Zoey beamed. I could see how important it was to her to be treated with respect instead of being coddled all the time. There would be times she’d inevitably want or need the coddling, I was sure, but this wasn’t one of those times.
“Okay. But keep your phone next to you, and I’ll do the same.”
“Deal,” she said, leaning in for a big hug.
We quickly worked to get the dishes done before helping her get settled. I even let her talk me into leaving Boo with her to keep her company. When Jake and I trudged through the snow to his place, I could have sworn he was even more upset about it than I was.
“Do you think she’ll remember to let Boo out one last time?” he asked.
“Yes, but we just let her out, so she’ll be fine.”
“Did you tell her to change out the sweater if it gets damp from the snow?” he asked, unlocking the front door to his cabin.
“She knows,” I said, turning to search his face for any sign Jake was just messing with me.
Once we got into the cabin and turned on a light, I saw the worry lines on his forehead.
“Did you remember to refill the water bowl in the kitchen?” he asked me.
Suddenly, I felt my chest tighten, and it was almost like I couldn’t draw another breath without telling him how I felt about him. How I was completely in love with him so much I thought I might break with the weight of it.
“I… I…” The words were stuck in my throat because I knew, just knew, saying them out loud would make him run away sooner than he was already planning on. I veered away at the last minute. “I just really want to thank you for everything with Zoey tonight.”
Jake turned to look at me with a furrowed brow. “I didn’t do anything.”
I swallowed. “You did, though. And it meant the world to me. You mean the world to me.”
It wasn’t much, but it was something.
Jake’s face softened as he walked up and pulled off my big coat, hanging it on the hook beside his own. “I meant what I said, you know. You really are the most amazing—”
I cut him off with my lips. The time for words was over, and the time for action had arrived. If I couldn’t tell him I loved him, I would show him.
His arms came around me as his mouth opened under mine in surprise. I took advantage of it and swept my tongue in to devour his. We kissed like that for a long time, lips and tongues dancing with each other, arms wrapped tightly around each other’s bodies. I never wanted to let go.
Finally, after a break to suck in much-needed air, Jake grabbed my hand and yanked me toward the bedroom. The cabin air was chilly from having sat uninhabited for several days, but I knew within mere moments, we’d create enough heat in the bedroom to take care of that problem without having to adjust the thermostat or start the fire.
Instead of taking me into the bedroom, however, he turned into the bathroom and started the shower. He left the main bathroom light off and reached under the sink to pull out an emergency candle lantern. He lit the candle, setting the small space aglow in a soft, warm light before turning and reaching for my clothes.
We didn’t say a single word, just locked eyes and stayed completely connected without speaking. With every article of my clothing he removed, his pupils dilated more and more until they were almost a deep obsidian, glittering in the candlelight.
With only my briefs left on, I began pulling at his clothes until we both stood naked in the small room. Jake leaned forward and kissed the base of my throat, just light enough that I could barely feel it. I sucked in a breath as he did it again and again, leaving a trail of tiny kisses up my neck until he got to my lips. When his mouth landed on mine, I grasped his face and took his mouth in a desperate crush.
Enough with this light bullshit, I wanted to crawl into his very body and curl up there, force myself into him so he couldn’t ever let me go. The desperation I was feeling was obvious in the way I was attacking his face.
He indulged me for several minutes until pulling back gently and drawing me into the shower and under the warm water. Without a word, he soaped a washcloth and began scrubbing every millimeter of my body.
It was magnificent. Every pass of his fingers on my skin raised goose bumps and caused full-body shudders until I was whimpering for more and more of his touch. I wished he had octopus hands so I could have even more of his attentive touch on my body.