Page 56 of Roaring Fork Wrangler

“I’ll fill the tub. You strip.”

“I have to admit; this isn’t the way I imagined us getting naked for the first time, Juni.”

I smiled. “This isn’t us, Cord. It’s just you.” I pointed to his snow-encrusted jeans. “Get out of those right now.” I went into the bathroom across the hall, turned the water on, and checked the temperature. “Okay, it’s filling up,” I shouted.

I heard his footfalls in the hallway and turned my back before the door opened. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

“You could stay, although I might not be at my, err, bestright now.”

I rolled my eyes, not that he could see them. “Get in the water, Cord.”

“Damn, you’re bossy. I kinda like it.”

I heard the water splash, and keeping my back to him, I left the room and shut the door behind me. As I’d anticipated, his clothes were in a heap on the floor. They were heavier than I expected when I picked them up and went in search of a washer and dryer. Before I found either, the lights flickered and we lost power again. This time, it didn’t come right back on. I rummaged around in the kitchen, but didn’t see any candles.

“Juni?”

“Coming.”

“There are candles in the pantry. Is there enough light from the fireplace for you to see in there?” With every word, his voice sounded closer.

“Yeah, looking now.”

“In there,” he said from right behind me, scaring the daylights out of me. “You can turn around, darlin’. I’m wearing a robe.”

I faced him. “I’m not a prude. I just…it’s what you said. This isn’t how I imagined the first time we were together.”

He grabbed the candles from the shelf, set them on the counter, and stepped close enough that our bodies were almost flush. “You imagined it?”

“Of course I did. Didn’t you?”

“At least a hundred times.”

I shook my head and laughed. “You should get in bed.”

“Only if you come with me. I don’t want you to get lost in the dark.”

“I’ll light a candle.”

He took a step back, grabbed one from the counter, along with a lighter, lit it, and handed it to me before doing the same with the second. “It’ll be warmer if we stay out here, by the fire.”

He was right. The bedroom was probably already cold.

He put the candle in a holder I hadn’t noticed, took the one from my hand, and placed it in a second, then led me to the sofa.

“Lie down, and I’ll go get some blankets.”

“Ilikebossy Juni,” I heard him mutter as I hurried down the hall.

When I returned, his eyes were closed. I draped the first blanket over him as gently as I could and wasabout to add another when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me down on top of him.

“Cord!”

“Juni!”

“You need to stay warm in case of frostbite.”

“Get under these blankets with me right now, Juniper Chance.” His voice was gruff, but he winked. “See, I can be bossy too. By the way, what’s your middle name?”

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