Cabin fever, p.20
Cabin Fever, page 20
“Tomorrow’s Friday. We’ll have been here a week,” Shelby said.
“Time flies.” Morgan leaned forward to grab the whiskey bottle and refill both their glasses.
“Have you ever done happy hour in the city?”
“I’m not really the happy hour kind of girl,” Morgan said.
“You’re more the dance until midnight in a dark nightclub kind, huh?”
“Yeah, right.” Morgan snorted into her glass and her smile was as intoxicating as the cheap whiskey.
“What do you normally do to unwind?”
“I thought you’d figured out by now,” Morgan said. “I don’t really unwind.”
“Surely you do something other than work.”
Shelby was already feeling a little tipsy, but she refilled their glasses anyway. Each sip made her fall a little deeper into Morgan’s eyes. They were such a pale blue it was like looking into the morning sky. The moment just before the sun rose enough to shoot golds and oranges through the clouds and the light was only just bright enough to chase away the darkness without bringing color.
“I do laundry,” Morgan said. The liquor shined in her eyes.
“That sounds thrilling.”
They laughed together and Shelby found her thumb drawing circles on the bare patch of skin above Morgan’s ankle.
“What about you?” Morgan asked. Her voice sounded lower than Shelby remembered it. Not quite husky but close enough to intrigue. “Do you do anything other than work?”
Shelby waggled her eyebrows. “Laundry.”
Morgan laughed again and Shelby knew in that moment they would go to bed together. Her skin burned for it. She wanted to be touched. To be tasted. To discover all the sensitive spots on Morgan’s arms and legs and back. Their bodies entwined together. Tasting her breath and her tongue and all her most intimate flesh. Shelby loved the dance, but she loved the chase just as much and she was very patient. She trailed her fingertips lightly across Morgan’s calf until she felt the slightest shudder across her skin.
“I like the weight of your legs in my lap,” Shelby said. “It’s nice.”
“I like the way you’re rubbing your thumb over my skin.”
There was a sparkle in Morgan’s eye that surprised her. She’d expected Morgan to blush or stammer. She hadn’t expected her to be so forthright. Shelby leaned forward to set her whiskey glass on the coffee table, but also used the movement as an excuse to scoot closer. Again, she was surprised when Morgan did the same. They were so close together now that Morgan’s legs weren’t in Shelby’s lap anymore. They were wrapped around her waist.
“Were you serious when you said you wanted me to check out your butt?” Morgan asked quietly, her eyes locked onto Shelby’s.
“Oh, I was serious. Actually, I want you to check out a lot more than that.”
Shelby leaned forward again, pushing into Morgan’s space. Morgan didn’t lean away. Their lips were inches apart now. She could feel Morgan’s breath, tinged now with the oak and peat of the whiskey, on her cheek.
Morgan reached out, running her thumb along Shelby’s cheek, then across her lips. The touch was featherlight and teasing and it made Shelby’s body explode with hunger. It took every ounce of her self-control to keep from leaning in and tasting Morgan’s lips. She wanted nothing more than to push her onto her back and see just how rickety this old couch was. As much as she wanted Morgan in that moment, she could see them shaking the thing to matchsticks with the intensity of their passion.
“Can I kiss you?” Morgan whispered.
“Oh God yes.” Shelby knew it sounded like begging. Hell, it was begging. She wanted that kiss like she wanted oxygen and warmth and blood in her veins. Her body shook with need, and she had to fight not to claim Morgan’s mouth.
Instead, she waited and God, was that the right decision. Morgan leaned in slowly, teasingly. She held Shelby’s eyes until the last moment, when there was nothing but a sliver of daylight and the thick tension of their shared need between their lips. And then her eyelashes fluttered shut and her hand came up to cup Shelby’s cheek. Her palm was cool against Shelby’s blazing skin and the shock made her gasp just as their lips met.
Shelby would’ve guessed that Morgan would kiss exactly like this. Sweet and gentle, polite even. Shelby didn’t want polite. She wanted the hunger she had seen in Morgan’s eyes that first day in the cabin when she’d walked into the bathroom to see Shelby naked. She wanted the fire she showed in their screaming argument and the brazenness she’d shown by walking all that way through the snow while freezing to death. She wanted the primal side of Morgan to come out, but she was patient. They had all the time in the world and only one bed.
“Were you trying to get me drunk on purpose?” Morgan whispered as she pulled back.
“I wasn’t going for drunk exactly.” Shelby found it hard to form words. To form thoughts. Morgan’s gentle kiss had stirred something deep inside her. “Just tipsy enough to make you brave.”
When Morgan was silent, Shelby opened her eyes. There was something unreadable in the set of Morgan’s jaw and the smolder in her eyes.
“Was that wrong?” Shelby asked. Disappointment and dread threatened to break through the thrill coursing through her veins. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
Morgan’s arm flashed out and wrapped around her waist, pulling Shelby as close as they could get on the tiny couch.
“You didn’t have to waste the bourbon.” Morgan breathed against her lips. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time.”
“Then kiss me again.”
The request lit something inside Morgan. Her arm tightened, dragging Shelby into her lap, and the second kiss was anything but polite. The hunger Shelby had wanted flared between them. Morgan’s lips were insistent and her tongue plunged past Shelby’s defenses. Shelby had wanted fire and there was no denying the heat between them. The more their mouths danced together, the more Shelby wanted. All the passion that had been missing from Shelby’s life recently flooded through. More than she had ever possessed, in fact. She was quickly becoming drunk on the feel of Morgan’s lips.
Their make out session got heavy so quickly, Shelby barely registered it happening. Her hands ached to touch and she let them roam over Morgan’s body with reckless abandon. Zippers and buttons flew and once she even heard the rip of fabric, but Shelby couldn’t bring herself to care. It felt like her whole focus had been on wanting Morgan for days and now her dreams were coming to life before her eyes. She couldn’t have stopped herself if she wanted to and she certainly didn’t want to.
Time flowed and blurred and before she knew what was happening, Shelby found herself on her back on the couch, Morgan kissing down her neck and her shirt bunched up beneath her chest. Some patch of deliciously bare Morgan skin was pressed against her belly, and it seemed to be heading south in a hurry. Despite the ache in her body, Shelby allowed a moment of mental clarity to burst through.
“Are we going too fast?” Shelby panted and the words slurred on her tongue. “I don’t want to mess anything up by going too fast.”
“We won’t mess it up.” Morgan continued to kiss down her chest. “I won’t. I promise.”
The promise felt as flimsy as tissue paper in a snowstorm, but Shelby couldn’t bring herself to care. All she could care about right now was the searing heat of Morgan’s mouth making a path down her body and the throb in her core. She’d spent her whole life watching other people cut loose and be wild while she worked and went to bed alone. Fuck it. She would be wild this time. She would get what she wanted no matter the consequences.
“Then let’s take this back to the bedroom.”
Chapter Eighteen
Morgan was surprised how clear-headed she was, given the bourbon and the making out, as she walked down the hall to the bedroom. The dull ache of her ankle on every other step couldn’t even break through her certainty. Shelby had taken her hand to help her off the couch and hadn’t let go. Morgan trailed a half-step behind her as they crossed their little cabin, and the feel of Shelby’s warm fingers between hers was her anchor.
If she was honest with herself, Morgan had known this had always been inevitable. Like the tug of an invisible hook behind her belly button, leading her down the path that ended in her naked body tangled with Shelby’s. From the way her heart thudded at Shelby’s grateful smile in the airport to waking up with Shelby’s thigh pressed between her legs, there had been a path laid out before them. Neither of them could have veered off it had they wanted to, and Morgan had never wanted to change course.
She wanted Shelby. Wanted to feel her skin and hear her cry out. Wanted to taste her and watch her fall apart. Morgan couldn’t remember ever wanting anything or anyone more. She wasn’t sure when that desire had formed, but it was so deeply rooted in her now that it had become her heartbeat.
The bedroom door was open, the mattress that dominated the room neatly covered with sheets and duvet. Shelby led Morgan to the foot of the bed and turned to her. The fire in Morgan’s veins told her to scoop her up, toss her across the bed, and devour her body and soul, but Shelby was avoiding her eye. There was a hesitancy wavering around her like a heat haze and Morgan forced herself to be patient.
“It’s, um, been a long time for me,” Shelby said, her voice small. “A really long time, actually.”
Of all the possible ways this could go, Morgan never in a million years guessed Shelby would be the shy one. But then again, she knew exactly how Shelby felt and she loved the opportunity to take the lead.
Cupping Shelby’s cheek, Morgan raised her face until she was staring into those eyes the royal blue of a deep ocean. “I’m in the same boat. Why don’t we just see where things lead? No pressure.”
When Shelby nodded and smiled in an almost grateful way, Morgan felt her own body relax. She’d always been nervous going to bed with a new partner for the first time, but there was something extra intimidating about Shelby. There was a weight to this moment. It felt more important than ever that she get it right, but she was starting to realize how much she ruined things by weighing them down with expectations. She didn’t want to do that today. Her heart couldn’t take it.
Still cupping Shelby’s cheek, Morgan leaned in slowly, taking her time, giving Shelby the chance to meet her halfway. Shelby’s lips were silk and candle wax and her tongue still carried the hint of smoke and sugar from the liquor. The longer they kissed, the more both their hesitancies burned away. Soon Shelby’s hands cradled Morgan’s hips, holding her close. Their bodies pressed together and there was no longer a question where things would lead. Their mutual need was so evident in their touch it was hard to believe they hadn’t spoken the words out loud.
“Will you lie down?” Morgan whispered against Shelby’s neck.
Morgan watched with something bordering on awe as Shelby crawled onto the bed and pulled herself up to the pillows. She was entranced by the contours of Shelby’s body. They had all seemed sharp lines before, but now her softness was on full display and Morgan wondered how she could possibly have missed it.
“Is this okay?” Shelby asked when Morgan didn’t join her.
“More than okay.” Morgan finally tore her eyes away from the curve of her hip. “You are stunning.”
Rather than make a joke or dismiss the words, Shelby soaked them in. Her smile grew and her shoulders fell back, showing off the delicious curve of her neck. Morgan’s mouth watered at the sight before her, and she couldn’t hold back any longer. She climbed onto the bed, fitting her hips between as Shelby opened her legs to accept her.
Not content to focus her kisses on those tantalizing lips for long, Morgan pulled up the hem of Shelby’s shirt. Her stomach was smooth and pale and begging to be licked. Morgan leaned over and pressed a kiss on the patch of skin just beside Shelby’s belly button. Shelby’s gasp was almost inaudible but got louder when Morgan shifted a few inches lower. Her lips brushed against Shelby’s waistband and they groaned in unison.
Making it her mission to kiss every inch of newly visible skin, Morgan made her way slowly across the plane of Shelby’s stomach. She ran her hands up underneath Shelby’s shirt, delighting in the feel of heat and silky smoothness. Soon Shelby’s fingers were raking through Morgan’s hair, keeping her close. She lost all sense of time and place while she lavished attention on all that incredible flesh.
When Shelby arched beneath her, Morgan looked up, trying to catch sight of her face. Instead, she saw the peaks of her hardened nipples through the thin fabric of Shelby’s shirt. Morgan ached to touch those nipples. To find out whether she liked a hard pinch or a soft caress. Perhaps discover whether she preferred tongue or teeth. Her whole body throbbed with the need to touch, to caress, to please. Her mind buzzed with possibilities and she slid her hands up over Shelby’s ribs.
Just as Morgan’s fingertips grazed the underside of Shelby’s breasts, hands shot out and gripped her wrists.
“Wait,” Shelby said, her voice thick but sharp.
“Sorry. Is this too fast?”
Morgan tried to pull her hands away, but Shelby held them and shushed her. The buzzing in Morgan’s ears picked up as her face heated with embarrassment. She had been the one to say they should just see where things led, but then she had gone too far too fast. Shelby sat up, Morgan’s wrists still held fast in her hands.
“Do you hear that?” Shelby asked.
All Morgan could hear was the thudding of her own blood in her ears and the buzz of embarrassment across her nerves. But was that her nerves? Why did it sound so loud and why was it getting louder by the second.
“Snow mobiles,” Shelby said. She finally released Morgan’s hands and scrambled off the bed.
Morgan tried desperately to make her lust-soaked brain understand the words and the sounds, but she couldn’t quite figure it all out. She climbed carefully off the bed to stare down the hall. Shelby had covered the distance from the bed to the front door in a matter of seconds, stopping there to yank down the hem of her shirt before throwing open the door.
Around Shelby’s shoulder, Morgan could just see a pair of snow mobiles pulling up in front of the porch. The noise made sense only when the two men killed the engines and climbed off the machines. They looked like cops or park rangers or some mix of the two. Morgan’s brain still couldn’t quite piece together what was going on. As she limped down the hall, she heard Shelby speaking rapid-fire sentences to the men.
Vaguely, Morgan registered that Shelby was telling them about her trip to the car to clean off the snow and her injury. She was nearly to the living room when the rangers explained that they had followed the trail of disturbed snow. While she lowered herself to the couch, she heard Shelby tell them about her ankle. One of the men came over to examine her foot. He was less gentle than Shelby had been and a stab of pain radiated up her leg when he yanked back her jeans. Shelby barked at him to be careful, but he didn’t apologize.
“It’s a good thing you went out there,” the ranger next to Shelby said. “We never would have found you all the way back here. People have been searching for you for days. It’s been all over the news.”
“She needs a doctor. Can you get her to a doctor?” Shelby said the words without looking at Morgan. She tried to catch Shelby’s eye, to ground herself back in the moment, but she was too busy asking the ranger how far it was to a hospital.
“Nelson, go call for an ambulance to meet us at Dark Horse Saloon.”
The ranger who’d been manhandling her ankle hopped up and ran outside. Morgan assumed Shelby would look at her now, try to make some connection, but she didn’t. She kept her attention on the ranger in front of her.
“I’m so glad you found us. I’m sure my plants will all be dead when I get home, but better late than never.”
The ranger laughed along with Shelby, but the world had finally seemed to come into focus for Morgan. They were being rescued. After six days stuck out here with all the pain and uncertainty and cold, they were going home. It had started to feel like a vacation in the last couple of days, but it hadn’t been. They had been trapped and these men had freed them. She took a heartbeat to begrudge them their terrible timing, but at least they were going home.
As the real world flooded back in, so did the panic. So much time lost. So many unread emails and missed appointments. All those customers she could have had. Were they all lost opportunities now? How could she possibly make up for all these days?
Morgan scrambled to reach into her pocket. She had to lie back awkwardly with her leg outstretched to fit her hand into the bunched denim. When she expected her fingers to wrap around smooth stone and engraved letters, they found nothing. Her mind whirled and her breathing picked up until she was practically gasping. Where was Gail’s stone? Was it in her other pocket? She slapped around at her clothes but didn’t feel it anywhere. Which pocket had she put it in this morning? Had it fallen out on the bed? Or maybe on the couch when she and Shelby had been making out?
Dropping to her knees on the old carpet, Morgan flung aside cushions and blankets and pillows. There was no flash of opaque pink. No cold solidity. No strength. Soon she was gasping. Hyperventilating? She stopped and slammed her eyes closed. She thought back to this morning. To the shower and then struggling to get dressed with her bandaged ankle. She couldn’t remember moving the stone over from the jeans she’d worn the previous day. In fact, she couldn’t remember touching it in her pocket the previous day at all. Things had been so calm. So laid-back. She hadn’t needed Gail’s strength. Her reminder of which path to choose.
“Morgan?”
Shelby’s voice was a faraway distraction. When had she touched the stone last? If not that day and not the day before, it must have been two days ago. That had been the day of her accident. She’d grabbed it once. She remembered being in the snow, hands and knees frozen and clothes soaked through. She’d been shivering and she’d felt like giving up, but she grabbed the stone and Gail had told her to keep going. Had she put it back in her pocket or had she crawled with it bunched in her fist? She wouldn’t have done that, would she? Even if she’d been hypothermic and disoriented, she’d have remembered to be careful with Gail’s gift.
