Snowbound by Kristianna Sawyer Read Free Book Online

“You already lost the argument
when you got to resort to name-calling.” Reed opened the first
bandage. “Besides, ain’t got no bonbons, Beth.”
    For some reason, that struck her as funny,
and she started giggling. Trying to stifle the response with her
hand did no good, and she ended up laughing. To her surprise, he
joined in with a small chuckle.
    “Now, hold still. I gotta get the edges back
together.”
    It struck her that he was awfully close to
her left breast as he gently pulled the wound taut and applied the
first bandage. It was a strange mix of pain and pleasure that
assaulted her for the next five minutes, as he affixed three more
bandages before covering it all with a large adhesive pad. The
tugging and pulling of the wound hurt, but his fingers on her skin
were heaven.
    “There. That should fix ya’ up. You’ll need
to keep it as clean as possible, and we should check it again
tomorrow.” His fingers slid under the strap of her white cami to
slide it back up her arm. “Just let me know if it starts hurtin’
real bad or something though.”
    She nodded, compelled to put her hand over
his, leaving the strap partially on her shoulder. “Thanks,
Reed.”
    He nodded, and his cheeks bloomed with color.
She didn’t know if it was embarrassment or a reaction to her touch,
and his words didn’t help clarify. “Sorry I yelled at you. I just
about come undone when I saw you swingin’ that maul around.”
    She rolled her eyes, trying to resist the
urge to argue. “I wasn’t swinging it around. I was bringing it down
in a firm, forward motion.”
    It was his turn to roll his eyes. “Fine,
girl, but you still wasn’t bein’ safe. If you’d told me you wanted
to live the dream of bein’ a lumberjack, I’d’ve shown you how.”
    Carefully, so as not to spook him away, she
brought up her other hand to cup his cheek. “You said you were too
busy to teach me things.”
    His eyes widened, and he seemed torn between
two courses of action for a long second. Then his hand fell away,
and he stepped back.
    Frustrated, she grabbed a handful of his
plaid shirt. “Why do you keep backing away every time I get
close?”
    “Why do you think, girl?” He shook his head.
“This ain’t never going to work. You’re too young, and I’m too
old.”
    “I don’t care about age,” she said
softly.
    He scoffed. “You just need to stop this.
Ain’t nothing gonna happen.” Reed pulled away and turned his back
to her, reaching for his coat. “Now I gotta get back to chopping
wood. You sit your pretty little ass here in the house and
recover.”
    Irritation and frustration drove her actions.
With a slight wince at the stretch of the wound as she lifted her
arms, Beth peeled off the camisole and threw it at him, nailing him
in the back of the head.
    “What the—” He broke off as he turned around
to face her again, his eyes widening at the sight of her standing
naked from the waist up.
    “I’m not too young to know my own mind, so
stop dismissing me like my desires mean nothing.” Glaring at him,
she kicked off her snow boots. “I’m a woman. Yeah, I’m young, but I
know what I want.” Her fingers shook as she unsnapped and unzipped
her jeans, pushing them down to step out of them. “Who I want.”
Softening her tone, she said, “I want you.”
    His eyes narrowed, and he stormed back to
her, gathering her close. “And you always get what you want,
princess?”
    “Always,” she replied, though it felt like
the wrong thing to say.
    Reed growled low in his throat, and his mouth
covered hers, crushing and punishing, even if it didn’t frighten
her. Beth threaded her fingers through his hair, dragging his head
closer as his mouth ravished hers. She parted her lips, meeting his
tongue enthusiastically as he kissed her in a way no man ever had
before.
    She turned her head, needing to draw breath.
Her lips felt raw and bruised, but in a good way. He sucked on her
neck before growling, “Is this what you