Snowbound (4 page)

He frowned. “You’re eighteen.”

She nodded.

“That’s not old enough to drink.”

Beth laughed. “My mom comes from French
stock, so wine is practically water in her view. She probably
slipped it into my sippy cups as a child.” At his look, she put up
a hand. “I’m kidding. I remember having my first sip at age six, on
Thanksgiving. It was only recently that I’ve been promoted to
having a full glass with some meals.”

He still looked disapproving. “I don’t have
any wine.”

“Oh.” She tilted her head. “Are you out,
or…?”

“I don’t drink it, and I don’t buy it,” he
said with an air of finality. “Guests can bring their own, but I
don’t provide it.”

There was more to that, but she decided not
to pry for the moment as she got them glasses of water instead. She
sat across from him and put the linen napkin over her lap. She’d
found the set of table linens in a bottom drawer, and though they’d
been a bit dusty, a quick shakeout had made them usable.

“This is real nice.” He passed her the
serving platter first before loading his plate. “You didn’t have to
do this, Beth.”

She shrugged. “I know, but I didn’t have much
else going on. I’m sure you don’t feel like cooking or waiting on
me after a day spent out in that weather.” With a reflexive look
out the nearest window, she shivered.

“Still, ain’t your job.” He took a mouthful
of the meat, eyes closing for a moment as though he savored it.
“It’s my job, in point of fact.”

Beth grinned. “As I said, I wasn’t doing
anything else. I enjoyed it.”

“Where’d you learn to cook?”

Her grin widened. “I wouldn’t call my skills
cooking, exactly. I took a culinary unit in school, and I sometimes
hang out in the kitchen at home, watching the chef. I can cover the
basics, but that’s about it.”

He lifted a forkful of meat and carrots.
“This ain’t the basics, girl.” With an appreciative sound, he ate
another bite.

She blushed. “Well, thanks. I’m glad it
wasn’t a disaster.”

“No disaster here. This is like a restaurant
meal, which is pretty uncommon around here.”

Again, she looked outside. “It’s so dark and
isolated. Do you ever get restless?”

He paused to sip his water, looking
thoughtful. “I suppose, but if I do, I go for a walk or take out
the snowmobile.”

“I meant being so alone out here, and not
being near other people or things to do.” Licking her lips, she
asked, “Don’t you get lonely?”

He shook his head. “No. By the time I’m done
with guests for the year, I’m usually heartily sick of people.”

“The silence doesn’t get to you, out here on
your own?”

Reed shook his head. “Nah, my own company
don’t bother me. It’s other people I usually can’t stand.”

She smiled, though she didn’t think he was
entirely joking. “I think I would miss being able to walk down the
street for coffee or Thai food.”

He nodded. “This life ain’t for most,
Beth.”

Taking a deep breath for courage, she said,
“Plus, I’d get lonely. I couldn’t live out here alone, with no one
to talk to.” He didn’t answer, so she prodded a bit more. “I mean,
how do you ever date around here?”

Reed looked up from his plate. “I don’t.”

She cleared her throat. “Well, how are you
ever going to meet someone to spend your life with?”

“Don’t want to.” He seemed far more
interested in the food than the conversation.

Feeling a tad exasperated by his lack of
communication, she said, “Fine, but what about sex? Don’t you miss
that?”

He froze before carefully lowering his fork.
“Tomorrow’s goin’ to be a busy day again, so I can finish the rest
of the chores before the bad weather really hits. I spent most of
the day fooling with the main and backup generators, so you’ll have
to entertain yourself again.”

She frowned. “Are you just going to ignore my
question?”

“Damn right I am. It’s personal and not
appropriate.”

With a sigh of frustration, she returned to
her meal, her mind still buzzing with curiosity. Surely, he had sex
sometimes, but she couldn’t puzzle out how. Unless… “Have you ever
slept with any of the women who hire you?”

He sighed, long and loud. “They’ve all been
wives or girlfriends of my clients, Beth.”

She arched a brow. “But do you?”

Reed looked offended. “’Course I don’t.
Belonging to someone else is a stop sign for me, girl, as it should
be for anyone.”

Beth smiled. “I agree, though my parents have
a very different sort of viewpoint.”

He curled his lip. “Ain’t a real marriage if
you can’t be true to each other.”

She swallowed the lump of moisture his words
had brought to her throat. “Again, I agree.”

He returned his attention to his dinner, and
they finished soon after. “That was real good,” he praised again.
“I’m lookin’ forward to the leftovers already.”

She glowed with pride. “Thanks. I didn’t make
any dessert. I’m not much of a baker, and you didn’t have any way
to cheat.”

He arched a brow. “What’d you mean?”

“Oh, brownie mix or something. All you had
was the raw materials, but I don’t know how to make them into
something edible.”

He patted her shoulder. “All you can do is
try. If it don’t turn out how you wanted, you just try again.”

It was good advice, and she seized the moment
as he leaned down to retrieve his plate. Beth stretched on her toes
and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He froze, but didn’t move away.
Emboldened, she stepped a bit closer, running her lips along his
jaw line, but not trying to kiss him. “Maybe you could teach me,”
she said softly, near his mouth.

He still stood stiffly. “Teach you what,
girl?”

“Lots of things,” she said in what she hoped
was a seductive purr. “Like how to make brownies.”

After a moment, his jaw unclenched, and he
stepped away from her, clearly planning to ignore her physical
overtures. “I don’t have time to teach you nothing, Beth.” Without
another glance at her, he turned toward the sink and began to wash
the dishes, giving the task all his attention.

With a sigh, Beth scraped her plate and added
it to the sink, before she put away the leftovers. Reed Nixon was
proving to be a difficult nut to crack. She wasn’t surprised when
he left the kitchen a few minutes later and went down the hall to
his private living space, instead of the great room. Apparently,
there would be no repeat of last night.

Feeling a bit defeated, she went to the great
room to peruse his selection of movies. Reading was a favorite
activity, but she didn’t have the necessary focus to concentrate
tonight. A movie wouldn’t require as much attention. In no time,
she settled on “30 Days of Night,” deciding it was appropriate
based on the description. It was engrossing, but disgusting, and
she was burying her face in a pillow at a particularly gruesome
scene about an hour in when the couch dipped. Peeking out of her
pillow, she saw Reed sit down on the cushion he’d used last
night.

“Don’t be a sissy, girl.” He tugged the
pillow from her and put it on the cushion between them. “Ain’t
real, you know.”

Beth rolled her eyes. “Of course it isn’t,
but it’s still gross.”

He lifted a shoulder. “I suppose, but reality
is worse.” A frown followed his words, as though he regretted
speaking so freely.

Cautiously, she asked, “You’ve seen worse in
real life?”

After a quick hesitation, he nodded. “I was
in the Army. Lost my squad in Kandahar.”

“I’m sorry.” What could she say besides that,
never having experienced anything even close to comparable?

He nodded, his attention seemingly remaining
on the screen, though his eyes looked haunted.

“Doesn’t this movie creep you out, living out
here, especially during the darker side of the year?” Beth
shivered. “They aren’t even the sexy vampires.”

Reed looked at her, arching a brow. “Sexy
vampires? When the hell did vampires become sexy?”

She frowned. “I don’t know.”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, what makes a
vampire sexy?”

She chewed on her lower lip, considering her
answer. “Honestly, I’m not a big horror fan, but I’ve seen some
movies and read some books. I guess the vamps that struggle with
retaining their humanity. Or the ones who are so seductive that it
doesn’t matter if they do bad things. Dracula was like that, at
least in that old movie with Keanu Reeves.”

Reed snorted. “’Old movie.’ Damn, that
definition has changed. I don’t think the movie version of Dracula
was much like the one in the book, least not the book I read.”

“Some people consider the sparkling ones
sexy.” At his look of incomprehension, she said, “There’s a set of
books for young adults with vampires who sparkle in the sun,
instead of burning up. Some of the vamps don’t feed on humans. One
of those falls for a dorky high school girl and turns stalking into
an art form. He even watches her sleep…in her room…when she doesn’t
know he’s there.”

Reed blew out a low breath. “That’s the kinda
shit that passes for romantic among young girls these days?” He
snorted again. “Glad I’m old then.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t say that was
romantic. His undying love is sweet, and that’s what attracts most
of the readers, but the ways he expresses it…classic stalker.”

Gesturing toward the screen, where Josh
Hartnett was currently frying the bad female vampire with
ultraviolet light, he said, “Gimme those types of vampires any
day.”

She cast a glance out the window, finding it
was fully dark and not the twilight-like light they got during
midday. “Not right now, please.”

Reed chuckled. “What’s the matter? You’ll
just kung fu their asses.”

She looked away from the screen again as more
blood spattered. “I definitely picked the wrong movie. I’m going to
have nightmares tonight.” It was the perfect moment for him to
offer to check on her, or for her to ask to let her sleep with him,
but neither spoke a word. She imagined it hadn’t even occurred to
Reed, and she wasn’t ready for another round of humiliation after
his rejection at dinner.

“Watch some fluffy bunny crap before you go
to sleep. You’ll be fine.” He yawned and stretched. “Speaking of,
I’m headin’ to bed. It’s another long day tomorrow.” Reed stood up
and wandered back to his side of the house.

Beth watched him go, wondering why he’d even
bothered to come out for a few minutes. She wished she knew what he
was thinking.

What had he been thinking? He’d been secure
from temptation in his room, reading a book, when he’d abruptly
decided to check on her. Just as a courtesy. Bullshit. Reed
squirmed, thinking to himself that he’d gone back out there with
the full intention of giving that girl some lessons, and not in how
to make brownies. If she hadn’t been sitting on the couch, face
pressed into a pillow like a scared kid, he would have followed
through. Instead, that pose had reminded him of her tender years,
and he’d been unable to carry out his intentions. It didn’t matter
if she was legal when she was clearly inexperienced.

Or maybe she wasn’t. He ran a hair through
his overgrown locks, frustration eating at him. She’d seemed pretty
brave and confident with her come-on after dinner, going so far as
the kiss him. It was hardly a kiss, but still took a dose of
courage. Or security with one’s own sexuality. Was he in here
tearing himself to shreds with indecision, having wrongly guessed
she was still fairly innocent, though probably not a virgin? Was
she an experienced seductress, and he was denying himself
needlessly?

Feeling torn and confused, Reed tore open the
door to his room and strode back to the great room, intent on at
least having a discussion about the simmering attraction. Instead,
he found the TV and lights off, and the couch unoccupied. While
he’d been struggling with his demons, she’d gone on to bed. No
doubt, she was in there sleeping like a baby right now.

Or touching herself. His cock twitched at the
thought. Indecision kept him glued to the spot for a moment, before
he gave up and headed back to his room. Her early bedtime had saved
him from making a mistake. There couldn’t be anything between them.
His brain knew it, and his dick just had to accept it.

Chapter Four

There was a thick blanket of new snow on the
ground when Beth woke the next morning. She’d slept in a bit,
having tossed and turned last night, her body burning for the kind
of relief only Reed could provide. Her hand was a pale substitute
for what she really craved, and two self-induced orgasms had done
nothing to chill her heated body. Eventually, she’d fallen asleep,
though she vaguely remembered dreaming of vampires and sex, though
she didn’t think they were the sexy vampires. The dreams had been
disquieting, not satisfying.

A hot shower had restored her equilibrium,
and she was feeling herself again when she entered the kitchen,
hoping to find Reed. It was later than yesterday, and she must have
already missed him. A lone plate in the dish drainer and a cast
iron skillet that appeared to have been dried on the burner after
washing were the only things he’d left behind to indicate he’d
already come and gone.

He hadn’t even left a note, she thought
sourly, as she rummaged through his cabinets until she found some
cereal. The milk was in a glass mason jar, and she took a cautious
sniff. It smelled okay, so she poured some on her cereal. The first
taste made her grimace, and she guessed it was powdered milk.
“Yuck.” Only determination not to waste food got her through the
bowl of ickiness. “No more cold cereal in the mornings,” she said
aloud, as she tidied behind herself.

Wanting to feel useful, Beth once again took
stock of the food items, including the walk-in pantry and large
freezer in the room adjacent the kitchen. His small selection of
cookbooks came in handy, particularly when she needed a substitute
for white wine. After planning the dinner menu, she still had
several hours before she’d actually need to cook it. There were
still leftovers from their previous meals for lunch, so what else
could she do?