Snowbound with the Santas (Forbidden Fantasies)

24. Rayne

24

RAYNE

“ F rankie?”

Thermos in hand, I ease myself down the small, dug-out path toward the woodshed on the far end of the cabin. In the few days since the storm passed, I’ve developed a routine that brings me a deep sense of peace. We rise early, and Archer leaves to check the fishing traps and set up new ones. Nick tends to the house and the generator to make sure the cold didn’t affect anything during the night, and Frankie cooks and checks on the water pump and firewood.

I make myself busy where I can, often cleaning and helping Frankie with the cooking. However, after a few boiled egg disasters, I’m not sure my actions count as helping. Most of my time is spent pouring my heart into the remaining decorations around the cabin. The tree stands proud in the corner of the lounge in full glittering beauty, and all the lights and tinsel around the ceiling have now been joined with a few wooden statues carved by Frankie. Including a rather adorable Santa Claus.

It’s the most festive I’ve felt in years. After finishing up creating paper snowflakes from some old newspaper, I fill a thermos with tea and take a trip out into the cold to find Frankie.

He’s in the wood shed with his head bowed and his attention focused on a small chunk of wood in one hand. I approach slowly and wait for him to slide the knife away from the wood before I speak.

“Frankie?” I say again. This time, he hears me, and when he lifts his head, a bright smile spreads across his lips. My heart jumps slightly. Frankie always looks at me like he’s been looking forward to seeing me all day. It’s a fizzy, warm feeling, and I embrace it as I step inside the wood shed and close the door.

A small fire crackles and pops inside a hollowed-out metal canister, and I welcome the warmth against my legs as I sit down on an upturned log next to him.

“I brought you tea,” I say, holding up the thermos then setting it on the ground next to him.

“How thoughtful.” Frankie smiles and blows at the wooden chunk in his hand. A dusting of wood shavings drifts off his knuckles and fizzes up into ash when they land in the fire.

“Are you making another Christmas decoration?” I ask, nudging my knee against his while trying to work out the shape of the wood in his hand.

“No.” Frankie uncurls his palm and reveals the beginning of a small wooden figurine. It’s a little hard to tell what the end result will be, but right now, it resembles half of a deer. “It’s a present.”

“You’re making Christmas presents?”

“Sure. Christmas is less than a week away, and while the guys are never ones for gifts, this year has felt… different.” His eyes dance across my face, then we lock eyes and his smile widens slightly. “So I wanted to do something different.”

“And that something is carving wooden figures. That’s adorable.”

Franke rolls his eyes. “It’s the least I can do. But don’t worry, even though we’ll have you back at the ski lodge by Christmas, if you’re nice enough, I might make you one too.”

I know he’s teasing, but every stray thought of the ski lodge sickens me. My stomach tightens and I swallow down a rising lump in my throat. The downside of how much I’ve been enjoying my time here is that each day takes me closer and closer to the end. Soon, I’ll have no choice but to return to my family, and this dream will end.

“Plus,” Frankie continues, “I like creating something that commemorates our time together. You never know when it will be the last.”

His words take on a somber note, and my thoughts quickly latch onto the memory of what happened to his brother. A welcome distraction from my impending family reunion.

“Did your brother teach you?” I ask softly.

“Yeah.” Frankie nods, and he lets out a gentle, hollow laugh. “My brother, Harry… he was always good with his hands. In all sorts of ways, y’know? He could fight, he could carve, he was great at fixing things. Two out of those three made him the perfect soldier.”

“It must have been hard losing him the way you did.”

Frankie’s head bobs up and down. “The suddenness was the kicker. One minute, I was counting the days for him to come home and the next, he was… gone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ah, it was a long time ago.” Frankie lifts his gaze back to me and smiles. “I miss him a lot, but I got Archer out of it, and he’s a great friend to have. One time, not long after we met, I wasn’t sure if I liked him. He demanded that I come to the hospital to see him, but he was so prickly that I thought he was just fulfilling my brother’s last wish or something. And this woman… she was visiting someone or just passing through, but she made a comment about this.”

Frankie uses the wooden figure to indicate his face, and I gaze down at his adorable, lopsided smile.

“No idea what she said, but Archer went apeshit just like Harry used to do. He exploded at her, educated her quite thoroughly on the effects of facial paralysis in children, and sent her on her way. I knew then why he’d demanded I come and see him. He’s just like my brother was. A little sharper, sure, but he’s kind and loyal. I look up to him a lot, and how he pulls himself through things. But that day, I knew I was going to do everything I could to help him recover. He was a bitch about it.” Frankie laughs with the ghosts of memories in his eyes. “But we got through it.”

“It’s a terrible situation,” I say softly. “But I think it’s really sweet that you have each other as a result.”

“Mmhmm.” Frankie returns his attention to the wood carving. “You could say we have a knack for finding the right people at the right time.”

“Like Nick?” I prompt, though I get the distinct feeling he’s talking about me.

“Sure,” Frankie says with a sidelong glance. “Like Nick. And being here… it’s peaceful, don’t you think?”

I breathe deeply and close my eyes, focusing on the scents of smoke from the fire, the pine sap from the woodshed, and the faint hint of fruitiness from Frankie.

“Yeah,” I agree. “It’s so peaceful.”

“Being away from the world like this… it’s like being on the very edge with no one and nothing else. I love that we’re in our own bubble here. It helps calm the mind and soothe the soul until it’s ready to return to civilization.”

“Mmhmm.” Opening my eyes, I resume watching him slowly carve. “Do you ever wish you could stay? Here, I mean. Just all year round, surrounded by peaceful nature with nothing and no one to hassle you.”

“Sometimes.” Frankie nods while carefully dragging the knife through the small wood piece in his hand. “But then I remember something.”

“What?”

He lifts his head and gives me the same gentle look he gave me on the roof last week. “I remember that the relationships I have here aren’t only in this bubble. That they’ll still exist even when I return to reality.”

“I feel like you’re trying to tell me something,” I joke, carefully nudging his shoulder.

“Well, I know why you left the lodge, and it can’t feel that great to be going back with your asshole of an ex still there. But you have us. Me and Nick and Archer. Whatever you want out of this relationship with us, I know that regardless, a friendship will always be on the table.”

“Are you telling me you’ll beat up my ex?” I raise one brow.

Frankie nods. “In an instant.”

“Thanks.” I laugh quietly and resume watching Frankie work. I want to avoid thinking about the lodge, but all roads lead back to it now and there’s nothing I can do to avoid it. That doesn’t stop me from trying, and I stare intently at Frankie as he works. In a matter of minutes, the stag he’s creating takes form, and it’s a work of art.

“Wow,” I gasp softly as he delicately works on each prong of the antlers. You’re so talented.”

“Nah, it’s just practice.” Frankie waves my compliment off, and I roll my eyes.

“No one is that good with their hands through practice. You have a natural talent.”

“You think so?” He throws a wink over his shoulder then finishes the antler and blows on it to remove any loose shavings.

“Well, judging by that, you should be good with your hands, but um…” Leaning back, a teasing smile creeps across my face, and when Frankie looks up at me, warmth rushes to my cheeks. “Then again, maybe you’re just good with the knife.”

It’s light flirting, but Frankie catches on immediately, which is a relief because I will take any distraction I can get.

And underneath all my flirting and teasing, there’s a constant voice in the back of my mind telling me to get one last taste of Frankie before my reality crashes into this place and Ashton spills my secret.

“Oh, honey,” Frankie says, and the pet name sends a delighted shiver down my spine. “I’m plenty good with my hands.”

“Oh, really?” I drop my tone slightly. “Because I’m not really remembering anything too amazing…”

Frankie surges toward me, and our lips collide with a burst of laughter. I topple back off the small stool and hit the floor, but I’m only there for half a second before Frankie joins me on the floor and pulls me into his lap.

“Care for a reminder of just how good my hands are?”

“Hmmm…” Sitting with my back to his chest, I let my head fall back onto his shoulder. “I don’t know if I can sit through something so mundane .”

“Oh, you really are pushing me, huh?” Frankie groans low and, after quickly washing his hands with water from his bottle, he then shoves those two cold hands under my coat and against my bare skin.

“Ahh!” Squealing, I jolt upward to escape the sharp chill, but Frankie doesn’t let me go anywhere. The coldness of his hands makes for an interesting rush of sensation when he fights through my clothes to grasp my left breast while he shoves his other hand down my pants and slides two chilled fingers through my pussy.

“Holy shit,” I gasp, scrambling for something to hold on to. My options are limited within my bulky coat, but Frankie’s having no issue touching and groping where he pleases.

“What’s the matter?” he growls low in my ear. “Already backing down?”

“No,” I shoot back, rocking back into his lap as his cold fingers tease the length of my pussy, circle my entrance, and then sweep back up to my clit. My legs part wider to help him, not that he’s having any problem touching me through my thick clothes. His other hand slides cold fingertips over my nipple, bringing the nub to a stiff peak within seconds.

I settle for clutching at his thick thighs through his cargo pants and digging my nails in as hard as I can while a shudder catapults through me from head to toe.

“If this is how you are when I shit talk your hand, what will you do if I start talking about your dick?”

Frankie thrusts two cold fingers deep inside me while pressing the heel of his palm firmly against my clit. A choked-off moan escapes me, and I tug at his clothing while grinding my hips forward.

“I dare you.” Frankie chuckles breathlessly in my ear. “But you can’t, can you? You’re too busy thinking about how deep my fingers are inside you and how good they feel when I curl them just… like… this.”

His fingers are quickly warming up inside my body, and as the rush of arousal from the chill fades, he curls his fingers and presses them against that cluster of nerves deep inside me. A shock of pleasure rushes through me like a lightning bolt, and I moan loudly. Writhing against him with nowhere to go, all cold is forgotten as my heart races and heat flushes rapidly over my body. I’m now too hot underneath all these clothes, but it adds to the excitement.

“Is that… all you can do?” I gasp.

Frankie turns his head and claims my lips in a deep kiss as his two thrusting fingers become three. He curls his thumb into his palm, and each time he thrusts into me, his thumb flicks over my clit. I’m soaked, unable to think of anything other than how quickly he rose to the challenge.

Almost as fast as Archer the other day. It makes me feel irresistible, and that’s amazing for my ego.

“Fuck,” I gasp, panting openly with each thrust and twist of his fingers. His other hand continues to tease and pull at my nipples, leaving my left breast aching while my right throbs with an aching desire for the same treatment. It doesn’t come. Frankie’s focused on one thing and one thing only.

My pussy.

“That’s my good girl,” he murmurs, kissing me deeply. “Fuck, you’re so wet. Do you have any idea how hard it is not to fuck you right here? But you were so adamant about my hands.”

A deeper, needier moan tears from me, and I writhe back into Frankie’s hold. He continues to touch, kiss, tease, and fuck me with those dastardly fingers until finally, on the floor of the woodshed, he pulls an orgasm from me that’s so intense my vision bleeds white for a moment and all my muscles lock up tight.

Pulse after pulse of pleasure rockets through me until I collapse in his arms, panting and breathless.

“Okay,” I gasp as he kisses me repeatedly, “I take it back. You’re skilled with your hands.”

“Damn right.”

I lie there until the cold seeps back into the air. Only then does Frankie let me go and help me to my feet. We part with a deep kiss and he sends me on my way, since if I stay, we’ll end up fucking all day and have no wood for the fire later.

With a skip in my step and a smile on my face, I head back into the cabin where I’m greeted by Archer who has his arms deep into the sink.

“Rayne! Perfect timing.”

“Oh?” I’ve never heard Archer sound desperate.

“The radio’s been pinging for five minutes, but I’m up to my arm fixing a crack in the sink, so could you get it?”

“Oh, of course!” I shrug off my coat and hurry down the hall to where the radio blinks rapidly. Pressing the green button, paper starts to churn through the fax machine and I watch, amused that such an old device still has life left.

The message comes through, a written record of the missed call, and I rip it off. Then, I scan it quickly, expecting it to come from Nick’s daughter.

My heart freezes. It’s not.

It’s from Mountain Rescue informing us that the trails are clear enough to travel.

That’s it. Over. As soon as the others read this, they’ll spur into action to take me back to the ski lodge. I’ll have to leave here, and this close to Christmas?

“Is it important?” Archer calls from the kitchen, pulling me from my thoughts.

I ball the paper up immediately.

“No.” The lie comes smoothly. “It’s just from Mountain Rescue confirming the trails won’t be open until after Christmas.”