Page 51 of Montana Rain

Or ever, really.

“I’m not going anywhere, princess.” I loved that nickname for her. It fit. She was a princess to me. I might not be a hero, but I would do anything I could for her. Take care of her. Save her. Support her. Cherish her.

I was falling head over heels for this woman. Hell, if I thought she would accept it, I would tell her now.

Slipping a hand down over her hip, I squeezed. “I like feeling you underneath me just as much. Your body is heaven, Rayne. You’re heaven.”

“I’m not.”

Smirking down at her, I kissed her. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

Our bodies stayed connected, and I couldn’t stop touching her. Kissing her. Smoothing my hands over her skin and learning every freckle, every curve. Rayne relaxed beneath me until she was a puddle. When I accidentally bumped her ankle, she whimpered.

Placing my cheek against hers, I spoke softly. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? I want to get you some medicine for your ankle and both of us some food. Then I’ll be back.”

“Okay,” she breathed.

It was almost painful to separate from her. We both shuddered as I pulled out of her body. Then I wrapped her up in the blankets, enjoying the flush on her skin from the fire and her embarrassment over being taken care of.

I understood it. Rayne was someone who took care of everyone else. Her very profession made it mandatory. She would never have to worry about that with me.

Both of us were tired, and I didn’t think we wanted to spend time eating something messy. I grabbed us a feast of granola bars and Pop-Tarts, bottles of water and some industrial-strength meds for her foot. I’d been determined to get the wood inside, but I should have given them to her the second I got her undressed and warm.

Before settling with her, I decided we needed more. It was too cold now for us to be in the bed, even with the fire. So we would bring the bed to us. “Let me move you for a second,” I said, lifting her into the chair. “I have an idea.”

I pushed the couch back, and before I could second-guess myself, I was hauling the mattress off the bed and down the couple of steps in front of the fire. “We’ll have to be careful of the blankets, but we’ll be warmer.”

Rayne looked at me sleepily. “All we need is a blanket fort, and it’s a sleepover.”

“I could make that happen.”

She shook her head. “I’d rather just have you.”

Her words drove me faster, piling the rest of the pillows and blankets on the mattress before laying her on it and giving her the medicine.

My last step was to push the couch up against the mattress so we could lean back against it and watch the fire. I pulled Rayne across my chest and settled us beneath the blankets together. Her form softened and her eyes closed, sinking into a drifting doze as I stared at the flames.

We might be absolutely fucked right now, but it was hard to feel that way. Because for the first time in forever, I felt whole.

And happy.

Chapter 22

Rayne

The blizzard weakened. It wasn’t gone, and certainly not over, but you could feel the tipping point in the air. We were snowed in. It was deep enough to make sure we had no choice in making it down the mountain.

Thankfully, Cole had secured supplies for at least a week, and if we needed to, we would break in to Jimmy’s stash in the basement.

Up here, we were in our own little world. We tried the satellite phone occasionally, but the storm was still too thick for us to get through. I didn’t know the details, but I was sure the blizzard surrounding us was the worst storm Montana had had in at least twenty years. The kind of storm people would be talking about for years.

If it was as bad on the ground as it was in the mountains.

Cole curled his arm around my waist, gently running his other hand through my hair. My back pressed into his chest as I stared into the flames, and his lips slowly teased my neck and ear.

We’d barely stopped touching each other since we started, and I had no regrets. I’d thought I might, but this felt so right, and we were so far away from the realities of our world, I could just exist in the warmth of his attention.

My ankle felt much better today. The swelling was down, and it was clear it definitely wasn’t broken. Still aching and painful, but it wouldn’t take too long to recover.

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