To Angel, the cabin became almost a fairytale place, a world out of time for her and Hunter. He had slowly changed from the taciturn man who had wanted so badly to die when she'd first taken care of him, to this loving and sweet man who swept her up in his arms when he walked in from being out in the cold, to warm his cold cheeks in her neck.
She would look up from the journal she was studying to find him staring at her, a strange expression upon his face. But when she would ask him about it, he would joke about it being indigestion from her cooking. He was caring and gentle, helping her with whatever chore she decided to do and then coaxing her outside to play in the snow with him.
They made snow angels and snowmen in the pristine snow just off the front porch. They had snow ball fights and went for walks in the woods surrounding the cabin. She helped him chop wood for the fireplace, enjoying the effortless way he wielded the axe, admiring the way his muscles flexed under the short-sleeved shirt he wore after he'd taken off his coat.
When he hefted the axe to bring it into the house, she'd run her hands over his sweat stained back, her eyes heating up and matching the flame in his.
They made love whenever or wherever they were, on the table, or the couch, in the shower, though they regretted that one when the hot water ran out and they were left to clean up in cold.
She felt so free here, free to be herself, the woman she'd buried under the persona of doctor, hiding away most of her feelings since her mother's death to handle the life she'd made for herself. She was able to smile and laugh, to play without feeling the guilt that she probably should feel since she still had a life waiting for her.
Every time that thought intruded, she'd pushed it back, wanting this time for them, for herself.
"Listen to this," Hunter said, breaking into her thoughts.
"What?" she said, looking up startled.
Hunter stared at her for a moment, amused by the look of bemusement upon her face. "My father's journals, mad man hunting us down, cabin in the woods, remember any of that?"
"Smart ass," she hissed, her face turning red. "Sorry, I got lost in thought. What did you find?"
"I think I'd rather hear about your thoughts," he said, turning the book over and crossing his arms over it. "Come on, give."
"I don't think so," she said, glaring at him.
"Please?" he wheedled.
"No, now are you going to tell me or am I going back to this journal," she said, indicating the one in front of her.
"Okay, okay, I know when I'm beat." He turned the book back over, finding the passage once more. "'Jessie and I found a series of caves under a light covering of flora. It was a tight squeeze but Jessie made it through first and I managed to wiggle in after her. The cavern we entered was huge, full of holes; some even looked manmade as if gouged purposely out of the rock to trap anyone daring to enter. We had to be careful as we made our way around the edges of the cavern, less we fall to our deaths in one of the holes. On the far side of the cavern was another opening in the rock walls. Jessie went in before I could stop her.'"
"Your mother was quite the daring explorer," Angel remarked, laying her cheek against the palm of her hand.
"I'm not through," Hunter said.
"Oops, sorry," she smirked.
Hunter sat forward, his hand coming out to grab the back of her head and draw her close enough he could steal a kiss. One short kiss became another and then another until finally Angel drew back, her breathing unsteady.
"Don't start something I won't let you finish until you read the rest of that," she warned him, sitting back in her chair and fanning her cheeks.
"Fine, just don't forget where I left off."
He picked up the book again, running his finger down the page. "'I heard her moving deeper into the other opening. When I got to her, she was standing as if made of the same stone we were under, her eyes wide and fixed upon something lost in the darkness. She began speaking but it wasn't in any language I knew or had heard before.'" He flipped the page. "'Then she screamed, so loud I thought that the cave would come down upon us. I grabbed her then, shaking her until she looked at me finally. She said four words to me before she fainted. Don't touch the stone.'"
"Stone?" Angel stared at Hunter. "Did your parents ever mention any kind of stone to you?"
"None that stick out, I mean, they were always talking about seeing this or doing that on their trips, but we were kids. We listened like kids would. 'Yeah, yeah, pops, that's great' and then put my headphones back on." Hunter scratched at his chin where a two-day growth of beard now sat. It made him look dangerous and scruffy, a combination that sent Angel's heart to thumping faster in her breast.
"Well, is there more?" she asked, reaching out to take the journal from him as he frowned down at it, only to get her hand smacked. "Hey!" she said, rubbing her fingers.
"If you wanna look too, you gotta come over here." He pushed his chair back and patted his knee.
"If I come over there, you aren't going to want to look at the journals," she chided him, at the same time as she pushed her own chair out and got up.
"I promise to be a good boy," he said, smiling up at her roguishly.
"If I believe that are you going to try to sell me a bridge too?" she asked him with an innocent smile, perching on his legs and feeling his arms come around her to haul her back against him.
"Nope, no bridges today, fresh out. I might have some swamp...I mean beautiful wooded land that I could sell you cheap," he said, nibbling on her neck and making her giggle. "Okay, beautiful, you read. I'm going to contemplate every word."
Angel rolled her eyes, feeling his hands come up under the sweater and the soft winter long underwear she was wearing to slide over her bare skin. "Oh and now you're just going to tell me your hands are cold and you're trying to ward off frost bite." She shivered as he traced a circle around the hard nub of her nipple over her bra.
"Can't hide a thing from you, can I?" he laughed. "Read to me, doc. Maybe something dad says can make me behave."
