Troping Through the Snow: The Complete Bundle, page 15
“Well, unfortunately there was a price, and it was pretty damn high.”
Frostie snaps her head in my direction and then busts out laughing. “I guess you’re right. But whatever it was, it was worth it.”
My eyes don’t leave her as I nod. “I agree.”
We wait a little longer, and then in the distance I see movement. Frostie is beside herself as I point it out, and then as if on cue, Maggie and her cubs come through the bushes and begin to feast. Watching Frostie’s reaction is the best part, and I drink it in as she enjoys the show.
“I can’t believe it. You’ve basically got pet bears.”
“It’s probably better to think of them as wild animals.” I shrug as we walk into the kitchen. “You know, so you don’t get mauled or something.”
“Good idea,” Frostie says, and when she turns the corner for the kitchen, she stops and gasps. “What in the—”
“You said I needed a Christmas tree.” There’s about fifty boxes and bags filled with decorations because I wasn’t sure what she would need. “The sales lady seemed excited.”
“You think?” Frostie turns wide eyes on me. “You could decorate your house ten times over. How many trees did you get?”
“Seven?” I guess, scratching the back of my head.
“Seven!” She sounds like she’s mad, but somehow she looks like this is the best news she’s ever gotten in her whole life.
“I just kept saying yes every time she scanned something, so I’m not exactly sure.” I point my thumb over my shoulder. “The rest is in the living room.”
“The rest!?” Frostie takes a calming breath. “I’m sorry I’m shouting, but this is literally my dream come true.”
And there goes the rest of my heart as I hand it over to her. Damn. She didn’t even have to ask for it.
“I thought maybe we could do homemade pizzas tonight since they’re easy.”
“Pizza and cookies it is.” She’s already rubbing her hands together as she gets closer to the boxes. “Oh! Let’s put on a Christmas movie.”
“Okay,” I agree readily, and it seems to make her even happier.
“What’s your favorite?” she asks, and I shrug.
“Don't know. I’ve never seen any.”
“How is that possible?” Frostie gives me a skeptical look like I’m not telling her the truth. So I decide maybe it’s time I give a little since she’s already given so much.
“I, um, I grew up in a kind of a cult.”
She blinks at me a few times and blinks slowly. “What?”
“My mom died in childbirth, and my father was part of a cult. He raised me until I was fifteen and then kicked me out.”
“I have so many questions,” she whispers as she takes a seat on one of the chairs behind her.
“It’s a long story and doesn’t make me feel real good when I think about it,” I say, and she nods.
“Yeah, I can imagine. Never mind, you don’t have to say anything else.”
“How about two questions?” I offer, and she nods, already agreeing.
“Why did they kick you out?”
“Because I wouldn’t marry another girl my age.”
“Oh my god.” Frostie brings her hands to her mouth, and I nod.
“Yeah, it was pretty awful. But the good news is that it broke up a couple of years after I left.”
“What did you do after they kicked you out?”
“I lied about my age and entered the military. I was always twice the size of the other boys, and I didn’t have proof of birth because of the compound. I found someone to help me forge documents, and that was that.” She bites her bottom lip, and I can see she’s still got lots of questions floating around in her head. “One more?” I offer.
“Have you ever seen any of your family since you left?”
“No,” I say, but it doesn’t feel like enough of an explanation. “I saw them in court during the sentencing but chose to go no contact afterwards. That’s not who I am, and it’s not the life I want.”
“I can understand why.” The worry in her eyes does something to me, and I take a step closer to her.
“I’m okay now,” I say to reassure her. “Before the military, I lived my life surrounded by people I hated with nothing of my own. So I knew one day when I finally welcomed someone into my space, it would be because I needed them there.”
Frostie bites her bottom lip, but this time it’s to hide a smile as she nods toward the boxes. “Then let’s cheer this space up.”
“I’d like that,” I agree.
CHAPTER 7
FROSTIE
“Hmm.” My body feels warm and fuzzy, and I don’t want to open my eyes. My alarm isn’t going off yet, but if I check the time, I’ll end up waking up. So instead, I let myself drift back asleep, and I’m almost there when I realize there is a hand on my breast.
The fingers flex and give it a small squeeze. My eyes fly open, and I see pillows and comforters surrounding me. I’m in the middle of a soft cloud that is not my bed, and it’s definitely not my own hand grabbing my boob. I think Clause might be the only man in this town that could hold one of my breasts fully in his giant hand and have it fit perfectly.
Slowly, I try to slip out of Clause’s grip, but it only tightens. He pulls me deeper into his warm body before throwing one of his legs over mine, thoroughly trapping me. Damn, he feels good and smells good too. How the hell did I end up in his bed? I shift, wanting to get a peek at him and see if he’s awake.
“Frostie.” Clause grunts my name, and I still my movements.
His leg presses against my ass, and then my eyes widen. Holy shit, that’s his cock. I know Clause is a big man, so it shouldn’t be shocking that his cock would match the rest of the package, but there’s no way that thing will ever fit inside me. Although no one said anything about it going into me. It’s morning wood and completely normal.
“Clause?” I whisper as the night before starts to come back to me. I think I might have had a Christmas crash, if that’s a thing. I was so excited about decorating Clause's home, I ended up overdoing it. There might have been some spiked eggnog too, which was my idea.
Clause only grunts a response, which makes my nipples harder. I glance down at my clothes, and I’m pretty sure I’m in one of his shirts.
“You’re killing me,” he grits out as I wiggle again, and I’m not sure if he’s mad. His tone is different.
“Three words all strung together. I’m impressed,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood and my growing desire. “Care to tell me why I’m killing you?”
Does he have a hangover? I don’t feel hung over, but I’m also a lightweight when it comes to drinking. I think I had three of those cocktails last night. One holiday movie turned into another as we decorated, and before I knew it, we were on the sofa watching together.
“You’re wiggling your ass against my cock.” I have to fight not to do it again. Now that he said it, that's all I can think about.
“You’ve got a hold of my boob,” I point out. He could have let that go at any time because I’m sure he grabbed it in his sleep or something. Clause isn’t handsy. In fact, he gives me too much space at times. I remember after my first drink trying to flirt with him, but I don’t think it worked.
“You’re the one that demanded cuddles.”
“I demanded cuddles?” That must have been after the third drink. Is that my flirt game? To demand cuddles? I start to giggle, and my whole body shakes.
My laughter dies as it comes back to me. Oh god. It was clear after the first drink last night that I wouldn’t be driving, so Clause said I could have the bed after he gave me one of his shirts to sleep in. I think I might have even danced around to Christmas music. He sat there and watched, probably thinking I was a weirdo and asking himself why he blackmailed this person into coming to his house. Kill me now.
“I like them,” he finally says.
“My boobs or cuddles?” I’m thankful my back is to him and he can’t see my face because I wouldn't be so bold with my words otherwise.
I still can’t believe I’m in Clause’s bed in only his shirt and my panties. If someone had told me this was coming a week ago, I would have called them crazy. I didn’t think Clause could stand me, and now we’re friends. At least, I think we are. Really I have no clue where we stand because Clause isn’t a big communicator.
“Both.” His hand slips down slowly, and I don’t stop him as he moves it under my shirt and up to grab my bare breast. “You’re so soft.” He buries his face in my neck, and a warm shiver spreads over my body.
I feel him suck in a deep breath. Is he breathing me in? Why is that so freaking hot? I close my eyes, enjoying him groping me. I love the way his giant body presses against mine and makes me feel delicate.
“And you’re very hard.” I know it’s natural for men to be hard in the morning, but could there be more to what is happening? He rubs his rough thumb across my nipple, making me moan. “Clause?” I turn my head, needing to see his face.
We’re crossing a line here, and I’m not sure what that means. I don’t know why it scares me, but it does. Clause doesn’t let people close, but I practically jumped in his bed and dragged him into it with me.
“Are—” He cuts me off as his mouth comes down and claims mine.
The kiss starts off slow as both of us tentatively explore the other, but it quickly turns wild. Clause’s mouth devours mine, and then he shifts to move over me. My legs part, making room for him, and I feel his cock pressing against my sex and then hitting my clit. We grind on each other, moving back and forth, mimicking sex. I dig my nails into his back as an orgasm rises inside of me with each thrust of his hips. His cock gives my clit the perfect amount of pressure.
“Clause.” I break the kiss. “I…ah…”
“Yes?” he grunts, thrusting down harder. It sends me over the edge, and my orgasm explodes through me. He groans my name, and his body jerks over mine as he buries his face in my neck again. My panties are soaked, and I’m not sure if it’s his release or my own.
When Clause finally lifts his head, his expression is unreadable. He opens his mouth to say something, but a bell goes off, followed by a loud pounding at the front door.
A growl rumbles from Clause, and he pushes off the bed and stomps into his closet. I sit up, and the bell goes off again as the pounding on the front door gets louder. Clause comes back out of his closet with a new pair of sweatpants on before he storms out of the room.
“You better open this door, you lumberjack serial killer, or I’ll blow it open,” I hear Tinsel yell. “I know you’ve got her in there.”
Shit, she must have seen my car parked out front.
“You’re not blowing anything open,” Jack tells her.
“I could make a bomb. I’d need to use your phone to google it, though.”
I hear the front door swing open a second later. “You’re trespassing,” Clause snaps, and I jump from the bed and run out to the living room before a fight can break out.
“I can’t see. Get your hands off my face,” Tinsel shouts.
When I get to the front door, I elbow my way past Clause to see Jack and Tinsel. Jack’s got his hand over her eyes, and his other arm is wrapped around her waist to keep her from going anywhere.
“Put on a shirt.” Jack glares at Clause.
“Oh shit. What time is it?” It's bright outside.
“It’s I-thought-you’d-been-murdered o’clock!” Tinsel snaps.
“Crap. Okay, okay.” I have to get to the bakery. I hope the staff opened on their own, or everyone is going to be wondering where I was and what I was up to. Clause would be the talk of the town, and I don’t think he’d like that because he’s private. I rush back into the house to find my clothes and quickly get dressed, but I hear banging on the door again.
“Did you lock them out?” I ask as I grab my purse and see my phone is dead.
“Yes,” Clause says, pulling a shirt on.
I pull on my boots and almost fall over, but Clause catches me. “Thanks.” He puts me on my feet, and I lick my lips, still feeling him there. “So I guess—”
“Open this door!” Tinsel shouts, cutting me off.
“You know I’m alive!” I shout back.
“Did she yell at me?” I can hear her muffled question from the other side of the door. “She never yells. What did he do to her?”
What has Clause done to me? I don’t want to leave, but he’s not asking me to stay, and I have a bakery I need to check on.
“I should go,” I say, and Clause only nods before walking over to the front door.
“You don’t have to come tonight,” he says as he opens the door, and his words shock me. He doesn’t want me to? I want to ask him, but Jack and Tinsel are staring at us, and Clause is looking anywhere but at me.
“Okay” is all I can get out.
“Hey,” Tinsel calls after me as I hurry past her and over to my car.
“I have to get to the bakery,” I tell her because I want to get out of here. Still, Tinsel rushes over before I can get into my car.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” she asks, and I blink quickly so I don’t cry. “If he—”
“It was me. I threw myself at him,” I whisper so Jack and Clause can’t hear. Tinsel’s eyebrows rise in surprise. Normally I’d relish shocking her but not this time. Not right now. “I have to go.”
Tinsel purses her lips but steps back so I can open my car door and get the hell out of here. As much as I want to leave, I’m scared I’ll never be back.
CHAPTER 8
CLAUSE
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
What did I just do? I mauled Frostie and then sent her running from me as fast as she could go. I told her not to come, and she didn’t even blink. I couldn’t explain because I was so tongue-tied after what happened, and then the fucking sheriff showed up.
That was a whole other can of worms. Tinsel glared at me for a full sixty seconds before Jack practically dragged her back into the car and drove them off my land. Then I sat in my living room looking at all the decorations that Frostie put up and felt like my heart was breaking. She’s gone, and I’ve fucked it up.
I never drink or set an alarm. I’m usually up before the sun just because I’m used to it, but after last night, I was exhausted and fell into bed so perfectly with her. It was like we’d been doing it our whole lives, and we fit together like missing pieces of a puzzle.
Of course she had to get up and open her bakery this morning. What the fuck did I expect? After a while of sitting in my own self-loathing, I decide I’ve got to make this right with her. I can’t just let her run out of here without an explanation and then never see her again because of a misunderstanding. That’s not going to happen.
Once I’m ready, I drive into Troping, but instead of going straight to Frostie’s, I pull up in front of the sheriff’s office. When I go inside, I say hello to one of the ladies on dispatch and ask for Tinsel. She pokes her head out of her office and scowls when she sees me. Then she steps out from behind her door holding a mug that reads Details are sketchy.
“Come to confess to your crimes of kidnapping?” Before I can answer, she turns to the elderly lady outside her office. “Mabel, grab my cattle prod.”
The lady doesn’t so much as look up from her wordsearch. “I would, but you broke it when you tried using it to kill mosquitoes.”
“Damn it,” Tinsel says to herself.
“I need to talk to you,” I say and nod to her office. “In private.”
“Not without my lawyer.” Tinsel turns to Mabel again. “Call Jack.”
The older lady sighs and circles a word on her page. “He’s at the deli getting you a sandwich.”
“Double damn it,” Tinsel hisses before finally agreeing. “Fine, but just know Mabel here can do karate, so I’d think twice before coming at me.”
“Noted,” I say as I follow Tinsel into her office and we both take a seat.
“So, why did you kidnap my friend and then make her cry?”
“She cried?” My voice is louder than I mean it to be, and I start to stand up.
“Okay fine, maybe she didn’t cry, but I know Frostie, and she was upset.”
“I’m going to talk to her, but I wanted to see you first. She and I are…” I don’t know how to say I’m blackmailing her to be with me in a nice way, so I settle for a partial truth. “We’re seeing each other.”
“I did a little digging on your background.” She tries to put her feet up on her desk but misses and nearly falls over backwards in her chair. “Turns out you were in the military.” She doesn’t miss a beat in conversation as she straightens up.
“Yes, I was.”
“So you’re admitting it.” She points a finger right at me, and she might be funny if I wasn’t still so damn sad about Frostie.
“You’re her best friend,” I say, ignoring her line of inquisition.
“I see you’ve done your own homework too.” Tinsel takes a sip of what looks like hot cocoa and waits for me to finish.
I’m not used to doing anything like this, so it’s hard to open myself up in this way. But getting Frostie to come be with me again is all I care about. So I decide to sacrifice what little fear I have about talking and messing up my words so I can do this right.
“In the rush for her to leave this morning, I messed up, and I think I hurt her feelings.” Before Tinsel can start talking, I hold up my hands. “It wasn’t intentional. I just don’t always say things the right way.”
“Okay, go on.” She puts her elbows on her desk, waiting for me to finish.
“What can I do to make things right?” There it is, me laying it out and asking for help. It’s not something I’ve ever done before, but desperate times and all that.
Last night and this morning were the single greatest hours of my life, and it all came crashing down around me with the dawning of the sun. I need to get that time back and fix what I’ve screwed up.
“Well, if it were me—which I would never ever do because I’m amazing and she loves me,” Tinsel rambles to herself. “But if I was possessed by aliens and somehow fucked up, I think she would need some kind of grand gesture.”
