Two people stranded together in the snow for days...
After a snowstorm in February, I decided to play out what would happen with two friends who are forced to be alone together. One has a crush on the other and a variety of ways to show her how he truly feels...
Excerpt from
Blissfully Snowbound:
(Novelette is FREE on Amazon, B&N, Apple, and Smashwords, click here)
“After last
night’s kiss? No way.”
She blushed,
thinking back on the experience. “It was a fluke. It’s the whole stolen kiss
thing. That’s all it was.”
“Wanna prove it?”
She scoffed at
him. “Yeah, right.”
“No, seriously.
If we kiss and we don’t both feel something, I’ll stop hounding you. Cross my
heart.” Dan made a cross motion over his heart and smiled charmingly.
“You’re
pathetic, you know that?”
“I think you’re
chicken because you know I’m right.”
“Don’t start
with me. You know I hate being called a chicken.”
He nodded with a
grin. “Yes, I do.”
Jenny rolled her
eyes and walked over to Dan. Here in the daylight with no romantic fire things
would be different. He tried to put his arms around her, but she stopped him.
“You said nothing about hugging, mister. A kiss. That’s it.”
A smile played across
his lips. “Fine.” Dan put his hands behind his back and waited.
She tried to
calm the butterflies as she tiptoed up to kiss him. For a second she hesitated,
afraid that he might be right—but no. She knew better and needed to prove it. Jenny
gently pressed her mouth against his firm lips. He snuck a hand around and
grasped the back of her neck. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and she felt
fireworks go off. The desire she had felt all night instantly reignited. She unwillingly
moaned and had to pull away. It was disconcerting.
Dan’s hair fell
in his eyes and he brushed it back all cute-like. “Well?”
Jenny turned
from him. “Didn’t feel a thing.”
He snuck up
behind her and growled softly in her ear, “Yeah, I’m buying that.”
Her heart raced
when she felt the warmth of his breath on her neck. “Please don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Dan
asked, as he moved her hair aside and gently kissed the back of her neck.
She felt an
electric jolt travel straight to her groin. “Don’t make me want you.”
Dan chuckled
warmly. “But you already do.”
Jenny closed her
eyes. Her body was desperate for more, but they couldn’t. It wasn’t in the
cards for them. She pulled away and pretended to straighten the kitchen.
Dan let out a frustrated
sigh. “Okay, you win. I’ll stop hounding you.”
She felt almost
disappointed. “Good, why don’t we finish our poker game?”
“Fine,” Dan
grumbled. Then he added condescendingly, “I don’t see the point. You are so
behind now you don’t have a chance of catching up.”
“Oh yeah? We’ll
see about that.” She dealt out the cards. In no time flat, she was out of pretzels.
“How did you do that?”
“I’m on a
winning streak and you’re not.”
Jenny pouted. She
hated to lose and today it was especially humiliating. “I demand a rematch.”
“Nope. You need
collateral in order to play. I do have a suggestion though. You could bet with
clothing.”
“Strip poker?
You can’t be serious.”
“I am completely
serious,” Dan answered with a devilish glint in his eye. He started dealing out
the cards. “You in?”
So much for him
giving up on getting her in bed, but Jenny eagerly took up the challenge.
“Okay, but only if I can pull out of the game at any time.”
“It’s a deal.”
Jenny was
pleasantly surprised when she beat his hand. “Since I’m the winner, I get to
pick the piece of clothing,” she announced.
“Okay by me.”
“Your sweater.”
Dan kept a
straight face as he pulled it over his head. Jenny couldn’t help gazing at his naked
chest. She had only seen him shirtless from a distance once when she watched
him play basketball outside Kelly’s apartment. His defined chest with blond
curls was quite distracting, and she had to look away.
“Your turn to
deal.”
Jenny looked
down at the cards. Seeing his skin unnerved her. Jenny shuffled the cards and
dealt them out. It seemed her luck had changed for good when she won the next hand
too. “Your belt.”
“Interesting
choice,” Dan replied, as he undid the buckle and whipped it out of the belt
loops. The sound of the buckle hitting the floor made her blush. She was glad
he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
Dan dealt the
next hand. Jenny won with a pair of queens. She whistled enthusiastically. “I
am on a roll now, baby! Socks next.”
“Both?”
“Yep.”
He dutifully
took off his socks, exposing the manly fur on his feet. Dan wiggled his toes
for her benefit. She quickly dealt out the next hand and then stopped. Was he
losing on purpose? Jenny raised her eyebrow and stared at him.
“What?”
“My sudden
winning streak seems a little suspicious.”
“I see. You
doubt your own card skills.”
Jenny puckered
her lips in concentration. She finished dealing and let out a happy squeal when
she saw her hand, totally forgetting to keep a poker face. Jenny laid down two
aces in triumph and then gasped when Dan showed her a three of a kind. He
grinned mischievously. “Take off your top.”
She shook her
head. “I can’t.”
“Do not shirk on
a bet, Jenny. It’s bad manners.”
In a quick move
so she wouldn’t second-guess herself, Jenny whipped off her sweater. She was
grateful that her bra hid her assets. Jenny looked over at the fire, not
wanting to see the expression on Dan’s face.
“Nice. Not quite
what I was expecting, but nice.”
Jenny glanced
down at her chest and burned with mortification. She had forgotten she was
wearing her ancient smiley face bra. It was her most comfortable intimate
apparel, but definitely not her sexiest. Ryan never cared what she wore.
“Enough gawking.
Just deal the cards.”
Dan chuckled and
dealt the next hand. Jenny’s heart raced. She had three Jacks and laid them
down with a whoop. Dan smiled and showed her a flush. “Bra.”
Jenny sputtered.
“Not the bra. Let me take off my socks.”
“Nope. The bra
that keeps smiling back at me must go.”
Jenny’s hands trembled as she unclasped the back
and slowly let her favorite bra fall from her shoulders. Dan’s expression
changed from amusement to adoration in the blink of an eye.
