[Reviews - 214]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 4763 times

- Text Size +




CHAPTER THREE - Starting To Melt

Elizabeth awoke in time to hear William's savage curse and feel the car coming to a jarring stop. Blinking sleepily, she took in their predicament and slowly sat up. "Can we dig our way out?" she asked, turning to look at him.

William gave her a sharp, disbelieving look. Was she serious? The women he knew would rather die of exposure than risk breaking a nail. "I think I'll try reversing first," he said, reaching out to restart the car.

"I don't think it's worth it," Elizabeth replied matter-of-factly. "If it’s like this here, the road will be blocked further down near the river anyway. It's always the first place that gets flooded or clogged-up when the bad weather hits."

William gave her another assessing look but, recalling the stretch of road she was talking about, he had to agree. "Looks like we're stuck then," he muttered unhappily, internally cursing himself for leaving late again. If he hadn't been having doubts about that interview for a new job tomorrow…

Damn it! Now he was going to have to spend the night with an idiotic female that smelled good enough to eat. Vanilla always was one of his favourite scents and in the close confines of the car; Buffy was practically making his mouth water. He let his eyes drop down to her mouth and wondered if she'd taste as good as she smelled.

"Maybe we should get out and make sure we can't dig our way out," Elizabeth suddenly suggested, breaking into his musings.

Grabbing the excuse like a lifeline, William reached over for his door handle and gave it a tug. He was letting his mind wander to things it shouldn't. A few minutes outside in the freezing cold were just the ticket to douse the growing, rather painful, interest he was having in Buffy. "You stay here, I'll go. Not worth both of us getting soaked."

Elizabeth was about to point out that she already was soaked, but he'd opened the door and jumped out before she could even utter the first word. "Fine, go get yourself totally wet and catch your death of cold," she muttered irately as she watched he stand outside. "Probably don’t think I could check it over as good as you anyway, me being female and all."

Outside, William drew in a deep breath and released it slowly, feeling some of the tension leave his body. The snow fell steadily down all around him and he tilted his head back to let it cover his face. "Better than a cold shower," he muttered grimly then took another deep, bracing breath. Finally feeling a lot more relaxed in all regions of his person; he then began to check the car.

Inside the vehicle, time ticked on and Elizabeth had to begrudgingly give him credit. She didn't think she would have stayed outside as long as William, nor been so thorough. She watched him make his way back to the driver's door and gasped at the rush of cold air that came in when it opened abruptly.

"We can't dig her out," he confirmed as he brushed the worst of the snow from his duster and jeans before getting back into the car. "Looks like we're stuck for the night."

"Probably," Elizabeth agreed with a nod. "The snowplough will come through tomorrow morning though. It's just a shame we can't at least get the car over to the side of the road so that it would be able to get through better."

"Yeah," William commented as he gave her a considering look. Perhaps she wasn't so stupid after all. There certainly wasn't any sign of panic emanating from her slim frame.

Beside him, Elizabeth was oblivious to his perusal as she mentally sorted through the supplies they had. At the same time, she tried to remember the many rules of survival that her parents had ceaselessly drummed into her from an early age when they expected her to follow in their adventurous footsteps. Unfortunately, the one that kept rising persistently to the surface was the one that she kept desperately trying to push back down.

Body heat was the best way to stop hypothermia.

Glancing over her shoulder, her gaze fixed on the sleeping bag and felt her stomach give a nervous roll. At some point tonight, she was going to have to suggest that they share the bag and it frightened that hell out of her. Turning back, she shifted uncomfortably in her wet jeans. She really wanted to take them off and wrap the rug around her legs but she couldn't even pluck up the courage to do that.

As if reading her mind, William suddenly said, "You'd best get out of those jeans before you catch pneumonia. You can borrow a pair of mine to wear while they dry."

Elizabeth found her eyes drawn to his legs at his suggestion and couldn't help but feel a little flushed at the thought of wearing something that had been in close contact with his skin. "Uh, thanks, but I'll just use the rug. No problem."

"You can't, we'll both need that later," William replied, looking away as her startled gaze flew to his face. "Look, I don’t like this any more than you do, trust me, but very soon, the temperature is going to drop…fast…and we need to conserve as much body heat as we can…in any way we can." He paused and glanced at his watch, wondering how to say what he had to next and decided the direct approach was best. "Nine o'clock. It's a little early to think about going to sleep but under the circumstances…" He trailed off and cleared his throat slightly before adding, "I have a sleeping bag in the back that's large enough for both of us. We'll use that and the rug."

Even though Elizabeth knew they had no choice and she'd been considering saying the exact same thing herself, the fact that he'd said it first brought an automatic protest to her lips. "But, I can't…"

"Look luv," William suddenly interrupted with barely contained ire. "This isn't some kind of sexual come-on, if that's what you're thinking. I'd be saying the exact same thing if you were a bloke and, trust me, if I had a choice between sharing that sleeping bag with a man, a woman or a dog right now, I'd choose the dog…every time."

"Gee, thanks," she murmured sarcastically as she turned her head to stare blankly out of the window. 'And hello, Parker the second,' she added to herself unhappily, stung by his comment. God, just how many more men were going to tell her she was unattractive in the most cutting and hurtful way possible?

Beside her, William took a deep breath and tried to calm down. What was it with this female that made him act like this? He shook his head and risked a glance in her direction. The answer was simple. He was attracted to her…more than attracted. And it scared the life out of him. But at least it explained why he’d got so annoyed when she'd begun to object to sharing the bag. Explained a lot of his reactions tonight. It was a defence mechanism, pure and simple. That, and the fact that she didn’t seem to be at all interested in him. Not that he wanted her to interested of course. Far too young.

But still…

It hurt.

And, honestly, did she really think that he'd take advantage of her in such a cold and unromantic setting?

Unbidden, he conjured up an image of her lying on a bed of silken sheets, her tousled hair fanned out across a soft pillow, those amazing green eyes slightly glazed with passion, soft pout on her luscious lips…

'Stop it!' he told himself firmly as the image rapidly restored his erection to its previous, painfully hard, state in a matter of seconds. Great. Shifting in his seat, he covered his discomfiture by taking his irritation out on the object of his imagination.

Again.

"If you want to catch your death of cold, then by all means, sit out here all night long. I'm getting in the back," he told her gruffly.

Tearing her eyes away from the falling snow, Elizabeth fixed her gaze on him and slowly shook her head. She was already getting cold and knew what he'd suggested was the right thing to do. "No, I'll sleep in the bag." She swallowed hard. "With you. My father used to be a volunteer for a mountain rescue group in America and he'd be the first to agree with everything you've said."

William stared at her in amazement. "Your father?" he repeated, dubiously. "If that's true then what in the hell was he doing letting you go driving about in weather like this in the first place?"

"Let me?" Elizabeth retorted with a snort. "I'm an adult, not a child, Mr. Saunders. I make my own decisions."

It was William's turn to snort this time. "An adult?" he scoffed, looking her up and down. "What are you…seventeen? Eighteen?"

"Actually," Elizabeth said with a small smile. "I'm twenty-four."

Twenty-four! William was shocked. It must be because she was so tiny that she looked so much younger. His eyes tracked over her face. A woman and not a girl as he'd thought…and not so innocent either, even if her eyes did look unawakened and unaware.

Gathering his scattered thoughts together, he pursed his lips and chose his next words carefully. "Well then, seeing as you're older than I thought and you're dad's a ex-mountain rescue man, I'm thinking that it won't come as a surprise when I say that body heat works best if there's no clothes getting in the way."

While he'd been digesting the fact that she was an adult, Elizabeth had been watching the play of emotions on his face and found her eyes drawn to his mouth. It was actually a very nice mouth; under that beard; with a full lower lip that her wondering what it'd feel like to run her finger along. She was so caught up in her musings that it took a couple of seconds for what he'd said to sink in. "Huh? You want me naked?"

The moment the words were out, Elizabeth flushed scarlet and slapped her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened in mortification.

William's response was a raised eyebrow and small quirk of his lips. "Now there's a leading question," he replied, amusement warming the cold look in his eyes for the first time since she'd met him. "And as much as I'm tempted to say yes, I think leaving your underwear on would be a good idea in this case." He paused, smile widening slightly as he added, "Unless you don't want to, of course?

Elizabeth let her hand fall from her mouth and vigorously shook her head at his hopeful expression.

William sighed. "Pity," he said then glanced at her and away with an almost embarrassed look. "I'm afraid I won't be able to be so accommodating. Unfortunately, I stayed a couple of days longer than I anticipated and…" He trailed off and looked back at her, shrugging awkwardly.

The realisation of what he was trying to say, hit her like a freight train. He wasn't wearing anything under his jeans. Automatically, her eyes flew to his crotch and felt the heat invading her cheeks with renewed vigour.

God, even the most innocent touch of his hands on her waist when he'd lifted her had sparked more reaction out of her than she'd ever known before. How on earth was she going to survive lying next to him the in the close confines of a sleeping bag? And nearly naked at that?

A slight cough had her remember that she was still staring at his lap and she hurriedly jerked her gaze away, deciding that the heat suffusing her face was now a permanent fixture. Maybe she wouldn't need to share the bag after all. She certainly was generating enough heat on her own.

William watched her mounting embarrassment with growing amusement until he saw her give an involuntary shiver. Immediately, his mirth died and was replaced with a frown. "You're freezing, luv," he commented as he began manoeuvring himself between the seats and into the back. "I'll get some coffee and you get out of those wet jeans. While you're drinking, I can sort out the sleeping bag and then we can get some sleep."

Elizabeth wanted to object but, in truth, her legs were starting to go numb from the cold and she couldn't put it off any longer. The temperature was already starting to drop at a frightening pace and she suppressed another shiver before slumping down in the seat in order to make the removal of her jeans slightly easier. With trembling hands, she fumbled with the button before pulling down the zip and struggled out of the wet material.

Letting them drop into a soggy heap on the floor, she, for once, found herself extremely grateful of the fact that her younger sister was taller than her. The sweatshirt she’d borrowed fell to mid-thigh, allowing her to keep some of her modesty in tact. Especially since the underwear she had on was a brief, lacy set that could be considered provocative despite the fact that she’d never intended anyone else to see it.

“Coffee?” came the stark voice from the rear of the vehicle. The next minute a steaming plastic cup was shoved under her nose and the rich aroma of its contents was filling her nostrils.

“Thanks,” she said, taking the cup and blowing gently across the top in order to cool the black liquid down somewhat.

“Better hurry up and drink that. It’s getting colder and you need to get warmed up,” William informed her as he grabbed the sleeping bag and pulled its cover off. He busied himself unrolling the bag and checking the zipper, then grabbed the rug and laid it on the floor before placing the bag on top of one half and folding the other over the top of the bag, thus adding extra warmth.

That done, he slipped his duster off and laid that on top to provide another layer then looked up at Elizabeth. “You done?” he asked.

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder and nodded. Turning so that she could squeeze through the front seats and into the back, she didn’t realise that the sweatshirt got trapped beneath her body causing the back to ride up.

As William watched her try to get in the back, he glanced up at the rear-view mirror and was treated to the glorious sight of Elizabeth’s backside as she wriggled through the gap. Seeing that the scrap of material she wore revealed more than it hid, his breath caught in his throat almost causing him to choke as he desperately tried to tear his eyes away from the erotic view.

“I think I’m stuck,” Elizabeth announced.

He watched as she wriggled about a bit more and swallowed hard as her motions were accompanied by breathless little grunts and moans as she valiantly attempted to pull herself through. God, she was killing him without even knowing it!

“Could you give me a hand?” she asked, looking up at him through the curtain of her hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.

With Herculean effort, he forced down the urge to ask where exactly she wanted his hand and finally managed to look away from the mirror. Once the mesmerising sight was gone from his direct gaze, self-loathing rose within him like a tidal wave at taking advantage of Buffy like that. Anger at his lack of self-discipline had him reach over and grab her roughly by the arms then haul her none too gently over the seats and all but drop her onto the car floor.

“Oh!” she exclaimed at the sudden manhandling that left her bruised and breathless and in no doubt of how much he disliked her. She had thought they’d been getting on better but by the way he’d moved over to the far side of the car after he’d dropped her and was now tugging his boots off in angry, jerky movements, she knew she’d been wrong.

William threw his boots down by the rear tailgate and ignored the way Elizabeth flinched as the loud noise reverberated around the silent car. His socks followed the boots and then he got to his knees and pulled his sweater off in one fluid tug. His T-shirt came next and it wasn’t until his hands went to his jeans that he looked up to see Elizabeth staring at him in rapt attention.

“You going to get that top off and get in now or you waiting for the free show first?” he asked indifferently as he yanked open the button on the denim.

Elizabeth jumped at the sound of his voice and raised embarrassed eyes to his face. She hadn’t meant to stare but once she’d started she just couldn’t seem to stop. Who knew that underneath all that clothing his body was just so…so…yummy?

Lean with well-defined abdominal and pectoral muscles, not to mention surprisingly muscular arms, that all rippled and flexed sinuously under his smooth pale skin in perfect harmony whenever he moved. She never knew that the male body could be so beautiful.

“Opting for the free show, eh?” William pressed when Elizabeth made no effort to answer him. “Alright then.”

The sight of his hand moving to his zipper was enough to rouse Elizabeth from her trance and she let out a small ‘eep’ before sliding into the bag and removing her top under the cover. After placing the sweatshirt by the side of the sleeping bag, she turned on her side so that her back faced the centre and automatically tensed up as she waited for him to join her.

Not wanting to lose anymore body heat, William quickly divested himself of his jeans and lifted the end of the sleeping so that he could get in. Determinedly ignoring the slim back that was revealed to him, he slipped his legs in then turned on his side and slithered the rest of the way into the bag. Needless to say, even though he was cautious, he couldn’t get in without coming into some contact with Elizabeth and each brief touch sent a flame of desire straight to his throbbing cock. Knowing he was in for a long night, William angrily wrenched the zip of the sleeping bag up and cursed himself for suggesting the stupid idea of sharing in the first place.

TBC IN CHAPTER 4





You must login (register) to review.