Snowbound Read Online Free PDF

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