Cabin Heat: A New Adult and College Romance (The Billionaire Romance Redemption Series Book 1) (9 page)

It took Abby longer than usual to fall asleep. Her mind kept returning to dinner, Andrew’s second kiss, how much she wanted more. She wondered how far they would have gone were it not for the wild coyote who stole the moment. Every so often, Abby would shiver, remembering the jolt she felt when the rifle went off.

She tried to make light of the scary moment, recalling Wile E. Coyote cartoons and imagining the animal outside was just as much of a trickster as Wile E. It didn’t work. She sat up to take a drink of the bottled water at her side table and looked at the time. It was barely after ten at night. The decision was made. She read a little more Asimov to relax.

Picking up where she left off with
Foundation
made her think about Andrew that much more. She wondered whether he had ever opened up to anyone about the scar that ran from his wrist up to his elbow pit. Maybe it was intuition, or her personal experience of the loss of her mother. She was certain that his injury had something to do with the sadness and loss he carried in his eyes.

And perhaps that event—whatever it was—also led to his decision to leave the practice of medicine. He may not have noticed his own subtle nervous body language, but Abby did. Every time he spoke about medicine, he slid his hand up and down the scar.

Abby did not dare to ask, and started reading again to put it out of her mind. Or, at least, to try. The more she tried to read, the more he invaded her thoughts. His tall, almost giant frame, all muscled. His chiseled cheekbones. His sorrowful eyes. And his sultry lips. She kept the image of his face at the forefront, not fighting it anymore as she read. Soon, both Gaal and Seldon bore a stunning resemblance to Andrew.

She was barely on the fourth chapter when she heard a knock on the door.

“Come in,” she called.

Andrew popped his head in the door.

“Hi,” he said, remaining at the door. “I was wondering if you needed anything before I turn in.”

“Thanks for thinking of me, Andrew,” she said. “I think I’m actually okay tonight.”

“I also wanted to apologize.”

“For what?”

“I felt an apology was in order,” he explained. “If I was inappropriate in any way during dinner.”

“Maybe you should come in and have a seat,” Abby said, leaning forward so she could turn to face him from the side of the bed.

Andrew entered with some hesitation, closing the door behind him. He eventually sat in the armchair between the door and the bed.

“I admit,” Abby began, “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like what’s been happening between us.”

“Likewise,” he added.

“You don’t need to apologize. Unless I apologize too.”

“I appreciate that,” he answered, leaning back into the chair.

“So everything else is okay?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Actually, no, it’s not. I also wanted to say I’m sorry for rushing off when everyone came back inside.”

“I think I understand,” she answered, searching his sorrowful eyes.

“Really?” he asked, not breaking eye contact. “What do you think was the reason I left the room?”

“I don’t know for certain, but my guess is you feel responsible for us while we’re here, even though we’re not invited guests. You don’t want anything bad to happen, and you definitely don’t want to see anyone getting hurt. Not even the coyote.”

“Do you always read people so well?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “I just saw the concern in your eyes when you grabbed the rifle. And by the way, thanks for keeping my friends safe.”

“Like you said, I couldn’t stand by and watch,” he added, moving his eyes away and to the window.

“Which is why you likely saved six complete strangers last night. And just so you know, it’s not something any of us takes lightly.”

Abby paused, thinking it might be an opportune moment to learn more about Andrew. She sensed he was not as forthcoming about his past, and there was definitely some trauma or major defining moments he wasn’t ready to share. She opted to share about her own past.

“You know,” she said with a slight smile, “at dinner, I was about to tell you why I got into nursing when we got a little…sidetracked.”

“We did, didn’t we?” he agreed with a low chuckle. “So tell me. Why nursing? And why oncology nursing, to be more precise?”

“I think it’s for the same reason you went outside with the rifle,” she began to explain. “After my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I felt so helpless. She was everything to my dad and me. She was so strong in spirit while she fought it, but as her body grew weaker, I became more and more withdrawn. Close to the end, I was sitting in her room, a little numb, and very much had put up a wall around me so I wouldn’t have to grieve when she finally left.

“She was so weak, but managed to stretch out her hand to me and said, “
Abigail Wittfield, you had better take my hand right now and start living, because so help me God, I will never stop reaching for you, even from the other side.
” I took her hand, laid my head on her frail chest, and sobbed my eyes out that day. Here she was, suffering, with mere days left, and she wouldn’t give up on me, even after I had given up on her months prior. After she passed, I knew the only thing I’d ever want to do is help people. A career in nursing was natural, and oncology nursing just felt right after I got my degree.”

Abby let out a long breath after sharing about her mother. She didn’t expect to tell him so much. It just flowed out of her, as if the words needed to be spoken. It didn’t matter to her if he wouldn’t open up right away. Sharing was extra therapy for her. She sensed it was a start. And she felt so much better about having kissed a stranger. He wasn’t a stranger anymore, now that he knew a little more of her heart.

“You know, you’re just amazing,” Andrew managed. “I admire you for telling me something so…so personal.”

“It’s only fair, I think,” she explained. “I learned a lot about you over dinner, and I guess I felt more comfortable being able to share too. And now we’re not strangers anymore.”

Abby shifted so her feet touched the floor and she held the foot of the bed to stand up.

“Hey, are you sure you’re all right standing by yourself?” Andrew asked, almost lunging forward to grab her arm for support.

“Positive,” she answered.

Abby didn’t want to think or talk anymore. There was an amazing man in her room, who made her body tingle every time she thought about him, lit up her mind with his intelligence, made her relax, and caused sparks to fly about in her brain whenever she saw him. She wasn’t lying when she said she had never felt anything like that for anyone. Of the few men she had dated through high school and college, not one of them made her jittery. There were never any sparks. Abby didn’t know what it was she was feeling, but she knew she wanted more.

She reached up to his shoulders as she stood in front of him and pulled him down. She whispered, “Thank you,” planted her lips on his, and pressed a chaste but “I want more” kiss on his mouth. Andrew looked genuinely surprised by her action and it took him a moment before he began to react and respond. She pulled away to kiss a line across his bottom lip.

She let out a breath near his ear and under her roaming hand she felt his heart pound rapidly.
Yes
!
That’s the kind of reaction I was hoping for
. His hand rose from her waist, where it had fallen, to cup her head in his large hand and turn her face to his.

“Abby,” he whispered.

And those were the last words either spoke for the next fifteen minutes.

He opened his lips and took her mouth. Abby responded with zeal, allowing his tongue to dip in and unravel her. For the third time of her life, she found herself wishing the world would end and this moment would stretch on eternally. Having his mouth on hers, sucking her soul from her, tasting her mouth with his tongue, and letting her do the same to him, it was just out of this world. Hands down, the three best sensual experiences of her life.

Not even the need for oxygen had her wanting to pull away from him. She ran her tongue across his teeth and along his tongue. He tasted like wilderness, like unbridled adventure, and a hint of danger. There was really no other way to describe the unique flavor that was Andrew. She explored his mouth again and again, trying to find better words, trying to determine exactly what she was tasting.

At last, he was the one to yield to survival and pulled away first, in order to gasp large breaths of air. She followed suit and panted, collecting her thoughts and organizing her memories so she could recall them later without trouble. She wanted to remember him. No matter what happened in the future, she wanted to remember him like this. Every moment was an experience.

She was still filing away each sensation when she realized he had tilted back her head and was nibbling along the underside of her jaw. His teeth grazed a tender spot and she felt like laughing. She hadn’t known she was ticklish there, but apparently, she was. Luckily, he moved on, licking and kissing a trail south to her throat. His hands moved up to hold her shoulders and she lowered her head to rest her chin on the crown of his head.

Abby raised her hands to run her fingers through his hair. It was short and so smooth. Instantly, she loved the feeling of it against her skin. Would she feel the same if it brushed her thighs? Suddenly, she craved that knowledge. One of his hands shifted lower to tap against the pulse point throbbing wildly—thanks to what he was currently doing—beside her throat.

As he teased her there, he moved along her collarbone, nipping the delicate skin, then soothing each bite with tender licks. She swooned, letting out a moan, and felt her knees shake. Andrew was so aware of her; he released his grip on one shoulder to wrap his arm around her waist for more support where she stood. As he did, she felt, more than heard, a soft chuckle rise from his chest and she almost laughed too.

His other hand had started to wander, too, dipping below the collar of her robe and grazing the top swells of her breasts. Immediately, her nipples peaked, pushing at the silky fabric. By now, he had to know she had nothing on underneath. He swooped lower and slipped a fingertip over her nipple.

His lips traveled north and his finger moved south. He kissed his way up her neck, under her earlobe. She shivered and arched her neck to the side to allow him greater, easier, please-dear-God access.

He was pulling her robe down dangerously low, stretching out the taut fabric, in order to sneak a few fingers under to massage her nipple between two fingers. She moaned, head falling back.

Don’t let him stop
, she begged the stars.

Then, he did.

“Abby.” His hands were back on her shoulders. He was shaking her slightly.

“Um…yes?” She blinked at him, still awash in passion.

“I think we should stop. Otherwise I may not be able to.”

“Let’s not stop, then.”

ANDREW felt both thrilled and terrified at the thought that Abby wanted him. When she told him not to stop, it sent wild shivers up his back and made him hunger more for her. A little voice at the back of his head kept asking,
Am I really ready for this?
When she uttered her desire, he cut the little voice off from the rest of his body, and only listened to the one what was saying,
She wants me. And I need her so fucking bad.

He picked her up in his arms and whispered in her ear.

“My room.” They’d be more comfortable there. He’d be able to use protection, if they got that far. Most of all, he wanted to etch the memory of whatever happened in his mind and in his bed. When Abby nodded, he carried her out into the hallway, then into his room.

Andrew was barely in his room when she started kissing his neck, sending his need through the roof. He stepped forward and turned so her back was against the nearest wall, enjoying everything they could experience before they made it to his bed. As her feet touched the ground, he braced his arms beside her head.

Abby watched him with intensity, and he could see desire darken her eyes. She held his gaze, and to Andrew, it felt like her invitation to take her. Right here, up against the wall. He was tempted. Very tempted to give her what her eyes said she needed. He was just so unsure of himself, he didn’t want to rush.

A kiss. Another kiss was what he would take now.

He didn’t go for her lips first. He ducked his head and licked under her ear at the spot where her scent was strongest. She half fought it and half begged for more, and he knew it was the wild sensations he was creating. Andrew took it even more slowly, fighting every animalistic desire to arch her neck and flip her hair back behind her shoulder to own her neck. She moaned as though she wanted more but couldn’t have it. The naughty little voice egged him on, suggesting to him that he already had her wrapped around his finger…and his tongue. And all the wickedly pleasurable things he could do to her with them.

She sighed and lifted a hand, flexing her fingers, needing to do something. He knew she moved without cognizance. She tilted her head and absently picked up her long hair and tucked it behind her. When he let out a soft moan in her ear, her body vibrated. Her hand went to his hips and pulled him closer. He moved to the other side of her face and licked from her collarbone up to her ear. She moaned aloud.

He dipped his tongue along the whorls of her ear and she reacted as if ticklish, half-trying to escape him. His arms blocked her way and she pressed her breasts into his chest and leaned into him.

“God, Andrew. You make me feel…”

He smiled, and looked into her eyes.

She pulled back.

“I want all of you, Abby.”

His voice was different, harsher and he swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. She seemed to jump. He wasn’t sure if he might have scared her. He didn’t mean to do anything except slowly worship every part of her body. Desire was running rampant in his veins, encouraging him toward a singular path. He had to control his need. For her sake.

“Sorry if I scared you,” he soothed, removing his arms from either side of her head and cupping her face. He kissed her tenderly, gently, asking for no more than she was willing to give him. It took a moment, but at last she responded, opening her mouth slightly to let his tongue soothe her inside, as well. He hummed into her mouth, groaned and moaned as she gave him more and more of her own passion.

Abby was feeding a monster. He knew it and was unable to control it anymore. He pressed himself against her, pushing her back to the wall and holding her there with the force of his own body. This time she didn’t shy away. She shoved right back at him, her own desire now raging within her. They were both slaves to this overwhelming sensation.

Her hand snaked down between their bodies and she boldly caressed his erection, sliding up and down over the bulge in his jeans. His cock leapt at the first movement of her palm. He was going to end up with a zipper-shaped tattoo across its surface, but he didn’t care. Not in the least. She grabbed his waistband and slipped a finger under the band. Caressing the very tip of his now fully erect—painfully erect—cock, he just about lost it. Like a thirteen-year-old with his first filthy magazine, he was ready to explode in his pants.

“Abby, not here…I want to please you,” he ground out between clamped teeth. His groin, however, pushed forward into her grasp and she pulled his waistband lower to get two fingers on his shaft. There was only one way to stop her.

He groped for a breast. Finding one, he caressed it over her robe, while snaking another hand at the opening of the fabric to gently slide across the opposite nipple. She hissed and her eyes closed. The tip of her tongue slipped between her pink, plump lips. He longed for her to open her eyes so he could connect with her soul. She didn’t, so he continued massaging her bare breast.

Her knees began to tremble and he pushed his own knee out between her legs to steady her. It was then he remembered her ankle.

“Is your ankle okay?” he said in a low groan, not wanting to leave his mind’s escape.

“It’s perfect,” she purred.

She collapsed atop his knee.
Damn it
. He could feel her heat. Her hand was now completely in his pants. Even in the confined space of his tight jeans, with a full hard-on, she managed to fit her tiny hand in far enough to circle and tease his cockhead.

He pulled on the sash of her robe, and once it got loose, he tugged the robe past her shoulders. Her breasts were perfect. Her slender body; those hand-size globes of pale pink flesh. He lowered his head to one and tasted her. Like sugared peaches. She undulated on his thigh.

He was lost, totally gone. He stood to get a better angle on her nipple and, without support, she began to falter. He caught her slight frame by hooking his arms under her armpits. As he did, she opened her eyes. She was still dazed and alit with passion. She was adorable. He kissed the tip of her nose and smiled. Abby could barely manage a smile. She stared at him.

“Come on, let me get you off that ankle,” he whispered.

“Um…”

“Some kind of kiss, huh?”

* * *

ABBY had lost all composure by the time Andrew carried her to his bed. She rested on it, staring up at the ceiling. All she wanted was to feel him; to have him touch her everywhere. His caress sent primitive vibrations throughout her body and made her feel so alive. The robe was already loosened, so her body was exposed. She shivered as she felt light air currents blow over her nipples. Just the thought of how he massaged her breasts made her clit throb with need.

Andrew sat at the foot of the bed and gently rubbed the bottom of her feet. His thumb pressed gentle circles into her flesh as he peered at the swollen ankle. It still hurt; he touched a tender spot near her Achilles tendon with his finger. He saw her wince and stopped.

He stood up and Abby admired his muscular frame as he stripped down completely. He moved around to rest beside her in the bed. She could hear his breath still panting slightly from before. He turned his body toward her and blew onto her neck. His warm breath danced along her skin and she jumped. She was ticklish there. Very ticklish and so aroused.

Abby stared at his muscular chest, desperately needing something to focus on as he tantalized her neck. She noticed his gaze had dropped, following her open robe and down past her stomach. On instinct, she opened her thighs. His eyes jumped back to hers. A slight pink tint marked his cheeks before he brushed a gentle hand across her face. She smiled softly.

He turned so he was above her, careful not to touch her ankle, and shifted his body down the bed. Her breath hitched when he gazed into her eyes and lowered his head to her stomach. His arms locked around her hips, keeping her close. She wanted him so badly. He dipped his head between her thighs, and at first, it was just his breath that tickled her wet flesh, making her squirm as he whispered praises against her clit. He pressed kisses up and down her slit. He nibbled the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. His hands stroked up and down her body while he ravaged her and she could not stop the long moans that escaped her mouth. Andrew was good. Very good.

Suddenly, a finger caressed her folds and slipped inside. She hadn’t had sex in a long time, and feeling him within her, caressing her inner walls, had her bucking and thrashing on top of the sheets.

“Abby. Hold still,” he moaned his sensual demand. He clamped a heavy, strong arm across her pelvis, stilling her wild undulating.

“Oh. My. God. Andrew. This. Is.” She ceased talking. She had no idea sex could be this beautiful. This wonderful.

He shifted up her body, and reached into his night table for a condom. Abby was relieved he had the presence of mind to use protection, because she had no resistance left in her. Her excitement had grown to heights she had never imagined. She enthusiastically helped him slide the condom up his shaft, making him groan deeply. When it was on, his thighs moved between hers and spread her apart. He kissed each breast tenderly and then licked a path of heat in the valley between. He latched onto her lips for a kiss, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth as his cock gently breached her folds.

“Abby,” he growled. “You’re so wet. And so tight. God, you feel so good.”

She was painfully tight, but very wet with need. She moved slowly to meet him, easing his cock in as he moved in and out of her opening; deeper into her channel. She slid her arms around his back and helped control every satisfying thrust. Finally, she had him seated firmly within her core. She sighed and nipped at his ear with the feeling of fullness.

She wanted him to go slowly, and it was as if he read her mind before any words would come. She was happy he took it slowly with her. Like heaven, he found the perfect rhythm and rocked them both gently into oblivion. They moved in synchrony for several minutes, and with little warning, she heard her own mouth let out a foreign cry as her orgasm broke out of its chains, sending her body rocketing toward climax. He may have been waiting for her, because as her body writhed with pleasure, he let out a dark, carnal groan and came.

He held her so tightly the whole time. She felt safe, and they both slept.