Snowfall and Secrets (The Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 1) (12 page)

Dio lay on the gigantic bed. She flew off and stuck her nose into Tess’s hand.

“Hey, girl,” Tess said. “I don’t have anything for you. Sorry.” Tess scratched her behind her ears, then took off her coat and set it on a chair. The room reminded her of a medieval king’s room. Dark wood and regal furnishings. Plus the fireplace. Lukas said it was gas, but it looked real.

She turned to talk to Lukas and sucked in a breath. He had taken off his coat and hung it on a hook on the wall. His bare back was to her.

“Where’s your shirt?” she asked, unable to stop the words from coming out of her mouth when he turned around.

“You called me at two in the morning. I just threw on my snow gear and headed on over.”
She eyed his snow pants. “So what’s underneath those?”

He wiggled his eyebrows. “Not much. I’m a briefs guy.”

Tess blushed.

“But,” he continued. “I’ll put on a pair of pjs. You can change in the bathroom if you want. It’s cold in there though. I’m warning you.”

Tess didn’t move. “What exactly are the sleeping arrangements?”

He pointed to the bed. “I’ve got a big bed.”

“What if I’m not comfortable with that?”

He sighed. “I think I can restrain myself. We can figure out other arrangements tomorrow if you’re stuck here. Dio will sleep in between us. Seriously, no worries.”

She could trust him. She just didn’t know if she could trust herself. Finally she nodded and escaped into the bathroom.

L
ukas might’ve lied a little bit. Okay, a lot. But he blamed the part of his brain that was asleep for not intervening. The truth was there was nothing wrong with her fireplace, but she looked so adorable and helpless in her house. All he wanted to do was bring her home. So he didn’t tell her that all she had to do was flip a switch. He also conveniently forgot the air mattress at the top of his closet.

He didn’t plan on taking advantage of her, but she would be warmer and safer with him. This was her first blizzard after all.

She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later wearing a tiny t-shirt and pajama shorts. On second thought, maybe he should turn on the charm.

He grinned and pointed to Dio.

“See, she sleeps in the middle. You can have that side.” He handed her a blanket he dug out of the closet. “I didn’t think you’d want to share.”

He thought for a moment about denying he had any other blankets, but that wouldn’t be believable.

“Thank you.” She wouldn’t look at him when she climbed into bed. She patted Dio on the head and rolled over. Lukas did the same and tried not to think about how much that little t-shirt revealed.

Lukas was tense and keyed up now, even though it was close to three a.m. He was wide-awake. It had been a long day, so he should be out like a light. But Tess was in his bed wearing next to nothing. Her breathing pattern told him that she was awake too, and he wanted ask what she was thinking about.

No, that was lame. He should get rid of the dog and kiss Tess, properly this time. No, he said he could control himself. There was that damn indecisiveness when it came to her again.

He rolled on his side so he could watch her. Her breathing eventually became even and deep. It took him a while, but he finally got back there too.

When Lukas woke the next morning, he felt a soft hand on his cheek. He placed his own on top of hers and opened his eyes. It took him a moment, but he realized her hand wasn’t there on purpose. She was fast asleep and sprawled across the entire bed.

When he moved her hand, she rolled on her side so that she was facing him. Her shirt had crawled up, revealing her stomach. He resisted the urge to touch her skin. She was perfect in every possible way—thin, but not overly so. Her stomach pooched out a little bit, and he loved that. She wasn’t the type to obsess over her body.

Stacey was model thin, and if she ever found even a small amount of fat where she didn’t think there should be any, he heard about it for a week.

Tess wouldn’t be that way. It was refreshing.

He could stare at her all day long, but he was afraid of what she’d think if she woke up to him staring.

He slid out of bed and found some warm clothes. He’d take a shower then get the fire going in the living room. It was two-sided and would also heat the kitchen.

The bathroom was freezing, but the hot water heater was gas, so he didn’t stay cold for long. When he came out of the bathroom, he found Tess wrapped in blanket, looking out the window.

She turned to him. “Where’s my house?”

“What do you mean?”

“You should be able to see my house from your window, right?”

He nodded. He watched her lights go off most nights.

“I can’t find it.”

The snow was still coming down, but it wasn’t blowing as hard.

He pointed. “There you can see the roof. It blends in because it’s white.”

Tess squinted. “That means the rest of the house is covered by snow.”

“Yep.”

“When will it melt?”

Lukas shrugged. “A month, maybe two. But it will take about a week to gain access to everyone’s house.”

“But all my stuff. I can’t impose on you that long.”

“We should be able to get you into your house in a few days. But only if it stops snowing now. If it keeps coming down, then who knows. But you aren’t imposing. It’ll be nice to have the company.”

She nodded and looked out of the window. “Does it snow like this often?”

“Maybe once every few years. It’s the lake effect. Sometimes it melts fast, but now it’s too cold for it to go anywhere. You can shower if you want. The water is hot. I’m going to go start the fire in the living room.”

“Okay. Thank you for rescuing me last night. I know I wasn’t grateful when I saw the sleeping arrangement, but you were a gentleman.”

He should’ve kept his mouth shut, but he couldn’t help himself. “I know I was, but you couldn’t keep your hands off me.”

Tess flushed pink. “What are you talking about?”

“When I woke up this morning, you were touching me.”

He left it deliberately open to interpretation.

“No way.” She brought her hand to her mouth and seemed to fumble for words for a second. He grinned.

“Yes way.”

Tess looked at him for a second. “I don’t believe you. If it were true, I’d remember.”

“Do you always remember everything you do while you are sleeping?”

A frown appeared on her beautiful face. “Never mind, it’s not important.” She turned away and dug through her overnight bag. He must’ve hit a nerve.

Lukas touched her on the shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m messing with you. I found your hand on my cheek. I actually found it awfully sweet.”

He didn’t wait for her response before he left the room, Dio on his heels.

T
ess wished she hadn’t reacted so sensitively. She enjoyed playing with him. But the last time she forgot what she did in her sleep, she wound up pregnant. Marie told her not to be so hard on herself, but that was much easier said than done.

The shower felt nice, and she wondered how long she could stay in there before the water ran cold. Tess washed her hair, and when she stepped out of the shower, she realized she now smelled like Lukas. It was a great, fresh scent. She might have to buy this shampoo.

Tess brushed out her long locks and put on her sweater and leggings. Her stomach poked out a tad. Not enough that anyone but her would notice. In some ways she was thrilled by the change, but without having anyone else to share it with, it was bittersweet.

The bathroom had several cupboards and closets, and she dug around looking for a blow dryer and found one buried behind the towels. This one probably belonged to his ex. That woman sure helped her out a lot lately.

She plugged the hair dryer in and realized her mistake. They had no power. Wet hair was the worst. She put it into a bun and then went in search of Lukas and Dio.

They sat in front of the fire in the living room, but the room was still cold. Lukas turned to look and just stared.

“Is something wrong?” Tess asked.

“One of these days could you wear something that doesn’t make you look so incredible?”

She grinned and sat down next to him. “And why would I do that?”

“Because you literally take my breath away when you walk into the room.” He smiled, and her cheeks flushed hot.

“You compliment me every time I see you. You’ve done wonders for my ego.”

They stared at the fire for a few minutes in silence. Then he dug out his phone.

“What are you doing?” Tess asked.

“Checking in with people. We have a phone tree when we get bad storms. I call three people, and three people call me. If I can’t get ahold of someone or if someone doesn’t call me by ten, I call the emergency crews. It’s efficient actually.”

“Why don’t I start breakfast while you make your calls? What do you want?”

He cocked his head. “Bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes, and brownies.”

She laughed. “Okay, then.”

She stood but was startled by his expression. His eyes were wide with shock. There was something else though. Something deeper. He’d never looked at her quite that way before. For one thrilling second she thought he was going to kiss her, but then he spoke. His voice was low and husky.

“I was joking. I didn’t expect you to be so agreeable. Quite frankly, I expected you to tell me to go out in the snow and find my own breakfast.”

She leaned in close to him. “You shopped for me, helped me when I was sick, and rescued me in the middle of the blizzard. Making you whatever you want for breakfast is the least I can do.”

He was so very close to her, and the look in his eyes told her he wanted this kiss as much as she did. His breath tickled her upper lip. Just before they touched, a shrill ring pierced the silence. Tess rocked backward, and Lukas looked down at his phone.

“I should get this,” he said.

“And I should go find the bacon.”

“If there isn’t any in there, check the freezer in the basement.”

“Okay.” She stood and moved away from him, her heart racing. This situation was new and unprecedented for her. She wasn’t used to having guys chase after her, and she wasn’t quite sure how it was supposed to work. No, she amended that thought. Guys chased after her all the time. They just didn’t like to hang around once they caught her. Guys were always after her body, and so they moved fast and left her when they got bored.

Lukas, though, he was taking his time and seemed to be enjoying that. He didn’t push her when she wasn’t ready. It was refreshing and scary at the same time. It unsettled her. She had no idea what to expect from him next.

She dug through the fridge and eventually found the bacon and eggs. She found a frying pan and put in several slices. Her phone rang while she was searching for tongs to flip the bacon.

“Hello,” she said while digging through a drawer.

“Hey, dear, I figured you weren’t on the phone tree, so I thought I’d better check in on you. I’m sure Lukas has as well, but I wanted to be safe.” Marie was a sweetie. Tess felt so cared for here.

“Yeah, I’m at Lukas’s house. My fireplace busted in the middle of the night, so I stayed here.”

“Oh.” Marie paused for a second. “That was nice of him. You two have some fun?”
“Marie! What? No! Why would you ask me something like that?”

“We’re friends, and you need a good friend. Besides he likes you, and you like him. It makes sense.”

“No. Just no.”

“Protesting a little too much, dear.” Marie chuckled.

Tess blushed so hard the tips of her ears burned. Thank goodness Lukas was in the living room.

“Well, from the looks of things, you’ll be staying there for a few days at least, so make sure you use protection.”

“Marie. Seriously.” Then Tess grinned. “Though, it wouldn’t matter anyway, would it?”
“No, I guess it wouldn’t.” Marie laughed again. “Have fun, whatever you get up too. I’ll let Doc know you’re safe. He said to tell you school is cancelled tomorrow and likely all week.”

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know. You guys take care of yourselves. Let us know if you need anything.”

“You too, sweetie.”

Tess hung up the phone, and it immediately rang again. Sara Chambers. Tess smiled. At least she wouldn’t ask about her love life. This phone tree thing was pretty nice.