SNOWFIRES Read Online Free PDF

walked, and did odd jobs along the way
from Iowa to New Jersey. I could, and did, pass for eighteen when I
joined the crew of a ship."
    He turned to challenge her, an eyebrow
raised. "Curiosity satisfied?"
    She flushed, unable to break eye contact with
him. "I was just making conversation. I didn't mean to pry."
    "Yes, you did." He shrugged as if it were no
longer important, and turned. "Now how about dishing us up some
dinner while I clean myself up?" With that, he left her pondering
these few tidbits of his past while he strode toward the
bathroom.
    ***
    With dinner over and cleared away, Trent let
Blue out for one more run before bedtime. Nature called Holly also,
and she sought the bathroom, grateful the small heater kept the
room warm enough for her to remove her coat. While there, she
attended to minor grooming, picking off bits of hay and stray
feathers.
    Less than half the size of her clothes closet
at home, the tiny bathroom included only a shower stall and a
free-standing sink across from the toilet. At present, the heater
made up for any other deficiencies in the room, at least from her
viewpoint. When she’d finished, she slung her coat around her and
left the only truly warm spot in the house.
    Their absent hosts' tiny living room
contained only a few tables near two armchairs facing a television
set, a playpen, and other assorted children's paraphernalia. Weary
beyond caring for her safety, Holly wanted to sink onto one of the
chairs and rest. The floor furnace provided sparse heat to keep the
house habitable, if far less than comfortable.
    Coat draped around her shoulders, she walked
into the bedroom. Although Holly had passed the door several times
on her way to the bathroom, she had not examined the room closely
until now.
    Oh my . One
very small bedroom, one double-sized bed and two baby cribs. Those
and two chests left only a narrow walking space in the
room.
    She sat down and gave a test jiggle. Her hips
sank into the soft mattress and her body tilted toward the bed’s
sagging middle.
    Holly looked up.
    Trent stood in the doorway, hands braced on
each side of the doorframe. "So, which side of the bed do you
want?"
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER THREE
    She gasped.
"Surely you don't intend to sleep here? A gentleman would take one
of the chairs in the living area."
    "Princess, no one ever accused me of being a
gentleman.” He straightened and moved into the crowded room. “Look,
Holly, I'm dead tired. I've had far more than enough trouble for
one day."
    He draped his jacket across the foot of the
bed before he unbuttoned his shirt. "I'll take the side nearest the
windows since that’s bound to be colder."
    Holly catapulted off the bed to repeat
her question. "You expect us to sleep together ?"
    He nodded. "It seems the only logical
solution. You know, shared body heat?"
    "Sh-shared...?" She stared at him in horror,
her mouth open.
    She might not have a wide range of sexual
experience, but she was no prissy prude. But this man emanated sex
and danger. The day moved right up to a ten on the disaster scale
with alarms ringing full tilt.
    "Stop looking as if I said I intend to eat
you. I only bite by invitation." He flashed his teeth in a mocking
leer. "While you made certain each dish went back into precisely
the proper place in the cupboards, I checked the closets for extra
bedding. This is a very Spartan household."
    It was then Holly noticed the irregular
ripples under the spread. She turned back the coverlet and revealed
only a few layers of thin blankets. The bedding seemed pitiful
compared to the severity of the room's chill.
    Trent slipped off his boots and spread his
shirt across the bed. His eyes met hers. How dare this fiend have
such exquisite green eyes? She forced herself to break eye contact
and concentrated her gaze on the bedspread as he continued.
    "The Martins must be part Eskimo. There
aren't enough blankets for us to split up, even using the crib
blankets. I piled everything I could find onto