at the red, green, and blue ropes in his hands. Then he set the two extra coils down and began to unwind the red one. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

But his skepticism didn’t hold him back. He stretched the red rope out to its full length. Before she knew it, the rope was looped around the wall sconce. Rainer left equal lengths on either side so he could tie each end to her wrists, leaving her arms free to move. She might have been on a leash, but she had complete range of motion.

Georgia held up her hands, making a fist and imitating the stance of a boxer. “Are you sure you don’t want to tie them together? I can still do some damage like this.”

He laughed in her face. “Aw, George. You are adorable.”

Scowling, she climbed into the bed. “By the way, there will be no nookie tonight. This is a test run.”

He climbed in after her, cuddling against her back. “I understand.”

“I can feel your hard-on, you big liar.”

His laughter shook the bed. “All right. It’s going to be a rough night, but I get it. No nookie.”

Then he kissed her cheek and pretended to snore. Twisting, she poked him. He laughed again, cutting it out. But all too soon, the sleep deprivation caught up with him, and he dropped off, his even breathing signaling true sleep.

She could just make his features out in the faint firelight. Georgia pressed a kiss to one of his incredible cheekbones. “Sweet dreams, baby.”

CHAPTERNINETEEN

Outside of the glass double doors, the level of snow had dropped enough to let the sunlight pour inside. It hit Rainer directly in the face.

Rousing he rolled over, untying Georgia’s wrists before he got out of bed. He stood up, ready to bolt for his parka before realizing it wasn’t necessary. The room was now at a bearable temperature. It was still cold, but he was no longer worried about his cock getting frostbite.

I hope this means no more snow.Then it struck him.

Hell.Georgia’s plan had worked. He’d slept the entire night straight through without waking, no dreams. At least, none that he could recall in detail. He had a hazy memory of dreaming up a conversation with the mysterious Elaine, but halfway through, she morphed into Georgia and things got steamy.

Trying not to read too much into the unconscious products of his messed-up brain, Rainer got up and grabbed the buckets and bowls. He refilled them with snow from the bank just under the bedroom window, confirming that the sky overhead was clear and sunny. He saw with some satisfaction that the overall level of snow had dropped as well. It wasn’t all that much, but as long as no more snow fell, they should be able to dig themselves out in a day or two.

His phone was out of juice, but he’d found a small battery-operated charger in Garrett’s desk. He could snowshoe down the mountain far enough to get a signal and call in reinforcements. Except that didn’t seem like much of a priority just now.

Despite burning an absurd amount of firewood, they still had around a third of the pile left. Also, no bears had discovered their outdoor refrigerator, so they were in no danger of starving.

Although getting fresh fruit and vegetables would be good.The canned stuff had gotten old fast. But when he suggested hiking down, Georgia wouldn’t hear of it. “We can’t be sure of the conditions down the road. I think we should wait a few more days.”

He glanced at the snow out the windows skeptically. “Are you sure? What if it starts snowing again?”

Georgia sucked her bottom lip between her teeth as she mulled it over. He was immediately distracted. Damn, that should have been his mouth nipping at those lips.

“It looks so bright and sunny now, I think we can chance it,” she said eventually. “But if it makes you feel any better, I saw an old radio in the garage. We can try to find a weather report. Or I can fiddle with that old generator and try to charge up our devices. Maybe the WIFI on your computer will work even if our phones don’t.”

Agreeing with her plan, because getting that generator up and running was useful regardless, Rainer spent the bulk of the morning helping her with the repairs.

Watching her work, those small dexterous hands taking things apart and deftly putting them back together was like watching a magician. He especially liked the way she would talk to the machinery, coaxingly with the occasional colorful threat thrown in.

“I think I finally figured out what’s wrong,” she said after examining the generator. “They pulled this fuel hose because it needs to be replaced, but I don’t see any spares. I might be able to fashion one out of some spare tubing, but I think our best bet would be to borrow one from the snowmobiles. It’s too big, but we can force it to fit with a few clamps.”

Rainer was impressed. It had taken them more time to dig the generator out of the garage’s clutter than it took for Georgia to diagnose the problem.

“Sounds good to me,” he said, bowing down to her expertise with a grin.

She turned to him and grimaced. “Also, little problem. The generator’s tank is empty.”

“Ah.” He glanced around. There were none of those red gas cans lying around. And because the house was solar-powered, and they’d already established the big fuel cylinder attached to the house was empty…

---