Page 11 of Stuck With Mr. Frosty (Delectable Protectors #5)

“Well, I thought that I was good. I know how to read a map and use a compass. Didn’t think that it would get as bad as it did. And then it seemed like turning back was a bad idea. I had no clue where I was.”

“So you lodged your foot in the rocks to stay put until someone could come and find you.”

“Listen,” I say with a teasing smile, leaning a little closer to him as I stack thicker pieces of kindling in the cone. “The best part about all those lectures you were giving me was the part where you explicitly told me to jam my foot between two rocks. It’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”

“Oh, well, then you should hear my lecture on cursing like a sailor when you stub your toe while hiking.”

Laughing, I help him add small logs to the fire. “I think it would be a good idea not to give that lecture to the children.”

“You’re probably right.” He gets to his feet, immediately bending back down to help me up. I keep weight off my ankle, leaning into him, and I can’t help but like the way it feels.

His body is warm against mine, and the scent of his cologne wraps around me. I could get lost in that scene, pretending that nothing bad in the world is ever going to happen while I’m here in his arms.

And that’s dangerous.

Aiden lowers me back down onto the couch. “I think there’s some board games around here somewhere. Want to play a couple?”

“Hold on. First, you save me, and now you want to play games with me?” I hold a hand to my chest, falling back into the teasing territory because it’s far easier than telling him what I really want from him.

Which involves one night of probably bad decisions and the bed in the other room. Or the couch. I’m willing to work with what I need to.

Aiden rolls his eyes, but a dimple pops in his cheek as he smiles and shakes his head. “All right. Well, I’m going to go find some games. You sit here and think about more witty things to say.”

“They’re hardly witty if you have to think about them.”

He snorts and disappears into the bedroom, coming back out a few moments later with a board game.

As he sets the box on the table, he sits close to me, his thigh brushing against mine. Fire rushes through my veins, and for a moment, I consider telling him I want him.

But I don’t have to.

Aiden turns to me, and it’s only then that he seems to realize how close we really are. Instead of backing away, he leans closer, a few inches between us. His breath ghosts over my lips.

And then he leans back.

It’s going to be a long day.

“Won again.” I toss my cards down onto the table and raise my hands high above my head. “We’ve spent like nine hours playing games, you know. I’m all for sitting in front of the fire on some thick blankets and talking.”

Aiden grunts but gets up and goes into the bedroom, coming back out with thick stacks of blankets and some pillows. “Don’t know what you’re going to want to talk about.”

“Well, I thought I could get to see more of your charming personality in action.”

He spreads the blankets out on the ground and sets up the pillows facing the fire. “Sure. I know that’s really why you want to spend time with me. It has nothing to do with my body.”

The corner of my mouth curls upward, heat flooding from my core. “It might have a little to do with your body.”

Aiden’s eyebrows climb, like he wasn’t expecting me to flirt back with him. “Well, at least you’re honest.”

I get up and shuffle over to the blankets with him, sitting down and leaning back against the pillows. “Yeah, you learn that quick when your mom is dying. I didn’t have a lot of time left with her, so I didn’t see the point in beating around the bush about anything.”

Aiden sprawls out beside me, lying on his side with an arm tucked beneath his head. “What happened to your mom?”

“Cancer. Twice, actually.” I swallow hard, fighting past the lump in my throat. “The first time was when I was young. I remember spending a lot of time in the hospital with her, but all it took was a round of chemo and a surgery, and she was good to go home.”

“And the second time?”

“She was sick for years, and then she died.” I force a wavering smile, my voice cracking. “I thought that I could find her by coming here. Feel whatever small piece of her might be left in the world.”

Before I know what’s happening, I’m pulled into his embrace. He holds me tight as the sobs break loose, shaking my body.

It’s the first time I’ve really let myself cry since being here.

And once the tears start coming, they don’t stop. They trail down my cheeks, and it’s hard to pull in a deep breath.

“It’s okay,” Aiden says in a hushed tone. His hands rub up and down my back. “Let it all out.”

I press my face into his chest, too upset to be embarrassed. My body keeps shaking until I have no tears left to cry. It’s only once I pull back and wipe my eyes that my cheeks are on fire.

Sniffling, I pull back more. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose it like that. I just haven’t thought about her or spoken about her this much since she died.”

“Cry if you need to.” His fingers skim up and down my spine. “I’m fine with crying. I deal with a lot of it during search and rescue missions.”

“I didn’t think you would be.”

Aiden laughs, his hand still. “Well, there’re a lot of things you don’t know about me.”

I smile, feeling better. “I’d like to get to know more. If we’re going to be living in the same cabin for the next couple of months, it might be nice. I mean, you don’t know that much about me.”

That dimple pops out again, making my heart melt and my inner walls clench.

He reaches out, and when his thumb drifts over my bottom lip, my heart stops. “I know that you chew on your bottom lip before you go speak to parents after lessons. You’re terrified of them.”

I laugh, his thumb slipping past my lip, my bottom teeth grazing the tip.

Aiden’s gaze locks on mine, his eyes hooded as he leans in. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I don’t know,” I say as his thumb slips down my chin and he cups my jaw. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing that’s going to end well for either of us, I’m afraid.”

“Then why do it?” My voice is barely more than a whisper as I shuffle as close to him as I can, every inch of my body pressing against his.

“Because I’m damn tired of fighting it.”

And then his mouth is on mine and his hands are slipping beneath the back of my shirt. His calluses are rough against my skin, creating a delicious friction that has heat pooling between my thighs. I press them closer together until one of his hands trails down over my hip.

Aiden pulls back and looks at me, lust in his eyes. “We should stop.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Your ankle?—”

“Is fine.” I run my fingers through the soft strands of his hair, pulling him back to me. “Just be careful.”

He groans low in the back of his throat as my lips press over his.