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“I know it’s fast for me to be saying it, and for us to be declaring our love, but I’m falling for you too, and I’m helpless to stop it. I don’t want to.”

“I don’t want to either.”

“You sure I’m not too boring—” I cut her off with a kiss, deepening it, thrusting my tongue into her mouth.

“Don’t even,” I tell her, pulling back to look at her face.

“Cole!” she giggles, slapping my arm away, then gestures to my excited cock beneath the comforter. “You’re ready to go again?”

“Oh, babe, I’m always ready with you.”

“What about that tea and the pilot light? I think it’s out.”

“Fuck the tea. I’ll fix the pilot light later.”

She laughs and I nudge my hips toward her, sliding her gently onto her back as I lift myself over the top, pinning her to the mattress. “What’s so funny,My Little Librarian?”

“You Cole, everything about you.” She wraps her arms around me and pulls me down so our chests press together.

“Everything about you,” I correct, reaching between us to grab my cock by the base and position it at her entrance, ready to slide in. “I wanna take you hard and fast this time. Are you good with that?”

She smiles up at me in the moonlight. “I’m more than good with that.” She sounds breathy and needy. With that, I thrust into her once more, unable to keep from moaning.

??

We’re ready for that nightcap of tea and some chocolate cake after another romp in Ainsley’s bed. The snowfall is really coming down now, my dad wasn’t wrong about that. I glance out the window while Ainsley cuts the cake from the bakery. That’s a happy surprise. It’s coming down in sheets against the window, the wind howling around the house. My first thought flicks to Frosty and the town Christmas tree. The entire townsfolk spent the better part of the night getting it all ready, and I hope it wasn’t in vain. Still, it is the middle of winter. “It’s really coming down out there,” I say as I turn back and Ainsley hands me a plate. She looks so adorable; her hair still a little wild from rolling around with me for hours, plus she’s wearing her sweats and some fluffy socks. I love that she can be herself around me.

“I think the snowstorm is coming in faster than any of us thought,” she says. I follow my gaze outside the kitchen where there’s already a blanket of snow covering the hedge between our houses.

“We should really hunker down in bed,” I say. “Right after we finish this.”

“Agreed.” We eat our cake while she tries again to light the stove to make tea, but there’s not so much as a flicker.

“I’m gonna go check the pilot light.” I should’ve done that sooner.

We venture down to the basement so I can check the furnace. She flicks the light on, opening the basement door as I step down first.

Fudge has finally woken up from his slumber and decided to grace us with his presence. He follows us downstairs with his little bell jingling as he jumps down, the basement door closing behind us.

“I never knew there was a fully redone basement down here,” I marvel as I step down onto the concrete floor and cast my eyes around. There’s practically another den down here with a couch and a small laundry area in the corner with a sink and a washer/dryer stacked next to it.

“Yup. An added bonus. It sort of acts as a spare room,” she says. “The couch was already here, the small flat screen was just a spare I had from years ago. I don’t think the Carruthers’ used this space much.”

“It’s like a cozy little hideaway,” I muse as I find the furnace tucked in the back and crouch down to the pilot light opening. I see straight away it’s out.

“I wouldn’t mind being snowed under with you,” Ainsley says, picking up Fudge and giving him a scratch while she watches me. “The snow could encase us entirely for all I care.”

I laugh as I glance back at her. “Snowed under, huh?”

“As opposed to being snowed in or out?”

“I don’t mind being any of those things,Shorty. As long as I get to spend it with you.” I bob back down to the furnace, thankful the lightbulb dangling from the ceiling here is adequate enough to see what I’m doing. I didn’t bring my cell down for a torch and I’m not even sure Ainsley has one down here. It should be simple enough to press and hold the reset button, otherwise I’ll have to ignite the lighter.

“Is it a simple fix?” she asks, hovering behind me.

“Should be,” I say as I hit the reset and release the button after a couple of seconds. Sure enough, it lights back up. “There we go.” I dust my hands off like I’ve saved the world. “Who says I’m not a handy guy to have around?”

“Thank you, Cole. You can be my handy man any day.”