Page 19 of Stuck With Mr. Frosty (Delectable Protectors #5)
MIA
“ W here are we going?” I ask as I button up my jeans and reach for the quarter-zip on the bed.
Aiden shrugs. “Secret.”
“Yeah, okay, but I think I should know if we’re going to be gone somewhere for a while, don’t you?” I nod to the overnight bag on the bed. “I mean, you didn’t tell me what that was for. You just started rummaging through my underwear drawer and throwing stuff in.”
He smirks like he’s proud of himself for that one. “If I told you what we were doing or what to pack, then you would know what we’re doing, and it wouldn’t be a surprise. That doesn’t sound like nearly as much fun as actually surprising you.”
“It doesn’t, but?—”
“Nope.” He grabs the bag and slings it over his shoulder before picking up another bag of Honey’s supplies. “We’re not going to sit here and bicker about whether I’m going to tell you what the surprise is or not.”
“Then what are we going to do?” I ask, the corner of my mouth twitching as I pull on my hat and sherpa jacket, following him out of the room.
He leads the way to the door, and we put on our boots. “We’re going to go get in the car I borrowed, and we’re going to go somewhere.”
“Overnight?”
He shrugs and puts Honey’s harness on.
He opens the door and jogs down the steps, Honey darting in front of him to go wait by the truck. I follow them and open the door for her. Aiden tosses the bag in the back first before picking Honey up and putting her in the back seat as if she barely weighs anything at all.
He shuts her door and opens mine. “After you?”
“Maybe I want to drive.” I give him a teasing smile and hop into the truck, getting settled in my seat.
He snorts and shakes his head. “If I was going to let you drive, then you’d know where we’re going. You get to remain in the dark until we get to the surprise.”
“I don’t think that’s very fair.”
“You can choose the music.”
Beaming, I wait until he’s in the truck, the engine running, before connecting my phone to the sound system. If it’s going to be a bit of a drive to the surprise, I may as well enjoy myself on the way there.
We pull up outside a cabin made of more glass than wood, overlooking a frozen lake. I glance at Aiden, my eyebrows rising and my heart stopping in my chest. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a place like this. It’s so stunning.
“Where are we?” I ask as we get out.
“Still the resort,” he says as he lifts Honey out of the truck and sets her on the ground. “It’s a private cabin. It’s the one I like to stay at when I come to Aspen to ski.”
“You didn’t have to get us a private spot.” I hug him before ghosting my lips over his. “But I’m glad you did. I think a little alone time is going to be just what the doctor ordered.”
“I’m sure it will be.” Aiden grabs the bags and slings them over his shoulder. “I was thinking that we first eat the dinner that should be delivered soon, and then I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to a night in the hot tub.”
“How long are we here for?”
“Couple days.” Aiden pulls the key out of his pocket and hands it to me. “Why don’t you go explore inside? I’ll bring these in and then wait for the food.”
I nod and take the stairs up to the cabin two at a time, unlocking the door and pushing it open.
I’m met with all the comforts of a luxury cabin in the woods.
There’s a small kitchen and flannels in shades of warm beige and chocolate brown.
Pops of a deep burgundy stand out, making this look like the perfect place to cuddle down for the night and have a good time.
As I move into the only bedroom, the tension in my shoulders immediately fades when I look out at the back deck. “This place is beautiful!”
Aiden laughs from the other room. I continue through the bedroom to the bathroom. There’s a massive tub in front of a window that overlooks the forest and the sunset. It’s starting to look a little haunting out there, but it’s still beautiful.
I could spend forever in a place like this.
The front door opens and shuts, the scent of steak and garlicky potatoes filling the cabin. My stomach grumbles, and I make my way into the kitchen as Aiden doles out the food onto plates.
“Help yourself.” He pushes one of the plates toward me.
I load it up with another scoop of potatoes before going to sit at the wooden dining table by the sliding glass door that leads out to the deck and the hot tub. Aiden lights a fire in the hearth before joining me, sitting across from me with a serene smile.
This is the most relaxed I’ve ever seen him.
Out here there’s nobody to worry about except the two of us and Honey. There’s not a chance that our roommates are going to come walking in — or that somebody is going to want something from one of us. We get to be entirely alone.
Butterflies erupt in my stomach at the thought.
We eat our food without saying much, the sipping of wine and the clink of forks against plates filling the air. I slip Honey a couple pieces of my steak beneath the table, her tail thumping against the floor.
“She’s going to be the best friend you’ve ever had for that.” Aiden leans back in his seat and sips the last of his wine.
I reach for my own glass and shrug, crossing one leg over the other. “She abandoned you for me the day we met. I don’t see what difference anything I do now is going to make.”
He laughs. “Yeah, I know. She’s your dog now. I’m just that guy who takes her around the world and feeds her every morning.”
Grinning, I take my plate and his into the kitchen, putting them in the sink to be washed later.
When I turn, Aiden is behind me, his hands falling to my hips and heat burning in his eyes.
The way he looks at me is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, and it brings something to life in me. Something I didn’t know I had.
“Why don’t you go get changed into that bikini I packed for you, and we can head out to the hot tub?” Aiden’s fingers skim beneath the hem of my shirt, brushing against my skin.
Heat rushes straight to my core at the simple touch. I press my legs tighter together and nod. “Good idea.”
The corner of his mouth tips up and he leans in, his lips soft against mine. He pulls my bottom lip between his teeth, nipping it lightly before letting go.
When he goes to pull back, I follow him, deepening the kiss. Our tongues tangle, and he lets out a low moan that has me thinking of forgoing the hot tub entirely. I could spend the rest of the night out here with him and be perfectly happy.
But he ends the kiss when we’re both gasping for air and gives me a slight turn toward the bedroom.
“I have big plans for us tonight,” he murmurs in my ear before giving me a light swat on my ass.
Now, if that isn’t the hottest thing I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is.
And, like the horny woman I am right now, I hurry to the bedroom and pull on the plum-colored string bikini and fix my gold nose ring before fluffing up my hair.
I want to walk out there and have his jaw drop.
If he doesn’t think that I’m the hottest woman he’s seen when I meet him at the hot tub, then my plans for this night are ending sooner than I thought.
I shake out the butterflies of anticipation. This isn’t the first time we’ve spent a night together, but somehow, this feels different.
Aiden put effort into this night. He sat down and thought about what I would like, and then he made it happen. He’s treating me like I matter to him — like this is going to be more than just a season fling to him.
And I don’t know if that’s true, but I want it to be.
As I walk out of the bedroom and over to the sliding door, I see his toned back as he pulls the cover off the hot tub and checks the water. The dips and lines of his muscles are highlighted by the string lighting hanging above him, making the stars in the night sky shine even brighter.
I take a deep breath, my heart hammering in my chest as I push open the door.
Aiden turns in the middle of pulling the last of the corner of the cover off, stopping like he doesn’t know what he’s doing. His gaze rakes up and down my body. Another wave of lust courses through my veins as the front of his swim shorts tent just a little.
It takes him all of five seconds to close the distance between us, sweeping me into his arms and hauling me tight against his body.
He tastes like white wine as he kisses me, moaning low in the back of his throat.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he says, his voice raspy as he steps back, his hands skimming up and down my waist, brushing against the undersides of my breasts.
“You don’t look so bad yourself.” I hook my finger into his waistband, and his erection grows bigger as I brush my fingertips over the front of his shorts.
Aiden goes to reach for me, and I squirm away from him and get into the hot tub, sinking down beneath the water and settling into the corner, stretching my legs out. Aiden pours two glasses of wine, handing me one before getting into the hot tub across from me.
His legs brush against mine, and I’m grateful I went for a wax at the spa yesterday morning. Nothing says getting ready to spend a couple days having endless amounts of sex like getting your leg hair ripped out.
“I can’t believe you put all of this together. Nobody has ever done something like this for me before.” I sip the wine before tilting my head back to look up at the snow falling around us.
“Seems like you’ve been going out with the wrong sort of men.”
“I’ve been going out with very few of them,” I say. “When Mom was sick, dating wasn’t really worth it. The two guys I saw didn’t understand that I was always going to be there for her when she needed me.”
“Their loss.” He takes a long drink of the wine, looking at me over the rim. “For what it’s worth, I think it’s a good thing that you were there for your mom. People regret it when they aren’t, and then they spend the rest of their life wondering what would’ve happened if they had just been there.”