Page 8 of Christmas Escape
She stared at me for a long moment before she spoke. “There are no other places.”
“Stay with me.” Sweat rolled between my shoulder blades as we regarded each other for another long moment. She was coming with me, even if I had to throw her over my shoulder and bundle her into my truck. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Her eyes darkened, and she swallowed. Even with tendrils of hair starting to stick to her flushed cheeks, she was gorgeous. Actually, more than gorgeous. I could imagine her looking like that after we’d made love, both our bodies perspiring from the exertion.
Her tongue flicked over her bottom lip before her teeth sank into the plump flesh. Her gaze flitted toward the window, and when I looked, fat snowflakes were falling past it in a thick blanket.
She released a shuddery breath.
“If you don’t feel comfortable with me or at my house, I’m sure my parents will offer you a room,” I added quickly. “Or like I said…I can go stay there.”
She shook her head, dark brown hair brushing her shoulders with the movement. With a nod, I left her in the living room then ran to shut off the gas and take care of the water. Afterward, I gathered the bags she’d brought in earlier. Thankfully, we’d left her other things in my truck. I supposed her luggage was in her car.
“Let’s go,” I said.
I headed out of the cabin with her on my heels. She looked worried when I saw her into her vehicle and told her to follow me. With the storm coming on fast, there wasn’t time to parse through any problems. I gave her a reassuring grimace-smile then sprinted over to my truck.
With her bags tossed onto the back seat of my truck, I headed toward my house, still playing through how to make Melody feel comfortable. Though I could head over to my mom and dad’s to sleep, I didn’t feel comfortable with leaving her on her own. She wasn’t familiar with my place or the area. Hell, even a moose was a novelty to her, and I could envision her dashing into the backyard to try to grab a pic.
A shudder curled through me at the thought of what might happen. No, I wasn’t leaving her alone.
My home was about five minutes away, but the roads were already coated with snow by the time we got there. I breathed a sigh of relief when Melody pulled up behind me. I leapt from my truck. Skidding slightly on the slick drive, I reached her car before she climbed out. Before too long, I’d carried all her things, including her luggage, inside.
Leaving the grocery bags in the foyer, I led her upstairs to the guest room of my four-bedroom house. Two of the bedrooms were bare, but occasionally, when my cousins were in town, the overflow ended up at my place, so I’d made the third bedroom visitor-ready.
“This is my bedroom.” I pointed and kept walking. “And here’s yours for however long you want.” I pushed the door wide and stepped back for her to enter. Once she walked inside, I set her suitcase just inside, next to the door, but I stayed in the hallway. “You have your own bathroom there, too.”
“Are you sure? You don’t mind me staying?”
She set down her laptop bag and walked toward the windows and gazed out over the expanse. As heavily as it was snowing now, I suspected she couldn’t actually see Lake Majestic Falls that edged up to my backyard. On a clear day, it was picturesque. Right now, we appeared to be in a snow globe with zero visibility.
“I’m glad to have you here. Do you have anything else that needs to come in from your car?”
She turned back to me, her arms hugging her middle as her gaze flitted around the room quickly then zeroed on me. “No, but thank you.”
“Okay. I’m going to head downstairs and start some coffee and throw something into the oven to cook. Come down when you’re ready—unless you’re going to take a nap? You drove all night, didn’t you?”
She glanced at the bed then shook her head. “I think if I sleep now, I’ll be up all night. I’ll come down with you. You can show me around.”
Nodding, I waited for her then led the way back to the main floor. My hand swung to indicate the space. “Obviously…the kitchen, living room and dining room.”
I walked to a sliding door beside the kitchen, and pulled it open. Once the space beyond had been a patio, but now it was an enclosed porch. “If you want to work here, it’s all yours. It’s a four-season porch, so it’s well insulated, but there’s an electric fireplace to take off any chill, too. Close to the kitchen for coffee whenever you need it, and it’s pretty cozy.”
I liked to end my day in there and take in nature, so it had comfortable armchairs and a couch. “I can drag in a desk, if you want.”
She grinned. “You’re very accommodating.”
“I feel bad about your cabin.” But not too bad. I was glad to have her here. “And I want to be sure you feel at home here.”
“And that I stay?”
I couldn’t hold back my smirk. “Beautifulandsmart.”
Maybe, I shouldn’t have said that, but it wasn’t as if she didn’t know I was attracted to her. I didn’t plan to hide that.
Melody blushed again. “I said it before but thank you. Again. I appreciate you taking me in. I really, really didn’t want to try driving home today—I actually don’t want to go home at all. But…I’ll have to eventually.”
“You wouldn’t have been able to go today. I’m sure they’re going to close the main road to the highway soon, if they haven’t already. The weather’s too hazardous to let anyone travel, and the pass often closes during extreme conditions.”
