A Snowy Night (2 page)

“
I
’
m not a weather girl. I
’
m a photographer.
”

“
Really?
”
he asked.
“
So am I.
”

“
You
’
re kidding.
”
Maybe that was the reason for the feeling of camaraderie she
’
d so far chalked up to the snow.

“
No, I
’
m not. I
’
m a
photographer for the Seattle Times
.
”

Anna groaned.
“
So you are a city boy.
”

“
Completely,
”
Joshua smiled.
“
Come on. I know your business isn
’
t up here.
”
He gestured expansively.

“
My studio is in Tacoma,
”
Anna admitted.
“
You gotta go where the money is.
”

“
Ain
’
t that true these days?
”

The commiseration helped.

“
What do we do about the snow?
”
he asked.

“
We?
”
Anna said.

“
I deserve that,
”
Joshua admitted.
“
What do I do about the snow?
”

“Well, you could walk northeast along the highway for about three miles until you get cell service.” She paused and sipped her tea, fighting with herself. What did it mean that a hot stranger had shown up
now
, stranded, right on her doors
tep?
“
Can I ask you a question?”

“
Sure.” He raised his eyebrows as his gray eyes locked onto hers again, in that friendly but piercing way he had.

“If we were to reach your friends, what would they tell me about you?”

He grinned. “That I’m a perfect gentleman, of course.

“
Will you be a gentleman if I let you stay here tonight?
”
Anna wasn
’
t sure why she
asked
.
Her blood pounded in her ears, and she regretted the offer just a little, but she didn’t seem able to help herself. For some reason, she felt like taking a chance on this man.
Maybe it was the back and forth of the conversation...the banter was leading, she just wasn
’
t sure it was leading him to the same place it was leading her.
Or maybe it was the stupid promise she’d just made fifteen minutes ago to let g
o. I
t probably wasn’t a good idea.
Of course
it wasn’t a good idea.
Her forehead crinkled as she tried to sort out why she trusted this guy.

“
I
’
ll be a gentleman.
”
Joshua
smiled convincingly. Anna
had to admit there was a part of her that
hoped he wouldn
’
t follow through on the promise. He seemed too good to be true. A hot guy to pass a snowy night with? When had she gotten the power to make her dreams come true? Because this was definitely straight out of her fantasies.
She’d just always figured it would stay there.

Anna threw caution to the wind. He was cute; he was already providing more stimulation for her imagination than that romance novel could hope to. For once she was going to let go.
“
Then you can stay. There
’
s another bedroom.
”
She paused.
“
You know this is totally creepy, right? You
’
re going to have to tell me more about yourself. I
’
m second guessing my decision already. Prudent woman, you know?
”

“
Completely understandable.
”
He took a drink of his tea.
“
More about me?
”

“
More about you,
”
Anna agreed.

“
I grew up in Philadelphia.
”

Anna groaned.
“
Total city boy.
”

“
But we get snow there,
”
Joshua assured her.
“
I
’
ve driven in snow before.
”

“
I
’
ll let that one slide, current situation notwithstanding.
”

“
You
’
re cruel,
”
he told her, his eyes narrowing.

“
You
’
re in my house, completely unprepared, on a snowy night,
”
she helpfully pointed out.

“
Yes. I
’
ve noticed.
”

“
Have you eaten?
”
She didn
’
t know why she asked, besides that she suspected he hadn
’
t and she had an odd urge to take care of him.

“
Not since a sandwich before I left town.
”

“
Do you mind if I tell you you
’
re an idiot?
”

“
I
’
m already suspecting that
’
s true, so why not?
”

“
You
’
re not making this any fun.
”

“
It seems like you
’
re having fun to me.
”

“
I have some left-over ham. Want ham and scrambled eggs?
”

“
I would kill for ham and scrambled eggs.
”

Anna frowned.
“
That
’
s not a nice thing to say when you
’
re in a stranger
’
s house on a snowy night with no chance of rescue.
”

“
You
’
re right. That was callous of me. I
’
d still love ham and eggs, though.
”
The infernal smile.

“
I
’
ll make ham and eggs.
”
Anna was glad to have something to do with her hands.

“
So you
’
re on vacation?
”

“
Yeah, I guess.
”

“
What do you mean, you guess?
”

“
Well, I have this hobby where I photograph wildlife and sell the pictures for calendars and such. So vacation? Not until it started snowing.
”

“
Let
’
s celebrate.
”

It was the first cheerful thing he
’
d said since he entered the cabin, and Anna wanted to encourage him.
“
A celebration sounds nice.
”

“
Chocolate chip cookies are my specialty,
”
he told her.

“
I don
’
t know if I have chocolate chips.
”

“
Maybe it
’
ll just be the cookie part, then. Let
’
s take a look.
”

“
If I have chocolate chips, they
’
d be in the pantry, which is that door, there.
”

He rummaged through the pantry, and then closed it with a sigh.
“
No chocolate of any sort. That
’
s terribly disappointing.
”

“
How about peanut butter cookies? I always liked them.
”
I told him, feeling helpful again.

“
Good choice.
”
Joshua clapped his hands and then reached back into the pantry and retrieved the peanut butter with perfect recall of where it had been sitting. A photographer
’
s attention to detail.

Anna directed Joshua to the ingredients for the peanut butter cookies, a bit
bemused by the turn her afternoon
had taken. He was fun. And hot. What the hell was she supposed to do with him now?

He turned on the oven, and Anna thought about tu
rning the temperature up even more
. Why not? She got to her feet and headed toward him. He looked surprised just before she went up on tiptoe and threw her arms around his neck, planting a deep kiss straight on his lips.

His reaction didn
’
t feel like surprise. He lifted her off her feet and groped her ass like he
’
d
been waiting to do it since he walked in the door
. He pulled her snug against him, and she felt his hard-on through his jeans. Anna didn
’
t know what she
’
d done to get so lucky tonight, but she wasn
’
t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, she
’
d take what she
’
d been given, and take and take, if given the opportunity.

She would give, too, she thought as he deepened the kiss. He broke it to kiss down her neck and at the same time he pressed her against the counter and got one hand between them to stroke her breast. He tweaked her nipple roughly and she sighed
, arching into his hand
. His
other
hand brushed down her belly and she knew where he was headed. When his hand touched her thigh, she parted her legs for him. He pressed his palm against her pussy through her pajamas, and she moaned into his mouth. The utterly masculine sound he made, much like a growl, made her belly flutter in a wonderful way.

“
The eggs,
”
she suddenly remembered. She gave him a woeful look as she turned off the burner and turned the eggs and ham out onto plates.

“
Thanks.
”
It sounded sincere, and she
’
d take it. Anna wondered where that kiss had left them...had she just ruined everything by giving their dinner preference?

Joshua put a tray of cookies into the oven, giving her a small smile when he caught her staring at him.

They ate in companionable s
ilence. Anna caught herself watching
Joshua
’
s mouth more than once as he ate.
He had very kissable lips, and damn did he have a hold on her when he caught her with those intense gray eyes.

By now Anna was nervous for another reason. Not only had she invited a strange man into her house, she had to take it one step farther, didn’t she? S
he
’
d never gotten into it with a guy like they just had. Never let a man touch her without taking her on a date or three beforehand. It had to be the snowy night and the gift of a
n incredibly sexy
guy to share it with that made her want to avoid any waste of time. Even taking time to eat was a stretch. She
kind of
wanted to tear his clothes off here and now, before that first batch of cookies could even come out of the oven.
Slow down, Anna. Get a grip.

He stretched when he finished his eggs, and kicked off his shoes under the table. The motion was domestic, and Anna found it endearing.
“
Making yourself comfortable, huh?
”

He looked at her, taking a sip of his tea.
“
Seemed the thing to do.
”

“
I wouldn
’
t get too comfortable. Didn
’
t I tell you I
’
m a photographer?
”

“
Why does that sound like a challenge? Is it a challenge?
”

Anna thought fast.
“
Whoever takes the sexiest shot of the other gets the prize.
”