Page 97 of Snow Bound

“Does he look mad?” she whispered. “I can’t tell if he looks mad.”

“He looks horny,” Lola said drily.

Anna’s gaze darted to Grant’s crotch, and her eyes widened. “Oh.”

Lola’s low laugh echoed in the empty space. “I’m going to go sit at the bar. Holler if you need me.”

Anna watched Lola walk away, elegant in the high waisted, wide legged black pants and matching crop top, the soles of her shoes flashing red with each step.

Lola and Grant passed each other and exchanged nods, neither of them slowing, then Lola was sliding onto a stool at the bar next to Simon and Grant was coming closer. And he wasn’t stopping.

Her eyes widened and she took an automatic step back, her lizard brain screaming retreat! But before she could take another he was there, scooping her up and holding her tight, and the breath she’d been holding—in anticipation, in worry—came whooshing out.

“Oh,” she said into his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him.

“I’m so mad at you,” he mumbled into her neck. He was turning her in a slow circle, almost a dance, except her toes were off the floor. “So mad.”

“Okay,” she said faintly. He was here. He smelled so good, felt so good. And he was here.

“You’re supposed to say you’re sorry.”

“I am,” she mumbled. She wanted to pull back and look at his face, but she didn’t want to let him go. “I am sorry. I should’ve talked to you.”

His arms tightened. “Yes, you should have.”

“I got scared,” she confessed. “I wasn’t supposed to love you. It was just supposed to be two weeks of sex and play and fun, but I fell in love with you and I…I didn’t know what to do.”

“You could’ve told me.”

“I thought you’d feel sorry for me.”

He pulled back now to stare at her with such baffled disbelief that she winced.

“I know.” She closed her eyes, then forced them back open. “I know. I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, you weren’t.” He dropped her on her feet, and for one heart stopping moment she was afraid he was letting her go. But he lifted one hand to brush at her cheek, her mouth. “Anna. Can’t you tell I love you?”

“Not really,” she confessed and bit her lip. “I mean, I can tell you like me, that you care about me. And I know you like fucking me. But…I need the words.”

His eyes, so sharp and blue, went soft as water. “I love you, Anna.”

“Aw,” someone said from across the room.

She ignored it, smiling at him through tear filled eyes. “I love you, too.”

He arched one eyebrow, a slow smile curving his mouth. Through the scruff on his cheeks, his dimples winked. “I know.”

She laughed, a watery gurgle. “So, what do we do now?”

“First, we’ll get your punishment out of the way.”

She grimaced. She should’ve known that was coming.

“I’m thinking ten swats for running out, and ten for stealing my truck.”

She gave him the big eyes. “But I told you where to find it, and I left you money for parking.”

“You also left the gas tank on empty.”

---