Coming in from the Cold Read Online Free PDF

quick glimpses had allowed. But Willow had to content herself with a half-decent grip on his shoulders, which felt powerful under her hands.
    Her conscience gave her a half-hearted poke.
Willow, you are making out with a stranger in his Jeep
.
    No
, she told herself. She was making out with a sexy snow god during a blizzard. And yes, she was sure there was a difference.
    Around them, the night was utterly silent. The wind had died. Willow cocooned against him, under their makeshift blanket, while the Jeep became covered with snow. The whole world fell away, except for the slide of his lips on hers, the strokes of his tongue against her own, and the sweep of his hands through her hair.
    “Willow,” he breathed when they eventually came up for air. “I love your name.”
    “Mmm,” she said, enjoying the tickle of his hair against her forehead. “I’m not sure what they were thinking when they gave it to me.”
    He gave her a tiny kiss. “You never asked?”
    “Never got the chance,” she breathed. “I haven’t seen my parents since I was four.” But that was a potential mood killer right there, so she raised her hands to his face, sweeping her thumbs gently across his cheekbones, and then down onto his lips, until he shivered.
    “Possibly,” he said, kissing her again. “They were thinking, willows bend, but they don’t break.”
    She smiled in the darkness. “You know, I’ve heard that one before.”
    He kissed her, laughing. They could just not keep their mouths off of each other. “You aren’t afraid to call me on my bullshit. Most people don’t do that.”
    “They don’t?” In spite of the cold night, Willow felt hot all over. “They should.”
    He kissed her again, and she felt it everywhere. “Willow,” he breathed. “I would move this party to the back of my Jeep,” he said, “but that might be a bad idea.”
    “Why?” she panted, hating the sound desperation in her question.
    “I’m not boyfriend material,” he said. “I’m just passing through, and I wouldn’t want you to do anything you’d regret.”
    He kissed her again, his mouth trailing from her lips to under her ear, to her throat, which made her head spin. She reached both hands under his cap, knitting her fingers into his curls.
    His hands found the zipper of her jacket, drawing it partway down. But then he stopped. “I don’t mean to be blunt,” he whispered. “But it would be a one-night-only offer.”
    Ouch
. “How pragmatic of you. Settling for me,” she said.
    “What?” he pulled away, his voice cautious.
    “Since you can’t ski the fresh powder, you might as well go with the sex.” She put her fingers on his lips so she could feel him smile.
    “Christ,” he laughed. “I really shouldn’t have said that,” he said, kissing her fingers, then taking them into his mouth.
    “Here’s a tip,” Willow said. “If you ever decide to be somebody’s boyfriend, don’t mention your preference.”
    He leaned in, his lips finding her neck in the dark. “And in the meantime?” he half kissed, half spoke. His tongue on her collarbone sent a shiver of longing down into her core.
    Willow was finding it hard to think. So far, her biggest mistakes in life had been made by giving her heart away for keeps. Her last relationship had been a disaster because she had expected way too much. Dane’s offer was, at least, very honest. And she wanted him. It was crazy, but she did.
    “In the meantime,” she whispered, shocked at herself already, “we steam up your Jeep.”
    He chuckled, pushing the coat off her shoulders. Then he kissed her again, his mouth smoldering hers with more heat and longing than she had felt in a good long time. By the time she found the zipper on his jacket, nobody was laughing.
    Willow tried one more time to conjure some sort of remorse over her actions, but found she could not. A long tangle of life’s events had conspired to lead her here, to this very moment. She didn’t know why that was.