When her eyes closed again, she snapped them open once again as she realized that she was about to fall asleep. “Keep it together,” she whispered to herself. “This is not the time to be weak.”
She leaned her head back and sighed, happy to have the warmth but maybe it wasn’t so good. After last night’s lack of sleep, not to mention the unexpected physical activity, plus the painfully cold night, her body was shutting down, falling asleep too easily.
Brianna tried to tell herself to get up and walk around, get chilled again, but she couldn’t get her eyes to open long enough to accomplish her command.
A few minutes after Brianna’s eyes gave up the fight for awareness, Rocco walked into his stable and found the woman bundled up in about four of the down blankets he’d sent down to the barn. She looked so comfortable and cute, he almost didn’t want to disturb her. But the horses shuffling in their stalls caused him to change his mind. Well, and the fact that he wanted her inside, in his bed.
Hmm…maybe not in his bed tonight. He was suddenly realizing that he had some morals left. His mind wouldn’t let him put her into his bed and crawl in beside her without her consent. He discovered that he didn’t want anything less than what they’d shared the last time they’d been together. No half-hearted sexual encounters would work after he’d experienced her amazing passion. He wanted the real thing.
As he carried her into the house, she snuggled deeper into his embrace. He had to grit his teeth when her cold nose nuzzled his neck and she sighed with contentment. He walked up the stairs with her in his arms and settled her into the large bed in the room next to his.
He looked down at her as she stretched in the large, comfortable bed and something uncurled inside of him. She looked like an angel but he had to remind himself that women were always after something more. What this beauty was after, he couldn’t figure out. But he would. Eventually, he would know everything there was to know about her.
As he watched, she sighed in her sleep and his body hardened with the need to have her again. Turning away, he forced his feet to leave the bedroom, closing the door firmly. Until he knew her angle, it was best to keep things in perspective.
Brianna woke up the following morning to cloudy skies and yet another unknown bed. She pushed the blankets off of her and sat up, trying to figure out where she was. This was the second time in three days when she’d woken up in a stranger’s room and it was more than a little disconcerting.
She pushed her hair away from her eyes and looked outside, startled to see that it was snowing. And not just a light dusting, but a full out heavy snowfall.
“What in the world has happened?” she asked out loud.
“You fell asleep in my barn,” a deep voice said from behind her.
Brianna gasped and spun around, her hands gripping the beautiful comforter as her eyes drank in the sight of Rocco Antoniv standing in front of her, looking fabulous in a pair of jeans and a thick, cream woolen sweater. “What are you doing here?” she asked, not sure what was going on. “I told myself I wasn’t going to see you again unless you were in handcuffs.”
Rocco’s eyebrows went upwards with that bold statement. He knew he should be insulted, but the look on her face was just too perfect. “I might like that,” he said softly, moving closer. And then he burst out laughing when he saw the rose color suffuse her face. “That’s quite enchanting, my dear.” He moved forward, chuckling when she backed away from him. “Maybe it will be me putting the handcuffs on you for trespassing.” He let that sink in before he lifted her wrist in his hand. “Then again, I wouldn’t want anything to mar this perfect skin.” And he lifted her hand, kissing her wrist, causing her heart rate to race from the caress. “Perhaps silk ties would be a better option?” he teased and laughed deeply when her face suffused with that incredible color once again.
She pulled her hand out of his grasp angrily and scooted back on the bed. “What happened last night?” she asked. Her heart was racing but she wasn’t sure if it was out of fear or anticipation. Either was unacceptable, she told herself firmly.
He leaned closer, a smile still on his face. “Please tell me you’re not asking if we had sex last night.”
Brianna gasped and bit her lower lip. She thought frantically, trying to figure out what might have happened. The previous morning, she’d felt tender after their night together. Everywhere! But she didn’t feel that way today. She was stiff, probably from falling asleep while sitting up in the barn. “No,” she replied, her chin going up defiantly. “I know you didn’t touch me last night.” She was proud of how confident her voice sounded even though she didn’t feel quite so strong. “So what did happen?”
He chuckled, impressed with her bravado if not her methods. “You fell asleep before I could even give you the delicious hot chocolate my housekeeper made for you. I brought you up here so you could sleep more comfortably.”
The idea of rich hot chocolate made her mouth water but she ignored the thought. “I appreciate your consideration,” she told him stiffly, feeling like a fool all over again. “I should get out of your way.”
She slipped off of the bed, grateful to still be wearing her clothes even if they looked shockingly rumpled after a night sleeping in them. She started to walk out of the bedroom but he shook his head, stepping into her path. “I’m afraid that’s not possible,” he told her without a hint of regret.
“Why not?” she demanded, wondering if he was going to keep her here against her will.
“Because the roads are now impassable. There’s no way you’d be able to get your car out of the spot you put it. The wind is blowing the snow around so it’s also surrounded by two feet of snow and it’s still going strong.”
That was not the news she wanted to hear. She looked out the window and saw the falling snow, not sure she believed him about the depth of the snow. “When did all of this start?” she demanded, walking over to the window and pulling the filmy drapes back. It really looked lovely, she thought, seeing the barn in the back where she’d hidden. There weren’t even any tracks where he’d walked, the snow covering everything in a thick, white layer. She could barely even make out the fence line since the snow was so deep. “It wasn’t supposed to snow!”
He laughed softly. “It wasn’t forecasted to snow in the city. I imagine it’s just raining closer to your home. But out here, we’re at a higher elevation so it’s much colder than in the city.”