Page 10 of Let it Snow Queen
He answered me by nipping and sucking at my lower lip. Once I’d adjusted, we began moving with each other, each of us in perfect harmony. Like we’d been lovers for years and already mastered the other’s body. It was unbelievable and euphoric and like nothing I’d ever experienced. Another orgasm built deep within me as I took him deeper and deeper. Our breaths changed into short, shallow gulps of iced air as he squeezed my ass. My second peak tore through me, lighting stars in my vision and making me forget the cold. The snow was gone, my ex was gone, and this sadness that’d burrowed into my chest was gone. Only light, bliss, and . . . love existed for a few enchanted moments.
As I rode through my crest, Fox’s movements became more robust and deeper, pushing into me and pulling me deeper onto him. He came with a thunderous groan, stilling inside me. I wanted him to. I wanted to feel and take every drop of this beautiful man.
We stayed like that forever, it seemed: me resting my head on his broad chest as his arms wrapped tightly around me. He kissed my hair, breathing me in and, well, breathing in my dry shampoo, most likely. But I didn’t care. My usual shame and insecurity didn’t exist here. Not with Fox. He made me feel beautiful and accepted.
When I met his gaze, he kissed my forehead, our legs still tangled and bare as I curled up in his lap. “You’re perfect,” he said.
I laughed in disbelief, shaking my head. “You’re perfect. Everything about you.” I couldn’t find the words. Sign language, speech, mortal tongue, they didn’t exist. “Except,” I signed dramatically while turning to face him. “Do you really tear down forests for a living?”
He winced as he curled a ribbon of my hair around his finger.
“It’s complicated. I’m an architect, Gallow is a landscape genius, and Koji is a real estate mogul.”
I pulled out of his hold and sat up, tugging on my pants. When I finished, he’d done the same and was staring at me with a half smile. “Don’t be hot right now.”
“Me?”He feigned innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”Smirking, he ran a hand through his perfectly sex-styled hair.
“I’m a botanist and environmental scientist,” I said as he stood and tugged at my coat, pulling me into his chest. Despite his distractingly pretty eyes, I accepted the contact but kept my gaze firm. “Not every unoccupied piece of land exists to be conquered.”
Fox’s jaw ticked. “Is that why you jumped off a mountain? To save the land?”He tucked my hair behind my ear and knelt, picking up my wool hat and tugging it over my head.
Huffing, a cloudy breath fogged in front of my chin. “I didn’t jump off a mountain. I made a . . . risky decision. But yes, it was for the Gray’s lily, which is endangered.” That reminded me that I needed to check my camera and ensure the photos turned out okay.
“I think you and Koji are going to like each other.”
Shock coaxed a giggle from my throat. “I think you’ve been out in the cold too long, and it’s messing with your brain. There’s no way we’d ever like each other.”
“Uh-huh, we’ll see. Come on, let’s get you inside, Snow Queen.”
Steppinginto the cabin felt like stepping into an inferno. It was warm and toasty, but the murderous glare Gallow leveled at Fox was both full of flame and ice. “No bro code, I guess?” he asked.
Fox shrugged. “Not this time.”
Gallow grunted, standing and crossing his big burly arms. “We had a lot of food at the campsite. Koji—”
A pot banged loudly from the kitchen. Then came another, followed by the slam of a cabinet door.
Gallow cleared his throat. What was that all about? “Koji’s making dinner. We wanted to apologize for imposing, and I apologize for my friend’s . . . behavior.” Just then, Koji stormed past, clutching a pot and cutting board. “You’re sorry, right, Koji?”
Fox sat on the sofa, extending his arms over the back cushions, thoroughly amused.
“Sorry for using the cabin I bought on the land I own? Yeah, real sorry.”
The flannel-clad man let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed his temples. “How about destroying the habitat of thousands of local plants and wildlife? Are you sorry for that?” I asked pointedly. He didn’t make eye contact, simply chopped carrots and potatoes on his spot by the fire. “Ah yes, because the flowers and birds deserve homes but not, you know, people. Families, children, elderly . . .”
“Oh, so you’re building affordable housing then? Not condos and luxury shopping?”
He silently transferred the vegetables into the pot and stirred before setting it down and standing to face me. Gallow bristled, positioning a shoulder in front of me.
Koji, still clutching the chopping knife, pointed at me. “You ask a lot of questions for someone using this piece of shit town as your tourist attraction. Is this afind yourselfwinter vacation? Taking photos of flowers and then flying home, feeling like you’ve done something for the world. Wow, how noble. Oh—” He laughed. “And fucking men you’ve just met, too. Don’t forget that part. Such a conservationist.”
Fox stood, glowering, while Gallow let out a disappointed huff, rubbing a hand through his beard. “Watch it, dude,”Fox warned.
I swallowed, wanting to cry and stomp into my room and slam the door. Something about this asshole got under my skin. I didn’t know how Fox could say that he and I would ever like each other. Koji Mukai was the rudest man I’d ever met. “You have no idea why I’m here,” I muttered weakly. It was better than letting him win by running me off.
He pointed the knife at me again, which pissed Gallow off because he grabbed his friend’s arm and took it. Koji shot him a death stare before returning his attention to me. “Did you have a fight with your boyfriend? You guys know she has a boyfriend, right?”
Fox looked at me with soft, glittering eyes. Gallow’s shoulders tensed. “Yeah, I went through your backpack.” He picked up a familiar book off the end table. I hadn’t noticed it sitting there.