Snowdrift

By

Krist Eton

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Snowdrift

Copyright© 2008 Kris Eton

ISBN:  978-1-60088-216-6

Cover Artist: Sable Grey

Editor: Leanne Salter

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

Cobblestone Press, LLC

www.cobblestone-press.com

Chapter One

Piper dumped her heavy suitcase onto the floorboards of the rustic, wood-paneled cabin. “I thought I told you I’m not really the outdoorsy type, Celia.” She brushed a cobweb off of the leg of her jeans.

“Oh, come on. You don’t have to go outside if you don’t want to. Just sit and read by the fire or take a nap.” Celia carried two full bags of groceries into the cabin, her cheeks rosy-red from the biting winter air outside.

“So, where’s everyone else?” This was supposed to be a relaxing weekend with old friends. At least, that was how Celia sold it to her a few weeks ago.

“You mean Matt?”

“Are you going to give me a hard time about him, too?” Piper slammed the door shut.

Celia took the bags into the kitchen. “Your mother’s right, Piper. That guy’s no good for you.”

“I’m just getting back into dating again. Cut me a little slack.”

“Yeah, you’re getting back into dating, so you go back to your high school boyfriend?” Celia appeared in the doorway. “He’s such a weenie.”

“Celia!”

“What?” She put her hands in the pockets of her brown corduroys and shrugged. “He is. After being married to Jim, you’d think you’d be a little more discriminating.”

Piper ignored her friend’s comment and rubbed her hands together for warmth. “How do you turn the heat on in this place?” She looked around the room. Kitchen to the left, living room straight ahead with some comfortable looking couches and a big fireplace. “Do you know anything about building a fire?”

“You were in Girl Scouts. Didn’t they teach you stuff like that?” Celia peeled off her puffy down jacket and hung it in the closet by the front door. “I’ll make some hot chocolate. You get the fire going.”

“Gee, thanks.” Piper pulled off her hat and gloves, and set them on a rickety table in the entryway. Stepping into the living room, she caught her breath at the beautiful wooded scene out the bay window. Several inches of new snow already covered the ground, and the lake was a sheet of sparkling ice under the midday sun. “You should see the view.”

“I told you it was a nice place.”

If it wasn’t for the chilling cold in the room, she probably could have looked out that window all afternoon. She shivered. Next to the fireplace sat a stack of wood, old newspapers, and a box of matches. She could do this. How hard could it be to get a fire going?

She crumpled up a sheet of newspaper and set it under the grate. Then she stacked a couple of pieces of firewood on top. Striking a match, she held it to the paper and watched in satisfaction as it flared to life. “Fire’s taken care of.”

Celia came around the corner with two mugs of steaming hot chocolate in her hands. “Or not.”

At her friend’s words, Piper made a frown and turned back to look at her handiwork. The newspaper had burned all right, but the wood didn’t catch. “Dang it.”

“Here, drink this. Maybe there’s a thermostat around here somewhere.” Celia handed her a mug then disappeared down the hallway that branched off of the living room. “But keep trying! It’s colder than a witch’s tit in here!”

Piper took a sip of her hot drink then set it down on the brick hearth. Looking at the blackened paper under the logs, she tried to think about how to tackle the task. More paper? Was there lighter fluid anywhere around? Would a shot or two of vodka, which was in those grocery bags, get things going?

She grabbed another newspaper and set to crumpling.

“Who left you in charge of the fire?”

Piper jumped at the masculine voice. Celia’s six-foot-two, dark-haired, green-eyed, sexy-as-hell brother stood just inside the living room, the front door wide open. “Jacob? What are you doing here? Celia didn’t mention you were coming.”

“Why wouldn’t I come? Anders High School. Weekend reunion. Sounds like I fit the bill.”

“Weekend reunion for the class of ’92. You’re class of ’90.”

“Don’t remind me. Are you trying to make me feel old?” He peeked into the kitchen. “Where’s Celia?”

“Would you mind shutting the door? It’s freezing in here.” Her pulse raced. It was so unfair he had that affect on her so many years out of high school.

“I think it’s warmer out there than it is in here.” He closed the door.

“Why do you think I’m building a fire?” To prove how hard she was working, she picked up another piece of newspaper and crumpled it.

“Do you mind if I give it a try?”

“What? You don’t think I can do it?”

“I didn’t say that. I’d just like to have a fire going before we all freeze to death.” He rubbed his hands together and blew on them.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

He left his duffle bag near the front door and stepped into the living room. “First, you put too much paper under there. And these logs? You need something smaller.”

“I was just working with what they gave me here.” She gestured at the wood and newspaper stacked next to the grate.

“There’s some kindling outside on the porch. You pull some of this out of here...” He pointed at the paper. “...and I’ll go bring in some wood we can use.”

Leave it to Jacob to make her feel sixteen again. A goofy, silly, infatuated sixteen. She was pulling out a few half-burned wads of newspaper when Celia came back into the room.

“Found the thermostat in the front bedroom.”

Piper swept bits of ash off the hearth. “So when were you going to tell me about Jacob?”

“What’s that now?” Her friend clutched her mug close to her chest, a finger nervously tapping the ceramic.

“Your brother’s here. You didn’t tell me he was invited.”

Celia cleared her throat and tucked a strand of long, dark hair behind one ear. “Yeah, well, he wasn’t doing anything this weekend, and I thought that maybe you two...”

“I can’t believe you!”

“Well, you’ve had a crush on him forever. I thought, now that you’re divorced and all, why not?”

“I’m dating Matt Duncan, remember?”

“Matt Duncan?” Jacob came bursting through the front door looking like the Brawny man, a pile of kindling stacked high in his arms. “You’re going out with that weenie again?”

“See? I told you,” whispered Celia.

Jacob made his way toward the fireplace to unload the wood.

“He’s not a weenie. That was ages ago. Can’t you just let the past go?”

Celia sat down in the leather armchair next to the fireplace. “Don’t worry, Jacob. It won’t last.”

Jacob knelt next to her in front of the hearth. Piper could smell his cologne. Musky. A little bit spicy. Her insides squirmed. He was so close to her, she itched to reach out and run her fingers through his hair. And then he would turn to look at her. He would close in for a kiss, and then...

“Are you feeling all right?” Jacob asked.

Piper had let her thoughts drift a little too much toward fantasy land. “Um, yeah. Just a little cold. Are you going to get this fire going, or what?” She sneaked a glance at Celia who had an eyebrow raised.

“Why don’t we start dinner while he works on the fire?” Celia said a little too loudly. “The rest of the gang will be here in a few hours.”

Piper hopped up. “Sounds like a plan.”

“That’s how I like it. Keep the women in the kitchen. Leave the real work to the men.” He winked at Piper and laid the kindling in the grate.

“Oh, my Lord. No wonder you’re still single.” Celia grabbed Piper by the hand and practically dragged her into the kitchen. “Who would take on a project like that?”

Jacob yelled after them, “Hey, can I help it if I’m too much for any woman to handle?”

The minute the two friends were in the kitchen together, Celia threw orders rapid-fire at her. “Okay, Matt won’t be here until seven. Plenty of time for a little one-on-one time with the hermano. I can start dinner. Then I’ll say something about forgetting the milk. You go take a shower and put on anything red. Jacob loves red. And then—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What in the hell, Celia? Are you insane?”

“One might call my deviousness insanity, but there is also something brilliant in my scheming. Admit it.” She pulled a package of celery out of one of the grocery bags and opened the refrigerator.

“I’m dating someone.” Piper handed her the milk.

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am. We’ve already talked about this.”

“Matt is nobody, Piper. He’s your rebound man. Someone safe from your past. I get it. Jim hurt you. You needed somewhere soft to land, and Matt, even though he’s an idiot, was pretty darn safe. And now it’s time to move on.”

“When did you figure this all out? When did you suddenly decide I needed to seduce your brother?” Even though outside she was emanating outrage, her insides were a mass of conflicting emotions.

“Since forever.”

“What?” The first bag was empty. She crumpled it up and tossed it toward the trash bin by the back door.

“God, I tried so hard to get the two of you together in high school.”

“You did not.”

Celia rolled her eyes. “Oh, my God, Piper. You really were that stupid.”

“Excuse me?”

“I had you all wrong. I knew you had this crush on him but thought maybe you didn’t think he was smart enough for you or something. I mean, I gave you plenty of opportunities to throw yourself at him sophomore year.”

“What did you do?” Piper narrowed her eyes at her friend.

“You really didn’t know?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Let’s see. Labor Day weekend you came with us to my aunt’s house—”

“And you got sick.”

“I pretended to be sick. Didn’t you ever watch E.T.? Thermometer by the light bulb? Works every time.”

“You tricked me?” Piper pulled a bag of apples out of the second grocery bag.

“Tricked you into going alone with Jacob on that hayride? Heck, yeah. And then there was the homecoming dance and the case of the missing date.” Celia opened a cupboard and rooted around for a minute before discovering a frying pan.

“You sabotaged my date?” She dumped the apples, red-cheeked and shiny, into an empty glass bowl.

“That one almost worked. I saw the two of you. Alone. In that dark corner. Jacob’s hands all over you.”

“He was consoling me. I was crying because I thought my date stood me up, and he was nice enough to talk to me.” She picked up the bowl and carried it toward the small table across from the stove.

“Success!” Jacob appeared in the doorway and gave a little bow. “I have created fire, my ladies. Please, no applause.” He smiled, grabbed an apple out of the bowl in her hands, and took a bite of the crisp, white flesh.

“Piper’s going to take a shower.” Celia banged some pans around on the stove and avoided her friend’s eyes.

Jacob gave Piper a quick glance. There was a familiar heaviness in her chest when those green eyes turned on her. His gaze flicked quickly to her mouth then back up to her eyes. “Wanna look nice for Duncan, huh?”

A blush crept up her neck. She set the bowl on the counter and ducked past him. She scooped up her bags still sitting inside the door, and headed down the hall to any empty room she could find. Behind her, she could hear Celia say to her brother, “Darn it. I forgot to bring milk. I’ll just go run out to the store.”

Piper shut the door behind her and leaned against it. She took a breath. What was she doing? Why was she going through with Celia’s crazy plan? This was nuts.

Chapter Two

Piper tossed her suitcase on the bed and slipped out of her shoes. The old radiators were starting to warm up the cabin some, and she wasn’t nearly as cold as when they first arrived.

A hot shower sounded nice. A way to quickly get the feeling back in her chilled fingers. She dug her bathrobe out of her luggage and laid it across the bed, then unzipped her coat, took off her sweater, and unbuttoned the shirt underneath.

There was a quiet knock on her door.

She jumped and grabbed the blanket at the foot of the bed to cover her torso. Her heart raced.

The door remained closed.

“Hey, I hope you’re okay with me being here. I didn’t mean to mess up your little reunion thing.”

She closed her eyes. It was almost as if she could feel his breath running across her naked back. “That’s okay. It’ll be fun. Just like old times.”

“Yeah.” There was a wistfulness to his voice. The usual joking, teasing quality was gone. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. Besides, we need to keep you around. Might need some more of those mad fire-building skills.”

He chuckled and then gave a double tap on the door. “The spaghetti’s boiling, so I think I’m going to take a walk.”

“Oh, okay. Have a nice time.” She let the blanket drop. Not quite what Celia had in mind, but it wasn’t as if she were going to follow through on the wear-red-and-seduce-her-brother plan.

* * * * *

Jacob took a deep breath of the chilling air outside. The view was absolutely stunning—snow-capped Sierra Nevadas, a steady snowfall coating the pine trees—but all he could think about was Piper.

Damn his sister for not telling him. He never would have invited Jennifer if he’d known Piper was going to be here.

He thought back to the look on her face when he walked into the living room. A little bit of surprise, but a little bit of something else, too. Her tight jeans molded to her well-rounded body. And those lips of hers...just aching to be kissed.

He mentally kicked himself. Who was he kidding? Piper had never been one for the jock type. She made that clear enough in high school. And what an idiot he was for keeping that torch lit for over fifteen years. She’d clearly moved on...married, now divorced, and dating again.

Sighing, he caught sight of an axe buried in a log next to the woodpile. He needed to work out some issues before he went back in the cabin. Ten minutes of hard chopping ought to be just as effective as a cold shower, right?

Shower. Jeez, why did he do this to himself? Now all he could think about was Piper. Naked. And wet.

He pulled the axe out of the log and started chopping. Might take more than ten minutes to clear his mind.

* * * * *

Piper let the hot water course down her body. It probably would have been smarter to take a cold shower, to get any stray high school yearnings out of her system, but she was already cold enough. Jacob looked better than ever. She guessed being a college football coach would keep someone in pretty good shape. Really good shape.

As she soaped up her body, she let her fingers slide lightly over her breasts. Many a night had been spent in her youth dreaming of Jacob Townsend touching her like this. And now she was no longer that shy, inexperienced teen. Her nipples stood at attention, caressed by the directed spray of the showerhead. She leaned her head back into the warm water and fondled her breasts, grazing across the aching, hard points.

She imagined it was Jacob touching her. His rough hands tickling her nipples, massaging her breasts. His green eyes with lust-dilated pupils drinking in her naked body. She slid one hand down her chest, across her taut stomach, and into the wet nest of curls at the apex of her thighs. It would feel so good to have him touch her there, fingers in her pussy, teasing her clit into a hard, tight bud.

The tip of her finger slid across her labia, wet with the warm water from the shower and her own personal moisture. She slipped a finger inside her vagina and sighed at the sensation. She lifted her leg and set her foot on the edge of the tub. Her hips tilted forward, and then her finger went to work, sliding in and out of her creamy hole. With her other hand, she massaged her breast, holding it in her hand like a piece of ripe fruit. She pressed her thumb against one aroused nipple, and sparks of sensation tingled inside her pussy.

This is what it would be like to have him fuck her. A warm, wet, wild time with his dick deep inside her, his hands fondling her. He would back her up against the wall and slam into her. Harder. Faster. Wetter. Tell her how much he loved her, how sexy she was, how hot he was for her. Just like she used to dream about.

Her release surprised her. It was quick, hard, and intense. She almost screamed, but caught herself just in time. It came out as a muffled groan.

This was crazy.

Insane.

It had taken years for her to get over her crush on him. Years. And now here she was, having masturbation fantasies about him. What was she? Sixteen?

She shut off the water and stood there for a moment, water dripping down her body.

Taking a deep, calming breath, she stepped out of the shower. After wrapping herself in a towel, she dried her hair with another. She wiped away the steam on the mirror with her hand and stared at her reflection in the mirror. A thirty-something divorcee with a touch of crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes. Whatever youthful good looks she once had, they had faded some since high school. The pinkish hue of her cheeks was now dulled to a pale peach. The once bright blonde of her hair was muted to an ashy, light brown.

She unwrapped the towel and let it drop to the floor. Her nipples were still tight and hard. She was satisfied with her body. It was better than in high school. More developed and curvy. Medium-sized breasts with dusky areolas and nipples, a wide flare to the hips—she turned around—nice ass. She always thought it was her best feature.

She turned from the mirror and leaned against the bathroom counter. Her robe hung on a hook on the door, and she reached for it.

So Jacob liked red, did he?

Chapter Three

It turned out the only red item of clothing she brought with her were her flannel pajamas. Not exactly something to wear to dinner with old friends—or to seduce a friend’s older brother. Instead, she grabbed a pair of jeans and a faded high school sweatshirt. Celia would probably kill her for not putting on something sexier. But who brings sexy anything on a weekend trip to the mountains?

“Go Lions,” she whispered to herself, punching the air. This was the same sweatshirt she wore to every football game from freshman to senior year. There was still a red stain from the cherry Slushie she spilled when they won the district championship her sophomore year. When Jacob was the star quarterback.

She grabbed her towel off the iron frame of the bed and dried her hair a little more. Where was her blow dryer? Although the heat was going, there was still a bit of a chill in the room. She dug through her pile of clothes. Nothing.

Then it hit her. She didn’t pack one. Celia told her not to. She could borrow hers for the weekend. Why pack two clunky things when they could share?

She stepped out into the hall and headed for Celia’s bags, which were still piled in the entryway. She crouched down in her stocking feet and unzipped every compartment she could find.

The door opened behind her, and a burst of cold air hit her back. “If you’re looking for her drug stash, I think she keeps it in a cigar box under her bed. Or was that her diary?”

Jacob.

For a second, she felt as if her daydream in the shower had really happened. Her breasts tingled at the sound of his deep voice.

“I’m looking for her blow dryer, you lunkhead.” Then she couldn’t help but ask, “You used to read her diary?” Finding the dryer, she pulled it out of the bag.

“What older brother doesn’t? That’s Annoying Brother 101. Get with the program, Henderson.” He shut the door behind him and dusted snow of off his impossibly broad shoulders.

Henderson. She hated it when he called her that. As if she were a kid. Coiling the cord of the dryer around the handle, she glared at him.

“Don’t worry. I only read a couple of things about you in there. Something about you and Duncan under the bleachers?”

The blood drained out of her face. Her most embarrassing moment ever? In Celia’s diary? And Jacob had read about it? “Not cool, Jacob.”

“What?” He shrugged. “We all did stupid things in high school...”

“That wasn’t stupid. It was...it was...”

“So some freshman caught you with your shirt off. What’s the big deal? I bet you were the star of many a wet dream after that. Lucky kid.” He winked at her and went into the kitchen. “Want a soda?”

She followed him, holding the blow dryer like a lifeline. “I was naked.”

“From the waist up.” Jacob opened up the refrigerator and grabbed two cans of soda.

“And he laughed at me.”

“Oh, I doubt he was laughing at you.” He handed her a can. “I told you Matt was a weenie. He had no idea what to do with a half-naked girl under the bleachers. Now, if it’d been me...” He took a sip of his drink and stared right into her eyes.

Piper was sure her face was bright red. He was just teasing her as usual. He didn’t mean that. No way did he mean that. “But it wasn’t you,” she sputtered. “Look, can we just drop this?”

Jacob gave her an odd look. “Sure,” he said quietly, the teasing gone from his voice. “What do you say we finish up with the cooking before everyone gets here?” He set his soda next to the stove and turned off the heat under a large pot. “Spaghetti’s done.”

He wouldn’t look at her. No doubt he was thinking what a prudish idiot she was. “Is that what every bachelor knows how to make?” She grabbed the jar of sauce off the counter and popped it open.

“That and burgers. Oh, and steak. I grill a mean steak.” He drained the noodles in the sink.

The front door opened. Celia was back with the milk.

“Hey, you two...” Her sprightly greeting turned sour when she eyed what Piper was wearing. “...been missing me?”

“Celia,” her brother said, not without a small bit of relief. Not only did Piper not take advantage of the opportunity her friend had given her, she managed to make Jacob feel uncomfortable around her. Wonderful. “We’re having spaghetti. Hope that’s okay.”

Celia moved between them to get to the refrigerator and glared at Piper. Once she got the milk safely inside, she turned to her friend and said, “Why don’t we go bring in some more firewood? It’ll be dark soon.”

“All right.” Piper was afraid what might happen once they were out of earshot of Jacob. But she might as well get it over with.

She snatched her hat and gloves off of the table in the entryway and threw on her coat.

* * * * *

Jacob picked up a stalk of celery and started chopping it for the salad. Through the window, he watched as his sister, tall and skinny, and Piper, rounded and sexy, headed toward the woodpile.

Why did he bring up that stupid diary entry? When he’d sneaked into his sister’s room all those years ago and read about Matt and Piper under the bleachers, he’d felt lower than low. If he’d been the one to see Piper half-naked, he wouldn’t have let any other man come near her. He would’ve punched that freshman in the face.

His chopping intensified.

How had Matt Duncan, geek extraordinaire, managed to snag such a catch in high school? If only—

If only. If only. That was his life. What was the use? He’d always been graceful and skilled on the athletic field, but he’d never been very suave about women. Mention a game, and he could list all the stats anyone could possibly want to hear. Mention a woman he was interested in, and he became all jokes and teasing. Around Piper, he always stumbled over what he wanted to say.

Piper bent over to grab some logs.

Jacob’s hand slipped, and the knife sliced into his finger.

“Fuck!” He shoved his injured digit into his mouth but couldn’t take his eyes away from the sight of Piper’s perfect ass. He imagined pounding into her from behind, his dick sliding in and out of her warm, tight pussy.

God, he sure knew how to torture himself. He pulled his gaze from the window and ran cold water over his cut finger.

Jennifer would be here soon, and she was not the kind of woman who was used to having competition. He’d better get his mind back on his chopping and off of Piper.

* * * * *

“What the hell?” Celia whispered as they got ready to brave the cold and gather wood.

The staccato beat of Jacob chopping celery covered their conversation.

“It was a ridiculous idea. He’s not interested in me, Celia.”

“Get out here.” Celia grabbed her by the sleeve of her white winter coat and pulled her out onto the small front porch. The difference in temperature was shocking. The cabin sure had warmed up in the last hour. “There’s something I didn’t tell you.”

“Okay. Tell me,” said Piper.

“It’s Jacob.”

“He’s coming out of the closet tonight.”

“No! God, are you crazy?”

“Then what is it that’s so secret?”

“He’s dating someone.”

“Okay,” Piper said. “See, I told you. He’s not interested.”

“He’s going out with Jennifer Sweeney.”

“Jennifer Sweeney? The former cheerleader? The blonde, bouncy, dopey Jennifer? That makes sense.” Any slight hope Piper might have had earlier about anything happening between her and Jacob was crushed in that instant. Big boobs and bleached hair always won.

“I thought you’d say that. My brother is not a dummy.” They walked out into the snow toward the woodpile covered with a blue tarp next to the drive.

“I didn’t say he was.” Piper stacked wood in her arms. “Just that, well, Jennifer was the cute, adorable cheerleader, and he was the quarterback. It makes sense.”

“That was fifteen years ago...no, seventeen years ago. Don’t you ever move on?”

“Doesn’t sound like Jennifer does.”

“She’s going to be here this weekend.”

“What?” Piper exclaimed, almost dropping the wood on the ground. “First you invite your brother along, and now her? I thought it was just going to be the gang. Just us.”

“We needed one more couple. You and Matt. Me and Ben. Jane and Del. When Jennifer heard...”

“You talk to her?” Jennifer made idiots seem smart.

“Okay, look, things have changed a lot since you left town.” Celia blew snowflakes off her eyelashes. “The plant closed. Jennifer’s dad lost his job...a lot of people lost their jobs. You were lucky you got out when you did.”

“I know.”

“She’s had it rough. A lot of us have had it rough.”

“Well, then, if Jennifer’s had it so rough, why do you want me to take your brother away from her?”

“Oh, because she’s a slut.” They started back toward the cabin with their armfuls of firewood.

“What? You were just defending her.”

“I know, I know. But it’s true. She’s been married three times, twice to the same guy. Slept around all the time.”

“Then why in the hell is Jacob with her?” Piper was glad she had the distraction of Matt for the weekend. It was hard enough to be holed up in an isolated cabin with Jacob, but to see him snuggled up to a bimbo? That would be painful.

“And that is why I let it slip that we were coming up to the mountains this weekend.”

“You set it up on purpose?” Piper narrowed her eyes at her friend.

“Yep,” said Celia without a bit of guilt. “I told you I had a devious mind.”

“What, were you hoping I’d somehow lure Jacob away from Ms. Playboy Centerfold? Like that would happen.”

“Why do you always sell yourself short, Piper?”

“What are you talking about?”

Celia rolled her eyes. “Just open the damn door. It’s cold out here.”

Piper turned sideways so she could grip the doorknob with her hand. It was rather tricky maneuvering with all that wood in her arms.

A car honked from beyond the tree line, then Matt’s beat-up red jeep appeared.

“Great. Matt’s here,” said Celia.

“This whole plan of yours? It stops now.” Piper followed her friend into the cabin to unload the wood.

Chapter Four

Piper and Celia walked through the door.

“Matt’s here,” Celia announced with an absence of enthusiasm.

Jacob didn’t even turn his head. He just kept chopping—this time, tomatoes.

Carrying the wood to the hearth, Piper said, “I think Jane and Del were coming with him. They all got off work around the same time.”

“That just leaves Ben and Jennifer.”

The mention of Jennifer made Piper’s stomach roil. It was high school all over again. Her pining from a distance while Jacob had a different cheerleader on his arm every week. But this time there would be no escaping the kisses and the fondling.

“Why didn’t Jennifer come with Jacob?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he just wanted to get up here early.”

Matt walked through the door with Jane and Del right behind him. Matt looked much different from his high school self. Back then he was skinny, inches shorter than everyone else in their class, and had a nose that dominated his face. Now he had grown into his nose, was lean rather than skinny, and wore contacts. “Hey, sugar. Miss me?” He left his bag at the door, came into the living room, and gave her a resounding kiss on the cheek.

She hated it when he called her sugar. A leftover nickname from when they dated for a few short months in high school. “Hey, how was the drive?”

“Pretty messy. But we had the chains on, so we were okay. Smells like you’ve got dinner on.”

Jacob appeared in the doorway of the living room. “I’ve been rustling up the grub while the girls here sat on their asses.” He clapped Del on the back. “Hey, man, how’ve you been?”

Del had been on the JV squad when Jacob was on varsity.

“I’m hanging in there. I’m just glad we got Jane’s mom to watch the twins this weekend, otherwise you would have been short a couple.”

Jane was already flipping open her cell phone. “Let me call Mom and make sure everyone’s okay.”

“They’ll be fine, honey. We’ve only been gone three hours.”

But Jane was dialing anyway. She gabbed on the phone with her mother while she carried her bags down the hall. Del shrugged and followed behind her.

“That boy is pussy whipped,” said Matt.

“I think it’s sweet. They’ve been together since freshman year,” said Celia. She stacked the wood in a neat pile next to the roaring fire.

“Where’s the booze?” Matt opened drawers and cabinets. “Piper didn’t tell me you were coming, Townsend.”

“I didn’t know,” said Piper before Matt’s mood changed. He could be jealous at times. Just like Jim. She was used to handling men like that. “We brought some vodka. It’s in the kitchen.”

Matt pushed past Jacob who was a good head taller than he and disappeared into the kitchen.

“What’s his problem?” Jacob asked, looking at his sister.

Celia shrugged.

Then, brother and sister said together, “Weenie.” And both burst into gales of laughter.

“Oh, my God, you two are so fucking juvenile.” Piper pushed past both of them and followed her date into the kitchen. But in the back of her mind she wondered if they weren’t right about Matt. Was he just a rebound? Someone safe from her past?

“Come on, sugar, help me fix a drink,” said Matt from the kitchen.

She gave a last glance at Celia and her brother laughing and joking by the warm glow of the fire and wished she were there, too.

* * * * *

“Why did you have to bring Jennifer along, Jacob?” Celia asked him as they sat in front of the fire.

“You told me I could bring a date.”

“I didn’t think she would come to a place like this.” She restacked the newspaper into a neater pile.

“In other words, you invited me along so I could feel like a complete fool?”

“How’s that?” She fiddled with the last few papers and feigned ignorance.

“Everyone else is paired up, and you wanted me to come along as, what, comic relief?” Jacob hung the fireplace poker in the rack.

“That’s not fair.”

“Yeah,” he said sitting on the hearth and mimicking her voice, “Get a look at my loser brother, the football coach.”

“What’s wrong with being a coach? You do a lot more than teach those kids how to knock heads.”

“Coaching at the community college was supposed to be temporary, help me pay my tuition.”

“Not everyone’s cut out for college.” She placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

He shrugged it off. “Gee, thanks, Celia. Why don’t you just say it? I’m not smart enough.”

“What? When did I ever say that about you? Not everyone is cut out for that kind of stuff. You were always so gifted with your hands, on the field. Naturally athletic,” she said. “Is it your fault if you were built for action rather than for sitting behind a desk eight hours a day? Did you really think you were suited to be an accountant?”

“Maybe it would have been different if I’d gotten that scholarship—” He picked at the laces on his boots.

“Why are you bringing this up now? I thought you’d dealt with that years ago.”

“You just don’t understand. You don’t understand what it was like.” The picking became a little more frantic.

“Here we go again. Poor me, the football star who could’ve gone pro if it weren’t for—”

“I could have been good.” He looked her straight in the eye. “You know that. Don’t take that away from me.”

“I’m not taking anything away from you.” She touched his wrist. “You have some great memories. But why speculate about something that never was going to happen? Your back injury took care of that.”

He shook off her hand and stood up. “Forget it. Just forget it. I didn’t want to argue. Sorry I brought it up. But sometimes I just have to wonder what if.”

“What ifs will smother you if you let them. You’ve got so much going for you in your life. Enjoy what you do have.”

He leaned forward and tousled his younger sister’s hair. “You’re right, peanut. Cut the wallowing. I’ve got a hot girl coming this weekend. That’s what I should be thinking about.”

“Yeah, right, Jennifer.” Celia seemed less than enthused.

“Cut it out. Just let me enjoy myself, all right? You’ve got Ben; I’ve got Jennifer. I don’t give you a hard time about your date.”

Celia snapped her mouth shut. She knew when it was time to call it quits. It was rare when his sister won a battle of words. He was very skilled at using her past against her, just like any big brother would.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” He headed toward the kitchen. “Everything should be ready to go. Let’s eat.”

Chapter Five

“Hey, baby, did you miss me?” Jennifer Sweeney wrapped her slim, perfectly tanned arms around Jacob. Her melon-sized breasts pressed against his hard chest.

Piper sat on the couch next to Matt and tried not to watch. She took another sip of her vodka and tonic, but the alcohol didn’t seem to help any.

Jacob seemed happy enough to let the voluptuous blonde keep him in the sexy clinch. He hugged her back and kissed her on top of her head. “Of course. And I saved a drink just for you.” He handed her a screwdriver. Jennifer and Ben had arrived quite late—an hour after they had all finished eating Jacob’s spaghetti. Now they were gathered around the fire, reminiscing about old times.

Celia sat in Ben’s lap, Del and Sarah took up the loveseat near the window, and Piper had been parked next to Matt on the couch. There had been space for Jacob to sit on the other side of her, but he’d chosen to perch himself on the hard, brick hearth. That spoke volumes to her about his feelings toward her. She was another little sister to him. Like always.

Jennifer took the glass out of his hand then sat down on the hearth. If her tight skirt had been one inch shorter, she would have given them all a show. Yeah, she was classy all right. The minute Jacob sat down next to the former cheerleader, she rubbed a hand up and down his thigh.

Piper leaned in closer to Matt. He locked hands with her and absentmindedly played with her fingers. She caught Jacob’s eye and gave him a weak smile. A friendly smile, she thought. But he looked away.

“So, since we were the last ones invited to the party,” began Jennifer, flinging her long blonde hair over one shoulder, “where are we going tomorrow? I mean, we’re in the middle of nowhere. Who’s great idea was this?” She took a sip of her screwdriver, her red-painted lips curving gently over the rim.

“This is exactly why I wanted to come here,” said Del. “To get away from everything.” His wife, Jane, pressed buttons on her cell phone, not paying any attention to what her spouse said.

“To get away from two screaming toddlers, you mean,” said Celia. She leaned forward, toward the coffee table, to grab a handful of pretzels.

Ben grabbed her high around the waist, tickling her right under her breasts. She smacked his hand. “I know why I came up here this weekend.” He winked at everyone and pulled Celia close.

Celia gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. “I’m sure you don’t need to explain yourself. We all know you’ve got the sex drive of a rabbit.”

Everyone laughed. Except Piper. Her face grew hot. Was that the only reason everyone came up here? She thought it was supposed to be a reunion weekend of friends, not a fuck-fest. Well, she knew there would be some hanky-panky going on, but she didn’t expect that to be the focus. And with Jacob here, it only made things more awkward. She and Matt had been intimate, but only a few times. She wasn’t expecting to be holed up with him in their room all weekend long.

Jacob played with Jennifer’s hair but kept his eye on Piper. “White Powder Mountain’s only a few miles from here,” he said.

“Skiing?” blurted out Piper. The last time she went skiing she was twelve, and she came home with a broken ankle. After that, she made a point of staying away from anything having to do with skis.

“Yeah, I brought my skis with me. Didn’t you?” Matt looked at her as if she were the dumbest person on the face of the earth.

“I don’t own skis.”

“Then what were you planning on doing all weekend?” Ben asked with a sardonic grin.

“I thought we’d stay in. Enjoy the view. Read?” She’d never felt so stupid in her life. What else would two people do in a cabin during the winter? The implication of her words was obvious.

“Oooh, so you were going to stay in this weekend, huh?” Del gave Matt a knowing wink.

Ben laughed.

Jacob was noticeably quiet. Probably thinking what weenies both she and Matt were. And that wasn’t funny. It was just pathetic.

“Well, I brought my skis,” said Jennifer.

Piper imagined the top-heavy woman trying to stay upright going down the mountain. It was almost laughable. Until she thought about Jacob being there to rescue her from a snow bank. Her stomach turned sour.

“Well, Matt, you can still go without me. I don’t mind staying here.” Piper squeezed his hand, trying to be the supportive girlfriend.

“You’d think I’d stay here with you when there’s slopes out there waiting for me?” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “You can be the official chef. How about that?” He said this as if he were offering her the best job in the world. A weekend away, and she was going to end up cooking for everyone else.

She sighed. “Sure.”

Jane asked, “You’re sure you don’t mind, Piper? I mean, we could take turns. I could stay here with you tomorrow and help out, keep you company.” But it was obvious Jane wanted Piper to do anything but agree with her.

“That’s okay. I don’t mind. Really.” Even though inside her head she wondered why she ever decided to come. Then she darted her gaze over toward Celia. Could this have been part of her plan, too? Celia knew she didn’t ski but never said a word to her about skiing being part of the weekend.

Celia didn’t even look at her.

“It’s all set, then,” said Del. He glanced at his watch. “I think I’m turning in for the night. I want to be on the slopes early tomorrow. I heard we might get a good snowfall overnight, so I want first crack at the powder.”

“It was snowing pretty good when we got here. A few more inches, and it’ll be sweet,” said Ben.

Del got up from the loveseat and took a glance out the dark bay window. “Looks like it stopped. Could be the storm system moved on.”

“I’m sure the skiing will be fine,” said Jane. She tugged her husband by the hand. “Come on, babe.” She gave a very forced-looking yawn. “I’m getting tired.”

“Just come out with it, Jane. We all know you guys are going to fuck!” said Celia.

Jane gave a wide smile. She didn’t seem embarrassed at all by the comment. “If you had two days without two little demon children clinging to your heels, I think you’d take advantage, too.” She grasped her husband’s hand in both of hers, and they walked down the hall. Del had the dopiest smile on his face.

“Just keep it down, please,” commented Matt. He raised a suggestive eyebrow toward Piper. “Their room is right across from ours.”

“Come on, babe,” said Jennifer, getting up from her hard spot on the hearth. “I’ve brought a little nightie I want to show you.” With a giggle, she trotted past everyone. Her boobs barely managed to stay inside her low-cut top.

Matt’s eyes locked in on her cleavage from his spot on the loveseat. Piper wanted to elbow him in the side.

“Guess I’ll see you all in the morning,” said Jacob, following little Miss Slutty across the room.

Piper had a hard time trying not to imagine the curvaceous blonde in a see-through teddy straddling Jacob. He would reach up and caress her breasts, look into her eyes, and...

“Are you ready for bed?” asked Matt.

Jacob was already gone. “Yep.” Piper tried to jolt herself back to her present situation. Matt was a good guy. He liked her. Even if he wasn’t the love of her life, even if she wasn’t head-over-heels for him, he was still a decent boyfriend. Just because Jacob happened to be here in the same cabin didn’t mean she couldn’t have a good time. She got up from the couch and followed Matt to the hall. “Good night. See you guys in the morning.”

Ben and Celia stayed right where they were, with Celia snuggled on Ben’s lap and his hand slipping under her sweater. They waved as she and Matt left the room. Piper made a mental note not to sit in the recliner until she had time to clean it with some antibacterial wipes. It didn’t look like Ben and Celia were in any hurry to make it to the bedroom.

* * * * *

“So, do you like what you see?” Jennifer came out of the bathroom dressed in a see-through red teddy, her large nipples erect beneath the fabric.

She looked like a Playboy bunny. What man wouldn’t want to fuck this very hot, very willing woman?

Jacob. That’s who.

He could just slap himself. Back in town, Jennifer had seemed like the perfect choice. He knew her well, knew she didn’t expect anything out of him except sex, and she was beautiful.

“You look very lovely, Jen, but—”

She wiggled her hips and pulled a vibrator out of her suitcase. “I thought we could have a little fun.” She turned it on, and the sex toy rotated and shivered in her hand.

He sat on the bed and raised an eyebrow. “Well, um, I’ve never been much for toys.”

She stepped closer, her double-D breasts swaying under the flimsy nightie. She pouted. “Don’t you think I’m pretty?” She tossed the vibrator on the bed.

“Yes.”

She pushed him back with one finger, and then she straddled him. “Don’t you want to fuck me?” She leaned forward and pressed his wrists into the mattress.

Jennifer’s tits were right in his face, but he felt nothing. What the hell was wrong with him?

“Get off of me, Jen.” He couldn’t believe he said it. What was the point? Piper was here with Matt. She was probably getting lucky right now. And he was turning away no-strings-attached sex with a hot chick?

“Fine.” Jennifer let go of his wrists. “Get out.”

“What?”

She climbed off of him and snatched up her vibrator. “Get out. If you aren’t interested, go find somewhere else to sleep.”

“Where am I supposed to go?”

“The couch looked pretty comfortable.” She threw a pillow at him. “I could’ve been out with Ronald tonight. He owns a car dealership. He was going to take me to that new French restaurant. But no, I decided to come up here with you.”

Jacob tucked the pillow under his arm and grabbed a quilt off the bed. “You didn’t have to say yes.”

But she wasn’t listening. “I should know better. I don’t need a man. I can take care of things for myself.” She stepped out of her panties, yanked off the teddy, and sprawled across the bed. She oiled up the vibrator then spread her legs and poised the tip of the toy over her clit.

“This isn’t a free show. You can go now.”

He turned away and headed out the door. The minute it shut, he heard her moan. It was going to be a long night on the couch.

Chapter Six

Matt patted the spot next to him on the bed. “Come on, sugar. I’ve been waiting for you.” He wore only his boxers

Piper wore her red, flannel pajamas. It was the only nightwear she brought with her. Matt looked disappointed when she came out of the adjoining bathroom. “Did you notice it’s a Jack-and-Jill bathroom?”

Matt propped up his pillows behind his back and sat up a little higher on the bed. “A what?”

“You know, a bathroom with two doors. We share it with the bedroom next door.” She climbed up on the bed and sat cross-legged on the quilt. “I didn’t notice that this afternoon.”

“Oh. Okay.” He put his hands on her knees and leaned forward for a kiss.

“Just remember to lock the other door when you go in there.”

“Mmm-hmm...”

The kiss was warm and wet, but not very thrilling. Matt hadn’t improved his kissing skills much since high school. But she kissed him back.

He fumbled with the buttons on her pajama top. Breaking the kiss, he slid his lips down the side of her jaw and down her neck. As each inch of skin was revealed, he lowered his head to kiss it.

Piper waited for her body to react to his attentions.

A low moan seeped into their room from the bathroom.

“What was that?”

Matt lifted his head from her partially naked torso. “What?”

There was a banging of a headboard against the wall and then a high-pitched scream.

“Must be Townsend,” he said, continuing to unbutton her top.

“Which Townsend?” But she knew which one was having sex in the room next to hers.

Matt’s mouth found one of her nipples, and he sucked it into his mouth. But all she could think about was Jacob in bed with Jennifer. She pushed him away. “I’m just not into it tonight, Matt. I’m sorry. Can we just get some sleep?”

He sighed. “What’s with you? I thought you’d be over this freeze-up thing by now. I mean, shit, Piper, you were married. You did have sex with your husband, didn’t you?”

She violently buttoned her top. “What is that supposed to mean?”

He pulled his knees up to his chest. “I’m sorry. You just got me all turned on...and then...well...it just brought back memories.”

“I was sixteen when we were dating last time, Matt. That is so unfair.” Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she grabbed the alarm clock and set it for seven in the morning.

“I said I was sorry. What more do you want me to say?”

“Good night.” She turned off her bedside lamp, climbed under the covers, and didn’t say another word.

After a few minutes, Matt turned off his light, too. The bed creaked and dipped as he moved around to get comfortable.

Through the walls, she could hear the headboard banging against the wall again. She tried to block it out. Tried to think of something else. But all she could think of was what Jacob might look like when he reached climax. Those green eyes half closed, and his mouth relaxed. The tensing of his body as his cock released into her.

She wished she were alone so she could play on that fantasy.

Matt rolled over and whispered, “Are you still awake?”

“Hmm...”

“Maybe this just isn’t working, Piper. Maybe this was a mistake.”

She was silent, her back turned toward him. He was handing her the easy way out, but the timing couldn’t be worse. Break up with Matt when everyone else around her was paired off for the weekend? It couldn’t be more awkward. “Can we talk about this tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure. I just don’t want us wasting our time if it’s not going to work. I’m not a kid anymore.” He settled on the bed one last time.

Piper lay awake after his breathing became slow and regular, after she was sure he was asleep. He was right. They weren’t kids anymore.

Outside, the wind howled. It shook the windows, rattling them. Maybe a storm was coming after all.

* * * * *

It was early. Her alarm had gone off at seven o’clock sharp, and Piper was instantly awake. The room was cold. Someone had either turned the heat off or turned it too far down. Huddling under the blankets, she contemplated hitting the snooze and going back to sleep. But she wanted to be up before everyone else. Morning was her favorite time of day. She loved the quiet solitude it provided as she sipped that first cup of coffee.

She peeled back the heavy covers and climbed out of the cozy nest of the bed. Frost had grown on the windows overnight, the icy tendrils beautiful in the early white light. Matt didn’t even stir.

In the cold, she dashed about, gathering her clothes for the day, her toes turning into mini icicles. She couldn’t wait to get into the shower and turn on the hot water. Then she could make some coffee and try to rebuild the fire.

The bathroom was just as cold as the bedroom. She shivered, not looking forward to taking off her flannel pajamas, even if she would only be out in the cold for a few seconds before getting under the hot water.

A blast of steam greeted her when she turned on the shower. Instant heated water. Nice. The cabin might be rustic, but someone had gone to a lot of trouble to add a few extra touches. Slipping out of her pajamas, she hopped into the shower. The heat was delightful. And being that it was such a small bathroom, it warmed up rather quickly. After scrubbing her hair clean, shaving her legs, and soaping down, she shut off the water and reached outside the curtain for her towel.

Nothing.

No towel.

The counter of the bathroom sink was empty.

Dang it, she forgot to grab her towel drying over a chair in the bedroom.

She slid back the shower curtain to get another towel out of the cupboard, when the adjoining door opened and Jacob walked in.

All she saw was his green eyes scanning her naked body.

She froze.

Like a fawn startled by a hunter, she jumped back into the tub and yanked the curtain across.

“What in the hell, Henderson?” he asked. “Have you not heard of locks?” His voice cracked.

The blood pounded in her ears. Oh, my God. Jacob had seen her naked. In her mind, it had never happened like this. It was always romantic and sensual and... “Get out of here!”

“Hey, I’m not the one who left the door open.”

He didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

“I thought I’d locked it. Could you hand me a towel, please?”

“Now why would I do something like that?”

“Because I’m naked in the shower, and you’re a gentleman.”

“Who said I was a gentleman? If I knew you were putting on a free show...”

“It’s not a free show!”

“Well, if that was just a taste, I’d pay money to see more.” His voice became growly and low.

Was he serious? Or was he just teasing her again? Making fun of her. She started to shiver behind the curtain. She wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or from the desire that throbbed through her. Memories of the noises coming from his bedroom last night ran through her head. There was no way he was serious. He had that big-breasted bimbo in there. She couldn’t compete with her. “Could I have a towel, Jacob, please?” She didn’t know why, but she was on the verge of tears. Her words came out thick and slow.

She heard a shift in his voice. “I’ve got one. Here you go.” His hand appeared behind the curtain with a fluffy yellow towel.

She took it from him and wrapped herself up tight. Then she sat on the inside edge of the tub, not daring to move or to breathe. If she said one more word, she thought she might burst into tears.

“I’ll go make some coffee. Heaven forbid I should let you do it.” The teasing quality to his voice was back. It was the old Jacob. The safe Jacob.

Before she could thank him for the towel, she heard the door close.

Chapter Seven

Sleeping on the couch had been about as comfortable as sleeping on a pile of rocks. For one, it was too short for Jacob’s six-foot-two frame, and secondly, it was older than his grandmother.

Light barely streamed through the bay window when he awoke. The fire had died down overnight to only a pile of embers. He wrapped up in the quilt and got up to stoke it.

After placing a few good-sized logs on the coals, he headed for the room he was supposed to share with Jennifer. He hoped to sneak in while she was still snoozing and grab a shower.

Tiptoeing down the hall, he heard an alarm going off. Who in hell would set an alarm this early on a weekend? Probably that nerd, Matt.

In the bedroom, Jennifer was dead asleep and snoring like an elephant. Her vibrator and several different sex toys he couldn’t identify were scattered around her. Looked like she’d had a good time.

Quietly, he pushed open the door to the bathroom.

Piper, wet and gloriously naked, stood in the tub, a look of horror on her face. She was frozen there for a second, giving him ample opportunity to burn the sight of her body into his memory. Perfect, creamy breasts, dusky nipples, lean legs, and—

She whipped the shower curtain closed.

The first thing that came to mind was his typical teasing response. “What in the hell, Henderson?” he asked. “Have you not heard of locks?” His cock hardened in seconds.

The rest of the exchange was a blur. He remembered handing her a towel, but that was about it. The sight of her so naked and sexy and gorgeous took over most of his brain. His dick was like a missile in his pants, ready to fire on a moment’s notice.

Then he found himself out in the hall and headed toward the kitchen. He thought he remembered saying something about making coffee. That would give him time to think about his team’s plays, their season-ending game...anything but Piper’s nude body.

Not as if she was interested in him. Not as if he ever had a chance with her. Some dumb jock with a stupid coaching job. No advertising executive from L.A. would give him more than a passing glance. There were more important fish in the sea.

* * * * *

Half an hour later, Piper was dry, dressed, and questioning whether she shouldn’t wait in the bedroom until someone else woke up. But the rich smell of fresh coffee drew her out into the hall. She could do this. They were both adults. A naked woman was a naked woman right? He’d seen hundreds of them. Well, maybe not hundreds, but at least a dozen. Breasts, two legs, what was so special about that?

Wearing jeans and a very bulky sweater, she walked into the kitchen as though nothing were out of the ordinary. As if her long-time hot, sexy crush didn’t just see her in the nude. It was a piece of cake.

Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she flashed a slight smile at Jacob who stood by the toaster waiting for a bagel to pop up.

Play it casual, Piper, and it will all be forgotten. “So, how’d you sleep?” Dumb question, Piper! Dumb! He had loud sex with some slutty blonde. He probably didn’t do a whole hell of a lot of sleeping.

He gave her the once over, scanning her from the wool socks on her feet to the bright blue sweater she’d picked out. Then he crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. “Show’s over, huh?” He seemed annoyed. No jokes. No teasing. Just plain annoyed.

She poured herself a cup of coffee, taking an extra long time to measure out the sugar and stir it in with her spoon. How she wished to God someone else would wake up. “Let’s just forget that ever happened.”

“Matt’s a lucky guy...”

“You can quit it now. I get it. Stupid me forgot to lock the door. I’m no Miss America, but some people think I don’t look half bad in the buff...”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?” She took a sip of the hot coffee and kept her gaze on her mug. She couldn’t look at him. Just couldn’t.

“The big innocent act. You know you’re beautiful. You know it, I know it. It wasn’t a joke. Matt is lucky he gets to have you.” His bagel popped up, half-burned. “Shit.” He turned his attentions to his breakfast, trying to grab at the hot bagel without burning his fingers.

Piper didn’t know what to say. He was serious. He thought she was beautiful. There was a flutter of butterflies in her stomach.

“Hey, why didn’t you wake me?” It was Jennifer. She was squeezed into a cashmere sweater two sizes too small, the square neckline exposing her cleavage to its best advantage. Ignoring Piper, she sidled up to Jacob who was scraping off the burned parts of his bagel with a butter knife. “Did you see the snow out there? Do you think the lifts will be open this morning?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I need to get out of this place. Wish we had a little more space to spread out.” With his bagel buttered, he brushed past Piper.

Jennifer followed him. “I know what you mean. Did you hear Del and Jane last night? My God, they were loud enough to wake the dead.”

Piper’s face grew hot. Little did Jennifer know how thin the walls were that they shared. Del and Jane weren’t the only ones who kept everyone else awake. And lying in bed fantasizing.

Chapter Eight

“You’re sure you’ll be okay here?” Celia asked.

From her curled up position by the fire, a magazine in her lap, Piper looked out the window over her shoulder. “I should be asking you the same.” The snow was coming down pretty hard, and it was piling up fast.

Del came out of the kitchen munching on a piece of toast. “We’ll be fine. They’ve gotten a good eighteen inches of new snow in the last few days. A lot, but nothing they haven’t seen before in the Sierra Nevadas. Remember the Donner Party?”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” asked Piper, thinking of the ill-fated wagon train.

Del took a bite of toast and chewed while he explained. “No, what I meant was, heavy snows are pretty common up here. They’ve got the equipment to handle it.”

“Oh. Well, when you get back from tackling the slopes, I’ll be here with a vat of chili. Hope that’s okay with everyone.”

“That’ll be fine, sweetie,” said Celia. “I’ve gotta go load up my stuff before Ben yells at me.” She pulled her ear warmers more snugly about her ears, gave a wave, and then headed out the front door.

Matt, Jacob, and Jennifer were the last to leave. As was her usual fashion, Jennifer wore a bright pink pair of ski overalls that were too tight. Piper wondered how she’d be able to make the turns and sit in the chairlift without bursting the zipper. She’d braided her long, blonde hair into two plaits down her back, looking exactly like a Swedish milkmaid. Who but Jennifer could make ski bibs look sexy?

Piper stuck her nose back in her magazine. The last thing she needed to see was Jacob and Jennifer being all lovey-dovey on their way out the door.

“See you, sugar,” said Matt. Even with their impending break up, he was still calling her by that irritating nickname.

“Yep.”

The front door closed, and it was blessedly silent. For a few minutes, she read the magazine, flipping through it to look at the different pages of decorator tips and gardening ideas. But knowing she was all alone for the whole day in an isolated cabin with no TV and no phone began to make the weekend trip seem like a big mistake.

It was too quiet. Too still. She itched to get up and move around.

Heading back to the bedroom, she dug through her bag until she found her MP3 player. Clipping it to her jeans, she put the ear buds in and then cranked up the volume. Why not take a snowy walk in the woods with a bit of rock n’ roll?

The first strains of an alternative rock song blasted in her ears. She grooved through the bedroom door, grabbing her coat on the way out. Shimmying into the living room, she danced around, looking for her winter boots. And then the rhythm of the music took over. She swayed her hips to the beat and let herself go.

A tap on her shoulder nearly blasted her out of her skin. She twirled around to come face to face with Jacob who had an odd look on his face.

Breathing hard from her dance workout, she pulled the buds from her ears and tried not to blush. “Hey, what’s up? Did you forget something?” The beat of a new song could be heard. A slower song. One reserved for couples at a wedding reception or a night of hot, slow sex under the stars.

“Looks like you forgot something.”

“What?”

“You forgot to tell me you can really dance. Where did you learn to move like that?” He sounded serious.

She brushed a sweaty strand of hair out of her eyes. “Nowhere. Just ‘let the rhythm move you,’ like the song says.” First, he saw her naked, now he caught her dancing like an idiot. What next? Could there be any more ways she could embarrass herself this weekend? She tried not to think about it. “So, why’d you come back? Did you wimp out?” When in doubt, use humor.

He cracked a smile. “No, I did not wimp out. But Matt was thinking it might be better if we took an extra car. Just in case.”

“In case what?”

“In case someone wants to come back early or whatever. We only took two cars. And Ben’s an animal out there.”

Ben could be a bit of a jock when he wanted to be. Drove Celia nuts sometimes how he could run or ski or bike for hours without a break. “In other words, you came back for Celia’s car.”

“Yes. Do you know where the keys are?”

“I know what they look like.”

“Can you help me find them?”

“Are you willing to enter the Disaster Zone?”

He laughed. “God, you remember that?”

“Of course I do. Celia’s room was always a mess.” They both walked down the hall. “You were so silly...and cute about it.”

“Cute? Not cute when you have to ask your sister’s best friend to find your favorite CD buried under piles of girls’ underwear!”

“It was not all underwear.” They’d reached the door to Celia and Ben’s room. “It was just her dirty laundry.”

“An eighteen-year-old boy does not touch his sister’s underwear.”

Piper laughed at the memory. “Do you want to open it, or should I?” Her hand settled on the doorknob, and she looked back at Jacob who was close behind her. His warm breath brushed her cheek. Her thoughts flashed back to just a few hours earlier when she was completely naked in the bathroom. That look in his eyes. What was that look? Her nipples tightened at his nearness. She took a quick glance at his mouth—full and sexy, the perfect kissing mouth. What would it be like if his lips touched hers?

“Be my guest.”

His words broke the spell.

She turned the knob and pushed open the door. And then she shut it right back up.

“What the hell, Henderson?” Jacob almost trampled her when she made the quick reverse motion.

“You don’t want to go in there.”

“More underwear? I’m over it.” He tried to get past her.

“No. seriously, Jacob. You do not want to go in there. Wait for me in the living room. I’ll find the keys.”

“What? Does she have a meth lab in there or something? It can’t be that bad. Used condom on the bed?”

Piper blocked the door with her body. “I’ll get the keys.”

He grabbed her by the waist and physically moved her away from the door.

When he grabbed the knob, Piper made one last try, “Don’t, Jacob!”

The door opened.

“Holy fuck.”

“I told you not to open it.”

Inside Celia’s bedroom was some of the craziest S&M equipment Piper had ever seen. A bright red ball gag, a blindfold, nipple clamps, a leather hood with only eyeholes. And tubes and tubes of gels and lubricants.

“I’m gonna kill Ben.” He looked like he meant it.

She stepped in front of him to keep him from getting a good view of everything in the room. “Whoa. Hold on there. Celia’s a big girl. I don’t think she’d agree to something like this if she didn’t like it.”

Jacob’s face paled. “No way. Not my little sister.” He swallowed and looked her in the eye. “My little sister, Henderson.”

“She’s not so little anymore.” She grabbed the knob and slowly closed the door. “Let’s give her some privacy. It’s really none of our business. I’ll look for the keys. You wait in the living room.” She pushed at his chest.

Jacob’s body was hot and hard under her fingers, the heat between them electric. She wondered if he could feel it, too, or if it were only her imagination.

He looked down at her hand then into her eyes. His green eyes startled her every time with their brightness. He leaned his head down toward her, and she held her breath.

“What are you doing to me, Henderson?” he whispered, his lips poised above hers.

Piper’s breath caught in her throat.

His mouth descended on hers, his full lips warm and inviting. Nibbling the edges of her mouth, he teased open her lips. His tongue slipped inside, silken and hot, exploring her.

Piper returned the kiss and held nothing back. All the years of pent-up desire leapt out of her. She pressed her body against his, sucked on his tongue as if her life depended on it. It all came at her fast, hot, and exciting. Just like she imagined. Her breasts rubbed against his solid chest, her nipples hard points of pleasure. She slid her arms around his neck and buried her fingers in his hair.

His hands settled on her hips, kneading and caressing.

She willed him to unsnap and unzip her jeans. She wanted his hands on her bare skin, his fingers touching her between her legs where the fire and wetness grew.

He pushed at her and broke the kiss. They both panted, their foreheads touching. “I can’t do this. I’ve got to go.”

“What?” Piper’s mind went numb. Her body was revved up and ready to fuck. And he said he couldn’t?

He grabbed her wrists from around his neck and pushed them against her chest. “I’ve got to go.” He wouldn’t look at her. He wiped his mouth with thumb. Before she could protest, he opened the door to Celia’s room.

“I don’t understand....” She watched him from the doorway, her nipples zinging for his touch. This was it. This was her dream moment...and he was leaving her?

He found the keys on the dresser, brushed past her, then took off down the hall.

Piper leaned against the wall in the hallway, the scent of massage oil drifting out from Celia’s room. “What did I do wrong?” she asked no one. The front door slammed shut, and Piper was left alone in the cabin, her body longing for Jacob to come back and give her release.

Chapter Nine

Piper chopped onions with the radio on. Hours had passed since everyone left for the slopes, and the amount of snow that had fallen since they left made her worry. At least another six inches, and it was still coming down.

She kept herself busy and her mind off of the weather and off of Jacob by cooking. The rich smell of browning ground beef wafted up to her nose from the big pot on the stove. Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t stopped for lunch.

But how could she eat? Her mind had been distracted by thoughts of Jacob and that erotic, blistering kiss in the hallway. It was even better than she imagined. He had the most incredible lips—soft but masculine at the same time. No imagination could come up with something that sexy.

Distracted by her thoughts, she dropped half of the onion on the floor.

“Dammit!” She picked it up and rinsed it off in the sink. That was what she got for daydreaming rather than concentrating on what she was doing.

There was no point in daydreaming anyway. Jacob made that clear. He told her he couldn’t have sex with her. Maybe he just wasn’t all that attracted to her and didn’t want to take advantage of her clear feelings for him. Or maybe he had something serious going with Jennifer and didn’t want her to get in the way. A little ho-hum fuck on the side wasn’t worth it to him. He would be risking a lot for very little in return.

That must be it. Otherwise, why would any red-blooded American male turn down an offer of sex? How could she possibly compete with Pamela Anderson breasts, a perfect complexion, and what was likely to be extremely good technique? Any woman who looked like Jennifer had to be well schooled in the ways of fucking.

She shook the excess water off of the onion. It was almost a blizzard out there. They had to be on their way home, right? She wished there was decent cell phone service up here. Then she could call Celia and find out what was going on.

“...This report comes to us from the Sierra Avalanche Center in Tahoe National Forest...” the man on the radio announced. “Above 8,000 feet, avalanche danger is high with pockets of moderate danger on aspects of thirty-five degrees and steeper. Strong ridge top winds have caused wind loading in lee areas, and this is where the areas of greatest snow pack instability will occur...”

Avalanche Center?

She glanced out the window at the mountain southwest of the cabin. Although they were very high in the Sierra Nevadas, a few higher peaks rose up above their little weekend home-away-from-home. In the late afternoon she noticed how dark it had become in the house, not because the sun was setting, but because the high peaks blocked the sunlight from reaching the cabin.

Should she be worried about the snow above her? It was hard to see clearly through the driving, blowing snow.

Out the window she saw some headlights. Thank the Lord, they were coming back from the slopes. The car struggled up the hill then stopped at the bottom of the drive on the main road. There was too much snow for the car to make it.

A dark figure emerged from the vehicle. The door was left open, the headlights still on. Did whomever it was leave the car running? What kind of crazy nut did that?

The wind blew a gust of snowflakes across the window, obscuring her view for a moment. Then, when she could see again, she recognized the figure trudging through the deep drifts on the drive. It was Jacob.

She ran around to the front door, leaving her meat sizzling on the stove and the rest of her onions unchopped. When she opened the door, a pile of snow fell into the entry. She stepped back from the wet, cold mess and looked back out into the storm.

“Piper! Get back in the house!” He frantically waved at her.

A groaning drowned out whatever he said next. Like a coal mine caving in, a roar of sound filled the air. Her body trembled instinctively.

Jacob was only a few feet away. He stumbled in the drifts, a look of sheer panic on his face, then dove in the front door and landed in a heap in the entry way.

Still engulfed by the deafening noises, Piper couldn’t think what was happening. She knew there was danger, but her body wouldn’t react.

Jacob grabbed her around the waist and dragged her further into the cabin, but not before she saw a rush of white tumble down the mountain in a swirl of snow and broken trees.

“Put your head down!” he yelled into her ear. She could barely hear him, even though he was right next to her. He wrapped his arms around her like a vise. She could barely breathe.

“But the chili...”

“Forget the damn food, Piper. It’s an avalanche!”

When he said the words, there was a thunderous sound like a freight train barreling by, and the house shook almost as if it were knocked off its foundation. The top of a pine tree cracked through the ceiling just a few feet away.

Piper screamed.

Jacob threw his body across hers, pinning her to the floor. Snow crashed in through the opening made by the tree. They were both tossed into the living room. Snow broke through the bay window. Glass, snow, and branches were everywhere.

The thunderous roar subsided to a dull rumble. And then all was silent.

Chapter Ten

“Did you find the radio?” Piper called out from the living room, hunkered under the sturdy dining table. A sense of calm had come over her in the twenty minutes since the avalanche. At least she wasn’t alone in here. And it didn’t seem the roof would come crashing in on them.

“No,” Jacob called from the kitchen. “But it looks like the chili would have been good.” He came around the corner with the pot in his hand. It was full of half-cooked ground beef.

She looked over at the fireplace across the room. “Maybe we could finish cooking it in there?” Oh, how her stomach growled. She kicked herself for not eating earlier.

He set the pot on the table. “I think it’s safe for you to come out of there.” He reached a hand down to her. She took it gladly and let him pull her up out of their makeshift cover.

“How do you know the ceiling won’t come down on us?”

“Smoke’s still going up the chimney. There might be some snow on the roof, but it’s not completely covered. Probably just on the eastern side, where the roof collapsed.”

“And that’s it? That’s your scientific analysis?”

“Who said anything about scientific? I’m just a football coach, remember?”

“Yeah, but aren’t guys supposed to be savvy about all this kind of stuff?”

“Why, is Matt?”

“Oh, my God! Matt. And Celia. And everyone else. Do you think they’re all right?” Her best friend was out there somewhere in all the snow and trees. At least she was sheltered. But Celia...

“Matt and Jennifer were still coming down the run when they put out the avalanche warning. I don’t know. I was waiting for them at the bottom of the hill, but then someone mentioned Pinetop Mountain, and all I could think about was getting back here to make sure you were all right.”

“And Celia? What about Celia and Ben?” Worry ate at her like a cancer.

“I don’t know...”

“What are we going to do? We’re stranded in here.” She looked around at the ruin of the living room. Some parts were untouched, others looked like they had been through a tornado. “How will anyone ever find us?”

“They’ll find us.”

“But how do you know?”

He pulled her close to him, wrapping an arm in brotherly fashion around her shoulders. “Trust me. We’ll be all right. If no one comes for us, we can dig our way out.”

Deep down she knew he was just trying to keep her calm. There was no way they could dig out of here by themselves with no shovel and no tools. She shivered as the room grew colder. “We better crank up that fire. It’ll be dark soon. And cold. And with all that snow in here...” She glanced over at the small hill of snow that had broken through the bay window.

“The snow actually works really well as an insulator.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” She shivered again.

Jacob hugged her closer. “Come on. Let’s go sit on the sofa and get you under that quilt.”

His arm was so warm around her, she didn’t want to move. She could see her breath in the air already. How could he be so sure they wouldn’t freeze to death before the sun came up?

“Besides, there’s no use worrying about how we’re going to get out of here tonight. No one will be able to search for us in the dark. Tomorrow, someone should be able to see the smoke, and then we’ll be out of here.” He ushered her toward the couch.

“How can you be so sure?”

There was an old-fashioned wedding ring quilt folded across the back of it. He grabbed one end of it, sat her down, and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I’m sure. Now, you get warm under here while I build the fire back up.”

Under the heavy quilt, her body heat began to work at warming her. Jacob added several thick logs to the fire.

“There,” he said, brushing off his hands. “We’ll be warm in no time.”

She pulled the quilt closer around her and wondered if he would join her under it. “I hope you’re right.”

He took a seat in the recliner next to the couch.

So much for sharing body heat under the quilt. She needed to get these ideas out of her head. Yes, she was trapped in a cabin with her dream man, but it wasn’t exactly the best time to confess her true feelings for him. They had to think about staying warm and getting out of here. And not starving to death. Her stomach gave off an angry growl. “I’m dying for a bite. Do you want something to eat?”

He watched her as he huddled into his winter coat. “You know, you still look the same.”

“What?” She pulled her toes up under the quilt. “What are you talking about?”

“The same as you did in high school.”

“Oh, Lord, I hope not,” she said, remembering the spiral perm she’d gotten sophomore year. “I looked like a poodle.”

“You look great,” he stressed. “Is this the first time you’ve been back home since...well, since high school graduation?”

“I came home from L.A. every summer when I was in college.”

“I never saw you over at the house.”

“I came over,” she said. “You were just always out with some girl or other.”

“You mean, I missed you stopping by?”

“Like you would have noticed I was there.”

“I would have.” The words were quiet, but they held a lot of power when he said them.

She waved a dismissive hand at him. “So, why did you never settle down? Seems like you had more than enough opportunities.” It was nice to get her mind off her worries about the avalanche.

He shrugged. “Never found the right girl, I guess.”

“What about Jennifer? You two seemed to be hitting it off.”

“She’s a good friend.”

Piper thought back to the night before and all the hot and heavy fucking she heard going on in the room next door. His room. “Is that what they call it nowadays?”

He seemed genuinely confused by her sarcasm. “Like I said, she’s a friend. What about you and weenie-boy?” Jacob bit off each word as if there were a bad taste in his mouth.

“What’s your problem with him?” Starting to get warmer under the quilt, she unwrapped herself a bit.

“He’s a little shit, that’s what.”

Piper glared at him. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“He’s not your boyfriend.”

“Yes, he is.”

“Matt Duncan is just your fuck buddy.”

“My what?”

“Your fuck buddy. The safe guy who gives you what you want when you need it.”

“Excuse me?” She couldn’t believe he said that. He almost sounded jealous.

“You know it’s true. He’s not right for you. He never was.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, watching her with those cat-like eyes.

“Like you would have even noticed. I was just the lowly sophomore, and you were the senior with all the girls falling all over you.” As the fire roared higher in the fireplace, she pushed the quilt off of her lap. This might be her one chance to tell him everything. They were stuck in this house together at least for the night. She might as well take advantage of that. No interruptions. No Matt. No Celia. And especially no Jennifer. What did she have to lose? She took a breath and looked down at her hands.

“You know, I had this huge crush on you in high school, right?” She could feel his eyes on her.

“You did?” His voice was low, but she thought she detected a small amount of surprise. Or was it embarrassment?

“God, how could you not notice? I followed you around like a little lost puppy.” She got up from the comfortable couch and grabbed another log for the fire. The stack of wood was growing low. She tried not to think about what they were going to do once the wood ran out.

“I wished I had.”

She closed the glass doors to keep the embers from popping out onto the rug. “You do?” Goose bumps rose on her arms even so close to the fire. When she turned, Jacob’s hot stare caught her off guard.

“Ever since I got here, I’ve been wishing things had been different between us.” His green gaze swept over her, as if he could see right through the bulky sweater she wore.

She wondered if he knew how turned on she was by his words, his gaze, his voice. Her breasts tingled at the lusty thoughts running through her head. Was he coming on to her? Or just reminiscing? She was so used to his teasing, his making fun, that it was hard to tell when he was serious with her. She curled up on the couch once more. “You never noticed me like that. You always treated me like a kid sister.”

“I noticed, Piper. You may not think I did, but I just stayed away. I thought I knew how you felt about me.”

“And how did you think I felt about you?”

“I was the dumb jock.”

She shook her head. “That’s not true. Who told you that?”

“Don’t try to deny it. I knew I wasn’t smart enough for you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Matt was the math nerd. I get that. He might not have been the best looking guy around, but you knew he was going places. Me? I was good at sports, but that was about it. Now, I’m just a coach at a rinky-dink community college. You were right to stay away from me.”

“I don’t know where this is coming from.” Did he really believe what he was saying? “You were always nice to me in school. A good friend. Watching out for me like a big brother. I never thought those things about you. Never said those things.”

“Like a big brother? You thought I was watching out for you? I didn’t want any guy coming near you. You didn’t want me, but I wasn’t about to let someone else get close.”

“What?”

“When you started going out with Matt... God, I couldn’t stand it. I wanted you for myself.”

It was a revelation to her. All those years of dreaming about him, wanting him, and she could have had him all along. He could have been hers. “Then why didn’t you take me for yourself?”

“I knew I could never have you.”

“But what if I wanted you?” She had been so wrong about everything. And now she knew the truth. He’d wanted her just as much as she wanted him. Her pussy ached, grew wet. All she had to do was reach out and take what she had always wanted.

She moved toward him, tugging her sweater up her body.

“Don’t jerk me around, Henderson.”

“Call me Piper.” She knelt down beside him and pulled the sweater over her head. The heat of the fire buffeted her body. She wanted to be naked for him, give herself to him. She reached behind, unhooked her bra, and dropped it to the floor.

“Piper...” His voice cracked.

She took his hand and brought it to her naked breast, forcing him to cup the soft flesh. The tips of his fingers grazed her nipple, and it hardened. His hand was like a burning flame on her skin. Scorching everything it touched.

He caressed her and looked into her eyes. His pupils dilated, an unmistakable hunger there. “I want you to make love to me, Jacob.”

“I can’t...” But his hand told a different story. It squeezed her tit, teased the nipple.

She rose up off her heels and unzipped her jeans. The firelight danced in his darkened eyes. “I’m wet for you, Jacob.” She gently pulled his hand away from her breast and stood up. “I need you.”

He looked up at her from the recliner. She knew he was hard. Ready for her. Oh, so ready. And she knew he wouldn’t say no this time. Wouldn’t turn her away.

Chapter Eleven

Jacob couldn’t believe what was happening. She was pulling off her sweater, unhooking her bra. How did this happen? It was like a dream. A very, very good dream.

Her breasts were perfect. Twin globes of softness with dark areolas and pert nipples. Just like he remembered from that moment in the bathroom. He wanted to put his mouth on them and tease them with his tongue. But he couldn’t move. He couldn’t make himself touch her. It was as if she were a ghost, and he was afraid she would disappear.

But then she took his hand and placed it on her tit. He squeezed it, feeling the soft, warm flesh. His dick hardened instantly and painfully in his jeans.

“I want you to make love to me,” she whispered.

He rolled her rosebud of a nipple between his fingers. She sighed, and he almost lost it. “I can’t—” What if she decided it was all a mistake? What if, once someone found them, she regretted the whole thing? The last thing he wanted was to be a bad memory for her. Her reminder of using poor judgment. But her nipple felt so hard and ripe between his fingers.

She pulled away from him.

He waited for it. Waited for her to stop everything, throw on her sweater and cover up under the quilt. He knew it was too good to be true.

She unzipped her pants. “I’m wet for you, Jacob.”

Jesus.

His dick throbbed in response.

“I need you.”

She was perfection. She was all he wanted. Ever. To hear those words come out of her beautiful mouth was almost more than he could bear.

Piper slipped off her jeans and panties and straddled him. Her wet, exposed pussy lips rubbed over the rough denim of his jeans. The feeling was electric.

“Piper, God, you’re so beautiful. So, so beautiful.” He grabbed a lock of her hair and rubbed it between his fingers. Then he let it fall back against her shoulder. His hands found her tits once more, gently squeezing them, feeling their weight, toying with the erect nipples. “How did I ever let you slip past?”

She writhed against him. Warm, rough hands on her breasts. Jacob’s hands. She raised her chin and looked down at him through her lashes.

He seemed mesmerized by her breasts. He lifted them, pushed them together, pinched each nipple in turn, watching them grow harder and harder. And then he rose up, grabbed her around the waist, and latched his mouth onto one of them.

She mewled in satisfaction. His mouth was hot and wet and incredibly erotic. She rubbed her cleft against him. The pressure and the rough texture of the denim felt so good on her clit.

As he cupped her other breast with his hand, his tongue pressed against her nipple.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and tried to pull his body closer to her.

He let go of her breast, and his hand traveled between them. He slipped his fingers between her labia, finding the ripening bud of her clit. His fingers were rough and demanding. Her clit pulsed to life under his touch.

He released her breast and licked the tip of one nipple. “You’re so wet for me, Piper. So wet. God, you feel so good.” His fingers explored her further, sliding down the lips of her vagina and into the creamy hole of her cunt.

She bucked against him. Her legs, wrapped so tightly around him, grew weak at the sparks of sensation he created between her legs. “Don’t stop, Jacob. Don’t stop. That feels so fucking good.”

He rubbed his finger over the moisture and swirled it around and around the nub of her clit. “Come for me, Piper. Come for me. I want to see the look on your face when you climax.” He slicked his finger back and forth across her labia, spreading moisture all over her cunt.

She tilted her head back, and her hair spilled down her shoulders. His fingers teased and tortured. She tweaked her nipples, adding to the crescendo building within her.

He pushed one of her hands away and drew her nipple back into his mouth. Nibbling and sucking. His fingers swirling and stroking.

“Piper. Come for me.” His voice was a bare whisper against her breast. His words thrummed through her whole body, bringing her closer to release.

This was Jacob. Her fantasy man. He was right here touching her. Oh, God, it was so good. So, so good.

She bucked, spreading her legs wide, inviting him in farther. She reached between them for the zipper on his jeans. The bulge in his pants was a boulder of an erection. Hard. Very hard. And she wanted that hot, hard dick inside her.

When his zipper was undone, she pushed his hand away from her pussy. “No, stop. Stop...wait...”

He licked at her other nipple. “Let me love you, Piper. Let me do this for you.”

She stroked his cock through his boxer shorts. He groaned and leaned his head back, his eyes closed. “Piper...”

“I want you inside me, Jacob.” She threaded his dick through the opening in his boxers. “Let me show you...”

He grabbed her around the waist. And then she rose up and impaled herself on his dick. The sensation of his hardness inside of her blew her mind. She lost her grip on sanity, and her body moved without conscious thought. She was feral, a wild beast untamed. She raised herself up and down on his cock then reached down to stroke her clit.

Jacob moaned. The look she had always wanted to see—those green eyes heavy and half-lidded, his mouth parted in ecstasy—was right there in front of her. The sight of her long-time crush fucking her ramped up the wanton creature inside of her. This was her man. Her hot and sexy man. Fucking her. Hard. Like an animal. He was out of control because of her. It was empowering and incredibly hot.

She teased her clit, building the orgasm, each slam of his dick in her vagina bringing her one step closer to heaven. Her inner walls trembled, the release nearing. Now, now, now. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. It felt so damn good.

She reached the pinnacle, pinching her clit for one last boost to the orgasm, and screamed his name. “Jacob! Oh, my God, Jacob!”

He continued to pump into her, looking for his own release. The slide of his dick coaxed her vagina toward another orgasm.

She leaned forward and rubbed her naked tits against the rough corduroy shirt he wore.

“Piper,” he whispered, looking up at her with heat-glazed eyes.

She brought her mouth down to his, kissing him hard, and he matched her enthusiasm. His tongue copied his cock...thrusting, slamming, pounding. She worked her hips against his pelvis and ground into him. She nibbled at his mouth, begged him to fuck her harder, and he managed to comply.

A second, deeper orgasm exploded inside her. She lost herself to the riot of sparks all along her body.

Jacob thrust one last time and emptied into her, his release as hard and as violent as her own.

She collapsed on top of him and kissed him on the side of his jaw. “Thank you,” she said. It was the only thing she could think to say. He gave her what she had wanted all these years. And it was a thousand times better than she imagined.

“My God, Piper,” he said into her hair, sliding his hands up and down her naked sides. “I’ve never...that was...” He hugged her close to him.

The fire crackled. The room grew dark. And they lay there on the recliner. She never wanted to let him other go.

Piper feared if she moved it would all disappear. Maybe this was just a dream. Maybe the most incredible, satisfying fuck of her life was just a dream. She closed her eyes and took in the sensation of his body against hers, his heat, his distinctive smell. It was like coming home and finding home all at the same time.

“We need to cover you up,” he said to her. The tone of his voice had changed. Something wasn’t right here. He rolled her to one side, so he could get up from the chair.

She caught his hand and tried to pull him to her. Her body wanted him close. Her pussy throbbed in need of another hard fucking. “Come back here, you.”

He wouldn’t look at her. Instead, he grabbed the quilt and tossed it over her body. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

What was he saying? “What? What’s wrong? I thought that we...that you and me...” The words just wouldn’t come out of her mouth.

“I took advantage. You were scared. We’re here all alone...”

“What? I wasn’t scared. I wanted you. I’ve been wanting to do that for years.” She stretched her body like a contented cat, trying to entice him back to her. “And I’d be very interested in doing it again.” She shrugged one naked shoulder out from underneath the quilt.

He watched her, almost as though entranced by what he witnessed. His hands clenched. He bit his lip. But he didn’t move.

She slid her foot up along the side of his thigh, coming closer and closer to the bulge in his unzipped jeans.

He grabbed her ankle and brought her foot up to his mouth. Gently, he kissed the tip of her big toe, and then he set her foot back down on the recliner. “You are exquisite, Piper. But this isn’t right. You know this isn’t what you want.” His face hardened. The desire she had witnessed in those green eyes faded. As if he just shut off all emotion.

Now she felt foolish. What had just happened? Was it nothing more to him than two people acting on instinct, caught up in the moment? “I told you, this is what I want. What I’ve always wanted.”

He turned away and went to the fire. Opening the door, he grabbed the iron poker and jabbed at the chunks of blazing wood. “The sex. Yeah, I get that. Now you’ve satisfied your curiosity—”

“It’s not like that.” She wrapped the quilt tighter around her, as if it could protect her from his words.

“—and tomorrow it will be time to go back to reality.” He finished prodding at the fire, set the poker back in its stand, and shut the glass door with a bang.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“I don’t need to listen. I know how it goes.” He turned around and sat on the edge of the hearth, looking at his soot-smudged hands. “When we get out of here, you’re going back to L.A. with Matt. Back to your high-powered job in some swanky office building with all the hotshots.”

She was so shocked, she couldn’t speak. He really thought she was that serious with Matt? “I couldn’t care less about me and Matt. In fact, we pretty much were breaking up this weekend.”

“Oh, how convenient. Just happened to be breaking up. You don’t have to feel guilty for having sex with me, Piper. Do whatever you want. Date whomever you want to date.”

“But I don’t want—”

He held up a hand to silence her. “Let’s just say it was fun while it lasted.”

Piper’s eyes began to sting. Unshed tears pricked behind her lashes. He thought the sex was fun and nothing else? That it was meaningless? She should have known better than to throw herself at him. She was right. There was no way for her to compete with Jennifer. She sank her chin deep into the soft quilt and stared at the orange flames of the fire, willing the tears to stop.

He got up from the hearth, his demeanor cold, emotionless. “I can’t just sit here. I’m going to try to find a way to dig us out. I think I saw a snow shovel in the front closet.” He buttoned up his corduroy shirt, zipped his pants, ran a hand through his sex-tousled hair, and walked right past her to the entry.

The minute he passed by, the tears started to flow. Now that she was alone, she could let her emotions out. No one was here to see her cry. No one was here to comfort her. Just the crackling fire, and it would keep her secrets.

Chapter Twelve

She awoke to the crisp sound of the shovel sliding into the snow.

There was a gray, murky light in the room. When she sat up, the quilt slipped off her shoulders, revealing her naked torso, reminding her she’d fallen asleep on the couch and never got redressed. Hurriedly, she covered herself.

The methodical digging continued.

Had Jacob been at it all night?

She got up off the couch and held the quilt close to her body. Her clothes from the night before were scattered on the floor. She scooped up everything with her free hand then struggled to get dressed under the quilt.

She shimmied her panties up her thighs, trying to shift them back into place. The quilt sagged. Figuring there was no way to get her panties all the way up without two hands, she let go of the quilt and hoped it would just rest on her shoulders.

Next came her jeans. When she lifted one foot into the leg of her pants, the quilt slipped to the floor.

“Ahem.” Jacob cleared his throat behind her.

Crap!

Quickly, she yanked on her jeans and snapped them closed. Luckily, her back was to him. But it was her naked back nonetheless. Her breasts grew heavy at the thought of him watching her dress. “Can you give me a sec here?” She stood still and crossed her arms over her exposed breasts.

“Sorry. I didn’t know...that is...”

“Could you turn around, please?” As much as she wanted to face him and show him how much she still wanted him, she knew that wasn’t what he wanted. And it hurt to know that. Hurt more than she thought it would.

“Yeah, um, okay. Go ahead.”

Even knowing he was still in the room was enough to get her nipples to stand at attention. She picked up her bra and cinched it closed behind her back. The soft fabric caught on the tight, aroused points of her nipples. She imagined Jacob coming up behind her, circling his hands around her and palming her tits. She wanted it. God, she wanted it and couldn’t help it. No matter what he said or did yesterday. Trying to dispel any memories of last night, she slipped her sweater over her head.

She turned around. Jacob had his back to her. She admired his well-sculpted ass in tight jeans for a brief moment. Would’ve been nice to have had the chance to have seen his ass out of the jeans, but it wasn’t meant to be. “You can turn around now.”

Jacob turned, scanned her in a split second, and said, “I’ve been digging.”

“I know. I heard.” It was as if nothing had ever happened between them. As though he hadn’t touched her, kissed her, made her come right here in the living room last night. “Did you make any headway?”

“Some, but I need the poker.” He grabbed the iron poker off of the hearth.

“Why?” She leaned against the dining room table behind the recliner, watching him.

“To see if maybe I’m close to the surface. I needed something long, narrow, pointy.” He held the poker up and jabbed it in the air to show her how he would use it.

“I could make a really bad joke about Celia’s nose right now, but I won’t.”

“You should.”

Despite her raw emotions, she laughed. “Why?”

“Maybe it’ll get my mind off of the fact we’re buried in a cabin under an avalanche.”

Her smile faded. “But you said everything would be okay.”

“It will.”

“And you said someone would come find us in the morning.”

“They will.”

“Then what’s to be worried about?”

“If I can’t break through to the surface to put up a marker, it might take them a while to find us.”

“A while?”

“Yes. And considering we have no power, not a lot of food, and we ran out of wood about three hours ago, I would say there’s enough worry to go around, wouldn’t you?”

“I guess so.”

“Look, I think we can do this. I think we can break through to the surface. But how long that will take, I don’t know.”

“Okay. So you’re worried but you’re not worried.”

“That’s a pretty good assessment.”

She flashed a quick smile at the ambiguity in his answer. “Should I try and scrounge together some breakfast? You must be starving if you’ve been digging most of the night.”

“I got a little bit of sleep.” His eyes flicked away from her.

If he was going to pretend nothing happened, then so could she. “Well, good.” She passed by him and went into the kitchen. “How about sandwiches? There’s a couple loaves of bread, and I know there’s some ham and cheese in the fridge. Maybe we could put the rest of the stuff in the snow to stay cold.”

“Good idea.” He followed her to the doorway of the kitchen. “Put a pile of stuff right here...” He pointed at the end of the counter near the doorway. “...and I’ll find somewhere to stow it and keep it cold.”

“Aye-aye, captain.” She mock saluted him. “Chow will be ready in a jiffy.” She opened a loaf of bread and started to spread mayonnaise on the slices. It was easy to fall back into their silly, teasing relationship. Although she could still feel the aftereffects of their intense sex session last night, she tried her best to push it out of her mind. Jacob seemed to be able to do it. If he could, so could she.

* * * * *

Jacob dug into the pile of snow with renewed energy. Hard, physical labor was the only way he was going to keep last night out of his mind. One shovelful at a time. Too bad his cock had a long memory. His mind flashed to the creamy slide of his dick in Piper’s cunt. How her inner walls had gripped him, tight and hot. So wet for him.

Blood rushed to his groin.

Suck it up, Townsend. It was one night and one night only.

He scooped up another shovel of snow and tossed it down the hall. At least he was staying warm. At least he was distracted.

He looked up into the snow tunnel he’d dug. His hope had been to see some kind of light coming through from above to indicate he was nearing the surface, but it was just as dark as it had been when he started.

Earlier, when Piper had been asleep, he’d had to cover her up because the quilt had slipped off of her shoulders while she slept, exposing the curve of one breast, the nipple tight in the chilled air. He’d let his fingers trace across the warm flesh, remembering.

When she moved in her sleep, he tucked the quilt around her nude body. To keep her completely covered was the only way he could stay focused on the digging. Getting out. Getting back to their regular lives. Last night had been solely due to circumstances. One scared woman, one sorry man who lusted after her. He took advantage. She had wanted comfort, reassurance. And he’d given it to her. But that was all she wanted.

He picked up the poker and prodded it into the hole he’d dug.

Nothing but more snow.

Already he’d dug six or seven feet above the height of the front door. How much more snow was there? Even thinking about digging another eight hours tired him.

But he had to keep going. Piper depended on him to get them out. To put up a flag and let rescuers know people were alive under all the mounds of snow. She needed him to do that for her.

His arms burned from the strain. His shoulders ached. Blisters had formed on his hands from the rough handle of the snow shovel.

“How’s it going?” she asked him from the kitchen.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and stripped off his shirt. “Fine. Just fine. We’ll be out of here in no time.”

He wrapped his shirt around his right hand, the one with the worst blisters, and knocked down some more snow. He would get them out of there if it killed him.

Chapter Thirteen

“I thought you said we’d be out of here in no time,” said Piper, her teeth chattering even though she was fully clothed under the quilt.

Jacob sat on the coffee table, his head in his hands. She knew he was exhausted. He’d dug the entire day, only breaking for a sandwich and a can of soda. She’d watched the muscles ripple under his skin, the sweat bead on his brow, his arms shake when he couldn’t lift one more shovelful. He’d worked very hard with nothing to show for it.

He was probably as worried and as sick at heart as she was. But still she felt the need to prod at him. “Do you think anyone knows we’re here? Do you think anyone’s looking?”

“I don’t know,” he snapped. He turned his head to look at her. There was a weariness in his bright green eyes, as if he’d given up. “I did what I could. I’ll try again tomorrow.”

The candles flickered. “I can help. I’m not some weakling. I can do more than make a sandwich.”

“I’ll be fine.” He unwrapped his one hand. In the candlelight it wasn’t very clear, but it looked like it was bleeding.

“Are you all right?” Piper kneeled on the floor next to him.

He pulled his hand away from her. “I’m fine.”

She grabbed it. “Let me see.” His hand was raw, red, with three huge blisters in the middle of his palm. “Why didn’t you tell me? You shouldn’t be digging like this. It could get infected.”

He plucked his hand out of her grasp and tucked it inside the throw rug he was using as a blanket. “I told you, I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. Your hand is like a piece of raw meat. At least put it in the snow for a minute. That would make it feel better.”

He got up from the coffee table. “I don’t want to feel better, okay? I want it to hurt.” He paced back and forth in front of the cold fireplace, the candles barely lighting his face.

“Is that why you’ve hardly looked at me since last night?”

“What?” He stopped pacing.

“You know what I mean. We had sex—”

His gaze darted away from her.

“—and then you pretended like nothing ever happened.”

“I didn’t pretend nothing happened. I knew it meant nothing to you.”

“What?”

“You are so far ahead of me, Henderson. How can we possibly fit together? I barely passed high school. I’m a goddamn fucking coach of a two-bit community college, for fuck’s sake. You made something of yourself. I didn’t.” He seemed as if he wanted to burst out of his skin. “You don’t want me. You just wanted to know what it was like to screw Celia’s big brother. That’s it. End of story. Go back to your life already.”

“I don’t want you? When did you decide this? Last night I told you what a huge crush I had on you. For years. And when I saw you walk in the door this weekend, all those feelings came rushing back like it was yesterday. I never felt that way about Jim. Or Matt.”

She got up from the couch, grabbed his arm, and forced him to stop pacing and look at her. “You think I care what you do for a living? How much money you make? What kind of car you drive? Well, if you think I do, then you don’t know me at all. I wanted you from the very first time I came home from school with Celia. I always loved you, Jacob Townsend. Always.” Her emotions got the best of her, and her words caught in her throat. “If you can’t get it through that thick skull of yours, then I guess you don’t deserve me.”

“You love me?” he whispered.

“Yes, I love you, you darn lunkhead.” Now that the words were out there, she was invigorated. “And we’re going to get out of here, and we’re going to be happy, goddamn it.”

He smiled, and his whole face changed from handsome to irresistibly sexy. She wanted to leap up and throw her arms and legs around him and give him the hottest kiss of his life.

“So, you love me.” He shook his head, as if he were trying to knock something loose. “And when this is all over...?”

She gripped his bicep. “We’re here right now. Forget about who’s waiting out there for us, who might be looking for us. It’s just you and me. There’s no one else around. Why keep pretending like there is?”

She pushed him down onto the raised hearth and straddled his legs. The heat rose in her pussy, getting the juices flowing. “Make up your mind, Jacob. If you want me, you can have me. It’s that easy.”

“But—”

She raised a finger to his lips. “You’re thinking too hard. Forget all those years ago. What happened with me and Matt. What happened with you and the cheerleader-of-the-week. I don’t care. We’re here right now. Two adults. A man and a woman who care about each other very much. And what’s wrong with wanting to be together? Wanting to spend time together?”

“Nothing,” he whispered, his mouth mere centimeters from hers.

He kissed her as if it were their last kiss. Hot, hard, demanding. Tongues intertwined.

But she broke it off and reached for his wounded hand. With tenderness, she brushed her lips against his palm. “Does it hurt?”

“Only when you do something like that.”

“I’m sorry.” Gently, she lowered it into his lap and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’m kidding,” he whispered against her ear. “You think a few blisters could stop me? I used to play football, remember?” He tipped her chin with his fingers, forcing her lips back onto his.

Their kissing intensified.

With his uninjured hand, he reached under her clothes, searching for her breasts. He pushed up the fabric of her sweater and yanked on the cup of her bra, exposing the creamy flesh and tight pink nipple.

“Piper,” he said with a groan, his gaze riveted on her naked tit. “You have the most gorgeous breasts.” He bent his head to the rounded mound and took the nipple into his mouth. His tongue swept over the hardened flesh, and her pussy puckered at the tug of his mouth.

Her back arched. It felt so good. Everything felt so good. The heat of his body beneath hers. The sensation of his mouth on her, sucking, licking, worshipping. She slid a hand down the front of his pants and across the hardness of his cock beneath. He groaned. She caressed his penis through his pants, its hard thickness exciting her.

Jacob gave one last lick of her wet, tight nipple and then looked up at her. “Are you sure you want this? Want me?” He breathed heavily, his mouth parted slightly.

She licked her lips. “Yes. Yes, Jacob Townsend. I want you.”

He scooped her up in his arms, carried her to the couch, and kissed her long, hard, and deep. They landed in a tangle of limbs.

She laughed when their teeth knocked together. “This is sex, buddy, not a football play.”

He unsnapped her jeans. “But I’m still going to score.”

She lifted her hips to make it easier for him to undress her. “Oh, yes, you most certainly are.” She gave him a wicked smile.

When she was completely naked, he wove his fingers through the curls between her legs.

She let her legs fall open. The need to have him touch her, tease her, stroke her, was more than she could stand.

He parted her labia and rubbed up and down her pussy from her wet opening to her pulsing clit. “You are so soft. I want to hear you come for me. I want to see it in your eyes.”

His touch was electric. She panted, each breath coming out of her like a mewling cry. Her body flashed hot and cold as he continued to massage her pussy with his fingers. She stared into the dark emerald of his eyes, a prisoner to his touch. It all felt so good. It all felt so fucking good.

“Would you like me to finger fuck you, Piper? Do you want my finger inside of you? Stroking you?”

“Yes-s-s-s.” She could barely speak.

“How about like this?” While his thumb rubbed her clit, he slid his middle finger deep inside of her vagina.

She jerked at the intensity of sensation.

He leaned over her and whispered in her ear, “I’m going to make you come, and then I’m going to pound my dick into your pussy so hard, you won’t remember anyone else. Just me, Piper. Only me.”

“Always, Jacob. It was always you...” The walls of her pussy tightened on his finger. She felt her climax coming. Just a few more seconds. His thumb pressed hard on her clit.

“I want to hear you scream for me, Piper.” He nibbled her nipple, and she squirmed, gasping at the echo of sensation in her clit. “Do it, Piper.” Pinch. “Now, Piper.” Pinch. “Let me hear you scream for me.”

The orgasm was intense. Her mind became unfocused. His middle finger was deep inside of her, stimulating her G-spot. Another orgasm ripped through her, and she wailed like a banshee, letting loose all the emotion inside of her.

He kissed her then, a deep, warm, wet kiss. She devoured him, sucked on his lips, nibbled at his tongue. She felt invigorated, sexy, alive.

“Fuck me, Jacob.” The sparks of her orgasm waned, but she was still unfulfilled. Empty, needing him close to her, inside of her.

She helped him get free of his pants, and then she squeezed his dick in her hand, its hard, long length exciting her.

“God, Piper, I can’t hold off much longer.” He held himself poised above her, his muscular torso tense and shiny with sweat.

She guided his dick to her cunt, and he thrust into her with a groan.

Their hips worked in rhythm together. Jacob held her gaze the entire time, riding over each crest, building to the climax, his green eyes half-lidded and dark, just like in her fantasies.

* * * * *

“Piper! Are you down there?” A distant voice broke through the haze of sleep.

It was morning. She was curled up against the hot, hard body of Jacob, a quilt covering only their lower halves. She nudged him awake.

“Someone’s here. I think it’s Matt.”

Jacob was instantly awake. He was up and pulling on his pants before she could even think about getting herself dressed.

“Where? What?” He raked a hand through his hair, still half asleep.

Piper put on her sweater and jeans.

“Hello, is anyone down there?”

The voice came from the chimney.

“Matt, is that you? Jacob and I are down here. Can you hear me?” Piper ran over to the fireplace and opened the glass doors wide.

She could feel Jacob standing right behind her, the heat from his body calling to hers.

“Duncan,” he yelled up the flue. “How’s my sister? And everyone else?”

“They’re fine. Jennifer’s here with me. We were trapped in my car overnight. This morning we dug ourselves out. The rescue squad’s here. They’re going to get you out. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Piper sat down on the raised hearth. “Thank God. Thank God they found us.”

Jacob sat down next to her. “Yeah. And everyone’s okay. Celia’s going to be okay.” The tenseness in him was gone. She could sense his body relaxing next to hers.

She threaded her fingers with his and pulled his hand into her lap. “And we’re going to be okay.”

“Are we?” He stroked her fingers with his thumb. “What we have in here...” He looked at the mess of a living room, the sagging ceiling, the piles of snow. “Do you think it can survive outside in the real world?”

“It can if we want it to.” She lifted his hand to her mouth and kissed it. “I’m not going to wait another fifteen years for you, Jacob Alvin Townsend.”

“I hate that name.”

“Alvin?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then, I’ll make sure to use it more often.” She smiled against his knuckles. He had strong hands. Working hands. Those hands made her feel safe. Loved. Cared for.

He pulled his hand free. “You’d better not, Henderson.” He wrapped one arm around her in a flash and tickled her with his free hand. “Promise me you’ll never use that hideous name ever again.”

As he attacked her ribs, she squirmed and giggled. “Stop it. Okay, I promise!” He tickled her more. “I said, I promise!”

Matt’s voice floated down the chimney. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

He stopped his tickling. His hand settled around her, and he pulled her close.

“We’re perfect,” said Piper, leaning her head against Jacob’s shoulder.

The End

Author Bio

For six years Kris worked as a technical writer. Then, she and her husband chucked it all to run a bed-and-breakfast. For the last two years, between cleaning rooms and making gourmet breakfasts, she has been writing fiction. To keep up on her latest releases or read her blog, make sure to visit Kris’s website: http://www.freewebs.com/kriseton.