Page 9 of Cabin Kisses

I stay where I’m at, close enough but not touching her. She hasn’t said yes yet, and I’m dying inside hoping she wants this as much as I do. When she starts to look uncomfortable, I pull back. I don’t want to pressure her. I’ll wait for as long as I have to, but I don’t want the night to be over. Not yet. Hell, not ever. “Come home with me.”

Chapter7

Gina

“Home with you?” I ask him.

He nods. “Yeah, I know you already ate, but I can make dessert. You don’t want to go back to the lodge, do you? There’s no doubt in my mind your ex is looking for you.”

I shake my head. “He’s not looking for me. That’s over.”

He wraps his fingers around one of my curls. “I saw the way he looked at you, honey. He doesn’t want it to be over.”

I know I shouldn’t. I should go back to my room and call it a night, but how can I? Levi makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. “I’m not sleeping with you.”

He nods. “I understand.” He holds his hand up. “And just to be clear, I want you. I wanted you as soon as I looked at you and even more now that I got to spend time with you today. But I also know that you’re vulnerable right now. I won’t take advantage of that.”

He wants me. I can see the truth in his eyes when he says it. A rush goes through my body, and I can’t stop the tremble. “Okay. Dessert and then I’m going back to the lodge.”

He nods. “Deal.”

He all but sprints around the truck to his side. He’s smiling as he gets in, and I love the fact that I’m the reason that smile is there. We get to the edge of town when the snow starts to fall.

The slick roads don’t seem to faze Levi, and I’m sure he’s used to driving on them. We talk nonstop for a while, and then the further we get up the mountain, both of us get quiet. I can’t help but wonder if I’m making a bad decision, but I shake my head. It’s dessert. I told him I’m not going to sleep with him, and that’s that. We’ll eat, and then I’ll go back to my room at the lodge.

We turn down a side road before we get to the lodge and stop in front of a big cabin. All I see is darkness when Levi turns the truck off.

“Man, it’s really coming down. Stay there and I’ll come around for you.”

I do as he says and wait for him to open my door. Blindly, I follow him, and he has to tell me where the steps are as we climb the front porch.

My teeth are chattering as he unlocks his front door. As soon as he opens it, I am inside clapping my hands together. “Oh my goodness, that was crazy. What were we thinking?”

He’s standing in front of me, not even worried about himself. He’s rubbing my arms and then grabs both of my glove-covered hands and does the same to them.

“Come on. Sit down and I’ll get a fire going,” he says as he starts to unbutton my jacket. He helps me take it off and then grabs a blanket off the back of the couch. While he’s doing that, I take the time to look around the cabin. It’s a cute one-story with big wood furnishings. He guides me to the couch and wraps a blanket around me when I sit down.

“I’ll get a fire going,” he says, and even though I’d love to explore his home more, I can’t take my eyes off him as he discards his jacket and then starts putting wood in the fireplace. He has on a tight long-sleeved Henley shirt that pulls against his back muscles as he moves. I swallow hard. Forever, it seems that I’ve been frigid. At least that’s what I thought, and that’s what Richard told me. I’ve never really been interested in the happenings of a relationship or felt the kind of immense attraction that I do now.

Levi gets the fire going and turns back to me, sitting on the edge of the couch. “I’m so sorry, Gina. I didn’t think it was going to get that bad. If we had broken down or something...”

I reach out for him. “But we didn’t.”

He looks at my hand on his and turns his over, threading our fingers together. “I just don’t want you to regret this.”

I try to take the worry off his face. “You mentioned dessert. I’m not going to regret it.”

I laugh at my own joke, but he takes me seriously and jumps up. “Right, dessert.”

I grab on to his hand before he gets by and pull him down beside me. “I was joking. The dessert can wait. Get warm,” I tell him, holding the edge of the blanket up.

He looks surprised, and I can’t say I blame him. I’m a little surprised myself. I know I’m being hot and cold with him, and a part of me wishes that I could just let it all go and see what happens.

Chapter8

Levi

I’m surprised, but I don’t hesitate. When she lifts the blanket for me to slide under it, I do just that, pressing my body up against hers. Instinctively, I put my arm around her and cup her shoulder. I wait for her to tense or even pull away, but she doesn’t.

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